Worth It

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Katarina

He looked so handsome. So handsome that he was breaking my heart just standing there in a tuxedo. Gabriel Castro was a specimen that deserved all the happiness and love this world had to offer him and then some.

The tuxedo had to be something he had tailored and stitched to his large build, and yet it didn't do him justice. I knew what lay beneath those layers. A body that he worked hard for, a body so hard and so warm to the touch, and I blinked my eyes up at his face.

I knew he was shocked, especially since I wasn't supposed to be here. I wasn't supposed to show up in bright pink sweats and a blue hoodie looking ragged as fuck, but that's all I could grab in my sudden departure from Paris.

I barely shoved Tinkerbell at my next-door neighbor's hand and told her to please watch her in French. She agreed, thankfully, and then I was running but this time toward him. I texted Xavier that I was on my way, and he managed to sneak me inside.

I passed by Tomás, who gave me a big encouraging smile before helping me inside. Gabriel's jaw ticked as I took a step closer, but fuck, I missed this man so much.

"What are you doing here?"

My heart was in my throat, and I didn't want to cry. I wanted to come here and tell Gabriel what I wanted to tell him. What I should have told him all those years ago when we were in the living room of his parent's house.

They were words he deserved then...not now, but I couldn't hold them back any longer. It was selfish to come on his wedding day and confess, but it didn't hit me until last night.

"Well?" He shouted, and I tucked my bangs behind my ears nervously. "For fucks sake, Kat, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Don't marry her."

He scoffed, and I could see him growing in size with his anger. His arms clenched at his sides, and I saw them ball into fists.

"You're fucking kidding, right?"

"I'm sorry I was a coward the last time you saw me. I'm sorry I wasn't willing to bet on us. I'm sorry for breaking your heart."

His hands clenched tighter, but he didn't speak. His face was void of any emotion.

"I should have stayed. I should have bet on us because it would have been worth it. It would have been the best thing I could have ever done. I should have told you how much I love you and how much I want to be with you."

My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. However, his exterior didn't crack with my confession.

"I'm so in love with you that my heart hurts because you're not with me. I love you, and I don't want you to be with her. I want you to be with me because it's where you belong. It's your wedding day, and I'm selfish for choosing today of all days to do this to you, but I won't keep them in any longer.

I won't let another moment pass by with these words kept to myself. They belong to you. My heart belongs to you. I..." My resolve cracked as tears fell down my face. "I can't imagine being with anybody else. Just you."

He stood there with a void expression. He didn't rejoice. The only emotion I got was his jaw clenching and his fists tightening at his sides. That's all.

I stood at the other side of the room, feeling like an entire burden was lifted off my shoulders, and I felt lighter now that I had confessed my love.

Yet I still felt empty and lonely because he wasn't speaking. He was just staring at me, and the longer he stared, the harder it hurt. It felt like we were worlds apart, despite being so close and in the same room.