- 6 weeks ago
Step into a world of passion, power, and drama. On this channel, you’ll find captivating billionaire romances, intense mafia sagas, and heartfelt love stories that will keep you hooked until the very last word.
Whether it’s the allure of wealth, the danger of the underworld, or the beauty of love against all odds — Ashley’s Stories brings you tales that are bold, emotional, and unforgettable.
💖 Subscribe now and lose yourself in stories of desire, danger, and destiny.
Whether it’s the allure of wealth, the danger of the underworld, or the beauty of love against all odds — Ashley’s Stories brings you tales that are bold, emotional, and unforgettable.
💖 Subscribe now and lose yourself in stories of desire, danger, and destiny.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00I didn't mean to hide behind a dumpster that day.
00:02I didn't mean to let fear crawl up my throat and choke every good memory left in me.
00:06I just wanted my little boy to eat his ice cream in peace.
00:09But peace is something people like me don't get for free.
00:13The sun was hot enough to melt the world into a blur.
00:16Caleb's laughter was sharp and bright against the noise of the street.
00:20He was five, full of stubborn joy I hadn't been able to beat out of him no matter how much chaos we'd run through.
00:26I'd save two dollars for that cone, vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.
00:30His favorite.
00:31He held it like a treasure, then it slipped.
00:33The scoop hit the pavement, slow motion, splattering sugar and cream across his sneakers.
00:39His little mouth trembled.
00:40His eyes filled and he whispered,
00:43Mommy, I didn't mean to.
00:45God.
00:47The things children apologize for.
00:49I crouched down.
00:51Napkin in hand.
00:52Trying to make the mess go away.
00:54Off his fingers.
00:55His shoes, his pride.
00:56I told him it was okay.
00:57I lied so easily it scared me sometimes.
01:00Everything about my life had become one long, rehearsed lie.
01:04Then I saw them.
01:06Three black cars parked across the street.
01:10Men in dark suits standing too still for tourists.
01:12The kind of still that meant they were waiting for someone.
01:15I knew that stillness.
01:16I'd lived under it for years.
01:18My stomach flipped.
01:20My hands shook.
01:20I told Caleb, hey, let's play a game.
01:24Remember hide and seek?
01:25He lit up instantly.
01:27I want to hide!
01:28You count, Mommy.
01:29Not this time, sweetheart.
01:31We'll hide together.
01:32He giggled, not knowing that my heartbeat had already started sprinting.
01:37I grabbed his small hand and walked fast toward the alley behind the ice cream shop.
01:42The smell of sugar and vanilla turned sour in my mouth.
01:45My lungs burned from trying to breathe quietly.
01:47My body had memorized this kind of fear.
01:50The way it made your limbs heavy and your thoughts scatter like startled birds.
01:55We crouched behind a dumpster.
01:57Caleb pressed against me, whispering too loud,
02:00Am I winning, Mommy?
02:01Yes, baby, I said, forcing a smile he couldn't see.
02:05You're winning, but I wasn't.
02:07I'd been losing for years.
02:09Losing to a man who called it love while he left bruises where no one could see.
02:13Losing to my own shame for staying so long.
02:16The quiet stretched thin.
02:19I peeked out.
02:20The cars were still there, but no one had followed.
02:23My pulse refused to calm down.
02:25That's when I heard a voice behind me.
02:27You dropped something.
02:29I spun around so fast I nearly knocked Caleb over.
02:33A man stood a few feet away, holding the fallen cone like it mattered.
02:37He wasn't one of my ex's men.
02:38I could tell instantly.
02:40They had a certain stiffness, a trained cruelty.
02:43This man didn't.
02:45He was too composed, too sure of his space.
02:47Tall, broad shoulders under a black dress shirt, sleeves rolled up, the top buttons undone,
02:52a glint of a chain at his throat.
02:54His face was unreadable.
02:56Handsome in a way that felt like a warning.
02:58Caleb froze, eyes wide.
03:01The man glanced between us.
03:03You shouldn't hide here, he said.
03:05His tone wasn't sharp, but it carried weight.
03:07I straightened slowly, putting myself between him and my son.
03:13We're fine.
03:15He didn't move.
03:16You look like someone who hasn't been fine in a long time.
03:19Something in his eyes made me angry.
03:22Do you go around judging strangers often?
