*Isabella's POV*
Some days later, we were walking around the city, the afternoon sun warm on our faces. Every corner we turned was a marvelous sight for sore eyes. A blur of yellow cabs, towering skyscrapers that scraped a brilliant blue sky, it was a fucking sensory overload, and I loved it.
"I love when you smile like that," Jacob said, his voice a low murmur beside me. He was walking with a slight, almost unnoticeable limp, a constant reminder of how close we'd come to losing this, but his spirits were high.
"Well, this city is fucking amazing," I replied, my head tilted back to take in a massive billboard flashing across a building. "I'm marveling."
"So you're a big city kind of girl," he commented, a smirk in his voice.
"Well, you can't blame a girl for liking big things," I said with a smirk of my own, turning to look at him. He was watching me with an intensity that made my stomach do a little flip.
"You know," he said, his tone shifting, becoming more serious. "You can stay here for good." The words caught me completely off guard. "Just pick a department and you're hired. You've already picked your side in my bed," he added with a wink.
"Jacob!" I said, shaking my head. "It's not only work that keeps me in Raleigh and you know it. I have school. University is the reason I moved there in the first place."
"Oh yes, I forgot," he said, and to my surprise, a faint blush crept up his neck. He looked almost embarrassed for a second. It was a rare, endearing sight.
"Well, the offer still stands after graduation," he said, recovering his composure. "Until then, I'll come to Raleigh and work there." He said it so casually, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Will you be allowed to leave the state?" I asked, a knot of anxiety tightening in my stomach.
"My lawyer says yes," he said, and I felt my heart do a little flip. "In ten days or so, I should be free to go wherever I please."
"But I need to leave in two," I said nervously, hating that I was the one putting a stop to this, to us. "I hope you understand. School will start, and I need to be there."
"I knew you'd leave me," he said, his face falling into a dramatic pout. "I'm physically impaired and you want to abandon me," he added.
"Hey," I said, rolling my eyes. "Says the guy who dressed himself this morning and made pancakes. Stop being such a drama queen."
He chuckled, a low, warm sound. "Can you blame a guy for trying?" he said, pulling me into a kiss, a quick, possessive peck of his lips against mine right there on the crowded sidewalk.
"I'll let you go this time," he said when he pulled back, his forehead resting against mine. "Because I know school is important to you."
"You damn right it is," I said, "More than you, more than anyone."
"That's my little ice Queen," he said with a smirk, his eyes twinkling. "But the way you melt under me... like butter under a hot knife."
"Did you just compare yourself to a hot knife?" I teased, trying to deflect. "Don't give yourself false hopes." I paused, a mischievous glint in my eye. "I'm just an Ice Queen with a high sex drive," I added.
"If I didn't know you, I wouldn't believe that," he said, his gaze darkening, becoming more intense. "But then again... I was able to melt you. I melted you," he said, his voice a low, confident rumble that made me suddenly, deeply nervous.
Two days later, I was standing with Jacob in front of his fucking private plane, the engines a low, powerful hum that vibrated through my shoes. He could barely keep his lips off mine, stealing quick, desperate kisses between whispered promises.
"One week and I'll be there, okay?" he said, his voice low and intense, once he finally pulled back for a proper breath. His eyes were locked on mine, a storm of emotions swirling in their depths.
"Wow, No pouting and begging anymore," I teased, trying to lighten the heavy, suffocating feeling that was settling in my chest. I needed to get away from him, from this, before I lost my nerve completely.
"I'm strong," he said, trying for a brave face that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll be strong for you, babe." He managed a weak smile, and I giggled, a sound that felt fake even to my own ears.
"I'm not going to war, you know," I said, my voice softer now. I leaned in and kissed him one more time, a slow, deep kiss that tasted of goodbye and regret. "Just to school." Then, before I could change my mind, I turned and boarded the plane, not looking back.
As the plane ascended, cutting through the clouds, a lump formed in my throat that I couldn't swallow. I slept with Jacob and hurt Damien by doing it. Again. There's no bigger pain than the pain you provoke in someone you love.
The guilt was a physical weight, pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. I know I have to cut things off with them, and soon. But I can't. The selfish, fucked-up truth is that I want them both. Maybe Jacob can live in Raleigh permanently. But the way they treat each other... fuck. This is a disaster. I feel trapped, trapped in a relationship that was doomed from the fucking start. I should just woman up and break up with them. Both of them.
When I landed, it was already dark. As I walked through the nearly empty airport, I could see what looked like a limo waiting outside, a sleek, black shape against the tarmac, and a person standing in front of it. How strange. I walked up to it, my heart starting to thud with a nervous, familiar rhythm, to find that it was Damien.
"Damien," I said, my voice small and surprised. "I didn't expect you here." I clutched my bag, a nervous anchor in a sea of sudden uncertainty.
"I missed you," he said, his voice a low rumble that did things to me it shouldn't. He closed the distance between us and planted a soft, possessive kiss on my forehead.
"Me too," I whispered, my defenses crumbling.
With that, he snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me flush against him, causing me to drop my bag with a soft thud. He claimed my lips in a hungry, dominating kiss, a kiss that claimed ownership and left no room for doubt.
"Did you decide to come and wait for me so I won't find you again with Mrs. Short Skirts leaning over you in your study?" I asked when I finally came up for air, a knowing, teasing look in my eyes.
"Are you trying to be funny, because I'm not laughing," he said, his voice flat, his eyes serious.
I giggled, a nervous, fluttery sound. "What? It's a legit question."
"What I find funny," he said, his gaze boring into mine, "is that you know that I love you, and you think I'll fuck this up." The words hit me with the force of a physical blow, catching me completely off guard. Panic and nervousness arose within me...
"Do you want me to swear it for you?" he went on, his voice dropping even lower, becoming a raw, intense sound.
Before I could even process a single thought, he got on his fucking knees on the grimy airport floor, right there in front of God and everyone, and put his hand over his heart.
"I would never ever touch another woman but you," he said, his voice ringing with a sincerity that was terrifying in its intensity. "Not ever, in my life, Isabella."