<h4>Chapter 188: _ I Cried</h4>


    There is an enemy and they were messing around with me and María José. I’d do anything to prove this. I couldy down my life to swear that this was the work of an external force.


    The tension in my shoulders pulled tighter. I needed to be more observant and not take even the subtlest of hints for granted.


    This mystery... I, Axel Montenegro, would uncover it even if it was thest thing I did.


    "I made my decision a long time ago, María José. It was never Rosa. It was never anyone else." I hesitated, letting the air settle on my words before continuing. "I chose you. I <i>choose</i> you. And I will take responsibility for the mark I gave you."


    The words sat in the air between us, unmoving.


    I exhaled slowly, pressing the heel of my palm against my temple. My head was pounding. My heart was pounding.


    "It was a misunderstanding, María José. A <i>big</i> one." My voice stuttered slightly now, and I hated the desperation creeping in, hated how it made me sound weak... but <i>hell</i>, I was weak for her.


    "I swear to you, whatever happened that day... it wasn’t me. I don’t even remember doing any of those things."


    The silence was deafening.


    I clenched my jaw. "I had slept off at my cousin’s ce. I was there for two days. <i>Two days.</i>" My voice hardened. "So whoever paraded around as me... whatever sick game they were ying... they wanted my life ruined. <i>Or they wanted to ruin us.</i>"


    Still nothing.


    Iughed under my breath, bitter. "And it’s working, isn’t it?"


    I shook my head, shifting to sit on the floor with my back against the door, resting my elbows on my knees. I ran a hand through my hair, staring nkly at the ground in front of me.


    <i>Arrogant. Clueless. Stupid.</i>


    That’s what I had been. That’s what I <i>was.</i>


    I had spent so long being blind, so long convincing myself I didn’t feel anything for María José, that by the time I finally <strong>realized... </strong>by the time I saw her for what she really was to me, it was <strong>toote</strong>.


    I squeezed my eyes shut, my hands tightening into fists against my thighs.


    I had spent years thinking I was unshakable. That I could endure anything, that nothing could break me. That emotions were things I could <i>control</i>, things I could <i>shove down</i> and lock away, and keep buried beneath responsibility and duty.


    I had spent years building myself into a fortress.


    And yet here I was, falling apart at the doorstep of the only person I had ever wanted.


    My throat tightened painfully. My breathing was uneven now with my chest rising and falling too fast. I bent my head forward, pressing my palms against my forehead.


    I had been so <i>wrong</i>.


    I had spent years lying to myself. Years pretending she was just someone I was supposed to protect, someone I was supposed to be responsible for.


    But she was more than that. She had always been more than that.


    And now, now that I was finally ready to admit it, now that I was finally <strong>willing to give her everything</strong>, she wouldn’t even open the door.


    As she <i>shouldn’t. </i>I let out a shuddering breath and squeezed my eyes shut.


    The ache in my chest spread lower and deeper. A pressure building so violently it felt like my ribs might crack beneath it.


    I was a strong man. I had spent years holding my emotions in check, years hardening myself into someone who didn’t let things get to him.


    But María José had always been my weakness.


    And as the realization settled fully—<i>that I might have lost her for good, that she might never believe me, never look at me the same way again... </i>something inside me cracked.


    Before I could stop it, before I could even understand what was happening, a sharp pain burned in my throat.


    My breath ceased and then, <strong>I broke.</strong>


    The first tear fell before I could stop it, hot and unfamiliar against my skin.


    Then another and another came running down.


    A choked sound escaped my lips before I could swallow it down.


    I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes, squeezing them shut as if I could <i>force</i> the tears back in as if I could still salvage thest pieces of my pride.


    But it was no use. The grief and emotions were dragging me under. I had lost her. I had lost her.


    And for the first time in years, I sat there, outside the door of the only woman I had ever loved... and I cried.


    The air pressed heavily against my skin. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, its lonely echo mapping out mine. The weight of my head in my hands felt unbearable, but it was nothingpared to the ache in my chest.


    I had cried.


    I had sat outside María José’s door,pletely shattered, and <strong>cried</strong>.


    And <strong>still</strong>, she had not opened the door.


    A long sigh escaped my lips in a shaky and uneven manner. My hands rubbed over my face, fingertips pressing into my closed eyes as if I could physically push back the overwhelming exhaustion settling into my bones.


    Maybe she really wouldn’t speak to me again. Maybe this was it. The thought sat <strong>heavy and acidic</strong> in my stomach.


    I had prepared myself for anger. For resentment. Even for the possibility of never earning her trust back.


    But <strong>silence</strong>? I hadn’t been prepared for this <strongplete, unwavering, and suffocating silence</strong>.


    I exhaled, tilting my head back against the wooden door. My shoulders slumped forward, and I let the weight of my body sink into the floor.


    Then, just when I had started to think she might never speak to me again, just when I was considering <strong>begging The Moon herself for another chance... </strong>I heard it.


    It was a soft and distant voice, but it was there.


    "Just go to your Rosa."