Page 76 of Rebel Protector
“We’ll leave you to talk.” Pat nodded at her. “It was good to meet you, Becca. I’m sorry for all you went through, but it’s over now.”
“Thank you,” she replied, resisting the urge to add “sir.” He was just that kind of man.
Dom stood up and made to go.
“No, stay.” She reached out to him.
He hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Please.”
Confronting Damian alone was more than she could bear. Dom’s presence by her side gave her strength, and she was drawing on that right now. He made her feel like she could do anything. Confronting her demons was part of that.
He glanced at Thorn, who nodded, and sat down again.
Becca was confused. What did Thorn have to do with Damian? Sure, she’d been his bodyguard, but he’d survived the attack on his life. He must have done if he was here, ready to confront her. The private security contract was over.
It was then that she noticed the engagement ring on Thorn’s finger. It was enormous, beautiful and sparkly, but now that she’d noticed it, she couldn’t stop staring at it.
Surely not?
The others filed out of the hospital ward, and a second later, the door swung open, and in walked her ex-husband.
CHAPTER 30
“Hello, Rebecca,” Damian said as he walked in.
Becca blinked, her breath catching in her throat.
Rebecca.
No one had called her that in years. The way the name rolled off his tongue, so casual, so unaffected—it threw her off. She hadn’t expected Damian to sound so calm. She sure as hell didn’t feel calm. The name alone sent a surge of guilt, anxiety, and... something else. Panic, maybe? It had been a long time since she’d let anyone stir those feelings in her, and here he was, doing it effortlessly.
She stared at him, waiting for the surge of emotion to hit her, but it didn’t come—not in the way she’d expected.
Ten years ago, she’d walked out on him during their honeymoon and never looked back. She’d run away in the middle of the night, leaving nothing but a note—no explanations, no phone call, just silence. She hadn’t even stayed long enough to hear his response. The guilt had gnawed at her for years.
He was looking at her now with a faint smile, but she couldn’t shake the thought of how much she had hurt him. It had beenan awful thing to do, and she could only imagine what he’d gone through. He’d been in love with her, she knew that, but she’d been young and a mess, and she’d panicked. She hadn’t known what to do with herself, let alone with someone who genuinely cared about her.
Her mouth went dry. “Damian,” she whispered.
He looked good. Much better than she remembered. The husband she’d left behind had been tall, slim, and kind of nerdy-looking, with his slightly crooked glasses and tousled hair that always seemed one gust of wind away from chaos.
This man standing before her was...different.
Self-assured. Confident. His easy smile didn’t carry any of the uncertainty she remembered, and those crinkly eyes, like he laughed more often now, were nothing like the intense, brooding stares he used to give her. What a change from the man she’d married.
Becca expected a flood of emotions, something more than guilt, but instead, there was an overwhelming sadness that things had ended the way they had. The fondness she’d once felt for him was like a distant echo, hollowed out by time and her own decisions.
Yet, there was still that guilt.
How could she ever make it right?
“I’m sorry for leaving the way I did,” she blurted out, feeling the need to say something,anything, to break the silence. The apology felt raw, awkward, tumbling out before she could catch it. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
The vulnerability in her voice made her wince. She was supposed to be stronger now, but in front of Damian, she felt like that same scared, confused girl from a decade ago.
He walked over to the bed. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to say that I’m sorry too.” His voice was gentle, genuine. “I knowyour father pressured you into marrying me, and I’m sorry I took advantage of the situation.”