21. Lelia
Chapter 21
Lelia
T he silk feels heavy against my skin.
Not the weight of the fabric—no, that was light, delicate, like something stolen from a dream. The real weight came from what it meant. What it represented .
A dress stitched from centuries of power, blood, and silence. A legacy built by men like my father, cemented by marriages like mine. And now, in just two days, I am meant to walk down marble steps into a courtyard full of ghosts dressed like guests and say yes to a man I will never love.
A man who will own me.
I stand in front of the mirror, staring at the stranger in white.
Then I hear the door open.
I don’t need to turn around. I know it’s him.
“Nico,” I say softly, watching his reflection behind mine.
He steps into the room like he doesn’t care what rules he was breaking. His black suit looks sharp, but it’s the expression in his eyes that really cuts—determined, furious, a little desperate. He’s seeing me in a wedding dress meant for another man. But this isn’t me, and that’s when I turn to look at him.
“You look…” He hesitates. “Not like yourself.”
I give a bitter smile. “Perfect. Just how they want me.”
He comes closer, but he doesn’t reach for me. He stops inches from me but not touching. Not yet. Just close enough that I can feel the electricity hum in the space between us.
“You won’t have to do this. There is no way I’ll allow you to walk down that aisle, and if that makes me sound like a mad man, then so be it.” He reaches for my face, his palm cupping my cheek. “A delicate flower, smells so sweet, but can be so dangerous.”
I lift my gaze slowly to look at him. “This is the end of the road for my upcoming marriage,” I inform him. “Our plan will work.”
“Yes,” he says with a confident nod and steel in his voice. “Cassio arrives shortly, and when he does, this wedding will go ahead, but before you say those fated words, we will burn this place to the ground.”
“I’ll pull the trigger myself as the vows are being read,” I inform Nico. “Do not underestimate me.”
He stares at me, stunned by the insanity of my words. The delicate flower he holds in his hands like something precious is a deadly weapon.
“I would never ask you to choose between loyalty to your family and love,” he says. “It’s your decision, for once.”
“I will always choose love,” I whisper.
Silence stretched between us, tight as a wire.
Then I say, “Nobody has ever given me a choice. Until you.” The words crack something in me wide open and I feel as if I’ve left my heart in his hands as we stand in the silence that now hangs heavy between us.
He steps closer, so close I can see the pulse in his neck. “So tell me, Lia. What do you want?”
I look up at him. At the man I wasn’t supposed to love, the one I’d spent weeks trying not to need. And I know I’m lost to him. There is no going back.
“If I die tomorrow, I will die knowing I’ve experienced true love.”
“Lia,” he murmurs my name like a prayer, and something in his voice breaks. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
He reaches out, and when his hand brushes my face, I don’t move. I can’t.
“I’ve lied to a lot of people, Lia,” he murmurs softly. “But every time I touch you… that is the truth.”
Tears blur my vision, but I don’t let them fall. Not yet. I fight them back because I don’t want him to see me cry. “I want to escape this world, this life,” I say, my voice shaking. “But you make me want to stay.”
Nico presses his forehead against mine, a gentle connection coursing through us, and for a moment, we are the only two people in the world.
No vows. No violence. No enemies. Just us.
And then?—
A knock at the door. Loud. Final.
“It’s time, Nico,” Gillie calls from the other side.
We don’t move.
Nico pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. “Tell me. Right now. We disappear tonight, or we stay and burn it all down.”
My hand finds his as we tangle our fingers together and for the first time in my life, I make a choice that is mine.
“Let’s burn it down.”
I sneak away after everyone has gone to bed and the house is silent. Down the service hallway, past the empty scullery, into the wine cellar. Nico’s waiting near the racks, leaning against the stone wall like he’s always belonged here.
When he sees me, something in his posture changes. Softens. Breaks open. He straightens and as I near him, he pulls me into his arms.
And for the first time all day, I can breathe again. Earlier in my room, I was too nervous to relax, but for now, I can.
Nico doesn’t speak. Instead, he steals my lips with his. He kisses me like he’s starving. Hands tangled in my hair, breath ragged, like he can’t believe I’m real.
