- 2 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
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I don't hear my own footsteps. I only hear my heartbeat. Loud enough to drown the whole sunlit
00:07world. The afternoon is too bright for the panic tearing through me. Like the sky should dim or
00:12crack open. But it just hangs there. Warm, golden, indifferent. My daughter's hand is slippery and
00:19mine. Sweat or fear, I don't know. Maybe both. Mommy, why are we running? She whispers, her
00:25voice too small for the danger stalking us like a shadow with teeth. I'll explain later, baby.
00:30Just keep holding on. I lie to her because I don't know how else to breathe. Because the truth is
00:35jagged. A thing I will choke on if I try to say it. One wrong person found us. One wrong message sent.
00:41One wrong debt resurrected from the grave I shoved it into. And now the world is collapsing in broad
00:46daylight. We're cutting through the outdoor market. Weaving between stalls of fruit and flowers and
00:52loud vendors who smell. Like sunshine and spice. And I keep praying. Please, please don't let him
00:58catch us. Not with her here. Not with those men watching me like I'm the bill they've been waiting
01:03to collect. I don't look behind me. Looking back always slows you down. I guide my daughter under a
01:09citrus display. Her tiny body ducking under oranges stacked like tiny suns. She giggles at
01:14the absurdity of it. Because she thinks we're playing a game. And the sound slices me open. She trusts me.
01:20God, she trusts me. But I ruined everything. I always ruin everything. Mommy, can we get the pink
01:26lemonade after? She asks breathless. I nod because I want her to have that kind of life. The kind
01:32wear pink. Lemonade is the biggest crisis of the day. But my lungs burn. My legs shake. And every nerve
01:39in me screams that we don't have time. I hear them now. Heavy steps. Male voices closer. My stomach twists
01:45hard. My daughter looks up at me like she feels it too. Like she always does. She's five, but her
01:51eyes are old soul soft. Too aware. I hate how much she's learned from my fear. Is it the bad
01:56men again? She asks. Her words punch the air right out of me. I force a smile. No, sweetheart. Just,
02:03just stay quiet, okay? Stay close. I'm lying again. I've lied every day since she was born,
02:09thinking I could bury my past deep enough. But the past is a seed. It grows in the dark.
02:14And today, it bloomed right in front of us. I slip behind a flower stall. The scent of jasmine thick
02:21and sweet enough to make my eyes sting. My daughter clings to my leg, her cheek pressed against the
02:26denim of my jeans. And then, her eyes widen. She hides. But not behind me. No. She scrambles behind
02:34the leg of a man standing there, towering. Broad-shouldered, sun in his hair. And still as a
02:39statue carved by someone who understood danger intimately. For a heartbeat, I can't move.
02:44For another, I can't breathe. Because out of all the people she could have run to in this entire
02:49sunlit market, she chooses him. And of course it's him.
02:55The one man I swore I would never see again. The one man whose name tastes like a bruise inside my
03:00memory. Dante Moretti. He turns slowly, the afternoon light catching the sharp line of his jaw.
03:05He looks down at the tiny hand clutching his pant leg. At my daughter peeking from behind him like
03:11he's her whole shield. Her safe place. His expression doesn't move at first, but his eyes.
03:16Those cold, calculating storm-colored eyes. Flash with something I can't name. Recognition?
03:23Confusion? Something heavier? Then he lifts his gaze to me. And my entire past surges up my throat
03:29like a swallowed scream. Amara, he says. My name in his voice is a low, warm danger.
03:35I step back without meaning to. My daughter tightens her hold on him. And his hand instinctively
03:40drops to her shoulder to steady her. I don't know why that almost makes me cry. Dante, I whisper.
03:47The air between us shivers. We need to go. His attention flicks behind me before I even finish
03:52speaking. He sees what I've been running from. Men in pressed shirts pretending to browse fruit
03:57while staring holes into me. His jaw clenches. He speaks softly, eyes still on mine.
04:03Who's looking for you? I shake my head. Not here, please. He studies me for one second too long.
04:10Reading everything I don't say. Everything I've been hiding for years. Then his voice changes.
04:15Harder. Colder. How many? Three, I murmur. Maybe four. Armed? Yes. I feel my daughter tremble
04:23against his leg. And I reach for her, but she won't let go of him. He doesn't move her. He doesn't
04:30even look surprised. He just stands there. This terrifying wall of calm wrapped around the child
04:35I live for. He looks down at her again. And something about that softens the brutal edges
04:40of him. What's your name, little one? She peeks up at him like he's a superhero she accidentally
04:45summoned. Lila. He nods once. Lila, I need you to hold very still. Can you do that?
