She reached for his wrist, clutched it. “How do I look?” “Hurt. Pained. Destroyed.” “If I could look into your eyes, what would I see in them, Iain?” “Devastation. Shame for what I was. Hatred for the vanity and arrogance of my youth. A love for you that has never, ever died, but has only grown and matured, and become all-consuming. Tears,” he said, and pressed his face to hers so she could “see” them. “Because I know it is truly over now that the truth is out, and I don’t know how I’m going to live without you. Forgive me,” he whispered, then stole a kiss from her lips. “Forgive me, and the boy I was, and the man I turned out to be.

— Charlotte Featherstone

#elizabeth #iain #temptation-and-twilight #forgiveness