Page 50 of Mason

Not because I doubt it.

Because I know it will break her.

And because I know it will break me, too.

But there’s no room for hesitation now. No room for second-guessing. I’ve made up my mind.

As soon as I see her, I’ll tell her the truth.

She has to know.

She deserves to know.

I hurt her. I know I did.

When I sent her away and told her not to come back, she fought me.

She begged me.

She stood on the other side of that glass partition, her hands clenched into fists, her eyes burning with betrayal.

I saw the way her world fractured in that moment—the way she wanted to hate me for it, the way she couldn’t.

And I still did it anyway.

I forced her to leave.

Forced her to cut ties.

Forced her to go home to her husband and never come back to see me again.

I told myself it was for her own good.

And maybe part of that was true.

Because I didn’t want her anywhere near that prison. Not with the walls crawling with eyes, not with men inside who’d do anything for leverage. Where one wrong look, one wrong name, could put her in the crosshairs.

She doesn’t belong in that world.

Myworld.

We’ve already lost Sophia. Damn near lost Maxine, too. I wouldn’t survive something happening to Mia.

So I made myself stay away.

I told myself that distance was safety. That not being seen with me would keep her off everyone’s radar. That if no one knew what she meant to me, they couldn’t use her to gut me.

It’s easier, pretending she’s safer on the outside. That I did the right thing.

But the truth?

That illusion only stretches so far.

Because she’s not invisible.

Not with a face like hers. Not with a name like hers.

Not when she’s married to Brando Gatti—underboss of the Gatti family, next in line to take the throne. As his wife, she’s a direct target for anyone with a vendetta against the Gattis.

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