"You remember when you said if anything goes wrong, you will rip her heart out?" Vinegario said as he and Berryanna sat in a carriage on their way to a location.
The words landed heavily, but Berryanna did not react right away. The carriage rolled forward, the steady rhythm of movement almost soothing, but her mind was nowhere near the present moment. It was still back in the dining room. Still caught on Straw's voice. Straw's face. Straw asking for a honeymoon as if it were the simplest thing in the world. As if it were something Berryanna could easily give.
Berryanna's fingers curled slightly against her lap. She stared ahead, then slowly turned her head toward Vinegario, only to look past him. Outside. Anywhere but his face.
Berryanna's mind was still on Straw demanding a honeymoon. She looked at Vinegario, then back outside, not wanting to know the reason behind his statement.
Vinegario noticed the dismissal immediately. He always did, it irritated him more than open defiance ever could. Silence from Berryanna meant she was choosing something else over him, and lately, that something else had a name.
"Look, Berry, I am telling you that girl is trouble. You should kill her before it escalates."
The carriage did not slow. Neither did Berryanna's breathing. But something in her jaw tightened, just enough to show she had heard him. She did not like how easily he said it. Kill her. As if Straw were a loose object to be discarded. As if the word wife meant nothing.
"And why is that?" Berryanna said, forcing herself to listen to him.
Her voice was even, controlled, but there was effort behind it. She did not want this conversation. She did not want him poisoning something that already felt fragile in her hands. Vinegario leaned in slightly, his tone sharpening, sensing that he finally had her attention.
"She was eavesdropping on our conversation last night. I am telling you, her mother sent her here. They are planning a way to bring us down. We need to act. Send a message to Eastside using her," Vinegario said.
Berryanna turned fully toward him now, her eyes narrowing just a fraction. Using her. The phrase echoed unpleasantly in her mind. Straw was many things, careless, impulsive, mouthy, but an assassin. A schemer. That did not fit. Berryanna had seen fear in her eyes. Confusion. Need.
"Using who exactly? I don't get you. What are you even saying?" Berryanna asked.
She truly did not understand how Vinegario could leap so far ahead, turning suspicion into slaughter without hesitation. It was familiar. It was how he had always been. Strike first. Erase later.
"What I am saying is we kill the Fayrouza twins, wrap them in a box, and send them back to their mother before things get worse," he said, trying to make her see reason.
The words were deliberate, spoken slowly, as if explaining something obvious to a child. Berryanna felt something cold twist in her chest. Not fear. Not doubt. Anger. Sharp and immediate.
"I am not killing my wife. You can kill the Duke, but don't lay a hand on what is mine," Berryanna said as she turned back to look outside the carriage, refusing to listen to his next words.
The sentence was final. Ownership was clear. Her back straightened as if that alone could end the discussion. Outside, the road blurred past, but inside the carriage, tension thickened. Vinegario did not stop.
"Really? Berry, I am telling you that your wife is a spy, and they are planning something to wipe out our..."
"And I do not care," Berryanna cut in.
Her voice snapped this time, sharper than before.
"Spy or not, she is not the type to wield a knife. And if they try to kill us, it is impossible. They have tried once. They failed. No one can kill us in Anthony. No one."
The confidence in her voice was absolute. Not arrogance. Certainty. Berryanna had grown up surrounded by bloodshed, betrayal, and failed coups. She knew the limits of her enemies. And she knew Straw did not belong among them.
Vinegario exhaled sharply, shaking his head as if disappointed.
"What if one night you are sound asleep and you wake up to a dagger close to your neck, and the one holding it is your wife?" Vinegario said. "What would you do? Would you kill her instantly, or spare her?"
The image was vivid. Too vivid. Berryanna imagined it for a brief second. Straw standing over her. Wide-eyed. Trembling. Not hatred. Fear.
"If I ever find myself in such a situation, I would find it more romantic and let her do as she pleases," Berryanna replied calmly.
She did not even hesitate.
"She says she loves me, and you cannot kill someone you love, right?"
The words hung in the air. Vinegario stared at her as if she had just spoken in another language.
Vinegario scoffed. "Oh my god, you are foolishly in love with her. You said you would never fall in love with anyone. You said you would never be vulnerable like your mother. Tell me this, Berry, how wet does she get you that you are already going back on your words after just weeks of marriage? You are changing."
That did it.
Berryanna turned to him fully now, her expression going cold in a way Vinegario knew well. Not rage. Not shouting. Something far worse.
"Get out," Berryanna said.
The command was quiet, but it carried weight. For a moment, Vinegario thought she was joking. He laughed under his breath.
"Really? You are going to kick me out?" Vinegario asked.
Berryanna said nothing. She leaned forward and gave a short instruction to the guard at the front of the carriage. The carriage slowed. Then stopped. The door opened.
There was no drama. No hesitation. Berryanna moved, grabbed Vinegario by his collar, and shoved him out with enough force to make him stumble hard against the ground. The carriage door slammed shut.
"You are good at roaming around, right?" Berryanna said with a faint smile, her eyes cold and playful. "Let's see how fast you get to the location. I bet the fun will be over before you arrive."
The carriage lurched forward again, wheels rolling, leaving Vinegario standing in the road, dust settling around him.
"Just so you know, niece, that bitch of yours will be the end of you," Vinegario shouted as the carriage moved away, leaving him behind.