Chapter 66

Mena

Alessio led me into a separate room, closing the door gently behind us. I was so for having this conversation, but now that it was going to happen, I held my breath—hoping it would go differently from our last one.

"I want to say something, and all you need to do is hear me out," Alessio jumped right into it, holding my arms.

I nodded, feeling a bit relieved for now, knowing I didn’t have to be the bad guy. Still, I didn’t know what would leave his mouth. All I knew was that I wasn’t going to stand there and watch him make up excuses again.

"I’m sorry for everything," he surprised me with his words. I hadn’t expected him to start with an apology, especially not so openly.

“I shouldn’t have told you your feelings didn’t matter, I should’ve never brought up your past, I shouldn’t have made it about me—and I should’ve never lied to you or put that tracker in your ring. It was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

Hearing him acknowledge exactly what had to be acknowledged made me think about how l