The garden was filled with laughter.
Isabella, now five, chased her little brother, Antonio, through the roses while the twins, two-year-old Marco and Sofia, toddled after them. Caterina supervised from a bench, my father beside her, reading a story to whichever child would sit still long enough.
I watched from the balcony, my hand resting on the slight swell of my belly, another Moretti on the way. Eric came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Happy?" he murmured against my ear.
"More than I ever thought possible."
"Even with four children and another on the way?"
"Especially because of them." I turned in his arms, looking at the man who had kidnapped me on my wedding day, who had waited until I begged for him, who had given me everything. His amber eyes held the same fire they always had, but now they also held peace.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"For what?"
"For crashing my wedding. For kidnapping me. For waiting until I begged." I smiled. "For everything."
He kissed my forehead. "Thank you for choosing me. For giving me this life. For being my queen."
Below us, Isabella shrieked with laughter as Antonio caught her. The twins giggled. Caterina clapped. My father beamed.
The bride in chains had become a matriarch. The mafia king had found his heart. And together, we had built something that would last for generations.
Bound forever by love.
---
THE END