04:52She nods, tiny and brave. God, I'm going to break apart. Dante steps forward, placing
04:58himself fully between us and the danger, like he did it a thousand times before. He didn't,
05:04of course. He was danger then, and still is. But right now, I can't deny the truth twisting
05:09painfully in my chest. I trust him. Even though I shouldn't. Even though I swore I wouldn't.
05:16His hand slides around my arm and pulls me behind him too, tucking me close enough to feel
05:20the warmth radiating off his back. I inhale sharply, memories crashing too fast. His hands
05:26on my hips. His breath on my neck. The way I ran from him like he was the fire and I
05:31was bone-dry kindling. But this isn't then. This is now. The danger is real. And so is
05:37the way he shields us with his entire body like instinct. Like he was built for this exact
05:42moment. The men spot us. One lifts his chin, calls out my name. Dante doesn't flinch.
05:48Lila, he murmurs. Hold on to your mom.
05:53My daughter obeys instantly, wrapping her arms around my leg. Dante steps past the line of
05:58shade into full sunlight, his posture loose but lethal.
06:02Stay behind me, he says, not asking, commanding. And the worst part? I obey. The men start toward
06:09us, weaving through the sunlit crowd with smiles that don't reach their eyes. Dante angles his
06:14body just enough to shield both me and Lila. He tilts his head slightly, studying the men with
06:20that quiet, deadly calm I remember too well. When they reach striking distance, the tallest
06:25one smirks.
06:26Amara, sweetheart.
06:27Boss wants a word. Dante answers for me.
06:30No, he says simply. The man blinks. Who the hell are you? Someone you don't want to make
06:35curious. And why's that? Dante finally smiles. It's the kind that makes the air tighten. The
06:42kind that says more than any threat could. Because I protect what runs to me. My heart
06:47stops. The words sink into me like sunlight and ice all at once. My daughter peeks out from
06:52behind my leg, eyes big, as if she too feels the shift in the world around us. The men glance
06:57at each other, suddenly unsure. What's she to you? The second one asks, eyes narrowing.
07:03Dante doesn't look at me. He doesn't need to. His answer is razor clear, calm, absolute.
07:09Mine. My breath catches. Stumbles. I don't know if he means me or the child. Maybe both.
07:14Maybe neither. Maybe it's just a play. A bluff. A psychological strike to keep us alive.
07:20But hearing it. Hearing him claim. Me like that. Sends a shock through my bloodstream.
07:26The tallest man tries to recover. Listen, we don't want trouble. We just… You already
07:31made it. Dante steps closer. Not touching them, but pressing the air itself into a threat.
07:37The men falter. The first one mutters something under his breath, jerking his head for the others
07:42to follow. A retreat. A temporary one, but a retreat nonetheless.
07:46When they're gone. When the sun settles back into its warm. Oblivious shine, I sag against
07:52the stall. My knees wobble. I feel Lila's arms tighten around me. But it's Dante who steadies
07:58me. His hand on my elbow. Firm. Warm. Too familiar. You're shaking. He murmurs.
08:04I'm fine. I lie. You're a terrible liar. He looks down at Lila, then back at me.
08:10You're going to tell me everything. Right now. I can't, I whisper. You will. His voice
08:17is low, not cruel, just certain. The way he always is when the world bends around him rather
08:22than the other way around. My throat tightens. Dante, we shouldn't be near you. He lifts a
08:28brow. Lila seems to disagree. At his name on her tongue, my daughter peeks out and smiles
08:34shyly up at him. And he, this man carved from danger, gives her a small, real smile back.
08:40Warm, gentle, protective. My heart squeezes painfully. I swallow hard. Dante, you don't
08:47understand. If you stay involved. Too late, he says. You ran to me. I didn't. You did,
08:55he cuts in softly. And your daughter hid behind my leg.
09:00His meaning hangs thick in the sun-warmed air. That makes you mine to protect. He doesn't
09:06speak the last part, but I hear it anyway. I hear everything he doesn't say.
09:10And that's when it hits me. I already made the mistake I swore I'd never make again.
09:14I trusted him. Dante steps closer, lowering his voice. Come with me. Now. Before they
09:20come back. I shake my head, panic rising. Dante! His eyes pin me. Amara, I'm not letting
09:27those men take you. Or your daughter. You know exactly what they'll do. My stomach flips.
