Bonus Epilogue: A different kind of forever

# *The Mafia and His Stepsister*  

### Bonus Epilogue: A Different Kind of Forever

The morning sun spilled across the marble floors of the villa, turning everything gold.

Aria stretched beneath the silk sheets, the warm sea breeze teasing her hair.

She blinked sleepily and turned her head — and there he was.

Luciano.

Already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless and rumpled, reading the morning paper like he didn’t rule an empire of blood and power.

She smiled lazily.

"You’re staring," she teased, voice rough with sleep.

Luciano folded the paper carefully and turned to her, the corners of his mouth lifting in the rare smile he reserved only for her.

"Can you blame me?" he murmured.

Aria sat up, letting the sheets slide down her bare skin.

Luciano’s gaze darkened instantly.

"I married a goddess," he said, voice low and reverent. "And she doesn’t even know it."

Aria laughed and reached for him, looping her arms around his neck.

"I married a monster," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his. "But he’s only ever gentle with me."

Luciano’s hands slid around her waist, pulling her into his lap effortlessly.

"I’m still a monster," he warned, kissing her jaw. "I still have blood on my hands."

"I don’t care," Aria said fiercely. "I love all of you."

Luciano closed his eyes, holding her tighter.

"You saved me," he whispered. "You made me want something... more."

Aria’s throat tightened.

She kissed the scar beneath his jaw — a reminder of the life he led, the battles he fought.

"You gave me more too," she said. "You gave me you."

For a long time, they just sat there — tangled together, heart to heart.

Outside, the ocean crashed against the cliffs.  

Inside, it was only them.

Luciano eventually pulled back enough to reach into the bedside drawer.

Aria tilted her head, curious.

He pulled out a small velvet box.

Her breath caught.

"Luciano..." she whispered.

He opened it — inside, a delicate necklace glinted.  

A thin chain of white gold, and at the center, a tiny diamond-encrusted gun pendant.

She laughed through the tears welling in her eyes.

"It’s perfect," she choked.

"For protection," Luciano said, fastening it around her neck. "For strength."

He brushed a kiss over the hollow of her throat where the pendant lay.

"And to remind you," he murmured against her skin, "that you’re never alone again."

Aria cupped his face in her hands.

"I already knew that," she said softly.

Luciano smiled — that rare, beautiful, dangerous smile that turned her insides to molten heat.

"And there’s more," he said.

She blinked at him.

"What could possibly top this?"

He hesitated — and for the first time in all the time she’d known him, Luciano Moretti, king of the underworld, looked nervous.

She sat up straighter, heart pounding.

"Aria," he said quietly. "You’re my beginning. And you’re my end. I want to build a life with you. A real one."

Tears blurred her vision.

"You already have," she whispered.

Luciano shook his head, a small, almost boyish smile breaking through.

"I want more," he said. "I want a family. I want... everything. With you."

For a second, Aria forgot how to breathe.

"You’re serious," she whispered.

He nodded once, the movement sharp and certain.

"I never wanted it before," he said. "But with you... I want it all."

Tears slipped down her cheeks.

She framed his face with her hands and kissed him — slow, deep, reverent.

"Then let’s have everything," she said against his mouth. "Let’s build it together."

Luciano pulled her tight against him, burying his face in her neck.

They stayed like that for a long, long time — holding each other like the world outside didn’t exist.

And maybe, for once, it didn’t.

Maybe, here in this house by the sea, they could carve out a different kind of forever.

A forever where love was stronger than blood.

Where promises meant more than power.

Where a mafia king could fall to his knees for the reckless, beautiful girl who taught him to feel again.

And stay there, grateful, for the rest of his life.

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