Chapter 12 - STILL CHOOSE YOU
One year later.
The Chicago evening was warm, the sky painted in brilliant streaks of orange and purple as the sun set over Lake Michigan.
The backyard of the Moretti estate was strung with thousands of fairy lights. Soft jazz played from a live band on the patio.
It wasn’t an engagement dinner for a socialite and a mafia boss.
It was a celebration of family.
I stood near the edge of the rose garden, holding a glass of sparkling water, just watching the people I loved.
My mother and father were sitting on a stone bench, holding hands. My father’s speech had improved remarkably, but right now, he didn’t need words. The way he looked at my mother—like she was the only light in the world—said everything.
Julian ran past them, chasing a golden retriever puppy we had adopted a few months ago. He was sixteen now, thriving in school, and completely unburdened by the shadows of his past.
“You’re smiling,” a deep voice murmured in my ear.
Luca wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, pulling my back flush against his chest. He rested his chin on my shoulder.
“I have a lot to smile about,” I said, leaning back into his warmth.
Luca turned me around to face him. He was wearing a perfectly tailored black suit, but the intimidating, cold Don of the Chicago syndicate was nowhere to be found. He was just a man deeply, irreversibly in love.
“I have something for you,” Luca said softly.
He reached into his pocket.
My breath caught as he pulled out a small, faded blue velvet box.
It was the exact same box Samuel Kaplan, the old jeweler, had brought to the mansion a year ago.
Luca opened the lid.
Resting on the velvet was his mother’s simple gold wedding band. The one Vanessa had wanted to melt down. The one that had started this entire journey.
But it wasn’t scratched anymore. It had been beautifully polished, shining brightly in the fairy lights.
“When my father gave this to my mother, he promised her that no matter what the syndicate demanded, he would always choose her,” Luca said, his dark eyes locked onto mine.
He took the ring out of the box.
“I’m not a perfect man, Emma. I carry the weight of a violent world. But you walked into that world, tore it apart, and built it back into something beautiful.”
He dropped to one knee on the grass.
The jazz music seemed to fade away. The laughter from the patio stopped. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my parents and Julian watching us, beaming with joy.
“Emma Reed,” Luca said, holding the gold ring up. “You are my equal. You are my heart. Will you marry me?”
Tears spilled over my eyelashes. I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t need to think about the power dynamics, or the past, or the fear.
“Yes,” I whispered, laughing through my tears. “Yes, Luca.”
He smiled—a breathtaking, genuine smile—and slipped the ring onto my finger. It was a perfect fit.
He stood up and pulled me into a kiss. It was a promise. A vow that the darkness was finally behind us.
When he pulled away, I looked down at the ring on my hand.
I knew the two tiny words engraved inside the gold, resting perfectly against my skin.
May you like
STILL CHOOSE YOU.
And as I looked up at the man who had fought through hell to give me a family, and the boy who was finally safe, I knew I would choose this life, and this man, every single day for the rest of my life.
