PATIENT LOVE

Chapter twenty-two

I wipe a fallen tear from my cheek and smile. I feel so relieved, so light, like all the weight from my resentment towards Roman had vanished. He no longer had a hold on me. He made many mistakes but that is all part of life and they say you can learn a lot from your mistakes when you aren't busy denying them and I hope with all the care I have in my heart for Roman that he learns. If he's able to change from this then I'm happy even with that fact that I got burned in the process.

My thoughts of Roman end when I hear a knock at the door. I walk over, not even checking the peephole, and I open the door to see Harry with his hands in his pockets.

"Harry, I thought you went home."

"No. I waited in my car." He says. "I saw Roman leave. Can I come in?" I nod slowly, stepping aside to let him enter.

"What happened with Roman?"

"I cleaned the blood and we had a heart-to-heart." I say with my arms crossed at my chest. He just stares at me, wanting me to continue.

"And he realizes that there can be no 'us', so he's going to move on and be better, learn from his mistakes, hopefully." I say quietly. "That's what he wanted to come to me about."

"Oh," he says, not really sure what to say.

"I've also learned from my mistakes also, Harry," I say and his eyes snap to mine.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything we did. You, cheating on Jessica and I allowed you to even when I knew about her." I shake my head.

"You think that was a mistake?"

"Obviously it was! Because look at where we're at? We're nowhere and you're still getting married to her."

"No, I'm not Madelyn." He says and I go silent, my eyes go wide.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not marrying her because I l-" he starts.

"Don't you finish that sentence, Harry!" I shout.

"No, let me finish Madelyn." He moves close to me quickly before I can move from his grasp.

"You once told me you liked the idea of being the reason for someone's happiness and Madelyn, you are my happiness." He whispers, his glistening eyes never leaving my face.

"I don't want to marry her. I thought I loved her but I was wrong. Jessica and I haven't been in love for so long, even before me and you crossed paths again, but I stayed with her because I thought it was what I was supposed to do. To be the good man, marry my high school sweet heart, but I was miserable. She wasn't the same girl when we started off our relationship. She changed and I even thought that with an engagement she'd come back because we used to speak of the future and of kids... but even that wasn't enough, but I realize now that she was just a step, course in my life that I needed to take that would lead me to you because you're the one for me, Madelyn Clarke, only you."

"What?" I pathetically say.

"I'm trying to say that I love you. I love your smile, your heart, your laugh, and your big gorgeous hazel eyes that leave me breathless almost every time I look into them. I love your attitude and your mind, I constantly find myself wondering what goes on in there. There are moments where I can't even tear my eyes from you because of how captivated I am by you. I love your lips, I love how your eyes almost close when you laugh and how beautiful you are inside and out, I love the way you look at me, the way you touch me, I love how excited you get about planning a wedding and making someone's dream day come true. I can go on forever Madelyn. I love everything about you and I know that for a fact, I can feel it deep in my bones that I was meant to love you. I am completely yours."

I take in everything and certain words stick to me. Tears leak from my eyes. Harry loves me. Harry loves me. I repeat. My eyes haven't left his once and I notice how his eyes are glistening with tears of his own.

"Please don't cry, say something." He begs and a few tears make their way down his cheek and I'm broken from my state of shock.

"You're such an idiot," I breathe as I then cup his face and kiss him. He wraps his arms around my waist and brings me in tighter towards him. His breaths are shaky from all the emotion he just poured into his speech and from how our lips melt together.

"I'm an idiot?" he smiles a teary smile.

"Yes, my idiot. I love you so much, Harry," I cry and he wipes my tears away.

"You don't know how happy that makes me to hear you say that Madelyn," he says. My face is now buried in his chest and his in my hair. I feel him kiss the top of my head and I pull back. His fingers cup the back of my neck to bring my face to his again. "I love you," I breathe one more time as we pull back.

"Yes!" he says and puts his hand up as if in victory. We both break into fits of laughter, only breaking the laugh to kiss each other. He picks me up and spins around with me in his arms.

Our laughter fills the apartment and I've never felt more content.

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AN: short but he loves her aw

Hadelyn <3

-RM