Two months.
I have two months before I marry a stranger to save my family.
"Have I met him?" I ask. "Vittorio?"
"Once. Years ago. You were children. He probably doesn't remember."
"Does he want this? The marriage?"
"He's a De Luca. He'll do what his father tells him to do. Same as—" He stops. "Same as what we all do."
Same as what I'm about to do.
Marry someone I don't love because it's what the family needs.
I should be angry. I should be screaming or crying or demanding another solution. But I'm not nineteen anymore and I understand how this world works, understand that sometimes duty matters more than happiness, that sometimes you sacrifice yourself to keep everyone else alive.
"Okay," I say quietly.
Matteo's head snaps toward me. "Okay?"
"Okay. I'll do it. I'll marry him."
"If you don’t want to?—"
"I'm not a child anymore, Matteo. I understand what this family needs. I understand what's at stake." I look at him directly. "If marrying Vittorio De Luca keeps you safe, keeps everyone safe, then that's what I'll do."
"I'm so sorry." His voice cracks slightly. "If there was any other way?—"
"I know." I reach over and squeeze his hand. "I know you wouldn't ask if there was another option. It's okay. I'm okay."
I'm lying.
I'm not okay. I'm heartbroken and terrified and grieving for a future I'll never have.
But he doesn't need to know that.
He needs me to be strong. He needs me to be the sister who understands, who accepts, who does her duty without complaint.
So that's who I'll be.
The house appears ahead, lit up against the dark sky, and it looks exactly the same as it did over a year ago, when I left.
But everything else has changed.
I'm different. Matteo is different. The world is different.
And in two months I'll marry a stranger and become someone else entirely.
Mrs. Vittorio De Luca.
The name feels wrong in my head but I'll get used to it. I'll have to get used to it.
We pull through the gates and park and Matteo helps me with my suitcases and we walk inside together.
"Get some sleep," he says at the bottom of the stairs. "Tomorrow we'll talk details. Introduce you to some people. Start preparing."
"Okay."
