All Chapters of Onenight with the Mafia: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The rain poured relentlessly outside, drumming against the roof and flooding the front yard with silver ripples. Maxine stood beneath the porch, her fingers tightening around the umbrella handle as she stared at the man standing by the gate.Thomas. He wasn't moving.The rain soaked through his black sweater and plastered his hair against his forehead. Water trickled down the scar on the bridge of his nose, but he didn't seem to care. His hands hung loosely at his sides, and for the first time since she had known him, he looked unsure of himself.Like a man waiting to be rejected. Maxine's heart clenched.She opened the umbrella and stepped down from the porch.The cold rain splashed against her sandals. She walked toward him slowly.Thomas looked up.His blue eyes found her immediately. Those eyes.The same eyes she had painted. The same eyes she had spent weeks trying not to think about.She stopped in front of him and lifted the umbrella over both of them."Why are you here?" she

The house gradually fell silent after Noah drifted to sleep. The rain that had raged for hours softened into a gentle drizzle, tapping lazily against the windows. Maxine tucked the blanket around her son one last time, brushing away the curls that fell over his forehead.Noah had insisted that Uncle Thomas stay until he fell asleep.Thomas had sat by his bedside, telling him nonsense stories about dragons who hated vegetables and pirates who got seasick.And Noah had laughed until his eyes closed.Maxine stood there for a moment, looking at the two of them.Thomas sat quietly now, staring at Noah's sleeping face.There was something lonely in his expression.Like he was memorizing this moment.As if he feared he might never get another chance.Maxine looked away."Come," she whispered.Thomas nodded and followed her.They returned to her room.The room smelled faintly of coffee and paint.The unfinished canvases leaned against the walls. Books were piled carelessly on the desk.The po

Maxine had expected Paris to be beautiful. She hadn't expected it to feel this liberating.The small restaurant they chose for dinner was tucked away in a quiet street lined with yellow lights and flower boxes. The place smelled of butter, freshly baked bread, and roasted garlic. Maxine couldn't pronounce half the items on the menu, so she simply pointed at dishes the waiter recommended.Noah was fascinated by everything."Mommy, why is the bread so hard?""That's how it's supposed to be."The food arrived soon after.Warm onion soup.Pasta for Noah.A steak with mashed potatoes for her.And for dessert, the best chocolate pastry Maxine had ever tasted.She closed her eyes after the first bite."Oh my God."Noah looked offended."You said not to say God loudly.""This is an exception.""It isn't.""It absolutely is."He giggled. For a moment, Maxine forgot everything else.Forgot the sleepless nights.Forgot the fear.Forgot Thomas.Forgot all the choices she had to make.Tonight, she

The rest of the morning passed like a dream Maxine hadn't planned for.Thomas insisted on taking them around the city, and somehow she found herself agreeing without much protest. Perhaps it was because Noah was excited beyond words, or perhaps because Paris had softened her heart enough to let her forget her fears for a while.They first visited the museum Maxine had wanted to see ever since she booked this trip.The Louvre.The glass pyramid gleamed beneath the pale morning sky, and Noah tilted his head so far back that he almost lost his balance."It's huge!" he exclaimed.Thomas caught him by the shoulders. "Careful."Maxine smiled watching them.Inside, Noah quickly grew bored of paintings and sculptures, but Maxine didn't.She wandered through the galleries in awe. Ancient Greek statues. Massive oil paintings depicting wars and kings.Portraits so lifelike they looked as if they would blink at any moment.Thomas followed beside her patiently."You like paintings?" he asked."I d

Maxine returned to her ordinary life. Or at least, she tried to convince herself that it was ordinary.Every morning she woke up, prepared Noah for school, drove to work, talked to her parents, and returned home in the evening. Everything was exactly the same as before.Except her heart. It had become restless. Sometimes while sketching, she would suddenly remember Thomas speaking fluent French to a waiter in Paris.Sometimes she would remember the way he held Noah's hand while crossing the road.And sometimes... she remembered the way he looked at her the night they made love. As if she were the only good thing he had ever found in his miserable life.Maxine sighed and closed her sketchbook. This was ridiculous. She was living in some kind of fairy tale.A dangerous fairy tale. The hero wasn't a prince. He was a criminal. A man who carried scars on his body and secrets in his heart. A man who had enemies she couldn't even name.The first time she met him after years, someone had trie