03:24Only when they look like they're about to collapse, he said simply.
03:28That quiet confidence.
03:30Men like him didn't ask for space.
03:33They just took it.
03:34I hated that I noticed the way the light caught his jaw.
03:38The way his sleeves hugged his forearms.
03:41I hated that part of me wasn't afraid.
03:44I shifted Caleb behind me.
03:47Look, I appreciate the concern, but he cut me off.
03:50Your ex-husband sent someone to find you.
03:52The words landed like a punch.
03:55My mouth went dry.
03:56He continued, calm, factual.
03:58He's in town.
04:00I've seen his men circling the block twice.
04:02How do you...
04:03Who are you?
04:04He stepped closer, slow enough not to spook me.
04:08Someone who doesn't like what he does to women.
04:10Someone who has eyes in this town.
04:13I stared at him, searching for the lie.
04:15Everyone lies.
04:16Especially men who act like they're here to help.
04:20Caleb tugged on my sleeve.
04:22Mommy, can we go home?
04:23My chest ached.
04:25Home.
04:25That word didn't belong to me anymore.
04:28The man crouched to Caleb's level, voice low, steady.
04:32You like ice cream, kid?
04:34Caleb nodded warily.
04:35The man stood again, eyes on me.
04:38Come back inside.
04:39Let him have another.
04:40It's safer where there are people.
04:42I'm not going anywhere with you.
04:45His jaw tightened just slightly.
04:47Then I'll have to make sure you're not followed.
04:50Stay here if you want, but don't run blind again.
04:52Run blind?
04:53I hissed.
04:54You don't know anything about me.
04:57He studied me for a beat.
04:59I know enough.
05:00You don't flinch like a stranger.
05:02You flinch like someone who's been taught to.
05:04The air left my lungs.
05:07He reached into his pocket, slow and deliberate.
05:10Then pulled out a set of keys.
05:12There's a cafe two blocks down.
05:14White building.
05:15Back corner table's mine.
05:16If you change your mind, come there.
05:19Then he turned and walked away.
05:21No threats, no name.
05:22Just walked away like a man who didn't need to convince me of anything.
05:26I stood frozen until he disappeared around the corner.
05:30Caleb tugged my sleeve again.
05:32Mommy, can I have another ice cream?
05:34I swallowed hard.
05:35The innocence in his voice hurt more than anything else.
05:38We'll see, baby.
05:40Maybe later.
05:41But twenty minutes later, when I finally crept back around to the street,
05:45the black cars were gone.
05:46The shop was quiet again.
05:47Only the girl behind the counter looked confused,
05:50still talking to someone out of sight.
05:53Then she smiled at me.
05:55You must be the lady, she said.
05:57The gentleman who was here said to give your boy whatever he wants.
06:01He already paid, for everything, I blinked.
06:04Paid for what?
06:05She laughed softly.
06:07The whole shop, ma'am.
06:08Said it's closed for the day.
06:10You can take your time.
06:12I didn't know whether to be terrified or grateful.
06:15Caleb squealed when she handed him two cones,
06:17one in each hand.
06:19Mommy, he said I can have both.
06:21The girl smiled again.
06:23He said you'd understand.
06:25Understand what?
06:25I stepped outside with Caleb,
06:27and for the first time in months,
06:29no one was watching us.
06:30I looked down the street,
06:31half expecting those cars to return.
06:34They didn't.
06:35But at the far end of the block,
06:37parked beneath the sunlight,
06:39was a dark motorcycle.
06:41He was there,
06:42leaning against it,
06:44phone in hand,
06:45looking like a man who had nowhere to be
06:47and yet controlled everything around him.
06:49Our eyes met.
06:51He didn't smile.
06:53He just nodded once like a promise.
06:55Something inside me shifted.
06:57Not relief.
06:58Not trust.
06:59Something more dangerous.
07:01Something I hadn't felt in years.
07:03That night,
07:05after I tucked Caleb into bed at the motel,
07:07I couldn't stop replaying it.
07:10His voice.
07:11His certainty.
07:12The way he'd known things about me no stranger should know.
07:15I didn't even know his name.
07:17But I knew one thing for sure.
07:20Whatever he was,
07:21he wasn't ordinary.
07:23And if my ex really was in this town,
07:26then this man had just placed himself between me and a monster.
07:29I lay awake listening to Caleb's soft breathing.
