Chapter 6 - The Wedding That Ended the Rossi Curse
We married six months later.
The ceremony was held in the garden behind Dominic's childhood home.
There were no guns.
No guards.
No secret codes.
Only family.
My mother walked me down the aisle.
Luca stood beside Dominic.
For the first time in years, the Rossi brothers stood together.
Dominic took my hands.
“I spent my life believing love was a weakness.”
He looked at me.
“Then you taught me it was courage.”
I smiled.
“You threw me out.”
A few people laughed.
Dominic winced.
“I know.”
“You accused me.”
“I know.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“But you came back.”
“Yes.”
“Then I'll stay.”
We kissed.
The reception lasted until sunrise.
Dominic danced with my mother.
Luca gave a speech.
“You know what I remember?”
Everyone quieted.
“The first time Dominic met Mara, he thought she was just another employee.”
Dominic looked embarrassed.
Luca smiled.
“Then she saved his life.”
I laughed.
“She did more than that.”
Dominic looked at me.
“She saved him from becoming our father.”
The room went quiet.
That mattered.
Because it was true.
The Rossi family had been built on fear.
Dominic had chosen love instead.
Years passed.
Our companies grew.
Our foundation expanded.
We built clinics.
Paid medical bills.
Helped victims of organized crime rebuild their lives.
My mother finally stopped looking over her shoulder.
Luca became a surgeon.
Dominic remained powerful.
But not feared.
He became respected.
The city changed how it spoke about him.
No longer the mafia boss.
Instead, people called him a businessman.
A philanthropist.
A man who had walked away from the life that made him.
One winter evening, we returned to the old estate.
The titanium door was still there.
Dominic stood beside it.
“You want to know something?”
“What?”
“I never forgot the sound.”
“The door?”
“Yes.”
“It haunted you?”
“Every night.”
He touched the metal.
“I thought closing it would protect me.”
“And?”
“It almost destroyed me.”
I took his hand.
“You opened it again.”
“Yes.”
“To me.”
“To the truth.”
Snow began falling.
Mara, I thought.
Then Dominic said:
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“And?”
May you like
“I love you too.”
He smiled.
