AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Stopping midway through buttoning his shirt, he stared at me incredulously. “What’s wrong with that? That’s logical.”
“It might be logical, but that’s not how you propose to someone, you idiot! No woman wants to know that the reason the man she loves has asked her to marry him is specifically not related to her.”
He wagged a finger at me angrily. “And you can’t keep kicking me out every time you get mad at me, Jewel. At some point, you’re going to have to make a choice. Do you want to be with me or not? And when I say ‘me,’ that includes my family,” he snapped. “Our traditions, our customs, and our needs. I know you’re an only child, but it’s not just about you.”
That hit me in the gut like a two-by-four, but I rallied and answered, “I’m ready for that, but I’m not going to discount my own needs on something as big as this, and you shouldn’t ask me to. How can you not see that? I’m not telling you to be selfish and willful, but what about having your own brain and making your own decisions instead of following them blindly?”
Nicu stalked to me, stepping me back until my spine hit the wall. Slapping a hand on the plaster, he replied in a low, hard tone. Rage like I’d never seen directed toward me rolled off him. Suddenly, fear slithered inside me that I’d gone too far, that he was ready to end things. “Luca accuses me of being Alex’s lapdog often enough. I’m not going to take the same shit from you. If you can’t take me as I am, then forget it.”
He pushed off the wall, stomped away, and threw the door open. Poking a finger at me, he threatened, “One day, Jewel, you’re going to have to decide if you want me. I have my faults, but I’ve never made any bones about how I feel about you. Either that’s enough or it isn’t.”
Stunned, I watched him storm away. I’d never seen him this angry before. Not even at Cristo. I was touched when he first brought up marriage, even if I hadn’t expected it. How did things devolve so quickly? Again, he didn’t seem to understand where I was coming from. The reality was that Nicu was hardheaded, and he wasn’t going to change. I had to decide whether his love was enough, because I’d have to take him as he was. I wasn’t sure I could do that.
