I stared at him. This man I'd smuggled out of a hotel, terrified and broken, was now joking about being turned in for cash.
"You're an idiot," I said.
"I'm delightful." He leaned forward and kissed me. "And you're stuck with me. No refunds."
"Wouldn't want one."
His smile softened into something real. "I know."
A moment passed. Then he exhaled slowly.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I've put you in an impossible position. Your job, your reputation, your friendships—"
"You didn't put me anywhere. I chose this." I met his eyes. "I'd choose it again."
His eyes softened.
"When?" I asked, changing the subject back to what mattered.
"Soon. Tristan's arranging it. Neutral territory—his apartment in Manhattan. He'll be there as a buffer." Tobias squeezed my hand. "I'm not going to pretend everything is fine. I'm telling them the truth. All of it."
I knew what that meant. The coming out. The years of pretending. The wedding he couldn't go through with.
"You're braver than you think," I said.
"I'm scared out of my mind."
"Those aren't mutually exclusive."
He smiled, but it faded quickly, replaced by uncertainty.
"Do you want me to come?" I asked.
The question lingered between us. I watched him consider it—the complications, the weight of bringing me into that conversation.
"No," he said finally. "This is family. I need to do it with Tristan. Just us and them, at least for the first conversation."
I understood. Didn't like it. But understood.
"What if they try to convince you to come back?"
He blinked. "Come back to what? The life I ran from? The marriage I couldn't go through with?"
"Their world. Their expectations. They might not accept what you're telling them. They might push."
"Then I'll push back." His voice was firm. "I'm not the same person who ran away from that wedding. I know who I am now. I know what I want. They can accept it or not, but I'm not letting them change that."
I pulled his hand to my lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.
"I'll be here when you get back."
"I know." His voice softened. "That's why I can do this."
The rest of the day passed in a strange suspended state.
Tobias called Tristan and made arrangements. I listened from the other room, failing completely at not eavesdropping. His voice was calm and controlled—the armor he put on to hold himself together.
But when he hung up and came to find me, his hands were shaking.
