Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
"We needed his advice on how to flush our traitor out. And one of the things he told us to do was to make them think that they no longer wielded any influence over our famiglia."
Understanding dawned.
"You pretended to cheat on me...because then I'd think, if I were the traitor, that I had no power over you."
"Perdonami." Forgive me.
Cat slowly shook her head. "You don't have to apologize. Because I get it. Everything you did was—-"
"Unforgivable."
"Plausible."
"Maybe for others, but not you. Because if our roles were reversed, you would have never doubted me."
That was true, she thought painfully.
"Because you love me."
That was true, too—-wait.
Her gaze flew up to his, and oh, his dark eyes were windows to his soul again.
No.
No.
No.
She didn't want to see this. She didn't want this. She was glad to know he wasn't the bastard she thought he was, but it was over between them.
Ezio was ready the moment she jerked to her feet and tried to leave.
He had already captured her hand and held on to her before she could even take a single step.
"Please let go."
But his grip only tightened around her hand.
"Forgive me, piccolina."
"Don't call me that."
And now, he was wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Forgive me, Cat."
Why was he being so unfair?
"Please just let go—-"
"I can't."
The hoarseness of his voice was killing her.
"Please." She didn't hesitate to beg. "Just please let me go—-"
"I know we've only been married for days, but you've already become my life."
His words were those of a poet.
He really was a romantic.
But that didn't mean he loved her.
"I can't stay, Ezio," she choked out. "I just can't."
He knew a less selfish man would have let her go at this point.
But he just fucking couldn't.
Because he meant what he said.
She was his life.
"I'm sorry," he said rawly. "I'm sorry, Cat. I promise I'll never hurt you again. Ask anything of me. Make me pay a thousand times for hurting you. I don't care."
He could feel even without looking that there were people all around them, and that they could hear his every word as he groveled for his wife's forgiveness.
But he didn't give a damn about that either.
"Just don't leave me."
Because his wife was all that mattered.
"I love you—-"
The moment he said the words, he felt her body jerk, and Ezio slowly lifted his head.
"You...love me?"
Had he somehow forgotten to say the words in his desperation?
"Si, mia moglie. Ti amo. What do you think this is all about?"
"I don't know," Cat said shakily. "I just don't know anything anymore. I'm scared to think of anything after what happened."
Her words revealed just how much he had hurt her with his distrust, and Ezio rose to his feet so he could cup her face and have her see in his eyes just how much he loved her.
"You are my life, Cattleya. You're the only girl I've lost my heart to, and even if there comes a time that you would no longer want me, my heart would still be yours. I love you, and I always will."
His words made her feel dizzy with happiness, and all she could do was cry as the world started to spin.
"I love you."
She finally managed to get the words out.
And she wanted to say so much more, but she couldn't.
Because what she had always dreamt of had finally come true.
She swooned.
Which was a good thing as far as Cat was concerned, but for her husband, it was the opposite.
To see his wife lose consciousness was the worst thing Ezio had ever seen, and that said a lot, coming from him.
First-aid responders from the airport clinic were quick to offer assistance, and as Ezio braced himself for the best (his wife was pregnant) and worst (his wife was terminally ill) possible news, the truth was nothing he had expected.
The EMTs spoke to his wife when she started to regain consciousness, and after a round of questioning, and a still-groggy Cat also inadvertently letting slip that she was hoping she had swooned because her husband was such a gorgeous romantic—-
That wasn't the case either.
Because apparently, his wife had been so lost in her heartbreak that she had forgotten to eat in the past twenty-four hours, and that was it.
Swoon.
Epilogue
EZIO MADE SURE TO FEED his wife on the morning of their wedding, which this time was made known to the public and held aboard the same yacht that they had first met. Their guest list was an incredible mix of celebrities and (alleged) criminals, billionaires and FBI agents, and the worst thing of all was that it also included the Beast of New York himself, who was the sole reason Ezio wasn't taking any chances with his wife's appetite.
He had to make sure she would not go hungry in the next few hours and have her accidentally swoon in another man's arms.