Like my brother.
My thoughts spiral immediately, racing down paths I don't want to follow. Are they connected? Did Henry gamble at one of their casinos? Did they profit from his addiction? From the debts that forced me to give up my home? Are they somehow responsible for the financial disaster that's been consuming my life?
I can't process all of this right now.
The room feels too small suddenly. The walls too close. The air too thin.
Erion's voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts, sarcastic and bitter. "So now that you know who we are, what we really do, we are not worthy of your care. We're just criminals. Monsters. Not worth your time."
The accusation stings, sharp and immediate.
"That's not fair." My voice cracks slightly on the words. "You can't drop something like this on me and then expect me to react like the truth doesn't bother me. Like finding out the men I have feelings for are part of organized crime is something I should just accept with a smile."
My chest feels tight, constricted like someone's wrapped bands of steel around my ribs. My breathing comes uneven and shallow.
"I need time to think. I need space to process this."
I turn toward the door, desperate suddenly to get out of this room. To escape the weight of their stares and the truth hanging heavy in the air.
"Lily, wait."
Luan's voice stops me mid-step. Not loud. Not commanding. Just my name, spoken with enough weight that my body responds before my mind can argue.
I turn around slowly, every muscle tense.
He's moved closer, standing just a few feet away now. Close enough that I can see the tension in his jaw, the concern in his green eyes that are finally, fully clear.
"I'll go ahead with the engagement party," I say. The words come out steady despite everything, controlled in a way I don't actually feel. "I understand the risk involved now. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. To any of you."
I pause. Force myself to meet each of their eyes in turn. Luan first, then Artan, then Erion.
"But after that… I don't know yet."
The statement hangs in the air, unfinished and raw.
Silence follows my words. Heavy. Oppressive. Thick enough to choke on.
Nobody speaks. Nobody moves to stop me.
I turn and walk out of the room, my footsteps echoing on the hardwood floor.
The hallway stretches ahead of me, long and empty.
I don't know where I'm going. Don't know what I'm going to do.
I only know that I agreed to stay for now. To play the role a little longer. Not because I've forgiven the lies or accepted the truth.
But because walking away right now, when the danger is real and the stakes are higher than I understood, could cost more than I'm ready to lose.
And that terrifies me more than anything else.
32
ERION
"Maybe you should slow down with the drinking. We haven't even gotten to the first course yet."
Artan's voice is low, barely audible over the murmur of fifty conversations happening at once in the Peninsula's private banquet room. He's leaning close, his shoulder pressed against mine, speaking directly into my ear so no one else can hear.
