"You can't stop me."
"Aurora, don't do this." There's pleading in his voice now. "Don't choose him over me."
"I'm not choosing him over you. I'm choosing myself." The words feel true as I say them. "For once in my life, I'm choosing what I want instead of what you've decided for me."
"If you walk out that door with him, you're not welcome back."
The ultimatum hangs in the air.
I look at Axel. His face is destroyed, blood still dripping from his split lip. But his eyes are clear and steady when they meet mine.
"Aurora," he says quietly. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do."
I grab my purse from the nightstand. My phone. Nothing else matters.
"Aurora." Dad's voice breaks. "Please. Don't do this."
"I'm sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry. But I can't stay here."
"Then go!" The softness vanishes, replaced by fury. "Go with him! See how long it lasts! See how long before he gets tired of you!"
The words hurt, but they don't stop me.
Axel holds out his hand. I take it.
We walk out of my room together, down the stairs, through the foyer. I can feel eyes watching us. Marco, the guards, the staff. Everyone seeing Don Luca's daughter leave with the man who betrayed him.
The front door is heavy. Axel opens it.
Behind us, I hear Dad's voice one last time. "If you leave, you're dead to me."
I step through the door anyway.
It slams behind us with a finality that echoes in my chest.
Axel's car is in the driveway, already loaded with bags. Viktor's in the driver's seat, Sergei beside him. They don't look surprised to see me.
"Get in," Axel says gently, opening the back door.
I do. He slides in beside me.
The car starts moving, and I watch my father's estate disappear behind us. The only home I've ever known. The only family I have left.
Gone.
"Are you okay?" Axel asks softly.
Am I?
I just lost my father. Just walked away from everything I've ever known. Just chose a man I've spent less than a month with over the parent who raised me.
"No," I whisper. "I'm not okay."
He pulls me into his arms, and I finally let myself break.
Because I'm not okay. Nothing about this is okay.