Page 67 of Savage Saint (Empire of Secrets #2)

Kasia emerges onto the rooftop like something out of a dream.

The simple silk dress flows around her like water, ivory against her pale skin.

No veil, no elaborate styling—just Kasia with her red hair loose around her shoulders, catching fire in the setting sun.

The candlelight makes her hair look like a living flame, dangerous and stunning all at once.

She's never looked more beautiful.

Not because of the dress or the setting, but because of the way she looks at me. Like I'm her anchor. Her home. Her choice.

Beside me, I hear Dante's sharp intake of breath. "Christ," he mutters. "She's..."

"Perfect," I finish.

Marco is openly sobbing now. "She's so beautiful! They're so perfect together!"

Kasia's lips curve in a small smile at Marco's outburst, and something in my chest cracks open. This woman, who's been through hell, can still smile. Still choose joy. Still choose me.

She crosses the glass-covered pool with grace, each step measured but not hesitant. When she reaches me, I extend my hand.

"Hi," she whispers.

"Hi, Butterfly."

"Oh God," Marco wails. "He calls her Butterfly!"

Even Dante looks like he's fighting a smile now.

"Dearly beloved," Dante begins, his voice carrying across the rooftop. "We gather here today to witness something I never thought I'd see—my brother Angelo choosing love over solitude."

"Get on with it," I mutter.

"Patience," he chides. "I have a whole speech prepared."

"Of course you do."

Kasia squeezes my hand, fighting a laugh.

"But I'll spare you," Dante continues. "Because what matters isn't my words, but yours. Angelo?"

I turn to face Kasia fully, taking both her hands in mine. For a moment, I just look at her, trying to find words big enough for what I feel.

"I spent my life believing I was only capable of destruction," I begin, my voice rougher than intended. "That I was the family monster, the savage one, built only for war and violence."

Her thumbs stroke over my knuckles, encouraging me.

"You showed me I could build. You showed me that maybe..." My voice catches, and I have to swallow before continuing. "Maybe monsters are just what heroes look like in the dark," I repeat the words she once whispered to me.

Tears slip down her cheeks, but she's smiling.

"I choose you, Kasia. I choose to build a life with you, to transform our darkness into something beautiful. You're not just my Butterfly. You're my redemption, my salvation, my reason to be more than what they made me."

"Fuck," Luca mutters, swiping at his eyes. "When did you learn to talk like that?"

Marco is beyond words, just clutching Mel and sobbing.

Even Arrow looks suspiciously misty-eyed as they film.

"Kasia," Dante prompts gently.

She takes a breath, her eyes never leaving mine.

"You called yourself a monster the first time you told me who you really were," she begins, her voice clear and strong. "But I saw differently. I saw a man who protected what was his, who carried me from that container when he could have left me behind. A hero in the dark."

My throat tightens. No one's ever called me a hero before. Never thought anyone could see me that way.

"We're both made of shadows and sharp edges, forged in violence and loss.

But together? Together we're something new.

" Her voice grows stronger with each word.

"I take the name Santoro not to hide who I was, but to declare who I'm becoming.

Your wife. Your partner. Your equal. I choose this family, this life, this love.

I choose to let our darkness protect what we build in the light. "

"Jesus Christ," Dante breathes, and I realise he's actually tearing up. The unshakeable don, crying at his brother's wedding.

"The rings," he manages.

Arrow steps forward, presenting the box with a flourish despite their own tears. "Don't you dare make me ruin my eyeliner," they mutter.

I take Kasia's ring, sliding it onto her finger. "With this ring, I bind my life to yours."

She takes mine and slides it on. The weight of the ring on my finger is substantial, and I know Arrow's tracking device pulses somewhere within it. As if I'd ever want to be somewhere she couldn't find me.

"With this ring, I bind my life to yours," she says.

"By the power vested in me by the state and by the blessing of this family," Dante says, his voice thick with emotion, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Angelo, kiss your bride."

I don't need to be told twice.

I cup her face in my hands and kiss her like it's the first time and the last time all at once. She melts against me, her arms winding around my neck, and for a moment there's nothing else. No family, no past, no future. Just us.

