“Dad… had it removed.”
The words felt like shards of glass lodged in my throat. Voicing them was akin to detonating a bomb in the middle of a quiet room, and the ensuing silence enveloped us like a heavy shroud.
Roman’s voice softened, taking on a gentler tone. “With your consent?”
I shook my head violently, tears spilling over despite my desperate attempts to contain them. “No. I didn’t want it removed. I begged him, Roman. But he didn’t give me a choice.” My chest heaved, and I swiped angrily at the tears tracing down my cheeks. I loathed myself for being so vulnerable, for allowing the pain to linger even after all these years. “Looking back, maybe he was right. Perhaps what he did was for the best.”
Roman stepped closer, but I cut him off, my voice quivering. “I can’t talk about this anymore.”
I surged to my feet, rubbing my palms against my thighs as if I could scrub away the haunting memory. Turning toward the window, I grasped the sill, seeking stability. My reflection in the glass appeared pale and haunted, a mere specter of the girl I once was.
Behind me, I heard the soft sound of Roman’s footsteps crossing the room, and then his warmth enveloped me from behind, strong arms wrapping around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder, his breath fanning against my neck, stirring something deep within me.
“Your hair always smells incredible,” he murmured, his voice low and gravelly, his chest pressing firmly against my back. He inhaled deeply, as if trying to ground himself in my presence.
A shiver raced down my spine, and I instinctively tried to shrug him off, panic rising within me. “Roman, please stop.”
“Why?” he murmured, his grip tightening slightly, not forceful but resolute.
“Because I can’t even look at you right now.” My voice cracked, the weight of my confession hanging heavily between us. “Don’t you understand? I’m filthy. I’m a terrible person. I ruin lives and destroy families-mine included. I make jokes to cope, because otherwise, I’d drown in a pool of my own blood!” The words spilled out in a jagged rush, my chest heaving with emotion.
His response was quiet, almost a whisper. “Really? Then I suppose I’m rotten too.”
I blinked, taken aback. I turned in his embrace, searching his eyes for understanding. “What are you talking about? How can you be rotten when your life is so perfectly arranged?” My laughter was humorless, tinged with disbelief. “I have more skeletons in my closet than a politician-“
But before I could finish, his lips captured mine.
The kiss startled me, and my hands instinctively pressed against his chest, pushing lightly, resisting not because I didn’t want it, but because I was terrified of wanting it too much. I turned my head, trying to escape the moment.
“Roman, don’t,” I whispered against his lips, trembling.
“Why?” he asked again, his breath ragged, his eyes dark and unwavering.
“Didn’t you hear everything I just said? Aren’t you disgusted?”
“I heard it all.” His voice remained steady, unwavering. “And I don’t care.”
He kissed me again, this time slower, giving me the chance to pull away. My hands hovered against his chest, trembling… but I didn’t push him back.
“I don’t understand you,” I whispered when I finally broke away, shaking my head in disbelief.
“You don’t need to.” His thumb brushed away a stray tear clinging to my cheek, his gaze burning into mine, raw and unyielding. “You just need to accept that I want you. And I don’t care about what came before.”
His lips descended once more, and this time, I found myself unable to resist.
**Savannah**
His lips captured mine once more, but this time it wasn’t the force of desire that melted my defenses. No, it was the gentle softness, the undeniable care, and the warmth of his presence enveloping me, as if he were trying to breathe life into the shattered pieces I had buried so deeply within.
For years, I had constructed towering walls, built from shame and anger, convinced that if anyone were to witness the entirety of my being-my mistakes, my scars, the most unsightly chapters of my story-they would recoil in horror. Yet here stood Roman, kissing me as if he had spent a lifetime searching for me, as if I were the missing piece he had always needed.
“Roman…” I whispered, my voice trembling as he pulled back just enough for me to catch my breath. “I don’t know how to let you.”
His thumb brushed softly against my cheek, lingering on the tear he had caught before it could escape. His gaze burned into mine, filled with an intensity that made my heart race. “You don’t have to know how. Just feel me.”
Once more, his mouth found mine, this time with a deliberate slowness, coaxing me rather than demanding. My knees felt weak beneath the weight of his tenderness, and before I knew it, he scooped me up in his strong arms, carrying me to the bed as if I were the most delicate thing in the world.
He laid me down with the utmost care, and as his hands glided down my sides, a shiver coursed through me, but I didn’t dare stop him. There was no urgency in his touch, no sense of taking; instead, he was asking, silently and repeatedly, with every gentle caress… Can I?
When he slid my top upward, his lips followed in a warm, reverent trail. The brush of his mouth against my collarbone made my breath hitch, and by the time my top was discarded, I trembled with a mix of nerves and shame.
“I don’t want you to look at me,” I murmured, instinctively covering myself. “I’m not-“
Roman gently caught my wrists, kissing each palm as if they were sacred. “Savannah, I’m going to look at you. Every time. Every inch. And you’re going to see exactly what I see-the woman I desire. The woman I can’t walk away from.”
My throat constricted, but I let him lower my arms, permitting him to strip me bare under his unwavering gaze. In that moment, I didn’t feel like prey being scrutinized; I felt cherished, like something precious.
As his lips found my shoulder, then my chest, and continued their descent, it felt like a form of worship. He kissed every part of me, not shying away from the places I despised most. My stomach-the very spot where my painful memories resided-received his gentle attention. His mouth lingered there, soft and reverent, as if he were silently conveying, I love this part too. I love all of you.
I sobbed, and he drank in the sound, turning it into something beautiful.
**Roman**
She had no idea how stunning she truly was. Not in the way that truly mattered. Savannah believed she was ruined, tainted, unworthy. And that realization shattered something deep within me.
I longed to incinerate every lie she had ever been told, to erase each cruel word that had led her to doubt her worth. Since I couldn’t do that, I resolved to show her with my body what my words could never fully articulate.
Her trembling didn’t frighten me; it only made me gentler. I pressed kisses to her shoulders, her throat, her breasts, and when I reached her stomach, I lingered, aware that this was where she bore the weight of her deepest pain. I pressed my lips there and remained, my hand covering hers, holding it against the same spot.
“You are not filthy,” I whispered against her skin, pouring every ounce of sincerity into my words. “You are mine.”
She choked back a sob, and the sound nearly unraveled me.
When I finally settled above her, caging her with my arms, I met her wide eyes with my own. Yes, there was shame reflected in them, but also something more fragile and desperate-a flicker of belief struggling to ignite.
I kissed her again, moving slowly, deeply, until her lips softened and opened for me.
“Roman…” she breathed, almost as if the name were a prayer.
With a patience I didn’t know I possessed, I guided myself into her, inch by inch, until I was fully enveloped. Her gasp filled the room, her hands gripping my shoulders as if I were her anchor.
I remained still, my forehead pressed to hers, allowing her to breathe, reassuring her that I wasn’t going anywhere.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.