Chapter 11 - The Confession
Alejandro stepped closer. He didn't care about his image, his power, or his reputation. He looked entirely broken.
"I watched you," he confessed, his voice thick with emotion. "I saw you endure the humiliations of my world without ever becoming cruel. I saw you sit and hold my grandmother’s hand when no one else in this family had the patience for her dementia. I saw the absolute, pure goodness in you that this city tries to destroy."
He reached out, his hands hovering just inches from mine, afraid to touch me.
"I fell in love with you, Clara. Completely and irreversibly. I loved you clumsily, I loved you too late, and I loved you while paralyzed by the fear of my own secrets... but I swear to God, I loved you honestly."
I stared into his dark, pleading eyes. I wanted to believe him. Oh God, I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest and believe that the love we shared in the quiet moments of the night was real.
But the betrayal was too deep. The wound was too fresh.
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"If you loved me," I whispered, tears blurring my vision, "why didn't you just tell me the truth?"
Alejandro looked away, his gaze falling to the weathered red envelope still clutched in my hand. "Because," he said heavily, "that envelope doesn't just contain the truth about your past."
