Lahat ng Kabanata ng MARRIED TO THE MAFIA: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

LucaThe silence between us had changed.It no longer felt like the pause before a storm. It was softer now like snow falling outside a warm window, hushed and heavy with meaning.Luca didn’t speak as he helped me into bed beside him, careful not to strain his shoulder. His touch lingered, warm on my wrist as I adjusted the sheets and lay beside him.I could feel the tension in the air, thick and waiting. Every time his hand brushed mine, every glance we exchanged, something deeper pulled taut between us.I was the one who finally turned toward him in the dark. The faint moonlight streaming through the window cast a silver glow across his face. He looked like a man at war with himself.“Are you still angry?” I whispered.He shook his head slowly. “Not at you.”His fingers found mine under the covers. “Never at you.”I swallowed hard, the truth resting heavy on my tongue. “I didn’t tell you about what happened because I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t handle it.”He turned to face m

Lila The waiting room felt colder than it ever had been before. I had come to hate hospitals, especially this past few weeks after everything that went down. I had so much on my mind, the connection we shared with Luca, what his mother said and then there was my mother. I sat in the corner chair, my knees drawn up close, arms wrapped around myself as if that could stop the shivering that wouldn’t leave my bones.Every so often, a nurse would glance over, pity softening her expression, and I’d force myself to look away. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone seeing me like this small and hopeless and breakable.Hours had passed since I arrived. The sky outside the tall windows had gone from gray dawn to blinding daylight, then slipped into the dull amber of late afternoon.Still no news.Still no word.I rubbed my palms over my face, trying to scrub away the exhaustion, but it clung to me like a second skin.My mother’s doctor had told me they’d stabilized her breathing, that she wa

LilaAlex didn’t try to make me talk right away.He just sat with me, the silence stretching between us, filled only by the distant hum of machines and the muffled footsteps of nurses passing in the hall.I didn’t realize how much I needed the quiet company until I had it.I’d spent so much of the last few weeks pretending to be strong. Pretending I could shoulder everything the fear, the grief, the uncertainty without cracking.But right now, in this too-bright waiting room, there was no strength left to pretend.Alex leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, hands loosely clasped.“She’s a fighter, you know,” he said finally, his voice low and sure.I turned my head to look at him, surprised by how steady he sounded.“Your mom,” he continued, meeting my gaze. “She’s made it this far because she’s stronger than whatever the doctors think they know. Don’t write her off yet.”Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them back.“I know,” I whispered. “It’s just…hard.”He nodded slow

LilaI don’t know how long we sat there in the waiting room, my hands wrapped tight in Luca’s, the chaos of the hospital falling away until it was just the two of us.Part of me didn’t ever want to move.But eventually, the nurse came to the doorway and gave me a soft, questioning look.“You can see her now,” she said gently.I nodded, my heart lurching, and turned to Luca. “You should rest. I’ll”“I’m coming with you,” he interrupted, his voice leaving no room for argument.I hesitated. “Luca”“I’m not staying out here,” he said, softer this time. “Not when you need me.”My throat tightened.“All right,” I whispered.One of the security men stepped forward to push his chair, but Luca waved him off with a glare. He set his hands on the wheels himself, maneuvering down the hall with a quiet determination that made my chest ache.I fell into step beside him, our shoulders nearly brushing.When we reached my mother’s room, I paused in the doorway, suddenly terrified of what I’d find.She

Lila. By the time I pulled into the long, winding driveway of Luca’s estate, the sky had turned the color of wet ash.My body felt like it was made of lead. Every step from the car to the front door was an effort, but I forced myself forward anyway.I was too tired to brace for whatever waited on the other side.I pushed the heavy door open and stepped into the marble foyer, blinking against the warm light spilling from the kitchen down the hall.Voices drifted to me low, familiar, almost domestic in a way that made my chest ache.For a moment, I thought maybe I could slip upstairs unnoticed. Crawl into Luca’s bed and pretend, for a few hours, that everything outside these walls wasn’t falling apart.But then I heard her laugh.Anna.I sighed and walked toward the kitchen, too numb to care if she was still in the mood to call me names.When I stepped into the doorway, I stopped short.Anna stood at the stove in a pale blue apron, her hair swept up in a loose knot. A pot simmered on th