restored love

32

OLIVIA

"Please eat something." Tristan pleads for the hundredth time this night.

I push back the plate of lasagne he made. "I'm not hungry."

"You're staving yourself, baby." he says.

"Tristan. Please."

"No." he snaps. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of you. It was a mistake, I shouldn't have chosen you."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the world came crashing down on me.

I shoot up from the bed. My heart is racing. I turn to Tristan's side of his bed and he was still asleep. I let out a shaky breath as I try to calm my erratic breathing. I lean down and place a kiss on his cheek. "Are you okay?" he whispers groggily.

"Nightmare." I murmur, opening his arms so I could lay in them. He tightened his arms around my waist, making me sigh in satisfaction.

"Talk to me about it," he mutters against my ear.

I bite down on my bottom lip. How could I tell him that I'm so insecure in our relationship that I'm even having dreams of him leaving me?

"Butterfly," he says, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Hm," I reply.

"What was your nightmare about?"

He gently caresses his thumb against my waist.

"You," I confess.

He freezes. "What did I do?" his croaky voice was now clearer than anything.

"More what you said than what you did," I murmur.

He pulls away from me, and I felt him turning my waist around so that I could stare at him. "Tell me what I said."

"Have I been different?" I ask instead.

"In what way?"

"In an unbearable way."

He immediately shakes his head. "You could never be unbearable."

Fresh tears filled my eyes. "I had a dream that you said you were tired of me. You hated me and you said you wish you had never chosen me over your parents."

He sighs. "Olivia, I would choose you in every lifetime if I could." he whispers. "I love you more than humanly possible. Every time you have those thoughts, remember you're the one who is tattooed over my heart."

I nod my head slowly. "I love you." I whisper. "I don't think I ever stopped loving you."

He smiles. "I know I never stopped loving you." he confesses, kissing me.

I kiss him back. He pulls me onto his lap as we continue to kiss. His tongue invading into my mouth as he claims me all over again. I run my fingers along the back of his hair as he holds my waist. "I love you." he whispers against my lips. "I love you so much."