When Livia woke up the following day, everything was still and silent. The room was empty, and the sun was sneaking past the cracks in the curtains. Livia frantically searched for her phone to determine how long she’d slept in. It was nine.

She sighed and went through her clothing to decide what to wear for the day. While she was pawing through her suitcase, her phone rang. Gaius’ name popped up on the screen. He was probably calling about his engagement to Salina. Livia answered.

“Gaius?” Livia answered. “I’ve heard about your engagement.”

“Yes, Salina and I will marry on January 31st. We’ll expect you to attend the wedding.”

“How wonderful,” Livia tried to keep the sarcastic tone in her voice undetectable. “I’m sure I’ll be there.”

“Livia, I’ve spoken with Corvin’s family, and we will no longer be pursuing a match proposal—”

“What?” Livia asked, alarmed. Maybe Hyrum had mentioned to Gaius that she’d broken up with Corvin. “Why?”

“Because you are unhappy—”

“I never told you that,” Livia said. “Besides, since when are you concerned about relationships being happy?”

“Livia—” Gaius did not sound pleased.

Livia cut him off. “No, we are doing the match papers. You’ve heard it straight from me. I am happy with Corvin. Thank you for your concern. Stop interfering.”

“I am Paterfamilias—”

“Do you think I care about that?” Livia asked. “Cause you made that mistake once before and ended up pretty embarrassed about it.”

“You agreed to never disobey me again, but you did,” Gaius growled.

Livia was confused at the accusation. “When?”

“You sent papers I didn’t authorize—”

“With the advice of your lawyer,” Livia argued. “And I agreed to never disobey you again in public. Specifically.”

“That is not acceptable,” Gaius said. “I am the Paterfamilias—”

“I took advice from the lawyer you hired,” Livia insisted. “You can’t blame me—”

“Leon is no longer employed with Taurus House,” Gaius interrupted roughly.

Livia’s chin drew back, horrified. “What is wrong with you? You were fine with everything, and now you’re objecting—”

“I was not fine with everything! I told you to rewrite the papers—”

“You didn’t tell me what to rewrite them to, so you have no right to be upset about this,” Livia argued. “Also, you really fired him? He was the only one that actually knew what was going on—”

“I’ve hired a new lawyer on the advice of Salina—”

Salina. She was behind this. This was unbelievable. “Oh, because you think she’s going to be the one that gets to dictate my romantic life now?”

“Livia, she will be your Materfamilias, and you will respect her—” Gaius said.

“Like Hell I will,” Livia interrupted. “I can’t make your choices for you, but I didn’t survive my childhood to let that woman make decisions for me. So, no, I will not respect her until she proves that she’s trustworthy.”

“I will tell you the consequences for disobeying me,” Gaius said. “All that work Hyrum and Corvin did create a consensus for the upcoming vote on the Lupus House welfare crisis—”

“You wouldn’t,” Livia gasped.

“I will not vote for it.”

“You’re a garbage human being,” Livia spat. “You deserve Salina. I hope she makes your life miserable.”

“I am doing what needs to be done to save Taurus House. So, you will break up with Corvin and tell him you are no longer interested unless you want innocent people to starve.”

“You’d be the one that made people starve,” Livia said.

“It’s not worse than what was done to Taurus House,” Gaius said coldly, unemotional.

Livia knew she wouldn’t be able to reason with him. Gaius was so consumed with his grief that she was sure he’d enjoy taking revenge on people he blamed for not stepping in to help.

“You’ll vote yes if I break up with Corvin—”

“Yes.”

“Fine,” Livia said. She ended the call and stared at the wall.

This is logical, she told herself. Of course, things with Corvin wouldn’t work out. She’d known it since the beginning. They were way too different. Her love for him was nothing more than a crush—she didn’t believe that. She really, truly loved Corvin. She couldn’t deny it.

Livia covered her face with her hands. She had to figure out a way to do this. She had to because she’d gone hungry. She’d been cold. She’d suffered and endured, and there was no way she could live with herself if she allowed that to happen to another child. She took a deep breath. She wasn’t selfish like her mother. She didn’t need Corvin to survive, but nobody could survive without food. So she needed to do the right thing here, even if it was hard.

She decided to take a shower before she went downstairs. She took off the red pajamas that Corvin had gifted her yesterday. She stared at them on the floor, feeling the despair of the moment crush her. Some days, you could pretend that your family wasn’t a mess, that you weren’t poor as dirt, and even believe that the future wouldn’t continually screw you over. Then reality descended.

