Page 68 of Capuleto

What made me make that decision was putting myself in her shoes and understanding that Nikita was right, that I wouldn't have tolerated what I was expecting her to accept, and if the price to pay for being with my wife was to carry another death on my shoulders, so be it, I wasn't going to lose her.

My former lover appeared in the clearing with a frightened look. She jumped back slightly when she saw that I was pointing the gun at her.

"Romeo, what are you doing?" she asked, not understanding anything.

"Justice," Nikita spurred from the tree. "My husband just realized that you've been lying to him from the start, that you are a traitor." She clutched her chest. "Tell him that all you've sought since we got married was to separate us, that on our wedding day I attacked you in the club because of what you told me in the bathroom. Explain that you took advantage of his good faith, that he's a man and they are not as deceitful as us. Tell him that you waved the flag of friendship when all you wanted was to get back into his bed, not as his lover, but as his wife. Make it clear that the Judas kiss you gave him when I was kidnapped and your willingness to heal his wounds were just ways to stay close because deep down you always wanted to be Mrs. Capulet." The one I had considered my friend shifted her pained eyes from one to another. "Confess, and maybe I'll consider whether I pity you and let you live."

"I... I..."

"You, you. I'm sick of the damsels who don't have the ovaries to show themselves as they are! Who hide and strike from behind? Have the guts and confess. Did you sleep with him?" she asked, ignoring that I had already told her no.

"No! I only kissed him."

"But not for lack of desire, right?"

Her eyes were filling with tears.

"I... I made a mistake, I let myself be carried away by the past, I swear it won’t happen again, I won't try it again. I know he loves you, not me."

"Of course, you know. But you won’t try again because my husband is going to kill you." Her brown eyes looked at me pleadingly.

"No, please! I admit everything, you have my confession and my promise that I will leave you alone; if necessary, I will move to another city."

"That’s not necessary, really, I’ll find you a niche with a view of the sea."

Irene burst into tears. I didn't like the situation because, although Nikita was right, I could have also refused that kiss, and none of this would be happening.

The problem with making decisions, or being dragged into them, is that, whether you like it or not, you have to pay the consequences.

"Romeo," Nikita spurred me on. I closed my eyes for a moment, knowing that what I was going to do would weigh on me forever, but not as much as losing my wife. I was ready to pay the price.

"Irene, look at me. I'm sorry." She looked up with tearful eyes. "I promise it will be quick."

Boom!

28

We were not born to conform

The gunshot and the woman's scream shattered the night's silence.

Romeo sought my gaze, and I simply watched the woman's body lying on the ground.

"Get out!" I burst out. Irene had her hands over her head. She had dropped to the ground as soon as she heard my shot. She tried to get up without losing sight of me.

"I almost died!" she yelled.

"You're lucky I'm a woman of my word. However, I have a volatile nature, so if I were you, I'd start running before I change my mind. Oh, and make sure you don't cross my path, or my husband's, or you won't live to tell the tale next time."

I lowered the weapon and fired a second bullet into her heel, shattering it instantly.

The redhead jumped, almost breaking her ankle. She turned tail and ran, limping.

"That footwear wasn't suitable for coming to the mountains," I admitted, holstering the gun on my belt.

R also put away his gun as he came up to me.

"Why didn't you let me go through with it?"

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