07:33And for the first time,
07:35the silence didn't feel safe.
07:37It felt like the pause before something breaks.
07:40I told myself I wouldn't go to that cafe.
07:42I told myself I didn't need anyone.
07:45I'd been saying that for years,
07:46and it had almost killed me.
07:49By morning,
07:50Caleb was humming in his sleep,
07:51clutching the little plastic spoon from his ice cream like a talisman.
07:55I brushed his hair back and whispered,
07:57we're gonna be okay.
08:00But I didn't believe it.
08:02The next day,
08:03I found myself walking toward that white cafe.
08:06I didn't even realize I'd made the decision until I saw him.
08:09Black shirt.
08:11Sleeves rolled again,
08:12a small scar near his collarbone catching the light.
08:15He looked up.
08:16You came.
08:17And that's when I realized something terrifying.
08:20I hadn't come for safety.
08:21I'd come because I wanted to know
08:23what kind of man buys an entire ice cream shop for a crying child
08:26and a broken woman hiding behind a dumpster.
08:29And deep down,
08:31I already knew the answer.
08:33He wasn't just a man.
08:34He was the reason my story was about to change forever.
08:41The next morning smelled like burnt coffee
08:43and danger disguised as calm.
08:46I told myself I wasn't walking toward him,
08:49but every step felt pre-written,
08:51like my body knew something my mind refused to admit.
08:55Caleb held my hand,
08:57swinging it lazily,
08:58oblivious to the storm that had just changed direction.
09:01The white cafe looked harmless enough.
09:05Sunlight bounced off the glass walls,
09:07people laughed over brunch,
09:09and somewhere in the back,
09:10he sat.
09:11Like he owned the air.
09:13He saw me before I saw him.
09:16That calm expression didn't shift.
09:18No smugness,
09:19no satisfaction.
09:20Just that quiet acknowledgement
09:21that scared me more than a threat ever could.
09:23I slid into the seat across from him,
09:27keeping Caleb on my side like a shield.
09:30You came,
09:31he said again.
09:32Same words,
09:33same tone.
09:35Only because you know too much,
09:36I said.
09:37He stirred his coffee.
09:39Knowing things keeps people alive,
09:40I stared.
09:42You following me?
09:43Protecting you?
09:45I didn't ask you to.
09:46You didn't have to.
09:48He set his spoon down with precision.
09:51Your ex's men are still around.
09:53You were right to hide,
09:54but you picked a bad town.
09:56Too visible.
09:57Too open.
09:58I felt my stomach twist.
09:59So you're what?
10:01A good Samaritan with expensive taste?
10:03He smiled faintly.
10:04That's one word for it.
10:06Caleb piped up,
10:06grinning.
10:07You're the ice cream man.
10:09He chuckled,
10:10and it startled me.
10:11The sound didn't match the man.
10:13It was low,
10:14almost gentle.
10:15Guess I am,
10:16he said.
10:17Want some pancakes, kid?
10:18I started to protest,
10:19but Caleb's eyes lit up.
10:21Please, mommy?
10:22I sighed.
10:24Fine.
10:25But then we're leaving.
10:26He raised a brow.
10:27You can leave whenever you want.
10:29Just,
10:29maybe don't go back to that motel tonight.
10:32My chest tightened.
10:33Why not?
10:34Because it won't be there.
10:35What?
10:36He leaned forward.
10:38They torched it an hour ago.
10:40The world spun.
10:41You're lying.
10:42He shook his head slowly.
10:44I never lie about fire.
10:46Caleb froze,
10:46looking up at me.
10:48Mommy?
10:48I forced my voice to stay steady.
10:51We need to go.
10:52He reached across the table,
10:53palm open.
10:54Let me help you.
10:56Just tonight.
10:57I have a place outside town.
10:59I'm not going anywhere with a stranger.
11:02His gaze didn't waver.
11:03Then let me stop being one.
11:05I hated that part of me wanted to trust him.
11:08Name,
11:09I demanded.
11:10Luciano,
11:11he said simply.
11:13Everyone calls me Luca.
11:14That name hung in the air like smoke.
11:16I'd heard it before.
11:18In whispers,
11:18in late-night news stories.
11:20The kind people in my old neighborhood used to lower their voices for.
11:24Mafia money.
11:25Blood money.