Yesterday had been a magical day, but now that it was the day after Christmas, real life would start again. Livia stepped under the hot water, hoping that it would wash away the weight that descended on her shoulders. Instead, she only stepped out of the shower feeling worse. She picked up the beautiful pajamas and folded them neatly. She decided she would return them to Corvin. It would hurt too much to hold on to them, to remember how close she’d gotten to being happy.

Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she slipped downstairs. The house was quiet and clean. She heard the girls giggling in the attic as she passed the door. Maybe Corvin was up there? Livia wasn’t brave enough to check yet. She would eat something first. She rounded the corner to enter the kitchen and froze. Corvin was standing at the counter, eating her pie for breakfast. He slipped a bite onto his fork and made a noise of pleasure as he chewed it.

The tingles that sent through her. Livia wrapped her arms around herself, willing herself not to have any response to him. She closed her eyes to shut out the sight of him.

“Morning, Fabulous,” he greeted, voice warm as honey.

She loved it when he used that voice. It hurt her heart to think about never hearing it again. Tears stung her eyes, but she waited till they cleared and opened her eyes.

“You alright?” he asked. “You look upset.”

“Yes,” Livia said.

He smiled, pressing his plate forward. “I can offer you a bite of the best pie I’ve ever tasted.”

“No, thank you,” Livia said.

Corvin frowned. “What’s wrong, Liv?”

“I think,” her voice trembled, and she paused to regain her composure. “We need to break up. Again.”

Corvin put down his fork, levity gone. “Gaius contacted us yesterday. We wondered if—”

Livia’s eyes widened with surprise. “So, you understand.”

Corvin’s eyes narrowed. “You talked with Gaius?”

She nodded. “This morning.”

Corvin looked more confused. “Did you tell him you didn’t want to marry me?”

Livia’s eyes flooded with tears, and they slid down her cheeks. Corvin walked toward her and pulled her into a hug. She clung to him, even if it made her skin a little itchy. She had no idea how she’d find the strength to let him go.

“He said you weren’t happy,” Corvin murmured, concerned.

“That’s so ridiculous,” she said through clenched teeth.

“So, we’ll tell him you’re happy,” Corvin said. “That you changed you’re mind? Did you tell him that this morning?”

Livia sobbed.

Corvin pulled her closer and held her tighter. “Unless you’re not?”

Livia wailed into his chest. This wasn’t how she planned to do this. She planned to remain calm and collected. Instead, she’d fallen completely apart. Corvin pulled her aside into a large bedroom.

“Corvin?” Lars called from a connected room. “What’s going on? Is Livia alright?”

“I don’t know,” the uncertainty in his tone brought both his parents scrambling into the room.

Corvin tried to pull away, but Livia wouldn’t let go of him. Instead of fighting her, he laughed and dragged them both onto the bed in the center of the room.

He managed to cup her face in his hands and look into her eyes. “You don’t want to leave me even if you are unhappy.”

“I can’t stay,” Livia cried. “It would be wrong.”

“Why, Hun?” Corvin wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.

“I can’t s-s-stop Gaius,” she said, sending fresh tears down her cheeks. “He’s so mad.”

“Why is he mad?” Corvin asked, wiping her tears away again.

A knot in the muscles of Livia’s back started to prickle uncomfortably at Corvin’s touch, but Livia didn’t care. She pulled him closer, ignoring the irritation.

“I disobeyed him. He fired his lawyer.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Why?” Corvin asked.

“Cause he doesn’t like the matched papers. He told me to rewrite them but didn’t tell me what they should say. So the lawyer said I should submit them under a review—”

“That’s why you did that,” Corvin murmured.

“And he fired the lawyer ‘cause I didn’t listen. I didn’t obey.”

“But he didn’t tell you what he wanted the papers to say?” Corvin asked, brow furrowing.

“No. He just said you wouldn’t sign them and were insulting.”

Corvin laughed.

“Are…are they insulting?” Livia whispered.

Corvin was still amused, but he said, “Yes.”

Livia clenched her teeth and said, furious, “I don’t care.”

Corvin laughed again.

“Why is it funny?” she demanded.

“Because… it’s refreshing to be so thoroughly insulted,” Corvin said. “How did the lawyer respond?”

“He said it was rare to see such bold papers from patrician women.”

“So he stood up for your interests,” Corvin confirmed. “Instead of deferring to Gaius.”

“Yes. But I meant them. So that should make this easy. We shouldn’t be together since I’m so insulting—”

Corvin laughed again. He gave her a look that clearly conveyed his affection for her. “If you don’t want to be with me, Livia, let me go.”

