He stops in front of me, grabbing my face with a firm grip. “Because I’m not going to watch you self-destruct. I’m not going to watch you fall in love with another man. I’m not going to watch you be a mom to a child that’s not mine. You want the perfect proposal and the perfect wedding. But I just want you. Since the day we met, it’s been that simple for me. And I’ll take you with the souls of a million lives woven into yours. I’ll listen when you need me to listen, I’ll protect you when you’re scared, I’ll be whatever or whomever you need me to be … but I won’t be him.”
