he didnt believe he was capable of love , all he’d ever been good for were nights steeped in sin , fleeting company whose names dissolved from tip of tongue with dawn . livelihood a ledger of transactions and long hours , devotion poured only into work that hollowed him out in return . for that , he found another crime to lay at his father’s feet , man who’d bred into him to guard family fortune by any means possible , and that he did . family empire had been handed to him as both gift and burden , from his perch above the city , where clouds brushed the windows of his office , he sometimes felt as though he too floated somewhere distant , isolated . then she walked in , and the skyline bloomed to life , air itself seemed to pulse with vivid color . he remembers those late nights , her smile , her laughter . he’d wanted to give her everything , the world , the stars , perhaps even the pieces of himself he’d long kept buried . he didn't believe he was capable of love , not until she appeared . she drew out the softness he didn’t know lingered beneath armor , made him feel human again — and he loved her for it . ‘ you dont mean that , baby . come on , your upset and i understand but you dont mean that . ’ hands trail from the delicate line of her jaw down to cradle of her hips , where they settle with a tremor of need , firm , pleading , as though the very world would dissolve should he dare let her go . ‘ that's bullshit . the only person i know how to love is you , it's always been you , erin . i dont give a fuck about anyone else , you're the one i want to marry , not megan , not fucking olivia . dont say those things . ’ his voice comes low , edged with quiet authority . his gaze never strays , as though he could carve the truth of his words into her very soul . he would whisper it , brand it into her beating vessel until she believed once more , because he meant every breath of it . ‘ let's go home . ’ hand moves with quiet intent , stealing her purse from her grasp , fingers curling around the worn leather as he claims its weight for his own . ‘ just come home , let's not fight a second longer . can we do that , baby ? ’