Chapter 5

“You’ve really decided to go to Vescari?”

Lorenzo asked it quietly.

I sat across from him in his study, the burn on my back aching, my knee wrapped in gauze. After leaving Serena’s guest house, I had locked myself in my room for two days. The meals outside my door went cold untouched.

“The Vescari men are already in the city.” His eyes were red. “Once your name is submitted, the marriage contract takes effect. If you regret this, there is still time.”

I tried to smile.

“There’s nothing to regret.”

Lorenzo’s throat moved. At last, he pushed the papers across the desk.

“Then you leave tonight. Blackharbor’s winter storms can close the harbor any day. They won’t wait until the third day. The public list will still be announced tomorrow, but the storm has forced Vescari to move the convoy forward.”

I signed my name. In the quiet room, the scrape of the pen sounded almost cruel.

Before every Vescari selection, no unmarried woman on the East Coast slept well. Blackharbor was too far, too cold, and too hard to escape. Women who entered that house rarely left by choice.

By evening, everyone knew I had gone to Lorenzo myself.

So they came.

Matteo was the first to enter, anger heavy on his face.

“Aria, what did you say to Lorenzo this time?”

Adrian followed. His eyes swept over my half-packed suitcase, the documents, and the old wooden box by my bed. His gaze paused on the suitcase, but Matteo’s accusation came first, and none of them asked why it was open. Dante came in last and stayed by the door, watching me in silence.

Once, I would have rushed to explain. Now I only put my medicine and papers into the suitcase.

Matteo’s voice dropped.

“Are you trying to send Serena to Vescari in your place?”

I closed the suitcase and looked up.

“What do you think?”

His expression changed.

Adrian stepped closer, his voice soft in that familiar way.

“Aria, tell us clearly. What did you ask Lorenzo for?”

I looked at him for a long moment.

If I told them I was leaving, would they believe me? If they knew tonight was my last night in Vittori, would anyone ask me to stay?

The answer came too quickly.

“You guessed right.”

The room went cold.

I stood with one hand on the desk.

“I’m jealous of Serena, and I hate her. She took all of you from me, so of course I want her gone.”

Adrian frowned. “Aria…”

I cut him off.

“I begged Lorenzo to put her name on the marriage list. As long as she stays here, I’ll keep making trouble and tearing Vittori apart.”

Matteo’s eyes turned sharp.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Why not?” I gave a small laugh. “Lorenzo has spoiled me since I was a child. Isn’t that what you always say? I’m selfish, willful, and I think I can do anything because my brother protects me.”

Dante finally spoke.

“Lorenzo won’t send Serena to Blackharbor just because you asked.”

I looked at him and kept my voice steady.

“Then wait for tomorrow.”

They stared at me as if I had become exactly what they believed I was. Matteo left first, slamming the door. Adrian followed after a short silence. Dante was the last to go. His gaze paused on my suitcase, as if he wanted to say something, but he only turned away.

When their footsteps disappeared, I opened the old wooden box.

Inside were the things they had once given me: Dante’s cufflinks, Matteo’s silver dagger, and the small key Adrian had said belonged to a house he would one day give me.

I closed the box and left all of it behind.

Downstairs, Lorenzo waited beside a black sedan in the rain. He put a heavy coat over my shoulders and handed me a packed bag.

“Medicine, documents, cash, and a new phone,” he said hoarsely. “When you reach Blackharbor, don’t endure everything alone. If anyone hurts you, call me. However far it is, I’ll come get you.”

I nodded and held the bag tight.

Before getting into the car, I looked back at Vittori once. The training ground lights were still on. The docks were dark under the rain, while Serena’s guest house glowed warmly, as if everyone had gathered there.

I did not look again.

Lorenzo closed the door. The car drove out of the estate, and the wipers cut the place where I had grown up into broken shadows.

Soon, they would know whose name was on the list.