Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
My chest tightens, and I take a step closer, my frustration matching his now. “I’m not shutting it down? What do you want from me? I told you—I blocked him. I’ve done everything I can.”
“Everything except throw that shit in the trash where it belongs,” Archer snaps, nodding toward the flowers. “But no, you’re letting it sit there like it’s not a reminder of him trying to pull you back to your old life.”
I stare at the flowers, the ones I didn’t throw out immediately, and the weight of Archer’s words sinks in. He’s right. The gifts, the messages—they’re still sitting here, still taking up space. Space that should be his.
I let out a frustrated breath, my shoulders sagging. “I don’t want to go back. I’ll never go back to my old life. But it’s not that simple. My family… they’re involved now, and it’s just—it’s complicated.” I frown. “I hate the idea of shutting them out forever, but I’m so angry that they gave David my new address.”
“Fucking complicated,” Archer repeats, and there’s a hard edge to his voice now, one I haven’t heard before. “Bella, nothing’s complicated unless you make it that way. You either want to be here, with me, or you don’t.”
His words hit me hard, like they’re shaking me awake. He’s not wrong. But that doesn’t make it any easier to confront.
I rub a hand over my face, feeling the weight of everything crashing down on me. “It’s not you, Archer. It’s me. I’ve been stuck between these two lives for so long, what I want and what is, I don’t even know how to separate them anymore.”
He steps forward, closing the space between us, his voice low but firm. “I’m not asking for much, Bella. Just for you to be here. With me. Fully.”
The rawness in his voice twists something deep inside me, and I can feel the pull between us, stronger now than ever. But the fear, the doubt, it’s all still there, lurking beneath the surface.
“I want to be here,” I whisper, my voice barely steady. “But I don’t know if I’m enough for this life. For you.”
Archer’s eyes soften, but the intensity never fades. He reaches out, his hand brushing against my arm, sending a shiver through me. “You’re enough, Bella. You’ve always been enough. But you’ve got to stop letting him control you. Because I’m not gonna stand here and watch you get dragged back into something that’s only gonna break you.”
His words wrap around me, raw and honest, and I can feel the weight of them pressing against my chest. He’s asking me to make a choice, a real one this time. And I don’t know if I’m ready for that.
But the truth is, I can’t keep living in this limbo. Not if I want this with Archer to work. Not if I want to move forward. I’ve never been very good at relationships, relinquishing control has always been hard for me, but the way Archer takes care of me and seems to read my mind before I’ve even said anything…for the first time it makes me want more. With him.
I take a deep breath and step back, grabbing the flowers from the table, and without a second thought, I toss them into the trash, the vase crashing against the bin with a loud thud.
Archer watches me, his eyes narrowing slightly, but there’s a flicker of something there—something like relief.
“There,” I say, my voice steadier now. “Gone. But that doesn’t mean my family’s going to stop. They’ve always thought I was better off in the city.”
“They’re not living your life, Bella. You are,” Archer says, stepping closer, his hand resting on my lower back, pulling me in. “So stop living it for them.”
I meet his gaze, the intensity of it overwhelming, and for the first time, I feel like maybe I can let go of the fear, the doubt. Maybe I can actually choose this. Choose him.
“I’m trying,” I whisper, my voice shaky but real.
Archer leans in, his breath warm against my ear. “Stop trying and just do it.”
The heat between us flares again, like it always does, but this time it feels different—deeper, more raw. I reach up, my hands curling into his shirt, pulling him closer until our lips are just a breath away.
“I’m all in,” I murmur, and the second the words leave my mouth, Archer’s lips crash down on mine, claiming me in a way that makes everything else fall away.
The kiss is rough, desperate, like he’s been waiting for me to finally say those words. I lose myself in it, in him, in the way his hands grip my waist, pulling me against him like he can’t get enough.
And maybe that’s exactly what I need right now—to stop thinking, stop doubting, and just feel. To let Archer remind me of what’s real, what’s right in front of me.