Page 99 of Brutal Crown

The silence stretches, taut and trembling. I’m close enough to see the pale tremor of her hands resting on the windowsill.

She smiles before answering. “I think we’ve both been putting off this conversation for far too long.”

“I know.”

Her voice cracks at the edges, not with sadness, but something heavier. A grief for something that never really existed. “I’m done,” she says, voice low. “Done with living a lie. With pretending. This… marriage—I can’t keep binding you to a life neither of us wants.”

“How long has it been for you?” I ask softly.

She doesn’t act confused. “Since he came into my life. Maybe even before. I don’t know when exactly I stopped lying to myself about loving him.”

Her breath hitches, and for a moment, I think she might cry. But then she inhales deeply, squaring her shoulders. In her eyes, I catch something like relief, the weight of it finally slipping off.

“I’m in love with him, Francesco. I feel like I’m dying when he’s not near me. It’s like I’m walking around with a thousand cuts only he knows how to stop from bleeding. And it hurts—god, it fucking hurts—that I can’t be with him, when every part of me aches to. I want to be with Antonio. My parents would rather see me suffer than let me be with him, but I’m done pretending. I’m done choking on my feelings. No matter what it costs me, I need to find a way out. I’m ready to die if I must.”

My eyebrows rise slightly. I always suspected her heart was somewhere else, but I never expected it to be here all along, hidden in plain sight.

“Antonio, huh?” I murmur, a dry chuckle escaping me. “Tall, brooding, terrifying… yeah, perfect match material. He ever smile, or is that just reserved for you?”

She smiles and her eyes flick up to mine, wide with surprise. Then… something gentler. Understanding.

“He makes me feel seen.” Her voice turns cautious. “Are you… angry?”

“Why would I be?” I ask, almost laughing. “You found something real. We were never that.”

“You could still make this difficult.”

I shake my head. “We both deserve out of this madness. I may not be a good person, Silvia, but you don’t deserve to suffer for it. You should be with whoever makes you feel whole.”

Her eyes glisten, not with tears, but clarity. A sharp, painful clarity we’ve both been avoiding.

“There’ll be consequences, Francesco. You know that.”

“I know.” I exhale harshly. “But I’ve got too much at stake now to just sit quietly and let it all burn down around me. I’ve already lost too much. I’m about to lose the most importantthing in my life, all because I didn’t fight when I should have. I have less than a fighting chance left, and this might end very badly. But I won’t let it slip away, not without trying to rewrite the ending.”

She nods, then gently places a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m proud of you, Francesco. I truly am. I hope you get everything your heart has never let itself ask for. But I’ve made peace with the truth that this may not end well for me. You don’t just walk away from the Society’s expectations. We were meant to be an alliance. A legacy. Our bloodlines were supposed to bind centuries.”

She takes a breath, voice turning urgent.

“Just… make sure you’re certain. Not just for yourself. But for the new life that might get caught in the crosshairs of this whole damn mess.”

“I know what it was supposed to be.” My voice hardens. “I also know I’ll die before I let it become my prison. Just leave it to me. I know it sounds impossible right now, but I’ll find a way to free us both.”

“And what about Lia?” she asks softly. “And the baby?”

Her words land like a knife between the ribs. I don’t move. But she sees it anyway. She always has. I can’t lie to her. Never had been able to.

She lets out a slow breath. “I always knew you had feelings for her. Even before you did.”

“She’s not—” I stop. My throat tightens. “It’s complicated.”

“It always is, with you.” She smiles sadly. “But she brings out the best in you. Even when you try to fight it.”

Another silence settles.

“And just because you did some bad things doesn’t make you a bad person. You don’t deserve to be miserable. You were never cruel to me,” she says. “Even when you were distant. You tried to protect me… in your own way.”