Chapter 11 - The Golden Horizon
Six months later.
The morning sun over the Mediterranean was blindingly bright, turning the deep blue waters of the Amalfi Coast into a sea of glittering diamonds.
I stood on the wide stone terrace of our villa in Ravello, wearing a simple white linen sundress, holding a warm cup of espresso, watching the local fishing boats cut through the clear water far below.
The air smelled of salt, sweet lemon trees, and fresh sea breeze.
Behind me, the glass terrace doors opened softly, and Dominic stepped out onto the stone tiles.
He was dressed casually in a linen shirt and trousers, his hair damp from his morning swim in the bay. The bullet wound scars on his broad chest were visible through his open collar, but the dangerous, predatory exhaustion that had shadowed his eyes for months was completely gone.
He walked up behind me, wrapping his thick arms around my waist, pulling me back against his chest, resting his chin gently on my shoulder.
"You’re up early," he murmured, his deep voice vibrating warmly against my back.
"I was watching the sunrise," I smiled, leaning back into his warmth. "It’s hard to sleep when the world doesn't sound like police sirens and rain."
Dominic laughed softly, his lips pressing a warm kiss against the side of my neck.
After the destruction of the Costa network, the Five Families had reorganized under Dominic’s absolute authority. He had secured the Rossi empire, set up an independent board to manage my father’s trust fund—which was now fully redirected into funding children’s hospitals across New York—and appointed Marco to manage the daily operations in the city while we took a six-month hiatus in Italy.
My mother was fully recovered, living in a beautiful estate in Arizona with twenty-four-hour private care, completely free from the shadow of her past.
Dominic reached down, taking my left hand in his, his thumb gently rotating the solid gold band that had stayed on my finger through every drop of blood, every secret, and every bullet.
"Do you ever regret it?" Dominic asked softly, his tone suddenly serious, his dark eyes locking onto mine in the bright morning light. "The hotel ballroom? Taking those bullets? Getting married to a man you didn't know?"
I set my coffee cup down on the stone balustrade.
I turned around inside his arms, reaching up with both hands to frame his sharp, handsome jawline, feeling the familiar, reassuring roughness of his stubble beneath my palms.
"I took seven bullets to save an innocent woman," I said softly, looking straight into his eyes with complete, unshakeable love. "And in return, I got a man who burned down an empire to keep me safe. I’d take seven more if it brought me back to this exact moment."
Dominic stared at me, his eyes softening into a look of pure, overwhelming devotion.
May you like
He leaned down, pressing his lips to mine in a long, deep, quiet kiss that tasted of sea salt and sweet espresso—a kiss that didn't promise war or survival, but a long, beautiful lifetime together.
High above the terraced lemon groves, the warm Italian sun washed over the villa, burning away the last shadows of the past, leaving only the clear, unbroken light of our future.