09:33I know. God, I know. Please, he murmurs. Let me help. The plea in his voice, quiet, real,
09:40undoes me more than any demand could. My throat closes. My chest aches. Because for five years,
09:47I've prayed for safety. For one moment when I didn't have to fight alone. But asking him for
09:52help feels like stepping into fire. And yet, I look at my daughter. Her small hand. Her afraid eyes.
09:58Then I look at him. And something inside me cracks. Okay, I whisper. We'll go with you.
10:05Dante exhales like I just gave him back something he thought he lost. But before he can speak.
10:10Before I can regret the words or breathe them in. A hand clamps down on his shoulder from behind.
10:16He turns. And my heart drops. It's one of the men. The one who didn't leave. His gun glints in the
10:22sunlight. Boss wants her, he growls. Now! Dante's jaw tenses. His hand brushes mine.
10:28Steadying me without looking. Get Lila behind you, he murmurs. But I froze. Just for a second.
10:35One second too long. Because the man's gun shifts. Toward my daughter.
10:42The gun moves like slow motion. Even though everything inside me is screaming too fast.
10:47The sunlight hits the metal. Turning it into this bright, horrible star pointed at the only thing
10:52in my world that matters. My daughter's breath hitches. I feel it more than I hear it.
10:57Don't, Dante says. Just that one word. Quiet. But it lands like an earthquake. The gunman doesn't
11:03flinch. Boss said the kid too. Insurance. My bones go cold. Insurance. They say it like she's an object.
11:10A bargaining chip. A possession. I take a step in front of her. But Dante's arm swings out, stopping me.
11:17Not pushing. Just barring. Like a gate made of muscle and fury. Point that at me, he commands.
11:24The man laughs, low and mean. Move, Moretti. Doesn't concern you. Everything here concerns me,
11:30Dante says. Put the gun down. I feel the shift before it happens. The air tightens. The world
11:37goes still. The gunman lifts the barrel higher to Dante's chest now. Not my daughter's. And the pressure
11:43in my lungs nearly cracks me in half. Then Dante moves. It's not fast. It's not flashy. It's just
11:51precise. Like he already lived this moment in another lifetime. He grabs the man's wrist,
11:57twists, and the gun clatters to the sunlit pavement. There's no shadow. No darkness. Just
12:03the bright slap of metal hitting concrete. The man cries out. Dante fists his collar, yanks him forward.
12:09You don't point a weapon at a child, he growls, voice low and lethal. Ever. Dante, I whisper,
12:17terrified the other men will return. Terrified more violence will erupt in a place, filled with
12:22families and color. And summer light. He hears the fear inside my voice. He always did. It softens him
12:29just enough to release the man without breaking anything else. The gunman stumbles back, cursing,
12:34his pride more wounded than his wrist. He spits at Dante's feet. You just bought a war.
12:38I was already in one, Dante replies. The man runs, cowardly, furious, but gone. My knees threaten to
12:45give out, and I feel my daughter wrap her arms around me from behind. Dante steps closer, close
12:51enough I can smell cedar and sunlight on him. Are you hurt? he asks. No, I whisper. But Lila...
12:59I'm okay, mommy, she says, voice tiny but steady. Dante helped us. His eyes flick down to her.
13:06Something tender fights to break through the storm behind his gaze. Yes, sweetheart, I did. My daughter
13:11smiles at him like he hung the sun above us. And I feel something in my chest shatter. Something
13:16I didn't know I was still holding. He turns back to me. We need to move now. And for once,
13:22I don't argue. Dante doesn't take us to his home. He takes us to his safe house. The one no one knows
13:28he still owns. At least that's what he tells. Me as he parks the car on a quiet hillside,
13:33overlooking the city's sunlit sprawl. The house is modern glass and warm wood, gleaming in the
13:38afternoon light like it was dipped in honey. Too peaceful. Too opposite of everything boiling
13:43inside me. This is yours? I ask as he opens Lila's door, lifting her out with a gentleness I never
13:50expected to see from a man like him. It's temporary, he says. Like everything in my life.
13:56The words sting more than they should. Inside, the house is filled with sunlight. Floor-to-ceiling
14:01windows. Pale wood floors. Plants spilling green warmth into every corner. The opposite of a criminal
14:08fortress. The opposite of who he's supposed to be. But maybe not the opposite of who he really is.
14:13You live here? I ask. Sometimes, he replies. When I'm tired of pretending I don't want a life like this.
14:20His admission knocks the air out of me. It's too vulnerable, too raw. Lila runs to the glass wall
14:26and presses her fingers to the view. Mommy, it looks like a dollhouse city. Dante smiles faintly.
