Page 57 of His to Destroy

It’s late afternoon when Gaspare arrives at the mansion today.

I hear his voice before I see him—low and smooth, giving the guards some instruction before stepping inside.

When he enters the sitting room where I’m folding laundry, he pauses in the doorway.

He looks like he hasn’t slept. His shirt sleeves are rolled up, dark stubble shadows his jaw, and there’s something unreadable in his eyes.

But when he sees me, his expression softens.

“You look tired,” he says gently.

“I could say the same to you.”

He walks closer, then stops when he sees my face.

“What is it?”

I try to shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Almeria.”

The way he says my name—firm, but not harsh—makes me lift my gaze.

I don’t know what makes me speak, but the words fall out like a dam breaking.

“I’m scared,” I whisper. “Of how I feel about you. Of what it means.”

He doesn’t interrupt. He just waits.

“I’ve spent years running,” I continue, “and now I’m standing still in the middle of everything I tried to escape. And the worst part is… I don’t want to run anymore. I want you. But I don’t trust what that means.”

He kneels in front of me, his hands gently resting on my knees.

“I don’t blame you,” he says. “You shouldn’t trust easily. Especially not me.”

His eyes lock with mine. “But I’m not asking you to forget what happened. I’m asking for a chance to make it right.”

“You can’t undo the past,” I whisper. “I don’t think anything truly can.”

He furrows his brows, wrinkles breaking out on his forehead as if in thought. The silence between us lingers for a moment, making me uncomfortable and I’m about to get up and leave when he speaks again.

“I can’t undo the past, I know,” he begins. “And if there was any way at all to make it go away, I’d take the chance in a heartbeat, Almeria. I swear it. But I... I know what I can do. I can give you justice.”

I frown. “What?”

His voice drops lower. “That night. The alley. The man who hurt you—I should’ve never left you there.”

“You think?” I sniffle and wipe at my face, surprised that tears are gathering in my eyes. “You should never even have taken me there.”

Anger has replaced confusion and worry in my mind now. And I tell myself that this is what I should be feeling toward Gaspare. Not love.

“I thought you were trying to manipulate me. That your family was using you to get close to me. I was paranoid. Angry. Stupid.” He shakes his head. “But none of that excuses what happened next. And if it takes me tearing the world apart to find the man who did that to you—I’ll do it.”

I can’t speak. My throat is tight. My eyes sting.

“I’ve already started looking,” he says. “And when I find him, I’ll make sure he pays. Not for me. Not even for Luca. But for you.”

Tears roll silently down my cheeks. I make no effort to stop them from coming this time.

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