When we break apart, everyone is crying. Even Luca, though I'm sure he'll deny it later.

"Look how gentle he is with her!" Marco sobs loudly.

I should be mortified. Instead, I find myself oddly touched.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dante announces, "I present Mr and Mrs Angelo Santoro."

Marco completely loses it, sobbing so hard Mel has to hold him up. "It's just so beautiful! And she's so perfect for him!"

Arrow steps forward, raising a champagne glass. "If I may?"

"Oh God," Luca groans. "Here comes the speech."

"Shut up," Arrow says primly. "To Angelo, who finally found someone as beautifully dangerous as himself. And to Kasia, who's brave enough to take on not just one Santoro, but all of them. May your marriage be filled with love, laughter, and only consensual violence."

Despite the tears, everyone laughs.

"Now," Arrow continues, "I believe someone mentioned a sixty-year-old Macallan?"

"The same bottle?" Kasia asks me quietly, and I know she's remembering that night in the pool.

"The very same. Seems appropriate, don't you think?"

Her smile is wicked. "To full circle moments."

"To full circle moments," I agree, pulling her close.

The sun sets fully as we settle around the rooftop, sharing food and wine and stories. Even here, even now, business creeps in. Funeral arrangements, security concerns, the ever-present Nicolosi. But it feels different with Kasia beside me, her hand in mine, the weight of her ring against my skin.

"A toast," Dante says as darkness falls. "To family. Blood and chosen."

"To family," we echo.

"And to love," Marco adds, still sniffling. "To finding someone who sees all of you and chooses to stay."

I look at Kasia, my wife, my equal, my perfect match.

"To love," I agree.

As the others start to leave, Arrow pulls Kasia aside. I strain to hear what they whisper, catching only fragments.

"He saved you," Arrow murmurs, their hand on her arm, "but you saved him right back. Remember that when things get dark."

Kasia hugs them tight, and I see Arrow blink rapidly, fighting tears again.

"Thank you," I tell Arrow as they pass.

They pause, studying me with those too-knowing eyes. "Take care of her, Angelo. She's been through enough."

"I know."

"No," they say seriously. "I don't think you do. Not all of it. But you will. And when you do, remember this moment. Remember that she chose you despite everything."

Before I can ask what they mean, they're gone, leaving me with questions I'm not sure I want answered.

One by one, they all leave. Dante and Alessa, lost in each other. Luca, shaking his head but smiling as he tells Antonio he'll drop him off. Marco, still weeping happily while Mel drives. Arrow, disappearing into the night as dramatically as they arrived.

Until it's just us.

Kasia and I, alone on the rooftop where everything began. I push a button by the bar, and the glass panel slides into the floor, revealing the glowing soft blue in the darkness.

"Remember that night?" she asks, sitting by the edge of the pool and trailing her fingers through the pool water.

"Every second," I admit, moving behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. "How hard it was to let you go."

She leans back against me. "You don't have to let me go anymore."

"Never," I agree, pressing a kiss to her neck. "You're mine now, Mrs Santoro."

"And you're mine," she counters, turning in my arms. "My monster. My hero. My savage. My husband."

I think about how much has changed since I first found her here. This rooftop was my escape, my sanctuary from the world. Now it's something else. A beginning. A promise. A foundation for whatever we build together.

"The funeral is in a couple of days," I say. "There will be challenges. Nicolosi. All of it."

"I know." She frames my face with her hands. "But tonight?"

"Tonight, we're exactly where we're meant to be."

I lift her into my arms, carrying her toward the stairs. She laughs, the sound bright in the darkness.

"I can walk, you know."

"I know," I say, not putting her down. "But I carried you into my life. Seems right to carry you into our bedroom as my wife."

"Romantic savage," she murmurs against my neck.

"Only for you, Butterfly. Only ever for you."

As I carry her inside, I catch a glimpse of us reflected in the window. Not the Red Widow and the Savage Santoro. Not the weapons we were made to be.

Just Angelo and Kasia.

Husband and wife.

Heroes in each other's darkness.

And for the first time in my life, that's enough.

It's everything.