All Chapters of MARRIED TO THE MAFIA: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

LilaThe door slammed so hard the wall shook.I flinched, one hand still hovering in the empty air where Luca had been, the other pressed over my racing heart. The silence that followed was deafening just the ticking of the antique clock on the mantel and the ragged sound of Alex catching his breath.For a long moment, neither of us moved.Blood dripped slowly from the cut above Alex’s eyebrow, trailing down the curve of his cheekbone. His eye was already swelling shut. My gaze darted to the faint smear of red across my own palm, and it hit me all over again.What the hell just happened?I swallowed the nausea creeping up my throat and took a step back. My knees felt like water.“I.. I need a minute,” I whispered, and turned away before he could see the tears gathering in my eyes.Alex didn’t say anything.I stumbled into the hallway, pressing my hand to the cool plaster. My vision blurred with salt and shame. No matter how many times I tried to replay the last twelve hours in my head,

LilaI didn’t know how long I stood there staring at the hallway where Vanessa had disappeared.Long enough that the antiseptic scent of the hospital began to sting the inside of my nose.Long enough that every second stretched like wire pulling tight across my chest.Then a man in pale blue scrubs approached us, his expression the careful neutrality of someone who had delivered too much bad news in his career.“Family of Luca Deluca?”Alex stepped forward before I could find my voice. “Yes. I’m his brother.” He didn’t look back at me, but his hand brushed my wrist a silent reassurance I hadn’t expected.The doctor’s eyes flicked to me, taking in the wild tangle of my hair and the tremor in my hands. “And you are?”I swallowed. “I’m…with him.”The doctor nodded as if that was answer enough. “My name is Dr. Renaud. I’m the trauma surgeon on call tonight.”The way he said *trauma surgeon* made my blood turn to ice.“How is he?” Alex asked, voice clipped.Dr. Renaud’s expression didn’t sh

LilaIt was late afternoon by the time the knock came at Luca’s door.I had been sitting in the same chair for hours, trying to make sense of the way everything had unraveled so quickly.The sun slanted through the blinds, stripes of light pooling across the thin hospital blankets.Luca hadn’t spoken since the morning. He’d kept his gaze fixed on the window, as if he could will the outside world to disappear.The only sounds were the steady beep of his monitors and the soft rush of his breathing.When the knock came, I startled so hard my elbow caught the IV pole. The clatter made Luca’s eyes flick toward me, but he didn’t say a word.“Come in,” I managed, my throat dry.The door swung open, and two men stepped inside. One wore the crisp navy uniform of a city detective, the other a suit so perfectly tailored it had to be expensive. The second man’s eyes swept the room, cool and assessing, before settling on Luca.“Mr. Deluca?” The detective spoke first, his tone polite but edged with

LilaI don’t know how long we stayed like that my hand wrapped around his, the room hushed and still, the only movement the slow rise and fall of his chest.Long enough for the last thin ribbon of sunset to slip off the floor. Long enough for the ache in my legs to go numb.I thought he might pull away. That he’d retreat into himself, the way he always did when the world pressed too close. But he didn’t.He just sat there, staring at the cufflink she’d left behind like a calling card. His thumb traced over the edge of my hand, absent, almost unconscious, and something in me twisted at the softness of it.When he finally spoke, his voice was low and rough, like he’d spent the past hour clawing through old memories.“I never told you what happened,” he murmured.I drew in a careful breath, afraid any sudden movement would shatter the fragile calm between us. “What do you mean?”“Between me and Vanessa.” His mouth curved, but there was no humor in it. “How it ended.”I swallowed, tasting

LilaThe first morning back in the house was the hardest.I woke before dawn, the sheets beside me cold and undisturbed. I lay there in the hush, listening to the distant tick of the old grandfather clock in the foyer. Part of me wished I could stay curled in that quiet, pretending the past weeks were some fever dream. That Luca was still the same, that nothing had broken us open.But the other part the braver part knew that if I stayed hidden, he’d think I was giving up on him. And if I’d learned anything, it was that Luca Deluca expected people to leave. That was how he survived it when they did.I showered and dressed in silence. When I stepped out into the hallway, the house felt cavernous, as though it had somehow grown overnight. Every footstep echoed. Every shadow stretched too long.I paused at the doorway of the downstairs bedroom. The door was cracked just enough to see a sliver of light spilling across the floor. He was awake.I raised my hand to knock, but the voices stoppe