Seducing My Assistant by J. S. Cooper, Helen Cooper Page B

lie and tell her everything was definitely going to be okay between her and Lacey because I didn’t know that it would be. What she’d done had been a betrayal. And while she had her reasons, I could understand if Lacey never forgave her. There were some lines you just didn’t cross and well, sleeping with your best friend’s boyfriend was one of them.
    “Do you hate me?” She looked up with red eyes, her lips trembling. “I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to talk to me again. I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I was a piece of trash...” Her voice trailed off and I could feel the pain emanating from her.
    “Elizabeth, stop it. Stop it, now. You’re not a piece of trash. You’ve had a hard life. You have emotional issues. We all have some issues. Yours are a little deeper than some people have. That doesn’t make you a horrible person. It makes you a human.”
    “I wish I’d never done it. I wish I could take it all back. Oh how badly, I wish I could take it back.”
    “I know you do.” I pulled her into a hug and just held her close. “I know you wish you could change the past. We all do. It’ll be okay though. You didn’t do it on purpose and you’re not an evil person. It’ll be okay, I promise.”
    “I just can’t believe I did that to her.” She looked up at me. “And I wonder why no one loves me.”
    “I love you.” I said softly, not knowing if now was the right time to admit my feelings to her, but not wanting to hold back any longer. “I love you, Elizabeth Jeffries and I will never forsake you. I’m here for you. Cry to me. Let it all out. I won’t judge you.”
    “You love me?” She looked at me in shock, her eyes wide as they searched mine and I nodded. I knew in my heart that I loved her. I knew she was the one. She was my everything.
    “I'm in love with you, Eliza. I'm in love with everything about you. You're the first thing on my mind when I wake up. The last thing on my mind before I go to sleep. Your smile fills my dreams. Your eyes haunt me in the dark. Your touch taunts me when I'm alone. My days are spent thinking of when I can be with you. My nights are filled with constantly wanting you. When you're near, I feel like I'm in top of the world. When you're not around, I feel lonely, no matter how many people are around. My soul feels empty. I call you just to hear the sound of your voice because it makes me happy. It makes me feel like I want to fly. You make me feel like I'm on top of the world. And I'm not going to lie, you've hurt me, Eliza. You've really hurt me. You've made me doubt myself. My feelings. My love. But then I realized that you were pushing me away because you were lost, you were hurt. Not because you didn't love me. Because no matter what you say, no matter how many times you tell me to go away or that you don’t know if you want me, I know the truth. I know that you do. I know that you love me. I can see it in your eyes. I can hear it in your voice. You love me as I love you. You love me and you're scared. You're scared that what we have will end. You're scared that I will stop loving you. You're scared that I will walk away, like everyone else. But, I'm not your dad. I'm not Shane. I'm not going to leave. I'm never going to stop loving you. I'm never going to betray you. There is nothing that you can do that will make me stop loving you. I will love you until you're old and gray. I will love you when you take your last breath. I will love you when we're both in the ground. I will love you when we're spirits floating around the earth. I will spend an eternity loving you. My heart beats for you. You're the oxygen in my lungs. Never doubt that. And I will be here for you through thick and thin. I will be here for you no matter what happens in your life. Trust me. Trust in me.” I kissed her gently on the lips and she gave me a big beautiful smile.
    “I don’t deserve someone like you.” She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t deserve