Page 86 of Remember Me
“I’ve caused you so much pain. Leaving you bereft... with the burden of bringing up our little girl all alone... thinking I was untrue to you.”
“Raising Maddie has never been a burden. It’s been the only joy I’ve had in my life.”
Another sharp pang of sadness. “I wish I could turn back the hands of time. Been there with you to have watched our little girl grow up. Together.”
Finn’s brows furrow. “I still don’t understand why you stayed away for almost five years.”
“Years of reconstructive surgery and intensive therapy. My pelvis crushed, I had to learn how to walk again. My windpipe damaged, to talk again. Every day, I worked for hours with physical therapists, speech pathologists, and psychiatrists. Once I was stable, I was told by Detective Billings that someone attempted to murder me. That this person was still out there, and because I was a well-known television personality, this person would likely come after me and be a threat to you and Maddie.”
Finn’s jaw ticks. “Did he ask if you suspected me?”
My heart stutters. “Y-yes.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That it was impossible. That you loved me unconditionally with all you had... I mean, have.”
Silence. Finn digests my words, a crease forming between his brows. Hoping he believes me, I continue.
“Because of the extreme damage to my face, I underwent reconstructive surgery. Countless operations. On account of our lives being in jeopardy, I agreed to let the surgeons change my appearance... give me new features... make me unrecognizable. Then, Detective Billings worked with the Witness Protection Program to give me a brand new identity. A new name and a new career as a tutor. I was told to stay far away from you and Maddie. It was too dangerous for all of us. Then somehow, by fate, I ended up here.”
“What’s meant to be will always find a way.” The expression on his face softens. Any trace of venom in his voice evaporates and is replaced by tenderness. “We were destined to be together.”
Without warning, I burst into sobs and splutter, “Finn, I’m so, so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
“My love, there’s nothing to forgive.” He brushes away my tears with his thumbs. “You’ve suffered so much. What matters is that we’ve found each other. Tonight, you’re mine again.”
Quieting, I watch him slip his hand into a pocket and pull out the necklace. The locket. “I never stopped loving you, Skye. I always believed our love was forever.”
Overcome with emotion, I let him put the locket back on my neck. Where it belongs. Taking my hand, he puts it to his heart. “This belongs to you, too, my one and only.”
Wrapping his strong arms around me, my hand still on his chest, he draws me in closer. Our bodies touch. A breath apart, the greatest distance between us is a kiss. He seals the space by tenderly cupping my face and crushing his warm lips on my mine. The kiss is hot, passionate, and possessive. I melt into it. I’ve never been kissed with such heat, such desire, such love.
When he finally pulls away, I’m breathless. “What are we going to do?”
His face darkens, his eyes narrow. “We’re going to find the sick fuck who did this to you... to us... and when we do, his soul is going to rot in hell.”
CHAPTER 53
Skye
Moonlight beams into Finn’s bedroom as scented candles flicker all around us. Bathed in their glow, I’m sprawled naked on the bed we used to share, every part of me exposed, including the scars I’ve tried to hide. The painful reminders of that night.
“I have a lot of scars,” I murmur, worried that my marred body will turn him off.
He hushes me. “I loved you without your scars and I love you with them,” he whispers, a long finger caressing one of my major scars, left behind from one of the many surgeries I had to repair my right femur.
I’ve always hated them even though Sister Marie told me to embrace them. “Scars,” she said, “show that you survived.”
My magnificent husband, lover, soul mate, and the father of my child tenderly kisses one of my many imperfections. “Your scars make you more beautiful to me. More special. I want to own them... reclaim every inch of your body.
He makes love to me yet again. This time so tender. So in the moment. Taking his time. Each stroke deliberate and precise like the skilled artist he is. As if my body is his temple, and he’s worshipping me. I moan with pure bliss, never feeling more cherished or beautiful in my entire life.
We come to together, and a sad thought cuts through the ecstasy. Because of my internal injuries, I can never have another child. Unshed tears well up behind my shuttered eyes.
***
We don’t go to sleep. At least not right away.