"And what do you get?" Her voice was dangerous. "Beyond permanently branding me as property?"
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the chair. She was breathing fast, eyes locked on mine, and I could feel her pulse rapid and alive.
"You think this is strategy?" My voice came out guttural. "I'd burn the world to keep you safe, Julietta. I'd burn it to the ground. This isn't about leverage. It's about you. It's always been about you."
She didn't pull away.
That was the thing that would destroy me eventually—she didn't pull away. Her breathing steadied, and I watched her walls start to fracture.
"You don't get to make decisions for me," she said quietly.
"I know." I cupped her face instead, rough and careful. "This is me asking. Will you marry me, Julietta? Because you choose to. Because I'm terrified every second that Lorenzo's going to find you, and I can't exist in a world where that happens."
She grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer, putting her forehead against mine.
"You're insane," she breathed.
"Completely."
"And you think getting married will actually stop him."
"It'll make you harder to move. It'll make you part of my structure publicly, and in this world, public matters." I pulled back to see her face. "But more than that—it'll mean something. It'll mean you chose to stay."
Finally, she said, "I need to think about it."
"You have until tomorrow."
I kissed the top of her head and returned to my office to make arrangements.
She found me at dawn in the gym.
I was hitting the bag hard, working off the adrenaline and desperate need to control something. The city skyline was starting to glow pink and gold.
"If I say yes," she said from the doorway, breathing hard, "it's not because I'm afraid or you terrified me into it. It's because I'm tired of hiding. Because I'm tired of other people controlling my life. Because if I'm going to be trapped by something, it should be something I chose." She stepped closer. "And because I'm terrified that if I don't, you're actually going to burn the world, and I don't want that blood on your hands."
"Julietta—"
"Let me finish. I'm saying yes. But you need to understand this isn't me becoming your property. It's me choosing to build something with you. If you go back to trying to control every part of my life, I will burn you down. Understand?"
I grabbed her face and kissed her, hard and messy. She kissed me back, her hands fisting in my shirt, pulling me closer.
When I pulled back, I was breathing hard. "Tomorrow at six. The judge I own is available. Fifty people maximum. Announcement goes public the next morning."
"And then?"
And then we're bound together. And anyone who comes for you comes for me
She took my hand, squeezing hard enough that I felt her nails bite my skin.
"I'm going to hold you to that," she said.
The air was thick with anticipation as I pulled Julietta toward the bedroom, my heart pounding in my chest. The adrenaline from the gym, where I’d spent the early hours of the morning sparring with my men, now fueled a different kind of hunger.
Her auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders, catching the golden light of dawn that filtered through the sheer curtains. Her soft features were illuminated, but it was her eyes—those fiery, defiant eyes—that held my gaze. They burned with a challenge I couldn’t resist, a silent dare that ignited something primal within me.
I kicked the bedroom door shut behind us, the sound echoing in the sudden silence. The room was a sanctuary of luxury, with its deep crimson walls and expensive furnishings, but at that moment, it felt like a battleground.
Julietta stepped closer, her modest dress clinging to her curves in a way that belied the wildness I knew lay beneath. I could feel her heartbeat quicken as I gripped her waist, pulling her against me. My icy blue eyes locked onto hers, and I growled, my voice low and commanding, “You’re sure about this?”
