"Yes." Elio doesn't flinch, doesn't look away. "I lied to you. I betrayed your trust. I did everything you told me not to do. And I'd do it again if it meant keeping her safe. I love her. And I’d do anything she asked of me. Kill, if I needed to. Die, if I have to."
The silence that follows is suffocating. I can hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, can feel the tension crackling through the air like electricity before a storm.
Then Ronan moves, so fast I barely see it. One second, he's standing several feet away, the next he's right in front of Elio, his fist connecting with Elio's jaw with a sickening crack.
"Ronan, no!" I scream, but Elio is already stumbling backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"It's fine," he says, his voice steady despite the blood. "I deserved that."
"You deserve a hell of a lot more than that," Ronan snarls. “You want to die? I can fucking arrange that, Cattaneo.” But he doesn't hit him again. Instead, he just stands there, breathing hard, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
I push between them, putting myself in front of Elio. "Stop it. Both of you, just stop."
"Annie, move," Ronan orders.
"No." I plant my feet, refusing to budge. "I'm not going to stand here and watch you hurt him. I'm not going to let you punish him for loving me."
"He put you in danger, Annie. He should have brought you straight to me. He should have?—"
"He should have done what I asked him to do," I interrupt. "Which is exactly what he did. He respected my choices, Ronan. Even when he disagreed with them. Even when he knew it might cost him everything. He respected me enough to let me make my own decisions."
Something flickers across Ronan's face—surprise, maybe, or understanding. But his expression remains hard. "And look where those decisions got you. Nearly married to a psychopath. Nearly killed."
"But I wasn't," I say firmly. "Because Elio was there. Because he kept me safe. Because he hunted Desmond down and rescued me, and—" I take a shaky breath. "And because he married me himself to make sure Desmond could never succeed.” I focus on Ronan, forcing the words out that I know need to be said. “I wantto live my life. I want to make my own choices. I want to be with the man I love."
"Even if it means destroying your relationship with me?" Ronan's voice cracks on the last word.
The question hits me like a punch to the gut. "Is that what this would do? Would you really choose to lose me over this?"
"You're the one who chose to lie to me," Ronan says, but there's less heat in his voice now. More pain.
"I know." Tears are streaming down my face again. "I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Ronan. But I can't—I won't—give him up. Not even for you. If you're going to make me choose between you and Elio, I choose him. I'll always choose him. We should have chosen each other eleven years ago. I’m not going to make that same mistake again."
The words seem to echo through the warehouse, final and irrevocable. I feel Elio's hand tighten around mine, feel him start to pull away.
"Annie, no," he says quietly. "You don't have to?—"
"Yes, I do." I turn to look at him. "I love you, Elio. I've loved you for eleven years, and I'm not going to let anyone—not even my brother—take you away from me."
"Annie—" Elio's voice is rough with emotion. "You can't destroy your relationship with Ronan for me. I won't let you."
"You don't get to decide that," I say firmly. "This is my choice. My life. And I choose you."
"Even if it means I have to kill him?" Ronan's voice cuts through the moment, cold and hard.
I turn back to my brother, my heart in my throat. "If you kill him, you'll lose me forever. Is that what you want? To lose both of us?"
Ronan stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the internal war playing out on his face. The need to protect me, to punish Elio for touching me, warring with his love for me. Withthe knowledge that if he follows through on his threat, he'll lose his sister.
"I trusted him," Ronan finally says, his voice a harsh rasp. "I gave him everything. Power, position, responsibility. And he betrayed me."
"He saved me," I counter. "He kept me alive when Desmond wanted me dead. He protected me when I had nowhere else to turn. He—" I take a shaky breath. "He loved me when I needed it most."
"And what about what I needed?" Ronan's voice breaks. "What about the fact that I needed to know my sister was safe? That I needed to be the one protecting her?"
"I know." I take a step toward him, my hand still clasped in Elio's. "I know I hurt you. I know I should have trusted you with the truth."
"I would have rather had the truth," Ronan says quietly. "I could have handled it, Annie. I would have protected you. I would have hunted Desmond down myself and made him pay for what he did. But you didn't give me that chance.”
