Chapter 3 THREE

Emilia swallowed hard, her mind racing. "That's not a good enough reason to marry someone."

"I don't need a reason," Luca said, his tone soft but firm. "I need an answer."

She took a step back, bumping into the corner of her easel. Paint smeared her fingers-evidence of the life she was about to give up.

"I'm not some object to be bargained for," she said quietly.

"You're not," he agreed. "But your father signed papers. Papers with my name. I'm offering you a way out that doesn't involve blood."

Her heart pounded. "And what do you get out of this?"

He didn't hesitate. "A wife. A distraction. Someone the press can point to and say, 'See? He's not a monster.' That's all."

It was transactional. Clean. Cold.

But it would save her family.

Her thoughts flew to her mother's worried eyes. Her little sister's cough echoing in the walls of their small apartment. The bookstore shelves that once held promise now held dust.

"When?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Three days."

Three days to bury her old life. Three days to say goodbye to art, to freedom, to the woman she thought she'd become.

But at least her family would survive.

And so, with trembling hands and a heart full of storms, Emilia nodded.

"Fine. I'll marry you."

Luca inclined his head, like a man who just signed a business deal. But for Emilia, it was the moment the world tilted and never turned back.