The lobby on the first floor had been transformed into a sea of crimson roses. Thousands of them, arranged with the precision of a military operation. Crystal chandeliers cast golden light over the display, and soldiers in dark suits lined the walls like an honor guard.
Nico and Massima stood in the center.
He was down on one knee.
The Young Don of the Volpe Crime Family—heir to an empire built on blood and silence—kneeling before the woman who had destroyed me.
His lips moved.
And then—
He spoke.
"Massima, will you stay with me forever?"
The most clichéd line in existence.
Yet he delivered it so naturally.
So effortlessly.
His voice.
I hadn't heard his voice in three years. Not once. Not a single word spoken aloud in my presence. The selective mutism had been absolute, unbreakable—a curse that had defined our entire marriage.
But for her?
For her, he could speak.
Massima's cheeks flushed as she accepted the ring box. Diamonds glittered against black velvet—a ring that probably cost more than my family's entire holdings.
Everyone around them burst into applause. Soldiers, associates, bought doctors—all of them celebrating the Young Don's romantic gesture.
He leaned in and kissed her.