Page 175 of Punishing His Runaway Bride
"So you're going to marry him?" Sophie asked incredulously. "Oli, that's not the answer."
"I don't know what the answer is!" My voice was nearly desperate. "I only know I have to protect Leo. If marrying Sebastian can do that..."
"There are other ways," Ella squeezed my hand. "We can go to the police, we can—"
"The police?" I laughed bitterly. "Against the mob? Ella, you're too naive."
The room fell silent. Outside, a night bird called, shrill and lonely.
"Maybe..." Sophie hesitated. "Maybe you should talk to Ezio."
"No," I said immediately. "Absolutely not."
"But he controls the Visconti family, even half the underground in New York," Sophie insisted. "If anyone can protect you, it's him. And... Oli, he's Leo's father."
"At what cost?" I shot back. "Losing Leo? Watching him be trained as a killer? Sophie, you don't understand."
"Then move," Ella said. "Move to another city, far from here. We can help you."
Move. The idea circled in my mind. Maybe that was the most practical choice—not fleeing abroad, but finding a safe place domestically, starting over.
"I'll think about it," I said, feeling a glimmer of hope. "Maybe you're right. Maybe distance can solve everything."
But even as I said it, I knew it was just self-comfort. Because the real problem wasn't geographical distance—it was that I'd gotten too deeply involved in this world.
And the most terrifying part was, I wasn't sure I actually wanted to leave.
That night, after my friends left, I lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling. My hand unconsciously moved to my abdomen, where the memory of Ezio's touch still lingered.
I hated his world, hated his lies, hated the danger he brought.
But I couldn't hate him.
This realization filled me with unprecedented fear. Because I knew that if this continued, I would lose myself, lose everything.
I had to make a choice. And time was ticking away, second by second.
Outside, clouds covered the moon, plunging the manor into deeper darkness. In the distance, an owl called, low and ominous, like some kind of warning.
I closed my eyes, but sleep didn't come. Only fear, confusion, and that truth I refused to acknowledge.
No matter how much I wanted to escape, there was no going back.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ezio
Carlo's call came while I was going through shipping manifests from the West Coast.
"Talk," I answered.
"Olivia was attacked." Carlo's voice was tight. "Half an hour ago, on her way to pick up Leo."
My pen froze mid-air, ink bleeding into the paper.
"Where is she?"
"Sebastian took her home. She and the kid are fine, but Ezio—" Carlo paused. "It was Rossi's men. Marked. They went straight for her."