That was a horribly unfair request. Livia had pulled him even closer as they talked, tangled her legs up with his, and pressed the flat of her foot against his calf. She didn’t want an inch of her to be separated from an inch of him. Couldn’t she hold him a little longer?

A silence fell upon the room as Corvin waited. Livia was aware of his parents watching at the foot of the bed. Livia swallowed painfully and started slowly disentangling herself from Corvin. She couldn’t hide how regretfully she did it, but she did. She had to. There was no other right choice. It was a relief that the awful tingles on her back disappeared. Her instinct to be confrontational disappeared. Maybe she was being unreasonable about the papers.

Corvin looked sobered when Livia sat crossed-legged on the corner of the bed farthest from him. He sat up.

“Okay,” he said. “Maybe we can talk this out, Hun?”

Livia sighed, not feeling very hopeful. “Gaius won’t listen to me even if we changed the papers how he wanted them. It’s too late.”

“When we started this process, you and Gaius were on the same page. At what point did that change?” Corvin asked.

“That morning when I was standing outside Lupus House office—”

“The morning we met with Salina,” Corvin confirmed.

Livia nodded.

Corvin sighed. “Okay, what happened that morning?”

“He was mad about my illegitimacy clause and wanted me to remove it. But didn’t specify how he wanted me to change it. So the lawyer suggested I go around him and work through Justin.”

Corvin frowned. “Livia, he knows we’d never sign a contract without that clause.”

“The lawyer said that,” Livia said. “I think Gaius was trying to delay things….”

“Why?” Corvin asked.

Livia took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself. “Corvin, I need you to believe me.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Liv, I’ve always believed you.”

“Corvin, this is different—”

“Why?”

Livia pressed her lips together. “The rest of my family doesn’t. Even though I can easily prove it!”

“Explain, Liv,” Corvin urged. “Tell me.”

“Do you remember that day you found me in the library and I’d talked to my Mother?”

“Yes.”

“She told everyone I was pregnant.”

Corvin blinked in surprise. “But you aren’t?”

“No! I’m not pregnant!” Livia cried.

“Livia, I believe you,” Corvin said. “But why did your mother spread those rumors?”

Livia’s face burned bright red. “Cause I asked questions….”

“About what?” Corvin asked.

Livia looked at the quilt on the bed and tugged at the tied threads. “C-Ch-Ch—” Livia couldn’t even get the word out.

“Take a deep breath,” Corvin encouraged.

Livia nodded and took a couple of breaths.

Finally, Livia said it distinctly. “Child. Birth.”

She winced away from Corvin, expecting him to rescind his support at the answer. Her heart raced with fear. Her throat was tight, her back stiff.

Corvin remained still.

Livia gathered her courage. “So, she called Lucas and told him, and he didn’t believe me ‘cause I’d called Tavian weeks ago.”

“You asked Tavian about childbirth?” Corvin asked.

Livia flinched, but Corvin was amused. Livia took a second look at his face. Yes. Amused.

“No. I asked…about illegitimate children.”

Understanding lit Corvin’s eyes. “You were trying to understand the match contract, weren’t you?”

“Yes!” Livia cried with relief. Why was it so easy with Corvin and so difficult with everyone else.? “I was just trying to understand what I needed to ask for because I didn’t like your contract with Cassia.”

Corvin’s eyes widened. “You went down to the archives and requested a copy?”

“Yes, I’d never seen one before, and Tavian said I could do that, so I did.”

“And you disapproved?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s why your negotiation was so one-sided.”

“Yes.”

Corvin took a deep breath. “Livia, you don’t have to agree to what Cassia agreed to. Second, have you considered asking your Mother to tell people she was mistaken?”

Livia shook her head frantically. “That would make it worse!”

“Would it?” Aurelia asked. “Because while you have options, they’re limited.”

“It shouldn’t be like this,” Livia cried.

“It’s archaic,” Lars agreed. “And it’s Lupus House policy that consent be obtained when exercising this particular branch of paterfamilial authority; however, it’s proven helpful in a handful of occasions to help women get out of abusive situations or get through rehab programs.”

Livia was irritated because while she felt Gaius Paterfamilial authority was being used unjustly against her, she could see how it could be just to interfere in those situations. She wished the world didn’t need to depend on people being good to be safe. But every system of governance could be used for evil in the hands of bad people.

“What are my choices?” Livia asked.

“Who do they think the father is?” Aurelia asked.

