Page 38 of Corrupted Memories
“I can,” I say softly. The back of my eyes sting and I crinkle my nose to stop the urge to cry. “I used to imagine her all the time, but that’s not the point. You could have moved on, found someone else, and had your own Charlotte.”
Sebastian’s jaw tics, and his eyes fall to the sidewalk on the other side of the window we’re sitting against. “I don’t just want kids, Gianna. I wantyours. Without you, there is no me.”
I inhale sharply, wiping at the tears that almost fall and then glare at him. “You can’t fucking say that.”
His head snaps to me, anger etched on his face as well. “Excuse me?”
My fingers curl into fists before I unravel them and shake them out. “How dare you say that you are nothing without me when you’re the same fucking man who couldn’t say I love you.”
A menacing laugh rumbles out of his throat before he shakes his head. “Fuck. I would have thoughtyou’d grown out of this nonsense. They’re just words, Gianna. Silly little words.”
“Then say them. If they don’t matter to you, but they matter to me, say them.”
His nostrils flare and his lips thin as he stares at me with fury. Despair claws at my heart, and I clench my teeth. I swallow the ache in my throat and shake my head.
“I won’t do this again. I won’t be the pathetic girl who begs her boyfriend to love her. I’m worth more than this. I’ll count the days until the contract ends and leave you.”
“You can try,” he spits out between his teeth. Sebastian shoves his tray away, staring at me with a dark, possessive anger.
My eyes drop to my own food, a furious smirk pulling at my lips as I stab my french toast and shove a bite into my mouth. I certainly could try, and I wouldn’t fail. This time I would be more proactive in hiding from him.
Sebastian leans back in his chair, watching me as I eat until I finally look back up at him. His eyebrow raises. “Done?”
I glance down at the half-eaten food, and the unforgotten fear of wasting it claws at my insides. There’s more food at his penthouse and I know that.
He clears his throat. “We can bring it with us.”
My eyes catch his. “It’s just french toast.”
His shoulder lifts and falls in a simple gesture. “And you can have thejustfrench toast later if you want.” I watch him as he gets up without another word and grabs boxes to pack it up, giving me the bag with a wink and choice to take it if I want before nodding to head out.
“Don’t think this changes anything. I’m still annoyed with you,” I say, knowing he’s only taking the leftovers home for me.
He smirks, looking down at me as he holds the door open for me to pass through. “I’d never?—”
My shoulder is slammed into the rough plaster of the building before I register gunshots ringing out around us. Sebastian has me pressed against the wall, his arms huddled over my head as my face is squished into his chest. Fear squeezes my heart and claws up in my throat, and I drop the food to grab at his shirt. There’s a moment of silence before he pulls away, his hands cupping my face to study me with wide eyes.
“You okay?”
I shake my head and he nods, pulling me back into his chest and walking us to his car. He sets me in the passenger seat, buckling me in before shutting the door and moving to do the same on his side. Whenhe starts the car, I look at him, assessing if he was hit while sirens start up in the distance.
“Were they shooting at you?” I ask in a small voice.
His head snaps to me briefly before returning to the road. “No. They weren’t even on the same street as us.”
I blow out a breath. “It’s just—the way you pushed me into the wall…”
Sebastian’s jaw grinds back and forth, then he reaches over and squeezes my knee. “I’ll always protect you, Gianna. That includes throwing myself in front of a bullet.”
Tears blur my vision and I grab his hand. “I don’t want that.”
His fingers entwine in mine. “If it comes down to me or you, I’ll always choose to save you.”
A hiccup escapes my throat. “Stop saying that. Just stop.”
I couldn’t bear it. The thought of him getting hurt while protecting me, the thought of living a life without knowing he’s out there, even if he's not next to me.
We don’t speak a word the entire way home from breakfast and I expect him to drop me off, but he follows me into the elevator. Sebastian stares, leaning across from me. The mirrored panels of the elevator make him seem closer than he is.
