Page 27 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
“It is! You’re doing the same thing you did years ago.”
His face changed, shoulders stiffening. “What?”
I took a deep breath, my hands shaking. “This. Telling me what to do. Thinking you know what’s best for me. I told you years back that I wasn’t ready, and you had brushed it off. That’s why I didn’t tell you about my pregnancy.”
Luca’s expression faltered. He took a slow step forward. “Maria…”
I shook my head, trying to push back the lump in my throat. “I knew exactly how it would go. You would have tried to fix it and marry me off to someone if it didn’t work with Lorenzo. Control the situation. You wouldn’t have listened to what I wanted.”
Luca stayed quiet for a moment, looking down. When he finally spoke, his voice was softer. “You’re right.”
I blinked. “Wait. What?”
“I was too controlling. Too focused on getting the inheritance, too focused on protecting what was yours instead of trusting you. And I’m sorry.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Luca? Apologizing?
He rubbed his jaw. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was keeping you safe so you wouldn’t lack for anything. But I see now that I made you feel trapped. That guilt has haunted me for years.”
I swallowed hard, arms crossing over my chest. “It did.”
Luca nodded, letting out a long breath. “If you don’t want to go through with this marriage, I’ll understand.”
I hesitated. I wanted to say yes. I wanted to walk away from all of this. But then I thought of Enrico. I thought of what he would do with my father’s property and how he would tear apart the last thing my father ever built. Then, I thought of Lorenzo. I couldn’t hurt him again. I couldn’t hurt myself by leaving him again.
I exhaled slowly. “I’m going through with it.”
Luca studied me, searching my face for any sign of hesitation. “Because you want to?”
“Because I don’t want Enrico to win.”
Luca nodded once, understanding. He placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Then we do this together.”
For the first time in a long time, I felt like my brother was actually on my side.
*****
Matteo was on the floor playing with Kayla when I stepped into his room. His little hands gripped the toy truck, making soft vroom-vroom sounds as he pushed it along the rug. Kayla, the ever-patient one, sat beside him, fiddling with her phone. She gave me a nod, acknowledging my presence right before she left.
“Alright, little man, bedtime.”
Matteo pouted. “Five more minutes.”
“Five more minutes turns into ten. Ten turns into twenty, and then suddenly, you’re running a casino in Las Vegas.” I scooped him up, ignoring his dramatic groan. “You need sleep, baby.”
He clung to me as I tucked him in, his little fingers curling into my shirt. I sat beside him, smoothing out the blanket over his tiny frame. “Want a bedtime story?”
Matteo’s eyes lit up. “Yes! But not a boring one.”
I smirked. “Oh, so all my previous stories have been boring?”
He giggled. “A little.”
I placed a hand on my heart. “Wow. The betrayal.”
He laughed harder, his tiny shoulders shaking. “Tell me one about a pirate! But make him funny. And he has to have a talking parrot.”
“A funny pirate with a talking parrot. Got it.” I thought for a moment, then began, “Once upon a time, there was a pirate named Captain Stinky Boots—”
