Leo sighs. “I’ve known you since birth, Matteo. Trained you. Watched you break men without blinking. But the way you look at her?” A short, bitter laugh. “Never seen that before.”
My jaw flexes. I run a hand down my face and try to breathe, try to think, try to pretend he’s wrong.
But he’s not.
“Then why haven’t you stopped me?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
Leo’s brow lifts. “Because the way you look at her, it’s the same way your father looks at your mother, and I’ve seen what kind of war that love can survive. No one would’ve stopped that either.”
“I don’t know what to do.” The words slip out before I can stop them. I sound wrecked. Like a boy who’s spent the last two hours remembering the way her face looked when she stepped off the cliff, and the way it felt when she fell into my arms. “I’m lost, Leo,” I mutter. “If my father finds out, he’ll kill me,” I say it like it’s already a death sentence carved into my chest.
Leo folds his arms across his chest. “Have you told them?”
“No,” I admit. “But I don’t have to. She’s an O’Brien.” He studies me for a long moment.
He takes a step closer and speaks. “You want to know what to do? I think you already know. You just don’t want to admit it.”
I swallow, my throat dry and raw. “What if knowing breaks everything?”
Leo’s voice is quiet now, almost gentle. “Then you ask yourself one thing, Matteo, is she worth the risk?”
I look away, heart pounding, images of Aoife flickering like lightning through my head, her tears, her laugh, the way she whispered my name like it was the only thing keeping her alive.
“I don’t think I have a choice,” I whisper.
Leo claps a hand on my shoulder. “Then don’t waste time pretending you do.”
Leo’s wordsfollow me down the hall.Tell me you don’t love her.
The truth cuts like wire around my throat. Love? Maybe. Probably. Fuck, I don’t know.
I just know I can’t breathe when she cries. And I’d kill any man who touches her.
He’s right.
I can’t balance between logic and obsession anymore. Between the war and her.
Each step back to my dorm feels heavier, but when I open the door, I already know I’ve made the choice.
Everyone’s inside, Rosa, Marco, Milo, Aoife.
Before anyone speaks, I shut the door.
“One trial failed.”
They freeze.
“What happened?” Marco asks.
I meet each of their eyes, then hers. The one I shouldn’t want. The one I’d burn for.
“It was a puzzle. We were supposed to work together. Words were said. Then a fight.” I pause. “Didn’t end well.”
I sit beside her. She doesn’t move.
“I’m only asking once,” I say, voice low. “Do you trust me?”
She stares for a long moment, then nods. “Yes.”
