"I'm ashamed to say that I may have followed you," he confesses, and my heart breaks for him and what he's been through.
Was I selfish in not listening to his side earlier?
I'd just made up my mind about his betrayal, and I'd been set on making him pay.
But as he continues to tell me about his plan, his partnership with Jimenez, and ultimately Rocco's death, a new picture starts to emerge.
"Enzo," I whisper, "what did you do?"
"I sold out thefamiglia. I'm practically a traitor, but somehow no one knows," he laughs, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
"For me?" My voice breaks because I'd never expectedanyoneto do something like this for me.
"For you, and for our son. I wanted to rid myself of thefamigliaand offer you a normal life when you woke up. No violence… just a regular life," he sighs. "When I found out you were in contact with the FBI, I realized just how far I'd driven you."
"I'd just given birth, and I was terrified, Enzo. All that mattered at that moment was Luca and making surehewas safe. Icouldn'tthink about anything else," I explain. If he's a traitor then so am I because I'd been ready to sell out everyone to protect my baby, regardless of the consequences for me. "Do you…" I trail off, not knowing how to ask if he resents me for my choice.
He quickly shakes his head, almost as if he's reading my mind.
"I can't blame you for trying to get out. Not when I was blindly suffocating you with my obsession," he pauses, giving me a sad smile. "When I saw the look in your eyes after I killed those guards… something just clicked inside of me. I knew I was at the point of no return, and I had no ideahowto fix it."
Taking my hands in his, he brings them to his lips.
"So I set out to give you what you wanted. A normal life."
His plans didn't exactly turn out the way he wanted, as he's currently in possession of the Agosti empire and half of Jimenez's businesses.
He ends up telling me every single thing he's done over the past few years, even going as far as pulling up a document listing the names of all the women he'd been seen with, and giving it to me so I can convince myself he never touched any of them.
"I wasnevertempted, little tigress. Not once," he admits when I question him further, since I'd seen just how beautiful those girls were.
"I don't know what to say, Enzo," I say after a long moment of silence. "It's a lot to take in."
"I know," he says, nodding, pursing his lips. "I've wronged you too many times. But for all my sins, please know Ineverlied about loving you or being faithful. You're the only one for me,little tigress." He gives me a lopsided smile as he bends to take the knife, wrapping my hands around it.
"And if you still want your revenge, it's yours to take." He points the knife toward his bare chest, the bloody wound I'd caused earlier staring back at me and making me wince.
"You love me?" I raise my eyes to his, wanting the confirmation from his lips.
"I do, Allegra. I love you more than anything in the world." Raw sincerity drips from his words, and the ice around my heart thaws a little.
"I love you too, Enzo," I tell him just before I position the tip of the knife over his heart.
"Forever," I whisper as I push it into his skin.
59
ENZO
I close my eyes,waiting for death to come. If this is what my little tigress decided, then I'm going to accept it.
I feel the knife digging into my skin, but it's only surface level.
"Done," she quips, prompting me to open my eyes. I frown at her, my hands going to my chest. There's some blood dripping down my skin, but as I feel around the wound, I note the edges.
"It's an A. Now you're mine forever." She raises her chin a notch, daring me to argue with her.
Chuckling, I can only agree with her.
