I tighten my grip on her waist.
"Enjoying your new position as the Navarro princess?” I ask. “You should have just told me you wanted all this. Pretty dresses, fancy parties, wealth. I could have offered you far more than Ignacio ever could.”
Her entire body stills, “That’s not what this is about, Rafaelle.”
“Then tell me,” I prompt. “Why did you do it? Why did you leave at the warehouse?”
Her eyes are twin pools of pain. It tells me everything I need to know. What I suspected and what Lindsay confirmed.
She's hiding something.
"Liliana."
She looks away. I immediately hate it. I want her eyes on me. I want to see every emotion that passes through them. I need to know why she did it.
Because I've spent too many nights wondering what happened. Too many nights replaying that warehouse over and over in my head. Watching her choose him. Watching her leave.
I never should have let her.
"Look at me."
She doesn't.
The music ends. Soft applause erupts around us as the other couples start to disperse.
I barely hear it. Without another word, I take her hand in mine and start pulling her in the direction of the ballroom doors. She doesn't fight me. We move through the crowd. Past the guests, past the guards, past all the noise until we’re alone.
The hallway is empty. Quiet.
I release her hand and turn toward her. The moment I do, she takes a step backward. Then another. Until her back meets the wall.
My pulse kicks. The sight of her against the wall feels all too familiar.
Despite, everything, I still want her. More than I need to breath.
I lean in placing one hand beside her head. Then the other, trapping her between my arms.
Her breath catches.
"Tell me the truth, Liliana.”
Her throat moves.
"Rafaelle, I—"
“Or would you rather tell me that you didn’t care. That all that time we spent together was nothing to you. Are you going to stand there and tell me that I meant nothing?”
Her eyes burn as they look into mine. “I can’t do that.”
“Exactly. Because we both know it would be a fucking lie,” I grit out.
Her eyes close briefly. Pain flashes across her face.
"So why?"
Nothing.
I step even closer, invading more of her space.
