Chapter 82: Even Wolves Need Patience-2
He glanced sideways, voice quieter.
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“She buried her own dreams just to make space for everyone else’s. Then, all of a sudden, someone’s seeing her. Someone trying to carry weight she’s never let anyone else touch. Choosing her. Offering things she never thought she deserved. Especially when you’ve spent your whole life thinking no one ever would. That kind of shift doesn’t feel safe when you’ve ne ver had a soft place to land. It feels dangerous. Like free-falling.”
Damien’s fingers curled around the railing, knuckles tight.
“I don’t want to be her free fall, Nick. I want to be her anchor. The one constant she can trust, not something that throws her off balance.”
He exhaled slowly, jaw tense.
“But how do you prove to someone who’s never had safe… that you are?”
A beat of silence passed before his voice dropped again, rough and quieter now.
“She says she wants me. Then she pushes me away. I don’t know how much more of that I can take without breaking something… in me or in her.”
Ashcroft didn’t speak right away. He took a slow sip from his glass, eyes still trained on the
endless black sea.
Then, quietly, “Then don’t break. Not her. Not yourself.”
He glanced sideways at Damien, voice firm but not unkind.
“You’re not just some guy she’s dating. You’re the guy. The one she’s letting in even when every instinct is telling her to run. That’s not fear of you—that’s fear of losing herself in you. And you-” Ashcroft pointed slightly with the glass, “-you’re terrified of giving too much and having it not be enough. But you said it yourself, D. You’ve already crossed every line. So don’t pretend you’re halfway in.”
He paused, letting that hang in the humid air between them.
“You want her. So don’t ask for easy. Ask for real. And if you want real with her, you’ll have to walk beside her fear until she learns it’s safe to stop running.”
Ashcroft’s voice softened slightly, more personal now.
“She doesn’t need you to save her, Damien. She just needs to believe she can stand still-and
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Chapter 52. Even Wolves Need Patience-2
you’ll still stay.”
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Damien’s jaw flexed, the muscle ticking hard beneath his skin. He looked away, breathing slow through his nose, like he was trying to get a grip on the fury coiled tight in his chest.
“I’m not halfway in,” he muttered, voice low, dangerous. “I’m in this more than I’ve ever been with anyone in my goddamn life.”
He turned toward Ashcroft now, eyes sharp, voice clipped.
“You think I don’t know she’s scared? I see it in her eyes every time I get too close. I feel it in the way she pulls back just when I think we’re okay. But I’m not asking her to drown in me. I’m just-” He broke off, exhaling roughly. “I’m just asking her to try. To stop assuming I’ll vanish the second it gets hard.”
His voice dipped, almost quiet. “I’d carry her fear if she let me. I’d walk through fire if it meant she’d finally believe I’m not going anywhere.”
He looked back toward the sea, jaw set tight. “But if she keeps running, Nick… even I have a breaking point. And I’m not sure what it’ll do to me if I reach it.”
Ashcroft’s tone was steady, but there was steel beneath it.
“If she runs, chase her. That’s what you do when it matters.”
He paused, watching the way Damien’s fingers curled tighter around the glass.
“And if you’re hitting your breaking point… then remember why you’re doing this in the first place. You didn’t just fall for her by accident, Damien. You chose her.”
His voice softened
“So be patient, D. Don’t treat her like one of your billion-dollar deals you’re trying to close. This isn’t some corporate merger or hostile takeover. It’s not a ‘take it or leave it’ offer.”
He cracked a crooked grin.
“It’s her. Your future. And trust me, some things-especially the ones that scare the hell out of you-are damn worth waiting for.”
He met Damien’s gaze dead-on.
“She’s choosing you too-anyone with eyes can see it. But come on, man… remember who she is. What her life was like before you bulldozed your way into it. She’s not used to being seen, let alone being fought for.”
Ashcroft leaned forward slightly.
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Chudder at Even Wolves Need Patience-2.
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“You walked into her quiet little life, Damien. Now you have to give her time-let her walk into yours at her pace.”
Ashcroft let out a dry chuckle, swirling the amber liquid in his glass.
“Love’s a bitch, isn’t it?” he muttered, casting Damien a sidelong glance. “One minute you’re untouchable, the next you’re out here on a balcony, brooding like a heartbroken poet.”
Damien didn’t reply.
Ashcroft took a slow sip before continuing, his voice softer now.
“You used to walk away from deals if they so much as twitched wrong. Now look at you- ready to burn the damn world down for a girl who’s still figuring out if she’s allowed to want something for herself.”
He paused.
“But that’s what love does, doesn’t it? Turns kings into wrecks. Turns silence into longing. Makes you stay, even when everything in you wants to run.”
Then he turned fully to Damien, his tone a rare mix of sincerity and challenge.
“You love her, don’t you?”
Damien let out a slow breath, eyes fixed on the horizon as if the answer could be found somewhere in that stretch of darkness.
“I do,” he said, low and firm.
A breath passed. The admission wasn’t a revelation. It was a surrender.
Ashcroft nodded slowly, a half-smile tugging at his lips.
“Good. Because now everything changes. You’ve got to fight for her-with patience, with grit, and without breaking either of you.”
He gave Damien a sideways glance, teasing but sincere.
“Seriously, ditch the corporate attitude when it comes to her. This isn’t a deal to close. It’s a life to build.”
Then Ashcroft clapped him on the shoulder.
“Besides, love sucks… until it doesn’t. She’s worth it. You know that. You’ll figure it out-just don’t be an idiot.”
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Chapter 62 Even Wolves Need Patience-2
Warm salt air brushed against his skin, the faint scent of jasmine drifting on the breeze- nature’s quiet reminder that some things, like the tides, move in their own perfect time.
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Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.