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“I was thinking either Alessandro, or Tomasso,” he answers proudly.
“I like both of those names, it’s going to be difficult to choose.”
“I know, but maybe I should just toss a coin, what do you think?” he says with a wide smile.
“Yes, but later,” I answer. “I want to lie with you now.”
I nuzzle into him and close my eyes for a moment as his hand strokes my back. The fort feels like our little nest, and I don’t think I ever want to leave. I can hear his heart beating through his chest. It’s beating fast and hard and for a moment I wonder if everything is alright with him.
But he speaks before I can ask.
“I know the baby has everything he needs now,” Edoardo says quietly. “But what about you? What do you still need?”
“As long as I have you, I have everything I could possibly ever want or need,” I say. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he says gently. “But there is something that I think you still need.”
I can hear him looking for something between the pillows.
“I have it right here,” he whispers.
When I open my eyes again, I am met with the most perfect diamond ring that I have ever seen. I shoot upright and gasp as I look at him in disbelief. And as calm as he always is, he just smiles at me.
“Aria Morino,” he says. “You have entered my life like a blessing. Will you be my wife?”
Chapter 30
Edoardo
Itwistmygoldwedding band nervously as I wait outside the prison. It has been five years. Today, Gabriele is being released back into society. Even with his shockingly small sentence, he’s managed to get himself released early.
I have to admit, the way he’s able to bend the law to suit his needs is rather impressive. I knew this day would come, and still, it feels like it can’t be real. Everything we went through seems like such a distant memory now.
And so much has happened since then.
I can hear the first row of gates opening in the distance, and I know that he’ll be walking free any moment now. I know what that feels like. To wait so long for your freedom … On the day of your release, it seems to take forever before you finally walk onto free soil.
I’ve been here some time now, waiting for him. But that’s okay. I have no idea what to expect, and so a small delay doesn’t bother me much. I’ve been thinking about it for hours, and I still don’t know what to say to him when I see him.
It seems so strange to just give him a normal greeting after all this time, after everything we went through. It feels equally odd to reach out and shake his hand. Either way, I’m going to have to figure it out, because the final gate is opening and he is about to be right in front of me.
When I see him it takes everything in me to stop my jaw from dropping. He looks like he has aged much more than just five years. He has lost weight and the suit he wore when he was arrested hangs on him. His hair has gone completely gray, and his skin looks as if he has spent all of his time in the sun.
He walks with a little bit of effort. It takes me by surprise. He doesn’t look good; he looks as if it has been rough in there for him, and my heart breaks a little. I remember what I looked like when I was released after twenty years. It wasn’t good, and I didn’t like what I saw.
Gabriele doesn’t say a word to me. He walks past me and opens the back seat, tossing what small amount of belongings he has with him onto the seat. Then, he shuts the door and stands in front of me. He still has the same, unforgiving eyes.
I want to welcome him back to the world, but I don’t get the chance. Gabriele throws his arms around me and gives me a warm embrace. I do not embrace him back. I am too shocked.
“We’re even now, eh,” he laughs as he slaps me against the back.
With that, he clears his throat and places himself in the passenger seat. Just like that, all is forgotten.
“Are you taking me home?” he asks as I start the car. “Is the home still standing?”
“No, I—”
“No?!” he yells. “What happened to my home?!”
