Elena looked at him for a long moment.
A year earlier, she had climbed into his car because she believed she had nowhere else to go.
Now she stood before him with her own home, her own work, her own money, and a future she had chosen for herself.
She no longer needed him to save her.
That was precisely why she could finally tell him the truth.
“I used to think you changed my life when you opened that car door,” she said.
Matthew listened.
“But you didn’t do the most important part. You gave me a chance to get somewhere safe. After that, I had to decide what to do with my life.”
“And what have you decided?”
Elena stepped closer.
“That I want you in it.”
His expression softened.
“Are you sure?”
She smiled.
“For the first time in a very long time, I am.”
Then she kissed him.
