Clarrissa's POV

“Something is wrong,” I whisper. “The fire should still be surrounding us.”

How was this even possible?

I was happy it was gone, but it didn’t change the fact that nothing made sense. It was here just a minute ago.

One minute Damon and I were trying to find a way to escape, and the next, we had nothing to escape from.

“We should get out of here immediately,” Damon says as he examines our surroundings. There wasn’t any visible danger, but that didn’t mean we were safe.

“Whatever caused that fire is still around. They’re messing with us. I don’t know what they have planned, but we must return to the others. They need to know that we may or may not have another unknown enemy.”

Right.!!

Back to the engagement. !!

As soon as we returned, the party would continue as though it had never stopped. I was sure Anya was making a scene back home since Damon had left to find me. He was too busy being frustrated over the decisions I’ve been making lately.

“I don’t want to be there,” I whisper.

I did not want to go back. Not tonight. Not while that party was still ongoing.

Damon paused his movements so that he could look back at me.

“What?” he asks.

I can feel the tension in the air between us increase.

“I don’t want to be at that party, Damon,” I say. “It’s why I came into the woods, to begin with. I don’t want to go back there. I’ll do anything not to have to witness that ceremony.”

He runs a hand down his face and sighs. “Clarissa, you don’t expect to remain here after what just happened, do you? And you’re crazy if you think I’ll leave you here just because you asked me to.”

“No,” I mumble. “But I’m not going back there either.”

Damon looks unhappy with me, or maybe he’s upset with our situation. I’m not sure which of those has him angry right now. Judging by the glare he gives me next, it’s safe to say that I’m the one he’s upset with. But according to him, I’m never the one he’s angry with. But it’s possible that he has changed his mind after today.

“Do you know what could have happened to you if Autumn didn’t tell us that she couldn’t find you anywhere?” he demands. “Do you understand the danger you put your life in?”

I press my lips tightly together and glare at him. I’m aware of what I did, but it doesn’t mean I’m proud of my actions.

Doesn’t he realize how painful it would be for me to watch him get engaged to Anya?

“Why do you always do things that endanger your life?” he demands. “Why don’t you realize by now that every time something happens to you, my whole fucking world turns upside down?”

My lips part; why did he have to say that to me? Why?

“Why do you always do that?” I demand, answering his question with one of my own.

He frowns. “Do what?”

I can still hear the irritation in his voice. He’s still angry with me for putting my life in danger yet again.

Doesn’t he realize by now that I only put my life in danger when it concerns him?

If he gave me what I wanted, I wouldn’t have to resort to doing these crazy things to get away from my own emotions.

“You always say things like this,” I snap.

“Things like what?” he demands. How can he be this clueless?

“You always say things that no one else would,” I explain. “Dante, Atticus, and Griffin would never tell me that my careless actions turn their whole worlds upside down. They would never get so worked up over my disappearance as you do. You have always protected me more than they have done. I know they care about me also, but it’s different with you. I can sense the difference; I can feel it in my heart. Yet, you keep denying everything. You expect me to forget my feelings when you keep being this protective over me. You expect me to throw everything away when your words make my heart skip a beat every damn time. Don’t you realize by now that your words and actions are why I’m the way I am today?”

His eyes widen at my words. It’s weird, but I don’t think Damon has even realized what he’s been doing all along. I don’t think he’s ever considered that he was partly the reason for this. My words had just opened his eyes.

I didn’t want him to stop doing the things that I loved. I didn’t want him to change his behavior towards me now that he understood what it was doing to me. I didn’t want to regret saying this to him either.

“Clarissa,” he whispers as he steps closer to me.

I didn’t want another apology from him. I was tired of his apologies. I wanted him to fight for me instead of saying there was no chance for us. I wanted him to tell me he wanted me just as desperately as I needed him. There were so many things that I dreamed of, and all of them included Damon.

