I don’t bother responding to him, and he doesn’t wait for me either. Handing off the cane to one of his guards, he shoves his hands into the pockets of his sleep pants and walks up the stairs. At the top, he turns around, and his eyes are like knives driving into my still-beating heart.
“Try and escape again, and you won’t like what happens, Dove.”
I steal my spine and curl my lip. “You don’t own me.”
“Ha, but I do. I created you, which means I’m your god,” he says and disappears into the house. His men slowly filter out, and I remain sitting on the cold hard ground beside Zane, listening as his breaths turn from ragged to nothing but a wheeze.
“I’m sorry, Zane. I let you down. All over again, you saved me, and I let you down.” I tell him as I softly cry, the tears cling to my eyelashes, making it hard for me to see.
Out of nowhere, a hand cups me gently by the cheek, and Zane’s dark gaze bleeds into mine. “You didn’t let me down, birdy. I’d endure any pain and go through any beating just to make sure you don’t have to. It would kill me to see you broken and hurt. I know you wanted to protect me tonight, but you don’t have to. It’s my job to protect you, not the other way around.” And that’s when it hits me. The only way we’re going to make it out of this safe and sound is if I save us. Zane might hate what’s to come, but I’ll do anything I have to in order to protect him, the same way he’s protected me.
“Maybe I don’t want to be saved anymore. Maybe I need to be the one to do the saving,” I reply hoarsely.
There is something so pure, so heartwarming about the way he looks at me then. Like I’m his entire world, and he is the moon forever circling around me.
“That will never happen with me by your side. I was put on this earth to protect you, and I will do so until the moment I take my last breath.”
It’s then that I realize Zane’s love for me would always overshadow his choices. At any and all cost, he would choose to protect me. But I was done being the princess who needed protection. After watching him take a beating for me tonight, I will no longer play such a role. The future is mine, and I am going to be my own knight in shining armor.
11
Every muscle in my body aches, my back feels like it’s been run through a shredder, but I refuse to show the amount of pain I’m in. I refuse to let Matteo or Dove see me this way. It’s a weakness I cannot afford right now.
I did the right thing, taking the fallout for our failed attempt at escaping. I was stupid, careless in my planning, and I could’ve gotten Dove hurt in a way that I’d never be able to forgive myself for doing. Every strike of the cane, every burst of pain, was well deserved. Plus, if I had seen Dove take even one strike, it would have hurt me so much more. Maybe not physically, but mentally it would have been excruciating.
Stepping out of the shower, I dry off carefully. It’s been three days, and the skin on my back is starting to scab over. Not only does it still hurt, it fucking itches now too.
The bathroom door opens slightly, and Dove’s appears, looking inside like she is wondering what I’m doing in here, unsure if she is allowed to look. Instantly, my mood lightens.
“Let me help you,” she whispers, stepping into the room. She takes the towel from my hand and starts carefully dabbing at my back.
I’m so enthralled by the simple gesture—by her wanting to take care of me—that the pain just falls away as if it wasn’t there in the first place.
“Come, let me put some ointment on your back,” Dove says, tugging me to the bedroom.
I get on the bed and lie down on my stomach. Dove gets a first aid kit from the bathroom and sits down next to me on the bed. Turning toward her, I watch with fascination as she gets out a small tube from the bag. She puts some on a piece of gauze and starts to gently cover my injured skin with a thin layer. Dove isn’t even comparable to others. She’s unique, in scent, style, and just overall being the woman that I love.
“That feels nice,” I murmur.
“Is it not hurting still?”
“No, not right now. Your hands on me will always feel good, no matter why or how they are touching me.”
“So, you do like me taking care of you?” She raises an eyebrow, challenging me.