Aria POV
I didn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I heard Lucien's voice.
"I'm not leaving you."
His promise echoed through the silence of my tiny apartment, making every decision feel impossible.
The documents Beatrice had shown me lay on the table.
I didn't know if every page was genuine.
But I knew one thing.
Her family would never stop.
They would keep fighting us.
And eventually...
Lucien would have to choose between me and the future he had spent his entire life preparing for.
I couldn't let that happen.
Not because I doubted his love.
But because I loved him too much to watch him lose everything.
I walked to the old sewing machine that had belonged to my mother.
Running my fingers across its worn surface, I smiled through my tears.
"Mom..."
My voice broke.
"I
