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"Seriously, sweetheart? You just went all Mike Tyson on that half-burnt son of a bitch. You can't be pullin' that type of shit in front of my men."
Her eyes started overflowing with tears. Negan continued in his cocky and assertive manner.
"Look, I know I made it crystal clear what would happen if you went against the rules. And sockin' my men is definitely against the goddamn rules. I don't wanna have to punish you after the shit you've been through, but my options are as thin as Dwight's dick right now."
She didn't care about a word he was saying. Her mind was stuck on Daryl. She was out here and he was in there. Seeing him in that state sent her into a spiral.
"What did you do to him?" Her voice faltered. Tears began to stream down her face. She pushed his chest, though he didn't budge. "What did you do?!"
"Careful, Grace." Negan warned.
A lethal mix of anguish and fatigue swamped her. Her hands balled up and she hit on his chest repeatedly, "you monster!" They were weak hits, but it was all she managed to get out while dying inside.
"Grace..." Negan sighed.
She continued and Negan still didn't budge. His face was blank and chin up. He just let her hit him. For sure a part of him felt guilty. So he was letting her get it out. It was the fucking least he could do.
It was clear he didn't want to hurt her. Hell, it was clear he felt bad for her. But there was no way in hell that he'd let people see his soft spot for her, not even his most trusted lieutenants, fearing it may make him look weak. But Grace was just completely run down. No matter how cold Negan could be, he wasn't fucking heartless.
He wrapped his big hands around her small fists to stop her. Their eyes met and Grace realized what she had just done. His jaw was clenched. He let her hands drop down to her sides.
"Are you done now?" Negan spoke like he was scolding a child, his voice low.
Panic washed over her immediately. How stupid could she be? She was going to get Daryl killed.
"Please don't kill him," she whimpered. "Please, Negan. I'll do anything you ask."
Negan stayed quiet for a moment. His eyes tightened, observing her. "I am really getting tired of explaining how shit works around here." He let out a breathy laugh. "You are somethin', sweetheart. I'm startin' to think you like pissin' me off."
"It won't happen again," she pleaded, wiping the moisture from her cheeks.
"Oh, I know it won't happen again."
That was it. She was convinced she had signed Daryl's death sentence. She hung her head, shoulders hunched with silent sobs.
"Hey," Negan cupped her cheek with his rough hand, guiding her to look at him through her watery eyes. Her lips quivered. "I won't kill him, Grace. Just...fuck, stop crying, baby."
"Dwight, he's gonna–"
"He won't. I will make fuckin' sure of it." Negan said firmly. "Daryl is strong as shit, you know that."
His soft, whiskey-coloured eyes stared at her like she was a lost gazelle, like they were begging to get through to her so she could see he's being genuine. For the first time, she didn't feel threatened by his presence. Her brows furrowed and she nodded in gratitude.
Negan pulled her into a hug, one hand on the back of her head and the other tight around her body. She was tense at first, but slowly melted into his hold, wrapping her arms around his body and letting herself mold into his leather jacket. The tears began to pour out of her and her body shook in sobs. Everything caught up to her and it was too much for her to handle.
The combination of exhaustion and emotional pain made her feel absolutely crazy, because now she was finding comfort sobbing into the arms of the man who caused this all.
"Fuck," she cried. "I wish you just killed me already."
It shocked Negan to see her release of emotions when he hugged her. How she just gave into him... how broken she must have been in that moment. He pulled his brows together and rested his chin on top of her head, feeling his own tears start to well up in his eyes.
"It's okay," Negan whispered against her hair.
He held her in his warm embrace for a few minutes until her sobs softly ceased. Grace pulled herself from his arms and spun around to leave the hallway without a word being spoken by either of them.
