"Liana…"
"I think I started falling for him before the wedding," I finally admit out loud, the truth spilling out of me in waves. "When he was still Frankie, when I thought he was just some guard forced to watch over me. There was something about him, even then. Something that called to me."
Antonio runs a hand through his hair, looking lost.
"This is insane. You know that, right? This is absolutely insane."
"Maybe." I step closer to him, reaching out to take his hand. "But it's my choice. For the first time in my life, I'm making a choice that's entirely mine. Not because my uncle arranged it and not because my family decided it. But because I want it."
His jaw works, and I can see him fighting against everything he wants to say. Finally, after a few seconds, his shoulders slump.
"Andre is going to kill me," he mutters.
"Tell Andre I'm okay. Tell him…" I squeeze his hand. "Tell him I'm happy. He will understand."
Antonio pulls me into a firm hug, his arms wrapping around me so tightly I can barely breathe.
"I’m not going anywhere, little L. If he ever hurts you," Antonio murmurs against my hair, "I will personally cut off every part of him that touched you."
I laugh, tears spilling down my cheeks.
"I'd expect nothing less, but also, you will have to watch for his sister. She’s a little…unhinged."
"I mean it, Liana. One word from you, and I'll…"
"She won't need to say a word."
I spring away from Antonio at the sound of Rio's voice. He's standing ten feet away, a guard at each side and his face carved from stone. My heart stops, then restarts at double speed.
"Rio." I step toward him instinctively. "I can explain…"
"No need." His eyes flick to Antonio, cold and calculating. "I heard everything."
Antonio tenses, his hand moving toward his waistband where I know he keeps a weapon. The guards mirror the movement, hands hovering near their weapons.
"Rio, please," I say quickly, positioning myself between them. "He's my family. He came because he was worried about me."
"I know." Rio's gaze doesn't leave Antonio's face. "I've known since the first time he showed up in my garden."
My blood runs cold.
"You…you knew?"
"Security caught him on camera." Rio finally looks at me, and some of the ice in his expression thaws. "I watched the whole thing and heard every word. Do you really think I could ever let you out of my sight?"
My mind replays everything from our conversation. The uncertainty, my conflicting emotions and the admission that I didn't know what I wanted.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I needed to know," he says as he moves closer, his hand coming up to cup my face with a gentleness that contradicts the tension radiating from his body. "I needed to know that when you had the chance to leave, when your family came to take you home, you would choose to stay. That you would choose me."
"You heard what I said. Just now?" I ask as tears blur my vision.
"Every word." His thumb brushes away a tear that escapes down my cheek. "You love me."
It's not a question, but I answer anyway.
"Yes. God help me, but yes, I love you."
