Forever After All

by Catharina Maura

Dedicated to every woman that was a role model to me growing up. This is for the mothers that are worth fighting for. The ones that would do anything for their children. The ones that give meaning to the words Unconditional Love. You might love your daughters more than life itself, but never forget that we love you just as much.

I’ll still be a reminder of the guy that stole his fiancée and severely damaged his company at the same time.

Eight years. My mother has been in a coma for eight years now, and I’m the only one who still believes she’ll wake up one day.

she brings her thumb to my lips, wiping away the lipstick she doubtlessly left. “Red looks good on you.” I smile at her teasing tone. “It does. You should try leaving it on the rest of my body too.”

Elena Rousseau… she’s an enigma.

“No one touches what’s mine, Elena. No one will even dare think of you, dream of you. You belong to me now, and I don’t share.”

And that’s where the danger lies… Elena makes me want to give her the world.

There’s no shame in loving someone with all your heart, Elena, but that love must be mutual. If you end up giving more of yourself than you get back, you’ll end up a shell of yourself, depleted, like I was. Had I walked out sooner, I might have had a different life. Who knows? I might have actually found true love.” I stare at her, my thoughts whirling. “Even after everything that happened, you still seem to believe in love.” Mom nods. “It’s not love that did this to me, honey. It’s the absence of love.”

“I’ve spent my entire life loving people that didn’t love me back. I won’t do it again. I won’t. Not even for you.”

“You always ask me about three good things that happened during my day, but baby, everything good in my life is you. The three best things to have happened in my entire life were meeting you, marrying you… and falling in love with you.”

“I love you, Elena. I don’t even know when it happened. I wanted you to be mine from the second I laid my eyes on you at Inferno. It started off as mere possessiveness, and before I knew it, you had me enthralled. You stole my heart day by day, and I didn’t even realize it. I didn’t realize that you fucking own me, until you left.”