“I don’t even know,” Livia said. “Hyrum, I think, assumed Corvin by the way he was acting. I don’t know what Gaius thinks.”

“Usually, the father pleads for custody on the condition that he marries the woman,” Aurelia said. “But the Paterfamilias has the power to refuse the request.”

“That’s if there’s no contract,” Corvin said. “The contract is supposed to prevent the couple from being at the mercy of the authority of the Paterfamilias.”

“That is the reason Aurelia and I gave up our first child for adoption. I didn’t want Aurelia to feel forced into our marriage the way Honor did.”

Livia gasped. “Wait. What?”

Aurelia confirmed. “We fell pregnant during our relationship with each other before any papers were signed.”

Livia looked at her, feeling concerned. “So, the baby?”

Aurelia explained. “Silvanus was our first child. My sister Silvia adopted him and he was raised as Corvin’s cousin. He was the only child she ever had.”

Livia looked at Corvin. “Silvanus is…your brother?”

Corvin nodded. “And my cousin.”

Livia looked at all of them warily. They all seemed so calm about it. Like it was a matter of fact detail and not something that was fraught with a lot of complicated emotions. “And…everyone is comfortable with that?”

“It took some time,” Lars admitted. “For everyone to feel comfortable with the knowledge, but I feel we’ve adjusted to a point where we all feel, if not peace, then acceptance with the way things turned out.”

Lars looked at Corvin.

“That’s a fair answer,” he said softly. “We’ve all accepted that our parents are imperfect and made the best choices available to them in context of their situation.”

Aurelia gave Corvin a soft look. “We love all our children and are blessed to be surrounded by their love and support.”

Oh, it sounded like there was a story there. A story that Livia knew was too personal for them to share with her right now. She took a deep breath to correct something that Lars had said, “But my mother manipulated my father into marrying her. She wasn’t forced.”

Lars nodded. “She manipulated him because her paterfamilias refused to support her after Hyrum’s birth. She didn’t have any good choices remaining.”

Livia’s heart sank. “I didn’t know that.”

Lars spoke gently. “You’re not Honor, Livia. You’re bargaining from a much different position. You should be wary, certainly, but there’s no need to be fearful.”

But Livia was afraid. “What if Gaius refuses to sign any contracts? What can I do to get around him if he won’t work with me?

“We can make them legal with the signature of your patron and guardian,” Corvin said.

“I’m eighteen. I no longer have a guardian—”

“Not under Caesarean law,” Lars said. “Unless registered otherwise, men and women have their nearest male relative considered their guardian by default.”

“So, Hyrum?” Livia asked.

“Correct,” Lars said. “I’d advise you to discuss with Corvin what you’d like your match agreement to look like and then have Justin and Hyrum sign it instead of Gaius’ signature. That would give you the protection you needed and a year to determine if a marriage was agreeable to you both.”

“But I can’t! That won’t work,” Livia cried. “I wish I’d known sooner that I didn’t need to work with Gaius directly to do this. Then maybe the papers could have already been signed, but now it’s too late!”

“What do you mean?” Corvin asked. “Why is it too late?”

“He won’t vote for the welfare bill if we stay together,” Livia explained. “So, you understand—”

Corvin looked furious. “He said that to you?”

“Of course, didn’t he threaten you too?”

“No, Livia, he did not try to manipulate me,” Corvin said. “And if he thinks he can do that to you—”

“No, no, no, no,” Livia pleaded. “Please, Corvin, please. I can survive without you, but those people need to eat. They can’t survive if they can’t eat. Please, I can’t be the one to do that…to make people go hungry…the way I went…hungry.”

Corvin’s anger melted. “Livia—”

“Please,” she begged him. “I don’t want to leave you, but this is how it has to be. Please, don’t make it harder for me….”

Corvin’s eyes filled with tears. “Livia—”

“Please,” Livia begged again. “Help me do the right thing.”

“Livia,” Corvin whispered. “Do you trust me?”

Livia hesitated. “Sometimes. Sometimes, I trust you.”

“You can trust me when I say that I’ll find a way for us to be together and provide a way for the people in my House to eat. So you don’t have to leave me.”

“The vote is only five days away,” Livia said. “It’s just five days. We need him to vote for the welfare bill.”

“Are you saying we pretend to break up for five days?” Corvin asked.

Livia considered that. “Will that work? I…how can we ever trust him to sign our betrothal and marriage papers? Can we also get around him signing those?”

“No,” Lars said. “The betrothal, yes. The marriage, no.”

Corvin said, “We’d have to sue for your marriage papers to be negotiated by your patron or elope.”

