Chapter 239 EPILOGUE

Chapter 239 EPILOGUE
ELARA

I watched Mia stand at the altar as she said yes to my brother, and for a moment, it felt like the world finally settled into something it had been trying to become for years.

She looked calm, but I knew her too well. That calm wasn’t new happiness it was relief. Like she had survived something and finally reached the part where she could breathe again.

Adrian didn’t look away from her once.

Not even for a second.

The way he held her hand… it wasn’t uncertain. It was firm, like he was afraid that if he loosened his grip even slightly, she would disappear again.

I had known it before anyone said it out loud.

Even when we were kids, when Mia stayed close to me, when she laughed too loudly at things that weren’t funny, when she always found excuses to be around my brother… I had seen it. I just chose not to say anything.

Maybe because I didn’t want to believe it.

Or maybe because I didn’t know what my brother felt.

But standing here now, watching them like this, there was no confusion left to pretend with.

He loved her. Properly. Deeply. The kind of love that doesn’t ask for permission anymore.

A soft breath left me as I felt an arm slide around my waist and pull me gently back.

I already knew who it was before I turned.

Alessandro.

My mafia. My tormentor. The man who once felt like a wound I couldn’t stop touching, even when it hurt.

I leaned back slightly into him without thinking, my fingers brushing his hand where it rested against me.

A year ago, I never would have imagined this moment would exist.

A year ago, I was standing in fear of him.

Now… I was standing with him.

We had almost lost everything before we learned how to live in the middle of the damage we caused.

The therapy sessions weren’t easy. Some days felt like reopening things I wanted to forget. Some days we didn’t even speak much after leaving the room.

But slowly, something changed. It didn’t happen overnight, and it wasn’t perfect either. It was subtle, almost quiet, the kind of change you only notice when you look back and realize nothing is the same anymore. He started showing up differently.

Not as the man who demanded control over everything, but as someone trying really trying to make things right without expecting forgiveness to come easily.

He rebuilt things he once destroyed.

My company grew beyond what I had imagined, branches stretching into countries I never thought we would reach. And somehow, he was always there in the background making sure I didn’t carry it alone.

And at home…

At home, he surprised me the most.

Early mornings, before anyone else woke up, I would hear the kitchen, the sound of utensils, the smell of something already cooking. He never admitted he enjoyed it, but he did it anyway. Like it was his way of staying grounded in a life he almost lost.

I felt his hand tighten slightly around mine.

“I love you, Elara,” he said quietly, close enough that only I could hear.

My chest warmed in a way I still wasn’t fully used to.

I turned my head slightly, meeting his eyes.

The same man who once felt like chaos now looked like something steady beside me.

“I love you too, Alessandro,” I said softly.

And for once, it didn’t feel like survival.

It felt like home.



AUTHOR NOTE

Thank you all for starting this journey with me. I see you, I read your comments, and your words of encouragement are the reason I was able to write and finish this story.

I can’t mention names one by one, but you all know yourselves you are truly the best. Your support kept me going from beginning to end.

My new story, “Torn Between Two Alphas,” will be live soon, so don’t forget to check it out.

Love you all ❤️