"What do you really want?" I repeat, cutting through the posturing.
Marc studies me for a long moment. "Come back to Toronto. Work with me on the Northstar Development project. They're very interested in acquiring certain mountain properties for their new resort."
Dario goes perfectly still beside me. "My land."
"It's valuable." Marc shrugs as if discussing the weather rather than someone's legacy. "Northstar's prepared to pay generously for the right partnerships."
"So, this is what it's really about." I laugh, the sound bitter even to my own ears. "Not me at all. Just business."
"It's always been business, Judith." Marc's expression turns patronizing. "You were a valuable asset. Still are, with the right connections. Your mountain man's property is simply a bonus."
"And when we refuse?" Dario asks, though we both know the answer.
"Then I file complaints alleging marriage fraud in both your land transfer case and our prenup dispute." He spreads his hands. "The evidence speaks for itself."
The silence that follows feels charged with all the words we're not saying. The anger boiling in my veins. The controlled fury emanating from Dario. The smug satisfaction radiating from Marc.
Finally, I speak, straightening my spine and meeting Marc's gaze directly. "You're right about one thing, Marc. Our marriage did start as an arrangement."
Dario stiffens beside me, but I continue, my voice growing stronger with each word.
"We needed each other for practical reasons. I needed to escape your prenup. Dario needed to secure his land." I lean forward. "But what you'll never understand is what happened afterward. Something neither of us planned for."
"Please." Marc scoffs. "Spare me the romance novel."
"The truth is rarely romantic." My hand finds Dario's, our fingers intertwining naturally. "But here it is anyway. I fell in love with him. Not because of any legal arrangement. Not because it was convenient. But because he's everything you're not. Honest. Respectful. Real."
The words flow from somewhere deep inside me, truth I've been fighting for weeks now. Dario's hand tightens around mine, his eyes locked on my face.
"So, file your complaints." I continue, voice steady. "Go ahead. Because the original arrangement doesn't matter anymore. What exists between us now is genuine. And no court in the world can invalidate that."
Marc's smug expression falters, uncertainty flickering across his features. "You expect me to believe you fell in love in a matter of weeks?"
"I don't give a fuck what you believe." I stand, pulling Dario with me. "Your opinion stopped mattering the moment I walked away from you. We're done here."
Marc rises too, desperation breaking through his composed exterior. "Judith, be reasonable. This mountain man routine is cute, but it's not you. You belong in the city. In boardrooms. Making deals."
"You never knew me, Marc." I shake my head, almost pitying him now. "Not really. But he does."
I turn to leave, but Dario remains, eyes locked on Marc with dangerous intensity.
"If you come after my wife or my land again, you'll regret it." His voice drops to a lethal whisper. "I protect what's mine."
With that, he guides me toward the door, one hand at the small of my back. As we step into the bright winter day, the weight of confrontation lifts from my shoulders, replaced by something lighter, more frightening in its intensity.
The drive back to the cabin passes in charged silence, but it's different now. Not tension, but anticipation.
Inside, snowflakes melting in our hair, Dario finally turns to me.
"Did you mean it?" His voice is rough, vulnerable in a way I've never heard before. "What you said to Marc. About falling in love."
I meet his gaze steadily, all pretense stripped away. "Yes."
He moves toward me slowly, as if afraid I might disappear. "Say it again. Just for me this time."
"I love you." The words come easier now, pure and simple. "I didn't expect to. I didn't want to. But I do."
His hands frame my face, those blue eyes intense enough to burn. "I love you too, Judy. Have since that night under the Christmas tree. Maybe before."
