Chapter 9 - The Wedding They Chose
The second wedding was nothing like the first.
No armed men lined the cathedral.
No debtors stood in the back.
No contracts were hidden in briefcases.
There were flowers, music, sunlight, laughter, and children running through the garden.
Sophia stood beside Clara.
Matteo carried the rings.
Vincent stood beside Dominic.
“You're sweating,” Vincent whispered.
“I've been shot and arrested.”
“You're more nervous now.”
Dominic glared.
“This matters.”
Vincent smiled.
“Yes.”
Clara appeared at the end of the aisle.
She walked slowly.
She still limped.
But she did not hide it.
There was no heavy dress designed to disguise her injury.
She wore a simple ivory gown that moved freely around her legs.
Dominic watched her approach.
This time, he did not see the wound.
He saw the woman.
When she reached him, she smiled.
“Hi.”
He smiled.
“Hi.”
The priest looked at them.
“Do you come here freely?”
Clara answered first.
“Yes.”
Dominic nodded.
“Freely.”
The word echoed.
Freely.
The ceremony was short.
But every word mattered.
When Dominic promised to protect her, Clara stopped him.
“Not from life.”
He smiled.
“Not from life.”
“Then what?”
“From anyone who tries to take your choice away.”
She nodded.
“That I accept.”
When it was time for the rings, Matteo stepped forward.
“I remember when you were hurt,” he said to Clara.
She smiled.
“Do you?”
“I thought you were going to die.”
Dominic's expression tightened.
Matteo looked at him.
“Uncle Dom looked scared.”
Everyone laughed.
Dominic shook his head.
“I was.”
Matteo handed him the ring.
“Don't make her cry.”
Dominic smiled.
“I'll try.”
He slid the ring onto Clara's finger.
She did the same.
Then they kissed.
The applause was loud.
Sophia cried openly.
Vincent laughed.
Even some of the former Castiglione men smiled.
After the ceremony, Clara and Dominic stood alone near the lake.
“You're different,” she said.
“So are you.”
“No.”
She pointed at his chest.
“You.”
He looked down.
“What?”
“You don't look angry.”
He laughed.
“I have less to be angry about.”
She leaned against him.
“Do you miss being capo?”
Dominic thought.
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
“Power is addictive.”
She nodded.
“But?”
“But I like sleeping.”
She laughed.
“You never slept.”
“I do now.”
“Because you trust people?”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Because I trust you.”
She kissed him.
Life after Rafael was not perfect.
Dominic still carried scars.
Sophia still had nightmares.
Matteo still asked questions about why his mother disappeared.
Vincent was rebuilding his own life.
The foundation faced funding battles.
There were threats.
There were reporters.
There were people who wanted the old Castiglione empire restored.
But they dealt with those problems together.
Dominic never returned to organized crime.
Instead, he converted legitimate assets into logistics companies, security firms, and hotels.
Clara oversaw the foundation.
She became known across Chicago for helping women escape abusive homes.
The woman once called collateral became the person hundreds of women called when they had nowhere else to go.
One evening, Dominic found Clara working late.
“You promised me you'd come home.”
“I am almost finished.”
“That's what you said three hours ago.”
She smiled.
“You sound like my husband.”
“I am your husband.”
“Debatable.”
He leaned over her desk.
“How much more?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“You said that twenty minutes ago.”
She laughed.
He kissed her forehead.
“Dinner?”
“Yes.”
He walked away.
Clara watched him.
Then she looked at the ring on her finger.
It no longer represented a debt.
It represented a choice.
May you like
She closed the file.
And followed him home.
