Nicco - Season 2

20. Fortress

NICCO

Aria gives an uncertain pause. "Can you blame me? We didn't exactly part on the best of terms."

I rise from my desk and move closer, stopping only when my chest is about to brush against hers, murmuring, "I admit, I still resent you."

"Do you hate me, though?"

Fuck, no.

But I cannot bring myself to tell her the truth. My heart remains too raw.

With a knowing expression, Aria does not press me and tactfully changes course, "I can't believe you're actually standing here. It's been so long. Too long."

I whisper, "How does it feel to see me again?"

She places a palm on my chest. Right over my heart. The beats quicken for her. "Like a dream."

"Not a nightmare?"

"Not at all."

I reach up to clasp her hand in mine. "Does this mean you missed me?"

Gray eyes glisten with sadness. "You know I did."

My gaze moves to her hand. Surprise lifts my brow when I see a sparkle on her pinky finger. "You are still wearing the ring."

The very one I gave her when I was still planning to make her my wife.

"I know. I wear it everyday."

"It is on the wrong finger."

"I... had it resized."

"Why?"

"Because I don't deserve to put it on my ring finger anymore. But it still means everything to me," she murmurs. "Your ring never leaves my hand. I want it there as a reminder."

"Of what?"

"Of how badly I fucked up with you, so I'll never make that mistake again."

I hope you choke on regret every time you look at it.

Is that why she wears it?

Atonement.

Damn it, now I feel like an asshole. "Fuck, Aria."

Uncertainty flashes across her lovely features. "Would you prefer that I stopped wearing it, then?"

As though to prove that she is serious, she starts tugging on the band. My larger hand closes over her smaller one, stilling her, stopping her.

"Do whatever you want. It is your ring now, remember?" I mutter. "I do not fucking care."

Except I do care. The sight of my ring on her hand makes me one happy motherfucker. The ring remains a symbol of us. There is a sense of dark satisfaction in knowing that I still matter so much to her. She is mine as long as the ring remains on her hand. She is mine if I wish to claim her.

Suddenly, I want to tell Aria something that will make her happy, too, "All the preparations for your father have been made."

I would have moved him sooner, but she insisted on waiting for the right time. If her father disappeared right after discharging from the hospital, Juan Pablo might grow suspicious.

Her eyes grow wide. "Where will you take him?"

"A remote village in Italy. I have family there who can help look after him."

"I don't know how I can ever repay you, Nicco."

"Do not worry, when the time comes," I assure her, "I will collect your debts like the fucking devil."