Page 104 of Forbidden Deception

“Remo.” I get off the bed. “I’m sorry.” I look away in shame.

A beat of silence follows.

Then another.

“Venezia, I forgive you.”

My head snaps to him, and he dips his chin. “I do. You locked yourself in here so abruptly that I didn’t get the chance to tell you, but I knew you wouldn’t listen, so I let you be. Just know that I called you back because I fear for your safety. You may have fallen for Rafael, but has he fallen for you as deeply as you have? What will he do now that he’s probably figured out you are my sister? It’s why you need to wait and see what is waiting for you. Is it a fight for love or is it a heartbreak?”

I shut my eyes, my hands balling at my sides.

“What do you want from me?” he asks softly.

I open my eyes. “I know you are wary of him, Remo. I understand you have both been at each other’s throat for years now, but this love isn’t one-sided. It isn’t just me. It’s Rafael, too. I have been with him and saw what he doesn’t show to others. Rafael isn’t only what he portrays to others; he is much more than that. I have fallen, I admit, but what would you do if I told you that he may as well die without me?”

“Venezia—”

I raise a hand to stop him.

“We all have our doubts about people, but Rafael isn’t…” I shake my head, dropping my hand.

“But… what if he feels too betrayed to truly fight for you?” Remo asks.

I take a deep breath and hold eye contact. “We will see.”

“Even if I set impossible conditions?”

I don’t answer. Not because I don’t have faith in my love, but because I don’t know how his brothers or his father will take it. I don’t know how he feels after finding out I was a spy. I am protecting him in front of my brother, but what if he thinks my feelings were fake, an act?

What if he doesn’t believe our love is real?

42

Itold you that you could be my doom, and you proved me right.

43

Life isn’t the same. It may never be.

Missing Rafael while knowing he is out there, probably hating me and plotting my demise, hits me like a punch in the gut.

I can’t even focus on the movie in front of me. Everyone is piled into Remo’s living room, but I can’t look at the screen without thinking of Rafael and our movie nights, without remembering him kissing me on the shoulder and hugging me closer when I screamed.

I glance to my right, and Aurora cuddling with Remo kills me.

I get up and walk upstairs to my room.

Shutting the door behind me and sitting at my windowsill, I rest my chin on my knees, watching the darkness that has enveloped the city.

What is Rafael doing right now?

Is he having dinner alone? Or is he with his brothers?

Mikko, Khyros, and Eiran probably hate me for hurting their brother. They felt like another family to me.

A lone tear slides down my cheek. I look up at the full-moon tonight. Its glow is so vast and bright that I hope it doesn’t reveal my broken heart to the world.

Ihope you don’t hate me.

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