Page 45 of Ruthless King

I just want him to like me even though I shouldn’t.

It would be easier to kill him if he hated me. Abused me. Kept me as a prisoner.

Instead, Nico planned a beautiful date for us tonight, and the guilt is tearing me apart.

The guilt won’t let me kiss him. I need to be punished for how I feel.

“I just need a little more time,” I say, stepping away from him. He lets me go.

“Well, you know how I feel.” The lust in his eyes almost makes me fall right back into is arms, but I stay rigid.

“Goodnight, Nico.”

He sighs, nodding in defeat, before leaving the room. “Goodnight, Aurora.” I know he’s off to get more work done.

It’s his way, and it makes things easier. What doesn’t make things easier are the feelings for Nico stirring within my heart.

Chapter

Nine

AURORA

Life is easier without Enzo watching my every move.

And while it’s easier, it’s also become harder because nothing’s technically stopping me from hurting Nico. He still hasn’t replaced the inside guard yet. I don’t think he fully trusts his other men to watch me because he doesn’t want me to get hurt.

That’s the problem. While this would be the time to strike … I don’t want to.

I find myself making up excuses why I can’t kill Nico. I’m on my period and thus too tired. I’m not physically strong enough to overtake him. I can’t escape the house without calling attention to myself and, thus, calling attention to Nico’s dead body inside the house.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Beatrice would snap at me just to get it over with. But I can’t.

I’m still not fully sure how much Nico was involved. He told me he wasn’t sure if my father was dead or not, meaning he must not have partook in the killing of my father.

So he says.

Can I truly trust him? Nico is a Mafia man after all. He lives within a dark, dangerous world. Who knows what that does to a man?

We keep a slight distance from each other after our date night. It changed things between us. Nico, for once, actually opened up to me.

But then I pushed him away because I couldn’t have sex with him—not when guilt was coursing through me.

So, now, we’re at this strange impasse. We exchange smiles and polite greetings, but nothing else. Nico is a surprisingly patient man. But I’m just not sure if I’ll ever be ready because that will mean giving myself over completely to a man who may have murdered my father.

“How was work?” I ask over dinner. I can breathe now that Enzo isn’t glaring down at me as I eat.

“The usual.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

Nico chews slowly before answering. “It means I have the police breathing down my neck. It means I need to clean up the messes I’ve made.”

My hand clenches around my water glass. “What … messes?”

“Deals gone wrong. That’s the business I’m in. People like to backstab and play God. I’ve had to put them in their place. It’s tiring work.”

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