14:32Hungry, kid? She nods shyly. He looks at me, waiting for permission. The smallest gesture,
14:38but it hits me deep. He's dangerous, yes. Controlling, yes. But not with her. Never with her.
14:44Go ahead, I whisper. He walks into the open kitchen. Sleeves rolled up. Golden light catching
14:51his forearms. For a second, I just stare at him like I'm seeing him through a memory.
14:55I was too afraid to keep... Lila tugs my hand. Mommy, he's nice. My stomach twists. Baby,
15:02nice isn't the same as safe. She frowns like she's trying to solve me the way she solves puzzles.
15:07But you're safe with him. I can tell.
15:09I close my eyes. Because God help me, I feel safe, too. Dante cooks. That surprises me more
15:16than anything else today. He cuts fruit for Lila in neat little squares, makes her a sandwich,
15:21pours her lemonade with the kind of care that makes something in my throat ache.
15:25She sits at the island, feet swinging, watching him like he's the most interesting thing she's
15:29ever seen. When he finally sits across from us, arms folded on the table, he looks at me with that
15:35heavy stare that always sees too much. Tell me what's going on, he says quietly.
15:41I swallow hard. It's complicated. So simplify it. My... my ex. I hesitate. The word tastes rotten.
15:49He resurfaced. Dante's jaw tenses. The one who used to hurt you? Don't say it like that,
15:55I snap automatically. I don't know why I defend a ghost, but shame is a stubborn survivor.
15:59Dante doesn't flinch. He did, Amara. I saw the aftermath. You don't have to lie to me about that.
16:06My chest squeezes. He wants money. Or leverage. Or revenge. I don't know. And he wants...
16:13My voice cracks. He wants Lila. A dark silence drops between us. Dante's hands curl slowly into
16:19fists. Over my dead body. My breath hitches. Dante... she is a child, he says, voice rough with fury he's
16:28trying to tame. Your child. And he thinks he can just, what, take her? Use her? No.
16:34Lila looks up, crumbs on her lips. Dante, are you mad? He softens instantly. No, sweetheart.
16:40Not at you. Never at you.
16:44Lila looks up, crumbs on her lips. Dante, are you mad? He softens instantly. No, sweetheart.
16:51Not at you. Never at you. She nods like she believes him completely.
16:55And maybe she should. Maybe he's the only adult in her life who reacts.
17:00To her with truth, instead of exhaustion or fear. He turns back to me.
17:04Why didn't you call me sooner? The question hits me like a slap.
17:08Because you were... you, I say. Because I was stupid. Because I didn't want you in her world.
17:14Because you terrified me more than he ever did. His expression freezes. Then cracks.
17:19Just a little. I terrified you because you loved me. He says quietly.
17:24And you hated that. My breath trembles out. I didn't love you.
17:29You did, he murmurs. You still do. The honesty burns. It always burns.
17:34I look away, heart pounding against bone. He sighs, rubbing his jaw.
17:38I'll handle your ex. He'll never get near you again.
17:42No, I say quickly. Dante, you can't just fix this with violence.
17:46His smile is humorless. I can fix it however I need to.
17:49Listen to me. I don't want blood on your hands because of me.
17:54Too late, he says. My throat tightens.
17:57Stop saying that. He steps closer, lowering his voice until it's just for me.
18:02Amara.
18:03I'm not letting anyone take what ran to me.
18:06You and Lila...
18:07We didn't run to you, I interrupt.
18:10Then why are you here? He asks softly.
18:13I have no answer.
18:14Because the truth is obvious, shining like glass around us.
18:18We came because he is the storm I trust more than the calm.
18:21We came because he is danger.
18:23Yes, but danger that would burn the whole world to protect us.
18:27I step back, overwhelmed.
18:29I need air.
18:30There's a balcony, he says.
18:32Go. I'll stay with her.
18:34And that's what undoes me.
18:35Trust. That simple.
18:37Trust I haven't felt in years.
18:38I walk to the balcony.
18:40Sunlight warm on my shoulders.
18:42Tears pricking my eyes.
18:43My hands shake on the railing.
18:45I see my reflection in the glass.
18:47A woman stretched thin by survival.
18:49But still trying.
18:51Behind me, I hear Lila giggle at something Dante says.
18:53And my heart twists in a way that feels too much like hope.
18:57Too much like danger.
18:59Then my phone buzzes.
19:00Unknown number.
19:01My blood freezes.
19:03I answer with a trembling voice.
19:05Hello?
19:06His voice.
19:07My ex.
19:08Slithers into the sunlight like poison.
