Chapter 29 Annie #3
I finally turn to look at Elio, and what I see in his eyes makes my breath catch. There's love there, yes. But also fear. Resignation. The certainty that this is going to end badly, no matter what he says.
This is the moment. The moment where Elio fights for me instead of walking away again. Maybe he couldn’t do it eleven years ago, when he was a boy.
But now… now I need this from him. I need him to fight for us.
"Tell him," I whisper. "Please, Elio. Tell him the truth."
Elio's throat works as he swallows hard.
When he speaks, his voice is rough, raw with emotion.
"Yes. I love her, Ronan. I've loved her since I was sixteen.
Since the day I left Boston, I've thought about her every single day.
Wanted her every single day. And when I came back and saw her again—" He stops, shaking his head.
"I knew I was in trouble. I knew I should stay away from her.
You warned me to stay away from her. But when she came to me that night, when she needed help—I couldn't turn her away. I couldn't."
"So you lied to me instead," Ronan says coldly.
"Yes." Elio doesn't flinch, doesn't look away. "I lied to you. I betrayed your trust. I did everything you told me not to do. And I'd do it again if it meant keeping her safe. I love her. And I’d do anything she asked of me. Kill, if I needed to. Die, if I have to."
The silence that follows is suffocating. I can hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, can feel the tension crackling through the air like electricity before a storm.
Then Ronan moves, so fast I barely see it. One second, he's standing several feet away, the next he's right in front of Elio, his fist connecting with Elio's jaw with a sickening crack.
"Ronan, no!" I scream, but Elio is already stumbling backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"It's fine," he says, his voice steady despite the blood. "I deserved that."
"You deserve a hell of a lot more than that," Ronan snarls. “You want to die? I can fucking arrange that, Cattaneo.” But he doesn't hit him again. Instead, he just stands there, breathing hard, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
I push between them, putting myself in front of Elio. "Stop it. Both of you, just stop."
"Annie, move," Ronan orders.
"No." I plant my feet, refusing to budge. "I'm not going to stand here and watch you hurt him. I'm not going to let you punish him for loving me."
"He put you in danger, Annie. He should have brought you straight to me. He should have—"
"He should have done what I asked him to do," I interrupt. "Which is exactly what he did. He respected my choices, Ronan. Even when he disagreed with them. Even when he knew it might cost him everything. He respected me enough to let me make my own decisions."
Something flickers across Ronan's face—surprise, maybe, or understanding. But his expression remains hard. "And look where those decisions got you. Nearly married to a psychopath. Nearly killed."
"But I wasn't," I say firmly. "Because Elio was there.
Because he kept me safe. Because he hunted Desmond down and rescued me, and—" I take a shaky breath.
"And because he married me himself to make sure Desmond could never succeed.” I focus on Ronan, forcing the words out that I know need to be said.
“I want to live my life. I want to make my own choices. I want to be with the man I love."
"Even if it means destroying your relationship with me?" Ronan's voice cracks on the last word.
The question hits me like a punch to the gut. "Is that what this would do? Would you really choose to lose me over this?"
"You're the one who chose to lie to me," Ronan says, but there's less heat in his voice now. More pain.
"I know." Tears are streaming down my face again.
"I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Ronan.
But I can't—I won't—give him up. Not even for you.
If you're going to make me choose between you and Elio, I choose him.
I'll always choose him. We should have chosen each other eleven years ago. I’m not going to make that same mistake again. "
The words seem to echo through the warehouse, final and irrevocable. I feel Elio's hand tighten around mine, feel him start to pull away.
"Annie, no," he says quietly. "You don't have to—"
"Yes, I do." I turn to look at him. "I love you, Elio. I've loved you for eleven years, and I'm not going to let anyone—not even my brother—take you away from me."
"Annie—" Elio's voice is rough with emotion. "You can't destroy your relationship with Ronan for me. I won't let you."
"You don't get to decide that," I say firmly. "This is my choice. My life. And I choose you."
"Even if it means I have to kill him?" Ronan's voice cuts through the moment, cold and hard.
I turn back to my brother, my heart in my throat. "If you kill him, you'll lose me forever. Is that what you want? To lose both of us?"
