Page 100 of Wicked

“I couldn’t sleep.” He straightens and clears his throat. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

I shake my head. “You didn’t.”

He has an odd expression on his face, inscrutable and distant. As I gaze at him, I can’t stop Mia’s words from repeating like a broken record. I’ve been too much of a coward to bring it up even though I intended to over dinner—a dinner which ended up being rushed because Remy couldn’t wait to get me into bed. I had no complaints.

I lean against the doorway, biting my bottom lip. “Remy,” I start, my voice a mere whisper in the silence of the bathroom. I pause, indecision gripping me.

He steps toward me. “Something on your mind?”

Stop being a coward.

“What... what happens next for us?”

His eyes meet mine, clouded with emotions I can’t quite decipher. “What do you mean?”

I sense he’s putting off answering, as it’s a pretty simple question. “What is the endgame? How does this work with us?”

His jaw clenches, and his eyes flash with an undetectable emotion. “I don’t know.”

I draw a deep breath. “I know how I feel about you, but I don’t know if you feel the same.”

His eyes narrow, and I notice him shuffle on his feet. “What do you feel, Ella?”

I feel nervous about saying those three words. It’s not something I’ve said much in my life. Mom rarely said them to me. “I love you,” I breathe, my chest aching.

The panic etched across his beautiful face is palpable. “I told you well before this started that I don’t believe in love.”

My stomach churns. “But—”

“There are no buts. I don’t love. I’ll protect and provide for you, but that’s all.” His jaw is tight, and the seriousness in his expression makes me sick. “Love isn’t an option.”

I could have accepted that he wasn’t quite there yet. But he is saying it’s never going to happen. Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t allow them to fall, drawing a deep breath.

“And you expect me to be with a man who doesn’t love me?”

His nostrils flare. “I told you I didn’t believe in love before anything happened between us. Did you think I was joking?”

I walk back into the bedroom and sit on the edge of the bed and grab my shirt, pulling it over my head. “I don’t know what I thought.”

“What are you doing?” he asks, grabbing my wrist as I stand.

I glare at him. “I can’t be with a man who doesn’t love me.”

He searches my eyes. “What are you saying?”

I yank my arm from his grasp and step back, rubbing my face in my hands. “I can’t be with you if you don’t love me and never will.” My stomach is a mess of nerves. “We have to stop this. I need to leave.”

Remy blocks my path with possessive rage in his eyes, stopping me. “I think you forgot something, Ella.”

“What?” I ask, my voice small.

“I told you before we fucked in the cabin that if we crossed that line, there was no going back.”

Shit.

I remember him saying it, but I didn’t think he was serious.

“I have no intention of ever letting you go,” he adds.

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