Page 95 of Always Mine
“Agreed, my recall is a bit rusty. Luckily, I have a copy of the contract Patrick made you sign. Right here.”
Arty flashes his phone screen towards me, zooming in on a signature that looks distinctly like Marco’s, but I don’t care to see more of it.
“That’s confidential documentation from official Princi & Associate files, Arty. You’re violating several law codes right now,” Raf states.
“Your dad was more than happy to share the details of the deal with me, so I don’t think he’s too concerned about keeping this under wraps,” sneers Arty. “Besides, I’m doing my due diligence on behalf of my client to close the La Rosa deal. So technically, a background check is not a violation.”
“You knew about this, Raf?” I murmur shakily, meeting his eye. The remorseful look he gives me tells me everything I need to know.
“Marco. Please explain to me what he means. What deal with my dad?” I need the truth behind these accusations from the man I’ve fallen madly, deeply, and completely in love with. My heart is galloping, and my sixth sense screaming that everything I believed we had and could be is about to be eviscerated.
Finally tearing his gaze from Arty to look at me, Marco's anguished expression cements my worst fear. As unhinged as Arty is, there is some element of truth to what he is saying.
Ripping his arms free from Seb’s grasp, he closes the distance between us and goes to cup my face. I put a hand against his chest to keep him at arm’s length. Tears have begun to fill my eyes unbidden.
“Marco Marrone, I’m only going to ask this question one more time. What deal did you make with my dad?”
Chapter sixty-six
Nowhere To Hide
Marco
Thenoisearoundmestarts to sound distorted, like the voices are being put through a voice modulator.
“Get him the fuck out of here,” someone bellows. I think it’s Raf, his cool, professional exterior no longer in check. I can’t be sure because all I can see is Sophia’s face. Only an hour ago, it was the picture of ecstasy. Now, it’s twisted in hurt and anguish. Even so, she’s devastatingly beautiful. She looks so tiny standing barefoot on the freezing sidewalk. I peer down into her eyes brimming with tears and my heart shatters at the sight. I’m the fucking bastard who did this to her. There’s a slight tremble in the hand she’s placed on my chest to stop me from coming closer.
Physically, I’m only at an arm’s length, but the distance it creates makes me feel like I’ve lost her all over again. For good. And if I have, then it serves me right. I had so many opportunities to tell her why I let her leave on my own terms, but now she’s demanding an answer in front of her brothers and a crowd of people who have no business being privy to such a conversation, including the motherfucker who’s taking great delight in watching my worst fucking nightmare unfold.
“Sophia, baby, please listen to me. It’s not what you think.”
“Answer the damn question,” she grits out.
“Yes, okay! Your dad asked me to convince you to go to Harvard otherwise he wouldn’t give Seb and me backing for Bella Donna. I was stuck in an impossible situation. I knew how much Seb wanted his dream club, and I rationalized that I could use the time to set us up and then we could be together. It made sense in that moment, but I promise you I have regretted that decision every day since. All I wanted to do that summer was scoop you into my arms and tell you to stay. To be mine forever.”
The sound of Sophia choking back a sob almost takes me out at the knees.
“So, you strung me along and used me like a pawn in some big game of chess I didn’t even know I was playing,” she hisses. “Another fucking self-appointed king who thought he had the right to control me. You manipulated me into making a choice I was so vehemently against.”
“Please, baby. Listen to me. It was the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever done.”
“How many other secrets are you keeping from me, huh? How do I know every other word you’ve uttered to me isn’t just a twisted version of the truth to fit your narrative?”
With that, she lets out a humorless laugh. “I guess I can add falling for Marco Marrone, trusting the lies falling from his lips like a lovesick fool, to my list of worst decisions ever made. Foolishly, I chased you like a kitten chasing a ball of wool.”
“Please don’t say that. I promise we’ll talk when I get home, and I’ll explain everything. Anything you want to ask or know, I’ll tell you.”
Seb’s voice cuts through the whooshing in my ears. “Marco! I need you over here. We need to give a statement to the cops.”
I lift my hand to acknowledge I’ve heard him but don’t take my eyes off the only woman with the power to bring me to my knees and beg for her forgiveness.
“Home,” she snorts. “Where the fuck is that?”
“Sophia, please give us a chance to talk this through properly.”
“I’m not sure how much more I want to know…or, quite frankly, how much more heartbreak I can take. You need to deal with this,” she says, gesturing behind me to where I imagine Seb is with the authorities.
She takes another step backwards before turning her back on me and walking away, leaving me abroken man amongst the chaos. It feels like I’ve been hit by a sniper at close range. I really fucked this up.