Black Thorns (Thorns Duet #2) by Rina Kent

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He sounds a bit broken, a bit emotional. “Why did you think it was a better fucking idea to leave me, break us, fucking destroy what we had.”

“I told you it was to protect you! To protect us, even if we didn’t exist anymore. I was so lost back then and scared and nothing I did seemed enough or right. Nothing I did could’ve brought me back to you.”

“Nao…”

“Don’t Nao me.” I push away from him, letting the tears loose. “I cried like a baby when I thought they would leave you for dead in that damn cell. I cried just as hard after I broke up with you on the phone and ended what we had with the fucking safe word. The night I married someone else, I lost a part of my soul. Ever since then, I’ve been only living but have never felt alive. I survived on reading articles about you and the thought that you were well and breathing. And you know what? I don’t regret what I did. I don’t regret saving you from my father’s wrath and continuing to do so until now, because if he finds out I’m endangering his precious alliance with Akira, he won’t hesitate to kill you this time.”

His hand touches my shoulder and I push it away. I’m a crying mess and my breathing is all over the place. Tears blur my vision until all I see are shadows. Sebastian doesn’t stop trying to reach for me, even though I wiggle free every time.

“Come here.” He wraps an arm around my back and I bang both fists against his chest.

However, my fight is short-lived as he engulfs me in a strong embrace. My nails dig into the material of his hoodie and I break.

In the middle of the forest.

In the darkness.

I let all the pain loose. Sharp pieces splinter into my heart and everything overflows to the surface.

Snot and tears stain my face and Sebastian’s clothes, but he holds me close, his hand drawing soothing circles on my back as he squeezes me.

“And my mom died around then…” I choke on the words. “It broke me harder because I was slapped with the reality that I was on my own… You weren’t there… Mom wasn’t there… Akira is cold and never attempts to be a friend… My father keeps threatening me with Mio’s life… She’s so young and sheltered, and I feel like I’m responsible for her, you know. I don’t want her to end up like me. I don’t want her to be Father’s pawn and marry a man she doesn’t love and then suffer because of it every day…with every damn breath she takes…because that’s how it felt without you, Sebastian. Breathing was a chore. Waking up every day, putting a smile on my face, and pretending I was fine was a damn struggle. I’m tired… I’m so tired.”

“I was tired, too, Naomi. I was hurt and bitter and a general asshole to everyone because the girl I thought was mine left me over a fucking text. You cut me open that day and I never managed to sew myself together again. You at least knew why you left, I didn’t. All this time, I thought you blamed me, I thought I was a motherfucking loser for not being able to protect you back then.”

“No, Sebastian, no…don’t think that way.”

“But I did, Naomi. For seven fucking years, that’s all I could think about. And then, you waltz back in on another man’s arm.”

“I just told you…”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t shatter the pieces I’ve been trying to pick off the floor for years. The rusty knife you left inside me cut me deeper and harsher to the point where I thought I wouldn’t survive it this time.”

“I’m sorry…hurting is the last thing I wanted…”

“I’m sorry, too, baby.” His voice is low, pained. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that on your own. I wish I’d been there.”

His words make me sob harder and I snuggle into his embrace, sniffling and ugly crying.

Because maybe those are the words that I wanted to hear from Sebastian. That he wished he’d been there.

That he really wanted to be there for me and help me carry the burden.

I don’t know how long I stay like that, but Sebastian holds me the entire time, stroking my hair, my back, and being the rock I’ve needed all along.

“The only time I’ve been able to breathe was when I got back, when I saw you at that party the first time, even though you hated me.”

“Oh, baby, I never hated you. I hated what you did. I hated that you broke up with me over a text message and a phone call. I hated the person I became without you—grouchy, cold, and hollow. I hated a lot of things, including your fucking husband, whom I fantasized about killing a thousand times, but I never managed to hate you. Not for one second. Not for a single fucking breath.”

Oh, God.

It’s like I’m levitating out of my own body and finally living in that alternate reality I’ve been wishing for.

“Sebastian…” I stare up at him, his name caught between awe and pain.

“What is it?”

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t pretend my heart and soul aren’t with you.”

“You won’t have to, baby. I promise.”





I don’t know how long I cry.

But it’s long enough that my eyes feel swollen and my breaths start hitching.

It goes on for what seems like hours, yet Sebastian doesn’t release me for even one second.