Sorry, I made you love me
a Thomas Shelby x reader series
Previous - Part 26 (you are here!) - Part 27 (coming soon)
Tags + notes: arranged marriage, contract marriage, slow burn (like really), fluff, reader gets headaches from cigarette and cigar smoke, disliking Grace, reader is in her early 20s, language, around season 2 (sorta I'm mingling the timelines a lil), also Freddie stays alive and well (John as well, no one dies from the Shelby's, okay????), also Finn is like 14 turning 15 soon, just to make him a lil older than he was in season 1, so reader calls him Finn Finn which annoys lil teen him lol, so I'll probably update the previous parts a tiny bit, reader doesn't want kids, mutual pining, angst (maybe, probably), reader is a lil jealous, kidnapping, mentions of blood and throwing up, just let me know if I'm forgetting any tags
(Y/N) : your name
(L/N) : your last name
(E/C) : eye color
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As evening fell, you started getting yourself ready for your dinner date. Frances put the finishing touches on your hair and she smiled at you in the mirror.
“You look beautiful, Miss.”
You smiled back at her, “Thank you Frances, you did wonderful work.”
A knock resounded throughout your bedroom and both you and the housekeeper faced the door. You felt so giddy you sprang up from your seat and walked towards your bedroom door in a quickened pace.
“Mrs. Shelby! Please be careful, you’ve had a nasty fall today,” Frances said worriedly.
You smiled at her apologetically before opening the door. You were met with a very handsome Thomas Shelby, who's eyes settled on your face. “Ready?” he asked.
You were so excited, you lifted the hem of your dress and did a small twirl in front of him, “What do you think?” you smiled brightly.
It was contagious, as Tommy couldn’t help but smile back at you, “You’re beautiful, (Y/N),” and took your hand placing a small kiss on it. Which made you blush of course. You had asked Thomas to pick you up at your door, because well, you wanted the (almost) full experience of being taken out for a first date.
You turned back to the housekeeper, “Have an early night, Frances!”
She nodded politely, “Enjoy your dinner Mr. and Mrs. Shelby.”
Thomas drove you to a fine establishment right outside of Birmingham. When you walked inside, live jazz played throughout the restaurant and the chandeliers were all lit, giving the place a soft sunset glow. You were both led towards your seats, a smaller round table where you had to sit a bit closer together.
While he was perusing his menu, you glanced at him from behind yours. Tommy of course, noticed, “What is it?”
“You look very handsome,” you said and put the menu in front of your face, feeling shy after giving him a compliment.
Thomas smiled, wondering if the night will go as he planned.
Because what you didn’t know is that Thomas was going to confess his feelings to you in a proper way. Because he didn’t want to leave it up to chance as he was growing more and more certain of his feelings that he wanted you to stay. Spending the past months with you gave him purpose, brought warmth and happiness, and all of it resulted in love. It’s what he wanted to tell you this morning, when you asked what about the deal you both had; that you shouldn’t divorce after thirteen months. Tommy wanted to tell you that both of you should just burn the contract of your fake marriage and actually start a real life together. And he hoped it’s what you wanted as well.
After you both ordered you excused yourself to go to the bathroom. Tommy looked at your disappearing frame and he checked his inner pocket, making sure the small ring box was still in place. A ring he had gotten for you to ask you for your hand out of love this time. Not though a business deal, on some papers.
If he had the knowledge he would meet you in his life; then Thomas would have gone and found you much earlier himself. You became a point of light in his life, so he would never be lost again.
On your wedding night you saved him from the shovels against the wall and the other night terrors keeping him awake. You saved him from the coppers on another night, from making a mistake by falling for Grace. And he wanted to keep you safe. Cherish you, love you, as a loving and devoted husband would.
Just as he was thinking you were staying away for quite a while, a waiter walked up to him.
“Mr. Shelby, there’s a call waiting for you.”
As he followed the waiter behind a reception desk of sorts, Thomas raised the phone to his ear.
The frantic and wailing voice of Polly shook him to his core. The police came and took Michael. Arthur had been taken too and Billy Kitchen was dead.
Shit.
His first thought was that Campbell didn’t keep his end of the deal once again.
His pulse quickened and his jaw tightened. Thankfully he remembered where he was, so he wouldn’t throw the phone down and start cursing. So, he decided to take you with him and try and fix all of this. Thomas knew you’d understand, after all, Arthur was like a brother to you already as well.
Except where were you?
He hastily walked over to the corridor where the bathrooms were situated. Tommy stopped in his tracks when he saw something glistening on the floor. He knelt down and saw some blood droplets as well. It was your bracelet he picked up and it made his own blood run cold. His hand tightened around it into a fist until his knuckles turned white while he hastily stood up and ran through the end of the corridor and opened the back door.
Once outside he glanced around the empty street, only a car could be heard driving off somewhere already too far to know where it went. Thomas frantically looked anywhere at anything, searching for any possible clue that could lead him to you. His head swirled and the shovels became louder again. A high-pitched ringing resounded throughout his ears. He covered his ears and droplets of sweat formed on his forehead. And suddenly it felt as if he was buried by rubble. Thomas clenched his jaw and grunted loudly.
“F***. F***. F***!!!”
The night had not gone like planned after all.
Sabini’s men had surprised you after you came out of the bathroom stall earlier. A man in a hat asked what time it was and while all you could think of was Tommy waiting for you in that moment, you didn’t realize the danger you were in. Then another man suddenly grabbed your hands from behind and twisted them around your back. Not before you scratched him in a panic though and headbutted the other one in his face which made his nose bleed. The blood dripped to the floor and he cursed in Italian, which is how you figured they must be Sabini’s men. But before you could scream, they put a cloth dabbed with some liquid to your face which made you pass out. What they didn’t notice though was that your bracelet had come undone and fell to ground as they dragged you out of the restaurant.
You regained consciousness a few hours later, because of the bumpy road which made the car shake and rumble, making you throw up.
Both men cursed in Italian and as they drove off to the side of the road and dragged you out of the car and threw you on the ground. They started fussing over their back seats and you realized your hands and feet had been tied, which made you lie on the ground your whole body hurting from being handled and because of your earlier fall.
A shiver ran down your spine when you started coming to your senses. Fear was taking over your entire body and you cursed yourself inside your mind, angry that you didn't worry about your surroundings. Feeling guilty you wanted to have dinner today. Your mind was racing but it quickly settled on Tommy. Was he worried? Would he save you? You tried not to think too negatively. His words he had told you the second day you met came to mind.
“I promise to protect you”
Tears formed in your eyes, and you begged God in that moment if you were allowed to hope. That it was not misplaced. That you would see him again. And your eyes closed as you felt yourself pass out again. The last thing you heard were the footsteps of your captors getting closer to you again and thinking, "I wish I had gotten the chance to tell you I love you, Thomas."
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Next (coming soon)
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