Page 111 of Forbidden Deception

“Venezia Cainn.”

I gasp, as does Aurora next to me.

My phone shakes and drops out of my hand. I quickly bend down to grab it.

“Right… You think I will ever willingly just hand her over? You think I will let her walk back to you so you can take revenge on her?” Remo crosses his arms.

“Revenge?” Rafael laughs loudly, shaking his head. “Have you seen me this past month? Have I looked even remotely like myself the whole month I have been here? I am going fuckingcrazy; so crazy that I am willing to welcome her back to my heart. I am not about to let go of the one and only woman who has turned me into this weak man. I am willing and ready to give you, Remo Cainn, my longest rival in business, anything you desire.”

Rafael steps back and spreads his arms wide. “Ask, Remo. Test me.”

Remo doesn’t waste a single second to utter words that make me spring up from the couch. “I want you on your knees.”

The world around me stops in place. It stops spinning, and time freezes in place.

“Would you accept defeat for Venezia?” Remo continues, taking a step closer to Rafael.

“What is he doing?” I whisper, turning to Aurora. She looks like she’s as shocked as I am.

Ego, confidence, and power are everything to these men. They are of equal power. To ask one of them to bow to the other is like asking him to give up everything.

All that for me? Rafael wouldn’t—

“Venezia, look!” Aurora screams.

I look down at my phone to see Rafael silently drop to one knee.

Then the other.

And I am running out of the door by the time he slowly lowers his head.

I ache with my love for this man who has admitted defeat in front of my brother for me. I rush to one of Remo’s car and demand for the driver to take me to Remo’s office. I keep watching the footage, my cries muffled by my hand in front of my mouth.

“The stupid shit you ask me to do, I swear…” Rafael grumbles, and a small laugh escapes me.

This stupid fool.

“This is a great sight,” Remo mocks.

Rafael’s head snaps up. I can practically feel the glare he is giving Remo.

“You want the footage back? I’ll give it to you. You want to infiltrate my home to get it back? I’ll allow it. All for one person and one person alone,” Rafael continues, still on his knees.

“Why would you ever go to this extent? To the point of being on your knees in front of me? Did my sister have that much of an impact on you?”

Remo knows how much I love Rafael, so for him to truly see if Rafael wants me back for love and not power makes me burst with love for him.

“Your relationship with her pales in comparison to the value Venezia has to me. I will avoid you for her sake. She clearly couldn’t choose between us, didn’t want to hurt either, so she chose to leave before even fulfilling the stupid mission you had. Our rivalry has forced her to stand in the middle, and I won’t allow her to ever pick, so I’m doing it for her.”

The driver stops in front of the building, and I rush inside, my phone still in hand. I run towards Remo’s private elevator. It arrives just in a few seconds, and I get inside.

“Instead of making her feel torn between us, I’ll fall to my knees, happily, for her.” I hear from my phone, but I keep pressing the button for Remo’s floor, over and over. My hands are shaky and slippery, but I manage to get it moving.

It rises, up and up.

“Okay, get up now. You’re embarrassing yourself,” Remo grumbles.

I hear some rustling, but I can’t look at my phone, too focused on the elevator numbers rising.

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