“You know, Angelo always said our kids would never have arranged marriages.” Lucian winced at her words. “So, when you came along and I stood behind silently, I knew Angelo would be so angry with me. I prayed and prayed that he would forgive me.” She looked up at the sky thoughtfully for a moment. “But now, I think this was his doing.” She turned to face Lucian. “I think he sent you here to protect her, something we failed at.”
“No-“ Lucian tried to interrupt.
“Yes.” Evelyn smiled at him. “I failed her as a mother. I should have protected her. But you? You have protected her. I believe you will continue to protect her. I think you’ll always put her first, and she deserve that. She deserves to be loved and cherished. So, no. I’m not mad at you Lucian. There is a part of me, as a mother, that is morning my son. Who he used to be before we let all this darkness into his life. But there is also a part of me as a mother who is so grateful that this man, you, have so much love in your heart for my child that you would protect her at all costs.”
They sat in silence for a minute. The warm May breeze falling over them.
“I will always protect her, Evelyn.” Lucian finally told her.
“I know.” She smiled warmly, placing a hand on his knee.
“You know you can always stay with us. Get out of Providence for a while.”
Evelyn looked fondly at her family’s home. The house with white siding and a red door. “Angelo talked about traveling before he passed. We spent so much time dedicated to this family that we never got the chance. I think I’ll do that traveling now.”
Lucian gazed over her. She was an older version of Adelina, with dark chocolate hair peppered with gray strands. She was elegant in her age.
“If you need anything-“ he began.
“I know, Lucian. Just keep her safe, hmm?”
He nodded.
If there was one thing Lucian knew he could do for the rest of his life: it was keeping Adelina safe.
Chapter Twenty-Six
At twenty-three Adelina was convinced she had attended enough funerals for a lifetime.
This one though, was different.
Final.
She was ashamed to admit that she felt relieved. She had cried for hours after Lucian told her. She mourned the brother that she loved, the one she grew up with, who rode bikes with her, who kicked her legs under the kitchen table. The boy deep inside him who she truly did love. She couldn’t deny however, that she was not going to miss the monster that he grew up to become.
Her mother had been a mess at her father’s funeral. Adelina distinctly remembered her throwing herself onto her father, cries shaking her body. He mother shouted to the heavens, cursing them for doing this. She was a wreck. But, today, standing in front of Vinny’s closed coffin she only shed one silent tear.
Adelina expected her to rage at Lucian, he killed her son, but instead she greeted him with a warm hug as if nothing had happened.
Massimo’s funeral was being held at the same time. Funny, Adelina thought that her father and Theo shared a funeral and so would Massimo and Vinny. Four men, all dead. She couldn’t help but blame herself, but she knew deep in her heart that’s not what her father wanted.
He wanted her to be happy.
And damn it, she was going to be.
She would find happiness in this world with Lucian.
She couldn’t be angry, because he was only the second person in her life to risk his life to protect her.
She was loved. She knew that now. She felt the warmth of it surrounding her.
They buried Vinny in a grave next to their father.
“Rest peacefully.” She whispered dropping a single white rose onto his coffin as it lowered into the ground. “We’re okay now.”
???
“Where are we going?” She was blindfolded, which seemed hot but she truly had no idea what Lucian’s surprise was.