“Now, can you please speak with me honestly about the real problem?” he asked gently. She looked up at him, shock on her face.
“What problem?”
“That you are holding yourself back from joy, from me. It’s like you can’t let yourself be happy.”
“I just … don’t know how,” she said softly. “I’ve had to do everything on my own for so long. It’s hard to relax. I don’t even know what I’d do if I let myself indulge.”
“How about this?” he teased, cuddling her against him. “Eating fried chicken, watching the stars … with me?”
She grinned up at him.
“Yes, I could get used to this. My time here has been an absolute whirlwind. I don’t think I’ve ever known so much luxury.”
Onyx took both her hands in his and touched his forehead to hers.
“Believe in it, my love,” he said softly. “These are not stolen moments, something flitting through your life to taunt you into greater suffering. This is your life now.”
With his entire being, he willed her to believe it. She could be happy, finally. She could stop worrying about everything and everyone else, stop feeling like a failure because she had to juggle it all.
She could finally just be and do whatever it was that made her the happiest.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Don’t let happiness slip through your fingers,” he urged her. “Let it all go, the hurt, the fear. Just let it all go and be with me.”
Her eyes fixed on his, and he saw something break inside her, a great dam of fear and control that she had held for too long. Tears glistened in her eyes, but they didn’t fall. Instead, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Onyx kissed her back, cradling her in his arms as if she were made of crystal.
She is all the beauty and transparency of crystal … but with the strength of steel.