Page 105 of Nemesis
“You think I left because I didn’t want you, but I left because I fell in love with you. Because I couldn’t bring you down with me. Because I love you so much that I couldn’t bear anything happening to you. I couldn’t see your heart burn with mine on my way to seek retribution for my parents.”
Theo stared at me, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine as my words slowly sank in. I didn’t think he expected me to confessthat.
“I needed to do it for me.For them.” My throat tightened, the words barely audible.
I looked up again, meeting his eyes once more. “I knew that if I told you, you would have said fuck it and followed me, destroying everything alongside me. But I couldn't ask you to sacrifice your career for me. Sacrifice yourself for me.”
His expression turned ravaged. “Who gave you the right to make that decision for me?”
“Theo,” I breathed. I moved to say more, but my words died in my throat when he spoke again.
“No, Sofia,” he yelled. “I loved you. I was so in love with you, and you left. You’re the love of my life and after everything, you just left. I couldn'tbreathewithout you. Couldn't sleep without you. Iwaitedfor you,searchedfor you foryears.”
“You have to forgive me,” I pleaded, but he refused to meet my eyes, his jaw clenching as he stared into the distance.
“I missed you every day. I kept looking for you. My mind kept reaching for you. My heart soared at the thought of you, grasping at any memories I had ofyou,” he cried out, his face twisting with agony.
He ran his hand up through his hair, pulling at the strands, and glanced around. “Fuck, myfucking soulkept reaching for you, but whenever I was reeled back into reality, you were never there. I just kept losing you over and over again. The ghost of your presence haunting me day and night.”
His jaw clenched as he stepped away. “I don’t know if I can trust you,” he confessed, ashamed. “I want you so much,mi alma, but I don't know if I can trust you not to leave me.”
The nickname he gave me all those years ago flew from his tongue and speared through my middle. I sucked in a shaky breath, and tears sprang in my eyes, my chest squeezing so tight it felt like it was snapping my heart in half under his confession.
I stood there for a moment longer, closing my eyes and forcing myself to take a deep breath. I swallowed my tears down, refusing to let them fall until I got out everything I wanted to say.
I opened my eyes, pushed my shoulders back, and walked closer, pressing my body to his. I lifted my hands to his face and rested my palms against the sides of his face, framing it.
He closed his eyes at the contact.
“I’m so sorry,mi cielito,” I said thickly. “I need you to give me another chance, to give us another chance.”
Our eyes connected and my heart thundered against my rib cage, mustering the courage to finally utter the words I’d known about a long time ago.
“Te amo tanto, mi cielito,” I finally confessed, my vision blurring from unshed tears.
I felt his body tremble against mine in response. He tried to look away, but I reached for his chin, bringing his gaze back to mine.
I waited for him to say something,anything.
But he didn’t, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
My eyes drifted to his full lips, and before he could say another word, I pressed a tentative kiss to the corner of his lips, pulling back right after.
“Sofia.” My name came out on a broken whisper. His hands flexed up, and the impulse to reach out for me halted, dropping them back to his sides.
“I—”
His words cut off when I leaned on my tiptoes again, now planting a soft kiss on his lips, waiting for a response. When he didn't return it, I ran my tongue against the seam of his lips, demanding entry.
A groan rolled through his chest and I slightly pulled back, whispering against his lips.
“Theo, please forgive me?” I asked, agony ripping through my heart.
My chest tightened at his silence. Theo opened his mouth to speak but paused, clamping it shut again, his jaw flexing from the motion.
The sky clouded over our heads and claps of thunder rumbled in the distance. The previously slow raindrops fell harder, the storm getting louder as sheets of rain started falling, instantly soaking us in their wake.
I kissed him again, my fingers curving around the nape of his neck, holding him closer. He took a shuddering breath, sagging into me.
