Chapter 10 - The Man Who Once Ruled Chicago Asked a Baker for One Simple Thing
One year after Roman first walked into Honey & Rye, the bakery was packed.
The front window displayed a sign.
CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT.
Lily stood beside me in a pale blue dress.
Victor was arguing with Roman about his tie.
“You look like you're attending your own funeral.”
Roman adjusted it.
“I'm getting married.”
“Same difference.”
I laughed.
Roman looked at me.
For a second, I remembered the first time I'd seen him.
The charcoal suit.
The cold eyes.
The arrogant proposal.
The bag of flour.
Everything felt like another life.
Then he walked toward me.
No guards.
No weapons.
No Mafia family.
Just Roman.
He took my hands.
“You ready?”
I smiled.
“I've been ready for months.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Even though I'm terrible at baking?”
“Especially because you're terrible at baking.”
He laughed.
The ceremony was small.
Just family and friends.
Lily cried.
Victor pretended he wasn't crying.
And when Roman promised to spend the rest of his life making me laugh, protecting my dreams without controlling them, and never again lying to me, I believed him.
Because he had learned the hardest lesson of all.
Love wasn't possession.
Protection wasn't control.
And family wasn't determined by blood.
It was determined by who stayed when leaving would have been easier.
After the ceremony, Roman and I returned to the bakery.
He stood behind the counter.
I handed him an apron.
He stared at it.
“What is this?”
“Your new job.”
“I thought I was the husband.”
“You're both.”
He sighed.
“What am I making?”
“Cinnamon rolls.”
He looked terrified.
“You're going to help me, right?”
“Of course.”
Lily walked in.
“You need all the help you can get.”
Roman pointed at her.
“Traitor.”
She laughed.
The bakery filled with warmth.
The smell of cinnamon.
Fresh bread.
Coffee.
Home.
I looked at Roman.
The most feared man in Chicago had once walked into my bakery believing he could buy everything.
He couldn't.
He couldn't buy my trust.
He couldn't buy my affection.
He couldn't buy my yes.
He had to earn them.
And somehow, beneath all the lies, secrets, violence, and betrayal, he did.
Years later, people still told stories about Roman Duca.
Some remembered him as the ruthless man who once controlled Chicago's underworld.
Others remembered the scandal that destroyed the Duca empire.
But I remembered something else.
I remembered a man covered in flour.
A teenage girl who wanted someone to believe her.
A brass key.
A bakery before sunrise.
And the moment a dangerous man finally learned that the strongest thing in his life wasn't power.
It was love.
Roman wrapped an arm around my waist.
“Clare?”
“Yes?”
“Do you regret throwing that flour at me?”
I smiled.
“Not for one second.”
He kissed my forehead.
“Good.”
Then Lily shouted from the kitchen.
“Roman! You burned another batch!”
He closed his eyes.
I laughed.
And for the first time, the sound of laughter filled a place that had once been built on fear.
Honey & Rye was no longer just a bakery.
It was our home.
And Roman Duca was no longer the man everyone feared.
May you like
He was simply the man I loved.
The End
