Chapter 7 - The Mafia Boss Asked Me To Leave Him—And I Refused
Three months later, life became quiet.
Too quiet.
Dominic sold several businesses.
He shut down illegal operations.
He moved legitimate companies into my father's consulting network.
Leo opened a security firm.
My father started rebuilding his life.
I returned to school.
For the first time, I had choices.
Dominic encouraged all of them.
"You're not staying because you owe me."
"I know."
"You're not staying because you're afraid."
"I know."
"Then stay because you choose to."
I smiled.
"I choose you."
He looked away.
He still struggled to receive love.
Then one afternoon, he gave me a key.
"What is this?"
"Your key."
"To what?"
"Our house."
I laughed.
"Our?"
He shrugged.
"Feels strange saying it."
"Good strange?"
"The best kind."
We moved into a smaller home.
No fortress.
No endless guards.
Just a gated neighborhood and a ridiculous kitchen where Dominic burned pasta twice a week.
One evening, I found an envelope in the mailbox.
Inside was a newspaper clipping.
The headline said:
RUSSO HEIR WALKS AWAY FROM UNDERGROUND EMPIRE.
Under it was a handwritten note.
THEY'LL NEVER FORGIVE HIM.
I showed Dominic.
He wasn't surprised.
"Who sent it?"
"I don't know."
"Probably someone who still thinks fear is power."
He burned the note.
Months passed.
Our life settled.
Then Dominic received an invitation.
The Castellanos wanted a reconciliation dinner.
He didn't want to go.
I did.
"Maybe it's time."
He looked at me.
"You want to sit at the same table with people who tried to kill you?"
"No."
She smiled.
"I want to sit at the table and watch them realize they failed."
The dinner was tense.
But no one died.
The old rivalry began turning into legitimate business cooperation.
The city changed.
So did Dominic.
He laughed more.
He slept more.
He stopped carrying his weapon everywhere.
One evening, he came home with flowers.
I stared.
"What's this?"
"Flowers."
"For me?"
"Usually flowers are for someone else."
I laughed.
He knelt.
My heart stopped.
"Dominic."
"I'm not proposing."
"Good."
He laughed.
"I'm trying to scare you first."
He took out a ring.
"This isn't the first ring."
I stared.
"It's not even an engagement ring."
"What is it?"
"A promise."
He slipped a simple silver band onto my finger.
"I don't want to own you."
My eyes filled.
"I want to build something with you."
I kissed him.
"I'll take that."
He smiled.
"Good."
Then my father called.
He had received new financial records.
Someone had been siphoning money from the legitimate Russo businesses.
Not much.
Just enough to keep a hidden network alive.
The old war wasn't completely gone.
Dominic looked at me.
"Do you want to run?"
May you like
"No."
"Then we finish it."
