Page 40 of Die for You

After a couple of minutes of searching, it’s apparent that whatever he wanted to show me isn’t there.

The hue from the screen lights up his face, and I commit it to memory because this has to be the last time. Unless he can reveal some grand epiphany, we can no longer see one another.

He made it clear that he hunts me if we’re not on the same side.

And we never will be.

“I don’t understand,” he mumbles under his breath as he frantically searches through file after file.

“What is it?” I ask as his agitated state reveals that whatever he wanted to show me, he believed would change everything.

“Fuck!” He slams the laptop shut.

I wait for him to explain what is going on.

He runs both hands through his hair, yanking at the strands. “You just have to trust me. Come back to America, and I will show you the proof.”

“Just how you were going to show me the magical file on the laptop? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“I most certainly do not,” he replies, offended.

“You expect me to just trust you after everything that’s happened?”

“I did actually, but clearly, I was mistaken.”

“Do you remember our parting words?”

He doesn’t reply.

“Shall I remind you then? They were ‘love can’t save us from what’s fated in the stars. Run far away because when I find you…I’ll never let you go.’ Well, you found me, so what do you plan on doing?”

He’s furious, but he knows I’m right.

However, he thinks I remain here because of my loyalty to Gianna. Once upon a time, that was the case, but now, I stay here because it’s the only haven I can provide for Lettie.

This is why I can’t tell Lenny about her because the truth is, I don’t trust him. Although I love him with every inch of my heart, I know we aren’t good for each other.

“Trust me. Please,” he begs, placing his hands onto my knees.

I ignore the goose bumps and shake my head. “I can’t. Too much has happened, and you and I, we just don’t work.”

I say what I must to hurt him because although the pain is unbearable, I know that it’s for the best. Our past is paved with nothing but sorrow and carnage.

I no longer want that life.

“Tell me you don’t love me, and you’ll never see me again. I promise,” he says, sashaying his finger back and forth over my knee.

His touch is intoxicating, but I measure my breathing. “Love can’t save us from what’s fated in the stars,” I recite his words back to him. “Our love blinds us to the truth. You’re no good for me. And I’m no good for you. If you do love me, I ask that you leave and never return.”

As much as this hurts, I mean it.

His hurt is reflected all over his handsome face because one of us had to end this, and he didn’t have the strength to.

How lucky I am to be loved so passionately. I’ll never forget this almost obsessive love because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.

“Valentina…” he says, but it appears we’ve both run out of words.

I place my finger over his lips. “Just kiss me.”