Chapter 10

CLAYTON'S P.O.V

“I'll be waiting for you at the gazebo,” I said and softly clicked the door shut

I stood outside her room for another minute or two, listening to the soft rustling as she likely scrambled to pull herself together.

It made my chest tighten. Again

The way she cried and kept apologizing, I was ready to pull the door down if she hadn't opened it.

It wasn't just embarrassment—even though she had no reason to be.

Her tears were born from years of breaking; it was the kind that came from someone who was chastised too much, who had been made to believe that they were small and insignificant.

I recognized that kind of broken. I had lived like that before...before she came into my life and filled it with rays of sunshine.

Now years have passed, and our places are reversed. I fisted my hands by my side, my jaw tightening as I dif

What the hell had they done to her?

The Yvonne I knew was bold, and cheerful, with the brightest of smiles that can chase away the darkest clouds.

This wasn't just Edgar. He was only the most recent villain in her story. I’d bet good money there were more.

A weight crushed behind my ribs.

There was nothing I wouldn't do to bring her back to her former happy self again, not only because I still love her but because I've been there, I know how it feels to have your self-worth chipped piece by piece, to be made to believe that you were the problem.

I know how it is to always feel guilty for every single mistake, flaw, or simply just existing.

Anger bubbled inside me, making my jaw clench harder. I was angry towards every single person who had ever made her feel less of herself.

If I had my way, I'd get a list of everyone who had wronged Yvonne and then make them pay, but I couldn't do that. Technically, I was still her boss and she was still married.

When I had hugged her, I was holding on to my self-control so I wouldn't do something inappropriate like kiss her on her forehead, it was a struggle to pull away. I was already treading towards a forbidden line, not that I cared what anyone thought, but Yvonne deserved better than me taking advantage of her vulnerability.

Right?

I made my way to the gazebo at the edge of the garden, needing to leave before she finished and meet me still standing outside her room.

I chose this nature resort for the serenity and privacy it offered. There was nothing much I intended to do in Italy, I just needed somewhere to get away with Yvonne to.

The air outside smelled of fresh flowers. I reached the gazebo and waited for her.

The rage was there inside me, but now it was changing to something else, something worse.

Regret.

For all the years I stayed back in London when I could have come back sooner. Regret because I couldn't go back and erase those years that her turned her shine into shame. I couldn’t magically change her reflex of apologizing and stuttering for every damm thing.

But I could do something else.

I would help, protect, and shield her.

Help her laugh without care again, protect her from anyone who ever dared to speak down to her, from her past, her pain, and her fears

I’d shield until she sees herself the way I see her. Passionate, smart, effortlessly beautiful, and kind.

Mine.

And no matter how long it took or what lines I had to cross, who I had to deal with, I’d prove it to her, not by saying it, but by showing her. Every day. In ways that tell her that I'll be loving and careful, that I'm not just another man who's going to make her feel small and conditioned.

I sighted Yvonne walking down the aisle of flowers, on their own accord, my lips curled into a smile, the weight behind my chest shifted, the anger simmering in my blood subsided, every other feeling was replaced by that wholeness I had just seen in her

A faint blush stained her cheeks when she saw me watching her. I couldn't help it, my eyes couldn't look away.

Her curls fell over her shoulders, and she wore a casual deep blue dress that brushed her knees. The colour highlighted the russet of her eyes. In the midst of different flowers, Yvonne outshone them all

Beautiful couldn't even cover it.

And yet as breathtaking as she was, her eyes darted to the ground, then to me, then away, like she was scared of looking at me.

Yvonne reached the gazebo, and just like minutes ago, when I nuzzled her hair, my spine stiffened as the scent wafted into my senses. Soft, alluring, and so very tempting.

Made me want to merge myself with her.

“You look lovely,” I said simply and stood up, my height towering over hers.

Yvonne tilted her head up to look at me and then she scratched the back of her neck nervously.

I knew I was doing too much than a Boss should to his executive personal officer— bringing her cappuccino, always dashing out one compliment or the other, bringing her here, to this private and secluded place just for the two of us, but.....

I plan to be much more. Soon

“Thank you, Sir,” Yvonne answered quietly, then she added. “I was doing research on you to find out how to work with you best. So the picture you saw on my laptop..”

“Yvonne” I interrupted softly but gently.

I could see her holding her breath. “Yes, sir”

“You don't have to explain anything,” I said. She let out the breath she was holding, her shoulder slumped in relief. I resisted the urge to pull her in for another hug.

I couldn't get the feel of her out of my head, how her body had fit perfectly into mine like we were sculpted to be together.

If I hold her again, I'll forget about lines, boundaries, and do something she wasn't ready for.

Yet.

“Let’s go,” I murmured. My voice was coming out hoarse with the effort to put my thoughts on a leash.

“To where?” Yvonne asked, biting the side of her glossy lips. The stiffness in my spine intensified.

Fúck. What would her lips taste like? What would she taste like? I tried to shake the thoughts away, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from her face, the warmth of her eyes, and the collar of her throat that beckoned to me to kiss her senseless.

Yvonne took a step back, as if she could read every sinful thing I was thinking.

I let out a breath, organizing my thoughts.

Not now Clayton. It was too early to start losing control of my control. Way too early

“You'll see,” I said.

Yvonne nodded once and followed as I led us to our garden toward the garage

I didn't talk as we walked, but I made a promise to myself—that I would be the last man who ever made her cry

We've come a long way from where we were seventeen years ago. Now I have the power, I have the reach, and I have the will.

Nothing would stop me from making her mine. Not her useless husband Edgar, not what the world would think of us when we eventually come together.

Absofuckinglutely Nothing.