“Why,” I demanded, because if I didn’t turn it into a question I was going to scream, “why am I the one paying for your pride?”
Damius’ gaze stayed on me like a weight.
“You’re not paying for pride. You’re paying for debt.”
The word debt snapped something in me.
“Debt,” I echoed, laughless. “Do you hear how insane that sounds?”
“The debt is lawful.” Nikolai’s tone stayed measured.
“Lawful doesn’t mean moral You want to brand me with a syndicate crest.” I shot back, disgust rising like bile.
The insult felt satisfying for half a second. I wanted to scream at him that all I’d done was love him. Trusted him. It hurt more to realize that was the worst decision I’d ever made.
Vincent’s expression didn’t shift, but the attention in his gaze tightened.
Uncle Zeke inhaled sharply. Even he knew I’d crossed into territory where etiquette stopped working.
“Syndicate,” Damius repeated softly. “That is what you call the third family inked into the Sovereign Codex. Interesting.”
I didn’t back down, even with fear swallowing me.
“I call you what you are. Men who take and call it tradition.”
My gaze cut back to Vincent. I needed him to look at me, to prove I wasn’t screaming at a wall.
“I don’t want your crest on my skin. I don’t want your name. I hate your city. I don’t want your rites”
My voice caught on the last word. Everyone in this room knew what that meant.
I didn’t.
That was the worst part.
“I still don’t understand what I did,” I whispered, raw. “What I did to deserve this sentence.”
For the first time, something in Vincent’s eyes shifted. I almost saw the man who’d once held my face in his hands and told me he loved me.
Almost.
“This has nothing to do with you,” he said.
The words hurt more than the threats.
“Nothing to do with me?”
“Optics.”
I stared at him like I’d misheard. “Who are you marrying then? If it has nothing to do with me, tell me who you’re marrying. Because last I checked, I’m the one sitting here being told my body belongs to a dynasty that won’t even say my name like I’m human.”
His jaw ticked once.
Nikolai’s gaze flicked toward him, then away, as if he’d already decided the outcome of my tantrum.
“You want to know what I’m marrying?” His tone stayed calm, which made it worse. “The Caelus contracts. The water rights portfolio. The transit holdings. The district bonds under your name. The licensing permits your father hid inside your personal registry because he thought it made you untouchable. Your family’s access points to Villain’s infrastructure. Your dynasty’s footprint in my city.”
Each item landed like stone.
