"Mia," Colton whispered. He was about to touch her but she stopped him by moving her body further away from him. She still did not look at him.
Colton sighed.
He dropped down to one knee before her. She was still seated on the couch and there was only a few inches gap between them.
Colt's mouth moved to say something but he found himself not being able to voice out anything. He had no idea how to start the conversation, how to make everything make sense to Mia, and what to do to assure her that he didn't cheat on her.
Colt ran a hand over his face.
Mia heard him sniff a few times and for the first time since he walked in, She took a look at him. He was still on his knee and he had his face buried in his hand. She couldn't see his face but there were two things involved. Either he was in tears or he was doing all he could to hold back his tears.
Mia felt a pang in her chest. She had seen different shades of Colton. She had seen him bossy, commanding, a little angry, happy, loving but she had never witnessed him in a vulnerable state.
She wanted to reach out to him badly, hug him, kiss him and assure him everything was going to be alright. It took a lot of self-control to avoid doing that, knowing she was the victim here and not Colton.
It took a few minutes for Colton to compose himself and when he eventually did, he looked up and was glad to see that he already had Mia's attention but he was slightly embarrassed that she had to see him like that. He wasn't crying. He wanted to because he was overwhelmed by everything that was happening but he did his best composing himself. His eyes were still glossy though, making Mia sad.
"Sorry about that. I'm not displaying to earn your pity. It's true that I'm a strong guy but in the end, I'm still human and I get overwhelmed. Things have been quite hectic with work lately. We lost a great deal to our competitors two days ago and I'm not done forgiving myself for it but I swear to you that that's not the reason for me ditching you or ending up in the same bed with Natasha."
"I'm a very committed person. I give my all in everything I do and it pains me that a particular force comes into the picture to ruin everything."
He looked Mia deep in the eyes. "Mia, I promise you that I would never hurt you intentionally. All that happened was Natasha's doing. She drugged me. If things had gone as planned, we would be in Sicily, celebrating your birthday."
Mia was touched that he planned a surprise for her in Sicily already. But before she could get mad about the surprise not coming to reality, something else caught her attention.
"Natasha drugged you?" She asked, not believing the statement. As far as she knew, not everyone had access to Colton's food and drink.
"She had my secretary help her out. It's a very strong substance that takes effect after a few hours."
"I was unconscious by the time I arrived home to get ready for our date. She was waiting in front of the building for me so she helped me in. I honestly don't remember anything. I only woke up this morning to my body and my head aching. I opened my eyes and saw the both of us naked."
"After dealing with her a little, She confessed that everything that happened was planned by her."
"She said the two of you spoke on Tuesday, you were rude to her and since then she had been looking for a way to get back at us. Since she was used to stalking me, it wasn't hard for her to find out about the date."
"She confessed about being jealous of us and wanting to tear us apart. I almost killed her with my bare hands this morning."
"Knowing I was under the influence of the drug she gave me, she had her way with me and words can't describe how disgusted I feel about myself from within. I'm grateful I don't have any memory of what she did to me but still, knowing she raped me makes me want to puke."
"I have to stay somewhere else for the rest of the weekend. Some renovations need to be done before I move back in. I don't want to be traumatized by anything that would make me remember Natasha or last night. My room will have a complete makeover and the bed will also be replaced."
"Please forgive me, Mia. It was never my intention for all of these to happen. I'm sorry I got you worried last night and I'm also very sorry that you cried because of me. I don't know how but I swear to you that I'm going to make it up to you."
"Natasha is not going to get away with this. She's going to be jailed for all the shit she put us through. My lawyer is taking care of that already. I would never cheat on you, Mia."
Mia exhaled. She rose to her feet, helped Colt stand on his feet, closed the gap between them, then gently brushed his cheek with her fingers.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, looking into his tired eyes.
"Babe, you've got nothing to be sorry about."
"I allowed what Natasha said over the video call to get into my head and that made me doubt you. I let go of my trust in you and started thinking about all sorts of things. I already made up my mind that it was over between us. I never wanted to hear you out. Thank God for Hailey who talked some sense into me. I shouldn't have doubted you in the first place. Please forgive me." Mia said. The guilt and sincerity were evident in her voice.
"I'll only forgive you if you forgive me too. I promised to make this weekend a memorable one for you but I ended up making it the worst weekend of your life."
"Heyyy!" Mia tiptoed and kissed his lips to shut him up. "Please, don't be too hard on yourself." She slowly caressed his lower lip with her index finger."I know you had good intentions for me but we can always go to Sicily another time. I don't always make a big deal out of my birthday so it's fine."
"I know you do take your birthdays for granted that's why I wanted this one to be different and special but I failed. I spent days daydreaming about how you would look in that beautiful dress, only for me not to see you in it. You dressed up for me and I didn't show up. I made a reservation in a breathtaking place, about an hour's drive from here. I also had Simeon prepare delicious meals for us."
"From there, we were to go straight to Sicily. I have already planned out activities for the weekend. Even your birthday gift from me is in the place we are to lodge. And tomorrow, we were to meet up with my best friend, Theo, and his girl, Sammie for lunch. They are in Rome for the weekend and decided to stop by in Sicily to see us since it wasn't far. I'll probably call him later today to let him know he doesn't have to go to Sicily."