Page 177 of Dancing with the Devil

He scoffed in disbelief, shaking his head. “You’re insulting me,” he warned, and I threw my hands in the air, dropping them in defeat.

“Youdon’t get to feel hurt, or insulted or God knows what whenyoulied.Youbetrayed my trust andyoumade me fall in love with you,” I raised my voice.

The bedroom door opened and our heads snapped towards it. “Hey sis, I was wondering if—” Nereus mumbled, cutting himself off when he saw us.

He held a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other. He also had a croissant in his mouth and a box underneath his arm. Wiping my tears, I stood up, walking over to him. “Oh…” he mumbled and I took the wine bottle and two glasses from him, placing it on the table. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…” he mumbled before pulling the croissant out of his mouth.

“What is it?” I softly asked, shaking my head as he stuffed the croissant into his mouth. He swallowed before stepping towards me and placing both hands on either of my shoulders.

“Blink twice if you need help,” he whispered, and I showed him a sad smile. “You okay?” he asked and I nodded.

“I’m fine, we just need to talk about a few things.”

Nereus nodded and looked behind me at Antonio. “I can’t believe you’re making my sister cry on her wedding day,” he narrowed his eyes. “How. Dare. You.”

Antonio got to his feet and Nereus jolted back. “I’ll be right down the hall,” he quickly said, kissing my cheek. “Call if you need me. No, matter-of-fact, scream. Scream if you need me,” he said and I couldn’t help but sadly laugh at his silliness.

He turned around to leave and I sadly smiled, watching the door close behind him.

Antonio walked up from behind, wrapping both arms around me. He rested his head on my shoulder and I closed my eyes, feeling comfort in his arms.

I didn’t hold onto him. I didn’t touch him. I just stood, feeling my heart ache.

“You did this. You hurt me,” I softly said, feeling my throat close up.

“Hey…” he trailed off as he turned me around to face him. “Nirah, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I know my intentions werehorrible, but after I met you, everything changed. You became more than just a way to make your father suffer.”

“How can I believe you now?” I whispered and he gently cupped my face.

“Because Ihadto kidnap you that day, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I could have taken you at any given moment and made you marry me unwillingly, but I didn’t, because I couldn’t imagine doing something like that to you. Whatever happened between us had to be your choice, becauseyouwanted it. Becauseyouwere okay with it.”

“So what, you had a change of heart?” I sarcastically scoffed.

“You can say that, yeah.”

I shook my head, looking away from him. “What I did was fucked up, I know and I’m sorry,” he apologetically said. “But, I can’t change the past. Yes, it started as something business-related and cruel, but now it’s so much more to me than that. Ican’tlose you.”

He rubbed his thumb across my cheek, wiping off the tears.

“What if I hated you now?” I asked, feeling bile rise in my throat. “What if I never wanted to see you again?”

“Then you’d be ripping my heart out,” he almost immediately answered, and my stomach knotted. “Because you have that much power over me—but babyplease, don’t leave,” he pleaded, as he held onto my face even tighter. “I’ll do anything you want, just don’t leave or give up on us.”

I was silent as my mind raced at a million miles, scattering my thoughts everywhere. I only shook my head with reluctance.

He dropped his hands from my face and took both of my hands in his. He kneeled in front of me, and my heart rate slowed. “What are you doing?”

“Kneeling and asking for your forgiveness,” he said, and my brows knitted together in sadness. “I’ll doanythingto make itup to you, no matter how long it takes. You’re my life now, Nirah, I can’t lose you.”

I swallowed hard, exhaling slowly.

“I’ll doanything,” he emphasized and gave my hands a little squeeze.

“Anything?” I asked and he nodded in confirmation. “Will you let me have two more dogs?”

“As many as you want.”

“And a cat?” I asked and he almost immediately nodded.