11:26The kind of name you don't say unless you're sure he's nowhere near.
11:30My pulse jumped.
11:31You're one of them.
11:33I'm one of me,
11:34he said.
11:35And right now,
11:36I'm the only thing standing between you and a man who doesn't deserve to breathe your air.
11:40I wanted to stand.
11:42To walk away.
11:43To burn the bridge before I ever crossed it.
11:46But then Caleb sneezed.
11:48And I saw the way Luca's eyes softened.
11:51Barely.
11:52But real.
11:54That's what broke me.
11:56Not the promise of safety.
11:57The look he gave my son like he was something innocent in a rotten world.
12:01We left with him.
12:04The drive was long and silent.
12:06The road curling between hills until the city fell behind us.
12:10His house, if you could call it that,
12:12was less home and more fortress.
12:15A mansion with mirrored windows and guards who melted into shadows.
12:18It smelled like leather.
12:20And something faintly floral.
12:22Like the ghost of a life he used to have.
12:25Caleb ran ahead.
12:26He said, marveling at the size.
12:29Is this your castle?
12:30Luca smiled slightly.
12:32Something like that.
12:34He sent someone to get clothes and food.
12:36I wanted to protest again.
12:37But exhaustion drowned pride.
12:39When Caleb fell asleep on the couch,
12:41Luca covered him with a blanket himself.
12:44That simple act.
12:46This man.
12:47Whose name carried violence.
12:49Pulling a blanket over my child like he'd done it a thousand times before.
12:52Did something to me.
12:54It cracked something open I didn't want to feel.
12:58Later that night, I found him on the balcony.
13:00Sleeves rolled up.
13:01Cigarette between his fingers.
13:04Why are you helping us?
13:05I asked.
13:06He exhaled slowly.
13:08Smoke curling into the night air.
13:10Because someone once helped me when I didn't deserve it.
13:14That's not an answer.
13:16He glanced at me.
13:18You remind me of her.
13:19Who?
13:20He didn't answer.
13:21I pressed on.
13:22You expect me to believe you're just doing this out of kindness?
13:26No.
13:27He said flatly.
13:28I expect you to stay alive.
13:30Silence stretched between us.
13:32I leaned against the railing.
13:33The night air cool against my skin.
13:36I should have been terrified.
13:37Instead, I felt strangely safe.
13:39He broke the silence.
13:41You loved him once, didn't you?
13:43Your husband.
13:43I hesitated.
13:44I thought I did.
13:46Until I realized love shouldn't feel like dying slowly.
13:49He nodded.
13:50Almost to himself.
13:51You stayed because of the boy.
13:53Yes.
13:54Luka flicked his cigarette into the dark.
13:57People like him.
13:58Men who think pain equals control.
14:00They don't stop.
14:01You have to end it.
14:03Easy for you to say.
14:04His eyes met mine.
14:05It's never easy.
14:07That's why people like me exist.
14:09Something in the way he said it made my skin prickle.
14:12People like you?
14:13He smiled faintly.
14:14Men who do the things good people can't.
14:17He walked away before I could respond.
14:20Leaving me with the weight of that sentence.
14:22The next few days were strange.
14:24Caleb played in the courtyard with one of Luka's men watching over him.
14:29I cooked breakfast once, out of habit, and Luka actually sat down to eat it, like it was
14:34the most normal thing in the world.
14:36He talked little, but when he did, it was always about simple things.
14:41His mother's garden in Sicily.
14:43The sound of the sea at night.
14:45How people only told the truth when they thought no one was listening.
14:48I found myself waiting for those moments.
14:53But safety is a fragile illusion.
14:56One evening.
14:58As I was tucking Caleb into bed, the lights flickered.
15:01Then a sound.
15:02A pop.
15:03Distant but unmistakable.
15:05Gunfire.
15:06I ran to the hallway.
15:07Luka was already there.
15:09Gun in hand.
15:10Voice low, but commanding.
15:12Stay inside.
15:13Do not open that door for anyone.
15:15Luka, what's happening?
15:17He didn't answer.
15:18He turned, heading down the stairs like a shadow with intent.
15:22My hands shook.
15:22I locked the door, pulled Caleb into my arms.
15:27His small voice trembled.
15:29Mommy, is it the bad men?
15:31I lied again.
15:32No, baby.
15:33It's just fireworks.
