Chapter 506 Come Home

Nora’s POV

His hands were still on my arms, steadying me as I looked up into those familiar, alluring eyes. For a moment, neither of us spoke. My breath came in ragged gasps, and the only sound between us was the soft hum of the morning.

“Calvin…” I whispered, my voice breaking.

He looked down at me, his jaw tightening as his thumb brushed a tear off my cheek. “You shouldn’t be running in that dress,” he murmured, his voice low but shaky. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“I thought you were gone,” I said, my throat tight. “I thought you left.”

“I couldn’t,” he said quietly. “Not like that. Not when you were still hurting.”

That did it. The tears I’d been holding back poured freely. “Why now, Calvin?” I cried softly. “Why do you come back?”

He exhaled deeply, his hand falling from my arm as he stepped closer. “Because I can’t stop loving you,” he admitted, his voice trembling. “I tried to fight it. I tried to bury it. But I can’t. I’m tired of pretending I don’t care, Nora. I do. More than I should.”

I shook my head, wiping my face with shaky fingers. “You don’t know what you want. You never did. One moment you push me away, the next you say you love me. You can’t keep breaking me like this.”

He cupped my face suddenly, gently but firmly, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I’m not here to break you again. I’m here because I finally want to heal with you.” His voice cracked. “I don’t know how to love right anymore. But I want to learn. I want you to teach me. Please.”

My breath hitched. The pain in his eyes mirrored my own.

“I want to love you,” he whispered. “Help me do that.”

The silence was tense but not suffocating. Then, softly, he asked, “Will you come home with me?”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“Not as my mate,” he clarified gently. “Not as anything you’re not ready for. Just… come with me. Let’s start again. No pressure. No pretending. Just us, getting to know each other the right way this time.”

For a moment, I said nothing, just stared at him, the words sinking into me like warmth after a storm.

Then, unexpectedly, I let out a weak laugh. “You don’t want to rush?”

He smiled faintly, his thumb brushing my jaw. “No. Not this time.”

A tear slipped down my cheek as I looked at him, this broken, beautiful man trying to make things right. “That’s too bad,” I whispered.

His brow furrowed slightly. “Why’s that?”

I let out a trembling chuckle, my voice barely above a whisper. “Because I do.”

Something flickered in his eyes, surprise, then something deeper. “Really?” he murmured.

“Maybe,” I breathed, stepping closer. “You think I can handle it?”

He smirked softly, the faintest trace of that old confidence returning. “I don’t know, Nora,” he said in a low voice, leaning in closer until his breath brushed my lips. “Can you?”

I didn’t get to answer because before I could speak, his lips were on mine.

The kiss was slow at first, soft, trembling, filled with every emotion we’d both tried to bury. Then it deepened, desperate and real, weeks of pain melting into that single moment.

His hands slid to my waist, mine to his chest, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the world went quiet. No heartbreak. No noise. Just us.

When we finally pulled apart, our foreheads rested together, both of us breathless.

He whispered, “Come home with me, Nora.”

I swallowed hard, my lips trembling. “Will your mother accept me?” I asked. Somehow, I was worried about what his mother would think. I knew she wasn’t a bad woman; she had never treated me badly. In fact, in the few weeks I had gotten to know her, I could tell she was a nice woman. But this was different. This was her son bringing a commoner home.

Calvin’s eyes softened when I asked that question, the one that had been eating at me quietly since he’d asked me to come home with him.

“Will your mother accept me?” I asked again, my voice barely above a whisper.

For a second, he said nothing, then a small smile curved his lips. “She already knows,” he said softly. “And yes, she’ll accept you.”

I blinked, surprised. “She… knows?”

He nodded slowly, his thumb brushing against the back of my hand. “She knew before I came here,” he admitted, chuckling faintly. “I think mothers always do.”

My chest tightened.

He took a step closer, his tone firm yet gentle. “But even if she didn’t accept you, even if the entire world stood against us, that should never be your worry.”

I frowned slightly, meeting his gaze.

He lifted our joined hands, his warmth steady against my skin. “I don’t care about their opinions, Nora. Not my mother’s, not the council’s, not anyone’s. The only opinion that matters is yours and mine. I choose you. That’s enough for me.”

The sincerity in his voice made my throat ache. He meant it.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak, my heart fluttering painfully between disbelief and hope.

Then, he tilted his head slightly, that teasing glint flickering through his eyes again. “So,” he began quietly, “will you let me date you?”

I blinked, caught off guard by his choice of words. “Date you?”

He grinned faintly. “Yeah. No more pushing, no more confusion. I want to get to know you, really know you, the way I should have from the start. The way you deserve.”

My lips trembled into a soft smile despite the tears still lingering in my eyes. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious,” he said with a playful smirk. “But I’ll only take that as a yes if you say it.”

I laughed softly, shaking my head. “You’re impossible.”

“Maybe,” he said, his grin widening, “but you’re still here.”

I looked up at him then, really looked at the man who had broken me, yes, but who had also finally stood before me ready to love me right. The fear that once held me back began to melt away.

“Yes,” I whispered, smiling through my tears. “And I’ll go home with you.”

His eyes softened, relief and something like joy flooding them. “Thank you,” he murmured, his hand coming up to cup my cheek again. “You won’t regret it, Nora.”

I smiled faintly. “You better make sure I don’t.”

He chuckled quietly, that low, deep sound I hadn’t realized I missed so much, and then he leaned in.

The moment his lips touched mine, everything else faded. The pain, the doubt, the fear, all of it dissolved into that single kiss. It was tender but certain, soft yet full of promise.

When we finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine, his breath warm against my skin.

“Welcome home,” he whispered.