Page 78 of Forsaken Promises

But thankfully, Sofia shakes her head. “No. No, he never touched me.”

Relief courses through me. Thank fuckingGod.

“I love you, Sofia,” I murmur, my voice cracking with the weight of my emotion. “I love you more than life itself. I’ve never stopped loving you. And I swear to you, I will never let anyone hurt you again. I will spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

She smiles then, a soft curve of her lips that makes my heart skip a beat. “I love you, too.”

I capture her mouth with my own, pouring all the love and the passion and the desperate, aching need that I feel into the kiss. She responds with equal fervor, her hands tangling in my hair as she presses herself closer, the silky material of the wedding dress brushing against me.

But even as I lose myself in the taste of her, in the feel of her soft curves molding to my body, I can’t shake the simmering anger that still burns in my gut, the fury and the disgust that rise up like bile in my throat every time I think of that fucking dress, of the way Luca tried to claim her.

“I want to burn it,” I growl, my lips brushing against the shell of her ear. “That fucking dress. I hate it. It’s an abomination.”

Sofia shivers in my arms, her breath hitching in her throat. “Please,” she whispers, her voice low and fierce. “Please, for the love of God, burn it. Destroy it. Do whatever you need to do to get rid of it. I don’t want to ever be reminded of him.”

I nod, my jaw clenching. “It’s done, baby. As soon as we get home and cleaned up, I’m going to take great fucking pleasure in watching that dress turn to ash.”

She laughs then, a soft, breathless sound that’s like music to my ears. “My protective Mafia prince,” she murmurs, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

I shake my head, my heart swelling with a love that’s so all-consuming, it feels like it might burst out of my chest. “You didn’t have to do anything, Sofia. It’s me who wonders what I ever did to deserveyou. You have brought light and laughter and joy back into my world. You make me want to be a better man, a man worthy of you.”

She kisses me again, soft and sweet and filled with a tenderness that brings tears to my eyes. “You are worthy, Dom. You always have been. And I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me, just how deeply and completely I love you.”

I tighten my arms around her, ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in my shoulder as I hold her close. None of that matters, not the blood or the sweat or the ache in my muscles. All that matters is her, is the fact that we’re together and that we’ve won this battle.

And hopefully, we’ve come out the other side stronger than ever.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I gaze into Sofia’s eyes. “Sofia,” I choke out. “I’m so sorry. For everything. I’ve been such an asshole to you in so many ways. From breaking your heart all those years ago, to not treating you as you deserve now, to lashing out at you and causing you to run off. I was selfish and stupid, but almost losing you…” I trail off, swallowing hard.

“It made me realize that I can’t live without you. You’re my whole world, Sofia. Please forgive me. I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

To my surprise, Sofia leans against me and takes my hand. “I need to apologize too.”

I furrow my brow. “No, you don’t?—”

She shushes me, placing one finger over my lips. “No, I do need to apologize. I said such horrible things to you, things I didn’t mean.” She winces. “I told you to drop dead, that I only wanted to get pregnant just so you would leave me alone for a year. I was so cruel, and I’m ashamed of myself now.”

I’m stunned by her words, my heart aching at the pain I see in her eyes. “Sofia, I?—”

She shakes her head, squeezing my hand tightly. “Please, let me finish. I need you to know that I never stopped loving you, Dom. Even when I said those awful, shitty things, my heart still belonged to you. I was just so heartbroken, so desperate to make you feel the same pain I felt. It was wrong and childish of me, and I’m truly sorry.”

“We both made mistakes,” I murmur, bringing her hand to my lips and pressing a tender kiss to her knuckles. “But none of that matters anymore.” I pause, wrestling with a question that just popped into my mind. “But if you don’t mind my asking, what made you change your mind? Before Luca took you, you said that you were done with me.”

Sofia winces again, biting her lip and looking away. Suddenly, I worry I went too far in asking her this question. Before I can retract the question, Sofia turns her head, gazing at me seriously.

“Luca,” she says. “When I saw the dark path that resentment and hatred can lead someone down, like it did with Luca, I realized that I didn’t want to live like that anymore. I didn’t want to be consumed by anger and bitterness. I just want to be withyou, Dom. I want to put the past behind us and leave it there. I want an actual marriage. A kind that my parents have.”

“That’s all I want too,” I murmur, pulling her again close to me. “I love you, Sofia.”

Sofia smiles, her eyes filled with tears. “I love you too, Dominico.”

Tilting her face up to mine, I capture her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. As we lose ourselves in each other, I know that this is a new beginning for us, a chance to heal, to love, and to build the life we’ve always dreamed of together.

Sofia winds her arms around my neck, mindful of my injured shoulder as she presses her body flush against mine. I wrap my good arm around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer as I sweep her mouth with my tongue.

Sofia nips at my bottom lip, eliciting a low groan from me as I retaliate by sucking on her tongue, sending shivers of pleasure through my body. Our hands roam feverishly over each other, reacquainting ourselves with every curve and plane of our bodies.

When we finally break apart, both panting heavily, Sofia rests her forehead against mine, her eyes closed as our breaths mingle. “Let’s go home, Dom,” she whispers, her voice husky with need.

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