Page 145 of Lupo

"Do you ever regret it?" Lupo asks quietly. "This life. The guards. The rules. All of it."

I think about it.

Six months ago, I was living on a farm, scraping by, constantly looking over my shoulder for Draco's people.

Now I live in a villa. I have guards. My daughter has swimming lessons and a princess bedroom and fresh eggs from her own chickens.

I have a husband who loves me. Who protects us. Who reads bedtime stories and builds chicken coops and makes me feel cherished every single day.

Yes, there are guards. Yes, there are rules. Yes, there's always the awareness that danger exists.

But there's also safety. Real safety. The kind that comes from power and resources and a man who would burn the world down to keep us safe.

"No," I say honestly. "I don't regret it. Not for a second."

"Even though it's not normal? Not what you dreamed of?"

"I dreamed of being safe. Being loved. Having a partner who respects me." I squeeze his hand. "You've given me all of that and more."

"But the danger—"

"Is less here than it ever was on the farm." I squeeze his hand. "At the farm, I was vulnerable. Exposed. Draco found us. Others could have too. But here? Here you have the power to protect us. The resources to eliminate threats before they reach us."

"Still. It's not the life you chose."

"Neither is any of this." I gesture at the villa, the pool, the luxury surrounding us. "I didn't choose to marry into the mafia. Didn't choose to have guards and bulletproof cars and security protocols." I turn to face him. "But I chose you. Every day, I choose you. And this—" I gesture around us. "This is just the package that comes with you. And I'd choose you a thousand times over."

He stares at me for a long moment. Then he pulls me close, pressing his forehead to mine.

"I don't deserve you."

"We've established that. But you're stuck with me anyway."

"Good." He kisses me softly. "Because I'm never letting you go."

We stand there for a while, just holding each other. Looking at our life. Our home.

And I'm grateful for every moment that led us here.

To this life, this family and all this love.

Not the life I imagined, but the life I’d choose again tomorrow.

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