15:35But the sounds outside didn't sound like celebration.
15:38Minutes felt like hours.
15:39Then silence.
15:40Heavy.
15:41Absolute.
15:43When the door finally opened, Luka stood there.
15:47Blood spattered across his sleeve.
15:49His eyes were cold fire.
15:51It's over, he said.
15:52I stared.
15:53You're hurt.
15:54Not my blood.
15:56He sat down, exhaling sharply, the adrenaline draining out of him.
16:01I knelt beside him before I could stop myself.
16:04You killed them.
16:04He didn't deny it.
16:06They would have killed you.
16:08For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
16:10Not from fear.
16:11From the realization that the world wasn't black and white anymore.
16:15You can't stay here, he said after a moment.
16:18They'll keep coming.
16:19I swallowed hard.
16:21Then where?
16:22He looked at me.
16:23Something soft and dangerous in his eyes.
16:25With me.
16:26I wanted to say no.
16:28I wanted to tell him this wasn't safety.
16:30This was another kind of cage.
16:32But when Caleb woke crying from the noise,
16:35Luka knelt beside him,
16:37murmuring softly until the boy calmed.
16:40The sight of it undid me.
16:42That night, after everyone else had gone to bed,
16:45I found him outside again, bruised, a cut along his jaw.
16:49I touched it without thinking, my hand trembling.
16:52You didn't have to do this for us, I whispered.
16:56He caught my wrist gently.
16:58I didn't do it for you.
16:59I searched his face.
17:01Then for who?
17:02He hesitated.
17:03For the part of me that still believes in something good.
17:06I couldn't speak.
17:08I felt the air shift between us, heavy and electric.
17:12He let my hand go.
17:14You should sleep.
17:15I should have walked away.
17:17But I didn't.
17:18You're not what you pretend to be, are you?
17:21He smiled, tired and real.
17:23Neither are you.
17:24And then he kissed me.
17:25It wasn't soft.
17:27It wasn't tender.
17:28It was the kind of kiss that felt like a confession you'll never say aloud.
17:32I should have stopped him.
17:34Should have thought of Caleb.
17:35Should have thought of everything I'd sworn to protect.
17:39But for one impossible second, I felt alive again.
17:42When he pulled away, his breath was ragged.
17:46This doesn't change anything.
17:48He said.
17:49It changes everything, I whispered.
17:52He didn't answer.
17:53He just walked away, leaving me standing there with my pulse in my throat and my world cracking
17:58open.
18:00Later that night, I found a note on the kitchen counter in his handwriting.
18:04If they come again, run to the cellar.
18:07Don't look back.
18:08I didn't sleep.
18:08I sat beside my son's bed, tracing the faint scar on his cheek from a past I'd tried
18:13to erase.
18:15Somewhere downstairs, I heard a door close.
18:18The house went still.
18:19I knew then.
18:21Luca wasn't fighting for power.
18:23He was fighting for something personal.
18:25And whatever it was, it was tied to me.
18:29Because when I checked the envelope beneath the note, there was a photo inside.
18:33A picture of my wedding day.
18:35Me in my dress.
18:37My ex-husband smiling beside me.
18:39And behind him, standing in the crowd, half-shadowed, Luca.
18:44The man who saved me had been there all along.
18:52I used to think survival was just waking up again, breathing, feeding my son, making it
18:58through another day.
18:59But after Luca disappeared, survival became silence, an emptiness so thick it pressed against
19:04the walls of my chest.
19:06He was gone for three months.
19:09No calls.
19:10No messages.
19:11No shadow at the edge of my world to warn me or comfort me.
19:14Just absence.
19:15Like he'd been a dream that cost too much to remember.
19:19I tried to rebuild something that looked like normal.
19:22Caleb started school under a new name.
19:24We moved again.
19:25Small town.
19:26Smaller house.
19:27I got a job cleaning rooms at a motel that smelled like bleach and regret.
19:31Every night I told myself this was peace.
19:33It wasn't.
19:34Every noise still made me flinch.
19:37Every black car still froze my pulse.
19:39Every time Caleb laughed.
19:41I remembered Luca standing in that sunlit cafe, watching us like he'd already decided
19:45to protect what wasn't his.
19:47I hated him for leaving.
19:49I missed him anyway.
19:52Then, one Thursday evening, the past came back to collect.
