“You make me treasure it,” he said. “Something I never imagined possible. You told me once that you found a passion for breathing when breathing was all you had. That your desire for revenge was a passion that kept you going. That’s what it felt like when you left. I breathed for you. For the one thing that mattered. And then I knew. That this was love. That it was worth anything to claim. That you were worth anything. That I would have to give you the choice to leave even though I wanted you to stay. That I would have to expose myself even though I feared what was inside me. Every wall inside me is broken down, for you. I would rather stand here with you, exposed and vulnerable, than spend the rest of my life protected without you.”
“Oh, Ferran…I’m so glad I chose you instead of prison.”
He laughed and her heart lifted. “I’m glad, too. It’s nice to be preferable to a dungeon.”
“You smiled,” she said.
“So did you,” he said.
“You give me so many reasons to smile.”
“And I promise to continue to, every day.”