Lahat ng Kabanata ng Consumed by the Mafia: Kabanata 221 - Kabanata 230

Lucy POVIt had been a year.A year since I pulled the trigger and watched Vito's body drop like dead weight in the solarium. A year since the smell of blood sank into my lungs and stayed there, thick and metallic. I still dream about it; his final breath, the spray of red against glass, the sound my scream made when I realized what I'd done.I should've crumbled, and honestly, I almost did. But the months that followed, spent in a hospital with padded walls and forced calm, taught me how to live with it. Not erase it. Not forget. Just... live.And somehow, I did.Somehow, I found a quiet corner of life to call mine. A sliver of peace. And an old friend who somehow reminded me I was still human."God," Jared shouted as he took the seat beside me, arms folded across the stone railing of the terrace, "it's like the world decided to keep one secret patch of heaven just for us."He was right. The breeze carried jasmine and salt, the hillsides rolled like a painting, and the sea below shim

Amy POV"That didn't go anything like I planned," I said, watching my brother stomp down the church steps like a storm in a suit."I think it went better than expected," Uncle Niko shrugged, his hand tightly clasped in Aunt Viv's. He looked entirely too smug for someone who nearly got his head blown off."You deserved to be shot," I muttered, wrapping my arms around his other one. "But I'm glad he didn't kill you.""Michael wouldn't hurt me." He said it like it was fact, not hope. "Let's get to bed. We can fix this tomorrow."Fix this tomorrow? I love my Uncle, but he can be incredibly stupid when it comes to human emotions. Michael had nothing but death in his eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if he just started walking to the airport from this church."Uncle Niko, he just pulled a gun on half the room and put a chokehold on Jared. He's not sleeping anything off. He's packing a bag... or making a hit list."Lucy lingered near the altar, fingers playing with the chain around her neck. She

Lucy POVHe shoved me against the wall, mouth crashing into mine like he was trying to drink me in. His hands tangled in my hair, rough and shaking. My fingers clawed at his back, dragging over the planes of muscle and old scars like I was trying to scrape away the months without him.There was nothing soft about it. No slow buildup, no teasing. We weren't making love, we were clawing our way out of the wreckage we left behind.Buttons tore. Fabric ripped. My dress pooled around my ankles with a whisper I barely registered over the sound of my pulse hammering in my ears.His pants were half undone, hanging from his waist, and my hands were pushing them down before I even realized what I was doing."Tell me to stop," he rasped against my neck, his breath hot and uneven. His lips ghosted over my skin, not a kiss, a threat. Maybe a plea."I can't," I gasped, my nails digging into the thick muscle of his shoulders. "I don't want to."He groaned low in his throat, like the sound had been c

Michael POVFor five days, I wandered through the old vintage town like a ghost with nowhere to be.I visited the same church where my Nonna and Nonno had made their vows nearly eighty years ago. I ate too much pasta. Drank too much wine. Bought loaves of bread I didn't even finish. I did everything... everything except go to the damn airport.The anger still burned in me, slow and constant like embers that refused to die out. But I couldn't bring myself to leave.I told myself it was Lucy that kept me here. That it was her voice, her touch, her absence that chained me to this place. But it wasn't just her. Not really.It was the idea of something better. A life I could still claim. A family I could build from the ashes.But how the hell do you just forgive? Forget?How do you move past the fire inside you that wants to turn everything to dust?"You look a little fat," Niko said as he strolled into the tiny apartment I'd rented for the week.I didn't even look up. Just buried my face

Lucy POVMy stomach was in knots the whole ride to the church, and once we arrived, it only twisted tighter.Michael stepped out of the car Niko had stolen from us earlier, black suit tailored to perfection, blond curls a deliberate mess. He looked like every mistake I'd ever wanted to make twice.And then, just for a second, our eyes locked.In that single heartbeat, the world tilted all over again.My body moved before my brain caught up. I was already stepping toward him. I wasn't thinking, I was reacting. Reaching.Until he looked straight past me. Didn't pause. Didn't flinch. Just turned and walked into the church without another glance.He dismissed me.I looked incredible in this dress, and he walked away?"You good?" Jared's hand rested gently on my back. I hadn't even realized I was frozen there, staring at the doorway like it might open again and give me a second chance.Once inside, I refused to look in Michael's direction. I could feel his eyes on me, could practically fee