Silent love

Chapter 63

On the previous chapter...

Immanuel, silent until now, looked up from where he'd been cleaning his knife near the window. His eyes narrowed with calculated amusement.

"Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?"

Cecilia arched a brow, slow and venomous. "Don't you ever get tired of stalking around like some creepy nightmare?"

"I don't stalk". Immanuel said flatly. "I glide".

"Oh, you glide? Glide this, you idiot". She stood up and promptly launched one of her heels across the room.

It missed Immanuel's head by about an inch and thunked into the wall.

No one reacted.

Chrysanthe barely looked up. "That's your last black heel".

"I have twelve pairs".

"You only wear three".

"Because I love those 3".

"Clearly". Immanuel muttered.

                   ʚ FEDERICO'S POV ɞ

"I don't know if I can forgive you yet".

Her voice was quiet, but it hit like a bullet.

The room went still again, like the world was holding its breath just the two of us in that cramped, dim bedroom in the safe house, far from the church, far from the blood.

But not far enough from the things we didn't say.

I nodded once, jaw tight.

"I know". I said. "I didn't come here to be forgiven".

She sat on the edge of the narrow bed, her hands tangled in her lap like she was holding herself together. Her wedding dress was gone, thank God, replaced by jeans and a sweater that didn't belong to her. But nothing about her felt casual. She looked like a storm trying to stay polite.

And me? I was shaking under the surface. With rage. With guilt. With too much goddamn love for the girl in front of me and not enough time to fix what I broke.

"He signed you over like a damn contract". I said, teeth clenched. "Like you were a favor he owed Lazare".

Her eyes flicked up, dark and unreadable.

"I didn't say yes". She whispered. "He didn't wait for one".

That made it worse.

I stood near the door, still too wired to sit, fists in my jacket pockets so I wouldn't punch a hole through the drywall.

"If I hadn't come back-"

"But you did". She interrupted. "Late. Faking your death. Leaving me to-".

Her voice cracked, and she didn't finish.

I crossed the room in two steps and dropped to my knees in front of her before I could stop myself.

"I had to disappear". I said hoarsely. "They were going to kill you to get to me. They were going to make your life their message".

They would. There was only one way to get rid of Valerio and that was to get rid of me too. At least looked like I was gone.

I only came back because I heard her being married off to another sucker. Otherwise I would've stayed hidden, for now.