“What the hell does that even mean?” she shrieks, pulling her shirt over her head. “You know something about my family, and you won’t tell me how I can protect them!”
“Because you can’t, babe.” I put my hands on her shoulders. “You have to trust me. I’ll take care of everything.”
“That’s just the thing. I don’t know if I can. I can’t just sit around in the dark, waiting and wondering about every move you make, not with our families at odds like this. There’s too much bad blood, Nico.” She shrugs off my hands and runs a hand through her hair. “You’ll never put me first. My family will always be at the bottom of the food chain with you on top. I can’t…I can’t…” A sob explodes out of her mouth. “I can’t do this. I thought we could figure things out and find a way to make it work, but you’ll never walk away from your responsibilities. It’s not the kind of guy you are. You always do what’s expected of you. And the people you’re going to look out for…they’re not my people, they’re yours. You asked me to trust you but trust works both ways, Nico.”
“Don’t do this.” My voice drops, cracking a bit. Another fucking sign of weakness. Each word twists the knife in my chest, slicing away at what remains in the hollow space where my heart once was. For a fleeting moment in time, I had it all.
And now I’m back to square one where I have nothing that matters.
Respect, money, houses, expensive toys — yeah, great. It’s nothing that I want and everything that I have.
I stand back while she zips up her black boots, unable to say anything to make her stay. I can’t. I need to fix this organization. That’s my job. There is no out for me. I am the job. It’s my legacy to fulfill. I didn’t ask for this life, it was given to me. I have to accept it or die. Those are my options, and as much as I want Shaye by my side, I have to do my job, a job she’ll never understand. A job she’ll always fear. A job that will always come first.
The hurt and devastation in her eyes pierces my soul. With a final, pained glance over her shoulder, she grabs her handbag from the hall table, and walks out of my house.
The door slams shut for the second time, closing the chapter on a love story that was never meant to be told.