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I stand very still. A lump forms in my throat. After all this time, after everything ... does he finally see the truth? Whatever does this mean for us?
“I love you,” he says roughly. “Only you. And I won’t let anyone hurt you. I know about the setup. I know what Juan did, I know the Capo and Juan were behind what happened to your father. I learned they wanted you dead too. All this, happening right in front of me, and I played for the wrong team. I don’t know how I let them do those things to you and get away with it but –”
I have to cut him off here. “You didn’t let them do those things to me, Stefano,” I whisper, giving him a small dose of kindness. I reach up, cupping his cheek with my palm, for it feels completely and utterly unnatural for me to see him suffering right in front of me and not offer him solace.
“I never let you see the truth. I sheltered you from it.”
“Why?” he questions, pained.
“Because, Stefano, I needed to fight for myself. I had to discover the full truth for myself. Had I involved you, you would have ruined your relationship with the Capo, a man who meant so much to you. I needed you to see the world through your own lens and not anyone else’s for if you were made to see it through mine, I feared you’d resent me.”
“Oh Isa,” says Stefano, inching closer. “I won’t let it happen again. I made a mistake once, but not again. I should have protected you from the Capo. You should have told me the truth from the very beginning.”
My breath leaves me in a rush. “We both made mistakes,” I mutter. “If I could go back and change things, I would. I would have told you my suspicions, my fears. That’s what you do, don’t you, with the people you love?”
A tear slips down my cheek as I look into his eyes—and see the love and fierceness I’ve craved for so long.
“Forgive me,” he whispers. “Please. I need you to forgive me.”
I reach up and touch his face. “You foolish man. Did you really think I didn’t love you because you were loyal to the man who helped you build your life? That’s why I fell for you in the first place. If you could show me half the loyalty you showed Conti, I’d be the luckiest woman alive.”
“You’re the only one who was ever loyal to me,” he whispers. “The only one I should have trusted. The only one I love. Forgive me, Isabella. Forgive me for not seeing the truth. And you? I give you my heart, my life, my soul, my loyalty"
My traitorous heart leaps. I place my hands over his, keeping them in place.
Tears fill my eyes. After everything ... could this be real?
“Prove it,” I whisper.
A fierce light enters his eyes. He pulls me close, wrapping me in his arms—and then his mouth descends on mine, hot and hungry, stealing my breath.
This is no lie. This is truth. This is everything I’ve ever wanted.
A sob escapes him. Then his mouth is on mine again, and I’m kissing him back with everything in me.
We’re both breathless when we break apart. I smile up at him, cupping his cheek.
“Just love me as much as you loved him,” I say softly. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“More,” he vows, and kisses me again. “So much more.”
Just then, a man comes running towards me. “Miss Torres. Your flight must leave now. There are other planes in line for take-off.”
Stefano looks around us, worried. “Oh Isabella. You must go. Your empire, your people. They must be waiting.”
“Shh,” I whisper, placing a finger on Stefano’s lips. I turn to the attendant. “Tell the flight it’s not taking off today.”
“Isa, no!” Stefano protests. “You’ve given up too much already. Not your empire too.”
“One night won’t kill anyone, Stefano. Mexico will still be the same tomorrow,” I whisper, inching my face closer to his. “God. How I’ve missed you.”
Chapter 44
Stefano
"Isa,Ican'tbelieveyou didn't get on that flight!" I exclaim, my entire nervous system overwhelmed with joy. I came here to get my girl, and now she's all mine.
Just as the words leave my mouth, a cacophony of honks explodes around us. My car, door still open, sits abandoned in the middle of the road, causing chaos.
