"And what do you think?" Giorgio asked softly.
I turned away, gazing out the window at the city below. "I think I'm tired of feeling broken. I'm tired of letting the past define me." I looked back at him. "But I'm also terrified of trusting again."
Giorgio slowly rose to his feet but kept his distance. "What can I do? Tell me what you need from me, Allie."
"Time," I whispered. "I need time."
"You have it," he promised. "All of it. I'm not asking you to come home today. I'm asking for a chance to rebuild, slowly, on your terms."
Something in his voice, in the steady certainty of his gaze, made me wonder if people could truly change. If the man who had shattered my heart could be the one to help piece it back together.
"I can't promise anything," I warned him.
Giorgio nodded. "I'm not asking for promises. Just possibilities."
I took a deep breath. "We could... start with coffee. In public places. Just talking."
The hope that bloomed in his eyes was almost too much to bear. "Coffee would be perfect."
As I walked him to the door, Giorgio paused. "Allie?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For these five minutes. For considering a future where I might be worthy of you again."
After he left, I leaned against the closed door, my emotions a tangled mess. The rational part of me warned against giving Giorgio another chance to destroy me.
But another part, perhaps my Omega instincts, perhaps just my heart, whispered that true strength might lie in risking pain for the possibility of something beautiful.
The café bustled with afternoon energy as I absently stirred my latte, watching the foam swirl into intricate patterns. Six weeks had passed since Giorgio had appeared at my door, six weeks of careful coffee dates and cautious conversations.
Each meeting revealed a different Giorgio than the man I'd married—more vulnerable, more thoughtful, less the domineering Alpha and more a man seeking redemption. Today, I'd agreed to meet him at our old favorite spot, a decision that hadn't come lightly.
"You're far away," Giorgio observed, his deep voice pulling me back to the present.
I looked up, meeting his gaze. "Just thinking."
"About us?" His question held no presumption, just quiet hope.
"About everything." I took a sip of my coffee. "Noah asked me to dinner last night."
Giorgio's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, but he kept his voice even. "I see."
"He's been good to me," I continued, watching Giorgio's reaction. "When I had nothing, he was there. When I couldn't even get out of bed some days, he made sure I ate."
"I know," Giorgio said softly. "I owe him a debt I can never repay."
I studied the man across from me, this Alpha who once commanded boardrooms with a glance now humbly acknowledging another man's care for his former mate. The old Giorgio would have growled with possessive rage.
"He wants more than friendship," I said bluntly.
Giorgio set down his cup carefully. "And what do you want, Allie?"
The question hung between us, weighted with possibility. What did I want? Safety? Passion? Redemption? All of it seemed both within reach and terrifyingly elusive.
"I want to stop being afraid," I finally answered. "I'm tired of letting fear guide my choices."
Giorgio nodded, waiting for me to continue.
"Noah represents safety," I explained. "He's never hurt me. Never would. With him, I know exactly what I'm getting."
Pain flashed across Giorgio's features, but he didn't interrupt.
"But with you..." I took a deep breath. "With you, I've experienced both the highest heights and the lowest lows. You've made me feel more cherished than anyone ever has, and you've also broken me more completely than I thought possible."
"Allie." Giorgio began, but I held up my hand.
"Let me finish. Please." I gathered my thoughts. "I told Noah last night that I couldn't have dinner with him. Not the way he wanted."
Giorgio went very still. "What did he say?"
"He asked if I was sure. If I was choosing you." I traced the rim of my coffee cup. "I told him I was choosing myself, and that my heart still belongs to you even when I wish it didn't."
The hope that bloomed in Giorgio's eyes made my chest tighten. He reached across the table, his fingers stopping just short of mine, asking permission without words.
I hesitated, then slid my hand into his. The warmth of his skin against mine sent a familiar jolt through my body, my Omega responding to his Alpha touch despite all the pain between us.
"I need you to understand something," I said, my voice firm despite the tremor in my hand. "I'm not moving back into the mansion. I'm not becoming Mrs. Nichols again—at least not yet. I have my own place, my own life now."
"Whatever you need," Giorgio promised. "However long it takes."
"And I need you to truly understand what forgiveness means," I continued. "It doesn't mean forgetting. It doesn't mean things go back to how they were. It means I'm choosing to move forward despite what happened."
Giorgio's thumb traced circles on my palm. "I understand."
"Do you?" I challenged. "Because I need to know that you won't take this for granted. That you understand the magnitude of what I'm offering you."
"Allie," Giorgio's voice dropped, thick with emotion. "Every morning I wake up amazed that you're even speaking to me. Every text message, every coffee date, they're gifts I never expected to receive again."
He lifted my hand, pressing it to his chest where I could feel his heart pounding. "Feel that? It's been racing like this since the moment you walked in today. Since the moment you walked into my life years ago."
Something inside me melted, a glacier of hurt slowly giving way to the warmth of what remained between us.
"I love you," he continued. "I have always loved you, even when I was too broken and foolish to show it properly. But I swear to you, if you give me this chance, I will spend every day proving that your forgiveness isn't misplaced."
The café around us faded away as I looked into Giorgio's eyes, searching for any hint of the man who had betrayed me. Instead, I saw only sincerity, hope, and a depth of love that matched the ache in my own heart.