19:58I'd just finished mopping the lobby when the manager called me over.
20:02You got a visitor, he said.
20:04Tall guy.
20:05Kind of intense.
20:06My blood went cold.
20:08He stood by the door, leaning on a cane, wearing that same black shirt.
20:12Except this time, it was buttoned all the way up.
20:16His hair was shorter.
20:17A thin scar cut across his temple.
20:20Hi, he said, voice rougher.
20:22You moved again.
20:23I couldn't move.
20:25Couldn't breathe.
20:25Could only stare at the ghost I'd been trying not to dream about.
20:29Caleb saw him first.
20:31He ran across the floor before I could stop him.
20:33Luca!
20:34Luca knelt.
20:35And for the first time, I saw pain flash through his face.
20:39He winced as he picked Caleb up, smiling faintly.
20:42You got taller, little man.
20:44You disappeared, Caleb said simply.
20:46I know, Luca said.
20:48Had to fix something broken.
20:50I stood frozen.
20:51You can't just walk in here like nothing happened.
20:53He set Caleb down gently, then looked at me.
20:58You're right.
21:00I shouldn't have.
21:01Then why are you here?
21:02He hesitated, eyes searching mine.
21:04Because it's over.
21:06He's gone, I blinked.
21:07Who?
21:08Your ex?
21:08He's dead.
21:10The words didn't land right away.
21:11They just hung there between us, sharp and heavy.
21:14I swallowed.
21:15You... did you...
21:16He didn't look away.
21:17No.
21:18But I made sure the man who did is somewhere you'll never have to see.
21:22I pressed my hands against the counter to stop them from shaking.
21:26You think that makes me feel better?
21:28He exhaled slowly.
21:30No.
21:31But it makes you free.
21:33That night, after Caleb went to sleep, I found him outside the motel, leaning against
21:39his car, the cane resting beside him.
21:42I walked up quietly, the night air cool and strange around us.
21:47You shouldn't be here, I said.
21:49Probably not.
21:51Then why are you?
21:52He looked up at me, his eyes darker than I remembered.
21:55Because I didn't know how to leave it like that.
21:58Leave what?
21:59You.
22:00Him.
22:01The mess I made trying to fix what wasn't mine to fix.
22:05You didn't make it worse, I whispered.
22:07You made it complicated, he smirked faintly.
22:10Story of my life.
22:12I sat beside him on the curb, knees almost touching.
22:15What happened to you?
22:17He hesitated, then said quietly,
22:19Someone tried to end me.
22:21I ended them first.
22:22Took longer to heal than I expected.
22:25You could have told me.
22:27He turned his head slightly, looking at me.
22:29Would you have believed I was coming back?
22:31I didn't answer.
22:33The silence between us was heavy, but not cruel.
22:36It was the kind that had learned patience.
22:37Finally, I asked,
22:40What now?
22:41He gave a humorless laugh.
22:43Now I disappear again.
22:45My world doesn't leave room for peace.
22:48You say that like it's already decided.
22:50It is.
22:52Then why come back?
22:54His voice dropped.
22:55Low.
22:55Certain.
22:56Because I needed to see you alive.
22:59That broke something in me.
23:00Again.
23:01The kind of ache that wasn't pain.
23:03Not really.
23:04Just recognition.
23:05I looked at him.
23:08At the faint scar under his eye.
23:10The way his hands shook slightly when he reached for his lighter.
23:13You don't have to keep saving people to make up for whoever she was.
23:17His jaw tightened.
23:18You think I don't know that?
23:20Then stop punishing yourself.
23:22He lit the cigarette, eyes fixed on the flame.
23:25You sound like her.
23:26Who was she?
23:27I asked softly.
23:29He took a drag.
23:30Exhaled slow.
23:32Someone who believed I could be good.
23:34I wasn't, not then.
23:35And now?
23:36He looked at me.
23:37Now I'm tired of pretending I can't be.
23:40Neither of us moved for a long time.
23:43Then, like a confession, I said,
23:46I don't know how to live normal anymore.
23:48You don't have to, he said.
23:51Just live.
23:53The words were simple, but they felt like a key turning inside me.
23:57He stayed three more days.
23:59Didn't touch me.
24:01Didn't kiss me.
24:02Didn't need to.
24:02We moved around each other quietly.
