Cara's POV
"I don't usually come with this type of drama, I promise," I joked weakly to break the ice.
"So just the regular type of drama, huh?" He said, humourlessly, reaching into the freezer and grabbing an ice pack. His eyes were gentle as he circled back to me, leading me to the couch and gently pressed the bag against my throbbing cheek.
I chuckled as he held me close, settling into the warmth of his arms. "I just can't help it, can I?" I whispered, inhaling a lungful of him and clinging to his shirt like a baby koala. "I always find a way to make you fuss."
His arms only tightened around me, "That's because you're mine to fuss about."
"But it's your father's funeral, I should be comforting you, not the other way around."
Luca leaned back slightly, pulling me completely into his lap as he tilted my face up to meet his. His expression softened, the intensity in his eyes stealing my breath away.
"Cara," he said, his voice low and steady.
"I know, I know," I cut him off with a disgruntled groan, "you don't think I'm a burden and–"
He pinched my lips shut. "Listen to me, tesoro mio. You never have to apologize for feeling. You may not like her and she's not worth your tears but you're human and she's your mother. Instincts made you crave her love and validation and I can only imagine what it was like growing up with a woman like that. You've been strong, bambina, you've held out on your own for so long. You don't have to be strong anymore. Let me do that for you. You can come undone in my arms. You're allowed to hurt."
His words made my heart clench, and a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill. But I held them back, biting back my grateful smile.
I sat up in his arms and straddled him so that I could hug him properly, communicating my love and gratitude for him in one big, massive hug.
"Alright, enough about me," I said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pushing his dark hair out of his forehead, "tell me how you feel. How you really feel."
Try as he might like to ignore it, Luca lost his father. Don or not, that had to hurt. He respected him, and in his own way, he loved him. I wanted him to talk about it. To confide in me.
He let out a heavy breath and leaned back against the couch, taking me with him and gazing up at the ceiling. "I'm fine, bambina. Death is expected in our line of business. My father has lived longer than most, I almost convinced myself he was unkillable. I guess he wasn't."
I swallowed at the thoughtful expression on his face, dread gripping my heart at his words.
Death is expected in our line of business…
I mean, it was true but it dawned on me how suddenly death and loss can come swooping in. One moment, we could be healthy and happy, planning proposals and arranging a marriage, the next… a funeral.
He brushed a strand of hair from my face, kissing the side of my mouth, "Don't overthink it, Cara," he murmured, pulling me out of anxious thoughts. "I won't die on you."
"You promise?"
"I swear it."
"I should have tried to get to know him," I admitted.
"You were so afraid of him," he laughed, stroking my hair, "one would think he murdered your favourite pet."
Oh, the irony.
I hesitated, my throat tightening as I debated telling him the truth.
"Actually… he did murder someone close to me."
Luca went completely still.
I found his eyes. They were locked onto mine with an intensity that made it impossible to look away.
"I knew your father before I ever met you. A long time ago. I was just a girl."
His eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything, patiently waiting for me to continue.
"I was there," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "The night my father was killed. I saw it happen. I saw Manuel."
His expression remained unreadable. Behind his eyes, I could see calculating thoughts racing through his mind about the revelation I just dropped.
"It wasn't just that I was there," I continued, the words tumbling out in a rush. "I saw everything. I saw your father kill my father. My birth father. I was kept in the system for a while. That's how I met Amanda. Her husband had adopted me but he died shortly after in a car accident. They blamed me for his death because it was because of me he went out that night. So when Manuel died, I felt like it was my fault. Because I had spent so much of my life fearing him, despising everything he stood for. That's why I didn't like you in the beginning. I wanted nothing to do with any of you. It's just my luck Amanda married into your family."
For a moment, there was only silence.
Luca stared at me, his eyes narrowed, his lips pressed together in deep thought.
"I didn't mean to keep it from you," I admitted.
"Cara," he said, cutting me off. His voice was soft, but there was an edge to it, a mixture of disbelief and something I couldn't quite place. "You saw him?"
I nodded, my throat tight.
He let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he processed what I had just told him.
The room was silent for what felt like hours before he finally spoke.
"Do you blame me for what happened to your father?" he whispered and I shook my head almost immediately.
"Of course not," my reply was instant. "I could never blame you for that."
He looked at me then. "Then you understand why I could never blame you for what happened either."
That made me pause.
I hadn't realized how healing Luca's words would feel, especially because he was right. If I didn't blame him for my father's death, why did I ever think he would blame me?
I nodded, a burden lifting off my chest.
"Tesoro mio," Luca said softly, pulling me closer until my forehead rested against his. "You had to carry that alone all this time?"
"I didn't know how to tell you," I admitted, my voice muffled against him. "The opportunity never came up, I guess. I don't know what my father did. I don't know why he had to get killed."
"Maybe it was a disagreement," he shrugged a little too easily. "A job he botched."
I rolled my eyes hard.
Manuel had sounded furious. Tried as I might, I couldn't remember what it was he was angry about. All I could remember was a loud argument, the gunshot. My father's yell and the piercing silence that followed.
"I don't want to lose anyone else," I admitted softly.
"You will never lose me," he said firmly, tilting my chin up so I had no choice but to meet his gaze. His eyes were full of a fierce protectiveness that made my heart swell. "Do you hear me, Cara? Nothing in this world will tear you from me."
A shaky laugh escaped me, half-sob, half-smile, as I reached up to cup his face, brushing my thumb along the rough line of his jaw. "Yeah, you better make sure of that," I whispered, my voice trembling.
He stayed silent for a moment, his eyes searching mine as though trying to memorize every detail of this moment. Then, without warning, he scooped me up, cradling me against his chest as he carried me toward the bed.
"Luca, what are you doing?" I asked, my voice catching on a nervous laugh.
"Taking care of you," he said simply, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
He placed me gently on the bed, his hands lingering on my shoulders as he leaned down to kiss me-soft and lingering, a promise in every touch. He was about to join me when his phone started to ring.
I'd been so carried away that I had forgotten that he still had guests to attend to downstairs.
"Stay here," he murmured against my lips. "Rest a bit. I'll be right back."
"I'll be right here." I responded and couldn't help the smile that widened my lips at his grin.
When the door clicked shut behind him, I let out a shaky breath and leaned back against the pillows, the events of the day catching up to me all at once. My body ached, my mind felt like it was spinning, but for the first time in a long while, my heart felt lighter.
Luca knew the truth now-the whole truth-and he hadn't turned away.
I closed my eyes, letting the faint scent of his cologne on the pillows calm me as I whispered the words I knew I was going to be saying everyday for a very long time.
"Ti amo, Luca Salvatore."