enjoyebooks CHAPTER 139
CHAPTER 139
POV: Mark
She asks me to walk with her.
Not grand. Not dramatic. Just—“Can you come with me for a moment?”—said near the west colonnade where the ivy climbs too high and no one important ever looks.
I nod like I’m not suddenly aware of my heartbeat.
“Sure,” I say. “Lead the way.”
We walk side by side, the palace noise thinning behind us. I don’t talk. I’ve learned that sometimes silence isn’t retreat—it’s respect.
Lysa stops near the low stone wall overlooking the lower gardens. She rests her hands on the warm surface, eyes fixed on the path below.
“I don’t want this to be strange,” she says.
“It already is,” I reply lightly. “But that doesn’t mean it has to be bad.”
She smiles at that. Then she sobers.
“I like you,” she says. “That part is simple.”
I wait.
“I like Adrian too,” she continues. “He’s… kind. In a careful way. Like he thinks before he breathes.”
I swallow. “He does.”
She turns to me. “You don’t.”
I grin. “Rude. But fair.”
She exhales. “You make things feel possible. Not easy. Possible.”
I don’t interrupt.
“But I won’t be the thing that breaks you two,” she adds. “I won’t be the reason you stop being brothers.”
I nod slowly. “You won’t be.”
She studies my face. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because I won’t let it happen,” I answer honestly. “And neither will he.”
She looks down, fingers tracing the stone. “I don’t want to be chosen like a prize.”
“You won’t be,” I say. “You’ll be chosen like a person.”
She laughs softly. “You say things like that and expect me not to notice.”
“I expect you to notice,” I reply. “I just don’t expect it to obligate you.”
She turns then, facing me fully.
“I choose you,” she says.
The words land quietly. Solid. No fireworks. No music.
Just truth.
I don’t move. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she replies. “But only if you’re sure too.”
“I am,” I say. “And I promise—if this ever stops feeling right, you won’t have to fight your way out.”
Her shoulders ease. “That matters.”
“It should,” I say.
She steps closer and kisses my cheek. Brief. Certain.
“Come find me later,” she says. “I should tell my mother.”
“I’ll be here,” I reply.
She leaves without looking back.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
***
Adrian is in the library when I find him.
Of course he is.
He looks up from a book he’s not reading, eyes searching my face with quiet precision.
“Well?” he asks.
I sit across from him. “She chose me.”
He nods once. “I thought she might.”
I brace for something—tightness, disappointment, withdrawal.
It doesn’t come.
“I’m sorry,” I say instead. “If this hurts.”
He considers that. “It does.”
My chest tightens.
“But it would have hurt more,” he continues, “if I’d stayed where I didn’t belong.”
I stare at him. “You don’t have to be strong about this.”
“I’m not,” he says. “I’m being honest.”
I rub the back of my neck. “I don’t want you thinking I took something from you.”
“You didn’t,” he replies. “You accepted something.”
“That still feels… uneven.”
He smiles faintly. “It is. That’s life.”
“You’re sure?” I press.
“Yes,” he says. “And before you say it—no, you don’t owe me.”
I laugh weakly. “I was going to.”
“I know,” he replies. “That’s why I’m stopping you.”
We sit in silence for a moment.
“She makes you lighter,” he says finally.
“You think so?”
“I know so,” he answers. “You don’t clench your jaw when you talk about her.”
I grin. “High praise.”
He returns it, smaller but real.
“Just don’t disappear,” he adds.
“I won’t,” I promise. “Not from you.”
He nods. “Good.”
Father finds us together later, both of us leaning against the balcony railing.
“Your mother told me,” he says.
“About…?” I ask.
“Everything,” he replies. “In her way.”
Adrian straightens slightly. I don’t.
“I’m proud of you,” Father says.
I blink. “For what?”
“For how you handled it,” he answers. “Both of you.”
Adrian looks surprised. I look suspicious.
“You didn’t punish anyone,” I say.
He almost smiles. “I’m learning.”
We stand there, watching the gardens.
“She chose Mark,” Adrian says calmly.
“I know,” Father replies. “And I see no failure here.”
I glance at Adrian. He nods once, accepting.
Father turns to me. “Treat her well.”
“I will,” I say.
“And treat your brother better,” he adds.
I smirk. “Always.”
***
After I part from family and find some alone time, Lysa meets me by the outer gate.
“You look like someone who just survived something,” she says.
“I did,” I reply. “My family.”
She laughs. “Should I be worried?”
“Only if you plan on leaving,” I tease.
She bumps my shoulder. “I don’t.”
We walk together, not touching, not rushing.
“I like that you asked if I was sure,” she says.
“I wanted you to be,” I reply.
“And you?” she asks.
“I chose you,” I say. “But I also chose to stay who I am.”
She smiles. “Good.”
Across the courtyard, I catch Adrian watching us. Not hurt. Not angry. Just… present.
I lift a hand. He lifts his back. No distance. No debt.
Later, when the palace settles into its quieter rhythm, I realize something important: Love didn’t take my brother from me. It taught me how to hold on without gripping too hard. And that might be the best lesson any of us have learned yet.