24:05Him fixing the leaky sink in the motel room.
24:08Me pretending not to notice his hand tremble when he lifted things.
24:12Caleb followed him everywhere, shadow to his storm.
24:15The second night, I caught them in the courtyard.
24:18Caleb was sitting cross-legged while Luca taught him how to tie a knot with a piece of string.
24:23You loop it through, Luca said patiently.
24:27Then pull tight.
24:28Stronger that way?
24:30Caleb grinned.
24:31So it doesn't break?
24:32Luca smiled faintly.
24:34Exactly.
24:34I stood at the window, watching them.
24:37That one sentence stuck in my chest, so it doesn't break.
24:41When he finally told me he was leaving, I didn't cry.
24:44I'd run out of tears months ago.
24:47He packed light.
24:48One duffel, one gun I pretended not to see.
24:52Caleb hugged him, small arms around his neck.
24:55You'll come back?
24:56Luca paused.
24:58If your mom lets me.
25:00Caleb looked at me with that innocent hope kids are born with.
25:03Mommy?
25:04I forced a smile.
25:05We'll see.
25:06When Caleb ran off, Luca straightened.
25:09That's the closest thing to forgiveness I'll ever get, isn't it?
25:12Maybe, I said.
25:14Or maybe it's a beginning.
25:16He stared at me for a long time.
25:18Then, without warning, he leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine.
25:22Not a kiss.
25:23Something quieter.
25:24Take care of him, he murmured.
25:26I always have.
25:27He nodded once.
25:29Then you don't need me anymore.
25:31He turned to leave.
25:32And I let him.
25:34Because love isn't about holding someone still.
25:37Sometimes it's just about not stopping them from walking toward whatever peace they think
25:40they deserve.
25:42But when the door closed behind him, I felt the air shift again.
25:47Two weeks passed.
25:48I went back to work.
25:50Fell into the rhythm of living without fear.
25:53Caleb started making friends.
25:55I started sleeping through the night.
25:57The quiet didn't feel haunted anymore.
25:59Then one afternoon, a man in a suit dropped off a brown envelope at the front desk.
26:05No name.
26:06Just a note inside in Luca's handwriting.
26:08It's done.
26:09You're safe.
26:10Keep the house.
26:11I frowned.
26:11House?
26:12Below the note was a deed.
26:14A small farmhouse outside the city.
26:16Bought in my name.
26:17Paid in full.
26:18That night, I drove there.
26:20The place was simple.
26:22Two bedrooms.
26:23Sunlight spilling through open windows.
26:25A garden out back wild with overgrown roses.
26:28On the kitchen table sat a single photograph.
26:31It was of me and Caleb at the ice cream shop.
26:34The day this all began.
26:36Luca must have taken it from across the street.
26:38I sat there until the sun went down, crying in a way that didn't feel weak.
26:44Because it hit me then.
26:46He hadn't vanished from my story.
26:49He'd written himself into the background of it, making sure it could stand without him.
26:54Months later, Caleb found a stray dog outside the farmhouse.
26:58Skinny, scarred, limping slightly.
27:00He named it Hero, and just like that, life crept back in.
27:04Not perfect.
27:05Not even close, but real.
27:08Sometimes at night.
27:09When the air hums quiet and the world feels still.
27:12I imagine Luca somewhere far away.
27:15Cigarette in hand, leaning on that same cane.
27:17Looking up at the same stars.
27:20I imagine him smiling.
27:22Not because he's happy.
27:23But because he finally stopped running from the part of him that wanted to save someone and actually did.
27:28And me.
27:29I stopped being the woman who hid behind dumpsters.
27:32I became the woman who built something after the ashes.
27:35If you'd told me back then that the man who bought an entire ice cream shop for my crying son would be the one to burn my fear to the ground, I would have laughed.
27:45Now I just whisper his name into the dark and let it go.
27:49Luca.
27:50He didn't give me a fairy tale.
27:52He gave me a future.
27:54And sometimes, that's what love really is.
27:57If you felt every word like it belonged to you, don't forget to subscribe.
28:03Because every story I tell is a piece of what we're all trying to survive.
28:06Love, loss, and starting again.
28:10Turn on the bell, so when the next confession drops, you'll hear it first.
28:14Turn on the bell, so when the next confession comes to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you, don't forget to subscribe to you
Be the first to comment