Page 129 of Tragic Empire
Matteo bursts into a fit of laughter at the admission and most of us chuckle alongside him. The party has been surprisingly nice, and despite Matteo’s whining, I think even he’s been having fun.
All Dmitri wanted to do was have a guys’ night, and everyone was more than happy to comply. Since the wedding is only a couple days away, all of us were in town and available.
Cleo, Melani, Jade, and Ana are out dancing and have been for a few hours now. Ivan, Anatoly and a team of guards are with them, keeping a very close eye on the group. I’m not worried for their safety, though. They’re in a Moretti-owned club, inourterritory. As much as I’d prefer to be with Ana, it’s nice having all of my brothers in one room again. It doesn’t happen often.
It’s interesting having the original nine of us with the addition of new blood. Apollo, Leon, Elio, Emilio, Armani, Nico, Remo, Matteo, Colton, Dmitri, Dad, and me. We’re all family, even if it’s in different ways for some of us. Dmitri by marriage and Colton, unofficially, but close enough to count. He isn’t just Armani’s best friend now, he’s Ana’s chosen brother. Her, Armani, and Colton are as close as Jade, Matteo, and Ivan. Their friendship isn’t as cuddly, of course, but just as meaningful if you ask me.
Naturally, I’ve always cared for Armani as my younger brother. But watching him with my wife, seeing him pull her further into the family, it’s strengthened that bond tenfold.
I used to consider Leon my closest ally in the family, followed by Apollo. I think it’s Armani now, and I’m glad for it. He brings a new kind of life into my days. I can’t put into words how much it means to me every time he gets my wife to smile when she’s stuck in her darkness.
Like he knows I’m thinking about him, Armani decides to join the conversation. “I don’t mind the daddy thing,” he proclaims, waggling his brows. “There are way worse things to be called in bed.”
“Agreed,” Elio quips. There’s a look in his eye that has me thinking he’s more serious than Armani. He’s always been private about his romantic life, but I could see him being interested in deviant things.
“I do not want to know,” Dad tells them with a huffed laugh.
“You’re no fun,” Armani accuses. “You used to be so much more vulgar. Being a girl dad changed you.”
Dad clicks his tongue and grins. “Thank god for that.”
“I don’t know,” Colton muses. “I miss watching Dante Moretti make pretty little society women faint. It was absolutelylegendary.”
“That only happened twice,” Dad defends, brushing off the praise.
Dmitri chuckles, out of the loop. “There’s a story there.”
Dad shakes his head. “It’s hardly a story.”
Apollo doesn’t let him get away with it so easily. “A simple case of overzealous mafia princesses trying to be the next Moretti mommy.”
There’s a rousing laughter around the table and Elio picks up where Apollo left off. “One of whom thought promising him more heirs would seduce him. Dad just looked her up and down and told her that he’d break hertiny little body,and she shouldn’t make promises she couldn’t possibly keep.”
Dad wrinkles his nose at the memory. “She wastwenty.”
“And the other one?” Dmitri asks, an amused smile on his face.
Leon takes the pleasure of explaining that one. “One of Cleo’s older cousins. She was laying it on thick and Dad told her that he wasn’t looking for a wife, but she could try her luck with his brother. Uncle Cesar tortured her last husband. Suffice it to say, she was properly spooked and took a nap in the middle of the party.”
Again, the table shares a laugh, even Dad can’t hide his chuckle. The mention of our deceased uncle doesn’t go unnoticed though, and the air shifts. Nico shares a look with our sister’s husband and he nods sympathetically.
“To Cesar, then,” Dmitri says, raising his glass.
“To Cesar,” each of us echoes, joining him in the gesture.
We lapse into one comfortable hand of poker after another, conversations popping up and shifting every so often. I didn’t expect to feel so content going into this night. I expected to feel a constant nagging urge to flee and find Ana. Since losing Isobel, my relationship with my brothers has been strained at best. I didn’t want to be around anyone, and none of them knew how to help me.
Being with Ana has been like a breath of fresh air after years of barely sustaining oxygen. I feel most whole when she’s by my side. She fuels me. And I do miss her, but I expected to dread missing her more. As fucked up as it is, I think I forgot how much I loved my family. Loving Ana didn’t just wake up my cold broken heart, it reminded me who I am, and how lucky I am to have our family.
I missed my brothers and our father. I missed feeling alive in their presence. They couldn’t heal me, they didn’t have what I needed. But they didn’t leave me either. No matter how hard I shoved them away, they’ve always been waiting. Morettis are forever, and with Ana as my wife, I don’t think I’ll ever take that for granted again.
Matteo has finally won some of his money back when the door creaks open. My heart immediately soars, the beat hammering hard as my wife comes into view. Her silky black hair is tumbling around her tight blue dress, properly mussed from her night out. With pink flushed cheeks and a stunning smile, she waltzes into the room, making her way to my side.
“Hello, everyone,” she greets happily. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“You’re fine, darling,” Dad says, immediately making sure she’s welcome. He’s done everything in his power to make her feel like a part of the family, and I can’t express how much that means to both of us.
“Don’t worry, I won’t be long,” she tells the table before sliding into my lap. Crossing one long leg over the other, her warm body molds against mine—a perfect fit. “Hello, Husband.”
