100 | paintings of you-4

Aiden lets out a small laugh, throwing his head back. I follow him to the fourth painting. He pulls the cloak, revealing a painting of me sleeping. My eyes were closed, and I looked so peaceful in my sleep. I don't know why, this is just an image of me sleeping but in his eyes I looked beautiful. Is this really how he always sees me? "I don't really look that good in my sleep," I blurt out. The words just slip from my lips. "Nevaeh." Aiden shakes his head in disagreement. "My paintings don't do any justice for you." Since Aiden is going to explain the painting, I wait again, wondering what this painting means. "Do you remember the first time we fell asleep next to each other while watching a movie on my bed?" Aiden asks. I nod. "Every time you weren't there with me at night, I wished that I had you by my side," he says. "I wished that I'd been able to hold you in my arms while you were sleeping. I missed you." My vision blurs with tears. Longing. It was what he felt. I've always felt it too. Aiden takes me to the next painting, the fifth one. The cloak falls, and there in front of me is a painting of me bursting with laughter. The breeze was blowing through my hair, along with autumn leaves. I stare at the painting, wondering where he got this image of me and what he was feeling when he painted this. "I've always loved your laughter," Aiden says. "All I ever want is to see you happy." Aiden's expression turns sad. His eyes focus on the image of me laughing. "However, there was a time when I was anxious because the reason you were laughing was that there was another guy beside you. He made you laugh, and I was jealous that I wasn't the one who made you laugh like that." My breath catches in my throat. Jealousy. Back then, Aiden didn't know about my feelings for him. We proceed to the sixth painting. My pulse quickens as I wonder what else he would show me. I'm scared that I won't be able to hold all these emotions inside me. It's already too much. Aiden removes the cloak again, and when I gaze at the painting, I see how much it represents me. In this painting, I was reading. A book was on my lap. Rays of sunshine cast through the window beside me. "This is you doing what you love," Aiden says. "It always makes me happy when I watch you enjoy something you find comforting. But I also have been restless. I envisioned you reading like this in the corner of the library where other men would approach you to get to know you. Because if it were me, I would. I feel very protective of you it might even be possessive." My cheeks heat up. I feel the smallest smile about to curve on my lips, and I think Aiden notices it because he's trying to bite his smirk. Aiden pulls my hand, bringing me to the seventh painting. When the cloak drops to the floor, I see a painting of myself smiling through tears. My sky blue eyes were glinting with something so intense, and I think I know what that was. I looked like I was… in love. "All those feelings I had for you hit me hard, and I didn't know what to do," Aiden says. "At first, I was trying to fight them, but eventually, I knew that I really couldn't. I succumbed to those feelings and allowed myself to be vulnerable. I told you that I needed you and that I wanted you to stay with me. This, the look you gave me, was my undoing. Because you looked at me like you loved me." I let out a shaky breath. My tears threaten to fall again. I do love you, I want to scream that out loud. Aiden squeezes my hand and leads me to the last painting. At this point, my heart is hammering against my chest. This is it. He yanks the cloak away, revealing another painting of me. This time, he only painted my backside. My long blonde hair fell against my back. A few seconds of silence pass between us. "When you left me, my world fell apart." His voice holds so much pain, and then he's quiet again. I swallow, trying to calm my heartbeat and soothe my own pain. "It was the worst feeling I'd ever had, and I didn't think that I could survive. I was so lost without you. I was very close to shutting off again." He inhales sharply. "But I didn't. I didn't bury my feelings like before. I didn't block my emotions. I didn't stop painting, no matter how painful it was to paint you. It wasn't a blank canvas. I painted this. You. Still you. Even though you had walked away and I didn't know if you would ever want to turn around to face me again, I wouldn't stop. Because I didn't want to let you go." Tears are already streaming down my cheeks when Aiden faces me. "I love you, Nevaeh," he whispers. "I'm in love with you." I choke on my sob, covering my mouth with my hands. I'll never be able to explain how much this man means to me. To Aiden Klein, saying those three words had been extremely hard, with