Page 87 of The Empress

First, her family was killed because of me, then I ripped her away from the life she managed to build from the ashes.

I fucking forced her to marry me.

Every tear I’ve made her cry, every time I’ve caused her to flinch, every terrified look I’ve seen in her eyes, rip my soul to shreds.

Chapter 22

HAVEN

When Leo leaped over the side of the staircase, I almost had a heart attack.

I rush after him, and when he slows down and drops to his knees on the beach, the shout tearing from him has my heart cracking right down the middle.

I come to a skidding halt and fall to my knees in front of him.

His face is torn with something akin to guilt, and the second his eyes touch on me, he lowers his head as if he can’t bear to look at me.

Not wanting to set him off again, I fight the urge to touch him.

“Hey,” I whisper as if I’m talking to a spooked horse. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

He shakes his head before glancing out over the waves rolling to shore.

“Leo.” I keep my tone soft as I take a risk, slowly reaching out to him until I’m able to place my hand on his fist that’s resting on his thigh. I cautiously scoot closer, and when I’m able to wrapmy other arm around his neck, I say, “Shhh…I’m here. I’ve got you.”

His body jerks, and he grabs me to him, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

I see Edoardo running toward us, and I quickly raise my free arm to indicate for him to stop. “It’s okay. Leave us!”

He stops but hesitates and only walks back as far as the veranda from where he watches us from.

I brush my hand over Leo’s hair and hold him until his breaths return to normal.

“Better?” I ask, but when I try to pull back so I can see his face, his hold on me tightens until it becomes painful.

“I’m so fucking sorry for what I’ve done to you.” It sounds like the words are being dragged from the depths of hell. “Because of me, your family was killed, and you were kidnapped.” He gasps, and the guilt he feels is palpable in the air. “The moment you crossed paths with me again, I forced you to marry me. I’m destroying you.”

“You’re not.” I strain against his hold and manage to pull back a little. Placing my hands on the sides of his jaw, I lift his face so he’ll look at me. “You were a teenager when we were attacked. I don’t know why it happened, but you were just a boy, Leo.”

“The attack happened the night my father was assassinated. If I had stayed home…if I hadn’t gone to your house…”

His breaths start speeding up again, and I have to use force to keep him from turning his head away from me.

“No! Don’t blame yourself for something that happened because your father was the head of the mafia.”

There’s so much pain in his eyes, it has tears escaping and rolling over my cheeks.

My voice quivers as I say, “Yes, you forced me to marry you, and there’s nothing we can do to change that, but you’ve alsotried so hard to make it up to me the past two weeks.” I brush my thumbs over his stubble on his jaw. “And you can continue making it up to me for the rest of our lives.”

He stares at me, his expression constantly changing from guilt to awe to rage to disbelief.

His lips part, and he sounds broken as he asks, “How will you ever forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive where the attack is concerned, and as for the forced marriage, time heals all.” I try to make light of the situation by joking, “I’m already a quarter of the way to forgiving you.”

Leo closes his eyes, his features tightening with heartache. “How do I live with what I’ve done to you?”

“Look at me.” I lift myself up so I can press my forehead to his. When his eyes open, I whisper, “We’ll deal with everything one step at a time. You and me. Okay?”