Chapter 106 Margot’s POV

For a long, heavy second, Coban didn’t answer.

His jaw ticked, his dark eyes locked onto mine with a storm I couldn’t read. It was the kind of silence that made my chest squeeze tight, made Cara’s nails dig harder into my wrist like she was bracing for the explosion she was certain was coming.

Then, finally, his mouth opened. “I didn’t mean it,” he said, low but steady. “I lost control. That’s on me.”

I blinked, almost stunned by how quickly the admission left his lips. Cara’s eyebrows shot up too, skeptical, as though she couldn’t believe he’d said it. Neither could I. The words were there, plain as day, but his tone was still rough, clipped – not exactly an apology but it was something…

It wasn’t tender. It was more like… damage control? Maybe he was fighting against the guilt? But for me, it was enough.

“You didn’t mean what?” Leo spoke, confused as his large arms folded across his chest – positioning himself to glance between each of them as they gathered around the sofas at the far side of the gym.

Cara and Margot remained seated as the pair of them stood before them, towering over them like two large shields.

“What did you do?” Leo pushed further, as Coban sighed heavily, avoiding saying the answer to his question.

“He strangled her this morning…” Cara was the one to put him out of his misery by answering, as they each fell silent for a second.

“Fucking hell, Santo?!” Leo clicked his tongue and shook his head in disbelief. “We spoke about this, bro? We ain’t going to get out of this place doing shit like that to them?!” Leo continued to scold him.

I was somewhat surprised but also thankful for his reaction. Sure, I had seen Leo’s violent side out in the yard against the other men last week, but I also could appreciate that he was confident enough in showing a far softer and more playful side.

Unlike Coban.

“You don’t even know the half of what happened!” He shot back, as Leo shook his head once more.

“Explain it to me then?” He pushed, but Coban’s fists balled up, not liking the heat that was now on him to own up to what he did.

I decided in that moment that it was time for me to intervene before Coban lost his temper again…

“He was having a nightmare and I tried to wake him up, and he got confused and ended up attacking me…” I took my time to find the right words, as Leo glanced between each of us in order to process the story.

“He stopped as soon as he realised what he was doing…” I quickly added, before Cara didn’t waste a breath-

“But it still could have been much worse for you, don’t you understand that?” Cara whispered to me, but loud enough for them both to hear.

“Don’t you think I know that?! I’ve felt shit about it all day! She didn’t deserve what I done and I just blacked out! All I can do is apologise and make sure that it doesn’t happen again!” Coban fumed, before looking around to make sure nobody was listening in to their conversation.

“But did you actually apologise?” Leo asked, disbelief filling his features, as my heart began to beat faster.

He could explode any second now…

“Well, I said I didn’t mean it, yeah.” Coban shrugged, as Cara shook her head a little and Leo offered him a dry laugh.

“Better to actually say it, no?” Leo drawled, as I dreaded for Coban to pounce on him if he were to take this too far…

But to my surprise, he never did. What he done next had my jaw drop slack in shock…

He hung his head in shame… eyes falling down to the floor as he sighed heavily.

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He eventually spoke, but Leo wanted to hold him fully accountable, which sent fear searing through me.

“Yeah?” Leo tilted his head, unamused. “And how do you plan on doing that? Just tell yourself not to black out next time? Santo, that’s not how this works. You gotta own it. Start by apologising to the girl properly.”

The words hung between us all, heavy, and daring him to step up. I thought maybe he was close to breaking point. That maybe Leo had crossed a line by being so harsh about what he’d done.

But I couldn’t help the tiny gasp that escaped me when Coban’s gaze flicked up to mine, locking me in place.

His stare was sharp, but there was something else behind it now – something raw and almost pleading.

For a long moment, he didn’t say a thing, before then, finally, his voice came, rough, uneven and a bit unsure of himself…

“I’m sorry, Bella.”

The sound of it made my breath hitch. Three words, spoken like they were dragged out of the deepest part of him, reluctant but real and I’d be lying if I said they didn’t make a difference…

Leo let out a low whistle, shaking his head, his normal demeanour eventually starting to flow back to him. “There you go. Was that so damn hard? Now we can all work to move past this?”

Coban ignored him completely, his gaze still pinned to mine, waiting like my reaction was the only thing that mattered…

“I’m willing to work to figure it out, I forgive you.” I wiped my wet face off with my palms as I spoke, as a small smile tugged at Coban’s lips.

A smile only I caught before it was quickly masked. It was relief if I’d ever known it…

Coban hadn’t moved. Not an inch. His eyes stayed locked on mine, and even though his expression was neutral again – shielded and entirely unreadable – I’d seen it.

The flicker of relief, the crack in his armor. The smile that came and went before anyone else could notice.

It was proof of something, though I wasn’t sure what. Proof he cared? Proof my forgiveness mattered more than he’d admit? Or maybe it was just proof he’d been carrying the weight of what happened all day, same as I had, and he needed release from it as badly as I did.

Leo shifted his weight, clapping his hands together once as though to break the tension. “Alright. Enough of the therapy session. Let’s get back to why we came in here before somebody overhears and makes it their business.”

Coban tore his gaze from mine at last, muttering something under his breath before stalking toward the weights. Leo followed with a shake of his head, muttering, “Unbelievable…” like he still couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the whole ordeal between us.

That left Cara and me in the corner once again, the noise of clanking metal and grunts filling the air around us. She leaned in close, her expression softening now that the storm had passed…

“You forgave him too easily by the way,” she stated with a dramatic huff of air.

Maybe I did…