I love you Emily

Marco walked over to me, his eyes looked serious now. “Listen to me carefully, Emily. If you ever see her again anywhere, you text me immediately. You hear?”

My heart skipped. “What's going on Marco? Who is she?”

He ran a hand through his hair, there was this hesitant look in his eye. Then he let out a long sigh and sat beside me.

“Her name’s Seraphina Marchesi.”

Seraphina Marchesi? This was the first time I was hearing that name. 

“She’s a mafia heiress, her father runs one of the oldest families in the region. They were once allies with my father’s group.”

I didn't quite understand why family ties would make this Seraphina look at me that way. Or could it be…?

My stomach tightened. “Were you with her?”

Marco’s gaze darkened. “Before you and I… yeah, we had a thing. It wasn’t love, it was purely physical, I needed a woman and she needed a man.” He said avoiding my gaze. 

“It was convenient, and when I got married to you—” 

“You were still seeing her,” I finished quietly.

The look of guil settled on his face, that was surprisingly, it was unlike Marco to feel guilty about anything. 

“I ended it,” he said firmly. “After things started shifting between us, after I realized I didn’t want anyone else in the picture anymore.”

His words were supposed to make me feel better, but they didn't. 

“First, I was forced into a marriage with a man I didn't know, then I was treated like a possession, as if that wasn't enough, my life was endangered severally. Meanwhile you were having fun with some mafia heiress.” 

I felt so heartbroken, Marco had betrayed my trust, how could he do something like that and stand there like it meant nothing because he didn't have feelings for me then. 

“Did you love her?” I asked, as a tear slid down my face. 

He shook his head. “I don’t think Seraphina ever loved anyone. She doesn’t know how. But she doesn’t take rejection well.”

“Good, you just gave another mafia faction a reason to come after my life again.” I said, my hands trembled slightly as I remember the last encounter. 

“And I don’t know what she’ll do, but knowing Seraphina… this won’t be the last time she tries to get close.” Marco said. 

He noticed the tears and came closer, “please don't.” I said as I shifted back. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about her before?” I asked, I fought the urge to break down. 

“Because I didn’t want to drag you into more mafia drama than you’re already in. I didn’t want to ruin what we were starting to build.” He paused. “But that was a mistake. You deserve to know who’s out there. Especially if they’re watching you.”

“I guess you should have thought about that when you were screwing her despite us being married.” 

“ENOUGH EMILY !” Marco yelled, I jumped frightened by the way his voice sounded. 

Seeing my reaction, he immediately regretted it, “Emily” he said as he came closer to me. 

I flinched backwards out of fear, as the tears I had been trying to fight back came out. 

I turned and ran out of the kitchen, immediately I got tk the room, I locked the door and collapsed on the floor, allowing the tears to flow freely. 

Everything hit me at once, nothing felt more painful than the fact that Marco had been sleeping with someone else while I was holed up in here. 

Thinking about it, I didn't actually have any reason to be angry at him. But I was, my feeling towards him was clouding my sense of reasoning. And the fact that he raised his voice at me was even more painful. 

I had no armor left, I sat down on the cold floor, curled my knees to my chest, and cried. maybe the tears would actually make me feel better. 

Because sometimes, it's okay to cry, although I hated crying. 

I released the quiet sobs they racked through my chest like waves.

 My tears soaked into the sleeves of my blouse as I buried my face in my arms.

It wasn’t just about Seraphina, It was the fear of being hurt again. Of not being enough. Of loving someone who might still have shadows clinging to his past.

At some point, my body gave out from exhaustion. I didn’t even make it to the bed, I must’ve fallen asleep on the floor.

When I woke up, I was under a blanket, lying on top of my bed. The lights were dim and I was shivering. 

I blinked and turned my head in confusion. 

Marco was seated next to me, elbows on his knees, a wet towel in his hand. His sleeves were rolled up, his jaw clenched as he wiped my forehead gently.

“You’re burning up,” he muttered, more to himself than to me.

I tried to sit up. “Marco…”

“Stay still,” he said immediately.

I obeyed, too lightheaded to do anything else. He placed the towel back in the bowl on the nightstand and reached for another one.

“You caught a cold,” he said, glancing at me. “You were on the floor like that for over an hour.” 

“I didn’t mean to—”

“I know,” he cut in, sitting back down, running a hand down his face.

A thick silence followed, he looked like he wanted to say something. His hands tightened into fists before he loosened them again. Finally, he exhaled slowly and looked me in the eye.

“I’m sorry.” he paused then continued “for everything, and also for raising my voice earlier in the kitchen.”

I stared at him, wondering if I heard correctly.

“I should’ve told you about her, I should’ve been honest from the start,” he said. “It wasn’t easy for me. It’s still not. But keeping that part of my life from you… it wasn’t right.”

He looked down before speaking again.

“And I can’t go through that kind of scare again. Finding you like that? Ice cold on the floor? I—” He stopped himself. “Don’t do that to me. Ever again.”

I blinked at him, surprised by the emotion in his voice.

He reached forward, his fingers gently brushing a damp strand of hair from my cheek. Then he leaned in and brought his lips to mine. He kissed me very gently. 

When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine.

“I love you, Emily.”

My heart stopped. Those four words, finally said it. 

I didn’t speak. I just let myself breathe him in.

Because at that moment, I forgot about my anger and focused on those words. “I love you Emily.”

And somehow, I knew he meant it.