Page 151 of Broken Mafia Bride

I turn back to Raffaele. “You need to go. Matteo’s right.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll let him drag me to the hospital,” Raffaele concedes, but his eyes lock onto mine. “But only if you promise to be there when I get out.”

“Always,” I say. And it’s not a promise made lightly. It’s everything.

He holds my gaze for a moment longer, then lets Matteo haul him toward the waiting car. But before he disappears, he turns back, his eyes burning. “We survived this, Giulia. Whatever comes next… We’ll survive that, too.”

I nod, because words fail me. They feel too small for everything I want to say.

But I can’t look away until the car disappears from view. And even then, it feels like a piece of me has gone with him.

“Looks like it’s just us now.” Valentina’s voice is thick with emotion. “You, me, and Noemi.”

“Yeah,” I breathe out, the heaviness lifting just a fraction. “Family.”

Valentina grins and nudges me playfully. “Told you. You’re never getting rid of me. You’re stuck with me now,sorella.”

I laugh, but it cracks halfway through. And for the first time in what feels like forever, the tears aren’t born from fear or pain.

They’re from something better. Something that tastes like hope.

48

RAFFAELE

Two months later

“Mama looks so pretty today,” Noemi whispers loudly to me.

“She always looks pretty.” I grin down at her. “And so do you.”

She spins away from me and stands in front of the mirror, making a face. “Yellow sucks.”

“What happened to the lilac dress?” I ask her, stepping forward to straighten the bow in her hair.

Her blue eyes meet mine in the mirror, and she suddenly looks almost sheepish. “Well,” she drawls.

Laughing, I pick her up into my arms and carry her to the armchair in the corner. I drop into the seat with her in my lap. “Well, what?”

Red climbs up her cheeks, and she lowers her lashes. Overwhelming love for her pours through me, and I can’t help but smile down at her.

“I may or may not have slept in the dress because I was too excited, and then it got creased and stained with maple syrup.Mama was so mad she started to cry, and Aunt Val had to help me take a shower and get dressed.”

“You shouldn’t be making your mama mad,” I chide softly.

Giulia has been stressed out all week, and I’ve barely had a chance to see her, even though we live together now. I’ve been busy trying to set everything right with the family business and make it clear that the feud between the Montanaris and the Gagliardis is over.

My father hasn’t exactly been helping to speed the peace along, but at least he’s no longer interfering. Come to think of it, he’s been quiet lately. I’m not bothered, though. As soon as I returned to Chicago with Noemi and Giulia, I went to talk to him about my plan to finally end the family feud.

I told him that I’m marrying Giulia, and reminded him that he has a granddaughter now. He was silent for most of the conversation, but just before I left, he finally spoke up.

“I’m glad Re Ombra is dead,” he had said.

“You wanted to form an alliance with him through my marriage to Isa,” I pointed out.

He didn’t look surprised by the fact that I knew about his hidden agenda for pushing the marriage to Isabella, and I was relieved that he didn’t try to act surprised and make me look like a fool. He had merely nodded.

“I’m still glad he’s dead.”