all his trauma -- the betrayal and his painful past. The last time he said those words to a woman, she looked at another man instead. It wasn't his fault that she made him feel like his love meant nothing. "I'm here, begging you to come back to me," he says in a strained voice. "I'm just a man who loves you. Will you accept me as I am?" I rush to him, crushing into his arms. I hug him tightly, letting him do the same as I sob against his chest. We're holding each other like we're afraid the other would slip away from our grasp. I can feel his breath on my hair and his soft cry in my ear. "Thank you." My voice cracks. "Thank you for loving me. Thank you for showing me your feelings." I will cherish them. I will cherish him. With my arms still circling his neck, I pull away to look at him. More tears fall from my eyes. "Couldn't you feel my love for you?" "I--" "Couldn't you see how much I loved you? That I was willing to give my all for you?" "Nevaeh--" "Didn't I say to you that I loved you? Did you think that they were just empty words?" "I'm sorry--" "How could you ever doubt me?" "I won't." Aiden shakes his head. "I won't do that anymore." "Promise?" "Promise." Aiden's jaw tightens. The look he gives me is piercing. "I love you." With that said, Aiden crashes his lips into mine. I breathe against his mouth, kissing him just as hard. We're practically digging our fingers into each other, pulling each other so tightly like we're trying to make sure that the other is real. Aiden's tongue grazes my lip, asking for permission. I open my mouth, allowing our tongues to dance. Our kiss is fierce, burning. He's everything I need. "Say it again," I say between our kisses, running my hand on his scalp and pulling him closer to me. Aiden wraps my hair around his fist, biting my lower lip. "I love you." I still can't believe that he said those words to me, that he's finally able to love a woman again. He loves me. "Again," I moan, getting lost in our wild kiss. The passion between us is enough to burn the entire world. "I love you." His voice is husky. His breath is shaky as he starts placing butterfly kisses on my neck. "Again," I say, breathless. "I love you." "Again." "Will you marry me?" My eyes snap open. I abruptly pull away. My heart is racing like I just ran a marathon. "What?" My voice is barely audible. Before I can swallow what's happening, Aiden drops to one knee and looks up at me. He pulls out a small velvet box from the pocket of his slacks, and I feel like I'm really going to collapse. I would have done so if I hadn't been absolutely petrified. Inside the small box sits a diamond ring, which makes my hands instantly shoot to my mouth. I can't help but let out a loud gasp. "I know that this might be surprising to you, but I've actually been thinking about this for quite a while," Aiden says. "You're my everything, Nevaeh. I know that I made mistakes, but let me make it up to you for the rest of my life. Let me love you, cherish you, and protect you for as long as I can breathe. Will you come back to our home and grow old with me? Will you let me be your husband?" Through my blurry vision, I see him swallow. He's waiting. My heart had never felt this whole. I never thought that I would get a marriage proposal while I was still in college, but there's only one answer to Aiden's question. "Yes." I manage to let out a soft laugh while crying. "Yes, Aiden." Aiden stares at me like he can't believe what he just heard. But then he looks down, putting the ring on my finger with his shaky hand. Mine is shaking too. He stands up, yanking me into him so that he can kiss me breathless. After we pull away, he has the biggest smile on his face. I'd never seen him so happy. I raise my brows. "You know, we still have to tell my parents about this." "Of course, I will." I can't stop smiling either. "I have to warn you that my father would be tough to get through." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Now that I think about it, maybe you should come with me." I ponder in thought. "I'm flying back to Texas later this afternoon for his birthday. Let's see if you can even step into the house." Aiden smirks. "Is that a challenge?" I smile softly. "It's about time that I let you into my family. You've done it. You've introduced me to your amazing parents. And then you've conquered your fear. Now it's my turn to do this for you." Aiden gazes at me with loving eyes. "I still can't believe that you said 'yes'. I still can't believe that you're here in my arms again. You're aware that you're going to be stuck with me forever, aren't you?" I give him a teasing look. "I'll never leave before you do." Aiden laughs. "Damn straight." I giggle, and he gives me one hard kiss before lifting me and spinning me around. *** AN: