"If that's all you came to say, then you didn't need to drive across town in the rain," I said, turning away from him. "I'm aware of what happened. I was there, remember?"
"Allie, please." His voice broke on my name, and despite everything, it sent a tremor through me. "Look at me."
I turned, steeling my resolve. The sight of him, Giorgio Nichols, the powerful Alpha who commanded respect everywhere he went, now looking utterly defeated nearly broke my composure.
"I'm begging you," he whispered, taking a step toward me. "Reconsider us. Reconsider everything."
I laughed bitterly. "There is no 'us,' Giorgio. You made that perfectly clear when you let her back into your life into our home."
"It was a mistake," he said, his hands clenching at his sides as if physically restraining himself from reaching for me. "The biggest mistake of my life. I thought, I thought I needed closure with her, but all it did was destroy the only thing that ever truly mattered: you."
The apartment felt too small suddenly, the air between us charged with electricity. My Omega instincts screamed at me to submit, to forgive, to mend the broken bond between us. But the part of me that had survived rejection twice now, first by my childhood mate and then by the man I'd trusted with my second chance held firm.
"Do you know what Noah told me when he found me that night?" I asked quietly.
Giorgio's jaw tightened at the mention of Noah, the Alpha who had helped me pick up the pieces. "No."
"He said that some people will never understand the value of what they have until it's gone." I hugged myself tighter. "You had me, Giorgio. All of me. My trust, my love, my submission, everything an Omega can give. And you threw it away for a ghost from your past."
"I know," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. "I know what I threw away. And I would wait a lifetime for your forgiveness if you'd let me."
"Forgiveness?" I repeated, the word tasting strange on my tongue. "You think that's what this is about?"
"No," he said quickly, taking another cautious step toward me. "This is about love, Allie. This is about the fact that I love you more deeply than I ever thought possible. More than I ever loved her."
His words sent a sharp pain through my chest. How many nights had I longed to hear him say those words? How many times had I searched his eyes when Magdalene's name came up, hoping to see that I was truly first in his heart?
"You didn't love me enough when it mattered," I said, hating the way my voice trembled.
"I did," he insisted, and I could see the desperation in his eyes. "I always loved you. I just... I got lost, Allie. I got caught in the past, in what could have been, instead of cherishing what was right in front of me."
"And why should I believe you now?" I asked, a tear finally escaping despite my best efforts. "Why should I trust that the next time she calls, you won't go running back to her?"
Giorgio closed the distance between us, slowly enough that I could have stepped away if I'd wanted to. But something held me in place, perhaps the same foolish hope that had kept me in our marriage even when I sensed his attention drifting.
"Because she's gone," he said softly. "I sent her away. But more importantly, because I've changed. Because losing you showed me what really matters."
He reached out, hesitating just before his fingers would have touched my cheek.
"I would understand if you can't forgive me," he continued, his voice thick with emotion. "I would understand if you told me to walk out that door and never come back. But I need you to know that I will be here waiting, hoping, loving you from a distance if that's all you'll allow."
His scent enveloped me, bringing with it memories of happier times, his arms around me in the middle of the night, his proud smile when I accomplished something at work, the gentle way he'd stroke my hair when my Omega anxiety flared.
"Giorgio," I whispered, and I hated how my body still responded to his presence, how my heart still recognized him as mine despite everything. "I can't do this again. I can't be the Omega who keeps coming back for more pain."
"I know," he said, finally allowing his hand to fall back to his side. "I know what I'm asking is unfair. But I also know that what we had, what we could still have is worth fighting for. Not just for me, but for you too."
I closed my eyes, trying to shut out his presence, his words, the sincerity in his gaze that made me want to believe him.
"Noah is good to me," I said quietly, opening my eyes to gauge his reaction.
Something flashed in Giorgio's eyes—pain, jealousy, resignation, before he nodded slowly. "He should be. You deserve someone who recognizes your worth."
"He does," I confirmed, though I left unsaid that Noah knew my heart wasn't fully available, that a piece of it would always belong to the man standing before me.
"Then I'm grateful to him," Giorgio said, surprising me. "Grateful that he was there when I failed you. Grateful that he showed you the kindness I should have."
The timer on my phone chimed softly from my pocket. Five minutes.
Giorgio heard it too, his shoulders sagging slightly. "Time's up," he acknowledged.
"Yes."
He turned toward the door, each step seeming to require tremendous effort. With his hand on the doorknob, he paused, looking back at me over his shoulder.
"I won't stop loving you, Allie," he said, his voice steady despite the emotion in his eyes. "Whether you give me another chance or not, whether you forgive me or not, I'll be there. For anything you need, whenever you need it."
I stood frozen, unable to respond, unable to tell him to stay, unable to tell him to never return.