“Elope?” Livia whispered. “Corvin, that’s…serious consequences.”

“But we would support you,” Lars broke in. “Considering the situation. Gaius is abusing his power, and it should not be tolerated. Not even for five days.”

“But his vote—” Livia squeaked.

“Can be legally excluded if we press charges,” Lars said. “And—”

“Lars, there’s not enough time for that to be approved. It’s five days and the holidays,” Aurelia said. “And I’m not sure that Livia would like her personal business to become a public matter. And Gaius has shown a willingness to fulfill his role as Paterfamilias since his divorce from Lauretta. Charging him would have consequences for Hyrum and Caecilia that would be particularly difficult for them to face now.”

Livia looked between Lars and Aurelia and then looked to Corvin.

Corvin inquired. “Do you want to press charges, Livia?”

“No. We had to press charges against my father, and… I’d rather die than ever have to do that again.”

Corvin sighed. “So, do you want to obey him temporarily…until he votes and then sign matched papers? We might be able to reason with him by the time we get married.”

Livia held up her hands for silence. “Let me think.”

Livia closed her eyes. Corvin and his parents remained silent as she reviewed the situation in her mind. She sorted through different scenarios and discarded most of them. She kept returning to Hyrum, saying she could marry someone faster. He had understood the danger Livia was in before she had. Then offered his best advice. Livia needed to consider that advice since Hyrum’s wisdom kept them alive and safe during the bad years. Livia had already accepted Corvin’s proposal. They had made a decision. Livia wasn’t safe under Gaius’ authority, and it would get worse when he married Salina. Livia knew from experience that it was best to leave immediately when you realized you were in a bad situation. She wasn’t going to stay and let Gaius bully her. It was either marry Corvin or go Rogue. Livia looked down both paths and wanted to avoid the consequences of abandoning Caesarea. So, she’d have to see if she could talk Corvin into Hyrum’s advice.

Livia opened her eyes and met Corvin’s gaze. Her heart pounded in her chest at what she was about to propose. Yet something inside her knew it was the correct path. She was stepping closer to the person she wanted to become. She was taking a risk but taking a chance on something she desired, something she’d only dreamed of.

“I think… I’m nervous,” Livia whispered. “That if…I obey him; he’ll find another thing to separate us. Another way to force us apart. Did you mean it yesterday? When you asked me to marry you?”

Both Aurelia and Lars gasped. “Corvin,” they muttered in unison.

Corvin’s looked at his parents. “We were going to wait to inform you when Livia was more sure. Though, when I asked her, her answer was— ‘When?’”

Both Lars and Aurelia looked at each other and laughed.

Aurelia grinned at Livia. “When?”

Livia shrugged, abashed.

Corvin pulled himself across the bed and pulled Livia’s hand into his. He softly kissed the back of it. Then he looked directly into her eyes. “Livia, I meant every single word. I’d be honored if you agreed to spend the rest of your life with me as my wife.”

Livia still watched him with uncertainty. “So, if I suggested we tell people we’re not dating anymore but married in secret…before…before the Senate voted?”

Corvin laughed. “So we technically would not lie. We’d just be married.”

“Right,” Livia said. “But that’s so fast. That’s so soon. But he couldn’t do anything else to me, right? He wouldn’t be my Paterfamilias anymore? Hyrum and Caecilia, they said….” Livia hesitated.

“They said what?” Corvin asked.

“They said we should elope…but I worried about the consequences that would have on you.”

Corvin grinned. “Livia, I like the idea of showing up in Caesarea on January 1st and introducing you as my fabulous wife.”

Livia laughed. “Salina would be so mad.”

“Absolutely, livid,” Corvin agreed.

“But wait,” Livia put up a trembling hand between them. “We need to be somewhat logical about this, Corvin. This needs to be a good decision. There are a lot of things…we’re responsible for—”

“Alright,” Corvin said. “Why don’t we make a plan together? We go through all the concerns….”

“They’ll cut off our bank accounts—” Livia said, panicked. “How will you make mortgage payments? How will I pay for tuition? How—”

“Liv, Hun, I don’t think Caecilia would advise you to do this without a plan. She probably had an idea of how you could mitigate the worst of the sanctions. Will you call her?”

“Call her?”

“Let her and Hyrum know what happened.”

“What if…they don’t believe me?” Livia asked, terrified.

“Hun, I think if they advised you to take such a drastic measure as eloping, then they will believe you.”

“Will you stay with me? Will you hold me while I call?” Livia asked.

“Of course, Love,” Corvin said.