He closes the door behind him and engages the security system before turning to face me. "I asked your father for permission to marry you."
"You did what? Without talking to me about it first? Are you crazy?"
"I told him I compromised your honor and that marriage was the only honorable solution."
"Oh my God!”
"Listen to me, Viviana. All of it. Because you need to understand what's at stake here." His urgency frightens me even more. "In our world, what we did has consequences. Taking a virgin daughter without the father's permission traditionally ends in marriage or death."
"Death? Whose death?"
"My death. Possibly yours, depending on how your father chooses to handle the dishonor."
My hands start shaking. "But Papa wouldn't—"
"Your father is old school. Traditional. Honor matters more than anything else to men like him. Especially in our world." Damon takes my hands, stilling them. "But there's something else. Something that could change everything."
"What?"
"I researched the old customs, the precedents for situations like ours. When feuding families find themselves in this position, there's one scenario where everyone not only survives but thrives."
"What scenario?"
"A male heir. A son who carries both bloodlines."
I stare at him, trying to process what he's telling me. "You want me to have your baby?"
"I want us to have a future. And a son would guarantee that future. He'd be protection for both families. No one can war against their own blood."
"What if it's a girl?"
"Then we try again and again. Both families would be invested in protecting the marriage, making sure it succeeds."
I can’t believe what he’s suggesting.
Marriage. Children. A life tied to politics rather than love.
"This isn't about what we want anymore," I say. "It's about what our families need."
"It's about both. Viviana, look at me." He cups my face in his hands. "I'm not asking you to be a broodmare or a politicalpawn. I'm asking you to be my wife. To build a life with me that happens to solve a problem for both our families. This is our only way through this."
"And if I say no to the marriage?"
"Then I respect your choice. But you need to understand what that means. If you refuse, your father will likely choose death over dishonor. My death. And you..." He hesitates. "If you're pregnant, if there's already a child inside you growing, refusing marriage would mean exile. Complete separation from your family."
"Pregnant? You can’t be serious? I can’t possibly be pregnant. We haven’t been together that many times."
"It's very possible. We haven't been careful, not since the first time."
I think about the past few weeks, about my body, about signs I might have missed. "I don't know."
"Whether you are or aren't, the choice is the same. Marriage or consequences that could destroy both of us."
"That's not really a choice then, is it?"
"It's the only choice our world gives us. But Viviana..." His thumbs stroke across my cheekbones. "I'm not asking you to sacrifice yourself. I'm asking you to choose the life we both want for reasons that are bigger than us."
"You make it sound simple when it’s actually terrifying."
