Page 96 of Own Me

She tried reaching for his hand again, and in his guilt, he allowed her fingers to come into contact with his. "I will never regret those years we had, Mas," she whispered. "Please don't ask that of me."

Massimo had already withdrawn his hand from Ynez's even before she had finished speaking.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.Ynez's touch might have only lasted for seconds, but it should not have lasted in the first place.

He jerked to his feet, saying stiffly, "I truly am sorry this is how it ended between us. From now on—-it is best that you only think of me as your brother."

"But what if I can't? I still love you, Mas."

The pain in her eyes whipped his chest. His honor demanded reparation. But his hands were fucking tied, not only by the dutyhe owed to hisfamiglia...but also by the simple reality that his feelings - or the lack of them - had not changed.

"Perdonami."

It was the only thing he could say before turning his back and walking away from the girl he had convinced himself he was in love with for five years.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

His mind began to taunt him with side-by-side comparisons of his memories of Ynez...and the time he had recently spent with Ysabel. There were moments, just fucking moments that it had seemed to him Ysabel was more like the girl he had met in the funhouse five years ago. But of course that could not be true, and it would do him no good to wish for what was impossible.

When he came back to his apartment, all he wanted was to find some fucking thing to do - maybe hit the treadmill or do weights, anything that would have both his mind and body so exhausted he would be asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

That was the plan...but when he entered the bedroom, and he saw Ysabel waiting for him—-

Well, fuck.

Now he knew exactly how to tire himself out.

Twelve

A QUICK CALL TO ASKone little favor fromLa Stregaenabled Ysabel to enter herfidanzato'sapartment and wait for him to come home. Julio's revelation had troubled her greatly; it had made her realize just how far and how well thought out Ynez's plans were when it came to deceiving Massimo. And her sister could've so easily succeeded, if not for divine intervention in the form of Cattleya andLa Stregaplaying fairy godmother (and her assistant).

Just one last time,she promised herself.

Ysabel had come here to tell the truth one last time, and if necessary, she would ask forLa Stregato vouch for her—-even if her whole heart was against this. Maybe she was being too much of a foolish and hopeless romantic, but was it really not possible for Massimo to believe she was telling the truth?

Ysabel paced the length of Massimo's bedroom as she tried to rehearse what she would say.I'm sorry. I know I may be the last person you want to see right now, but could we talk? Please?

She sat on the floor, and painful memories engulfed her mind as she leaned back against the side of his bed. She remembered the look on his face when she told him about Julio, remembered how he had shouted, and how the entire diner had fallen silent. She remembered, and she started feeling hopeless—-

Questo non è da te, Ysa! This is not like you!

She pushed all of the ugly memories away and took her phone out in hopes of distracting herself, but this ended up backfiring when she saw #MasNez trending on all social media platforms—-and all because of one photo.

It was of Massimo and Ynez having dinner, and with her sister holding her ex-boyfriend's hand.

Ysabel's first instinct was to run away. If Ynez and Massimo wanted to be together, why should she stand in the way of their happiness? She was so, so tempted to give up, but then she remembered his own grandmother's words—-

If only you could have seen him in those days, bambina. He was a man in love! He had such high hopes! But when he and Ynez finally started dating, we saw the stars in his eyes slowly fade, and we saw him changing bit by bit until he seemed like a man who had lost all hope and had decided to simply...settle.

Ysabel got to her feet and started pacing again. Her sister would indeed win if Ysabel were to let Massimo go without a fight. She was in love with him still, and she was so very sure that he was in love with her, too.

She had to fight for him!

She had to!

It was while she was giving herself a pep talk that she heard the door open, and when she whirled around, it was to see Massimo standing by the doorway, staring at her.

Oh!

Gone was the anger he had shown her earlier when he believed she had lied to him about changing for the better.

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