THE MAFIA BOSS DISCOVERS HIS FIANCÉE'S SICK SECRET

I stopped breathing.

The small piece of parchment paper fluttered in my trembling hands.

If you are reading this, it means I am gone.

The handwriting belonged to Elena.

But how could she have written a note to me? She died four years ago. I only started working here eleven months ago.

I frantically unfolded the rest of the small letter.

“To whoever finds this ring,” the letter continued, the ink slightly faded with age. “I asked Teresa to hide this away. My health was failing long before the accident, though I hid it from Luca. I knew my time was short. I made Teresa promise that if Luca ever found a woman who didn’t just want his power, but truly loved his heart and his child, she would place this ring in her room.”

Tears spilled hotly down my cheeks.

Teresa.

The old woman hadn’t just been fighting Vanessa’s cruelty. She had been protecting this ring. Guarding Elena’s final wish until she was absolutely sure.

And she had placed it in my room while the chaos of the ruined wedding was unfolding outside.

I looked down at the diamond. It wasn’t a flashy, ostentatious ring like the massive rock Vanessa had worn. It was an antique cut, delicate and timeless. A family heirloom.

“It was my grandmother’s,” a quiet voice said from the doorway.

I gasped, spinning around.

Luca was leaning against the doorframe of my small bedroom. He had taken off his suit jacket, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, exposing the dark ink of his tattoos. He looked exhausted, but the hard, violent edge that had surrounded him for weeks was entirely gone.

“Mr. Moretti, I—” I started, hastily trying to put the box down.

“Luca,” he corrected softly. He walked into the cramped room, making it feel instantly smaller. “My name is Luca.”

He stopped in front of me and looked down at the velvet box in my hands.

“My mother told me what she did,” he said quietly. “She told me she gave it to you.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “Luca, I can’t take this. It’s too fast. Everything is too fast. Yesterday I was just a maid trying to pay off medical bills. Today you’re paying for my mother’s hospital wing and your daughter is drawing pictures of us holding hands.”

“I know,” he said, his voice infinitely gentle.

He reached out and took the velvet box from my shaking hands. He snapped it shut and slipped it into his pocket.

I felt a sudden, sharp pang of loss, thinking I had ruined the moment.

But then, Luca reached out and took both of my hands in his. His thumbs slowly mapped the rough, calloused skin of my knuckles—hands that had scrubbed floors and washed dishes for eleven months.

“I’m not asking you to put the ring on today, Hannah,” he whispered, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “I’m not Vanessa. I’m not trying to force you into a life you aren't ready for.”

He took a step closer. The heat radiating from his chest was intoxicating.

“But I am asking you to stay,” he said. “Not as an employee. As a guest. As a companion to Sophie. As a woman I want to take to dinner, out the front door, where everyone can see.”

A tear slipped down my cheek. “What will people say? The boss and the maid?”

Luca smiled. It was the first real, genuine smile I had seen on his face since I met him. It completely transformed him.

“Let them talk,” he whispered. “They already think I’m a monster. Let them see the woman who managed to tame me.”

He leaned in, moving so slowly I had every chance to pull away.

I didn’t.

When his lips finally met mine, it wasn’t a hesitant spark. It was a wildfire. All the tension, the fear, the unspoken longing of the past eleven months broke over us like a tidal wave.

I kissed him back fiercely, my hands tangling in his dark hair. He wrapped his strong arms around my waist, lifting me slightly off the floor, holding me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

When we finally pulled apart, both of us were breathless.

Luca rested his forehead against mine.

“Go pack a bag,” he murmured.

I blinked, confused. “I thought you just said you wanted me to stay?”

“I do,” he chuckled softly. “But we aren’t staying in this room. And we aren't staying in the mansion tonight. There’s somewhere we need to go first.”

“Where?”

Luca’s expression turned solemn, but peaceful.