Page 51 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
Matteo shook his head. “I’m fine.”
He wasn’t. Even I could tell that.
I knew that look. I’d seen it in the mirror too many times as a kid—when you learned early not to show too much, and it was easier to say nothing than to let someone see the storm brewing underneath.
An odd tightness coiled in my chest. It was ridiculous, really. I barely knew the kid. But something about him—the way he carried himself, the way he tried so hard to look unaffected—felt too damn familiar.
Maria gave me a quick, worried glance, and before I even thought about it, I reached over, plucking a fry from my plate and setting it on his.
“Eat,” I said, keeping my voice light. “It is good to make you a strong boy.”
His little fingers hesitated before picking up the fry. He didn’t say anything, but I caught the small flicker of acknowledgment in his eyes before he finally took a bite.
It wasn’t much. But it was something. And for some reason, that mattered more to me than it should have.
Kayla, never one for subtlety, cleared her throat. “So, about that school event,” she started like she was trying to fill the growing silence. “Matteo’s school is hosting a parents-and-students sporting event tomorrow. They just gave us notice since he joined mid-session, but it’s kind of a big deal.”
Maria immediately perked up, her focus snapping to Matteo. “Matteo, is that why you aren’t eating? Of course, I will be there.”
Matteo’s head lifted just slightly, eyes gazing toward her. “You promise?”
She placed a hand over her heart. “On my life.”
Something in his tiny shoulders loosened, just a fraction, but it was enough.
I stayed quiet, watching the way Maria immediately turned all her attention to Matteo and how she noticed things the second they were off. Her voice softened for him, patient and steady. He looked at her like she was the only person in the world who made him feel safe.
It was unsettling.
Not because it was strange—but because it reminded me of something different.
My mother.
She used to look at me the same way.
She used to reach for me with the same kind of certainty, like no matter what hell we were living through, she would be there.
I could hear her voice, clear as day. Love is the only thing that makes all of this worth it, Lorenzo. No matter how hard you try to shut it out, it will find you.
I scoffed internally. Yeah? Well, Mamma, is this the kind of love you were talking about?
I didn’t know.
But watching Maria with Matteo, I thought that maybe love wasn’t just some tragic weakness waiting to be exploited.
It was the only thing keeping people like us from falling apart.
Matteo finally picked up his fork, pushing his food around and at least pretending to eat. Maria let out a quiet breath, one that probably only I noticed.
But again, he dropped the fork, and a scowl appeared on his face again.
Something was off.
Even after Maria promised Matteo she’d be at his school event, he still looked troubled.
Maria caught on, too. Her sharp gaze locked onto him like a heat-seeking missile. “Matteo, is there something else?”
The boy hesitated, small hands gripping his fork tighter.
