This was the most important mont.
I silently prayed Whitney wouldn’t say sothing harsh that would push him over the edge. Vito was already close to breaking. If we lost this chance now, everything would collapse.
After a long silence, Whitney finally spoke.
"I want freedom," she said quietly. "Not soone watching my every move. If you can give that... I promise I won’t run."
Vito looked at her thin fra for a long ti.
Maybe he had always known what the real problem was.
I was betting on one simple truth: if a man truly loves soone, he won’t let her live in misery.
Vito closed his eyes.
Then he finally spoke.
"Fine. I’ll do it. I trust you... and I hope you won’t betray that trust."
Whitney looked shocked.
"You’re really willing to?"
Vito nodded with a bitter smile.
"I don’t want to lose you," he said quietly. "And I don’t want to hurt you anymore."
"When can the surgery happen?" I asked imdiately.
"Let’s do a checkup today," Vito replied. "If everything looks good, she can have the procedure tomorrow."
Relief washed through .
All the effort I put into this had finally worked.
Whitney would soon be free.
Amber, who had been quiet the whole ti, rubbed her temples and looked at .
"Well," she said tiredly, "now that everything is settled, you and Lewis should head back."
Dark circles surrounded her eyes. She clearly hadn’t slept at all last night. She looked completely exhausted.
But I smiled warmly at her.
"Amber, why are you rushing us away?" I said sweetly. "It wasn’t easy for Lewis and to finally find our dear relative. We should stay for a while and properly show you our respect."
I ant every word.
I wasn’t leaving.
Amber needed to understand sothing very clearly.
Getting here had been easy.
Getting to leave would be much harder.
Amber glared at so hard it felt like she wanted to skin alive. If Lewis had not been standing there, she probably would have cursed out already.
"Fine. Whatever. Just get out so I can rest," she snapped.
Yael helped Vito to his feet, and the two of them walked out first. The rest of us followed behind them. I had taken only a few steps before sothing occurred to .
"Lewis, wait. I need to say sothing to Amber."
Before he could respond, I turned and went right back in.
The mont I reached the door, I froze.
A tall man dressed in black was standing beside Amber, leaning down as he gently massaged her temples. His movents were careful, familiar, almost intimate.
"You’ve been awake all night," he murmured. "Let carry you back so you can rest."
For a second, the scene looked almost soft, almost like two lovers wrapped in their own quiet world. Then again, Amber’s husband had been gone for years. It was not shocking that soone had taken his place beside her.
The mont Amber saw at the door, her face twisted with fury.
"Damn it. What do you want now?"
I smiled sweetly.
"I just ca to say one thing. Amber, I want barbecue ribs for dinner."
Her eyes flashed. "I’m not running a restaurant here."
She grabbed an inkstone and hurled it toward my feet. It hit the floor with a hard crack, close enough to make stop.
But the second Lewis appeared behind , Amber changed instantly. Her whole expression softened into sothing sweet and graceful, so fake it was almost impressive.
"Barbecue ribs?" she said warmly. "Of course. I’ll make so for you. Lewis, what about you? Is there anything you want?"
"Anything is fine," Lewis said, though his eyes moved between Amber and with clear suspicion.
Then he led out into the courtyard.
The place was quiet and empty, and sohow that only made the tension worse. The open air did nothing to ease the cold pressing between us. Lewis stood with his back to , tall and still, but the chill in his presence was impossible to miss. Even without seeing his face, I could feel his displeasure.
He had protected my dignity in front of everyone else.
Now I was facing the real Lewis.
Cold. Silent. Impossible to fool.
"Lewis," I called softly.
Over the past few months, he had always been patient with . Gentle. Careful. He had never once raised his voice at . Never once spoken cruelly. But now, standing in front of his silence, I felt sothing close to fear.
I reached out carefully and tugged at his sleeve.
He turned too fast, and his hand brushed against my injured wrist.
"Ouch," I let out before I could stop myself.
Panic flashed across his face at once.
"Elena, are you hurt? Did I hurt you? I’m sorry. I didn’t an to—"
His concern was imdiate and real. No hesitation. No doubt.
That only made feel worse.
I tried to brush it off and hide my hand better. My sleeve was still covering the wound well enough, or at least I hoped so.
"What is going on between you and Amber?" he asked directly.
"Nothing," I said quickly. "I just realized that even though she has a terrible temper, she’s not actually that bad. She—"
Lewis stepped closer.
His eyes locked onto mine so sharply I could barely breathe.
"Elena," he said quietly, "when did I beco soone you needed to guard yourself against?"
Before I could answer, he took my hand and pressed it against his chest. His grip was not rough, but I could feel the force of everything he was holding back.
"Tell what happened," he said. His voice was low, strained. "Seeing you like this makes my heart hurt."
A bead of sweat slid down my temple. He noticed.
Sothing shifted in his eyes.
He reached for my sleeve.
"No, Lewis. Don’t."
He stopped imdiately, probably sensing the injury beneath the fabric. But the hurt in his expression only deepened.
"Elena," he asked softly, "have you stopped loving ?"
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