Chapter 198 One Hundred & Ninety Eight

Chapter 198 One Hundred & Ninety Eight
Giovanni stayed beside the bed, watching Raven and Ganni hold each other.
For a moment… everything was quiet.
Just their breathing.
Just them.
Raven looked up at him, her eyes soft but tired. “Sit,” she said quietly.
Giovanni nodded and pulled a chair closer. He sat down beside her, close enough to touch.
Ganni was still holding her tightly, his eyes half closed now. “I don’t want to you to leave,” he mumbled.
“My love I'm not going anywhere,” Raven said gently, kissing his hair. “I’m right here.”
Giovanni placed his hand over both of theirs. “We’re all here,” he said.
Silence again.
But this time… it felt safe.
After a while, Raven looked at him. “Is she gone?”
Giovanni nodded. “Yes. The police took her.”
Raven closed her eyes for a second, like she was letting that sink in. “Good…” she whispered.
Ganni finally relaxed, his body going soft as sleep took over.
Giovanni smiled a little. “He’s asleep.”
Raven gave a small tired smile. “He’s been through a lot.”
“So have you,” Giovanni said quietly.
She looked at him. “So have youroo.”
He shook his head slightly. “I almost lost both of you tonight…”
Raven reached out slowly and held his hand. “But you didn’t,” she said. “We’re still here.”
He squeezed her hand gently.
“From now on,” Giovanni said, his voice firm, “no more secrets. No more lies. We do everything together.”
Raven nodded. “Together.”
Giovanni leaned back in his chair, still holding her hand, his other hand resting on Ganni.
For the first time in a long time…
He let himself relax.
Outside the room, things were still messy. Police, questions, everything waiting.
But inside that room…
They were okay.
And for now…
That was enough.
A soft knock came from the door.
Giovanni looked up, his body tensing a little again. “Come in.”
The door opened slowly. A nurse stepped in, followed by a doctor.
“Sorry to disturb,” the doctor said gently. “We just need to check on her.”
Raven nodded slightly. “It’s okay.”
Giovanni carefully stood, lifting Ganni from the bed without waking him. The boy stirred a little, then settled against his shoulder again.
The doctor checked Raven’s wound, adjusting the bandage. “You’re healing well,” he said. “You were lucky. A little deeper… it would have been worse.”
Giovanni’s jaw tightened at that.
Raven noticed and gave him a small look. “I’m okay,” she said softly.
The doctor nodded. “You’ll need rest. No stress, no movement for a while.”
Raven almost laughed. “No stress?” she said quietly. “That might be hard.”
The doctor gave a small smile. “Do your best.”
After a few more checks, they left the room again.
Silence returned.
Giovanni walked back to the bed and gently laid Ganni down beside Raven. The boy shifted, then curled into her side, still asleep.
Raven brushed her fingers through his hair, her eyes soft.
Giovanni stayed standing for a moment, then sat again, closer this time.
“I should’ve protected you better,” he said quietly.
Raven shook her head. “You did,” she replied. “You came for us.”
He looked down. “Not fast enough.”
She reached for his hand again. “At least you came,” she repeated.
That made him look at her.
There was no blame in her eyes.
Just tired… and calmness.
After a moment, he nodded slowly.
“I won’t let anything like this happen again,” he said.
Raven didn’t argue this time. She just squeezed his hand.
Outside, footsteps passed by. Voices. Life is going on.
Inside…
Ganni slept peacefully.
Raven leaned back against the pillow, her eyes slowly closing again.
Giovanni stayed right there, watching both of them.
Not moving.
Not leaving.
He sat there quietly, watching them.
Raven’s breathing slowly evened out… her body finally relaxing as sleep took over completely.
Ganni was curled into her side, his small hand still holding onto her like he was afraid she might disappear again.
Giovanni stared at them for a long moment.
His family.
Safe.
Finally… asleep.
He let out a slow breath, then carefully stood up. He made sure the blanket was pulled up over both of them, his hand lingering for a second on Ganni’s head.
Then he turned and walked out of the room.
The door closed softly behind him.
The hallway was quiet.
And there… at the far end…Gabriele sat on one of the chairs, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor.
Giovanni walked over slowly.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Gabriele looked up first. “Are They okay?”
Giovanni nodded. “Yeah. They’re sleeping.”
Gabriele let out a breath, leaning back slightly. “Good… that’s good. Thank God”
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Years of tension sitting between them.
Giovanni ran a hand through his hair. “Gabby…”
Gabriele looked at him.
“I… I’m sorry,” Giovanni said. “For everything. For not listening. For how things went between us.”
Gabriele stared at him for a second, surprised. Then he shook his head slightly.
“No… I should be the one saying that,” he said. “I pushed you. Judged you. I made things worse when you were already dealing with too much.”
Giovanni shook his head. “We both messed up.”
“Yeah,” Gabriele let out a small breath. “We did.”
Another silence.
But this time… it wasn’t as heavy.
Gabriele stood up slowly, facing him fully now. “I never meant to turn my back on you, Gio. No matter what… you’re still my brother.”
Giovanni’s jaw tightened slightly. “I know. And I should’ve trusted you more.”
Gabriele gave a small nod. “Let's fix our relationship”
Giovanni looked at him… then stepped forward.
And pulled him into a hug.
Gabriele didn’t hesitate. He hugged him back just as tight.
No words.
Just years of anger, pain, and misunderstanding finally breaking.
“I’ve got you,” Gabriele muttered quietly.
“Yeah,” Giovanni said. “I’ve got you too.”
They pulled back after a moment, both of them calmer now.
Stronger.
Together again.
And this time…
Nothing was going to come between them.