“I do.”
“She sent her to get me out of my head. Out of my misery. To make me feel like someone thought I was important. She wanted me to go to all those events, to play her perfect son with a smile on my face because I had someone to take with me. Someone who made it seem… fun.”
His hand clenches at his side, and I can see the faint tremor in his fingers. “And it worked. God, it worked. But it wasn’t real. It took me way longer to figure that out than I’d like to admit. When I did, I hated her for it. Hated her for sending someone to manipulate me.” I can feel a lump forming in my throat, thick and heavy, but I can’t look away.
“But at the same time… I think, in her own twisted way, it came from a place of concern. She saw how lonely I was, howmuch I was drowning, and she wanted to end it. Sure, it was in her interest, her benefit, but maybe it was a little bit for me too.” I can barely swallow past the lump now, and I press my hand against my stomach, trying to steady myself. “But you? What you guys did? That wasn’t for me. That was solely for your benefit. Yes, I see where you were coming from. I understand why you did it, why you thought it had to be done. But that doesn’t make it easier.”
He huffs a bitter laugh. “Even my mother had my well-being in mind. You didn’t. You made me fall for you—” His voice cracks, and he stops, shaking his head before continuing. “Fall for you so hard, like I’ve never fallen for anyone. I thought, for once, someone was interested in the real me. Not the son of a hotel mogul. Not some heir. Justme. You made me believe you, only to pull the rug out from under me. Fuck the consequences. Fuck what happens to me afterward. Fuck howIfeel.”
“That’s not true.” Tears blur my vision. “I mean,yes, some of it is. But I cared.I care.” I take a shaky breath. “I felt awful about it. It was never the plan to have feelings for you. To like you. To crave hanging out with you. But I did, okay? I fucked everything up because Idid. I really care, Nico. I know it’s too little, too late, and I know you don’t believe me, but everything was real. Besides my name. Besides the fact that I said I was their cousin. Besides the reason why I was with you. Every single thing I said,every singlething I told you, how I was with you, was real.I was real. I was so real with you like I haven’t been with anyone in years. You gave me the freedom to be myself.” I look up at him, the tears spilling over now. “And I’ll be forever grateful for that because you showed me that there still is arealme.”
He doesn’t move, his face a mask of restrained emotion, but his eyes… God, his eyes are killing me.
“I’m so damn sorry. If I could change it, I would. But I can’t. And all I can do is tell you how sorry I am. I know I don’t deserveyour forgiveness. I know that. But I still hope…” My voice breaks entirely, my words trailing off.
For a moment, there’s silence. The kind that stretches so long it feels like it’s swallowing you whole. But then Nicholas’s hand lifts to cup my face.
I don’t move. I can’t. My heart is racing, every beat pounding in my ears as his face comes closer until I can feel the faint brush of his breath against my lips. His gaze is locked on mine as if he’s searching for something I don’t even know if I have.
My lips part to suck in a shaky breath. Hope flutters weakly in my chest as if it’s daring to believe he might…
“I still haven’t figured out how to sit across from you and not be madly in love with everything you do while still hating you for it at the same time.” His words knock the air out of my lungs.Fuck.“And until that changes, I can’t accept your apology.”
Before I can even beg him to stay, he turns on his heel, opens the door to the garage, and walks through without looking back.
He’s gone.
And I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fix what I’ve broken.
The moment the garage door clicks shut, my legs give out, and I sink to the floor, my knees hitting the cold marble as the sob I’ve been holding back tears free from my chest.
“Nova?” Annabelle rushes over, pulling me against her. She sinks down with me, her knees brushing mine on the floor as she strokes my hair, cradling my head to her shoulder. “It’s okay. Let it out. Just let it out.”
The sound of an engine revs to life behind the closed garage door, and I squeeze my eyes shut, fresh tears spilling over. The sound fades, but the ache in my chest grows, expanding until it feels like it’ll consume me whole.
I don’t know how long she holds me, rocking me slightly, her hand running through my hair and trying to smooth away the pain.
“Sparkle,” a deep voice cuts through the fog, and I blink through blurry eyes to see Sylus crouching in front of me. His face is tight with concern as his thumbs brush against my damp cheeks. “Baby, what happened?”
“Nicholas.” Annabelle answers for me.
His expression darkens instantly. He starts to stand, his hand curling into a fist. “I’m going to kill the fucker?—”
“No!” I grab at his shirt, tugging him back down. “Please, don’t. He didn’t do anything.Idid. I’m the bad one.”
“Baby—” he starts, but I shake my head.
“I am.” I sob. “I hurt him. It’s my fault. All of it.”
It’s even worse than I thought.
Annabelle strokes my hair again as she glances at Sylus, muttering softly, “I don’t know what to do. This isn’t her.”
Sylus lets out a sharp breath, his anger visibly wrestling with his concern. His hands slide under my legs and around my back, lifting me effortlessly into a bridal carry. He adjusts his grip, cradling me closer against his chest as he starts toward the stairs, but I stop him. “Belle.”
I can’t leave her here in a house full of strangers.
At least strangers to her.
