Chapter 19 - The Choice
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Gio returned to the safehouse hours later, covered in soot, blood, and the heavy exhaustion of a war concluded.
He expected the villa to be empty. He expected the envelope to be gone, and Isadora to be flying halfway across the world to a new, safe life.
When he pushed the heavy wooden door open, he froze.
Isadora was sitting by the fireplace, staring into the flames. She was wearing his oversized sweater, the envelope containing her freedom sitting entirely untouched on the coffee table.
"You missed your flight," Gio breathed, dropping his weapon onto a side table, hardly daring to believe his eyes.
Isadora stood up, turning to face him. She didn't look at the blood on his clothes or the darkness lingering in his eyes. She walked slowly toward him, stopping inches away.
"I told you once, Giovanni, that I only wanted the truth," Isadora said softly, reaching up to gently cup his bruised, exhausted face. "The truth is, a new passport and a safe life mean absolutely nothing if I have to live it without you."
Gio let out a shuddering, broken breath. He leaned into her touch, his massive frame trembling as the last remaining wall around his heart completely crumbled.
"My world is violence, Isadora," Gio whispered, his voice cracking. "It is blood and shadows. I cannot promise you safety. I can only promise you that I will burn the world down before I let anyone hurt you."
"I don't want safety," Isadora replied fiercely, stepping flush against his chest, her eyes blazing with an unshakeable resolve. "I want the throne. And I want the man sitting on it."
Gio groaned, pulling her violently into his arms, kissing her with a desperate, consuming passion that wiped away the horrors of the night. He lifted her off the floor, holding her as if she were the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth.
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He had lost his father, his uncle, and his innocence. But he had gained a queen who wasn't afraid of the dark.
For the first time in his life, Giovanni Rossi was not ruling alone.
