“I was falling hard, for Siva Kapur, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get back up.Sloane”

“Devak. Did you love Devak?” he growled at me.“Yeah… yeah I did. We were always happy.”He glared at me. “Then it wasn’t love Sloane. Not really. You may have loved him but you weren’t in love. When you fall in love with somebody you fall… hard and you can’t get back up. You feel sick and breathless. You’re the farthest thing from happy,” he spat. Siva and Sloane”

“Siva,” I said and my heart broke for this beautiful man. “You once told me that love is hard, painful, and anything but pleasant.” I laughed, “I feel that with you, Siva. I love you so much it hurts. I didn’t have that with Dev. I loved him, of course, but now… When I look back on our relationship I realize that we were more like best friends. He didn’t make my heart speed up like this,” I said and placed Siva’s hand over my heart. “He didn’t make my toes curl with a look, he didn’t make me love him and hate him at the same time, and he didn’t leave me breathless. I love you. I’m in love with you. You’re the one I want. You’re the one I choose. You are not second best, Siva, do you hear me? You’re not. Even if… even if Dev hadn’t died I still think we would’ve found each other. You’re my heart and my soul Siva. I fell for you Siva and I fell hard and I’m okay if I never get up.”

“Love is a weakness. Look what it has done to me.”“Love is not a weakness,” I said vehemently. “Love is worth fighting for. Fight for me, Siva. Fight for us.”Siva and Sloane”

“Everyone’s done bad in their life. No one’s perfect. But what makes the difference between bad and good is learning from your mistakes. You’ve done that Siva. You’ve acknowledged that you’ve done bad and you’ve learned from those mistakes. You’re good Siva. When I look at you I see someone that’s good and kind and loving. I see the man that I love,” I said. Sloane to Siva”

“Sloane, I want you to know that…” he swallowed. “That I… care,” he flinched.I nodded my head. He cared. It wasn’t a declaration of love but I was pretty sure it was all I was going to get. It was good enough… for now.Siva”

“Sloane,” he said. “You know those stories that little kids read. The ones where the princess always falls in love with the handsome prince despite the bad guy’s effort to thwart it?”“Yeah,” I said wondering where he was going with this. “I’m not the handsome prince. I’m the bad guy.”Siva and Sloane”