His face took on a grim expression as he shook his head. "Don't say that. You are the only woman I've ever wanted, Claudia."
He retrieved something from his pocket and my breath hitched when I saw what it was. The folded piece of parchment, tattered and browned throughout the years, but still the symbol of a walk in the woods, of an innocence stolen from both of us.
"This time, I won't take it back," he said, as he handed it to me.
Trembling, I took the paper and opened it up, looking at the image it contained. Upon seeing it, I couldn't bear the idea of looking into his face. "How could you still want me, Yuri? I'm so broken."
"We're all broken, Claudia, but none of us are beyond fixing."
His lips once again pressed against mine and when he whispered the words I longed to hear for centuries, I couldn't respond with anything but a grateful: "Yes."
His words were, "Let me love you."
