Page 171 of Dissolving Prejudice

“Your house burned down?” He repeated my words, sounding skeptical.

“Yeah. Burned to the ground.” I hummed, picked up a box of chocolates, and read the label. “Made out of dates?” I poked my tongue out. “I know you’re vegan, but there’s no need to be this cruel.”

“Shay-Lee, why did you burn down your house?” he asked, and I paused, eyes focusing on the stupid box.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I swallowed hard, my throat drying out.

“Llorón, mírame.”

I grabbed a different box of candies. “My Spanish kinda sucks, so I don’t really know what you’re saying—”

“Look at me.”

His voice dropped an octave, making my heart sink and my knees weak. Ashamed, I raised my head and finally looked at him. During the seven days Camilo was unconscious due to an induced coma, I sat by his bed and waited for him to wake up. And although he was in much better shape right now, he was still unwell. Injured and in a hospital robe, my king looked so different from his usual indestructible self. His beaten face was covered with bandages, all swollen and with one of his eyes only half open. His left arm was in cast, while different wires were stuck into his flesh. He looked so vulnerable, too vulnerable, and seeing him this way filled my body with regret. Regret because the last words I told him before he got into this state were cruel. So fucking cruel.

I knew only a while ago I’d told Jordan we shouldn’t live by the past, but easier said than done, right?

“Why did you start that fire?” Camilo repeated the question, his eyes locked with mine.

I shrugged and offered him a fake smile. “I was in the mood for a bonfire?”

“Shay-Lee.”

“Fine.” I walked toward him, stopping right by his bed. “I wanted that place gone,” I said, tracing my fingers along the hem of the blanket covering him, slowly going up the bed until Camilo reached out and grabbed my hand.

“You wanted it gone?” He pulled me a bit closer, his grip much weaker than usual.

I sealed my lips shut, my jaw clenching as images of the fire feeding on the foundations of that cursed house flooded me.

“I wanted that place erased from the face of the Earth. I wanted it and all of its memories to burn into fucking ashes, Camilo,” I hissed, eyes locked with his.

Camilo didn’t bat an eye and instead stared back at me, his face serious.

“Are you upset?” I asked, my insides coiling with nerves.

“Only because I wasn’t there to do it with you.” He laced our fingers together, his hand pulling me closer.

Feeling like I could melt at any second now, I sat down on his bed, getting as close to him as possible. “This, right now, is why I love you so fucking much, Camilo.”

He tilted his head aside right before I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to his, probably in the most gentle kiss we had ever shared. I couldn’t have deepened it, even though I wished otherwise, and instead settled for soft strokes of my lips against his. Like velvet pillows, his lips drew me in, and I savored every second of it until he let out a soft groan. I pulled back just in case I hurt him, cupping his jaw in my hand. Despite the bruises on his face, he looked so gentle, and my heart ached with pain for the things I made him go through. He suffered all those years because he fought for me, for us, and it took my stupid ass too much fucking time to realize it.

Now, filled with aching love and regrets I had long since stopped counting, I took a deep breath.

“I’m so sorry for the things I said to you,” I whispered while stroking along one of the bandages he had on his face, the one covering the cut that dragged from the bottom of his jaw all the way up to his brow. “I’m ashamed that I even dared to think such awful things in the first place, mi rey.” My lips quivered.

“Llorón—”

“No.” I shook my head. “Let me speak now because I must.” In order for us to move forward, Camilo had to hear what I had to say because, God forbid, he’d believe the crap I spat in his face in that cemetery.

“I was so angry and shocked after I saw the video that, like an idiot, I allowed him to get between us again. I blamed you for picking him over me, while I did the exact same thing. I chose that monster instead of the man I love…” My throat dried as I swallowed back the tears choking me. “I said you’re a monster. I kicked you, for God’s sake.” My voice cracked, and I took a sharp breath of air. “You aren’t a monster—just a man in love—and I realize it now because I, too, would stop at nothing to have you safe.”

His eyes widened, even the one he could barely open, as he stared back at me, bewitched. “Shay-Lee, what did you do?” he asked, voice tinged with fear.

Grabbing his hand, I kissed the back of it. “It doesn’t matter now.” I rubbed my cheek against his palm before bringing it to my heart. “What’s important is that my father will never come between us again because I buried him, Camilo. That was what this fire was for. It was to send that devil to hell, where he always belonged, and without you, it would have never been possible.” Tears prickled behind my eyelids, threatening to fall. “Thank you for killing him.”

Camilo’s face twisted with pain and… relief. Relief he should have felt long ago, and he would have, if not for my mistakes.

It broke me, but finally realizing this hell was over, I allowed myself to fall apart. And Camilo, who, despite being injured and hurt, was there to catch me. Leading my head down, he brought it to rest on his chest while I continued to cry uncontrollably. It was an ugly cry, one full of snorting and sobs, the type to turn my cheeks hot and my nose runny. Camilo didn’t seem to care, as he caressed my hair the whole time, keeping it away from my sticky face.