Page 82 of Dario DeLuca

Reluctantly, everyone files out of the room, casting worried glances over their shoulders as they go. I brace myself for what is about to happen.

“What is it, Dario, that couldn’t wait?” I ask, masking the fear that lies within.

He caresses my cheek. "Are you sure about this, Mia?"

I blink back tears, my heart aching with the weight of this decision. It would be so easy to walk away, to choose the familiar over the unknown. But as I look into Dario's eyes—those beautiful, haunted eyes that captured me the day we met, despite how I tried to deny it, I know without a doubtthisis where I want to be.

"More than anything," I reply, my voice breaking as emotion threatens to overwhelm me. "I love you, Dario DeLuca. We’re in this together.”

"Are you sure?" He asks again, his hand gently stroking my face.

The tenderness of his touch is almost too much, and fresh tears well up in my eyes.

"Dario, I've faced more challenges than most people could ever imagine. And in the end, you didn’t protect me because of some deal. You did it because I am yours. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life proving it to you."

Dario's eyes shimmer with emotion, and for a moment, it feels as if time itself has stopped and nothing else matters but our connection.

"Then let's do this," he says, pressing his forehead to mine.

“I’ll meet you at the altar,” I promise.

Dario kisses the back of my hand before exiting the room and heading outside, among the lush greenery that will serve as the stage for our nuptials.

"It's time," Daddy says, sticking his head in the door.

With those words, the situation becomes real. The butterflies in my stomach won’t settle, my nerves are on edge, and my palms are sweaty. “Can I have a moment, please?” I need to find calm in my personal chaos.

“Okay, baby girl. Everyone else has gone to get in position. I’ll be here waiting for you,” my dad says through the wooden door.

I take a deep breath, squaring my shoulders beneath the weight of my opulent gown and the enormity of this moment. I close my eyes and allow my deep breathing to center me, finding my peace.

When I open my eyes, I’m looking at the young woman who, no more than four months ago, wasn’t even thinking aboutmarriage, let alone dating anyone. My focus was solely on my activism, community center, social media presence, and family.

Now, everything is changing and growing at a rapid pace. Traditional is not the norm here by any means. Dario is the last person I ever thought I would end up with.

Being a part of a Mafia family wasn’t a square I thought I’d be marking off on my bingo card of life. I definitely didn’t think I’d learn how to shoot a gun, be kidnapped, fall in love with the man I was being forced to marry, witness a murder, and learn how to deny all of those things except love.

Yet, here I am. I am ready to take a walk that will cement my future forever as a member of the DeLuca family.

I give one last look at Mia Gordon, daughter of Marcus Gordon, mayor of Chicago, and Josephine Gordon, Healthcare advocate and nursing trainer for Chicago General, and blow her a kiss.

I walk to the door and turn the handle to my future by Dario’s side.

“Ready, princess?”

I nod, and with my father beside me, I take the first step toward my destiny, leaving the bridal suite and my old life behind.

Fear and excitement battle within me as we descend the grand staircase of Dario's mansion. I can hear the murmur of the assembled guests, the swell of orchestral music. All of Chicago's elite have turned out to witness this controversial union, and the press will be savaging every detail.

But as I catch my first glimpse of Dario waiting at the altar, tall and devastating in his bespoke tuxedo, everything else fades away. There is only him. Only us.

The man I love. My future husband.

My heart soars even as my thumb rubs nervously over my engagement ring. A reminder of how far we've come and the challenges yet to face. But I have no regrets.

This is my choice.

The delicate white flowers twine around the wooden archway, their petals gleaming like pearls against the deep green foliage, serving as the perfect backdrop for the occasion.

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