Chapter Ten
Pulling his car in front of the entrance of her building, he was prepared to beg her to stay. He could stomp on his pride for her. She was worth it.
The doorman stared at him, with a mixture of horror and fascination, “Sir, your-“
Sean tossed his car keys at him, “Get someone to park my car, Dallas.”
A little flustered that the building’s owner knew his name, the man nodded and stepped aside to let Sean enter.
He strode towards the elevator, trying not to limp.
The ride up was a chaotic jumble of nerves for him, along with tendrils of anger.
She actually intended to leave him!?
Marching towards her door, he unlocked it with the master key and let himself in.
Danielle stood in the middle of the room, holding a glass ornament in her hands.
Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and she wore a tiny T shirt and shorts that left nothing to the imagination.
She was packing up the entire apartment and for a moment he reeled.
Hearing him, she whirled around.
He had expected anger, perhaps tears, but not what he saw.
Her face went white, and the glass ornament slipped from her hands, shattering into a million, sparkling pieces.
“Your face. Sean, what happened to you?!”
She darted towards him, the fear in her eyes a welcome emotion to him.
She grabbed his cheeks and studied the blooming bruises. His eye was cut badly, and her heart trembled at the sight.
“Who did this to you?”
Where was the anger from last night? He wondered.
He had to force his hands to remain still at his sides, and not touch her as she ran her hands over his split lip.
“I got in a fight.”
The tears shone in her eyes, as she kept touching his bruises, her fingertips feather light on his skin.
He hadn’t known it possible to fall more madly in love with her, till he saw her tears.
She wouldn’t cry for herself, but she would cry for him?
She guided him to the couch, and moved around, looking for a first aid kit.
“Why didn’t you go to the doctor, you stupid moron?” She asked him, anger in her voice now, when he limped to the couch and sat down heavily.
He gripped her wrist before she could start cleaning his wounds, “Because you were leaving me. I had to stop you.”
Danielle pursed her lips and didn’t reply to him, “Why did you pick a fight with someone? And tell me they look worse than you.”
“I look like I just got a love tap,” he admitted.
“Why’d you pick a fight?” She echoed her previous question.
How could he tell her? His hand fell away from her wrist and he let her clean his wounds, not knowing how to put his feelings into words.
“Sean.”
There was an angry demand in her voice, and he bit out, “Because I made a mess of things. I realized far too late that I was in love with you and I fucked everything up.”
His dialect was moving dangerously close to his Irish one, and his accent even more thicker, the frustration in his voice, growing.
She still didn’t say anything to the accusation.
“You left the statue behind.” She murmured.
“I don’t want the blasted thing,” He growled at her. “It’s caused me more trouble than it’s worth.”
She didn’t seem perturbed by his anger, her hands still gentle on his face.
“You called Jenny.”
“Well you wouldn’t let me touch you. Just wanted to bash my fucking head in. I would have helped you with it, if you had just let me comfort you.”
“You stayed outside till Jenny came. She saw you.”
“You were crying. I made you cry. And I broke your heart. I’m a right bastard.”
Who didn’t deserve this, he thought wearily. He didn’t deserve her gentle touches. He didn’t deserve the way his heart stopped stuttering when her fingers moved over him.
“I should go.” He forced himself to stand up. “I broke your trust. I’m worse than your own family.”
She pushed him down onto the couch, “Sit down, you moron.”
When he winced at where her fingers were touching his stomach, she narrowed her eyes and lifted up his shirt. The bruises that bloomed there were mottled shades of blue, black and purple. They looked painful to the eye.
Her lips trembled, “You’re all black and blue.”
“Well, I deserved it, didn’t I?”
Danielle’s fingers ghosted over them, as she sat on her knees in front of him, “You didn’t deserve all this.”
“You’re right. I deserve worse.”
Danielle scoffed, “Are you done being a little drama queen?”
When he gave her an incredulous look, she stared right back, “What you deserve is for me to stomp on your heart. Break it like you broke mine. Maybe rub some salt in the cracks.”
He took a shuddering breath at her words, “Are you really leaving me?”
She applied alcohol to the gaping cut over his eyes, and watched as he hissed at the sting, “Yes.”
“Why don’t you look mad anymore?”
Danielle stared at him for a heartbeat, and the bitter smile on her face felt as if somebody had pierced his heart with a shard of glass.
“I fell in love with you. That’s on me. It’s not your problem, Sean. And I’m leaving for good.”
