“I’m going to marry your daughter.”
Marco’s head lifts slightly at that, his eyes narrowing just enough to sharpen his focus.
“She won’t marry me if I kill you,” I continue, my voice calm, my gaze steady. “So… you live.”
“Hallelujah,” he says, almost like a joke. A faint smirk tugs at the corner of my mouth.
I like this man.
A breath leaves him, almost a quiet huff, and the corner of his mouth lifts. “Not sure your brothers will agree with that, though.”
“They don’t decide,” I say, leaning forward just slightly, my forearms resting against my thighs. “I do.”
The words sit between us. Certain.
Marco studies me for a moment, his fingers curling loosely around the edge of the table, then releasing again.
“How is she?” he asks.
The change is immediate. His posture softens just slightly, the tension in his shoulders redirecting.
“I heard about what happened.”
“She’s safe,” I say, the words coming faster now. “I got there in time.”
His breath catches, barely, but I see it. His shoulders drop a fraction, and his hand presses flat against the table, grounding himself.
“She shouldn’t have been there,” he says, his voice quieter.
“No,” I agree. “She shouldn’t have.”
A pause stretches between us.
“She convinced me to let him live.”
Marco’s brows lift slightly.
“Vladimir,” I add. “He was supposed to die.”
“And she stopped you.”
I lean back, my gaze drifting for half a second before returning to him. “She didn’t ask… she decided.”
The memory lingers the way her eyes held mine, steady, unshaken.
Like I wasn’t inevitable. Like I could be challenged. And for the first time in a long time, I let her.
Marco lets out a slow breath, something softer breaking through his composure. “That’s my girl.”
His thumb brushes once against the edge of the table, almost unconsciously.
“She’s strong,” I say.
A faint smile pulls at his mouth. “She gets that from her mother.” We both sit there, smiling, I assuming he’s thinking about his woman, because I’m certainly thinking about mine.”
Marco exhales slowly, leaning back in his chair.
“I know you’re still young,” he says, his voice quieter now, less measured, more personal. “But you’re getting ready to settle down, so you’ll learn soon enough.”
