Page 118 of Ruined

“You don’t need to worry about me!”

“The hell I don’t. Do you even care what happens to you, Luca? Because I care, and it’s killing me.”

My chest tightened. “Dom?—”

“Baby, it’s over.”

I grabbed his jacket. “Don’t do this.”

Dominic’s hands gripped mine, prying them away from his jacket, and I clung to his warmth. “Let go, Luca.”

The softness in his voice made it worse. I wanted him to yell, to do anything but act like he pitied me. When I dropped my hands, Dominic stepped back.

“Please don’t leave me.”

He closed his eyes before shaking his head. “I can’t keep chasing someone who doesn’t want to be caught.”

He turned and walked away, each step heavier than the last. I watched him go, frozen, as his car door opened and then shut. The engine roared to life, and the headlights cut across the empty street before he pulled away.

I stayed there, the ache in my chest spreading until it filled every inch of me. My fingers twitched at my sides, vibrating with the need to hit something.

But there was nothing to hit. No one to fight.

Just me.

I sank onto the porch steps, burying my face in my hands. I’d just let go of the only good thing I had left.

A jagged sob ripped from my throat before I could choke it back. I slammed my fist against the steps, the sting radiating up my arm. I leaned forward, my chest heaving. I felt like I was suffocating. The cufflinks on my wrists dug into my skin, reminding me what I’d thrown away.

I was utterly alone, and it was my fault.

TWENTY-EIGHT

DOMINIC

Luca

Please talk to me.

I miss you

Agony socked me in the gut. I stared at the screen until the letters blurred. It wasn’t the first time he’d reached out, but every message chipped away at the walls I was trying to build around myself.

Some were quiet—simple words asking if I was okay. Others were full of fire, blaming me, demanding answers I couldn’t give.

Why’d you leave me?

What did I do wrong?

You’re just like everyone else.

But the ones where hemissed mefilled my heart with lead.

Letting him go was supposed to be the right thing.

Luca needed help, not the confusion my presence had stirred up in him. I couldn’t sit by and watch him spiral, not whenIwas part of the reason he was falling apart.

My bodyguard opened the door. “Mr. Caruso, the contractor’s here.”