Page 64 of Vow to Me

“I don’t think I’ll ever be okay, but you need to promise me that you’ll force me to let her go. Have men watch over her and make sure she’s okay, but don’t let anyone report it to me unless something happens. And I mean somethingbadMarco. Do notevertell me if she’s with another man because I’ll end up losing my goddamn mind and going on a killing spree. Promise me you’ll do that,” I whisper, my heart breaking at the thought of her falling in love with someone else, sharing what we shared. “I’m on my wayto meet her now and it’s fucking killing me man, this hurts more than taking a fucking bullet,” I sigh while I continue walking.

“Are you sure you’re really willing to give her up?”

“I’m only hurting her more the more I try to fix things. If this is what she wants, then I’ll give it to her. I once said I’d give her the world, it just turns out that world doesn’t include me,” I say before hanging up as I reach the entrance to the coffee shop. I can see Izzy us already seated at one of the tables through the windows. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the place is mostly empty, I really didn’t want to fucking do this with the place full of people.

I steel myself for what’s to come before opening the door and walking inside. Izzy’s head snaps up as soon as she hears the well chime and stands from her chair as I make my way over to her.

“Luca,” she whispers, and the way she says my name threatens to bring me to my knees. She sounds so fucking sad, sobroken.

I did that, I broke her, destroying myself and ruining our future in the process.

“Mia regina,”I murmur back to her and go to wrap my arms around her, but I stop myself before I do. I don’t have the right to touch her anymore, I don’t have any fucking rights at all. She must notice my intention because she steps towards me and wraps her arms around my waist. I tense for a moment—taken by surprise at the gesture—before wrapping my arms tightly around her, cradling her head to my chest and pressing a kiss into her hair.

Christ, I’ve missed her so goddamn much.

I let go and step back before I can get too comfortable, not wanting to cross any lines or push her boundaries. I pull her chairout for her and wait for her to sit before rounding the table to sit down—but before I do, she kicks out the chair that’s next to her and motions for me to sit there rather than opposite her.

My pulse skyrockets at the thought of being close to her. It sounds fucking ridiculous, but I’ll take all I can fucking get.

“I need to talk to you,” she says as I take a seat.

“I know why we’re here Iz,” I blurt before taking a deep breath. “We’ve had guards on you.” I throw my hands up in a surrender gesture when I see her stony expression before explaining. “Not for any other reason than to make sure you’re safe. I made a mistake before, baby, and you got hurt. I didn’t want anything happening to you, it’s hard to live with myself as it is, I couldn’t cope if something else happened.” She nods in understanding and reaches for my hand, giving me a reassuring squeeze and I honestly wish she wouldn’t. As much as I love being around her, this is fucking killing me.

“I know where you went this morning Iz, I know why we’re here,” I sigh as I rub my thumb across the back of her hand.

“JesusLuca, yes, I went to visit a divorce attorney but it’s not what—” she’s cut off as a woman approaches our table looking disheveled and Izzy peers up at the woman intruding with her brows wrinkled in the fucking adorable way she always does.

“You.” She points at Izzy, fire blazing in her eyes and Izzy tenses and sends me a questioning glance. I shake my head, equally as confused as she is.

“Can I help you?” I ask but she doesn’t spare me a glance, continuing to glare at my wife.

“You’re the reason he’s gone,” she hisses before pulling a gun from the pocket of her coat, “You’re the reason I have to live without him!” the woman wails, and everything happens in slow motion.

The mystery woman aims her gun at Izzy, and I know a split second before that she’s going to pull the trigger, I don’t even think—normally I’d be going for my own gun, ready to end the bitch—I shove Izzy down and throw myself over her as she fires. The few people around us scream in terror but I’m too busy checking Izzy over, my heart in my throat as I check that she wasn’t injured.

It’s only when I confirm she’s fine that I feel myself becoming dizzy, a pain in my stomach rendering me immobile.

“Luca!” Izzy screams and I know she’s realized the same as me, she rolls me over, pulling the gun from my waistband in the process and firing a shot at the mystery woman before leaning over me and using a cloth to try and stop the bleeding. I don’t need to see what she’s doing to know it’s not doing much.

“Luca…just hold on, okay? Someone’s calling for an ambulance, w-we’ll get you some help, okay? Don’t… don’t leave me,” she sobs, and it breaks my fucking heart.

I reach up and try to wipe the tears that are streaming down her beautiful face but I’m too weak, my visions blurring as the seconds tick by and my arm flops back down. “I got to love you Izzy, it’s okay baby. You’ll be okay,” I croak.

“I love you Luca, you’re not fucking dying on me,please,”Izzy’s pleas are the last thing I hear as the fight drains from me and I close my eyes, at peace with the fact I took the bullet that was meant for my wife.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Izzy

“Igot to love you Izzy, it’s okay baby. You’ll be okay,” Luca says on a broken whisper and my world crashes down around me. I can’t fucking lose him.

I can’t take the peace that washes over his face.

He thinks he’s dying. Hecan’tdie on me.

I can’t fucking do this life without him.

“I love you Luca, you’renotfucking dying on me,please,”I sob as he closes his eyes and I push down harder on his wound, trying to stop the never-ending stream of blood escaping him. “I can’t lose you, open your eyes Luca.”

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