Page 89 of Auctioned To Her Dad's Mafia Enemies

He pushes off the wall and crosses the room inthree slow, deliberate steps. When he reaches me, he cups my face, his handswarm, strong, steady. His touch sends a shiver down my spine, a whisper ofcomfort amidst the chaos. “If you want to go with your family, we won’t stopyou,” he murmurs, his voice low, intimate. “But we want you to stay with us. Wewant you to…” He pauses like he’s thinking through a new idea that hasn’t hadtime to fully take root. “We want to make you a Venturi.”

A tremor runs through me, stealing the airfrom my lungs.

He’s claiming me.

Not as a captive. Not as leverage. As theirs.

“Is this a proposal?” I whisper, my lipsparting as his breath mingles with mine.

His grip tightens just a fraction. Possessive.“I’m not your savior, Aemelia. I’m your sinner. Your monster. And I swear onevery grave I’ve ever filled, I’ll love you better than any saint ever could.Your family will be our family,dolcezza.They’llbe protected, always. No more struggling. No more running. They’ll haveeverything they need. And you, Aemelia—”

He dips his head closer, his breath warmagainst my lips. “We want you to be ours. You were never meant to belong to oneman. You were meant to belong to three. Our hands. Our mouths. Our bodies areyours. We’ll love youuntil our last breaths.”

Tears burn behind my eyes, and I exhaleshakily. I was raised to believe love came with conditions, that loyalty wasonly as strong as the weight it carried. But this? This is different. They’reoffering me a choice. They’re offering to take on my burdens… the burden of myfamily.

My mother shifts, her fingers gripping theedge of the table. “Aemelia…”

I turn to her, my decision clear in the depthsof my soul. “I can’t go back with you, Mama. My place is here.”

Her face crumples, but she doesn’t argue. Sheknows me well enough to recognize that I’ve made up my mind. Maybe sheremembers what it was like to love her own Venturi all those years ago.

My aunt sighs, a resigned smile tugging at herlips. “I knew it. Just like your mother. You can’t resist the dark anddangerous ones.”

My brother shakes his head, his eyes glinting.“You’re really staying with them?”

I nod. “I am.”

“But who—”

Antonio cuts him off by standing abruptly.

“No one is paying for you to sit on your assanymore, Carlo. It’s time to step into your shoes and be a man. Rehab isnon-negotiable. Any support we offer will only continue if you dedicateyourself to getting clean.”

I reach for Antonio’s hand, so relieved tohave someone on my side that tears spill silently down my cheeks.

His fingers tighten around mine, his gripreassuring. “You’re not alone anymore,miabella.”

Luca and Alexis enter then, their presencecommanding as they take in the scene before them. Luca’s sharp gaze flicksbetween me and my mother before settling on Antonio. “Everything settled?”

Antonio nods once. “She’s staying.”

Luca’s expression softens just a fraction. “Shesaid yes?”

I smile, touching my fingers to my lips,unprepared to find out they’d already discussed what they wanted from me. “Isaid yes.”

“Like it was ever an option for you to leave,”Luca says with a rare smile. “I already made up my mind that you’re not goinganywhere, kitten. Not now. Not ever.”

I flush hot at his possessiveness, at the firein his eyes.

Alexis, ever the charmer, flashes me a wickedgrin. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist us.”

“Your mama won’t like this,” my mother aims atLuca, shaking her head. “She never liked me. Never thought I was good enoughfor your brother.”

“Aemelia isn’t you, SignoraLambretti,” Luca says firmly. “And our mother will acceptour choice.”

Antonio pulls me closer, tilting my chin upbefore pressing his lips to mine in a kiss that feels like a vow. Luca moves innext, his kiss softer, lingering, full of unspoken promises. Alexis is last,his lips teasing mine in a way that makes my head spin.

My family inhales sharply, shocked at thedisplay. But I don’t care what they think.

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