"Yasmina."

Although her iPods were in her ears, she could have sworn she heard someone, felt someone speak her name.

She froze, pulling out the pods from her ears.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned to face whoever it was. Her heart flipped and pounded out a rapid pace that left her breathless. For a moment she looked at him in disbelief that made her skin turn to ice, as she heard the voice had haunted her waking thoughts and troubled dreams. She shook her head in helpless denial.

Automatically, her hands went around her protruding belly as if it would protect her babies from him.

The dark and forbidding figure of Cristiano loomed.

He still had his signature dark and powerful aura, but seeing him on her own territory, she realized how untamed he was. How lethal and dangerous he appeared.

For a split second, she was consumed with the urge to run to protect herself from him. From the toxic person she remembered he was. The gratitude she felt growing inside her like a newborn flower for his heroic efforts vanished as the misery and fear she experienced with him flooded back. She was the saddest and most miserable she had ever been. She was finally in a good place in her life and the last thing she needed was the darkness that constantly followed him around her.

Hot tears burned her eyes. What a foolish and naïve woman she was back to believe in a different ending.

But he was here, in the flesh and blood. Though she hated to admit it, a very small part of her always hoped and craved he would have come back and begged her on his knees like a dying man on the verge of death. But he was far too late. She hated that part of herself, tried to deny it, but it was always there, hoping, waiting, praying.

Jasmine gulped; trepidation trickling through her as his gaze zeroed in on her belly. She saw the emotions flashing over his face, the hope, the joy and for a moment, something she almost could have been love.

Tears shimmered in her eyes.

She didn't know why he finally showed after she pointedly dismissed him the last time. The numbness she thought left her returned with full force. Jasmine found it hard to breath through the pain constricting her chest and the knife stabbing deep into her heart. She could never forget his awful betrayal.

He used her for his sweet revenge, leaving her useless, ruined her enough where she couldn't imagine being with another man or let anyone close enough.

"Don't." She warned, as she watched him approach her in concern. "Why did you come here?"

She had to get away from him. He was no good for her or her babies. She couldn't afford him disrupting her life now. Accepting he was never going to be apart of it was just sinking in.

For the first time in her life she was afraid of him.

"My sister deceived me." He began. "She falsely accused your brother in order to save her lover. Mateo, my most trusted right hand man lied to my face. We grew up together as boys. I believed he was loyal. I believed he had my back. I believed he would die for me as I him. . .but it appears it was all a one-sided falsehood."

As Cristiano spoke his words, his entire body deflated looking like a broken man who had been revived from the dead. His once hard face was etched with lines and pale beneath the light tan. The last few months seemed to have stripped years from him. His shoulders were hunched like he received a good beating from life. Jasmine sensed the hollowness and sadness chipping away pieces of his soul.

"I hurt you for people that did nothing but help me destroy your life. They cost me the best part of my life–you." He looked at her with a yearning of a man that desperately holding on to his last life line.

Jasmine shook her head.

"I was foolish enough to think I wanted to stay, with you, no matter the consequences, no matter what you had done. But you did me a favor when you kicked me out of your home and out of your life. You are not good for me Cristiano. There are many things we can fix when broken, but what you–"

Cristiano went down onto his knees in front of her and took her hand. Jasmine stiffened but never pulled away too surprised.

"It felt so real, I wondered how I was ever going to give you up. Take me back, Yasmina. You are my life–my wife. I cannot live without you." He urged her to believe him in pure earnest. "Let me prove to you that I have changed. I can be the man you deserve."

"Find someone else to play these games with." She answered calmly, squaring her shoulders.

He tugged on her hand kissing the back with desperation.

"I love you."

"You never knew the meaning of the word. You knew I loved you and even so you dismissed me. So don't insult me by saying you do now!" She nearly yelled.

Jasmine took a deep breath, trying to gather herself. She could feel her blood pressure rising. For the sake of her babies, she calmed down and straightened to her full height.

Cristiano watched her with growing apprehension, terrified, fearing he really had lost her, and the last chance he was granted would be cruelly ripped away from him. He had always fancied himself strong, indestructible, but he'd never come up against anything like Jasmine.

She held the power to destroy him.

His Achilles heal. His one and only weakness.

He didn't know what would become of him if he didn't keep trying to win her back.

"I do love you." He repeated. "I cherish the ground you walk on. Please. Forgive me for everything I've done.." He pleaded once more, tormented. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Pafavore, let us be a family." Nodding at her middle. "I'm so, so very sorry for what I've done. I promise you, I was trying to do the right thing by letting you go. You are too good for me. I don't deserve you but I'm too selfish to leave you again."

This man was not a white-picket-fence kind of man. He could never give her what she wanted. He killed her dreams. Ruined her faith in mankind. She was dumb and innocent back then. She would never be either of those things especially when it came to him.

"How convenient for you. . .to come to this conclusion. . . however, far too late."

"Don't say that. I cannot bear losing you. Give me another chance." He tried again.

