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21. I Just Wanted to Be Free

Author: Ophelia Corrigan
last update Petsa ng paglalathala: 2026-03-26 16:58:21

DIANA

My mouth hung open. I couldn't process what he'd just said.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not marrying a stranger." The words came out sharp, disbelief ringing in my voice.

"That's not an option, Diana. This marriage is essential. It secures our position, strengthens the famiglia. You know how important that is—especially after what we've been through these past years."

"I can't believe you're doing this to me." I pushed up from the chair, rage boiling under my skin. "I'm your sis
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  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   109. The Enemy and the White Flowers

    DIANAThe hospital light was too white.That was the first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes.The second was the smell.That clean, terrifying scent of places where life and death dance hand in hand.The third was him.Rocco sat in a plastic chair beside my bed, his body slumped, head thrown back, mouth slightly open. He slept like someone who hadn't slept in days—heavy, deep, as if he'd collapsed right there. Dark circles stood out against pale skin. His stubble had grown wild and unchecked. One of his hands still held mine, even in sleep.I looked at that hand.Big fingers, calloused knuckles, tattoos crawling up his arms and disappearing under the sleeve of a rumpled gray shirt.I tried to sit up.My body screamed.A dull, throbbing pain spread through my abdomen like someone had shoved a hot iron inside me. My hand went to my stomach—empty. Flat. Different."Easy," Rocco's rough voice cut through the silence.He was already awake.Those green eyes—red, actually, from exhaustio

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   108. Until the Last Breath

    ROCCOI considered it for a second. Just one."Save my wife.""Mr. Moretti, I don't think you understand. In this situation, it's easier to save the baby. Your wife… she won't make it. If we focus on her, we could lose both of them."The world crumbled at my feet.I stood there, arms hanging at my sides, my chest hollow. I could barely breathe. There was only that word echoing inside my head: lose. I couldn't lose her.And then, before I could stop it, a tear slid down my face.It moved slowly, hot, burning my skin."You need to decide," the doctor insisted, his voice more urgent now.I lifted my head."I'm not deciding a fucking thing."I turned my back on him and started walking toward the delivery room."Sir, you can't go in there!" the doctor shouted behind me.I kept walking.His hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. He tried to catch up, grabbing my shoulder."Sir, I strongly urge you to wait here, or I'll call security—"I didn't hear the rest.Nurses appeared in front of

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   107. Stay With Me

    ROCCOI pressed both hands to the back of my neck. My head was about to explode.That's when Luca appeared in the doorway, gasping for air."The plane's here! The pilot managed to come early! He's at the helipad, ready to take off."I didn't even think. I scooped Diana into my arms—she weighed less than she should, her body limp, her eyes half-open—and ran down the stairs. Maria followed with a bag of towels and whatever little we had.Diana groaned when I set her in the jet's seat."Rocco... it hurts so much...""I know, baby. I know. We're almost there. Stay with me. Stay awake for me."She tried. She really tried. But halfway there, when Hawaii was already appearing on the horizon, her eyes closed.Her face went slack. Her hand, which had been squeezing mine, loosened."Diana?" I called. "Diana!"She didn't answer."Fuck! Wake up, baby! Wake up!"Maria put her hand to Diana's neck."She passed out, Rocco. Her pulse is weak."The jet touched down on a runway in Honolulu. An ambulanc

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   106. The Wedding and the Storm

    ROCCOAfter the "I do" and the kiss that felt like it lasted forever, the party was exactly what Diana wanted: simple, full of love, and no fuss.Maria had set up a long table on the sand, loaded with fruit, cheese, bread, and a bunch of Hawaiian food I couldn't even name. Ramón was strumming a guitar in the corner, off-key as a squeaky door, but nobody gave a damn.Diana laughed the whole time.I couldn't stop looking at her.The setting sun hit Diana's face dead-on, turning her golden, almost like an angel. Her white dress swayed in the breeze, and her seven-month belly looked like a tiny full moon under the light fabric."You gonna stare at me like that through dinner?" she teased, with that crooked smile that fucking killed me."Yep.""Won't you get tired?""Never."She laughed, threw her head back, and my chest filled with something I'd never felt before. It wasn't just love. It was peace. It was the certainty that after all the shit I'd been through in my life, I was finally exa

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   105. The Bride

    DIANAThe sun hadn't even fully risen yet when I looked at myself in the beach house mirror.The dress was simple. Thin straps, white fabric flowing light to my feet, nothing too tight, nothing too fitted. My seven-month belly made the fabric pull a little across the front, and I loved that. Didn't want to hide it. Wanted to show it. This baby was part of our story, and he deserved to be there, that day, like that.Maria walked in without knocking, her eyes glossy with a smile."You look beautiful, girl." She pressed a hand to her chest like she might cry. "Rocco's a lucky man to have a bride this gorgeous.""I agree!" I said, and she grinned.I walked down the wooden stairs barefoot, feeling the fine sand between my toes. The sky was painted pink and orange—one of those Hawaiian sunrises that look like they came straight out of a dream. The air smelled like salt, like flowers, like a beginning.Luca was right by the entrance, fixing his light blue tie with this goofy concentrated loo

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   104. Plans

    DIANA Dinner was weird. Luca sat at the far end of the table, as far from us as humanly possible, eating his pasta in silence. Rocco was next to me, his hand on my thigh under the table like he couldn't go five minutes without touching me. "You two gonna stare at each other all night?" Luca asked, not even looking up from his plate. "We're not staring," I said. "Yeah, you are. Like two pigeons in heat." Rocco laughed with his mouth full. "Pigeons in heat? Where the hell did you get that?" We finished eating in silence. Luca stood up, took his plate to the sink, and came back with his arms crossed. "I meant what I said. About going back to Italy." My heart squeezed. "Luca—" "No, Diana. Let me finish." He took a breath. "I came here because Rocco asked me to. Because he needed to surprise you. But now you two are… together. It doesn't make sense for me to stick around like some intruder, living your lives." "You're not an intruder," Rocco said, his

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   44. FIRE

    DIANAI kept washing the dishes, turning over everything he’d shared. It was hard to imagine how someone so deep in the mafia could still carry so much humanity the way Rocco did. The loyalty and honor he showed, in the middle of this dirty world of violence and greed, only made me like him more. B

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   42. The Problem I Can’t Ignore

    ROCCODiana sat on one of the couches in my living room, those curious eyes of hers scanning every corner. I handed her a cup of coffee—hot, strong—and dropped into the armchair next to her, my gaze locked on her face.“How the hell did you end up here?” I asked, no point in dancing around it.“It’

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   39. War for Diana

    ROCCOI woke up to cold white hospital light burning my eyes. Tried to lift my head, but it felt like it was full of lead. I turned it to the side, and that's when I saw something that made my heart hammer. Diana. The most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life, lying right next to me, holding m

  • PROTECTED BY THE DEVIL   36. There’s No Turning Back Now

    ROCCOThat NightI shoved the door open and tossed my car keys onto the table. Diana's engagement bullshit was still clawing at my brain. I knew I had to get her out of there, no matter the cost. The plan was already mapped out in my head, just a few fucking details left to nail down.I paced throu

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