Chapter 7 – THE RESIGNATION IN THE ROSES

Three days later.

I was standing in the dirt outside my small apartment, hacking violently at a dead rhododendron bush with a pair of rusty shears.

The physical labor was the only thing keeping my mind from spiraling.

My mother was inside, resting. Luca’s men had cleared her mortgage entirely, a silent gesture of gratitude for saving Leo’s life. We were safe. We were debt-free.

But I felt completely hollow.

I hadn’t heard from Luca since I walked out of the hospital. I hadn’t expected to. He was busy dismantling the remnants of the Bellini empire and learning how to be a father. He didn’t need a housekeeper anymore.

“You’re pruning that too low. It won’t survive the winter.”

I froze.

The shears slipped from my hand.

I turned around.

Standing on the cracked sidewalk in front of my apartment was Luca Moretti.

He wasn’t wearing a tailored suit. He was wearing jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and a leather jacket. The heavy burden of the mafia don seemed completely gone from his shoulders. He looked younger, lighter, and devastatingly handsome.

“What are you doing here?” I breathed, wiping the dirt from my hands.

“You left without saying goodbye,” Luca said, walking slowly into the yard. “You left your apron on the counter. And you didn’t pick up your final paycheck.”

“I don’t want a paycheck, Luca,” I said softly, looking away. “You paid off my mother’s house. You’ve done more than enough.”

“I didn’t come here to talk about money, Sophie.”

He stepped closer. The proximity made my heart hammer wildly against my ribs.

“Leo asked about you this morning,” Luca said, a soft smile playing on his lips. “He asked when the lady who knows about the white roses is coming home.”

My breath hitched. “Luca… I don’t belong in your world. I’m not a mafia princess like Vanessa. I don’t know how to navigate the Commission or the syndicates.”

“I don’t want a mafia princess,” Luca said fiercely. “I had an arranged peace treaty, and it nearly cost me everything I love.”

He reached into his leather jacket.

“I want someone who fights for the people she loves,” Luca whispered. “Someone who stands up to monsters with a metal IV pole. Someone who understands that things need patience and care to bloom.”

He pulled a folded, heavy piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to me.

I frowned, taking it with trembling hands.

It was a deed.

A property deed for thirty acres of prime agricultural land outside Milwaukee.

“This is my grandmother’s nursery,” I gasped, looking up at him in shock. “It was sold to developers two years ago. They were going to pave it over.”

“They aren’t anymore,” Luca said. “I bought it back. It’s yours, Sophie. Free and clear.”

Tears spilled over my cheeks. “Luca, I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

“It’s not a gift,” Luca said, taking my dirt-covered hands in his. “It’s an investment. Because Leo and I are going to need a lot of white roses to fix the greenhouse Vanessa destroyed. And I only trust one person to grow them.”

He stepped closer, eliminating the space between us.

“I don’t want you as my maid, Sophie,” Luca whispered, his dark eyes burning with an intensity that melted every doubt in my mind. “I want you as my partner. In business. In life. If you’ll have me.”

I didn’t answer with words.

I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him down, and kissed him.

He kissed me back with a fierce, desperate passion that left me completely breathless. It was a promise. A new beginning.

“Is that a yes?” Luca smiled against my lips.

“That’s a yes,” I laughed, crying at the same time.

But before we could say another word, the front door of my apartment swung open.

“Dad! You said we were going to get ice cream!”

We pulled apart.

Leo was standing on the porch, wearing a baseball cap and a massive grin. He looked healthy, vibrant, and completely at home.

And standing right behind him, holding a tray of iced tea, was my mother.

Leo ran off the porch and threw his arms around my waist, hugging me tight.

“Are you coming home with us, Sophie?” Leo asked, looking up at me with Luca’s eyes.

I looked at the little boy, then at the man who had torn down an empire to save him.

“Yes, Leo,” I smiled, holding him close. “I’m coming home.”

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