When he started, she shrugged, not meeting his eyes, “Jenny has a good understanding of how the business runs here. I’m going to set up another branch elsewhere. I need a clean break from all this excessive drama in my life.”
“So, you’re running away?” He bit out, pinning her hand to his chest.
She glared at him, “Yes, I am. And I’m not ashamed of it, so let go.”
He released her hand, “I’ll follow you there.”
“Go ahead,” She told him. “It’s a free world. Do whatever you want.”
He studied her bent head, and told her, “I love you.”
She jerked back as if she had been slapped.
Then, a trembling scoff, “Isn’t that low, even for you?”
“I love you, Danielle.” He cupped her face in his hands and lifted it to see the fury in her eyes.
He let her see the misery in his, “I made a mistake. I’ve never cared for a woman like I’ve cared for you. I never thought that I could fall in love with someone. But I did. And I didn’t know how to handle it. So, I screwed things up.”
“Yes, you did.” She informed him, bitterness in her voice, the scars from her past showing.
“You won’t even give me a chance to make amends?”
She heard the pleading in her voice, and her heart trembled.
“You lied to me. You used me.”
“To get something that I didn’t even want anymore.” He told her, as she moved away from him and stood with her back towards him.
“Tell me what to do to fix this and I will.”
Two tears dripped down her cheek.
She didn’t know how to fix this. All she knew was the aching sense of betrayal that she could feel, all the way down to her bones.
“You knew everything.” She found herself saying, her voice thick with suppressed emotion. “About what Julian did, about what my parents did, and once you made sure I was completely in love with you, you yanked the floor right out from under me.”
“I’m a wretched bastard.” He told her.
“Yes, you are.”
“You can punish me however, you like,” He turned her around to face him, letting her see the anguish and torment in his eyes, “But don’t leave me, Danielle.”
This proud man was begging her.
And something inside her broke.
She dropped her head on his chest, and her shoulders shook with the tears, as she beat at his chest. He took her blows and fell back down onto the couch, dragging her along with him.
“I hate you. I hate you.” The words were a constant mantra, and he didn’t stop her.
When her hands tired, he curled her into his lap, and let her cry her heart out. The harsh sobs that tore from her throat had his own throat tightening, and he kept pressing small kisses on the top of her head.
“I’m sorry, darling. I’m so sorry.”
They remained that way for quite a while, Danielle’s sobs quietening. She now just lay there, tracing circles on his bruised chest.
“I hate you.” She murmured, hoarsely, but her voice lacked conviction.
“Not as much as I hate myself for putting you through this.” He told her.
Her hands went out to touch his face, “Your pretty face is all bruised up.”
He mustered some offence at the words, “Me face is not pretty.”
“Well, not anymore it isn’t.”
Hearing the snark in her voice, he found his lips curving.
“I look manly.”
“You look manly in a pretty way,” she informed him, a soft teasing in her voice.
He leaned down to kiss her nose in an affectionate gesture and waited to see her reaction. She didn’t reject him, but her eyes held that vulnerability that tore at him.
“Look in my pocket.” He nudged her, and she took out the box.
Her heart stilled.
“Open it.” He urged, and she gave him a disbelieving look.
The ring was gorgeous in her eyes, but she stared at him, “Is this what you’re going to do to convince me to go back into your arms?”
He shrugged, “No. I wanted to. But no. This is just me telling you that this is what I intend.”
He brought her closer to him, till their faces were bare inches apart, “I intend to marry you, Danielle. If not now, then some other day. But there is no way in hell, are you escaping my grasp.”
The arrogance in his voice made her want to smack him.
“What if I say no?” She asked.
His smile was slow, a devastating one, “Then I’ll keep asking, till finally you throw the empty box at my head, ring on your finger.”
Danielle scoffed at him, “That’s never going to happen.”
He dropped a soft kiss on her lips.
She kept looking at the ring, feeling his reassuring touches on her skin.
“I wasn’t going to have any affairs,” she murmured, her eyes on his hand that rested in her lap.
She felt him tense and then relax, “Well, I planned to break the faces of all those men, anyways.”
“You wouldn’t have.” She insisted.
He gave her a serious look, “Not only do I have Irish blood in me, I am also insanely possessive. You’re the only woman for me, Danielle. I’ll be damned if I let some other man try to claim you.”
She shoved at his chest, avoiding his bruises, “I’m not some piece of property.”
“No.” He nuzzled her lovely neck, “What you are is the single most greatest treasure that I managed to find. And I plan to keep you with me.”
“I don’t like smooth talkers.” She informed him, his words igniting a slow burning fire in her.
