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“I want you to give me a chance. To give us a chance. And if in four months, we’re still incapable of making things work, if in four months you’re still insistent on leaving, then sure, I’ll let you go and that’ll be it. You’ll never have to see me again, you’ll never have to think about me again. I’ll let you erase me, Aurora. And we’ll be over for good.”
The pain that sears through my heart at the thought of that happening is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. She has no idea how easy it would be for her to destroy me.
“You know this is my problem with you. You always have to have everything figured out. Everyone’s just a piece on the board to you. A chess piece to move around. A side of your fucking Rubik’s Cube to solve. Sometimes it’s like you don’t really feel anything. It’s not normal to think of people like that, Nico.”
I’ll admit I have a tendency to act like that, but I don’t have a choice. It’s how I’m wired.
“I’m trying to give us a chance here, Aurora,” I tell her.
“No, you’re trying to fix us. Have you ever considered that I don’t want you to? You just made this decision on your own without a care about how I feel?”
“Of course I care about how you feel. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t.”
She gets to her feet, running a hand through her brown hair.
“What do you think is going to happen? That in the next four months, we’ll ingest some magic potion, and then all our problems will go away? All the pain, the anger, the betrayal—everything just disappears? It doesn’t work like that, Nicolas. Sometimes two people just aren’t good for each other. And you need to accept that. I thought you accepted that ten years ago.”
My eyes narrow. “Like you gave me a choice back then. You ran away. And allow me to point out that you’re being a hypocrite, Aurora. You made that decision to leave for both of us ten years ago. You chose to disappear on your own. And I chose to bring you back. It’s as simple as that,” I say easily.
She groans. “You are so infuriating!”
“And you’re impossibly stubborn!”
She glares at me and before I can react, she’s grabbing one of the small pillows on the sofa and launching it at me. It hits me squarely in the face, catching me completely off guard. For a split second, all I can do is blink in shock.
"Oh shit, sorry," she says, her eyes widening before a laugh bubbles up from her chest.
The sound of her laughter warms my heart and for a second all I do is stare at her, then I remember what she did and my eyes narrow.
“You might want to run,” I say, my jaw clenched.
She squeals and takes off, darting around the living room. I begin to chase her, the argument forgotten in an instant. We weave through the house, her laughter echoing off the walls as I gain on her. She’s quick, but I’m determined. I round the corner into the kitchen just in time to see her slip past the island, and I sprint after her, my heart pounding with a mix of adrenaline and amusement.
She makes a break for the living room again, but I’m right behind her. With a burst of speed, I catch up and grab her around the waist, lifting her off the ground as she shrieks with laughter.
"Got you, sweetheart,” I say against her hair, relishing in her closeness.
She wriggles in my arms, still giggling. "Okay, okay, you win!"
I carry her over to the couch and collapse onto it, pulling her down with me. We land in a heap, both of us breathless and laughing. She’s lying on top of me, her face inches from mine, and for a moment, all I can do is stare into her eyes, the remnants of our argument dissipating into the air.
“I’m sorry I called you unfeeling,” she says softly, meeting my gaze.
“And I shouldn’t have manipulated you into marrying me,” I return with a soft sigh.
She sniffs. “I’m actually more upset that I fell for it.”
I brush a strand of hair away from her face, my hand lingering on her cheek. “What are we going to do now?”
Her expression softens, and she leans into my touch for a second before her eyes shutter and she climbs off me. The lack of her warmth is like a shock to my system. I sit up as well, watching as she takes a couple of steps back.
“I understand why you did what you did, Nico. But I also need you to understand that I left the outfit because I didn’t think I belonged there.”
“You do,” I say assuredly.
She shakes her head. “No, you don’t understand.”
“Then make me understand,” I retort, getting to my feet and crossing over to her. “I used to be the only person you could talk to, Aurora. When you were fourteen, and you found out Valerio was seeing another woman, you talked to me. You told me exactly how you felt about it and how guilty you were for being angry, because at the end of the day, he had a right to move on as well.”
