Chapter 410 My Heart Belongs to You âSo⦠This is how you spent four years of your life.â
Deirdre froze as the voice in her ear continued. âWhat did you do to deserve this, Deirdre? If only I had met you sooner⦠If only I had known you sooner. I could have protected you!â
Deirdre felt a lump unfurling in her throat. Her body was shaking-pain and self-pity suddenly took the form of a deluge flooding through her veins and breaking into her heart. Her eyes turned red. She thought she had grown accustomed to her fate and was done questioning Godâs injustice. She had accepted this as the divineâs inexplicably stubborn grudge against her.
And then Kyran appeared and expressed empathetic anguish. He came and showed concern. And suddenly, the agony she had hidden was exposed. Naked.
It took her a long time to calm down and fight back the urge to cry. She raised her head and smiled.
âWhy apologize to me, Kyran? This has nothing to do with you at all! Iâm happy just to live a peaceful life here. I want nothing now.
âMaybe⦠Maybe itâs because Iâm a tough woman at heart. I just donât feel much. I even forgot it sometimes.â
Her smile felt like a dagger sunken into his chest.
He could not stop himself from pulling her into his arms. He just wanted to-God knew how much he wanted to warm her scarred, battered heart, thawing it out of that icy prison, someone else had forced it into. He wanted to be that warmth. Even if nothing came out of it, Kyran would try.
Deirdre sniffled and wiped away the last tear in her eye. âKyran, I never wanted to display my scars and demand the world to pity me. I donât think my life is any sadder or less than anyone elseâs. If what you feel about me is pity, if you pity me because I remind you of your ex-girlfriend, who lost her eyes and couldnât seem to live on her own, then I would rather we stay as friends.â
Quietly but firmly, she declared, 1 am Deirdre McKinnon, and I never needed anybodyâs pity!â
She meant it.
Kyran lifted his hand and caressed her cheeks. His hand was warm, as always.
Deirdre felt his breath beating down her skin. She closed her eyes. As their lips met-fitting each other perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle-a tear managed to escape her eyelid and trickled down her cheek.
If her heart was an impregnable fortress, its walls steep and unscalable, its interior unreachable⦠then Kyran was that single ray of sunlight that simply ignored all of her defenses and shone right down on the center square.
He had seen her at her worst, pathetic state, and unsightly moments. None of it made him walk away or walk out on her. He could not care less about what others thought.
So why couldnât she do the same? Why couldnât she give him a chance?
Why couldnât she give herself a chance?
At first, it was one or two lonesome claps. Then it grew louder and louder until it turned into applause and cheers.
The kiss ended as the applause turned into thunder, Kyranâs finger was trembling as it grazed her cheek. His eyes had lost their usual placidity. In fact, they were downright shy now. He was almost too excited to produce his phone and ask, âWhat⦠What exactly do you mean, Deirdre?â
He did not dare to make his question any more explicit. He never wanted Deirdre to feel coerced.
She smiled. âI think Iâve told you before, right? My heart is too battered to love, so I might never be able to love anyone again. I might never be able to trust anyone at all. But if itâs you⦠Iâll do it. Iâll try to accept you. I canât guarantee Iâll forget all about my past, but I promise you that from today onwardâ¦
âMy heart belongs to you and only you.â
Kyranâs breathing hitched. When he finally snapped out of his trance, he lifted her up into the air in rapture.
The crowd around them cheered.
Deirdre threw her arms around his neck and laughed.
And then she stopped and reminded him, âOy, youâre going to tear yourself a new wound if you donât put me down right now!â
Kyran would not listen. He hugged her close and twirled.
They spun, breeze billowing, dizzy with joy.
He put her down and planted his lips on her forehead. Deirdre realized belatedly that his lips were trembling.
All he could do right now was to hold her hand and squeeze. It was as if he wanted to say something, but words had suddenly evaded him.