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The hostility was instantaneous.
“I’m so sorry for everything. I mean that. I feel so terrible about everything you went through. But we’re here, the facts are on the table, and it would be a waste not to finally have the relationship that was taken from us.”
The storm clouds remained behind his eyes. “No.”
“Axel—”
“I won’t change my mind.”
“You just said you begged my father to tell me the truth. That couldn’t have been that long ago.”
He said nothing.
“I’m sorry that I left. But I’ve been fucking miserable?—”
“You’ve said this already,” he said simply. “I’m not in the mood to hear it three or four times.”
His perpetual coldness had finally iced my heart. This was not the man I’d fallen for. This was someone entirely new. His demeanor made me withdraw, made me pull back several feet even though my feet didn’t take a step. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, but you have to be the most heartless man on the planet not to understand how hard that would be. Even after hearing what my father said, it’s still hard to believe he would do such a terrible thing, though I know it’s true. My entire world has been shattered. I was fed lies by the person I trusted most, and the cost was the love of my life. I’m the victim in this as much as you are. Have some empathy and try to remember that.”
Based on the way his eyes burned, he felt no empathy at all.
There was nothing I could say to bring Axel back. He was stubborn and angry, and my tears didn’t soften that resolve at all. A continued conversation would just pull out the worst parts of him, the parts I didn’t want to see. “I’ll sign the papers and drop them in the mail.”
“Good.”
It felt like he’d shoved me into a pit of snakes. He didn’t care how much he hurt me. He wanted to hurt me, wanted to cause me as much pain as he suffered. I would never see that boyish grin again. Never feel him pull me close and brush a kiss against my hairline. His laughter, the way he teased me, the brightness he brought into the world…they were all gone.
I only had one more thing to say before I left. “I’m sorry.”
Chapter 12
Axel
I headed downstairs and found Aldo in his bedroom. There were two suitcases, meticulously organized to hold all of his things. The rest of his clothing was on hangers across the bed. His entire life had been reduced to his meager belongings. “Aldo.”
He stilled when he heard my voice and turned around in a rush, his eyes guarded like he expected me to scream at him. “I’m almost done, sir. I’ll be out of your hair in a second?—”
“Why did you lie to her?”
He blinked several times, trying to come up with the right thing to explain his heinous actions. “I had no other way to stop her. I knew you would be angrier if I tried to grab her or restrain her.”
“So you said I was sleeping around?”
“Actually, she assumed you had a woman in your bedroom, and I confirmed that belief so she would leave. I like Scarlett very much, but I knew it wouldn’t be in her best interest to see you tonight when you’ve been so…upset.”
Angry. The word was angry. “Unpack your things, Aldo.”
“You—you aren’t dismissing me?”
“Not tonight,” I said. “But if you ever do that again, your ass will be on the street.”
Theo joined me in the parlor, taking a seat in the armchair and firing up a cigar. He was always more interested in booze and smokes than he was in me. “I didn’t expect to hear from you for a while.”
“Trust me, your company is a great displeasure.”
He smirked, like this was all a fucking game. “Still mad at me about that Dante thing?”
I gave him a scowl, feeling burning hatred for a man I once trusted. “What gave me away?”
