Chapter 6 - The Longest NightI packed my bags through blinding tears.
The fairy tale was over. The carriage had turned into a pumpkin, and the prince was a mafia boss who had used me to fool his mother. I had been stupid to think the way he looked at me on the dance floor was real. It was adrenaline. It was acting.
As I walked out of the guest room, pulling my small suitcase behind me, I saw Marco standing in the hallway. He had taken off his jacket and bowtie, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He looked wrecked.
"I'll double your severance," he said quietly, not looking me in the eye. "You don't have to come into the office ever again. I'll make sure you're taken care of, Emily."
That was the breaking point.
I dropped the handle of my suitcase. It hit the hardwood floor with a loud thwack.
"Severance?" I choked out, a furious, hysterical laugh escaping my lips. "You think this is about money?"
Marco finally looked at me. "Emily, please. My world is dangerous. Tonight proved that. Lorenzo knows who you are now. If you stay with me, you will always be a target. This was a mistake. I never should have involved you."
"Stop lying to me!" I yelled, stepping toward him, jabbing my finger into his hard chest. "Stop pretending you're sending me away to protect me! You're sending me away because you're terrified! You're terrified that for the first time in your life, you actually feel something you can't control!"
Marco grabbed my wrist, his grip tight, his eyes blazing. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I know exactly what I'm talking about!" I screamed back, tears streaming down my face. "I love you, you idiot! I have loved you for two years! Not the billionaire, not the boss—you. The man who orders pizza at 2 AM when we're reviewing contracts. The man who takes care of everyone else and never lets anyone take care of him. I love you, and you are throwing me away because you're too much of a coward to admit you love me back!"
The hallway went dead silent. My breathing was ragged, my chest heaving.
Marco stared at me, his eyes wide, his chest rising and falling rapidly. The mask he wore for the world finally cracked, shattering completely.
"You think I don't love you?" he whispered, his voice raw, tearing at the edges.
Before I could answer, he pulled me against him.
His mouth crashed down on mine, hungry, desperate, and possessive. There was nothing fake about the kiss. It was fire and ruin, apologies and confessions all rolled into one. I tangled my hands in his dark hair, kissing him back with every ounce of pent-up emotion I had buried for two years.
May you like
He backed me into the nearest wall, lifting me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he carried me into his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind us.
That night, there were no lies. There were no contracts. There was only Marco, stripping away my clothes and my defenses, worshipping my body until I couldn't remember my own name. We loved each other with the frantic, desperate passion of two people who had almost lost everything.
