“You told me that you would stay even if you could leave.”

“And that was the truth. I’d never expected Raven to get out, and when she did, it changed everything.”

“That’s the difference between us, Melanie. You break your promises. I don’t.” I stared her down hard, flooding her with hatred, before I turned back to the house. “It doesn’t matter if the circumstances changed.”

“Fender.” She came after me and grabbed my arm.

I twisted out of her grasp as I pivoted back to her, my hand now on her wrist. All of it happened quicker than she could even blink. “Leave.” I pushed her hand off me, ignoring the electrical impulse that zapped my hands and traveled all the way to my brain in a nanosecond.

With heartbroken eyes, she stayed. “You have no idea what you’ve done to me. You’re the reason we were in that camp in the first place. You’re a drug lord and a murderer. And yet, I’m absolutely lost without you…” Her eyes overflowed with tears.

I hated it when she cried, but that wasn’t enough for me anymore.

“I’ve spent the last month dreaming about you. Missing you. Every time Raven asked about you, I didn’t say anything…because she would hate me if I told her the truth. She would never look at me the same if I told her that it broke my heart to leave you.” Liquid diamonds streaked down her cheeks and reflected the sconces outside my palace.

My expression hadn’t changed. “I’m not going to release your sister—”

“I’m not asking you to!” Her voice rose in a scream. “I’m asking you…to let me come home. I can’t live in that apartment by myself. I can’t go to work every day and focus. I can’t go on dates with men I’m not even interested in—”

“Melanie.” I shut her up with just the slight raise of my voice. “If all of that were true, you would have come back sooner, not when you want something from me. You were here a week ago, and you didn’t want me.”

The tears continued to drip down her cheeks, to her chin, and then drop to the cobblestones underneath her.

“You only want me because of what I provide for you. That was fine before, but not anymore. Not after you left me. Not after you burned down my camp. Not after you betrayed me.” Every day without her was more painful than the last. Every night with another woman was unsatisfying. Every breath I took without her taking the same breath beside me was wasted. While I still wanted her, even after all this time, it wasn’t enough. I gave her a final look before I turned around and walked up the steps.

This time, she didn’t follow me.