Not a pawn anymore.

"Why now?" Bella's voice is low, cutting through the quiet. "Why come here after everything?"

Roberto's gaze doesn't falter as he steps closer, his eyes linger on her face, his expression unreadable, but there's something in the way he watches her, something calculating, like a predator sizing up its prey. It stirs a familiar bitterness in her.

"I came to make things right," he says, his voice calm, too calm. The words sound rehearsed, as if he's trying to convince not just her, but himself.

Bella's lips curve into a humorless smile. "Right? After everything you've done? After all the lies? You think you can just walk back in here and make it right?"

Roberto's eyes flash with a mix of frustration and defiance, but he doesn't reply immediately. Instead, he steps toward her, just a fraction closer, as if testing her resolve. "I came to explain. And maybe, just maybe, there's a way to fix this."

"Fix it?" Bella's laugh is sharp, bitter. She turns her back on him, walking a few steps away. The air feels thick, oppressive. "You've already broken it. There's nothing to fix, Roberto. Not between us."

For a moment, there's only silence. Then, slowly, he speaks again, his voice laced with an emotion she can't quite read.

"I made mistakes, Bella. Big ones. I'm not proud of them. But I'm not the man you think I am, either." He hesitates, and when he continues, his tone is lower, more serious. "I'm fighting a war, Bella. And I need you to understand why I did what I did."

Bella's heart hammers in her chest. She turns to face him, her gaze hard. "You're fighting a war? What war, Roberto? You've already torn apart everything we built. Your secret deals, your lies, how much of this is about me and how much of it is about your own damn ego?"

He steps forward again, this time closing the distance between them, but Bella doesn't back away. Instead, she meets his gaze head-on, her jaw clenched, her fists tight at her sides.

"This empire, it's everything, Bella," Roberto says, his voice hoarse now. "You, your family, my family, we're all in this together, whether we like it or not. You've always known that.

She shakes her head slowly, her eyes narrowing. "I don't know who you are anymore."

For a split second, Roberto's expression falters, a flicker of something raw crossing his features. But he quickly masks it, and his jaw tightens. "What I've done, I did to protect us. You don't understand what I've been forced to do. To survive."

Bella feels the cold realization seep into her veins. He's not the man she once married, he's something darker, something far more dangerous. And she's not sure she can trust him anymore, not with her heart, not with her family's legacy.

"Protect us?" she repeats softly, the words tasting like ash. "Roberto, you are the danger now. You've put us in this position. And now, you want me to help you clean up the mess you made?"

His gaze hardens, and for the first time, Bella sees a hint of desperation in his eyes. "It's not like that. There's more at play here than you realize. The cartel alliances, the backdoor deals, the people who have been playing us, us. I need you, Bella. I need you to stand with me. We can take control back. We can fix this, but only if we're united."

She can feel the weight of his words, the pull of his plea. But there's something about it that makes her stomach churn. It doesn't sound like love, it sounds like manipulation, like power plays. It sounds like the same game they've always played, only now with more at stake.

"I've heard enough," Bella says, her voice shaking with barely contained rage. "You don't get to drag me back into this mess. You don't get to make me your partner in your dirty games. Not after everything you've done."

Roberto's expression tightens, and for the briefest of moments, Bella thinks she sees the man she once loved, the man she thought she knew, flicker beneath the surface. But then, it vanishes, replaced by the cold, calculating drug lord who's always been there. The one who only ever saw her as a means to an end.

"I won't beg you, Bella," he says, his voice sharp and final. "But you're making a mistake. This isn't just about us anymore. It's bigger than that."

"Then let it burn," she spits, her anger rising to the surface. "I'm not your pawn anymore, Roberto. I'm done."

Their marriage is beyond saving. And the price of betrayal is steep.

Without another word, Roberto turns, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the hallway. Bella watches him go, a mixture of relief and fear flooding her chest. He's not the man she thought he was, but then again, neither is she.