It was Lily’s sixth birthday, and it felt like a new chapter for us all.After everything we’d been through, planning a birthday felt… surreal. Like a piece of normalcy we desperately needed.Joyce and I worked on the decorations all morning. Pink balloons, unicorn-themed cake, a string of Polaroids above the dessert table, every smile in those photos reminded me why this day mattered. Our precious little gift, safe and six."Are you sure he's going to come with you? Vincenzo doesn't strike me as the kind of man that attends pink-themed parties," Joyce said, snorting a little. We were in the garage; I was about to go pick Vince up. But he didn't know I was bringing him to Lily's birthday party."He will. He's not that grumpy, you know." I chuckled softly, unlocking my car. Vince wasn't a hard hat all the time; he could be really sweet... and really kinky."Do you think he'll be a good dad?" Joyce's question was sudden, and for a moment, I didn't know how to answer that.But alas, the
I'd escorted Luca to the airport. He needed to go back to his son. It was drizzling when I returned to the house—Vince's house. I found him fast asleep in his room.I walked over quietly and sat beside him on the bed. Despite the state he was in, he still managed to look dangerous... but nevertheless attractive. His thick lashes fanned his flat cheeks; his hard mouth twitched every few seconds. He snorted softly. I smiled, admiring my sleepy fiancé. Instinctively, I reached out and brushed a finger along his cheekbone.He stilled then, no longer snoring. He was awake.“Luca's gone,” I whispered.His eyes fluttered open slowly. He shifted to look at me... for a long moment.“You should go home,” he muttered. That cold expression was back.“I am home.” I placed my hand carefully on his chest. His eyes drifted down to where I touched."Jessica," he said, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.I shushed him, leaning forward to rest my forehead gently against his. “You’re not getting rid of m
I couldn't sleep. How could I? The coldness of his eyes made my heart ache, the harshness of his words. I deserved it all. I'd told him far worse, and he still fought for me. So I wasn’t giving up on him—on us—not now, not when he needed someone to be by him, for once.“You’re back.” Luca stood by the door, looking me up and down, then, he glanced at my bags."I made him food," I shrugged, lifting the food bag up.He stepped aside, I entered."Good, 'cause he's been throwing up those poorly made ones." He smiled. I couldn't help but smile too.I knocked once on Vince's door and stepped into his room. I'd expected him to be in his wheelchair, but he wasn't, he was on his bed, wearing a soft cotton shirt and plaid pants, glaring at a blueprint.“Hey,” I said softly, shutting the door behind me.He turned to look at me, then his eyes fell to my hands.“I brought breakfast. I made it myself.”I tried to smile, but it wavered under his hard gaze.He said nothing, just returned to glaring a
“It’s a critical condition, Miss Reese,” the doctor had said, voice calm but words devastating. “The bullet hit below the femoral artery and shattered bone. He’ll survive, yes—but he may not walk again for at least a year. If ever.”If ever.Those words left me devastated.I sat on the edge of my bed, staring down at my trembling hands. It had been two days since the rescue. Two days since Vince fell off that building—because of me. He saved Lily. He saved my sister. I should have been grateful. But instead, all I’d done was scream at him. Hate him. Call him selfish.And now he couldn't walk.Because of me.Because I made him choose.I recalled the coldness in his eyes when he said those words before he left: “After that, I’m done with you.”He hadn’t even looked back.And now, I didn’t know if I could look him in the eyes.The bedroom door creaked open behind me, and Joyce stepped in with Lily. My sister hadn’t let her daughter out of her sight since they reunited.They looked trauma
~~VINCENZO~~ She'd looked at me like I was a monster. Her words echoed in my head. “You were trying to save your possession. And for that, you’ve lost it.” I had saved her life. I had chosen her. And now, she hated me for it. I sat in the SUV’s front seat, one hand pressed against my temple, my eyes staring blankly at the floor as Luca drove. Lily was in the passenger seat, wrapped in a blanket. Jessica sat beside her, holding her tightly. She didn’t say a word to me, her face stuck in a perpetual frown. I didn’t need thanks. But I didn’t deserve to be hated either. Yes, I had chosen Jessica over the girl. And truthfully, I would do it again. Not because I didn’t care about Lily—but because losing Jessica would’ve destroyed me. She didn’t understand that, and she probably never would. "You're not like Luca," she had said. Why did she always compare me with him? Had I been delusional all this while? Did she love him and not me? I sighed and looked out the window. Th
I couldn’t believe what had just happened two minutes ago. It felt like something straight out of an action movie. Lily’s rope had snapped—and so had my heart. I thought she was gone, but someone saved her. Luca. My knight in shining armor. He was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily, holding Lily tight to his chest like she was his little girl. His eyes stayed on me, nodding slowly, as if trying to tell me he’d always be here to save the day. I reached for Lily, and Luca quickly handed her over. My little niece latched onto my neck like she was scared to ever let go, trembling so hard it made me shake. “I thought I lost you,” I whispered to her, tears streaming down my cheeks as I kissed her hair. We stayed like that for several seconds until I turned to look at him. Vince. He was kneeling beside me, still holding the rope he’d cut off my rope despite my desperate pleas to save my niece first. He looked at me like he expected me to run into his arms. Like I should than