Lady Arienne did not answer him at once.
For a moment, she only looked at him, as if committing every line of his face to memory. Then her fingers tightened slightly around his hand, the warmth in them faint but real.
"I would still choose the same fate," she said softly.
Lucian's breath hitched.
"Even knowing how it would end?" he asked.
She smiled, small and tired, but absolutely certain.
"Even then."
Her thumb brushed lightly over his knuckles. "Because if I changed it… if I walked away from that path… I would not have you." Her voice wavered for just a second before steadying again. "No pain in my life is greater than the thought of a world where you do not exist."
Lucian lowered his head, his grip tightening around her hand.
"Our marriage was not perfect. It was not gentle. It was not kind," she admitted quietly. "But you… having you... were my miracle in the middle of all that chaos."
She lifted his chin gently, forcing him to meet her eyes.
