Chapter 301: His… All His

Holly’s POV

I pulled back just enough to look at him, my hands still fisted in his shirt like I was scared he’d disappear if I let go.

My face was a mess…tears, snot, the works…but I didn’t care. “Then tell me,” I whispered. “Right now. No more hiding. Was any of it real at all? The moments we shared?”

David’s shoulders slumped. He looked like he’d aged ten years in ten seconds. “Damn Holly. Of course!… Sit down, please. I’ll tell you all you need to know.”

I let him guide me to the couch. My legs felt like jelly anyway. He sat beside me, close enough that our knees touched, and for a long minute he just stared at the floor, jaw working like the words were fighting to stay inside him. Then he started talking. Low, steady at first, but cracking more with every sentence.

He told me everything.

How Rachel had cornered him weeks ago, threatening to drag up every dirty secret if he didn’t help her finish what he started with her parents.

How he owed her family…big time…because of stuff from the past. How he’d pretended to be into me on purpose, faked the whole “I’m crazy about you” thing just to get close enough to reach Ava through me. How he was supposed to use me like a pawn, feed info back, settle the score, and walk away clean.

But then… he fell. Hard. For real. For me.

I sat there the whole time, quiet, hands in my lap, letting him pour it all out. My stomach twisted with every word, but I didn’t interrupt. I just listened while the man I loved ripped himself open in front of me.

When he finally got to the part about still owing the Jamesons, about wanting to work for them again even after everything, I couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

“What exactly do you owe them, David?” My voice came out sharper than I meant. “The same people who put you in jail? Do you even know what it took for me to beg Ava and Orion to help bail you out the last time? I got on my knees for that, literally. And now you want to crawl back to them? What the hell do they have on you that’s worth all this?”

He gulped so hard I heard it. His voice trembled just a little when he answered. “You won’t understand. It’s… complicated.”

I almost laughed, except nothing about this was funny. “Lucky for you, I’m a damn good listener. And it’s the weekend. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

He hesitated, rubbing his palms on his thighs like they were sweaty. “Holly, it’s messy. I don’t want you tangled up in any of this. I can handle it. I will handle it.”

“No.” I shook my head, reaching over to grab his hand. “I’d like to know what it is. All of it.”

He looked at me for a long beat, eyes searching mine like he was waiting for me to change my mind. When I didn’t, he let out this shaky breath and opened the floodgates for real.

He told me about his family’s secret..the one that had eaten him alive for years.

His mom finding out about his dad’s mistress and the secret son, then committing suicide from the heartbreak.

His dad bringing the mistress and that son home the very same day they buried his mother. That son is Justin.

He told me how years later, Justin turned into a serial killer. His own mother…Justin’s mom…finding out, collapsing from the shock. His dad was wasting away in an elderly home with amnesia, convinced David was the killer. And Justin? Blaming David for destroying their whole family, while also believing David was the real monster, not him.

By the time he finished, my chest felt like someone had parked a truck on it. I was crying full waterworks, ugly sobs that shook my whole body.

My heart ached so bad for him…for the little boy who lost his mom that way, for the man who’d been carrying this nightmare alone, protecting a brother who didn’t deserve it, for the years he’d spent cleaning up messes that weren’t even his.

David reached over and wiped my tears with his thumbs, gentle, like I was made of glass. “Stop crying, baby. You’re making me feel pathetic.”

I sniffed hard, hiccuping through the tears. “I don’t care. I’ll help you. No matter what it takes. Whatever role you want me to play in all this…bait, pawn, backup, whatever…I’ll do it. Willingly. Just let me help.”

He shook his head fast, eyes wide. “No. I want to end this as fast as possible. You have no idea how badly I wanted to use you at first. Get to Ava, settle the score with the Jamesons, be done. They’ve got all those buried reports linking straight to Justin. Once it’s out—”

I cut him off, voice fierce. “Then let them bring it out. How long are you going to keep covering for Justin? For what? Does he deserve it? Let Rachel do whatever she wants. In fact, this time I’ll be the one teaching that bitch a lesson for messing with my sweet brother-in-law Orion.”

He stopped mid-breath, staring at me like I’d grown a second head. Then a tiny, tired smile tugged at his mouth. “Speaking of which… you always remind me of someone. But I don’t know how to say it without hurting you.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Is it an ex-lover?”

“No…” He rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks actually flushing a little. “Just someone I used to have um… sex with at—”

He didn’t finish as I interrupted him with a chuckle, the sound surprising even me after all the crying. “You know, I’ve forgotten about that. You mean Candy, right?”

His eyes went huge. Like cartoon huge. “Huh? How did you…? No way… you are? Really? No way!”

The words tumbled out all at once, shock and disbelief mixing with something that looked a whole lot like dawning horror and disbelief.

I laughed for real this time, the kind that bubbles up from your belly. “Yea, sir. I am Candy.” I grinned, wiping the last of my tears. “I’ve been crazy about you for the longest time, David. You were playing hard to get from the moment I came here… so I stooped low and fucked you as Candy.”

He just sat there, mouth open, blinking like his brain had short-circuited. “No way.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow, feeling that old spark light up inside me…the fun, reckless one that had started all this mess in the first place. “Well, let me remind you.”

Before he could say another word, I swung my leg over and climbed right into his lap, knees on either side of his hips. I settled in, cradling him, my hands on his shoulders. He was warm and solid under me, and God, it felt right.

I leaned in slowly, pressed my lips to his neck, and kissed him the exact way I knew drove him wild…soft at first, then with a little teeth, sucking just hard enough to leave marks he’d have to explain tomorrow. He groaned deep in his chest, hands flying to my waist, gripping tight like he couldn’t decide whether to pull me closer or push me away.

“Holly…this is not the time,” he rasped, even as his fingers dug in. “I just confessed I was going to use you like a pawn—”

“I don’t care,” I whispered against his skin, nipping again. “Do you love me?”

“Yes,” he said instantly, voice rough. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”

“That’s all that matters,” I replied softly.

And just like that, I showed him exactly how I was still the same girl who’d once been Candy…bold, hungry, and completely gone for him.

My hips rolled against his, my mouth found that spot under his ear that always made him curse, and I felt him give in, arms wrapping around me like he never wanted to let go.

Whatever storm was coming with Rachel and the Jamesons and Justin’s ghosts… it could wait.

Right now, in this messy, beautiful, ridiculous moment, he was mine.

And I was all his, right from the moment he saved me years ago.