His green eyes laughed at her, “Well, it’s too bad you’re going to get stuck with one.”
She watched him for a few moments, “I do intend to leave though.”
“Then, I’ll follow you.”
His words were simple and yet they made her heart beat just a little faster.
“You’ll follow me anywhere?”
“Yes.”
She couldn’t resist teasing him, “What if I decided to move to the North Pole and live amongst the Polar bears?”
“I’ll build you a snow castle and we’ll rule all the Polar bears there.”
She laughed at his prompt reply in that serious tone, and leaned down to kiss him.
“Mr. Arton isn’t going to like me stealing you away.”
“I have a feeling he’ll be quite pleased.” He grinned, letting her cuddle into him.
After a long silence, he asked, “Do you forgive me, Danielle?”
She didn’t remove her head from his chest, “I’m not angry with you anymore. I’m still hurt, but it’s going to take a while for me to trust you again.”
“But you’re going to give me another chance?” His arm tightening on her waist.
“Yeah.”
The buzzing of the doorbell had them both tensing.
“I’ll go see who that is,” Danielle wiggled off his lap, and moved towards the door.
A familiar voice and then Jenny barged into the room, “You two-timing, low life son of a – Woah!”
She froze at the sight of the battered Sean, who raised a hand in greeting.
Panic filled her eyes, “Danielle, when I said beat the shit out of him, I didn’t mean literally!”
“I didn’t do that.” Her friend informed her, trailing behind her. “He did that to himself.”
Jenny sneered at him, “Karma, am I right? Bitch and all.”
Sean didn’t want to smile because the very movement of his lips hurt, but the laughter bubbled in his throat.
She stared at him, “You look like shit, though. Did you go through a meat grinder?”
“Bar fight,” he told her.
“Oh, yeah?” She asked, sitting on the arm of the couch, across from him.
“Give me the number of the guy who did this to you. I’ll go sleep with him to say thanks.”
Sean lifted his hand to indicate three fingers.
Her grin widened, “Ooh, kinky.”
“Don’t be mean, Jenny. He looks terrible, as it is.” Danielle’s reprimand held little motivation and Sean glared at her.
“I’m not being mean! I’m just saying that at least he looks like what you feel.” Jenny protested.
Just then, her eyes fell on the ring box lying besides Sean, and her eyes widened, “No! You didn’t!?”
She swooped in to grab the box, “You proposed to her? That’s a slick move. I appro- I mean,” She threw a quick look at her friend who just raised a brow, “I mean, how dare you? You think you can win her back by just a proposal? Shame on you.”
‘Good job’ she mouthed to him, making him grin.
“So, you guys are getting married?” She asked Danielle.
Danielle rolled her eyes, “No. I haven’t said yes.”
“But she will. Eventually.” Sean cut in. “I’ll just keep asking.”
“Persistence. I like that.” Jenny nodded in approval.
“So, you’re not moving then?” She asked her friend.
Danielle pursed her lips, “I’m taking an overdue vacation for a month, and then I’ll go ahead with our plans to open another branch.”
“Your mom called me,” Jenny said, quietly. “She was upset.”
Danielle looked away, “I think it’s going to take me some time to reconcile with her.”
“That’s what I told her.” Her friend murmured.
Then, she scowled at Sean, “Don’t ever pull a stunt like this again!”
“I don’t intend to.”
He grabbed Danielle by the waist and dragged her to his lap.
Jenny smiled, “That’s so sweet. Now, get a room, you two.”
She stood up, “I’ll give you two some privacy.”
They watched her leave, and Sean commented, “She really loves you.”
Danielle grinned, “She wanted to TP your house last night. She was all for it.”
“TP?” He asked.
She tried not to laugh, “Cover your house in toilet paper.”
Sean blinked, “That sounds a little extreme.”
Danielle chuckled, “Yes, well.”
Sean turned her around and kissed her, a slow kiss that penetrated her heart, “I can’t believe I nearly lost you.”
“You’re not out of the hot waters yet.”
He smiled against her lips, “I’ll figure out a way to get out of them.”
Danielle leaned back and then pressed her hand to his where his heart beat, her voice holding a little quiver, “If you hurt me again, Sean-“
“I never will,” he vowed, and he pressed a hand on the one that was on his chest, “I have your heart here. I’ll protect it with everything I have. I swear to you.”
Then he touched her heart and looked at her, a quiet look, “And you have mine.”
She swallowed, and then bent down to kiss him, “I’m not saying yes, yet.”
He laughed against her lips.