“I hated watching him touch you in the gardens,” he says into my neck.
“I hated it too,” I whisper.
We sink to the floor together, tucked between old bottles and dust, and the whole world disappears. He strokes my face like I’m something fragile. Like I’m his.
“Tell me what you want,” he murmurs.
My voice is barely audible to my own ears, but when I speak, I know he hears me. “I want you .”
“Even if it ends badly?” This is the first time Nico has shown any doubt.
“Especially then.” I kiss him like an answer. “Have you found the intel your father wanted?” I ask him then, remembering the other reason he’s been here.
“I did. Having access to the whole house has helped, but Guillermo has offered his assistance and I can’t thank him enough for it.”
I smile and rest my head on Nico’s chest. For the rest of the night, we pretend we’re free.
But the pretending only lasts so long.
By the following morning, Ignacio is talking with the guards and the planners again.
Plans. Invitations. Guest lists. Security protocols.
I listen from the balcony above, unseen, trying to commit every word to memory.
“…we need more eyes on the perimeter,” Ignacio says. “I want more men brought in tonight, and since Cassio arrives tomorrow, we can all relax as he knows my bride better than I do. I trust him.”
That sends a chill down my spine.
Because if Cassio is that close with my cousin, Nico’s cover could fall apart.
Quickly. Violently.
I rush to find him before lunch, ducking into the guard’s quarters and pretending to be lost.
He finds me first.
“What are you doing here?” he hisses, pulling me into a storage alcove.
“They’re bringing in more men. And Cassio arrives tomorrow.” The panic in my voice is palpable.
His expression turns dark. “That’s sooner than I thought.”
“What do we do?”
He presses his hands against the wall on either side of me, caging me in. “You keep playing your role. Smile for him. Lie through your teeth.”
“I can do that.”
“Good. Because once we move… everything’s going to change. Guillermo and I will make this happen,” he promises.
I search his face. “Are you sure we can still do this?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Then finally he says, “I used to think people like us didn’t get happy endings.”
“And now?”
He touches my cheek. “Now I dream about them.”
The morning Cassio arrives, there’s a formal dinner. Full of glassware and silver and tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. But with him came my parents. I didn’t expect them to be here because I know my father hates leaving the organization. But they’re here, and I’ve hardly had time to talk to them.
I watch Nico from a distance as I sit beside Ignacio at the long table, smiling as required, nodding when asked. My father toasts. My mother beams.
And all I can do is act like a perfect future wife.
I catch Nico’s eyes from across the room. The rage that’s currently burning in his stare is like a dagger and it’s aimed right beside me, at the man who’s got his arm wrapped around my shoulders. He’s been pawing at me all night, and with every touch, I feel sick.
Nico’s stationed at the back wall, behind a row of serving staff. Watching everything.
Everyone.
But mostly me.
He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t nod. He just sees me. And that’s enough to ease the tension that’s currently got a hold of me.
Later, as the dinner winds down and the guests file out, I make my excuses and slip away.
Nico finds me on the second-floor balcony, where the air smells like jasmine and a storm that’s about to break outside. The scent of rain that’s heavy in the air wafts through into the mansion.
He doesn’t say anything at first. Just stands beside me, watching the garden below.
Then quietly, he says, “I know it’s getting harder. I didn’t think your parents would be here, but we have a plan to get them out of the house tomorrow.”
I nod.
“It’s almost over,” he adds. “Guillermo and I are ready.”
My heart stammers. “How soon?”
“One night. The night before you say I do.”
I swallow hard. “And we will finally be free.”
“Freedom will come at a price, my sweet girl.” He finally turns to face me.
“I know. I’m ready to pay it,” I tell him honestly. “I told you. I choose you.”
“Tell me to walk away,” he says, voice rough. “Right now. I’ll disappear. No more danger. No more lies. Just say the word.”
I stare at him.
Then shake my head.
“You wouldn’t listen.”
His lips twitch. “Probably not.”
“I’m in this with you,” I whisper. “Whatever happens.”
He leans in.
And kisses me like a vow.
One day.
That’s all the time we have left.
One more day to pretend, to play our parts.
One more day before everything burns.