Chapter 6 - The Confession of the Groom
Eleanor was standing in the master bathroom, staring at her reflection. She had finally taken off the heavy ivory gown, slipping into a simple gray tracksuit she had packed for their honeymoon. The honeymoon they would never take.
She heard the bedroom door click open. Julian stepped inside, looking broken. His arm was in a sling, his face bruised, and his eyes completely shattered.
For a long moment, neither spoke. The air was thick with words unsaid, regrets too large to articulate.
Julian slowly sank to his knees, right there on the plush bedroom carpet. He bowed his head.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me,” Julian’s voice cracked. “I don't deserve it. I let my grief turn me into something vile. I thought I was avenging Clara. I thought... I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Eleanor leaned against the doorframe, tears welling up again. “You wanted to destroy me, Julian.”
“I wanted to destroy the person who hurt my sister,” he corrected, looking up at her, tears streaming down his face. “But every day I spent with you, Eleanor, it got harder. I fell in love with your kindness, your laugh, the way you fit into my family. I was fighting a war inside my own head. Half of me wanted vengeance, and the other half just wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Eleanor let out a shaky breath. “You scared me tonight, Julian. You looked at me with such hatred. I don’t know if I can ever forget that look.”
“I will spend every day of the rest of my life trying to erase that memory,” Julian pleaded, his voice raw. “I will go to therapy. I will move us away from here. I will do whatever it takes. Please, El. Please don’t let Henry take you away from me, too.”
Eleanor closed her eyes. The trauma of the night was overwhelming, but underneath it all, beneath the terror and the tears, the foundation of their love was still there. Bruised, battered, but real.
She walked over to him, dropping to her knees so they were eye-level. She gently reached out, her fingers brushing the unbruised side of his cheek.
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“We have a lot of work to do,” she whispered.
Julian practically collapsed into her arms, sobbing into her shoulder as she held him tight.
