Time after time

You'll be in my heart

Elle POV

When you grieve my beautiful Elle, look at a sunrise. There are a few wonderful things about watching a dark night quietly turn into a day. We see all the reflections of red, orange and pink appear before the sun itself blazing and full of promise appears. And carrying with it the promise of a new day! Promise me you'll remember the sunrise when you're experiencing heartbreak, the loss of a loved one, or when you have to let go of your dreams! And remember that you are in my heart forever! - Mom

I opened my eyes to see the glows of pink, yellow, and orange lighting up the horizon in front of me. Then, the bright sun appeared... it's the start of a new day! I expected to wake up sad and empty this morning. But, I felt warm and surrounded! That's when I realized that arms were keeping me warm and the smell of my mother's perfume was replaced by the smell of lemongrass?

I turned asleep to find also asleep next to me the person I never thought I'd find there...

- Noah?" I said softly.

His eyes opened immediately as if he wasn't sleeping very soundly.

- What are you doing here?" I said, still asleep.

He looked at me softly with sad eyes before raising his hand to caress my cheek and saying with misty eyes:

- Fix the biggest mistake of my life! I blame myself so much Elle for everything I've put you through in the last 2 days. But... I was afraid that I had pushed you to come to Boston with me and that in the end it wasn't what you wanted! I didn't want to be the one to stop you from thinking about yourself. When Chloe finally told me that you were coming to Harvard anyway, I hoped that maybe you would allow me to erase everything I told you the other day and that we could be us again?

I looked at him with surprised eyes before asking:

- I thought if I went to Boston, it wasn't with you?

- I said that Elle because I didn't want you to decide to always go to Harvard to save our relationship. I want you to do it for yourself! Is that really what you want, Elle? Coming to Harvard?" he asked, looking deep into my eyes as if trying to see deep into my soul.

- I will go with or without you? I want to go to medical school.

- OK! " He said, stroking my cheek. "Are you ready to go on this adventure with me then?"

Tears welled up in my cheeks! Yes, it's true that I was ready to go to Boston without Noah! But with the argument with Lee and the arrival of a new woman in my father's life, I was going to have to build a new life of my own! The prospect of building this life with Noah around the corner was much more interesting than being alone. I nodded at his question as tears rolled down my cheeks. Noah wiped them off before leaning in to kiss me and whispering in my ear:

- You're in my heart, Elle! I've got you under my skin and that's never going to change. I thought the other day that fighting for you meant taking me out of the equation, but now I never want to take myself out of the equation. My life is to be close to you!

I didn't say anything to him. I burst into tears pressed against his chest, letting out all the emotions of the last 2 days. When I finally calmed down, Noah asked me:

- Would you get a little more sleep, Elle? We could go back to bed for a few hours in our room.

- Sounds awesome! " I said with a slight smile.

- Come on! " He said as he lifted me up in his arms to carry me to our room.

After slipping me under the covers and lying down next to me, Noah placed a kiss on top of my head and started playing with my hair, which really has a way of making me sleepy. But, after the reality of the last two days, I needed to feel loved and wanted. I lifted my head to place a kiss on his lips and let my hands run down his body. A few minutes later, he whispered in my ear:

- Are you sure that's what you want, Elle?

- I need you to show how much you love me, Noah! " I asked him with imploring eyes.

- It will be my pleasure! " He said before reclaiming my mouth and body.

Passion and desire as well as affection and tenderness intersect in our relationship in a natural way, which has always made our intimacy meaningful. Noah did a great job of showing me how much he loved me at that very moment. Each of his caresses was filled with so much tenderness that I let myself enjoy them.

Several minutes later, pressed against Noah's chest, I listened to his heart return to its normal rhythm as our breathing also calmed down.

- Have I shown you how much I love you?" Noah asked, stroking my cheek.

- Yes, thank you! " I said with a smile before resting my head on his chest and letting sleep take me.

As I closed my eyes, I thought again of the words my mother said to me in her letter. Last night, alone on the terrace of the beach house, I felt completely alone, abandoned and misunderstood. And this morning, along with the sun, hope reappeared. Noah saw my sadness and loneliness, unlike my dad and Lee! There is great power in the words: I beg your forgiveness! This implies that I accept the effect I have had on you by making this choice or this action. I understood very well that in Noah's head, he was making the decision to break up for my sake even if his way of doing it was questionable. That is why I have not hesitated to forgive him today. I do understand, however, that our difficulties with Noah and I will not magically evaporate because we have made the choice to give each other one more chance. That we will have to work on our relationship and make the choice again and again to choose the other. Which will make sense of the promise we made to each other at the Dunes: I'm going to fight for you! That moving together to the other side of the country will also bring difficulties. But, I had no doubt the moment I closed my eyes, back in the arms of the love of my life, that this is what I want!

As I listened to Noah's breathing slow down, I whispered:

- You will always be in my heart too... I'm going to fight for us!