AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ve been standing with me too,” I said.
“I’ve tried, pretty girl, but I know I let you down this time.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. He wasn’t wrong.
Luca sighed. “I thought I could do this arrangement with you. But I messed up and fell in love with you, despite my efforts to avoid it. We never should have done this.”
Oh, that hurt too badly to reply. He watched me with sorrowful eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to argue or tell him he was wrong. He’d driven all the way here, so clearly, his mind was made up.
“When you walked out in your pink dress on our wedding day, I could barely look at you. And then you had this ring for me, a ring I would have chosen for myself if I’d had the opportunity, and acknowledging it had felt too big. That whole day had felt too fucking big. How’d it feel to you?”
I sucked in a shaky breath. “I asked you what you thought of my dress, and you said, ‘I suspect you know exactly how you look.’ I can still hear you saying that. But then you gave me roses and kissed me like you meant it.” I shrugged. “It was confusing.”
“Saoirse.” He nudged me beneath my chin. “I could barely look at you in that dress because you looked like my wife. I was trying to distance myself from you, the ceremony, the entire event, but it was impossible. All of it felt real to me. The orchid in your hair, our kiss, the fucking pictures I’ve stared at every single day since. Every time I pushed you away, it was to protect myself because I have been falling in love with you since we met. And I have always believed you when you said marriage wasn’t for you. I respect that.”
I pulled away from him. “But you didn’t. You made demands of me that weren’t fair.”
“I know.” His rejected hand curved around my jaw, refusing to break contact with me. “I’m not ashamed to admit I got scared. I’m only ashamed of how I handled it. You have been my constant, pretty girl. With Clara’s world crumbling, I saw how easy it was to lose everything, and I panicked. I made demands I had no right to make. Now that I’m on the other side of it, I know I was wrong, one hundred percent.”
“I know something about fear,” I told him.
His jaw rippled with tension. “I know you do, and I’m sorry for that. I never want you to be afraid of me.”
“I’m not.” I held his gaze, ensuring he was listening. No matter how this day ended, I needed him to know he didn’t scare me. “Even when you were yelling, I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. I understood what was going on. If you’d given me time to think, to talk instead of giving ultimatums, things could have worked out differently.”
His nod was beaten down and sorry. “Right. I’d go back and do a lot differently if I could.”
“Like never marrying me,” I supplied.
He heaved a great breath. “I can’t regret getting to be your husband, Saoirse, but yes. If I could change things, we never would have gotten married.”
Tears sprung to my eyes before I could blink. “So, what do we do now? How do we move forward?”
“I want you to come back to Denver with me.” Luca’s words were shaky and low, like he was struggling to get them out. “On Monday, we can start the divorce process.”
There was no stopping the choking sob that fell from my lips. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I never gave up that apartment, huh?”
“Saoirse. You mistake me.” Luca was on his knees, both hands cupping my face. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m keeping you forever.”
I clutched his wrists but didn’t push him away. The strength to do so had fled long ago. “But you want a divorce.”
His brows furrowed. “You don’t want to be married. I’m giving you what you want, pretty girl, but that doesn’t mean we’re through. You’re always going to be mine.”
“Luca,” I whispered. My tears were flowing freely now and gathering my thoughts was difficult when I felt like I was being jerked left and right.
“After our wedding ceremony, I took my ring off and noticed the inscription. ‘Partners in crime.’” His thumb swiped one tear after another as he looked at me like I was precious. “That’s what we are, Saoirse. We committed a crime and got away with it. I can’t have you going off on your own, living your life without me, when you could tell our secret to anyone you please. No, I’m going to need to be by your side, making sure you keep your pretty little mouth shut. You’re not leaving me.”
I thought I’d been cute getting his ring inscribed that way. But he’d never said a word about it. I’d never known he’d even noticed it. Yet, now he was telling me…
Oh god.
I pushed up to my knees so we were face to face and braced my hands on his chest.
“I don’t believe in marriage as an institution. A contract is only as good as the promises behind it.” My fingers curled, grasping his shirt in my fists. “The thing is, now, I mean the promises I made to you on your balcony. I want to be your partner in this crime until we see our last sunset.”
With a growl, he wrapped my ponytail around his fingers and tipped my face to his. “That sounds like almost long enough.”
I shoved at his chest, but he had a tight hold of me and didn’t go anywhere. Not that I really wanted him to. “If you ever suggest divorce again, I’m not going to be happy. I’m yourwife, Luca. I won’t be downgraded.”
