Chapter 8 - The Wedding Without Bloodshed
Six months after Matteo's birth, Lily and Alessio planned their wedding again.
This time there were no armed guards beside the altar.
No secret meetings.
No business deals.
Only family.
Even Gabriel's old estate had been sold.
The money went toward rebuilding neighborhoods damaged by years of organized crime.
Evelyn walked Lily down the aisle.
She cried before the ceremony even began.
Sariah stood beside Lily as maid of honor.
"You realize this whole thing started because you left your pajamas on his phone," she whispered.
Lily laughed.
"I know."
"The universe has a weird sense of humor."
At the altar, Alessio waited.
He looked nervous.
Lily had never seen him nervous at a negotiation.
Never before a threat.
Never before a gun.
But standing beneath a white arch, he looked terrified.
She reached him.
He smiled.
"You came."
"I told you I would."
The ceremony was simple.
Their vows were simpler.
Alessio promised not to protect her by controlling her.
Lily promised to tell him the truth even when it hurt.
They promised to choose each other freely.
When they kissed, everyone applauded.
Later, during the reception, Dante approached.
"I owe you an apology," he told Lily.
She nodded.
"You do."
"I believed the evidence."
"So did Alessio."
Dante glanced at him.
"He was wrong."
"Yes."
"He knows."
Lily smiled.
"That's enough."
Then Gabriel's old lawyer arrived.
He carried a box.
"This belonged to your grandfather."
Lily opened it.
Inside was an old family photograph.
Gabriel.
Vincent.
Daniel.
Evelyn.
And another person.
A young woman Lily didn't recognize.
She turned the photograph over.
The name written behind it was Sophia Romano.
Alessio's grandmother.
He frowned.
"She was supposed to have died before I was born."
The lawyer sighed.
"Another family secret."
Lily laughed.
"Of course."
Alessio looked at her.
"No more secrets."
She smiled.
"No more secrets."
They returned the photograph to the box.
They didn't investigate.
Not that night.
They had learned something important.
A family didn't heal by uncovering every mystery.
Sometimes it healed by deciding not to become prisoners of the past.
Their son slept upstairs.
Their parents laughed downstairs.
Music filled the garden.
And for once, the Romano name meant something different.
May you like
Not fear.
Family.
