"I was trying to protect you," I repeat desperately.
"I don't need your protection!" Ronan's voice echoes through the church, bouncing off the walls. "I'm your older brother, Annie. I'm supposed to protect you. That's my job. That's always been my job."
"And you've done it," I say, my own voice rising to match his. "You've protected me my whole life, Ronan. You and Tristan both. You kept me safe. Yes, I should have told you the truth from the beginning. But I was trying to do what I thought was right. I was trying to spare you pain."
"By causing me more?" Ronan shakes his head. "Do you have any idea what the past few weeks have been like for me? Thinking you were gone? Thinking I'd lost you the way I lost—"He cuts himself off, but I know what he was going to say.The way I lost Siobhan.
Guilt crashes over me in a wave so powerful it nearly knocks me off my feet. He's right. Of course he's right. I hurt him by trying to protect him. I made everything worse.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "Ronan, I'm so sorry. I never meant?—"
"Sorry doesn't fix this, Annie." His voice is tight. "Sorry doesn't change the fact that you lied to me. That you let him—" He jerks his chin toward Elio again. "—lie to me. That you both betrayed my trust."
"Elio was only trying to help me," I say quickly. "He wanted to tell you. He tried to convince me to tell you. But I begged him not to. I made him promise. This isn't his fault, Ronan. It's mine."
"He's a grown man," Ronan says flatly. "He made his own choices. And he chose to lie to my face every single day while he was hiding my sister and—" He stops, his eyes dropping to where Elio's hand is still resting on my waist. "And doing God knows what else with her."
Heat floods my cheeks, but I don't look away. "That's none of your business."
"The hell it isn't." Ronan's voice drops to a dangerous whisper. "You're my sister, Annie. Everything about you is my business. Especially when it involves the man I put in charge of the De Luca family. The man I trusted."
"Then trust him now," I plead. "Trust that he was trying to do the right thing. Trust that he kept me safe when I needed him most."
"Safe?" Ronan's laugh is bitter. "He put you in danger by agreeing to your insane plan. He should have dragged you back to me the second you showed up on his doorstep. Instead, he hid you away and played hero while I lost my mind."
"He saved my life." My voice is steady now, certain. "Multiple times. He hunted Desmond down. He rescued me when Desmond tried to force me into marriage. He's the reason I'm standing here right now instead of—" I can't finish that sentence either.
Ronan's jaw clenches. "And I'm supposed to thank him for that? For doing what he should have done in the first place?"
"You're supposed to understand that he was in an impossible situation." I can feel tears streaming down my face now, hot and fast. "I put him there, Ronan. I begged him to help me. I made him choose between his loyalty to you and his—" I stop, the words catching in my throat.
"His what?" Ronan's eyes narrow. "His loyalty to you? His duty to protect you?" He pauses, and I see understanding dawn in his eyes. "Or something else?"
My heart stutters in my chest. This is it. This is the moment where everything either falls apart or somehow, impossibly, comes together.
"I love him," I say quietly.
The words hang in the air between us, heavy and irrevocable. I see Elio go rigid beside me, feel his sharp intake of breath. But I don't look at him. I keep my eyes on Ronan, watching as my brother processes what I've just said.
"You love him," Ronan repeats slowly, like he's testing the words. "You love Elio Cattaneo."
"Yes." My voice is stronger now. "I've loved him since I was sixteen years old. Since before he left for Chicago. Since before any of this happened."
Ronan stares at me for a long moment, and I can see him putting the pieces together. The way Elio and I used to look at each other when we were younger. The way I never seemed interested in any of the men he tried to set me up with over theyears. The way I've been so fiercely protective of Elio throughout this entire conversation.
"And him?" Ronan's gaze shifts to Elio. "Does he feel the same way?"
I finally turn to look at Elio, and what I see in his eyes makes my breath catch. There's love there, yes. But also fear. Resignation. The certainty that this is going to end badly, no matter what he says.
This is the moment. The moment where Elio fights for me instead of walking away again. Maybe he couldn’t do it eleven years ago, when he was a boy.
But now… now I need this from him. I need him to fight for us.
"Tell him," I whisper. "Please, Elio. Tell him the truth."
Elio's throat works as he swallows hard. When he speaks, his voice is rough, raw with emotion. "Yes. I love her, Ronan. I've loved her since I was sixteen. Since the day I left Boston, I've thought about her every single day. Wanted her every single day. And when I came back and saw her again—" He stops, shaking his head. "I knew I was in trouble. I knew I should stay away from her. You warned me to stay away from her. But when she came to me that night, when she needed help—I couldn't turn her away. I couldn't."
"So you lied to me instead," Ronan says coldly.
