AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fuck no. That was exactly what I needed. You will always be all I need, Princess.”
She lifted her head to look up at me, resting her chin against my chest as her face turned serious.
“I’m so sorry, Alessio. I’m sorry I didn’t fight harder for us. I’m sorry I believed Isabelle’s lies. I’m sorry for it all.”
“No, don’t do that, Elle. You have nothing to be sorry for. I should have told you the truth before but I was scared,” I admitted the darkest secret I had. That all my life I had been living in fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of being unworthy of love. Fear of judgement. “I’ve been scared for a long time. In fact, I don’t think I can remember a time where I haven’t felt terrified or unsafe. Until now. Until I found you. I should have trusted you.”
“I haven’t told anyone, Alessio. I never will. Your secrets will always be safe with me,” she whispered as I ran my knuckles down her cheek. “We are a team, remember?”
“Si,” I smiled just as another knock came on the door. Elle scrambled off of me, knocking my leg as I groaned.
“Merda! Sorry!”
“Elle, everyone has been waiting for you two downstairs. Are you nearly ready?” Cecilia shouted from the other side of the door. At least she had enough sense not to open it as I laughed at Elle, rushing to get dressed.
“We will be down in a minute!” she shouted.
“I will leave some clean clothes for Alessio outside the door.”
“I am happy to meet everyone in my boxers, Cecilia. They’ve seen it all anyway!” I laughed as a flushed Elle raced to the door and retrieved them.
“Will you just behave for once!” Elle smirked, throwing the top and joggers down on the bed next to me.
“Not likely,” I winked as I picked up the joggers and realised Cecilia had put the ring box in the pocket. I grinned like an idiot, knowing that I would be able to give it to her myself now.
A Fresh Start
If Alessio was nervous or intimidated walking into a room full of my family and people who had spent most of their lives despising him, he didn’t show it. He was the image of confidence with a charming smile set firmly on his face as we walked hand in hand.
We took a seat on one of the sofas together showing a united front as the whole room watched our every move as if we were on trial. The silence was uncomfortable, but I didn’t let it bother me. I wasn’t under any illusions that all my family would warm to Alessio immediately like my mamma had.
Maximus, Cami, and mamma were sitting on the sofa opposite us and Liv and Gio were on the two-seater to the side. I moved my gaze around the room, until it settled on Gio. His jaw was tense, his dark eyes staring at Alessio with suspicion.
Alessio suddenly stood up, taking us all by surprise. I grabbed his hand, trying to pull him back down as I glared up at him. “What are you doing?”
He gave me a wink before turning to everyone else.
“I don’t really know where to start so I guess, I will just dive straight in with the most important thing you all need to know. I am madly in love with Elle. I have been for years. I know in the past our families have been at war and not seen eye to eye, but I hope to change that. I am not my papi. I am not your enemy. I do not want to destroy you or take away all of your successes. I want to unite us. Not only through business, but as family. I understand you are all wary of me and do not trust me, but I promise, if you give me a chance to prove myself to you, I will work every day to earn that trust and in time, you will see that I mean everything I am saying to you right now.”
He glanced down at me with a sweet smile, his ocean eyes sparkling with emotion. “I love this woman. And love is not something I feel easily. But she has made me a better man just by knowing her. I am lucky enough to have her heart and it is more precious to me than anything in this world. So, I am not standing here asking for your permission to marry Elenora because she was always destined to be my wife. But I am asking for you to accept that this is real. You don’t have to trust me right now but trust in her. She knows I will make her happy. She knows I will keep her safe. And she knows I will love her day in and day out for the rest of my life. For now, let that be enough until I can prove it true.”
I wiped the tears of happiness from my cheeks as I leaned my head against his arm and looked across at my family.
“You have my blessing,” mamma said, first smiling at me and then Alessio. “You two have something very rare and special. There is no refuting the undeniable connection between you both. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.”
“Thanks, mamma,” I smiled.
“I believe it,” Cami said, squeezing Maximus’ hand and he gave a curt nod. All of our heads turned to Giovanni and Olivia. I knew Liv was happy for me. She told me so when she came to my room earlier, but she would always have Giovanni’s back and I understood that. Gio sighed, rubbing his jaw with his hand as he looked between us. My heart started skipping beats. I would be with Alessio no matter what, but his approval really did mean a lot to me. As much as I had hated his overbearing protection, he had always been there for me. And I didn’t want that to change.
“Well, seeing as Enzo told me just a few hours ago that he could not go through with the marriage, I suppose you are the next best option.”
“There was never another option. I wouldn’t have allowed it,” Alessio responded firmly, holding Gio’s gaze.
“If this is really what you want,” his eyes moved to me as I nodded. “Then I will not stand in your way.”
I smiled in relief. It wasn’t quite a blessing, but it was a step in the right direction and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Alessio squeezed my hand subtly.
“That means so much to me, Gio. Thank you.”
