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Alaric’s POV
I watched her from across the room. She was sitting there, her arms crossed, looking down at her lap as if trying to collect herself. Her shoulders were trembling ever so slightly, and I could feel the guilt gnawing at me, making my chest tighten with each passing second.
I had messed up. Big time. I had let the rage and the need for control cloud my judgment, and now she was sitting there, hurt, angry, and devastated because of the choices I had made without her. Without her.
I was so damn stupid.
“Emilia,” I said, my voice low but firm, my feet taking me toward her before I even realized what I was doing. She didn’t look up when I said her name, but I knew she heard me.
She didn’t respond, though. She just kept looking at her hands, fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. I could feel the distance between us, like an invisible wall had gone up the moment I’d made the decision to move against Alonso without even telling her.
I could feel her anger radiating from her like heat, and the last thing I wanted to do was make it worse. But there was no way around it. I had to do something, say something. I couldn’t just leave things like this.
“I-I’m sorry,” I finally forced out. The words felt like they were clawing their way through my throat. I hated saying it. I hated admitting when I was wrong, especially to her. But I had to.
She didn’t look up, but I saw her jaw tighten at the words. She was angry. I understood that. I deserved it. But I needed her to hear me out.
“I should have told you, Emilia. I should’ve brought you into this from the beginning, instead of thinking I could handle it all myself,” I said, my voice thick with regret. “But I thought… I thought if I could just take care of it, if I could protect you without putting you in harm’s way, it would be for the best.”
I paused, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to find the right words. It wasn’t easy. It never was when it came to her. “But I was wrong. I shouldn’t have made that decision on my own. I should’ve trusted you, trusted us, to figure this out together.”
Her hands were shaking now, her fingers gripping the fabric of her sleeve so tightly it looked like it might rip. She finally lifted her head to look at me, her eyes red-rimmed, a tear tracing down her cheek. My heart splintered in my chest at the sight. The guilt hit me again, like a physical blow.
“Why?” she whispered, her voice barely audible, but it cracked, and I could hear the hurt in it. “Why didn’t you trust me, Alaric? Why didn’t you think I had the right to know? Why did you think I wouldn’t understand?”
I sucked in a breath, trying to steady my shaky hands. “I didn’t want to put you in danger, Emilia,” I said, my voice rough. “I thought I was protecting you by keeping it from you. But now I see how wrong I was. I should’ve come to you. We could’ve come up with something together. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Her lips trembled as she wiped at her eyes, shaking her head slowly. “You were thinking that you could solve everything by yourself. That you could fix it without involving me. That I was just some… some fragile thing that couldn’t handle the truth.” She stood abruptly, her chest rising and falling with every breath. “I’m not fragile, Alaric. You can’t just make these decisions for me, like I’m some pawn in your game. I’m not that. I’m not.”
I flinched, her words stinging more than I cared to admit. She was right. I had treated her like she couldn’t handle the darkness of the world we were living in, like she wasn’t capable of understanding the danger. And I had done it because I didn’t want to lose her, didn’t want her caught up in this world. But I was wrong.
“I know you’re not fragile,” I said quietly, my voice shaking as I took a step toward her. “I know that. You’ve proven that time and time again. But this…” I closed my eyes for a second, trying to steady myself. “This is different, Emilia. Alonso-he’s a danger to us. To you. I didn’t want to drag you into it. I didn’t want to see you hurt because of the decisions I’ve made, because of the things I’ve done.”
I reached out to her then, but she stepped back, shaking her head again. The rejection stung, more than I wanted to admit.
“I don’t care about any of that, Alaric. I care about you-and what you’re willing to do for the sake of some vendetta.” Her voice was low, but it was thick with emotion. “You put yourself in danger. You put me in danger. And for what? For some false sense of control? I don’t need that from you.”
I could feel my chest tightening as I fought the wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm me. I was losing her, and I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t lose her. Not like this.
“I called it off, Emilia,” I said quickly, before she could say anything else. My heart was racing now, but I forced myself to look her in the eyes. “The plan is off. I swear. I’m not going through with it. I won’t do anything to hurt Alonso, not if it means losing you in the process. I can’t lose you.”
She froze, her eyes narrowing as she searched my face, looking for any sign that I was lying. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t lying. I meant every word.
“You promise?” she whispered, her voice fragile, like she was afraid to hope. I could see the tears brimming in her eyes again, and it nearly shattered me. “You swear?”
“I swear,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. I stepped forward, but this time, she didn’t step back. She just stood there, watching me, waiting.
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing. Then, as if she couldn’t hold it in anymore, she let out a soft sob, her body shaking as she finally closed the distance between us.
I didn’t hesitate this time. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight as she cried against my chest. Her tears soaked through my shirt, but I didn’t care. I would’ve let her cry forever if it meant she knew how sorry I was. How much I regretted everything.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered over and over, my voice hoarse. “I’m sorry, Emilia. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
She didn’t speak for a while, just cried, her hands gripping the front of my shirt like she needed something solid to hold on to. When she finally pulled away, her eyes were red, her face streaked with tears, but there was something else in her eyes-something that softened.
“You better never do that again, Alaric,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t forgive you if you keep making decisions without me. I want to be a part of this. I want to be in this with you. But you have to trust me. You have to trust us.”
“I will,” I promised, my voice thick with emotion. “I swear, I’ll never make the same mistake again. I’ll trust you, Emilia. Always.”
She nodded, her eyes searching mine as if looking for something, some proof that I meant it. I knew she needed that proof, and I was determined to give it to her.
“Okay,” she said softly, her voice still trembling. “But you have to understand something. I’m not just going to stand by and watch you destroy yourself. Not like this.”
“I understand,” I said, my heart swelling with relief. “And I won’t let it happen again. I promise you.”
Her eyes softened, and I could see the tears slowing down. The hurt still there but no longer as sharp.
“Good,” she whispered. And then, despite everything, she smiled, the tiniest hint of a smile that made everything feel just a little bit lighter.