The silence between us thickened.
“What changed?” he asked.
I lifted one shoulder. “Circumstances.”
His jaw worked. “Madeline.”
“It’s… complicated.”
His eyes narrowed. “Complicated how.”
I exhaled, tired in a way that felt cellular. “It isn’t like I’m moving in with someone. I’m staying in his house until I make the final move overseas. There’s a difference.”
“His,” Vince repeated, very quietly. “House.”
“You’d like him. He thinks in spreadsheets.”
His stare didn’t blink. “You’re staying in another man’s house.”
“Calm down. We’re supervised by three dynasties and four legal teams.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“The Marcellus dynasty doesn’t have a station in Villain,” I said instead, as if we were back at the summit. As if this were just another briefing. “St Cross is their base. It makes sense.”
The name hit him like a physical blow. I saw it.
“Marcellus,” he said.
I nodded once.
“You’re… aligning with them.”
“Apparently. My father is thrilled. My mother is in shock. It’s quite the event.”
He stared at me like he was waiting for the punchline.
It didn’t come.
“You’re moving there permanently, until after the wedding.” He caught his own phrasing, froze, then repeated it like he needed to hear it out loud. “You’re engaged.”
I let out a small, humourless laugh. “That’s the headline, yes.”
“To Aurelio Marcellus.”
“Aurelio likes my ability to negotiate. Personally, I think he oversold me to his board. I’ve been doing terribly this month. But foreign courts might be different. Maybe once I’m out of Villain and away from?—”
I stopped myself.
Away from the version of myself that believed you.
“—away from the noise,” I finished instead. “Who knows. I might remember how to be competent.”
His stare didn’t move from my face.
“Were you even going to bother telling me,” he asked, each word deliberate, “that you were moving away and getting fucking married?
My nails dug into my arm. “You blocked my number. And, if you recall, told me you didn’t want me. That doesn’t exactly scream, ‘please keep me updated on your life events.’”
