Rio's hand tightens on my waist.
"I'll come with you."
"To the bathroom?" I raise an eyebrow and laugh. "I think I can manage that on my own."
He hesitates, and I see the war playing out behind his eyes. The possessive part of him that wants to keep me within arm's reach at all times versus the part that's been trying so hard to give me space and let me breathe.
"Five minutes," he says finally. "Then I'm coming to get you. I’ll be righthere counting."
"Ten."
"Seven."
I roll my eyes but don't argue because I don’t actually need that long to pee but…small victories. I slip away from him and weave through the crowd, navigating between food trucks and craft vendors. The restrooms come into view, but just as I step up to them, I hear a voice echoing from behind the row.
"You’re harder to get alone than I expected."
I turn slowly, walking around the back with my heart hammering against my ribs. My cousin leans against one of the walls, looking completely at ease.
"Antonio." My voice comes out steadier than I feel. "What are you doing here? Are you insane? Rio's men are everywhere."
"I know." He moves closer, his hand reaching out to grip my arm. "That's why we have to move fast. The car is parked two blocks from here. We can be at the airport in an hour, on a plane to Italy before he even realizes you're gone."
"I told you I…I’m not sure this is the right thing to do."
"Its been a week, Liana. We can’t waste time." His grip tightens, not enough to hurt but enough to convey his urgency. "Every day you stay here is another day you're in danger. These people…"
"Are my family now," I finish, confusing even myself. But they are true. Rio’s family…they have become mine. If anything, over the past few weeks, I’ve felt more at home here than I ever felt in Italy. Antonio's face contorts when he hears my words.
"He's brainwashed you. That's what they do, Liana. They isolate you, make you dependent on them, make you think you can't survive without…"
"No he hasn’t," I growl out, pulling my arm free from his grip and stepping back. "He's shown me who he is. Who his family is. All of it. The good and the bad. He's given me choices I never had before."
"Choices?" Antonio laughs. "What choice did you have in marrying him? You never had a choice. You are so naive and that is why we kept you close to Andre. So nobody could take advantage of you."
"You’re right," I say quietly. "I never had a choice in marrying him and he didn’t have one in marrying me either. You’re forgetting one thing though, Antonio. I wasn’t given that choice because a Manitellie stole it from me. Not a Sanchez and certainly not Rio. Your father.”
His eyes flicker away for a minute and he has the sense to look ashamed.
“Please, Liana. Let me take you home. Alessio is dead. You have mine and Andre’s word, you will never be forced into a marriage again."
I think about Italy. The cage that felt like safety because I didn't know any better. I think about Andre, who always protected me, and Antonio, who's risking his life right now to save me from something he doesn't understand. Then I think about Rio. The way he looks at me like I’m his world. I think about when he was still Frankie and I was just a girl who didn't know she was hanging out with her future husband. The way he holds me like I’m something precious, something worth protecting, not just an object he owns. I think about the way he's been trying, really trying, to let me in and show me that we can make this work.
"I can't," I whisper, and the words feel like both a confession and a revelation.
Antonio's face goes pale.
"What?"
"I can't. I can’t leave him." I swallow hard, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "Antonio, I…I love him."
The silence that follows is deafening. Antonio stares at me like I've just sprouted a second head.
"You love him," he repeats flatly. "Theman who…"
“Who lied to me, yes. Who kept secrets. Who showed me things that should have sent me running."
I laugh, and it comes out watery, almost on the edge of tears. "But also the man who taught me to fight so I'd never be helpless again. Who treats me like his equal. Who looks at me like I'm the only thing in the world that matters."
