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“Leonardo will hear about what happened this morning. Dante is sending emissaries to your grandfather with a peace offering. If Leonardo agrees to take no revenge, Dante will give him the $25,000 he originally promised for you and sign an agreement that says the Terlizzi family won’t go after Giovanni and Marco again.”
“This is insane; this plan is madness. He’ll never agree. You nearly killed his heirs.Bothof them,” I emphasize. “He’ll never forgive you.”
“I don’t need him to forgive me,” Niccolo’s tone hardens. “I need him to promise he won’t seek revenge against you or the family. Because you’re one of us now, Christine. And I swear to God, if he hurts you or sends someone to hurt the Terlizzis, I will end the entire Lucatello line.”
His words chill me to the bone; this is a side of Niccolo I’ve never seen before. He’s always been sweet and tender with me. Even when he was fucking me up against the shower wall, it was with all the sweetness of a lover.
This murderous man, the one willing to kill if that’s what it takes to keep me safe, is someone I’ve never met before.
“I love you, Christine. Yesterday, when you said for better or worse—this is it, this is theworse. Everything from here on out can only get better. I had to do this for us,dolcezza; you have to understand that.”
He gets off the couch, falling on his knees in front of me. “How we got here doesn’t matter. What we went through is in the past. All that matters from here on out is you and me, forever, for the rest of our lives.”
In this moment, I can see past the violence and chaos. I understand why he fought for me. I appreciate that he risked his life for us. All the fear and doubt that threatens to consume my mind dissipates like mist in the sunlight.
I lean forward to press my lips to his, telling myself that if it could have happened any other way, it would have.
Niccolo had to meet and marry my mother…
My mother had to get cancer and pass away…
I had to spend three years as his stepdaughter…
He had to follow his shameful desires for me…
We had to be together at the university…
Giovanni had to arrange my marriage to another man…
I had to be beaten by my new fiancé…
Niccolo and I had to get married quickly…
He had to bludgeon my uncle with a baseball bat…
Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here right now.
His rough, calloused hands cradle my face, leaning into the kiss like a lifeline.
Our story couldn’t have happened any other way. And looking back, I wouldn’t have wanted it to.
Every touch we share, every moment we get to be together, is a reminder of the journey we had to take to get here. We fought a thousand fights to wind up in each other’s arms, and it turns out Kaye was right: it all makes sense looking back, even when it didn’t make sense while it was happening.
Epilogue
Christine • 1 Week Later
Ipull my hair into a tight bun at the top of my head. The anticipation and nerves make my hands tremble as I rest them back in my lap, trying to steady myself. “And you’re sure this is safe?”
“If it weren’t, I wouldn’t let you be here,” Niccolo insists. “But Dr. Stone said that Giovanni is still too weak to do much of anything, let alone hurt you.”
I remember Dr. Stone from my stay at the hospital. He seemed like a very nice guy up until he told me that he was reporting my injuries to Dante. “I shouldn’t be nervous, right? He can’t hurt me. I should feel safe.” I say the words to Niccolo, but I’m speaking them to myself.
My husband’s warm hand reaches out, brushing against the sleeve of my shirt before finding its place on my arm. His touch brings a sense of reassurance that immediately calms my anxieties. “It’s okay to be nervous about this. The last few times you saw your uncle were traumatizing. He brought Rocco to your school, and you wound up in the hospital. Then he showed up atyour wedding reception and upended the party. Being nervous about seeing someone like that is perfectly normal.”
I repeat his words in my head.Perfectly normal. Perfectly normal. Perfectly normal.
“I’ll be by your side no matter what, and we can leave any time. We don’t even have to go in if you don’t want to,” he assures me. “This is up to you. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it.”