“Don’t.” I stop him as he stops a few inches away from my body. “Don’t apologize. I’m tired of your apologies, Damon. I don’t want to listen to another one from you.”

“How can I fix any of this when you don’t even accept my apology?” he whispers.

I can hear the pain in his voice, and it tugs at my heart. Why does every word out of his mouth affect me this much?

“I wish things were different, Clarissa,” he confesses. “I do. I wish my parents hadn’t adopted you. I wish I had met you under different circumstances. However, if they hadn’t adopted you, I may have never met you. I may have never gotten the chance to protect you the way that I love doing. In a way, I’m glad that they did. I’m glad that I got the chance to have you close to me. I have mixed emotions about the entire thing. It’s crazy, but I don’t think my life would have been the same without you in it.”

My lips part. I couldn’t believe those words were coming from Damon’s mouth.

What did this mean? Was this the closest thing to a confession I would ever get from him?

I kept receiving mixed signals from Damon. One minute it felt like he wanted Anya and only her. The next, it felt like I was the one that he wanted. And maybe, I felt this way because Damon himself had no idea what he wanted. He was torn between the both of us.

“If I didn’t share the same last name as yours, if we had met under different circumstances, just two strangers who happened to like each other. Would you have chosen to be with me then? Would you have given me everything that I want now?” I ask him desperately.

I wanted to hear his response to that question. I needed to listen to him tell me yes.

His eyes searched mine, and my heart was racing in my chest, unable to keep up with my emotions.

“Please, Damon,” I beg. “Tell me that we would have had a chance. Tell me what I want to hear for once.”

What’s wrong with me? It’s not like his answer would change our situation now. What difference would it make? Why did I need to hear it from his mouth?

His face looks like he’s in pain as he seems to have an inner battle within himself.

“Clarissa—”

He doesn’t get to finish. He doesn’t get to answer me because we hear footsteps and someone calling his name.

No. No. No. No.

Why was she here?

Why did she come to ruin this moment for us?

“DAMON?” Anya screams once more when she doesn’t get a response.

Damon looks like he wants to apologize yet again. He doesn’t take his eyes away from me. He’s searching my face for something. I hear Dante’s voice next; they’re growing closer to us.

“Answer me, please.”

“Would it change anything now, Clarissa?” he asks me gently. “There’s no use in me answering something that will never happen.”

“It may not change anything now, but it means something to me,” I tell him. “Just knowing there was ever a possibility for us would mean everything to me, Damon. Everything to me.”

His eyes grow softer at my words, and I can tell it’s affected him significantly.

“DAMON!” Anya shouts when she sees us.

He breaks eye contact with me to look at her and Dante. I don’t turn to them; I’m still gazing at Damon. I’m still waiting for his answer.

“What happened here?” Dante asks as he looks around us.

Damon attempts to walk over to them, but I grab his arm. He looks back at me, knowing what I’m asking for. He knows that I’m still waiting for him to say the one thing that I want to hear.

His gaze lingers on my hand on his arm for a few seconds before he lifts his eyes to look directly into mine.

He swallows before he says, “yes.”

It’s just one word. Just one word. But it makes my heart scream with joy. This means that he did want me. This means that I was right all along. I wasn’t crazy for thinking Damon wanted me as well.

It also meant that he was only marrying Anya to push me away. He didn’t want her in the way I thought in the past. Damon was marrying her to protect me.

He wanted to protect me from everyone else and their reactions if they ever found out about my feelings for him. Autumn was right all along.

This time I had no doubts. This time I knew I was not hallucinating. After today, I would never believe anything he said to me that claimed the opposite. I wouldn’t let him trick me into believing that Anya was the one he wanted.

I knew now that I was doing the right thing before by fighting for us. Now I had to persuade Damon to do the same. I had to show him that there was always a chance when two people were right for each other. And we were definitely right for each other. He couldn’t tell me otherwise.

I couldn’t believe this.

My heart has never been this happy.

Damon wanted me.

He wanted me!