Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 102566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
I wait the five minutes, even though I already know the answer she's going to give me the moment the door opens.
"I can't believe it," she whispers, holding the test in her hand.
"I told you so."
"But... how?" She can't help but smiling as she embraces me.
"I had to claim that pussy once again," I whisper in her ear, making her giggle. "I'm so fucking happy, Marzia. You've made me happier than I ever thought imaginable. I almost feel like I don't deserve this. You."
"Sometimes, I feel the same way," she whispers. "If you hadn't... done what you'd done, we wouldn't have Bruno. I'd be Vitto's wife now."
"There's no fucking way I was going to let you marry that cazzo," I hiss. "Not after all the bullshit he'd pulled on us."
"I don't think anyone could stop you." Marzia smiles affectionately. "You were always so determined to end up with me, weren't you?"
"Who else?" I ask her. "From that first day in the docks when we made that promise, I knew you were the one for me."
"But we were only children, Adrian."
"Doesn't matter." I shrug. "I knew then you were meant for me. I never felt a purpose in my life, Marzia, not until I met you. I thought I was getting in the way and that no one cared for me. But you changed everything. You were the first person I wanted to know... to be with you... to love you. I wanted your approval. Your opinion of me means fucking everything."
"You're sweet," she whispers, kissing me again. "You mean everything to me, too."
My fingertips glide along the thin gold of her collar. She's done as I've asked and hasn't taken it off once. I love seeing her in it, seeing people compliment her jewelry without even knowing what it stands for. That is just our little secret, hidden from the rest of the world.
Now that I'm out of the mafia world, I also know Marzia won't be hurt by the enemies that could be made in the future. We're safe here, bringing the tradition of her family and the new rules of mine together in the distillery. Grappa business is booming and we're slowly reclaiming the Da Costa family throne in the industry that Marzia's nonna had spent a lifetime building.
My past may be dark, but my future is only lightness. In her, I've found so much more than just my wife. She's my companion, my lover, the mother of my children, and my property. She's a dream come true.
And I'm going to keep chasing her... even though I already leashed her pretty little throat and made her submit to me. But I love the sweet little fights she puts up, the playfulness, the way she lets herself truly be who she is deep down. But only with me. Only for me. Because I'm the love of her life and she's the love of mine, and I'm never letting go.
As I touch my fingertips to our son's face, I wonder how many children Marzia and I will have. My hope is that we have a whole brood, one like the family I grew up in. Bruno Bernardi may not have been my biological father, but he was a father in every sense of the word, showing me in the end… my happiness was what mattered most to him all along.
I hope I've made him proud. I know all my dreams have come true, and I can only hope I've given Bruno everything he's always dreamed of for me as well.
While Marzia seemed like an unlikely choice for a wife, I did everything in my power to make her mine.
I hold her in my arms along with my son, kissing the top of her head. "I hope this next one is a little girl," I whisper in the shell of her ear.
She smiles up at me. "Want to know a secret?"
"Yes."
"Well..."She flushes. "I know the doctor's appointment isn't until next week, but I have a feeling it's going to be twins."
"Really? How do you know?"
"You had a feeling Bruno would be a boy, didn't you?"
"Yes, but—"
"Trust me…" She winks. "A mother knows..."
As I kiss her forehead again, I realize it doesn't even matter.
I already have everything I've ever dreamed of.
Epilogue
Ryder
She wasn't meant to be mine, but I played my cards just right, making sure Nicoletta Carlucci fell right into my lap.
I haven't seen her since she left Father's house when he broke off her engagement to Adrian. This is our first meeting since then, and it will decide everything.
Not that I have a choice.
What Father says goes. Just because he has a soft spot for Adrian and Marzia doesn't mean he's going to go easy on me, too. In fact, he's been pretty fucking adamant about the fact that I'm not allowed to fuck this up.