The words hit me like a physical blow because I know he's right. I know I made the wrong choice. But I can't change it now. All I can do is try to make him understand why I did it.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I'm so sorry, Ronan. I never meant to hurt you. I was just—I was scared and confused and I didn't know what to do."
Ronan is quiet for a long moment, his gaze moving between Elio and me. I can see him thinking, processing, trying to find a way through this impossible situation.
Then Elio speaks, his voice steady and sure. "I'll step down."
I whip around to stare at him. "What?"
"I'll step down as don," Elio says, looking at Ronan. "If that's what it takes for you to let Annie and me be together, I'll give up my position. I'll give up everything. I'll leave Boston if youwant me to. But please—" His voice cracks. "Please don't make her choose between us. Don't make her lose her family because of me."
My heart is breaking. "Elio, no. You can't?—"
"I can," he says gently, turning to look at me. "I'd give up anything for you, Annie. My position, my power, my life. None of it matters if I can't have you."
Tears are streaming down my face now, hot and fast. "But you've worked so hard. You've earned this. You can't just throw it away?—"
"It's not throwing it away if it means I get to keep you," Elio says simply. He turns back to Ronan. "I know I betrayed your trust. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I'm asking for it anyway. Not for me—for her. Because she loves you, Ronan. She loves you so much that she was willing to lie to you to protect you. And I won't be the reason she loses that."
Ronan stares at Elio for a long moment, and I can see something shifting in his expression. The rage is still there, but it's tempered now by something else. Respect, maybe. Or understanding.
"You'd really give it all up for her?" Ronan asks quietly.
"In a heartbeat," Elio says without hesitation.
I can't stay quiet anymore. "He saved your life too, Ronan. When Desmond had you cornered, when you were about to die—Elio came. He risked his own life to save yours, even knowing you might kill him for what he'd done. Doesn't that count for something?"
"Why?" Ronan asks, his voice rough. "Why did you save me?"
Elio meets his gaze steadily. "Because Annie loves you. And I love her. And I couldn't let her lose her brother, even if it meant losing everything myself." He pauses. “And you’re a brother to me too, Ronan. You always have been. What I did…the lies I told, I did it for Annie. But I couldn’t lose my brother today, either.”
The silence that follows is heavy, weighted with everything that’s been said. I hold my breath, waiting for Ronan's response.
Finally, Ronan speaks. "You're right. You did save my life. And you saved Annie's life. Multiple times." He pauses, his jaw working. "And you were willing to give up everything for her. Your position, your power, your life."
"I still am," Elio says quietly.
Ronan nods slowly. "I believe you." He takes a deep breath, and I see some of the tension leave his shoulders. "I'm still furious with both of you. You lied to me. You betrayed my trust. And it's going to take a long time for me to forgive that."
My heart sinks. "Ronan?—"
"But," he continues, holding up a hand to stop me, "I'm not going to kill him. And I'm not going to separate you."
Hope flares in my chest, so bright and sudden it almost hurts. "You're not?"
"No." Ronan looks at me, and I see love in his eyes. Love… and pain, and resignation. "You're my sister, Annie. I love you more than anything in this world. And if Elio is who you want—if he's who you love—then I'm not going to stand in your way."
I let out a sob, relief flooding through me so powerfully that I nearly collapse. "Thank you. Thank you, Ronan."
"Don't thank me yet," he says, his voice hardening slightly. "You both have a long road ahead of you to regain my trust. And Elio—" He turns to look at him. "You're going to prove to me every single day that you're worthy of her. That you deserve the position I gave you. That you deserve my sister. Understood?"
"Understood," Elio says, his voice thick with emotion.
Ronan nods. "Good. Now get her out of here. Get her cleaned up and fed, and rested. And then—" He pauses. "Then we'll figure out what comes next."
I want to throw my arms around my brother, to thank him properly. But I can see the exhaustion in his face, the weight ofeverything that's happened pressing down on him. So instead, I just nod. "Okay."
We're almost to the doors when Ronan calls out. "Elio."
