Page 64 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
“Know about them?” I straightened up, smirking. “I am one.” He tried to chest up, but the sight of it only made me chuckle
Matteo practically vibrated with excitement. “No way!”
“Way.” I winced at him, and the glint in his eyes was one to die for. He was so excited. It’s a sight I hardly get to see from anyone.
“Prove it.”
I crouched slightly, arms out like claws. “I am the Great Dragon of Shade, feared by all!”
Matteo gasped, gripping his toy sword. “Are you a good dragon or a bad dragon?”
That question shouldn’t have hit me as hard as it did. It was part of an internal struggle I had always had because I didn’t know the answer.
I hesitated, just for a second. “Once, I was good. But then something happened, and I became dark and feared by all.”
Matteo leaned in. “What happened?” Matteo asked with a curiousity only a five-year-old could have.
I swallowed. “The Great Dragon lost something important. Something that made him kind. And without it, he didn’t know how to be good anymore.”
Matteo stared at me like I’d just told him the most important story in the world. “But does he find it again? He sounds like a hurt dragon.”
For a second, I didn’t know how to answer. Was that the word that describes me?
Hurt. Was it pain? Resentment? Anguish? Or was I just bad and haven’t just gotten to realize and accept it?
Then, quietly, I whispered to him, “He’s trying.”
Matteo nodded like that made perfect sense. “Then, he will be good again.”
Something tightened in my chest. The way he said it with so much certainty and assurance, there was only one person who had such belief, and that was my mum. But when he said it, it felt like he also did.
This kid.
He had no idea what he was saying, and yet, somehow, he’d just summed up my entire existence in one sentence.
Before I could respond, he let out a loud roar and launched himself at me, pretending to breathe fire. I dodged, laughing despite myself.
“Alright, alright, little dragon, you win,” I said, raising my hands in defeat.
“Yay!” He jumped, and I scooped him up, placing him on my back and wrapping his arms around my neck, giggling in my ear. “You’re not so scary, Lorenzo.”
I went still.
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Before I had to figure it out, Maria walked into the room.
She stopped, taking in the scene, and as her eyes flickered between me and Matteo, a familiar gleam crossed her face.
“Matteo, sweet pea, go to your room,” she requested.
Matteo turned to her, pouting. “But we were playing!”
“Matteo.”
His shoulders slumped dramatically, but before he left, he wrapped his arms around me again. “I love you, Lorenzo.”
I stiffened. Maria froze.
Matteo didn’t even seem to notice the weight of what he’d just said. I had not thought about it till then, but I had developed a soft spot for the boy, and hearing him say he loved me meant a whole lot more to me than I would admit. This had more to do with the fact the little boy had grown on me and not just because of Maria. He pulled away, grinning, then skipped off like he hadn’t just completely wrecked my brain.
