"Two more weeks. Then we move. Then everything changes."
"And if it doesn't work? If your father finds out about the evidence before you can present it? If the Council doesn't act?"
"Then we run. All of us. You, me, Lia. We disappear and never look back." His grip tightened. "I'm not letting him have you. I don't care if I have to burn down everything I've built. You're mine. And I protect what's mine."
The possessiveness in his voice should have bothered me. Instead, it made me feel safe. Wanted. Worth fighting for.
"I love you." The words slipped out. Unplanned. Uncensored. "I know I haven't said it before. I know the timing is terrible. But I love you, Kai. I need you to know that before everything goes to hell."
He went completely still. Then his mouth found mine, hot and desperate and claiming.
This wasn't gentle. This was need and desperation and the acknowledgment that we might not get many more moments like this.
His hands tangled in my hair. His tongue swept past my lips, tasting, claiming. I pressed closer, trying to eliminate any space between us.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.
"I've been waiting to hear those words. Thought I'd never actually hear them." He pressed his forehead to mine again. "I love you too. More than I've ever loved anything. You're the only good thing in my life. The only thing worth fighting for."
A knock on the door made us spring apart.
"Kai? It's Marco. We need to discuss the shipment schedules."
"One minute." Kai's voice was steady. Controlled. Completely at odds with the way his hands were shaking.
He looked at me. Memorized my face like he was storing the image for later.
"Go. Before someone sees you here too long."
I nodded. Slipped toward the door. Paused with my hand on the handle.
"Two weeks. Then we're free."
"Two weeks." He repeated it like a promise. A vow. "I'll save us, Aria. All of us. I swear it."
I believed him. Had to believe him. Because the alternative was unthinkable.
I left his office, walked back toward Salvatore's wing with my head held high. Passed guards who didn't question my presence. Smiled at staff who offered greetings.
Played my role perfectly.
Back in my suite, Lia was still asleep on my bed. I sat in the chair by the window, watching the gardens darken as evening approached.
Two weeks until Kai made his move. Four weeks until the wedding. Five weeks until Lia's engagement was announced.
The clock was ticking. Loud and relentless and terrifying.
But for the first time in days, I felt something other than despair.
Hope. Fragile and tentative, but real. Kai had a plan. He had evidence. Hehad allies.
And I'd finally told him I loved him. Finally acknowledged out loud what my heart had been screaming for weeks.
Two weeks. Everything would change in two weeks.
For better or worse, the waiting would finally be over. And then we'd know if love and evidence and careful planning were enough to overcome a lifetime of violence and control.
I closed my eyes. Said a prayer to whatever deity might be listening. Asked for a miracle we probably didn't deserve but desperately needed.
