I Never Loved You Anyway Chapter 09
Outside, the storm was relentless. Wind drove sheets of rain against the glass, lit up by jagged lightning and deafening cracks of thunder.
Thunder had terrified me since I was a kid.
Every boom threw me right back to that afternoon I got locked in the storage room — the pitch-black, the crushing weight in my chest, the sheer panic.
I wedged myself into the corner of the sofa, shaking violently and gasping. My lungs wouldn’t work. I couldn’t pull in any air.
It was a full-blown panic attack.
Micah had been in the kitchen washing dishes.
At the sound of my ragged breathing, he rushed out. He took one look at me and let the plate slip from his hands, shattering across the floor. Real panic eclipsed whatever act he was putting on.
“Roxanne! Roxanne, what is it?”
He dropped to one knee by the couch, pulling me into him.
“Breathe! Roxanne, look at me. Match my breathing.”
He grabbed my hand and pressed it flat against his chest.
“Feel my heartbeat. Nice and slow. Inhale… exhale…”
I knew that voice. I knew that touch. That slight rasp in his tone, totally grounding and completely steady — I’d know it anywhere.
Drenched in sweat, I forced my eyes open. Through the blur, I looked up at his face.
The cold distance that usually lived in Logan’s dark eyes was gone, replaced by raw, naked fear for me.
“Wolf…” I managed, the word barely a whisper.
Micah flinched. He went completely rigid, staring at me as his pupils shrank in pure shock.
“You’re alive…” Tears spilled over my cheeks. I grabbed his shirt collar, my knuckles turning white from the grip. “You liar. You promised you’d never lie to me.”
Micah’s eyes instantly welled up, red-rimmed, and a warm tear dropped onto my cheek.
He pulled me flush against his chest, holding on like he’d never let go.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he choked out, burying his face in the crook of my neck. His voice was wrecked, thick with emotion. “I made it. The Ellisons found me and took me in. But by the time I recovered, cleared my military exams, earned my rank, and finally came looking for you… you’d already bonded with Logan.”
He lifted his head and cupped my face, gently swiping away my tears with his rough thumbs.
“Roxanne, do you have any idea how hard this past year has been for me?” he asked, a devastating, sad smile touching his lips. “I watched you bend over backwards for Logan. I watched him ignore you, and I saw the life drain out of you. It tore me apart. But I couldn’t step in — you’d made your choice. All I could do was stay in the shadows and watch you in secret.
“When he asked me to trade places with him this time, my first instinct was to say no. But I missed you too much. Even if it was only for seven days, even if I had to pretend to be him… I agreed.”
I stared at him, my chest aching so hard I could barely stand it.
“You idiot,” I cried. “Did you actually think Logan was the one I liked?”
Micah froze. “What are you talking about?”
“I never even looked that closely at Logan’s actual face. I only really looked at the photo the Matching Center sent!” I poked him right in the chest, right over the steady beat of his heart. “The guy in that picture was you. I thought you were the one I bonded with.”
Micah’s eyes went wide. His breathing turned heavy, absolute shock completely taking over his face.
“Roxanne, say that again,” he demanded through clenched teeth. His voice was hoarse, strung tight with barely kept emotion.
“I said, the person I’ve always liked is you, Wolf,” I told him, looking him dead in the eye and making sure he heard every single word.
The second the words left my mouth, Micah leaned down and kissed me hard.
