Chapter One Hundred And TenRainEnzo narrated how everything went down in my parents’ house, and I couldn’t hold my tears back, not just because my parents and family were here, but because Enzo went out of his way to make that happen.He had done the one thing I didn’t even know how to ask for. He had read the ache in my heart before I could form the words.I didn’t need to tell him how much I’d have loved to have them here. I didn’t need to say how much I had wished things could have been different. He knew. He just knew. He looked into my eyes and saw everything.I had never felt more seen in my entire life.My chest tightened with a deep, overwhelming wave of emotion, and without thinking, I wrapped my hands around him, sinking into his warm embrace. A place that felt like home. A place I wanted to remain, not just now, but for the rest of my life.He had given me everything I had ever needed. Everything I had ever longed for, silently.And even when I thought I’d have to make th
Chapter One Hundred And NineEnzo(The Previous Day)I stepped out of the room. Gregor was still in the main living area, and I simply gestured for him to follow me.Tomorrow had to be special, it had to be unforgettable. And the best way to make that happen was to give Rain what she truly wished for. What she had been murmuring.She had said it in the hospital, her voice soft but full of longing: celebrating with her family would make her birthday even more special. And I was determined to make that happen.As we walked outside into the cool evening air, I turned to Gregor, my mind already racing. “Get someone to book the next flight to New York for Louis, Rain’s sister, the one currently in Paris,” I instructed.“Yes, boss,” Gregor nodded, then stepped to the side to make the call.The other plan… the more dangerous one… was to bring her biological family to the party.It was risky, maybe even reckless, considering who they were and what they had done. But it had reached a point whe
Chapter One Hundred And EightRainThe light filtered in through the pale curtains, reflecting on my face, pushing me out of my deep, peaceful sleep. I opened my eyes one after the other, seeing as the soft light bathed the room in a golden glow that felt almost… magical.I blinked slowly, adjusting to the morning, and for a while, I didn’t move. I just lay there in bed, watching the soft light stretch across the ceiling, listening to the silence, broken only by birds chirping faintly outside the window and the distant sound of cars moving through the streets.Something about the day felt different. It felt beautiful. Magical. Like there was a warmth attached to the day. Maybe it was the peace. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because today was my birthday.My birthday.I turned my head slightly, my lips curving into a smile without even trying. I hadn’t thought I’d feel this kind of calm or joy today. I hadn’t imagined I would wake up with this kind of warm surrounding me, this sense of
Chapter One Hundred And SevenEnzoI didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know what to do next.It was as though the floor beneath me had cracked open, and I was falling through memories I no longer trusted. Like I was sinking into the sea of betrayal.The person behind the betrayal, the one leaking my every moves, my secrets, the one responsible for almost getting Rain killed wasn’t even some faceless outsider. It wasn’t just a floor member of my own syndicate. It wasn’t a rival boss from a distant territory. It wasn’t some undercover enemy we’d missed.It was Ace.It was my commander.My chest tightened, my heart twisting violently in my chest.Ace.He was my commander, my brother, a man my father recruited with his own hands. Ace was the one who had stood beside me in blood and fire, in losses and gains. He had fought our enemies with me, he had been on battles with rival syndicates with me. How could someone like that be a spy? How could someone I’ve watched stabbed and mauled peo
Chapter One Hundred And SixEnzoI stepped out of the room, gently pulling the door closed behind me as if sealing in the only piece of light I had left in this house.The hallway was dim, quiet, the silence thick with something I couldn’t quite name yet. I took a few steps and then paused as I caught sight of the first floor.They were still there. My mother and Eduardo were still here.They were still standing in the same spot they had been before I walked into Rain’s room, like two statues frozen mid-thought. And they were still smiling. But not the kind that met the eyes. It still hadn’t reach their eyes. It was the kind of smile that took a slow walk from the mouth to the face… and still didn’t get there.Even now, it hadn’t reach there.I couldn’t tell there was something else beneath those smiles and fake sympathy.I could have walked past them. I wanted to. I didn’t have anything to say to them. Even though Rain was okay with them just being here when they didn’t show up at th
Chapter One Hundred And FiveEnzoThe sun filtered in slightly through the hospital blinds, casting slanting beams across the white walls. It was morning again, the morning we had waited for. Rain was going home. I was going home with my wife, and my baby.My wife? I didn’t know if I should call her that, yet. Or wait until after I and proposed to her, until after she had taken my hands and decided to go on this journey with me. I didn’t know if I should wait until after we both step on the alter again to recite those vows that’ll keep us together for the rest of our lives.The doctor stepped in later to finalize the discharge, and all I could think about was the other thing I had planned. The moment that had been replaying in my head over and over. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Rain’s birthday was in a day now. I wanted to give her more than a celebration. I wanted to give her the beginning of everything she ever dreamed of.No more pretending. No more contracts. No more survi