Chapter 60

We sat in silence for a long minute before either of us touched the food. The candles flickered gently, casting soft shadows against the walls of Declan’s apartment. The table was set beautifully, two plates of pasta arranged neatly, a bottle of red wine, still unopened, beside a pair of glasses, and the faint strains of jazz floating from the record player in the corner.

It was romantic. Overwhelmingly so.

And it caught me off guard, how hard he had tried. How sweet he was being.

Declan shifted slightly, nervously twisting his wine glass. “I didn’t want you to come here and feel like I was trying to make everything disappear with one fancy dinner. I just wanted… I needed you to know I’m sorry.”

“I was really angry,” I said, honestly. But my voice was soft. I lightly touched his hand.

He nodded. “I know. I know how messed up that was. I snapped, and I didn’t even give you a chance to explain before I acted like some territorial asshole.”

“You scared me,” I admitted. “Not because I thought you’d hurt me. But because it felt like I didn’t recognize you in that moment.”

His eyes closed for a second. “I didn’t recognize myself either.”

“I’ve been walking around with this constant fear,” I said quietly, “that everything’s going to collapse. That someone’s going to find out, or Mara’s going to destroy me, or you’ll wake up one day and realize this was all a mistake.”

“I won’t,” he said, instantly. “Not ever.”

I shook my head slowly. “But it’s not just about love, Declan. It’s about the consequences. I don’t want to be a weakness in your life. I don’t want to be the reason you lose your job or your reputation.”

He reached across the table and took my hand. “You’re not a weakness. You’ve never been. You make me sharper, more honest, more alive. That’s what you are to me.”

I blinked fast, trying to keep the tears from spilling. “I just… I don’t want to be a risk.”

“You’re not,” he whispered. “You’re the reason I’m even willing to take one.”

That cracked something open in me. My shoulders slumped, breath stuttering.

“You’re infuriating, you know that?” I said with a shaky laugh.

“I’ve been told.”

“And impulsive. And arrogant.”

He grinned slightly. “Go on.”

“But you’re also kind,” I continued, voice softer now. “And brilliant. And, God, you make me feel things I’ve never felt before.”

He stood up suddenly and walked around the table. I thought he might try to pull me into a hug, but instead he dropped to one knee beside me.

“Willow,” he said, looking up at me, eyes unreadably deep, “I love you. That’s not a new revelation. But I think tonight I finally understand what it means.”

I stared down at him, blinking, unsure how to respond.

He continued, “It means loving you when it’s messy. When we’re scared. When we’re being reckless. It means showing up, even when I don’t know how to fix things. I can’t promise this’ll be easy. Hell, it definitely won’t be. But I can promise that I’m not going anywhere.”

My hand trembled as I reached for his face. “You love me.”

“I do,” he whispered.

“And I love you,” I said, voice cracking.

He smiled at that before pressing his lips softly to the back of my hand.

“I went to see Jacob,” I said. “Today.”

Declan’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

“I needed to explain everything. After… what happened. I owed him that much.”

He pulled his hand away from mine slowly. “And?”

I took a breath. “He was angry. Hurt. But mostly, he was confused. He thought I was someone he could trust, and I guess I shattered that for him.”

Declan looked away, his expression unreadable.

“I told him everything,” I continued. “About us. That it wasn’t just a fling. And he… he said you’re bad news. That nothing good can come from this.”

He nodded.

“I asked him not to tell anyone,” I said after a long silence. “And he said he wouldn’t.”

Declan looked at me, his brow tense. “Do you believe him?”

I hesitated. “I think so.”

“That’s not a yes.”

I sighed. “I do. Jacob’s angry, and he has every right to be. But I don’t think he wants to ruin my life… or yours.”

“It wouldn’t take much, you know?”

I watched him closely, my chest tightening. “I know. But he’s not that person. I think… I think he’s hurt, not vengeful.”

He was quiet for a long beat, like he was testing my words in his head. Then he nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “Then I’ll trust him too. Because I trust you.”

“And if he ever does say anything,” I added quietly, “then we deal with it. Together.”

Declan reached for my face, brushing his knuckles along my cheekbone. “God, you make me want to believe that things can actually work out.”

I smiled. “We’ll make it work.”

Eventually, I tugged him up and into the chair beside me. He poured us each a glass of wine, and we began eating, the conversation lighter now, safer. He asked me about my exams, about what Cassie had been up to, and I asked him about a book he was reading.

Later, we moved to the couch. He pulled me into his arms, and I rested my head on his chest as his fingers drew circles on my back.

“I want to do this right,” he murmured into my hair.

“We both do,” I said.

Declan had turned down the lights, leaving only the soft flicker of the city outside the windows.

“I could fall asleep like this,” I murmured into his shoulder.

His arm tightened around me. “Don’t. Not yet. I need to talk to you about something.”

The weight in his voice pulled me back to alertness. I tilted my head up to look at him, searching his expression.

“I’ve been thinking about us,” he said slowly. “About how we move forward.”

I sat up a little, watching him carefully. “Okay.”

“I don’t want to keep you a secret forever,” he said, fingers brushing my wrist. “But I also don’t want to be the reason your academic career gets derailed. You worked too hard to get here.”

I exhaled. “I’ve been thinking about that too. About what happens after graduation.”

There was a pause before I added, “I don’t want anything to go wrong. So if we have to keep hiding for longer, so be it.”

His eyes searched mine. “No. We do that for some time. Quietly, for now. But we plan for something real.”

I nodded, my heart thudding. “We wait until I graduate, and then… we tell people. We stop hiding.”

“I’ll talk to the university board once you’re done. I won’t lie or let anyone else control the narrative. If I need to resign after that, I will.”

“No,” I said quickly. “I don’t want you to lose your job. Or your career.”

“I won’t,” he replied. “Not if we do this right. But I’m not afraid of the consequences, dove. I’m afraid of losing you.”

My throat tightened. “You won’t.”

He leaned in and kissed me gently. “I want a life with you,” he whispered against my lips. “The real kind.”

“Me too.”

“I’m going to marry you, Willow.” He said. He said it so softly I almost didn’t hear it. But I did. I felt a peace settle over my chest. But all it was, was the calm before the storm.