She couldn’t even argue, so she concentrated on stripping away an illusion she had been crafting for years. In all honesty, she couldn’t even recall the last time she’d dispelled it, so she might not recognize her own features without it. Bracing herself, she turned to face him, waiting for him to shout in shock and flee the condo.

“When are you planning to do it?” he asked.

Puzzled, she got up and hurried to the bathroom. To her own eyes, she looked visibly older. Tired, as well. With a few lines around her eyes, and her mouth paler than she’d usually allowed it to be. She came back to face him.

“The glamour is gone,” she said.

He started to smile then. “But you look the same. You’re beautiful, Butterfly.”

“What? I do not.”

Ignoring her words, Trev shrugged. “To me, you look the same.”

Just then, her phone beeped with an advisory, alerting all witches to the change in the covenant. That meant Danica could tell Titus the truth whenever she wanted. All over the world, witches could be having this same talk with their partners.

But she couldn’t stop here. It was time to step up. To be brave, braver than she ever had been before. No longer would she live like she didn’t deserve to be loved, like the person she cared for above all others might still choose to abandon her. She’d done that in the name of self-protection, but really, it was just another word for cowardice—leaving someone before they could decide to do it to her.

“I’m glad you’re not put off by any of this,” she said then.

“My head is a mess, but…no, it doesn’t change anything. I don’t care what—or who—you are. You’re still the person who crossed a room to pick me out of the crowd. You’re still the person who makes me feel like I matter more than anyone else.”

“You matter. So very much. And that’s the next stage. When we got together, we had so many sensible reasons. Logical motivations. But for me, it’s not about that, and frankly, it never was. I was just too scared to admit the truth.”

“Which is?” Trev asked.

“I want to be your wife, always. I don’t want a temporary arrangement. I don’t want to worry you’ll get tired of me and take off. I want you to come to bed even when we fight.” She paused, knotting her fingers together because the next one was huge. And she’d never said it to anyone before, which explained why none of her relationships lasted. “I want you to love me, as much as I love you.”