Page 181 of Star Claimed Omega
Silence stretched taut between them.
Santi stepped closer, speaking with care. ‘You don’t owe me forgiveness. I don’t expect it. I’m not here either to justify my behavior.’
He dropped to his knees right there on the concrete floor of theKahawa Metro.
‘I should’veseenyou, Soleil,’ he rasped, head bowed. ‘Not the legend. Not the lies.You.I might’ve asked what happened. Not assumed it. I ought to have listened when you shared and trusted you at the end.’
His rasp cracked. ‘I should have burned the goddamn galaxy to keep you safe. Instead -.’
He gazed up, eyes burning. ‘I made you feel like shit by choosing to believe you were the monster they tried to mold you into.’
Her mouth pressed into a line, eyes shadowed, unreadable.
He dug deeper, fracturing himself open.
‘I’m not going to stand here and promise you words. They’re too easy. I’ll show you. I’ll earn back every ounce of trust if you ever want to give it to me. I’ll wait. I’ll fight for you in silence if I have to. Just -.’
He paused, hands flexing on his thighs.
‘Tell me there’s still a way to make it right. Not to get you back. Not for me. But foryou. Because you deserve someone who listens. Who never makes you question your safety, or your story, or your survival again.’
After a pause, she sighed. ‘ Why would I believe you’ll be that man now?’
His stomach knotted. ‘Because I’m here to stay on Cybele for as long as it takes to convince you, with my actions.’
Her eyes flickered at his words.
‘I can’t erase what I did,’ he whispered. ‘But I can make damn sure you see I don’t intend ever to do it again.’
Soleil studied him. When she spoke, her tone contained a hard edge.
‘You made me feel like I had to choose between my past and my future,’ she clipped. ‘And that if I didn’t bleed the truth onyourtimeline, I wasn’t worth your love. You didn’t just break my trust, Santi. You brokeme.’
He flinched. She didn’t stop.
‘You don’t get to fix that with pretty words or generous gestures. As for your apology, I don’t buy it yet. I need time to work through it all.’
She stepped back. ‘Please don’t contact me for a few days.’
Her quiet, calm delivery shattered him, yet he nodded, unable to do much else.
Her eyes lingered on him a moment.
For a beat, he glimpsed the ghost of the woman who once held his face close to his and called himmine.
Until she turned and walked away, through the back door, disappearing into the back of the cafe.
Santi stayed kneeling in the middle of the floor, spine bowed, palms shaking, as the scent of her and the aromatickahawashe brewed wafted in the air.
SOLEIL
Soleil shoved through the rear doors into the staff corridor.
Her breath came jagged and quick.
Her chest was tight and aching as she marched to the back locker and pulled open the metal door.
She snatched her bag from the hook, her hands shaking.
