Page 91 of Brutal Crown

“I don’t hate my brother, but our world is a survival of the fittest. Only the smartest and the best win. And I’m done being second best.”

When I remain silent, he starts walking toward me.

“Don’t look at me like that. I was forced to make difficult choices…”

“Even if those choices mean using me,” I say, trying not to let my voice break.

He doesn’t deny it.

He softens, just a little. “Lia… I do love you. I didn’t plan to fall for you, but I did.”

But then he adds quietly, “And I will still use you if I have to. Because this is bigger than love.”

Tears sting my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. “You’re just like them.”

My stomach twists. My legs feel unsteady beneath me. I want to scream. I want to cry.

His jaw tightens, and his hands reach up to caress my cheek. “Maybe. But at least I’m honest about it.”

I jerk away. “Don’t.”

His expression twists, like he’s about to snap again. But then he curses and steps back. “I will have you soon,” he says firmly. “I just have to wait until my initiations are done. Two more months. If I screw up now, I lose everything I’ve worked hard for.”

He moves to the door. “You might think you hate me now, but just think about what I said. I’m the reason you and your child will get to live. But if you run to him with what I’ve told you and he does anything stupid, he will fall, and the Society won’t spare you either.”

When he’s gone, I lock the door, press my back against it, and slide to the floor. I never realized how broken Marco is, just like Francesco. This… Society, it eats away at their humanity, leaving nothing but a skeleton of a man who thinks he’s complete.

I almost feel bad, for both Marco and Francesco, but I can’t think about them now.

My heart is racing. My hands won’t stop shaking. I press them to my stomach.

You’re not a weapon in some sick game. You’re mine.

If I want to protect my child, I can’t trust either of them. I’m not safe around men who want me just for their own selfish reasons.

I have to find my strength. I have to run.

24

FRANCESCO

There’s something off about Marco.

He’s become a little too quiet, like he knows something I’m not aware of. The way he looks at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention. There’s something behind his eyes, a cold calculation that makes my skin crawl.

He’s also become more possessive.

Every time he’s near Lia, it’s like he’s trying to mark his territory. He’s always been this way, but he doesn’t bother to make it subtle anymore. It’s almost like he’s daring me to notice the way he grabs her waist whenever I step into the room, the way he presses a kiss to her cheek and rubs a hand over her stomach like he’s trying to show me that he took what belongs to me and I can’t do anything about it.

But it’s not just the way he acts around her. He’s been acting differently around everyone lately. He’s been distant, almost like he’s preoccupied with something else nobody knows. He doesn’t crack his annoying jokes at the dining table or even engage in small talk.

And Lia…

She hasn’t looked at me in the past few days. She tries to consciously avoid me, and when she can’t, she pretends like I’m not in the room.

It guts me more than it should. Seeing Marco flaunting her around, seeing how perfect they look together, it makes something deep twist inside my gut.

Today is exactly like the past few days have been.