Shattered Inside (Yandere!Cheater x Reader)

XI

"I'm truly sorry, (Y/n). I love you—"

"Perhaps all we need is a fresh start, Matthew," you interrupted him with a pained smile. "I... I was at fault, too. I shouldn't have acted like that, you know?"

Matthew stayed silent; he really didn't know what to say. His stunned silence caused your insecurities to spike to uncharted levels, but you knew you had to keep your calm in such a delicate situation as this one. At least the mischievous wind for once seemed to be on your side: The fresh evening air swept through the plane and left your lungs filled.

"I've made mistakes and you've made mistakes." You tried your best at an understanding smile, but even you couldn't muster up enough courage to be faced with your fatal flaws. "Matthew, Tiffany really wasn't lying when she said I was—"

"Tiffany said many things," Matthew whispered, his index finger barely grazing your now still lips, "but I don't care, (Y/n). I'm willing to accept your flaws because... because you're willing to forgive me."

"Matthew," you breathed out with teary eyes, an unbelieving smile on your lips, "you can't believe how happy I am right now!"

"Me too, (Y/n). Me too."

Without wasting another second, he pulled you into a hug; you melted into each other's arms. The minutes you spent embracing each other felt like an eternity, but alas, one of you — you didn't know who — pulled away. Gazing up into Matthew's sparkling blue eyes, your mind whispered soft words of comfort to you. Everything would be alright, it assured you countless of times; and for once, you wholeheartedly believed those vacant echoes in your head.

Busy with comprehending what was happening, you jumped slightly when you felt a pair of lips on yours. You felt butterfly erupting in your stomach — just like the first time when you had laid eyes on him.

For a long time, you had admired him from a safe distance. What had drawn you to him in college, you still — disregarding your talk earlier — hadn't been so sure about for years. But just earlier, you had found out what it was. It had been the similarities between the two of you. He, too, had pretended to be another person — just like you.

But his reasons had so greatly differed from yours.

While you had learnt to act in order to protect yourself from being hurt and to thus make your life easier, Matthew had built up his façade because of his familial surroundings.

In contrast to your own family, you knew Matthew's parents to be businesspeople who never were too keen on 'wasting' time and thus money to spend with their child. Matthew pretended to be alright because he didn't want to be a bother; and that surely was a habit that — coupled with your late paranoia — made communication quite hard.

Your husband barely ever told you how his company was running. So much, that you had grown to not even ask how his day had been when he returned from a long day of work.

Granted, your communication had always been wonky; you were two successful adults working and thus sometimes trapped in your own respective bubbles. But until now, you somehow had managed perfectly — despite all the mishaps. Now more than ever, you were sure that, together, you could work on ironing out all the wrinkles and folds in your relationship.

You smiled whilst your head rested on his shoulder. Together, you watched as your son chased the poor ducklings around; he never succeeded in catching them, but still always kept on trying — that was what mattered most. For the first time in awhile, you felt completely at peace.

A nose nuzzling itself into your (H/c) hair, you were snapped out of your trance. Curiously, you raised your head to meet your husband's loving gaze, at which you couldn't help but smile. You would have melted into a puddle and joined the peaceful water in the lake if you could have, but you knew there was much more ahead of you.