Everything.
“Elena...”
My voice broke on her name.
I reached for the hem of her dress but stopped just short of touching her. I didn’t deserve that.
“Forgive me,” I whispered, the words barely making it past the knot in my throat.
She just stared down at me.
“I know ‘sorry’ is pathetic. It’s nothing after everything I’ve done to you. Every single time I hurt you, every night I left you crying, every way I broke your heart and your trust... I see it all now. And I hate myself more than you could ever hate me.”
I pressed my forehead to the floor, shoulders shaking.
“I don’t ask for mercy. I don’t even ask you to love me again. Just... please. Let me spend the rest of my life trying to make this right.”
“Punish me. Break me if you need to. I’ll take every bit of pain you want to give me, Elena. Gladly. Just... don’t throw me away completely.”
“Please. I’m begging you. I’ll get on my knees every single day for the rest of my life if that’s what it takes.”
“Just... don’t leave me without even the smallest chance of your forgiveness.”
Her expression remained distant and unreadable — the face of a woman who had already cried every tear she possessed.
I lifted my head slightly from the floor, but I couldn’t look her in the eyes.
“I heard Ciro’s confession outside the cold room...”
My voice broke again.
“I heard everything. How he’s been lusting after you for years. How he got angry that you never noticed him... so he teamed up with Violet to destroy you.”
“They set you up with the ring. They made it look like you stole my heirloom.”
“And Matteo... he confirmed it. Neither he nor his men ever violated you. Our baby—our son—has always been mine.”
I clutched my chest like I could physically stop my heart from shattering.
“All this time... you were telling the truth.”
“Every single time you begged me to believe you, every time you cried and swore you were innocent... I refused to listen.”
“I let Violet secretly sabotage the DNA tests. I chose doubt over you. I humiliated you. I broke you. I treated the woman carrying my child like she was trash.”
I crawled forward on my knees until I was right at her feet.
“God, Elena... the way I treated you... it makes me sick. The memories of how coldly I looked at you, how I spoke to you, how I abandoned you when you needed me most — it’s killing me.”
“I don’t know how you can even stand to look at me right now. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
My forehead touched the floor again, right beside her feet.
“Please... forgive me.”
“I know I have no right to ask. I know I’ve caused you pain that can never be undone. But I’m begging you, Elena. From the deepest, most broken part of me — forgive me.”
“Even if it’s only a little. Even if you can never love me again. Just... don’t let me live the rest of my life knowing I destroyed the best thing I ever had.”
