Page 19 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
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The sound of the plane was steady, almost riveting, but my mind refused to settle.
Luca’s voice still echoed in my head, the way he had convinced me to come back.
“You can’t keep running forever, Maria. Sooner or later, you have to face this,” as if it was that easy.
Matteo shifted beside me, small fingers curling around mine in his sleep. My heart clenched. For five years, it had just been the two of us. No family, no roots, just moving from place to place, drowning myself in work so I wouldn’t have time to think about what I had left behind.
But now, I was going back. Back to the place I had sworn never to return to.
Kayla, my personal assistant, glanced at me from her seat, raising an eyebrow. “Nervous?”
“Terrified.”
She snorted. “Yeah, well. That’s what happens when you ghost your entire family for half a decade,” she teased. Kayla wasn’t just a personal assistant. Over the years, she had become a friend and the only other person I trusted Matteo with.
I shot her a look. “Not helping.”
“Just saying, you could have at least sent a Christmas card.”
I sighed, pressing my forehead against the window. It’s too late for that now because as we descended, a familiar nostalgia hit me.
Home.
The moment I stepped onto the estate, the memories came rushing in. Not much had changed. The house still stood like a silent monument to the past—grand and elegant but hollow. The last time I had walked through these doors, I had been a different woman. Now, I was a mother. A stranger to my own home.
Matteo tugged on my hand. “How long are we staying here?” He had already grown accustomed to our life being constantly on the move.
I stared at the house, “I don’t know, baby.”
His little face scrunched up in thought, but he nodded. The doors opened before I could talk myself into turning around.
Luca stood there, frozen.
And next to him—Lorenzo.
My breath caught. Every other thing became blurry as my gaze fixed on him.
Time had only sharpened him: the sharp jawline, the piercing blue-gray eyes, the way he stood like he owned the ground beneath him. I forced myself to look away before I became consumed by the sight of him.
Luca’s eyes flickered to Matteo, widening slightly, but he didn’t say a word. Neither did Lorenzo. They just stared, and I hated the way I felt exposed, like an open wound waiting to be picked apart.
I forced a half-smile, pretending my pulse wasn’t thundering in my ears. “Hello, brother.”
Luca blinked, shaking himself out of his trance. He strode forward, wrapping me in a hug so tight I nearly lost my breath.
I fought back the tears burning in my eyes. It had been so long since I’d hugged him and since I had felt anything but distance between us.
“Welcome home, sis,” Luca murmured, his voice rough.
I swallowed hard. Home. I wasn’t sure if it was anymore.
Matteo shifted beside me, his small fingers squeezing mine. I cleared my throat, gripping his hand tighter.
“Matteo, this is your uncle, Luca,” I turned to my brother. “Luca, this is my son, Matteo.”
Silence.
