I made an executive decision. "Come with me."
I led her to a small private room—quiet, secure, away from prying eyes. The moment the door closed, Paola's facade crumbled.
She sank into a chair, head in her hands. "This is my fault. If I'd just—"
"Stop." I knelt in front of her, hands on her knees. "This isn't your fault. This is Bianca's fault. And Viktor's. Not yours. He’s using her bad decision to makemepay."
"But if I'd refused at the altar—"
"Then a war would have started anyway. People would have died. You'd probably be dead."
She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. "Maybe that would be better than dragging you down with me."
The words hit harder than they should. "Don't say that."
"Why not? Viktor's right—I'm not Bianca. You–we–lied. And now it's going to cost you everything."
“We don’t even know if he actually has any proof. He could just be bluffing.”
She shook her head slowly, her grip tightening on mine. “I don’t know… he doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who makes an empty threat.”
She was right. That’s what had me worried. Viktor wasn’t stupid enough to play games without having something that could cover his ass.
I stood, pulled her to her feet, framed her face with my hands.
"Listen to me. You are my wife. Not Bianca. You. That's the reality. And I'm not giving you up."
"Even if it costs you your territory?"
"Even then."
The admission surprised us both.
"Cesare—"
"No. Let me finish." My thumbs brushed away her tears. "Viktor thinks he has leverage. He thinks I'll choose power over you. He's wrong."
"You'd give up a quarter of your empire for me?"
"You're mine, Paola. And I protect what's mine. Always."
She stared at me. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying we're not paying Viktor's blackmail."
"Then he'll expose us. Your reputation—"
"Will survive. But only if we control the narrative. Only if we move first."
Understanding dawned. "You want to tell them. Before Viktor can."
"Yes. We need to get ahead of this." I paced. "Viktor's leverage only works if the truth comes as a shock, comes from someone else. If people discover they've been lied to, deceived."
"So what do we do?"
"We reframe the story. Make it our narrative, not Viktor's."
Paola moved to the window. "How?"
