Last Chance: A Bridgerton Tale about Anthony (AU NON-COMPLIANT)

Chapter 12: Remorse

Convince her that he had made a big, immense mistake but that nothing had happened. Tell her that he had been stupid, an imbecile, but that he knew now that he loved her, that he couldn't live without her. That she had every right to blame him but that he hoped she would not send him away because that... would be terrible for him.

The door flew open, and she walked in; he could see right from her face that she had been crying a lot, and he immediately felt guilty and awful, but had tried to camouflage this with powder but had failed.

He immediately got up to walk towards her, but she firmly ordered him to act differently.

"NO! You stay put. Don't you come near me" she exclaimed in a trembling voice, and Anthony meekly sat back down and stared at the floor, his hat still in his hands.

but then slowly looked up at her. He knew he should speak, but the words escaped him now, just when words needed to be uttered.

"Did you go to the opera yesterday? An opera where miss Rosso performed," she asked him after a long silence. He shifted uncomfortably and sighed deeply.

"Mara... I can assure you that-"

"Answer the question, Anthony..." she almost shouted.

"Yes" he replied dejectedly.

"And did you go backstage?" she asked...

"Mara. I... Please, let me-"

"I already know you did Anthony, but I would like to hear it from your mouth; just to be clear" she said trying her best to compose herself and not break into a million pieces.

"So?" she said as she lifted her head to him.

"Yes...", he said in a soft voice, looking at her with difficulty She only shook her head...

"You  UNBELIEVABLE hypocrite.... " she sneered with tears in her eyes and a faltering voice.

He stood up and started walking towards her, against her will.

"Don't come any closer!" she yelled, and he stilled in his movement once more but did not sit down this time but just stood there.

" You must know that nothing happened between her and me. My love...I've been an idiot and what I've done is terrible, but please... give me a chance to make it right between us" but all hope of that happening seemed to be fading away quickly judging her reaction.

"That time you accused me of arranging a meeting Henry at the museum... Accusing me of still having feelings for him while you're the one who still has feelings for her... the hypocrisy truly is staggering.".

"I have no feelings for her! I have feelings for YOU! " he shouted now also losing control of his emotions.

"And I'm just supposed to believe that? Who says you and she didn't -".

"Nothing happened... I repeat... Nothing happened. We only talked and-"

'Spare me your lies, Anthony.... I don't want to hear it" and he saw that she had started to cry, something he could not bear to watch, knowing that he was responsible for these tears. He was with her in what seemed like a second, before she could even send him away and grabbed her by the arms.

" Sweetheart, you must believe me. I'm so sorry... I'm sorry, I'll say sorry a thousand times as long as you give me a chance to make it up to you. I love you, I realised that now. I was a fool, but I love you... Please," he said, and he tried to get closer to her to embrace her, but she broke free from his grasp.

She looked at him while she stood back. His confession had thrown her off guard. He had never told her before that he loved her and she wanted to believe it, oh so badly, but he had also told her that he would never hurt her and ... look what this promise had brought her. Nothing more and nothing less than a broken heart.