Page 131 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

"I was planning to come to you after the gala, Monique," he admitted, hoping that truth would let her know he hadn't wanted to part with her. "I was going to beg for forgiveness and..."

She shook her head, taking a step back as if to distance herself from him physically and emotionally.

"Don't switch up on me now, Raz. Keep that same energy you had the day you told me it was over. Because I'm now ready to match that energy."

"No, I've had time to think about..."

"I've had time to think, too, Raz," she cut him off. "And I realize I shouldn’t have come here to win you back. I'm the prize here, not you."

Raz felt a pang of guilt at her words, knowing she was right. "I never claimed to be a prize," he murmured, already knowing he wasn't worthy of her.

"ButI'mclaiming it," Monique declared, her voice gaining strength. "I'm a prize, Raz. Not you. Not Trevor. Not my family.Me!Trevor didn't deserve me. And as I stand here looking at you, listening to your nonsense, Don Cattaneo, I realize you don't deserve me either. With the way I've been acting, chasing after you, crying over you, losing sleep over you, I don't deserve myself either. But I'm going to change that. I'm going to start treating myself better. I'm going to love myself the way I deserve to be loved. And I'm no longer going to chase after love. I'm damn sure not going to chase after a man. I'm the prize. If love wants me, it'll chase me."

Raz's heart sank as she spoke. Her words were like a knife twisting in his gut, cutting deeper with each declaration.

"Forget you saw me here tonight," she continued, her voice cold. "Because when it comes to me and you, there's nothing to see. You left me months ago. And now, I'm accepting it. I'm sorry for bothering you. I'm sorry for showing up in places you didn't want me to be."

"Don't say that, baby," he started, his voice cracking as tears stung his eyes.

"Sorry it took me so long to let you go," she added, her own voice faltering. "I just... I'd never been loved the way you loved me. So, like a little girl who wanted to believe her fairytale had come true, I trusted you when you said you would never leave me. That's on me. Not you. I'm sorry for trying to pressure you to return to me. You're free now," she told him, tears dripping down her cheeks. "Free from whatever web we'd been entangled in. You're free to do whatever you want to do. And so am I.”

“Rosa,” Raz started.

“I'll stay away from you from now on,” Monique continued. “And I want you to stay away from me, too, Orazio Cattaneo."

His heart crumbled as he watched the woman he loved shed tears before him. She turned and walked away from him, her shoulders trembling as she fought to hold back tears. She disappeared from view as she headed down the hall, leaving him standing there, alone.

Alone and broken.

Raz swallowed hard, knowing he was at fault. He had pushed her away, thinking it was for the best, but now he realized it wasn't for the best at all. But even knowing that, he couldn't accept what she had just said.

He couldn't let her go, not now, not ever. He knew she wasn't ready to forgive him yet, and that was fine. But she couldn't leave him. She just couldn't. If she wouldn't come to him willingly, he would force her to come. Consequences be damned.

Mind made up, Raz strode forward, determined not to let her slip away a second time. He would make her understand, make her see that they were meant to be together, no matter the cost.

He would take his time earning her forgiveness, but he'd do it with her by his side. He rushed out of the room and down the hall after her. He was almost to her when Leo turned the corner, heading in their direction.

"Raz, we need to get you out of here," Leo said as he rushed toward them.

He was sure what Leo had to say was important, but there was one thing Raz had to do first. He rushed to Monique and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him.

"Let me go," she yelled, attempting to jerk free of his grasp.

"I will," he promised. "When we get home."

He went to pick her up, ready to carry her away from whatever threat Leo was about to inform him of. Before he could wrap his arm around her, her hand whipped out of her purse. His eyes widened as he felt a sting in his neck.

Raz's hand went to his throat, his gaze jerking to hers. The room began to spin, and so did she. Had she... had his Rosa just drugged him? Leo was yelling for her to step away from him, but Monique didn't move. Instead, she stared down at him as he fell.

"I told you to stay away from me, and I meant it, Don Cattaneo," she hissed as his body hit the floor.

The last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was the woman he loved, rolling her eyes at him, then turning and walking away from him, leaving him behind. The same way he'd left her.

Except, she wasn't doing it to protect him. She was doing it because he'd pushed her too far. He hadn’t just pushed his Rosa into the arms of another man, he’d pushed the love she’d had for him out of her heart.

Now, she hated him just as much as he hated himself.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

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