Chapter 110: Cost
Chapter 110: Cost
“You’re in love with him?” Marco asked as his voice whispered out of disbelief–like saying it out loud made it more real and more unbearable.
Grace’s eyes widened, caught off guard. She hadn’t thought that far. Hadn’t dared to. Segen was still a mystery… a man once dressed in rags and lies, a stranger she had named with no clue he’d one day feel like something she couldn’t quite let go of.
“I… am?” she echoed with a faint, confused chuckle that barely held its shape. Her voice trembled, not from certainty but from the sheer absurdity of the moment. She wasn’t laughing because it was funny, she laughed because it terrified her. Because part of her didn’t know, and the part that might know was too afraid to look too closely.
But that sound, her little breath of nervous laughter hit Marco like a blow to the chest.
His brows pulled together, and without thinking, he stepped closer and grabbed her arms. “No,” he snapped,” you do not love him.”
His grip tightened, not hard enough to hurt, but enough for her to feel the edge of panic beneath his skin. “Wait–that’s not the point,” he muttered, shaking his head like he was trying to wrestle down thoughts that wouldn’t obey him. “You don’t even know him, Grace! He could’ve killed you. He could’ve-”
“But he didn’t,” she cut in quietly.
Marco stared at her like that fact only made it worse.
“It’s better if you let go of me, Marco,” Grace said in a calmer voice now. Steady. But not cold. She wasn’t trying to hurt him, rather, she was just reminding him where the line was.
He didn’t move right away. His fingers lingered on her arms like he wasn’t ready to release her–not just physically, but in all the ways he still hadn’t let go of the version of her he thought he knew. The girl who had always loved him silently. The one who waited and watched and never walked away.
Now, she was different. She was looking at him with eyes that were no longer just soft–they were sure.
“You’re not yourself right now,” she said, gently but firmly
Marco slowly pulled back, his jaw clenched tight, his breathing shallow and rough like he was holding something back–something dark and unspoken. His eyes that were normally sharp, now burned with possessiveness.
“I am myself,” he said bitterly, like the truth tasted like venom on his tongue. “I’m just… realizing that I don’t want any other man to have you but me.”
His eyes locked on hers with an intensity that made the air between them feel heavier.
“You only belong to me, Grace. And I won’t let anybody else near you. I won’t let anyone else take hold of you…” Marco paused, his jaw tightening as his gaze darkened even further. Then, with slow, deliberate steps, he leaned in–so close that his breath warmed her skin, and whispered near her ear, “Not even your own father.”
Grace’s breath caught in her throat as her body stiffened at the sound of those words. She felt like the ground beneath her had tilted. The chill in Marco’s voice wasn’t something she was used to–not like this. Not so fierce. Not so… unhinged.
Before she could say anything, before she could even gather her thoughts–Marco stepped back, bent down, and without warning, swept her up into his arms.
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Chapter 110: Cost
+25 BONUS
“Marco-!” she gasped, eyes going wide as his arms locked around her legs and back, cradling her as if she weighed nothing.
“What are you doing?!” she demanded, her fists lightly pressing against his chest in panic.
“I’m taking you with me,” he said furiously, not looking down at her as he stormed back toward the rooftop door, his boots echoing hard against the concrete.
“Put me down, Marco!” Grace shouted, her voice rising in frustration. “You can’t just-!”
“I can.” he cut her off coldly. “And I am. I’m not leaving you up here with other men’s scent still on your skin.”
Her mouth fell open in disbelief. “You’re insane!”
“Maybe,” he growled as he kicked the rooftop door open with his foot, “but I’d rather be insane than let other bastards steal what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours,” she hissed.
He didn’t respond right away. His arms only tightened around her.
But when he finally did speak again, his voice was lower and sounded more dangerous.
“You were. You are. And if you think I’m going to let you walk away from me… then you really don’t know me at all.
Marco’s grip on her never loosened, not even as he stormed down the grand hallway of the hotel’s top floor, the murmurs of staff silenced by the look in his eyes. His strides were fast, like each step was him trying to outrun the jealousy clawing at his chest.
The door slammed open as he kicked it in, and before Grace could speak, he set her down roughly inside the suite. The door slammed shut behind them, locking the chaos inside.
“Marco-” she started, breathless, still trying to process what just happened.
But he didn’t let her finish.
“You even dressed like it’s a fucking wedding!” he shouted voice cracking as his hands reached for the fur draped around her shoulders and yanked it off with one brutal motion, tossing it across the room. “White fur, white satin, pearls–what are you trying to prove?! That you’re someone else now? That you’re soon to be fucking Castellano’s bride?!”
Grace froze, her chest rising and falling as the silence in the room stretched, but Marco wasn’t done.
His hands trembled as they moved to her dress, fingers clutching at the delicate satin fabric. “Do you want to get married to that Castellano bastard? Is that it?” he asked, voice breaking.
He didn’t wait for an answer.
In one raw motion, he tore the straps of her dress, and the sound of ripping fabric echoed like thunder between them. “Which is which, Grace?! Were you ever really in love with me? Do you prefer that smug bastard with his suits and empty flattery? Or maybe it’s the masked stranger now?” His tone was spiraling, unraveling with every word. “Do you just like being chased? Does it make you feel powerful?”
Grace stood there, stunned while her hands clenched the ripped fabric to her chest and her heart pounded like a drum in her ears.
Marco stepped back, chest heaving, as the cruelest words slipped out before he could stop them.
Chapter 110: Cost
“I didn’t know you were a whore,” he spat, eyes wild, “flirting with everyone who looks your way.” It was like something shattered inside her and the slap came so fast it echoed in the room.
Marco staggered back, her handprint blooming red across his cheek.
And then the silence came.
Grace stood trembling with her breath uneven, her eyes wide and filled with disbelief… and pain.
Tears slipped down her cheeks without her even noticing.
She shook her head, lips quivering, voice barely there. “How dare you…?”
+25 BONUS
Marco didn’t move. He stood frozen as the sting of her slap barely registering compared to the sight of her tears.
“I gave everything I had,” she whispered. “I tried. I waited. stood by you when no one else did. And this is what you think of me?”
The tears were falling freely now as her voice broke with each word. “Do you have any idea what it cost me to love you?”

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