Viya's POV
I wanted to ask him the same question I'd posed to Hawkins yesterday.
I'd planned to wait until we were back in New York, give myself more time to work up the courage. But something about the intensity of his dark eyes watching me made the words spill out before I could stop them.
Caesar's brow lifted slightly, his full attention settling on me with an weight that made my pulse quicken. "Go ahead."
"If..."
God, this question was harder than I'd thought it would be. The words stuck in my throat, heavy with implications I wasn't sure I was ready to face.
I was afraid. Terrified, actually. Afraid he'd respond with: *Viya, what makes you think I'd choose you over my family's lives?*
But then I thought about the Hawthornes—about how harmonious their family was,
