Chapter 61 Sixty One

Chapter 61 Sixty One
LUCAS

I had never realized how fragile love was until I almost lost it. I had always believed control was power—until I watched it slip through my fingers in the shape of Valerie.

The worst thing I had ever done wasn’t loving her. It was pretending I didn’t. For a man who prided himself on certainty, I had never been more afraid than when she said she was leaving.

When she collapsed into my arms, I knew with brutal clarity that I had nearly destroyed the only thing that had ever truly mattered to me.

The Castillo men were not supposed to beg. But I would have dropped to my knees if that was what it took to make her stay.

I had spent months fighting what I felt for her. In the end, it was the silence in her eyes that broke me.

It had been hours. Hours since I told her I loved her and begged her to stay. She had not said the words back. She had cried herself into sleep in my arms.

I had carried her to my room and sat there like a man guarding his last chance at redemption.

Her breathing was steady. Mine wasn’t. I hadn’t expected her to walk away so easily.

Yes, Vanessa had returned. The agreement that had started this entire mess had expired. But after one year and eight months… I thought there would be something, a tiny bit of… resistance.

Instead, she had looked at me like I was something temporary.

That terrified and hollowed me out.

She stirred slightly, lashes fluttering before her eyes opened. They found me immediately.

I passed her a soft smile and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Hey,” I said gently.

She parted her lips, but nothing came out. She just lay there, staring at me. No warmth. No softness. No smile.

Seconds passed. Then she looked away. Turned to the other side. Her eyes fixed on the ceiling, unfocused—until something shifted. Realization.

Her brows pulled together. Her eyes darted around the room. Then back to me.

I arched a brow slightly. She shot upright abruptly, pushing the duvet down just enough to glance at herself beneath it.

A low breath left her.

Relief.

My stomach dropped.

Did she think I took advantage of her or something?

The thought stung more than it should have.

“Valerie,” I called gently. She didn’t look at me.

“You think so low of me now?”

From where I sat, I felt her body stiffen.

“I would never touch you like that,” I continued, my voice firmer. “Not when you were vulnerable. Not when you already think I’ve hurt you enough.”

I rubbed my eyes and exhaled slowly. When I opened them again, she was fiddling with her nails, avoiding me. I placed my hand over hers.

She flinched. It was small. Almost invisible. But I saw it. And it crushed me.

She pulled her hand away.

“I never said you took advantage of me,” she said quietly.

“No,” I replied. “But you’re being self-conscious around me now. That tells me enough.”

Her lips pressed together.

“I brought you here because you went limp in my arms,” I said. “That’s all.”

“You could have taken me to my room instead.”

“And let you wake up alone thinking I regretted what I said?”

She finally looked at me. “I didn’t want a repeat of last time,” she continued, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it.

“I didn’t want to give you everything again and have you reduce it to nothing.”

There it was. The damage I caused. My chest tightened painfully.

I looked down briefly. The night I reduced her first time to something casual. Something disposable.

“You didn’t imagine it. I reduced it because I was still angry at your sister,” I admitted. “And instead of separating you from her, I let my pride poison us,” I said firmly.

“You called it a mistake.”

My jaw tightened. “I called it a mistake because I was afraid of how much it meant.”

She shook her head faintly. “You broke me that night.”

“I know.”

The admission was not easy.

“I broke you because I was still bleeding from your sister’s betrayal,” I continued. “And instead of healing, I punished you for staying.”

Her eyes shimmered.

“That wasn’t fair.”

“No,” I agreed. “It wasn’t.” I leaned closer.

“I am not asking you to trust me blindly. I am asking you to let me prove that I am no longer the man who hid behind pride.”

She searched my face.

I shifted closer to her. “Valerie… I am sorry.”

The words felt inadequate.

“I wronged you in ways no man should ever wrong a woman,” I continued. “I took something sacred and hid behind pride.”

I cradled her face gently and turned her toward me.

“What I said earlier… about not wanting you to leave—I meant every word. I didn’t ask you to stay for convenience. I choose you.”

Her eyes softened, but she said nothing.

“I understand your fear now,” I said quietly. “I understand why you doubt me. I understand why you think loving me might humiliate you again.”

Her lashes trembled.

“This time, there will be clarity. If I touch you, it will be because you want me to. If I kiss you, it will not be followed by silence.”

Her breath shook.

“I want to build something real with you,” I continued. “No contracts. No conditions. No comparisons.”

Her eyes glistened.

“I want you. Not because your sister left. Not because of a contract. Not because it’s convenient.”

My voice lowered.

“I want you because you are the only woman who stayed when everything fell apart.”

Her breath hitched.

“I am willing to earn your forgiveness,” I said. “And I will earn your love. Not by demanding it. But… by proving I deserve it.”

Her eyes glistened.

She didn’t say the words back. But she didn’t pull away either.

And for now, I accepted that as mercy.