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Brioni

“Good,” Declan says from the head of the table. “There’s too much at stake for the two of you to be playing around.”

Beside him, Liam lowers his chin to his chest, and my heart aches for him. He broke his promise to me, but I can see now the turmoil it’s caused him. I never should have demanded a vow like that in the first place, not from him. I asked him to go against his mafia nature, against the man he’s supposed to be.

All because I was too weak to stomach seeing that side of him.

Your bride will have to be strong enough to handle it.

Declan’s words punched me in the gut. Because he’s right, I’m not strong enough.

I’ve never been strong enough to be with Liam.

* * *

We were twenty-eight.

As we ran along the lakeshore, we were the fastest we’d ever been, the temperate spring weather the perfect temperature for us to both PR. The day was perfect.

After our cool-down, Liam strolled off the pavement and down to the beach, pulling off his shoes as he walked. I followed. I’d have followed him anywhere.

As we flopped down onto the sand, I let out a long, contented sigh. For a while, we just watched the sparkling blue of the lake transform into suds of white foam at our toes. When Liam turned to me, he was squinting against the sun’s reflection off the water.

“I had to break up with Victoria.” He sounded more resigned than upset, but I still felt bad for them both.

They’d been dating for two years, five months, and eighteen days. I liked Victoria, and I especially liked that she made Liam happy. She was gorgeous, with tanned skin and raven hair, and eyes the same emerald green as Liam’s. When he first introduced me to her, I remember thinking that they’d make the most beautiful babies, all with bright green eyes. That thought pained me deep in my soul, but I made myself shake it off.

Victoria was perfect for Liam, confident and strong. Within weeks of meeting her, I realized she was self-assured in a way I could never be—not full of herself, but aware of her capabilities.

“I’m sorry,” I told Liam on the beach. With his arms slung around his knees, he shrugged.

“She doesn’t come with an alliance,” he said frankly.

“But you still love her.” My voice cracked on the word, and we lapsed into silence.

At our feet, the tide was coming in, the cold water swishing around our toes. I pulled my knees tighter to my chest, but neither of us wanted to leave our spot.

“I will only love one woman in this life,” Liam said gravely.

My stomach sank with his statement, and a tingling sensation of numbness spread through my limbs. I’d seen how much he loved Victoria, with all his gestures of affection and little kindnesses toward her.

On the sand beside me, he picked up a rock and threw it into the lake.

“It’s stupid, really,” he said. “The only reason I can’t be with her is because she wouldn’t bring my family an alliance.”

I felt my nose itch with tears then, and I wanted to scoot closer to Liam, to wrap my arms around him. But he was shaking his head in disgust, his elbows spread defensively wide as he looked out over the water.

“My only consolation is that she’s resilient,” he said after a while. “The woman I love is strong, she doesn’t need me. So I made the tough decision for both of us. And it’s better this way.”

I nodded in silence, devastated for my best friend, for the agonizing decisions he’d have to keep making all his life. The frigid water was lapping at our ankles by then, but we still didn’t move. By telling me his pain over Victoria, Liam was sharing his burden, and I wanted to do everything I could to support him.

Even if it meant just being there, next to him.

Chapter 49

Liam

I can’t wait to get out of this fucking room. Away from Da and his hideous list of brides that aren’t Brioni.