Page 80 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

What if he truly doesn't want me anymore?Monique kept that last thought to herself.

"I don't think that'll happen. We won't know until you talk to him face to face. If you think he's different and is no longer someone you want to spend your life with, you'll have to let him go."

After a brief hesitation, Monique mumbled, "I know."

"I'm serious, Mo."

Monique nodded.

"Don't nod. Promise me you won't try to keep a man who doesn't want to be kept. If he truly doesn't want you, if being with him hurts you, promise me you'll let him go," Toya insisted.

Monique knew Toya was only looking out for her. However, the thought of not being with Raz hurt so damn badly.

"Mo, you deserve the best. If Raz can no longer give you that, he's no longer the one for you. I refuse to let you go through another bad relationship on my watch. I ain't a killer, but don't push me, Monique Rose."

Monique chuckled. "Okay, Tupac."

"I'm serious."

"I know. If Raz is no longer the man I love, I promise I'll let him go. I'll never be a doormat again. Not even for Orazio Cattaneo. I love myself too much to go through that again. I won't accept anything less than the best. I promise."

"Good. But if he's still the man you know and love," Toya continued. "If he's still worth fighting for, I'll stand by you as you fight for your love. Okay?"

Monique nodded, but she was still worried that her reunion with Raz wouldn't be as sweet as Meka's reunion with Cas. She pushed that fear aside for now. Right now, it wasn't about her. It was about her friend and Raz's younger brother.

Chapter Twenty-Three

MONIQUE

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Cas finally turned around. He looked a bit calmer now. He took another deep breath, then continued toward the porch. He stopped on the front step, his gaze sweeping over Meka. Monique really wanted to see Meka's expression, but her friend's back was to the camera.

"I love you," Cas whispered.

"Turn the volume up," Toya told her.

"Shhh," Monique hushed her, not wanting to miss anything Cas said.

"I love you so much that I feel like I'm dying without you," Cas told Meka. "Normally, you're the person I'd call to talk about this. You're the person I'd turn to when things got hard. Without you, I had no one to confide in. I had no one to tell me it would be alright. I had no one to play inspirational music for me or write poetry with me to help me escape my dark thoughts."

"Cas..." Meka started forward.

Cas raised his hand, halting her. "When I was alone in my room, alone with my thoughts, alone missing you, that's when I realized how much I'd come to depend on our conversations. That's when I realized how much I depended on you. That's notfair to you, Meka. I've been laying all of my burdens on you, but I haven't picked up any of yours."

"That's not true," Meka told him. "I've come to depend on you just as much as you depend on me."

Cas shook his head. "Not true, love."

"It is true, Cas. I feel like I've been dying without you."

Cas wiped his eyes again. "You almost diedbecauseof me," he said, looking ashamed and guilty. "Because of me, your light was almost snuffed out. I told myself that staying away from you was what was best for you. But I'm a selfish asshole. I can't stay away. I can't let you go. You've shined your light on me, Meka, and I can't go back to being alone in the dark."

Tears pricked Monique's eyes.

"If a man doesn't say shit like that to me, then I don't want him," Toya whispered as Monique nodded in agreement.

"I want to step into the light with you. But you deserve a man who's all in. I can't have one foot in the light and one in the dark. I can't be yoursandalso be a part of the Cattaneo Organization. I must let one go, or things like what happened recently will continue to happen. Meka, I love you more than I love myself. From this moment on, I'll always put you first. I'll become a man you can depend on. I'll become a light that shines on you when you're feeling down. I'll protect you from everything, even my family and the darkness that comes with them. You are my life and my light. You are my everything, Meka."

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