The admission echoes through my skull. Undeniable now.
Have wanted him since the courtyard, maybe before. Through every touch, every orgasm, every time I told myselfwe shouldn’twhile my body screamedyes. The walls I built are crumbling. Have been crumbling for days.
But I can’t say it.
Can’t give him that power. That weapon.
Instead, I say something else. Something equally true.
“You make me feel safe.”
He goes still against me.
“What?”
“When Cicero was in that room...” I whisper. “When he was looking at me like I was nothing. Like I was furniture. A problem to be taken care of.” I swallow hard. “I’ve never felt so small. So worthless. Like I could disappear and no one would notice.”
His arms tighten.
“And then you walked in.” My hand strokes through his hair. “You put yourself between us. Blocked him from getting to me. And for the first time in my life, I felt...” The word sticks. “Protected.”
He pulls back. Just enough to see my face. His eyes are wet.
“I hate that you make me feel safe.” The confession spills out. “You’re the reason I need protection in the first place. You kidnapped me. Locked me up. Made me a target for your father and his enemies. And somehow—” My voice catches. “Somehow you’re also the only person in this entire fucking fortress who makes me feel like I matter.”
“You do matter.” His voice is fierce. Raw. “More than anything.”
“I know.” And that’s the terrifying part. “To Cicero, I was nothing. A variable. Something to be erased. But you...” I touch his face again. “Your obsession means Iexist. That I’m worth something to someone, even if that someone is a monster.”
“I am a monster.”
“I know.”
“And you still...”
“I don’t know what I am.” The truth. The horrible, complicated truth. “I don’t know if this is Stockholm syndrome, or survival instinct, or something worse. But right now, with your father planning to use me, with one week until?—”
“I won’t let that happen.” Steel returns to his voice. “One week to find leverage against Cicero. Against the Rossis. If I can’t—” He pauses. “I’ll take you somewhere he can’t reach. I’ve been taking steps to cut ties anyway. We could walk away from all of it.”
“From the empire?”
“From everything.” His eyes hold mine. “I would burn it all for you.”
Christ.
I believe him. That’s what scares me the most. I actually believe he’d destroy everything he’s built, everything his family represents, just to keep me.
“Stay close to me.” His hands cup my face again. Gentle now. “Until this is resolved. Until I find a way to neutralize Cicero. Stay close, and he won’t touch you. Won’t even look at you.” His jaw tightens. “He won’t touch what’s mine.”
What’s mine.
The possessive language should infuriate me. Should make me push him away and remind him I’m not property.
Instead, it wraps me up like a warm blanket.
Not because I want to be owned. Because in this place where people get erased and traded and murdered, belonging to Elio means I won’t disappear. Maybe that’s all safety means when you’re caged.
I’m choosing him.
