Page 41 of When We Fall: Part One

The way she said my name made me ache with want. Something held me back, though. Maybe it was the scene I’dtaken in earlier of her and Fox in the kitchen. Their words. The way it made me feel things I’d been pushing aside in order to run a damn empire.

She shifted, her hand moving to splay along my bare abdomen. She gently raked her nails along my muscles, causing goosebumps to erupt.

“Enzo?” she called out again.

I couldn’t help myself. I wrapped my hand firmly around hers, feeling my engagement ring on her delicate finger.

She stilled as I opened my eyes and stared up at my dark ceiling, taking in the way a tree branch’s shadow danced along the moonlight.

“Rosalie,” I murmured. “What time is it?”

“Just after three in the morning. I didn’t wake you for dinner because you looked so peaceful sleeping.”

“Why are you in here?”

She was silent for a moment. “What?”

I exhaled. “I’m sorry. What I mean to say is, what’s wrong? Is everything OK?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to be with you.”

“Yeah? Are you sure?”

She moved to sit up and withdrew her hand from mine. I watched as she hugged her knees to her chest in her thin pink nightie.

“You heard me and Fox talking,” she said.

“Are you really so lost you’d want to escape?” I asked softly, not bothering to deny it.

“I just want this nightmare to end,” she answered, not looking at me. Instead, she rested her chin on her knees and stared at the wall.

“Is it me? Am I that nightmare?”

“It’s not you. It’s this entire thing. I’ve been worried sick since it all began. If it tells anything about how the future will be, well, it doesn’t seem like it’ll get better.”

I absorbed her words, hating that she felt this way. The worst part was that she was right, and I knew it. If I’d learned anything about living in this world, it was that it only got worse. It was why my goal was to be at the top. At the top, no one would dare cross me or the guys.

“We keep having these same conversations,” I finally said.

“It’s because nothing changes.”

I sat up and reached for her. She let me pull her close, and I placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

“All great change takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight, Sunshine.” I wrapped my arms around her and continued to hold her.

She sighed and let her head fall back so it was resting on my shoulder.

“I missed you, Enzo.”

“I was never far, baby.”

“Not only this last week. I mean, I’ve missed you since all of this started. You’re not my Enzo anymore.”

Her words gutted me. We’d talked before about it, but this hurt a little more tonight. Maybe the impact of seeing what Dominic and the kings had gone through made everything seem more real.

“I’ll always be your Enzo, Rosalie. Don’t ever doubt that.” I kissed her shoulder again. “I’m sorry if I’m distant and this way. I’m trying so damn hard to build this life for us. I would do anything for you. Fuck, I wish I could just go forward in time and show you the world I want to build for us.”

She was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke. “I don’t like that you spied on us.”