Chapter 172 – For Better or Worse

Chapter 172 – For Better or Worse
Katarina’s POV

The drive back was quiet, but my chest wasn’t.
Every word that man at the cemetery said kept replaying in my head — the child, the bloodline, the throne.

Vittorio’s hand rested on my thigh the whole way home, thumb brushing over my skin like he was afraid I’d disappear if he stopped touching me.
When we finally drove past the edge of the cemetery, he suddenly spoke.

“Stop the car.”

Valentino frowned but pulled over. “We good?”

Vittorio didn’t answer. He stepped out, came around, and opened my door. Then without warning, he lifted me into his arms.

“Vittorio—what are you doing?” I whispered, startled but clinging to him anyway.

“Something I should’ve done a long time ago.”

He carried me across the empty road, into a small stone church sitting just beyond the trees. The place looked ancient—quiet, lit by a single lamp over the altar. It smelled like old candles and rain.

He set me down in front of the pews, hands still around my waist. His eyes were softer than I’d ever seen them.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said slowly. “After everything… after hearing what those men said about you, about our child… it made me realize something.”

“What?” I asked quietly.

“That I’m done making you fight for a place that’s already yours.” His voice dropped lower. “You’re not just the woman I love, Katarina. You’re my home. So I’m doing this right—no more waiting, no more almosts.”

My breath caught.

He glanced around, then shouted toward the door, “Get me a reverend.”

Valentino poked his head in, smirking. “You serious?”

“Dead serious,” Vittorio said.

Valentino whistled. “Guess I’m the best man now. Again.”

Ten minutes later, a sleepy old reverend arrived, still buttoning his coat. Vittorio held my hand the entire time, never breaking eye contact.

“Marry me,” he said simply.

“Yes,” I breathed. “A thousand times yes.”

The words felt unreal until the reverend said them out loud. Husband and wife.
And when Vittorio kissed me, it didn’t feel rushed or sinful or angry—it felt safe. Solid. Ours.

When it ended, he pressed his forehead against mine. “Get ready to plan our real wedding,” he murmured. “I want the whole damn world to know you’re mine.”

I laughed softly, tears threatening. “You mean the one where Valentino gets drunk and ruins the cake?”

“Probably,” he said, smiling for the first time that night.

Then he pulled back a little, his tone changing. “I have something to tell you.”

My stomach dropped. “That tone never means something small.”

He chuckled. “Relax, piccola volpe. It’s good. I got confirmation today—won the mayor’s seat.”

I blinked. “You’re… serious?”

“Dead serious,” he said. “Which means I can’t keep doing the mafia shit. Not now. Not with you and the baby. I’m done. We’re going legal.”

For a second, I couldn’t even breathe. Then I laughed—loud, messy, relieved. “You’re really doing this? You’re walking away?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I want to give our kid something better than what we had.”

I kissed him hard, my hands in his hair. “Then let’s go start our family.”

Valentino, leaning against the doorway, smirked. “You two are disgustingly cute. But for the record, I’m still keeping the business running.”

“Of course you are,” Vittorio said dryly.

“Someone’s gotta pay for your moral awakening,” Valentino said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes but smiled. The three of us—chaotic, broken, stitched together by something real.

Later, back at the mansion, everything felt different. Lighter.

Fiorella was gone—sent to Lucas’s custody to rot behind legal walls instead of blood-soaked ones.
Ombra threatened to leave after I refused to go to Japan, but I grabbed her hand and made her stay.

“The kids need you,” I told her. “I need you too. At least until I give birth. You can teach me how to handle this chaos.”

She sighed, then smiled faintly. “Fine. But I’m charging extra patience for you.”

“Deal.”

I thought that was my last surprise for the night.
Then Vittorio walked in, that smug grin on his face—the kind that meant he was hiding something again.

“What did you do?” I asked.

He motioned for someone outside the door. “A wedding gift,” he said quietly. “A little birdie told me you’d been wishing for this.”

And then she stepped inside.

My mother.

Clean. Clear-eyed. Sober.

I froze, my breath caught halfway between a gasp and a cry. Her eyes were the same—warm, soft, trembling with emotion.

“Mom…”

She smiled through tears. “Baby.”

I ran into her arms. I didn’t even realize I was crying until I felt her shaking too. “How?” I whispered. “How did you—?”

Vittorio’s voice came from behind us. “Selene told me you’d give anything to have her back. I pulled some strings. Found her. Got her clean. You can thank your best friend for that.”

I turned, tears blurring my vision. “You did this?”

He nodded. “You wanted your mother back. I wanted to give you peace. So… happy wedding, piccola volpe.”

I couldn’t even speak. I just went to him and kissed him again—deep, desperate, grateful.

Around us, life moved—Valentino joking with the guards, Ombra laughing at Papi’s clumsy dancing, my mother holding my hands like she couldn’t let go.

For the first time, it felt like home. A messy, loud, imperfect home—but mine.

I looked around at them—my family, my chaos, my heart.

Whatever came next, whatever storms were waiting out there, I’d face them with these people beside me.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t just surviving.
I was living.

The months that followed felt like a new world. The Deluca twins kept their distance from the darkness we’d left behind.  But for me? I was finally where I belonged. With my family. With my baby. And with Vittorio, the man who had promised to stand by me no matter what.

We were safe now. And that was all I could ask for.

It wasn’t the end, but it felt like it could be the beginning of something better.

And for once, I was ready.

The End… Or is it?
(maybe just the beginning.)