Chapter 201

Lauren's POV

“Well,” Roman began, his voice calm but heavy with something deeper. “There’s me.” He said it as he took a few slow steps closer, his gaze steady on mine.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, my brows furrowing slightly, genuinely confused by the sudden shift in his tone.

“With all that has happened,” he said, pausing as though he was gathering his words carefully, “I realized something.” He sighed softly before continuing. “You and Aria are the most important people to me right now. When Aria got kidnapped, I could barely hold myself together, and I don’t want that to ever happen again not with you or with Aria.”

“So…” I said slowly, dragging the word out, waiting for him to finish his thought.

“So, I want you to be by my side.” His voice was firm now, certain. “It’s clearly obvious how I feel about you, but I haven’t said or made a move because I felt you weren’t ready for something like that yet, and you’ve always had th