He was just a man who didn't know how to lose. He wanted her now, but not enough to pursue her back to England. He'd let her go, and had never bothered to contact her until he arrived at the penthouse that fatal night. If he'd truly loved her as a man loves a woman he would have tried to come back and fight for her sooner.

He destroyed every one of her expectations. And she was afraid he would continue doing so if she ever gave in.

"You're only saying this because you learned the truth about Zayn and your sister. What you're saying means nothing after all that's passed. You had your chance to choose me. I asked you to give up your revenge for me but you couldn't. Your entire plan from the beginning was get me in bed. You lied to me and succeeded. Not to mention your departing last words when you said you didn't want a wife nor children. And look at me now." Gesturing to her body. "I'm pregnant. From a man who didn't give a damn about me. Do you know how that feels?"

"I made a grave mistake for which I will never forgive myself for as long as I live. I was a stupid man to believe letting you go was in your best interest. I believe I was protecting you but at the same time I was protecting myself because I felt you would eventually leave me because I despised myself for deceiving you. I was scared and pushed you away because I was a coward."

He continued. "I was saving you from me. I had to let you believe the worst in me. I saw a broken, cruel man who hated himself for what he had become. I said the worst things to get you to leave. I didn't deserve someone as good as you. For once in my life, I was doing what was good for you not myself. What I believed was the right thing to do ended up being the worst decision of my life."

She hesitated, torn between her need to believe him and her fear that he'd come to the realization his decision was too late. He let her live in pure misery for months. Allowed her to believe the worst. And now he was confessing he was afraid? Why didn't he have faith? Why didn't he trust her enough to be honest?

"Why would you think I would leave you? I accepted you for who you are. I swept it under the rug and pretended nothing ever happened. But you ended up breaking your promise to me. You lied to me. Your revenge was too precious. That was selfish. Do you remember how cruel you were? The least you could have done is tell me the truth to my face. You hurt me intentionally to spare yourself the pain. What I don't understand is how could you allow it to go so far? Why couldn't you grow a conscious before we slept together?"

"I made love to you as a man loves a woman. I never had any ill intentions when we made love. I never meant a word that passed my lips the day you left the castle. All of it was a lie to hide my fear." He confessed.

"But you said them anyway even when you claim you didn't mean them. You ruined my life. You made me feel cheap. I felt pathetic. I expected a man who cherished me, who was blinded with his love for me. I was stupid enough to believe that man was you. You broke all my faith and heart as you took your time to come to your senses." Jasmine shook her head sadly. "This will never work. It's too late."

Cristiano rose to his feet, gripping her arms desperately.

"Don't give up on me, Yasmina. I need you now more than ever. Please don't let me go. I didn't know how to love you the right way. I didn't know what was right in front of me. I imprisoned myself and you were the only one that had the key to unlock my heart. But I know one thing and one thing only, you freed me." He explained.

Jasmine looked down at her body.

"You've been freed while it cost me a life sentence. I've been living in denial and resented the babies growing inside me for a long time because of you. It shouldn't have been this way. I should be happy like any expectant mother. But–but I've lived in hell and pure misery because of my mistakes."

"Let me prove myself to you." He said urgently, roaming his gaze over her face. "Let me be the husband you need. Allow me to the father our children will deserve. I have everything but a family, home and love. Please, Yasmina, forgive me."

She struggled not to remember, not to feel anytime as his words washed over her senses.

Jasmine shook her head. "A few words will never erase all that's happened. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with myself and everything you did to me. Do you understand how difficult that was? I was dying from the inside out! You took everything from me. My free will, my life! In order to find your self-worth you destroyed me in the process."

She didn't want to allow him back into her heart. She didn't think she could survive it a second time. She had been trying to move on as she attempted to regain some semblance of her life before he had entered it. And now he had reappeared and thrown all the hard work she'd put into piecing herself back together again. Killing her to pieces at the reminder of the life they could have had with each other.

"Give me this one last chance and allow me to prove I'm worthy of you!" He urged desperately. "I made a grave mistake dismissing you from my life, please Yasmina, don't make me live with the consequences of my mistake. I love you." He places a hand on her belly. "Our babies are proof that the night we came to together as one, is fate telling us we're meant to be together."

"That night was a mistake." She responded, reminding of the same word he used against her that awful night.

"It was no mistake. We made a miracle." He argued with quiet savagery, looking very weary.

"I can't. It hurts too much." Shaking her head sadly. "Once I give birth, I'll grant you the freedom you so cherished. Have a good life Cristiano."

With that, Jasmine snatched her hand from his and turned away with tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

"I will fight for you, Yasmina. Even if it costs me my own life. You're the light in my darkness." He said with fierce determination, resignation settling over his is features.

You're the darkness in my light, she said silently to herself while catching the tears with the sleeve of her shirt and walking away.

She had to get away from him. She had to escape. She was so perilously close to giving in.

Cristiano, chased her, stopping her from leaving him. He was never going to allow her to leave him, no mater what.

She tried to push past him, but he blocked her. Capturing her arm gently, he turned her to face him. Angry words fell unspoiled as she saw his face. His handsome, strong face.

