Chapter 48 I’ve Yearned For You
Will's P.O.V.
Finally, Iva is here, in my arms. God! I’ve waited for this moment for so long. Even if it’s only for a little while, I want to stop time and keep her here forever.
Whenever I hold her, I really feel like I’ve the entire world in my arms.
“I need to tell you something,” she says, finally looking better.
My chest tightens with fright. What if she runs away again? What if she says she can’t forgive me?
I can only nod. No word is coming out of my mouth. I’m terrified.
“I forgive you, Will.” As these words escape from her mouth, my eyes widen in surprise.
Has she really forgiven me?
Her words echo in my mind constantly. I’ve been dying to hear this for a month. I can’t believe that she finally forgave me.
Thank you, God.
“That night, after you kissed her… it hurt me so, so much, I thought I’d never forgive you.” She expresses herself, clutching my shirt.
I swallow hard at her words but stay quiet, letting her continue.
“It kept replaying in my mind. Your lips on hers, like it was burned into my skull. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. Every time I closed my eyes, it played again and again.” A tear slides down her cheek, and I wipe it gently with my thumb beneath her glasses.
A tear escapes my own eyes. Fuck. I hurt her so much. She’s still carrying this pain because of me. I feel so terrible.
“But even then… I never stopped loving you, Will. Even when you broke me. Even when I wanted to forget you… I couldn’t. I tried to pretend I’m strong. But God, Will…” She grabs my shirt, pulling me closer. “I’ve missed you like hell. Your care. Your voice. Your arms. Your love. Your wildness. Your kisses. Your punishment. I’ve missed us. Every piece of it.”
Fuck. I’m speechless. Deep down, I knew she has missed me as much as I have, but hearing it from her lips overwhelms me. I thought she would never forgive me. Maybe this accident was what it took to make her realise. And for that, I’m thanking God. Because it gave me my professor back.
I don’t say anything. I just gaze at her, my eyes gleaming with joy, and my lips are curved in a smile.
“And when the doctor called me and told me about your accident…” her voice trembles, “I thought I’d lost you forever. And in that second, all my anger vanished. There was only pain. Pain of losing you. And I just wanted you back.”
Tears roll down my cheeks. I can feel what she must have felt. The fear of losing someone you love the most is the worst.
I cup her face and softly wipe off her tears with my thumbs, my eyes fixed on her. “Thank you for giving me a second chance, Professor. It means a lot.”
After pulling her onto my lap, I close my eyes and inhale the scent of her hair. It’s heaven.
God, I’ve missed her so fucking much. Having her in my arms again feels unreal. And the fact that she’s finally letting me touch her… fuck, I don’t even have words for the kind of happiness I’m feeling right now.
She requests, “Don’t ever hurt me again.”
Her words pull me out of her fragrance.
“Not even in my dreams will I hurt you again,” I vow, running my hand gently through her hair, my eyes filled with honesty and love fixed on her face. “Because hurting you is hurting myself. And living without you is hell on earth.” Each word is a promise, sealed deep inside me, I’ll never hurt her again.
Not in this life. Not even in the next. Not in any lifetime where my soul finds hers again.
Because she is my treasure. And I’ll spend every breath proving it to her.
“I’ve missed you so much, Will.” She takes my face in her hands, gazing at me like she’s been craving this sight for ages and finally gets the chance.
That’s enough for me. I can’t hold back anymore.
I wrap my arms tightly around her waist and pull her even closer into my lap, until there’s no space left between us. I bury my face into the crook of her neck like it’s home, and the second I inhale her scent, I break. Completely.
“I haven’t just missed you,” I whisper against her skin, my voice shaking. “I’ve yearned for you like a starving man yearns for breath. Every second without you felt like I was dying.”
She moves her hands gently through my hair, calming me, and I can’t stop myself anymore. I place soft kisses along her neck, then move up to her face, kissing her everywhere I can reach.
After every kiss, I spill out of my shattered heart. “I’ve longed for the way you say my name.” I kiss her cheek. “The way your fingers fit between mine.” I entwine my hand with hers and press my lips on her knuckles. “The way you moan my name… the way you scold me when I don’t organise my room.” I peck her lips. “Your damn glasses. Your scent on my pillows. Your presence in every part of my house… I longed for you, Professor.” I kiss every inch of her face.
Still, I’m not getting enough of her.
My kisses trail from her neck to her collarbone. I don’t even care that we’re still in a hospital room. I just need her to feel it and to know how much I’ve missed her.
“I’ve yearned to wake up next to you… Hearing your sleepy voice in the morning. I’ve missed our morning kiss. I’ve missed your laugh, Professor. Fuck, I missed you so much.”
I can’t stop kissing her skin. My lips crave it after a month of torment. She grips my hair, holding me closer, soft moans slipping from her lips as she melts into my touch. There is a constant contented smile on her face, and it’s satisfying my soul.
I’m so thankful to her for giving me a second chance.
“I counted every fucking second without you,” I murmur against her skin. “Every moment felt like punishment. Nothing felt real without you.”
Her breath becomes heavy when I keep kissing her slowly, dragging my tongue along her collarbone as the words pour out of me. This is the truth, my heart has been screaming for weeks.
“You’re my everything, Iva. You’re not just the love of my life, you’re the air I breathe. And I swear, I will never take that for granted again. I will always trust you. I will always trust us. I promise.”
When I finally lift my head, her eyes are moist with tears. But this time, the tears are not of pain.
They’re of love. Of healing. Of us finding our way back to each other.
Even though I was suffering, thinking that I would never get her back, deep inside, I knew that we'd find a way back to each other because I knew we're meant for each other.
She cups my face with both hands, and our eyes lock.
I brush her face. “Damn, your eyes behind those specs… so beautiful.”
Everything about her feels surreal right now, like I’m holding a memory I replayed a thousand times just to survive without her.
And now she’s here.
Real. Completely mine.
I move closer to her lips and my warm breath brushes against them, making her shiver. “I’ve missed your submissive look.” My fingers tuck her hair behind her ear. “The way you gaze at me under your glasses… like you wanted to surrender yourself to me completely. Fuck!”
Her breath quickens at my words, and her hand slips down to clutch the fabric of my hospital gown, pulling me closer. “I’ve missed that version of me too. The one who melted under your voice. The one who stopped thinking when you touched me.”
Her hand slides down to my chest and rests right over my heart. “I’ve missed how you controlled me without even touching me. Your eyes… your tone… the way you took your time, like you already knew I was yours.”
I swallow hard, forcing myself to stay still, to breathe her in, to feel every second of this moment.
“I’ve missed your dominance.”
Her glasses slip slightly down her nose as she looks up at me again, and that look, that submissive look hits me hard. It reminds me of every memory we ever shared and every moment I’ve craved since she left.
That’s enough for me.
She wants this. I want this.
Why the fuck should we wait any longer?
“Stand up and lock the door, Professor,” I command.