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"I'm sorry," he said tautly.
"That's not what I want to hear," Ember answered tremulously.
Ilyas shoved his hands into his pockets. "There's nothing else for me to say but that."
"Then let me speak."
Ilyas' chest tightened.
"I love you."
Fuck.
Ilyas stared at his secretary in disbelief. She...loved him?
"I have other things to say," Ember said with a teary smile, "but those three words are the most important."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She loved him.
Ember loved him.
"Ilyas?"
The quaver in her voice nearly killed him. "Don't do this to yourself," he said hollowly. "It's never going to work between us—-"
"I'll b-beg if—-"
"Goddammit, Ember!"
He saw her flinch, and even though he wanted to kill himself for it, Ilyas knew he had no goddamn choice.
"Just fucking listen to me for once. I can't be what you want me to be so just forget about me—-"
"Why?" Ember choked out. "Why can't you be what I want you to be?"
"Because I don't fucking love you back—-"
"Don't you?"
"No," he forced himself to lie. "I don't."
Ember took a clumsy step towards him, and it took Ilyas everything to stand his ground.
"I know you don't want to risk making the same mistake that your friend did. I know you're terrified that I'll betray you like he was betrayed—-"
How the hell did she fucking know all of these things?
"I know you don't think you can trust me," his secretary whispered, "but you can."
Ember took another step towards him, and this time Ilyas was unable to stop himself from stepping back.
"Your friend loved a woman whodidn'tlove him back—-"
"Shut up."
"But I'm different," Ember forced herself to go on.
