“No, you don’t get it,” she said, her voice breaking. “I’m not just mad because I thought you slept with her. I’m mad because you didn’t tell me. I had to find out from someone else! And Vince of all people! You know how that makes me look? You know how embarrassing it is to stand there like an idiot while I’m getting told my man cheated on me with a bitch who works for him, and everyone knows? Why the fuck would you put me in that position, Theodore?”
I went quiet, watching her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her mouth parted slightly, fists clenched tight at her sides.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered.
“Yeah,” she said bitterly. “You are.”
She turned away again, resumed packing like she couldn’t stand another second in the same space as me. I stood behind her, unsure for a moment, then took a gamble—I wrapped my arms around her waist. I ran the risk of getting mauled, but still, I needed to check her temperature.
“Get off me,” she muttered.
Rude.
But at least I wasn’t pushed away. That had to mean something.
“I’m so sorry, Sweetness,” I said again, leaning in, my voice brushing the shell of her ear. “Please. Come back to our room. Sleep in our bed. Don’t let it end like this.”
She let out a sigh. Her shoulders dropped just slightly, some of the tension dissolving, but I could still feel her guard being up.
“Are you asking me or telling me?” she murmured.
“Neither.”
I stepped around her and dropped to my knees.
“I’m begging you.”
“Theo—” she said, startled.
“Please,” I said, looking up at her. “Please, Sweetness.”
Her lips parted. Conflict swam in her eyes, and I waited.
Breath held. Heart in my throat.
I would wait as long as it took.
“Carmen,” I whispered, still on my knees, looking up at her like she was the only thing tethering me to this earth. “Please. Let me fix this.”
She shook her head, but she didn’t step away. Her breath hitched, eyes glistening with tears she didn’t want to shed. I shuffled closer on my knees slowly, careful not to spook her.
“I’m not asking you to forget what I did. I just—I want a chance to make it right.”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. I wrapped my arms around her waist again, and she didn’t flinch this time. She didn’t move, and her body was stiff as a stone.
“I hate that you found out that way,” I said softly as I looked up at her, “and I hate that I let someone else get in your head before I had the balls to be honest.”
She exhaled shakily, her gaze flicking to the side as if she couldn’t bear to look at me. So I kept talking.
Pleading.
“You mean everything to me, Carmen. There’s no one else—there never was.”
She backed up a step, and I followed. My arms still on her waist, I guided her gently as she moved. The back of her knees bumped the edge of the bed, and she caught herself with a hand behind her, steadying her balance. I took that hand and kissed her knuckles, holding it there against my mouth.
“You’re angry,” I murmured. “You have every right to be. But don’t leave like this. Don’t walk away from everything we’ve built,Amore mio.”
Her eyes finally met mine. “You broke it, Theo.”
