Tears slide free before I can stop them. He wipes them away, his thumbs rough, angry like he wants to fight the sadness out of me.
“I’m going home this weekend,” he says, his breath catching. “I’m telling my grandfather and my father.”
The words hit like a punch. My body goes rigid.
“What… what did you say?”
“This isn’t a game for me.” His lips brush mine light, unsteady. A ghost of a kiss that makes my pulse stumble.
“What if he doesn’t agree?” The question slips out small, terrified. “If he says no… will they tell my family? Will they kill me?”
Matteo pulls me closer until I can hear his heartbeat pounding through both of us.
“Shhh. One step at a time, little lamb. One step.”
“But—”
“No buts.” His voice drops, steady and low. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll handle it. You don’t carry this alone.”
I press my face to his chest, gripping his sweatshirt until my knuckles ache. Like if I hold hard enough, the world won’t find me.
“I’m scared,” I whisper.
“I know,” he says, quiet and sure. “But I’m with you now.” He kisses the top of my head, wordless, final. “I’ll find a way to keep you,” he murmurs, so soft I almost miss it.
But I feel it.
In his heartbeat.
In the storm clawing at the windows, trying to reach us.
In the way he holds me, like he’ll set the world on fire before he lets go.
And for the first time, I believe him.
Chapter 30
Matteo
The storm’s gone by morning, but it’s left its claws inside me.
The room smells like her skin, salt; the sheets are damp from our sweat, heavy with warmth which hasn’t faded. A draft slips through the cracked window, cold air brushing my back, but I don’t move.
I sit on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, staring at the cracked plaster ahead. The sky outside bleeds purple, the color of bruises fading too slow.
Behind me, she breathes.
Curled under the blanket, wearing one of my shirts that slipped off her shoulder. Her hair spreads across the pillow like a crown undone. The sight of her, bare skin, small movements, the soft sigh she lets out when she shifts, is beautiful.
She looks breakable. Too breakable for the world waiting outside this room.
Being close to her is almost enough to drown the nerves turning my stomach.
Because today, I face him.
My grandfather.
The man who built the Messina empire on loyalty and fear. Who taught us that love is weakness, and weakness gets buried.
