"And if someday," he continued softly, "you find it in your heart to give us another chance, I'll spend every day proving that your trust wasn't misplaced. That your love wasn't wasted."
As he opened the door, letting in the cool evening air, I found my voice at last.
"Giorgio?"
He turned, hope flashing briefly across his features.
"I can't promise anything," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. "I need time. And space."
He nodded, understanding in his eyes. "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."
As the door closed behind him, I sank to the floor, my legs no longer able to support me. The apartment felt emptier somehow, despite the fact that I'd lived here alone for months. My phone buzzed with a message from Noah, asking if I was okay, if I wanted company.
I stared at the screen, at the kindness offered by a good man who knew he was my second choice. Then I glanced at the door, where the scent of Giorgio still lingered.
Time. That's what I needed. Time to heal, time to rebuild my strength, time to decide if the love I still felt for Giorgio was worth the risk of being broken again.
And perhaps, in time, I would discover whether the Alpha begging for a second chance was truly changed, or if some wounds were simply too deep to mend.
I wrapped my fingers around my mug, drawing comfort from its warmth. The apartment Noah had helped me find was nothing like the mansion I'd shared with Giorgio, but it was mine—a sanctuary where I could lick my wounds in private.
My phone buzzed on the counter. Again. I didn't need to look to know who it was. Giorgio had been calling daily, his texts arriving with a persistence that both annoyed and secretly comforted me.
"You should at least hear him out," Noah had suggested yesterday during his weekly check-in.
I sighed, remembering Noah's gentle encouragement. He'd been my rock these past months, helping me find this place, making sure I was eating, offering a shoulder when the tears came. All without asking for anything in return.
The doorbell rang, startling me from my thoughts. I wasn't expecting anyone.
When I opened the door, my heart stuttered. Giorgio stood in the hallway, his imposing frame filling the doorway. Those piercing eyes that once made me feel like the center of his universe now looked haunted, dark circles beneath them testament to sleepless nights.
"Allie." My name on his lips still had the power to make my Omega instincts flutter. "Five minutes. Please."
Every fiber of my being screamed to slam the door, to protect myself from the pain he'd caused. But something maybe curiosity, maybe masochism, made me step aside.
"Five minutes," I echoed, my voice steadier than I felt.
Giorgio entered cautiously, as if afraid I might change my mind. He looked around my modest apartment but said nothing about the stark contrast to our former home.
"You look well," he said finally.
I crossed my arms. "I'm surviving."
He nodded, accepting my cold response. "I deserve that. I deserve worse."
I moved to the kitchen, putting the counter between us. "Why are you here, Giorgio? What could you possibly say that you haven't already said in your hundred voicemails and texts?"
He raked a hand through his dark hair, a gesture so familiar it made my chest ache. "I sold the company."
This caught me off guard. "What?"
"Nichols Enterprises. I sold it. I'm starting something new, something smaller." His eyes met mine. "Something that won't consume me."
"Congratulations," I said flatly. "Is that all?"
"No." Giorgio took a deep breath. "I've been in therapy. I've been working on myself, trying to understand why I let Magdalene manipulate me, why I betrayed the best thing that ever happened to me."
I looked away, unwilling to let him see how his words affected me. "And what profound insights have you gained?"
"That I was afraid," he said simply. "Afraid that I didn't deserve you. That eventually you'd see through me and leave. So when Magdalene returned, offering something familiar and safe..."
"Safe?" I laughed bitterly. "She nearly destroyed us both."
"I know." His voice cracked. "Allie, I know what I did is unforgivable. I know I have no right to ask for another chance."
"Then why are you here?" My voice trembled despite my efforts.
Giorgio moved closer, still keeping the counter between us. "Because I love you. Because I will always love you. Because I want a chance to prove it to you, every day, for the rest of our lives."
Something inside me snapped. "Love? You think love is enough after what you did?" Tears spilled down my cheeks. "You promised to protect me! You knew how broken I was when you found me. You knew what rejection did to me the first time, and then you—" My voice broke.
"I failed you," Giorgio whispered, his own eyes glistening. "In every way an Alpha can fail his mate. There's no excuse."
"Then why should I even consider letting you back into my life?"
Giorgio moved around the counter, dropping to his knees before me—an Alpha submitting to an Omega, a sight I never thought I'd witness. "Because I will wait. I'll wait as long as it takes. A month, a year, a decade. I'll prove myself worthy of your trust again."
I stared down at him, this powerful man brought low. "And if I never forgive you?"
"Then I'll still be here," he said simply. "Supporting you from a distance, protecting you when needed, loving you from afar."
I stepped back, creating space between us. "And Magdalene?"
"Gone. For good. She tried to contact me after you left. I told her if she ever came near either of us again, I would destroy her." His jaw tightened. "She understood the sincerity of my threat."
The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken emotions.
"Noah thinks I should give you another chance," I finally said.
Giorgio's expression tightened at Noah's name, but he nodded slowly. "He's a good man. Better than I was to you."
"Yes, he is." I studied Giorgio's face, searching for any sign of the manipulation I'd experienced before. "He also says I'll never move forward until I truly deal with what happened between us."