Page 77 of Whatever You Need

“No, what you needed was distance from me. You needed your anger justified.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “I laid everything out on the line for you. I know you were hurt and confused, but I was ready to throw away my entire life’s ambitions for a chance to be with you. But you were so pissed that you couldn’t see past your own anger.” She shook her head from side to side and everything inside me rattled. “I can’t do this with you, Marco, no matter how much I want to be with you, I no longer have a choice in this matter.”

“You said what we have is worth fighting for.”

“You’re right, but I can’t fight for someone who gave up on me so easily. You didn’t believe in us enough when I would have given up my entire world for you.”

“Amelia.” I took a deep breath. I’ve had this whole speech planned out in my head. I rehearsed it all the way over here, yet I had no idea what to say. “Before you go through with this, I want to have my say.” My gaze lasered in on the big as fuck diamond around her finger. Seeing it up close was a sharp reminder of the time I wasted while wallowing in my own misery. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder, carry her out of this room and never look back.

“Okay?” She looked at me with a mixture of confusion and hope. No matter how I twisted and turned this around in my head, I needed to tear these walls down between us first and follow my heart.

“When you told me about this fucked-up arrangement, I wasn’t sure how to feel.” I paused, trying to keep my composure. “I know it feels like I’ve been ignoring you but believe me when I say, you are all I’ve thought about.” I blew out a long breath. “Please, just put yourself in my shoes for a minute, okay? I felt betrayed and lied to.”

“I hated that I hurt you.” Her arms folded around her stomach. She looked like she was going to fall apart at any second. “I took my time because I was scared of what it would do to us. I felt so damn guilty about not being completely honest with you, and I will always regret how I handled things. You deserved better and I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t swallow down these feelings any longer. I wouldn’t waste another minute, so I moved into her. My fingers reached out and trailed down her neck, every inch of her came alive under my touch. I was drawn to her in a way that I couldn’t explain. Everything that mattered to me was right at my fingertips. I pulled her closer, not allowing any space between us, because this type of connection doesn’t happen to everyone. What we had was special, and I wanted to show her I finally realized that. The time for talking was over. If this was my only shot, I was taking it.

I placed my hands on either side of her face and crashed my lips to hers. Where they belonged. A sense of peace settled over me. I was utterly crazy about this woman. The feelings I had for her would never go away and it was stupid of me to think that I could just get over her.

Her entire body melted into mine without any concern about what was going on around us. She belonged with me. Not him. I didn’t give a shit that she had his ring on her finger. It didn’t matter that the room down the hall was filled with people that came out to celebrate an engagement that never should have happened in the first place. She didn’t love him, and she never would.

I pulled back slowly and took a deep breath. I was scared to ask, but I had to know regardless of the outcome.

There was too much at stake.

My hands were on her hips, holding her in place. “Am I too late?”

She looked away, blinking back the tears. Whatever hope I was holding onto disappeared. I dropped my head because I knew when I looked up, I would have to face the truth. The pain in my chest felt like a dam that was about to break. I hated this, but I wasn’t strong enough to stand here and try to convince her if her mind was already made up. Just like I couldn’t go back and rewind time. If she was going to break my heart, she was going to look me in the eye when she did it.

I tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at me. “Say it,” I choked out. I wanted to shake her and ask her why. Why she was doing this. Beg her not to go through it, because no job was worth a life of misery.

She wiped the tears that continued to stream down her face. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Tell me,” I demanded, while keeping my voice deadly calm. “I want to hear you say it.”

“Yes.” The pain in her voice felt like an arrow shot straight through my heart. “You’re too late.”

I took a stumbling step back. She might as well have cut me off at the knees. I guess coming here and handing over my heart changed absolutely nothing for her.

“You told me you loved me. If you really meant it, then you wouldn’t do this.”

“Are you kidding me right now? I love you so much that it hurts. I meant every single word I said to you. Please don’t ever question that, but, Marco,” her tears were thick as they trailed down her chin, “you told me to leave. I assumed you didn’t want me anymore. I figured your silence was your way of telling me we were done. So, I told myself that if I couldn’t have you than I might as well have my career.”

“It’s been a little over a fucking week.” I shook my head and started pacing a small path along the hallway. She stood there, watching me as I came undone. “You told me you loved me and now I find you here—wearing another man’s ring.”

“I explained to you what the situation was. I can’t change my decision now no matter how badly I want to.”

I stepped forward. “Explain this to me. How you’re going to marry him. Share a bed with him,” I hissed, feeling the bite from my words. “Knowing that it’s all a fucking lie!”

“Why are you doing this to me?” A violent sob ripped from her throat. “I would have chosen you a million times over this.”

My chest rose and fell in heavy breaths. “Excuse me, but I didn’t realize I had competition. You dropped a bomb on me, and I needed more than a fucking minute to process everything.”

“Owen is not your competition. This is a marriage of convenience. Nothing else. I may be his on a piece of paper, but everything I have to give belongs to you.”

My gaze was hard and unwavering. Still, I took one good long look at her face, trying to memorize it in my head because this would be the last time I would ever see it. That organ in my chest broke apart into tiny little bits because that kiss was the last one we would ever share. I would never touch her or hold her again. No, someone else would be doing that. I needed to face the truth that she no longer belonged to me, and maybe she never did.

“A lot of good that does. I came here and thought maybe if I told you I loved you it would change your mind. But it sounds like your decision was made the second you walked out my door. Have a nice life, Amelia. I hope it’s worth it.”

I turned and walked out of her life forever, all the while pretending that my heart wasn’t breaking at never seeing her again.

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