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Chapter 93 – Damon's POV
"Maybe She Needs Me to Stay"
The hotel room was cold.
Sterile.
Silent.
It had been barely twenty-four hours since I walked out of the house, leaving behind the woman I loved, the woman who now couldn't bear to look at me.
I'd done it thinking I was doing the right thing.
That giving her space would help her breathe.
Help her find her voice again.
But sitting alone in that empty hotel bed, staring at the ceiling for the hundredth time, I started to wonder…
What if I just made it worse?
What if my absence hurt more than my presence ever did?
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The silence that used to be comforting now roared in my ears.
I couldn't stop picturing her—sitting by the window, knees pulled to her chest, staring out with those distant eyes that used to sparkle just for me.
I saw her holding her stomach, whispering apologies to our unborn baby.
I saw her turning away from Liam's drawings.
I saw her fading.
And I wasn't there.
I wasn't there.
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I ran a hand over my face, heart pounding.
She told me she didn't want to see me.
But she didn't say she wanted me gone forever.
And I… I knew Arya. I knew the way she suffered.
Quietly.
Alone.
Until she snapped beneath the weight.
I had promised her once that she would never suffer alone again.
And here I was, letting her.
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I stood, pacing the hotel room. The walls felt like they were closing in on me.
I couldn't sleep.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't breathe knowing I'd left her behind.
It was Ethan's voice in my head this time.
> "She's fading… and you're letting her slip."
But that's not what love was.
Love wasn't leaving someone in their storm.
Love was standing in the rain with them.
Even when they pushed you away.
Even when it hurt.
Even when they said nothing at all.
Especially then.
---
The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, I packed my things.
I didn't call. Didn't text. I just drove.
Every mile felt like a beat of my heart calling out to hers.
I didn't know if she'd talk to me.
I didn't even expect her to look at me.
But she would know I was there.
That I hadn't run.
That I was still choosing her—even in silence.
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When I got to the house, I stood at the front door for a long time before opening it.
Inside was quiet.
Liam's sneakers were by the stairs.
The scent of her lavender candle still lingered.
And in the silence—I heard it.
Not her voice.
Not her footsteps.
Just soft sniffles coming from the living room.
---
I stepped in slowly.
And there she was.
Curled up on the couch.
Her arms wrapped around a pillow, her eyes red and swollen, her face turned to the window as if waiting for something.
Or someone.
She didn't look up when I stepped in.
Didn't move.
But her body stilled. As if she felt me.
As if some part of her had been hoping I'd come back.
---
I didn't speak.
I didn't ask for forgiveness.
I just knelt in front of her.
And sat there.
Still.
Present.
Here.
Her eyes flicked down to me, just for a second. Then she looked away again.
But she didn't tell me to leave.
Didn't ask why I came back.
And so, I stayed.
I held her hand gently, not expecting her to hold mine back.
But she didn't pull away.
And in that moment, it was enough.
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I whispered softly, "I thought giving you space would help you heal. But I realized… you don't need me to disappear. You just need me to stay. Quietly. Patiently. Without pushing."
She still didn't say anything.
But her fingers twitched slightly in mine.
I kept going.
"I'm not here to fix you, Arya. Or to make this better overnight. I just… I want you to know I'm still yours. No matter how broken things feel."
Her lips parted like she wanted to speak—but she didn't.
She just let out a slow, trembling breath.
---
Hours passed like that.
I sat beside her while she stared out the window.
I didn't ask for her love.
I just gave her mine.
The kind that sits beside pain and doesn't rush it.
The kind that waits.
The kind that stays.
Because maybe she didn't need to be fixed.
Maybe she just needed to know she wasn't alone in the dark.
Not this time.
Not ever again.
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End of Chapter 93 – Damon's POV