Rhythm Of Deceit

Chapter 19: A Broken Promise

I stood frozen by the fountain, my heart pounding in my chest. Rio's presence felt overwhelming, as if everything around us had faded away, leaving only the tension between us. He looked different tonight—his usual confident facade had cracked, revealing something more vulnerable. It made my chest tighten in an unfamiliar way, and I couldn’t decide if it was pity or something else stirring inside me.

“Aniya…” he started, but his voice faltered, and he cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean for things to get this complicated.”

The words were unexpected, and they made my confusion grow. Rio was always so sure of himself, so in control. The man standing in front of me now wasn’t the same Rio I had known. His eyes, usually filled with arrogance and calculation, were softer now, almost desperate. There was no denying that the change in him was real, but it made me question everything.

“You didn’t mean for what to get complicated?” I asked, trying to sound stronger than I felt. My emotions were all over the place, caught between the pieces of the man I thought I knew and the secrets Sofia had revealed.

He took a slow step forward, but I didn’t move. “I didn’t want to drag you into this mess, Aniya. I never wanted you to get hurt.” His voice was steady now, though his gaze was full of something I couldn’t quite place—regret, maybe. Or guilt. “But it’s too late now, isn’t it?”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “Too late? What are you talking about, Rio? What is all of this about?”

Rio let out a shaky breath. He ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated with himself. “You don’t know everything. I didn’t want you to find out this way. I thought I could keep you out of it. But the truth is… I never wanted you involved in all the things I’ve been tied to. My father, my family… it’s all been part of this life I’m trying to escape. But I can’t, Aniya. Not without breaking free of everything I’ve known, and that’s not something I can do easily.”

My heart thudded painfully in my chest. Everything he said sounded like a confession, like he was laying his soul bare. But I didn’t know if I could believe him. I didn’t know if I could trust him, especially after everything Sofia had said.

I took a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “Rio, I don’t know what to believe anymore. Sofia… she said some things about you. About your family, about what you’ve been involved in.” The words felt heavy on my tongue, as if speaking them aloud would make the truth too real to ignore.

He flinched at the mention of Sofia’s name, his expression hardening for a moment. “I figured she’d get to you eventually,” he muttered under his breath. “Look, everything she said is true, but it’s not as simple as she makes it sound. My family’s business has a lot of darkness in it, and I’ve been stuck in it for years. But I didn’t want you to be part of that. I never wanted to drag you into this world.”

I stared at him, trying to make sense of his words. Was he telling me the truth? Or was this just another one of his manipulations? “So why did you get close to me in the first place, Rio? Was it all just part of your plan? Or did you actually care about me?”

His eyes softened, and I saw the raw honesty in them. “I care about you, Aniya. I do. I never planned for it to happen, but it did. And now I’m caught in the middle of everything. My father, the people he works with—there’s no escaping it. But I wanted to protect you. I wanted to keep you away from the things that could hurt you. That’s why I warned you about Adler.”

His words hit me like a wave, crashing over everything I thought I knew. Adler? Why would Rio warn me about Adler? The question hung in the air, unanswered.

“Why didn’t you tell me all of this sooner?” I asked, my voice rising slightly with frustration. "Why did you keep me in the dark for so long? I could’ve helped you. We could’ve figured this out together."

Rio ran his hand through his hair again, his eyes showing the conflict that had been tearing at him for so long. “I didn’t want to drag you into my problems, Aniya. You were innocent. You didn’t deserve any of this. I thought I could handle it myself, but it’s too big, and it’s too dangerous. I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

I looked at him, searching his face for some sign of sincerity. Everything about this felt like a mess—like a puzzle where the pieces didn’t quite fit, no matter how hard I tried to force them together.

“I can’t just pretend none of this happened,” I said, my voice quieter now, but the pain in it was unmistakable. “You’ve put me in a position where I don’t know who to trust. And now I don’t even know who you are anymore, Rio. You’re telling me all of this, but I still don’t understand why I should believe you.”

For a long moment, he said nothing, his eyes not leaving mine. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice a low whisper. “I’m not asking you to forgive me, Aniya. I just need you to know the truth. And I need you to know that I’d do anything to protect you, even if that means walking away from you forever. Because if I stay in your life, I’ll only bring you more pain.”

His words pierced me, and for the first time, I realized how much he had been carrying—the weight of his past, of his choices. It wasn’t just about me anymore. It was about him, too.

“You’re asking me to let go of everything we’ve had,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “You want me to choose between you and everything else. But I don’t know if I can make that decision. Not yet.”

Rio’s gaze softened, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something in his eyes—something raw, something real. “I’m not asking you to make a decision now. Just… don’t shut me out completely, okay?”

I nodded slowly, though my heart felt heavy with the weight of everything that had been said. “I won’t shut you out,” I said quietly. “But I need time, Rio. I need time to figure out what I want, what’s real, and what’s not.”

He stepped back, his face conflicted, but there was a strange sense of finality in his expression. “I’ll give you that time, Aniya. I’ll wait for you.”

With that, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the night. I stood there, frozen, unsure of what had just happened—or what it meant for the future.

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End of Chapter 19

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