“I know.”
“I’m angry that you didn’t trust me with the truth.”
“I know.”
“I’m angry that you thought I needed to be protected.”
Luca’s expression cracked. “Emma, you were barely surviving. You took a job lying to my grandmother because you were terrified for your sister. I wasn’t going to add to that weight.”
“That wasn’t your choice to make.”
“I know.”
Emma stepped closer. “But I also know that you saved Sophie. That you gave me a place to belong. That you looked at me like I mattered when the rest of the world looked through me.”
Luca’s hands curled into fists. “You’ve always mattered.”
“Then trust me. With all of it. The dangerous parts. The complicated parts. The parts you think I’m not strong enough to handle.”
“Emma—”
“I love you, Luca. But I won’t be with someone who treats me like I need to be kept in the dark for my own good.”
Luca closed his eyes.
When he opened them, Emma saw something break open behind his gaze.
“I’ve spent my entire life keeping people at a distance because closeness gets people killed. But you—” His voice fractured. “You walked into my life and refused to stay at a distance. You argued with me. Challenged me. Made me laugh in rooms where I’d forgotten how.”
Emma’s throat ached.
“I didn’t tell you about Camille because I was afraid,” Luca continued. “Not of her. Of losing you. Of watching you realize that being with me means living in a world where people like Camille exist. Where danger is constant. Where loving me makes you a target.”
“I already know that.”
“And you’re still here.”
“I’m still here.”
Luca reached for her.
Emma let him pull her close.
“No more secrets,” she whispered against his chest.
“No more secrets.”
They stood there until Emma’s anger dissolved into exhaustion.
“What happens to Camille?” she asked.
“Prison. For a long time.”
“Good.”
Luca’s chest rumbled with dark amusement. “You’re terrifying when you’re vindictive.”
“I learned from the best.”
