Chapter 15 - A New Empire Built on Love: The Don and His Queen (The End)
One year later.
The bells of the grand cathedral in downtown Chicago rang out, echoing across the city. The sun was shining, banishing the dark clouds that had hung over us for so long.
I stood at the altar, wearing a custom white lace gown that swept the floor, a diamond tiara resting in my auburn hair. I wasn't shaking. I wasn't afraid.
Mateo stood across from me, looking devastatingly handsome in his tuxedo. His gray eyes were warm, filled with absolute adoration.
"Do you, Mateo Vitiello, take Tessa to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked.
"I do," Mateo said, slipping a massive diamond ring onto my finger.
"And do you, Tessa, take Mateo?"
"I do," I smiled, sliding the gold band onto his heavily tattooed hand.
"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Mateo pulled me in, kissing me with a passion that made the entire cathedral erupt in cheers. The old mafia ways were dying. Don Salvatore had retired to Sicily, leaving the empire to us. We were changing things. Less blood, more legitimate business. We were building an empire that our future children wouldn't have to bleed for.
At the reception in the newly renovated Bellori restaurant, Mateo pulled me onto the dance floor. The same crystal chandelier hung above us, but everything else had changed. I wasn't the invisible waitress anymore. I was the Queen of Chicago.
"You know," Mateo whispered in my ear as we swayed to the music, "I always knew Table Four was the luckiest spot in this place."
I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Who taught you those words, Mr. Vitiello?"
He smiled, his eyes shining. "A beautiful girl who talked back to a mafia boss. The girl who saved my life."
I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady, strong beat of his heart. The secrets of the past had tried to destroy us, but they had only made us stronger. We had fought the darkness, and we had won.
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And our story was just beginning.
THE END.