He reached his hand behind her head and pulled her into a hot kiss. He kissed her with all the passion and promise of a lifetime. He felt her body tense beneath His grip. Encircling her body with his strong arms, he slowly traced his hand down her back. She could feel the warmth of his skin, the strength of his hands.

She willed herself to resist. To remember the cruel way he humiliated her. Jasmine twisted her head to the side, pushing at his chest with two balled-up fists and tearing her mouth from his. Her traitorous body moved restlessly against him, but her mind was screaming out all kinds of objections. She wanted to collapse against his chest, cling tightly as if she would never let him go. To tell him that nothing had ever felt so good as him touching her and nothing ever would.

But she was damned if she was going to let it show. The urgent greed of her body made her nearly push away the bitter truth. He'd hurt her more than she'd thought it was possible to hurt and he still had the power to do it still...

"Stop this." She whispered against his shoulder, her breathing ragged as she struggled to control it.

Why of all the men in the world, did it have to him and only him who could make her feel like this?

"Per favore," he groaned, lowering his head and kissing her neck.

"Let me go!" She ordered. Pressing her hands against his chest, she felt her mind, soul, everything float away by his drugging kisses. "We're wrong!"

"No!"

His voice was fiercer as he pulled her into his arms, his voice unsteady as he pressed his face close to hers. So close she could feel the heat of his breath fanning over her skin.

"We have never been wrong. How can it possibly be wrong when it feels like this when I touch you?"

His lips were trailing fire as they brushed over her neck and her eyes closed. Her resistance was slipping. Her mouth remained closed and resisting as he pulled her tightly against his torso and captured her closed mouth. A couple of seconds was all it took and allow his tongue to slip inside. A couple of seconds more and she was kissing him back, her fingers tangling in his hair.

She melted against him. Her mouth parted openly for his invasion, and she welcomed him eagerly, curling her hands into his back and she lost herself to him.

She lost herself to the wonderful feeling of love he gave to her. The kiss they shared was so unlike the many others. It was tender, careful, full of longing, full love and a new beginning. He kissed her as a man kissed the woman he loved. It was desperate, heartfelt and for once she actually sensed, felt the words he expressed.

He would have given anything to take back her traumatic experiences. He would never let her go, unable to break the precious connection between them. He would always love her knowing it would kill him if she refused to never be with him.

His fingers curled into her silken hair as he drifted into an abyss, losing himself in the woman who claimed his heart.

"Look at me."

Jasmine steeled herself and opened her eyes. His dark wounded eyes filled her vision. Cristiano took hold of her chin and lifted her face to his, looking straight into her eyes.

"I can be the man you need." He insisted. "The man who will be by your side forever. Worshipping you. For the rest of your life. Allow me to be the man I was born to be, with you."

She needed to protect herself against the threat of heartbreak no matter what her hormones demanded.

"How can I believe you?" Jasmine wiped at the tears that formed in her eyes. "How can I give you my whole life again?"

She knew his begging was part of his plan to wear her down, but unfortunately it was working. All his words and actions today were what she'd been so desperate to hear and see.

"You're right. I should have thought of you first. Put you first. All I want is for you to be happy. Whether you choose to be with me. Or–" he swallowed. "–without me. But I can promise you one thing and one thing only: I can be the man you desire. With your love and guidance, I can be who you need. Who you can rely on. Who can and will protect you no matter what. Ever since you walked out of my life, all I've been feeling is regret. The one thing I regret is letting you go. Regret the chance I didn't take on us and for waiting too long to realize it. If I don't follow my heart now, I'm going to spend the rest of my life wishing I had."

Jasmine was torn. She wanted to give him a chance. Desperately wanted them to be a family. That's all she really ever wanted. This Cristiano before her was different than the last one. He had truly transformed from the inside out. It was like seeing a side of him she'd never seen before–it was certainly the first time she'd ever seen a chink in the tough armor he always executed.

"The most beautiful days of life were when I was with you." He pressed on. "I know that you can't say the same, but all my better days are because of you. Please stop pushing me away, don't tell me we're done."

He could read her fear in her eyes. In the way she held her body erect and as far as she possible could as he held her. It went deep, the pain, knowing he had done it to her himself.

"I know I'm a monster. I'm not good for you." He said in a leaden voice. "You stood up to me where no one else dared. But it took me a long time to realize, you loved me as I am. You accepted the monster before you and everything that came with me. . ." He faltered, furrowing his brow as she stared down at her turned face. "The beauty loved the beast. And in return, for seeing the best in him, beauty fell in love with the beast. Isn't that how the fairly talented ended? "

She focused on him, her gaze running over his face, savoring every detail from his chiseled cheekbones to his full mouth. No one else would ever make her feel like he did; she couldn't imagine kissing another man, let alone touching her.

"But this is no fairytale, Cristiano." Her tone hardening and sending him a scathing look. "This is all very real. This is my life. My trust had been broken beyond repair. How can I believe you? How can we move on from this?"