Page 160 of Blue Gold

Coming to my side, he attempted to catch my stare while I did my best to avoid him.

“Elli.”

“What?”

He placed the towels on the table beside us, then reached and took my hands in his.

“Why did you stop undressing?”

I nibbled on my bottom lip, afraid to speak the truth.

“My love, please talk to me.”

I felt caged, almost trapped. My nerves kicked in, and I struggled to breathe. But then, he brought my hands to his lips and kissed them, and somehow, the gesture melted my fears away.

“Elli, I’m here, and nothing you think or say will chase me away.”

Taking a deep breath, I looked up.

“I-I don’t want you to be repulsed.”

“I would never.”

“Back then, you were.”

His jaw tightened before he let out a deep sigh.

“I was scared, and I said the wrong things, and for that, I’m sorry,” he said, voice firm. “I know you’re struggling, but please, just for once, ignore the voices in your head that are telling you foul things, and focus on me, okay?”

Holding his stare, I bit my lip and nodded. Then, with trembling hands, I grabbed the hem of my T-shirt and began taking it off, thinking about the past week. I’d lost more weight, meaning I looked even worse than he remembered, and he might regret telling me⁠—

“Elliot.”

Realizing my eyes were closed, I opened them to see Daniel’s warm gaze, nothing but love in it. Taking a deep breath, I proceeded to take off my shirt. Daniel didn’t remove his stare from me the entire time, not even for a second. Empowered by his love, I then took off my pants and underwear until I was completely naked. Now, feeling too exposed, I hugged my arms around myself before he grabbed them and forced them to my sides.

“You have nothing to hide from me. Absolutely nothing.”

The next second, I jumped into his arms and hugged him tight, allowing his body to wrap around me like a blanket.

“You’re beautiful in and out.” He slowly moved his fingers through my hair. “And nothing will ever change that.”

Choking on a sob, and with my face shoved in his chest, I said, “I’m so sorry for that letter.”

“Oh, Elliot. I know you didn’t mean those words.”

I shook my head, my snot smearing over the fabric of his shirt.

“It doesn’t make it okay. Just thinking about the pain I caused…” My voice died out, but knowing I owed him the truth, I swallowed hard and pulled back from the hug.

“That day, I planned to cook you dinner, and I did. But then Vito called, and we met. He told me about his ex and what happened to him. At first, I was angry at you for speaking to Vito, but then, after I came back home, I lost control and ended up eating everything I cooked, only to puke it all⁠—”

“Elliot,” he gasped.

“Let me finish,” I asked, sniffing. “Please.”

“Of course.”

I sorted my breath before meeting his eyes. “After that, I understood I had a problem, and honestly, I realized that this thing controlled me more than I controlled it… It scared me, and not wanting you to go through this, I left. That letter… I thought it would make you give up, but—” I shrugged, looking at him, grateful that he was here. “It didn’t. And thank God for it, because when I saw you today, I was so happy.”