Chapter 8 - The Mansion Was Gone, the Empire Was Gone, and Dante Finally Asked Bianca the Question He Had Been Too Afraid to Ask
Months passed.
Their daughter was born.
They named her Lily.
She had Bianca's smile.
Dante's eyes.
And neither family secret.
Dante held her carefully.
“She’s perfect.”
Bianca smiled.
“She is.”
He looked terrified.
“I'm going to ruin her.”
“You won't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you're already thinking about how not to.”
He laughed.
Their life became ordinary.
They bought a small flower shop.
Dante helped.
He was surprisingly good with customers.
Bianca teased him.
“You're overcharging that man.”
“He can afford it.”
“That isn't how flowers work.”
“I've been out of the criminal empire for six months.”
“Apparently not long enough.”
He smiled.
Their families slowly healed.
Bianca's mother moved nearby.
Dante's father visited.
The old mansion was sold.
The black door with Bianca's name was removed.
She kept the silver plaque.
It hung in their bedroom.
One night, Dante found her looking at it.
“What are you thinking?”
“That this used to scare me.”
“And now?”
She smiled.
“Now it reminds me.”
“Of what?”
“That I survived.”
He nodded.
“You did.”
She looked at him.
“And you did too.”
He kissed her.
Then he knelt.
This time not with a ring.
With the original marriage agreement.
He tore it apart.
Bianca laughed.
“We already destroyed that.”
“I want to make sure.”
She hugged him.
“Good.”
Then he handed her a new document.
She opened it.
A legal partnership.
Everything they owned together.
Everything they built.
Equal.
No secrets.
No obligations.
She smiled.
“You're romantic.”
“I'm trying.”
She kissed him.
Then Lily cried upstairs.
Dante sighed.
“Duty calls.”
Bianca laughed.
“You're the father.”
“I know.”
He ran upstairs.
She followed.
May you like
And for the first time, they had a life nobody else controlled.
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