Page 104 of Maddest Temptation

He looked away, so I stood up and forced him to face me. I placed my hand over his heart right where his tattoo was. He inhaled sharply and stared at me.

“What happened to Arabella was a tragedy. I miss her every single day and still hate facing it, but there was nothing we could’ve done. That you could’ve done.”

“Ara—she was my responsibility.”

I smiled weakly. “Arabella, say it, Cassio. It’s not just guilt you feel, its grief. You never had a proper moment to mourn her. With your father gone, you needed to be strong, and I understand that, but there is nothing wrong in admitting it.”

“I don’t.” Cassio stepped away.

“This need to live for the Outfit, to be distant from others and to push people away, it’s fear, Cassio. Fear that you’ll be hurt again.”

He was silent for a long while, his attention on the pictures attached to the vanity. I walked toward him once again and took his hand in mine, interlacing our fingers. Reminding him that he was not alone, that I was always going to be here for him, if he accepted me.

“This need for vengeance is corrupting what good is left in your heart. I know it hurts, and I know you want them dead, but you need to move on, Cassio. Let go of that rage.”

“I can’t.” He fisted his hands. “I won’t, Francesca.”

“Then you’ll lose me, Cassio. Because if you continue down this path, I refuse to watch you self-destruct.” I would not watch him die! It was either me or them, he couldn’t have both.

He frowned. “What does that have to do with us, Francesca?”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Either you forgive yourself and let it go, or you’ll live a lonely miserable life.”

“Maybe that is what I want,” he shouted. I didn’t flinch, but he saw the pain in my eyes. I could see he regretted those words the moment he said them.

“Francesca.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean it.”

“You did,” I argued. “You think having feelings makes you weak? They don’t, Cassio, this need for vengeance is making you weak. It’s keeping you from living.”

“I miss her,” he said softly, and I almost didn’t catch it.

“I hate them, too, Cassio, but that rage is consuming everything that is good in you.” I closed the space between us and placed a hand over his beating heart. “The love you felt for Bella will never be replaced by the love you feel for others. Each person is loved in a different way.” My eyes found his.“I will not lose you to them, Cassio,” I said with finality. I refused to do so.

“You won’t,” he said with conviction.

“Then promise me you’ll let go of this rage.”

“I can’t.”

“Then let go of me,” I said as tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t watch Cassio wither away because of this rage. He might have hidden it from me, but I knew what lay within.

He stepped closer to me and cupped my cheeks. “Never, Principessa, I’ll never let you go.”

“Why?”

“Because, I am a selfish man, and I love you too much to let you go.” he confessed.

My eyes widened and my heart inflated. Those were not the words I was expecting but they were everything I needed. Pure, unfiltered, happiness cursed through my veins like a drug offering me a new kind of high. The only kind I wanted to experience from now on.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. “Well, that was not the reaction I was expecting.” The concern in his voice caused me to chuckle.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought him down for a kiss. When we pulled apart, I confessed what had been in my heart forever, something I had been refusing to listen to.

“I love you, too,” I admitted.

He sighed deeply and kissed my nose. “You have no idea how beautiful those words are, Principessa.”

So, I said them again. “I love you.”

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