Chapter 67 Chapter 67
Chapter 67 Chapter 67
The rain continued to whip the windows in the room, the only sound that could be heard other than the pounding of her heartbeat.
Noémie walked inside. And she kept on walking until she stood right in front of him.
No words came out of her mouth. No amount of words felt satisfactory.
Save for the occasional rumble of thunder outside, for a long minute, only silence existed between the two and throughout the room.
Noémie sank to her knees and slipped her fingers through his dark, disheveled hair.
Ajax jolted awake in a blink.
His eyes widened at the sight of her. Lips parted as he tried to say something, but nothing came out.
“Hey!” Noémie tried a small smile as she traced the side of his face.
Ajax blinked with that familiar, distant look in his eyes. “Noémie…?”
She gave him a nod. “They couldn’t reach you. Why did you switch off your phone?”
“Why did you leave?” he asked instead.
“That’s…that’s not the answer to my question.”
“That’s not the answer to my question, either.”
“Ajax…”
“Noémie….”
Noémie pursed her lips.
Ajax sighed, inhaling a long, shaky breath as he leaned his head back against the wall.
“Nevermind. It doesn’t matter. Vincent wanted me to tell you the truth about that night when he brought you back. I didn’t. Couldn’t. Deep in my heart, I always knew that no matter what amount of proof I’d give you, a part of you would never believe me. For which I cannot even blame you. Or anyone. No matter how things transpired or who was behind it, you’d never get over what you saw. That I was the one who did that to you. Took advantage of you when you were vulnerable. I wish…I wish you could have trusted me more…“
“When dad pushed me past my limits, I wish I had the courage to say no. I wish the night I dropped you home I hadn’t held myself from revealing my true feelings for you. I had spent the entire day trying to figure out the best way to say those three words. I had spent the entire day imagining your reaction to my confession. I could have made the grand gesture, but time was slipping through my fingers. The words were almost on the tip of my tongue when I followed you to the elevator. The adrenaline almost made me make a move and kiss you the moment you turned around. But then I couldn’t. I looked into your eyes and I couldn’t. Just that once—I should have listened to my heart. I should have…”
“Ajax…”
“Why couldn’t I?” he asked himself. “Things would have been different if I had just…just gone for it. But it’s not my fault that I’m only human, is it?” he looked into her eyes, tears glistening in his own. “I was afraid. Afraid that you’d turn me down. So afraid that agreeing to marry someone else seemed rather easier than living with the truth that the only woman I ever loved never loved me back.”
“Ajax…” tears streamed down her own face.
“It was the fear of losing you. What if you didn’t want to work for me anymore? What if you had resigned just because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut? What if I never got to see your face again?”
Noémie sucked in a shaky breath.
“But it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Not anymore. I’m a coward. I don’t deserve you. I never did. But to keep my promise of becoming worthy of you, I tried. I tried to find the pieces of the truth that I didn’t know myself. I tried Noémie. I really tried. But even now, when the truth is out in the open and the family I had done so much to keep together is falling apart, all I can think about is you. All I worry about is you—”
“Do you still love me?” Even though she already knew the answer after everything he had said, Noémie still posed the question. She wanted to hear it from his mouth, in his voice, through his eyes…
“When did I never…”
“Ajax…”
“Of course, I love you!” peeling his back off the wall, he held her face and looked into her eyes. “I have loved you since the day I saw you. I have loved you every single second ever since.”
A small smile adorned her parted lips as she cupped his face and leaned her forehead against his, breathing in the same air as him. “Then I think we’ll be fine.”
“What do you mean?” pulling his head back, he asked, confused.
“I mean to say it’s not your lucky day, Mr Halest…” she soothed down the tense lines engraved across his forehead. Wiped the tears from his eyes. “I don’t want you to be sad or hurt anymore. Not on my watch. Never.”
She kissed him on the forehead, on the tip of his nose, and on both cheeks.
“Hold on to me for now,” A light peck on his lips. “I’ll take you home.”
—————
After Claudia dropped them home and Vincent threw an ironic tantrum at Ajax’s carelessness, Noémie held his hand and took him to his room.
She helped him out of his unkempt clothes and prepared a warm bath for him.
He tugged at her hand when she turned around to leave, not even withholding the anxiousness of being left alone.
Noémie pulled the dress over her head and tossed it in the pile of his own. Sinking into the warm, scented water, she let him hold her from behind and nap on her shoulder.
They stayed like that for what felt like hours, feeling safe and content in the warmth of each other.
Ajax carried her back to the bedroom when the exhaustion of the entire day claimed Noémie’s small body and sleep wiggled in her eyes. He covered her with the duvet and joined her right after.
Before sleep finally embraced the two of them with a promise of a new, happy tomorrow, Noémie whispered something in his ear and made him the happiest man alive.