Chapter 80: You don’t have to like me.

"This bitch deserves to die the same way my mother was killed."

He spits toward me.

I don’t move.

Then Lysander stands, he walks around the desk and stops directly in front of Sebastian.

He grabs Sebastian by the neck, sebastian starts struggling immediately.

Lysander’s fingers tighten.

"You don’t call my wife a bitch in front of me."

He punches Sebastian directly in the chest, the impact forcing the air from Sebastian’s lungs.

He doubles over as much as Lysander’s grip allows, wheezing and clawing at his throat.

I stare at Lysander.

There is no hesitation in his face or uncertainty.

Just fury.

He looks at Sebastian for another second before turning his head toward me.

"What do you want me to do with him?"

I blink.

Me?

He’s giving me the choice?

I look at Sebastian.

He is still glaring at me.

I should probably say I don’t know.

I should probably let Lysander decide.

But something inside me refuses.

I’m tired.

Tired of men thinking they can put their hands on me.

Tired of being treated like I am something that can be threatened, controlled, or broken.

Tired of walking into rooms and having men decide what they are going to do to me before I even open my mouth.

And if I’m going to be here...

If this marriage is going to last however long it lasts...

Then I need to make something very clear.

I need everyone in this house to understand exactly who they are dealing with.

I slowly look back at Lysander.

"Anything?"

His eyes remain on mine.

"Anything."

I take a breath.

My heart is beating hard.

But my voice doesn’t shake.

"I’d like to kill him myself."

Sebastian’s eyes widen.

I hold Lysander’s gaze.

"In front of your men."

Lysander looks at me as though he isn’t quite sure he heard me correctly.

His eyes search my face, I don’t look away.

I expect him to question me, to ask if I’m serious, to tell me I can’t just kill one of his men.

He doesn’t.

Instead he turns toward the men standing around Sebastian.

"Get the men gathered."

The order is quiet.

It doesn’t need to be loud, everyone in the room understands him.

The two men holding Sebastian drag him out.

I remain where I am, my heart is beating harder now.

Not from fear.

At least, that’s what I tell myself.

Lysander walks toward the door and I follow .

We leave the office and make our way through the mansion.

Neither of us speaks.

By the time we reach the main courtyard, several men are already gathering.

Then more arrive and more. Word travels quickly in a place like this I suppose. Especially when the Don orders everyone to gather.

Men emerge from different parts of the estate, some still adjusting their jackets, others carrying weapons openly at their sides.

They form a loose crowd in front of the house.

Their eyes immediately fall on me, then on Lysander, then on a kneeling Sebastian.

Whispers spread through the group.

"What happened?"

"Is that Sebastian?"

"Why is the Don bringing him out here?"

"Is that the Luciano woman?"

"What’s going on?"

I hear every word and i pretend I don’t.

Lysander walks past me to reach Sebastian.

Sebastian is still struggling against the men holding him. His face is bruised from the struggle, but the hatred in his eyes is as strong as it was in the office.

Lysander grabs the back of his shirt.

He doesn’t say anything, he simply drags him forward.

Sebastian stumbles.

"Get your hands off me!"

Lysander keeps walking.

The men holding Sebastian release him and he drops hard onto the ground in front of the gathered crowd.

A murmur travels through the men.

Sebastian tries to push himself up.

Lysander kicks the weapon away from him when he reaches for something at his waist.

Then he steps back.

I look at the crowd.

Dozens of men are watching me.

Some are curious, some look openly hostile.

And a few are looking at me like they expect me to break soon. Maybe they think I’m the fragile Luciano bride.

The woman who doesn’t belong here, the woman who should stay in her room and let the men handle the ugly parts of their world.

They don’t know me and maybe that’s my fault.

I’ve spent weeks trying to survive this arrangement without making unnecessary enemies.

I’ve kept my mouth shut when I wanted to scream, I’ve swallowed my anger.

I’ve tried to respect the fact that these people lost family members because of mine.

But yesterday changed something.

A man inside this house put his hands around my throat.

He tried to violate me, he tried to kill me.

And now I’m standing in front of the very people who might have considered him justified because of the blood between our families.

I’m done being quiet.

I step forward.

"Listen."

My voice isn’t loud but it carries around the space.

The murmuring slowly dies as everyy face turns toward me.

I take a breath.

"I don’t care if you don’t like me, I’m not here to make you like me."

I glance around the crowd.

"I’m here because I married your Don."

My eyes move briefly toward Lysander.

"And whether you like that marriage or not, it happened."

No one speaks.

"So you will treat me with respect."

A few men shift their weight.

I continue.

"You will not attack me."

My voice becomes firmer.

"You will not threaten me."

I look directly at the men closest to Sebastian.

"And you will certainly not try to rape me."

The courtyard goes completely silent.

I can almost feel the shock move through the crowd.

Good.

I want them uncomfortable, i want them to understand exactly why we’re standing here.

I look down at Sebastian and he glares back at me.

"I understand that many of you have lost people."

My voice softens slightly.

"People you loved."

I look back at the crowd.

"People you cared about."

I swallow.

"And I understand that some of those people were killed because of my family."

The words are difficult to say, not because I disagree, because I know what the Luciano name means to people like these.

Blood. Death. Revenge and Loss.

"I’m sorry. I’m sincerely sorry."

"But none of those deaths were my fault."