Ronan stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the internal war playing out on his face. The need to protect me, to punish Elio for touching me, warring with his love for me. With the knowledge that if he follows through on his threat, he'll lose his sister.
"I trusted him," Ronan finally says, his voice a harsh rasp. "I gave him everything. Power, position, responsibility. And he betrayed me."
"He saved me," I counter. "He kept me alive when Desmond wanted me dead. He protected me when I had nowhere else to turn. He—" I take a shaky breath. "He loved me when I needed it most."
"And what about what I needed?" Ronan's voice breaks. "What about the fact that I needed to know my sister was safe? That I needed to be the one protecting her?"
"I know." I take a step toward him, my hand still clasped in Elio's. "I know I hurt you. I know I should have trusted you with the truth."
"I would have rather had the truth," Ronan says quietly. "I could have handled it, Annie. I would have protected you. I would have hunted Desmond down myself and made him pay for what he did. But you didn't give me that chance.”
The words hit me like a physical blow because I know he's right. I know I made the wrong choice. But I can't change it now. All I can do is try to make him understand why I did it.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I'm so sorry, Ronan. I never meant to hurt you. I was just—I was scared and confused and I didn't know what to do."
Ronan is quiet for a long moment, his gaze moving between Elio and me. I can see him thinking, processing, trying to find a way through this impossible situation.
Then Elio speaks, his voice steady and sure. "I'll step down."
I whip around to stare at him. "What?"
"I'll step down as don," Elio says, looking at Ronan.
"If that's what it takes for you to let Annie and me be together, I'll give up my position.
I'll give up everything. I'll leave Boston if you want me to.
But please—" His voice cracks. "Please don't make her choose between us.
Don't make her lose her family because of me. "
My heart is breaking. "Elio, no. You can't—"
"I can," he says gently, turning to look at me. "I'd give up anything for you, Annie. My position, my power, my life. None of it matters if I can't have you."
Tears are streaming down my face now, hot and fast. "But you've worked so hard. You've earned this. You can't just throw it away—"
"It's not throwing it away if it means I get to keep you," Elio says simply.
He turns back to Ronan. "I know I betrayed your trust. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness.
But I'm asking for it anyway. Not for me—for her.
Because she loves you, Ronan. She loves you so much that she was willing to lie to you to protect you.
And I won't be the reason she loses that. "
Ronan stares at Elio for a long moment, and I can see something shifting in his expression. The rage is still there, but it's tempered now by something else. Respect, maybe. Or understanding.
"You'd really give it all up for her?" Ronan asks quietly.
"In a heartbeat," Elio says without hesitation.
I can't stay quiet anymore. "He saved your life too, Ronan. When Desmond had you cornered, when you were about to die—Elio came. He risked his own life to save yours, even knowing you might kill him for what he'd done. Doesn't that count for something?"
"Why?" Ronan asks, his voice rough. "Why did you save me?"
Elio meets his gaze steadily. "Because Annie loves you.
And I love her. And I couldn't let her lose her brother, even if it meant losing everything myself." He pauses. “And you’re a brother to me too, Ronan. You always have been. What I did…the lies I told, I did it for Annie. But I couldn’t lose my brother today, either.”
The silence that follows is heavy, weighted with everything that’s been said. I hold my breath, waiting for Ronan's response.
Finally, Ronan speaks. "You're right. You did save my life. And you saved Annie's life. Multiple times." He pauses, his jaw working. "And you were willing to give up everything for her. Your position, your power, your life."
"I still am," Elio says quietly.
Ronan nods slowly. "I believe you." He takes a deep breath, and I see some of the tension leave his shoulders. "I'm still furious with both of you. You lied to me. You betrayed my trust. And it's going to take a long time for me to forgive that."
My heart sinks. "Ronan—"
"But," he continues, holding up a hand to stop me, "I'm not going to kill him. And I'm not going to separate you."
Hope flares in my chest, so bright and sudden it almost hurts. "You're not?"
"No." Ronan looks at me, and I see love in his eyes. Love… and pain, and resignation. "You're my sister, Annie. I love you more than anything in this world. And if Elio is who you want—if he's who you love—then I'm not going to stand in your way."
I let out a sob, relief flooding through me so powerfully that I nearly collapse. "Thank you. Thank you, Ronan."