19:11Amara, you think you can hide?
19:13I grip the railing hard.
19:14Leave us alone.
19:16You have something that belongs to me.
19:18He says.
19:19You and the kid.
19:20You owe me.
19:21I owe you nothing.
19:23He laughs.
19:24You owe me everything.
19:25The glass door slides open behind me.
19:28And Dante steps out.
19:29Eyes sharpening instantly.
19:30He knows.
19:32Of course he knows.
19:33My ex's voice drops.
19:34If you walk away again, I'll take her.
19:37No.
19:38I'll take her, he repeats, cold and sure.
19:41And you'll never see her again.
19:43My breath stops.
19:45My vision blurs.
19:46My heart feels like it's about to tear.
19:48Then the line clicks dead.
19:50I stand there shaking, defeated.
19:52Crushed under the weight of the threat.
19:54Dante steps closer, his warmth crowding behind me.
20:00What did he say?
20:02I can't speak.
20:03Amara.
20:04His voice is low.
20:05Deadly calm.
20:07Tell me.
20:07I turn to him slowly.
20:09My entire world collapsing into one sentence.
20:12He said he's coming for her.
20:14Dante's jaw tightens, breath seething through his teeth.
20:17And then...
20:18He says the words that change everything.
20:20Then I'm done protecting you halfway.
20:22He pulls me close.
20:23Voice rough with a promise that sounds like fire and fate.
20:26He'll have to go through me.
20:28And I'll burn down the whole city before he touches your daughter.
20:31I tremble, heart in my throat.
20:33Dante!
20:34But he's not listening.
20:35He's already reaching for his phone.
20:37Calling someone.
20:38Summoning a war.
20:40And all I can feel is the terrifying truth settling inside me.
20:43I trust him.
20:44More than I trust myself.
20:46More than I trust the sun to rise.
20:48And that's the cliff I never wanted to stand on again.
20:50The cliff I'm falling off anyway.
20:52Because Dante Moretti isn't just protecting us.
20:55He's claiming us.
20:56The act ends as the person on the other end of the call answers.
20:59And Dante says four words that freeze my blood.
21:02Activate the glass house.
21:04And everything around me breaks.
21:08People think the end of danger feels loud.
21:10Sirens, gunshots, screaming.
21:13But the truth is quieter.
21:14Almost unbearably quiet.
21:16Not with chaos.
21:17Not with fear.
21:18But with the silence that follows being saved and shattered in the same breath.
21:22It's been six weeks since Dante declared war in the middle of his glass house.
21:26Six weeks since he told me he'd burn the city before he let anyone take my daughter.
21:30Six weeks since everything inside me cracked open.
21:33And now I stand on the small,
21:34Backyard deck of the sunlit rental.
21:36Home the police relocated us to.
21:38White walls.
21:40Cheerful plants.
21:41A two blue sky.
21:42It's peaceful.
21:43Safe.
21:43Almost fake.
21:44Lila is inside painting butterflies on the sliding door with washable markers.
21:48The colors glow like stained glass in the noon light.
21:51Her laugh floats through the open window, bright and alive.
21:55She survived.
21:56We survived.
21:57But surviving and living are not the same thing.
21:59And I don't know which one I'm doing yet.
22:01I breathe deep, letting sunlight settle on my skin.
22:04My scars, emotional, not physical, feel like they hum under the brightness.
22:09Not hurting.
22:10Not healed.
22:10Just existing.
22:12Dante hasn't been here.
22:14Not once.
22:15But he sends updates through the detective assigned to my case.
22:18He's cooperating.
22:20He handled the threats.
22:21He stepped away from his organization.
22:24He's keeping his distance so you can heal.
22:26That last part hurts in a place I don't admit to anyone.
22:29He's keeping his distance because of me.
22:31Because when the police separated us after the final confrontation,
22:34with my ex after the chaos, after the screaming,
22:38after Dante pulled me and Lila behind him with a brutality born of pure protection,
22:43I broke down.
22:45Not in fear.
22:46In guilt.
22:47I brought this into your life.
22:49I sobbed into his chest.
22:51Shaking.
22:52I did this.
22:54I messed everything up.
22:55I put her in danger.
22:57You should never have been part of this.
22:59Dante didn't say anything for a long time.
23:01He just held my face in both hands.
23:03Thumbs brushing away tears I didn't want him to see.
23:06Then he whispered,
23:07I would rather die for something that matters.
23:10Than live without the two of you.
23:12And that was the last thing he said before the cops pulled him away.
23:15I haven't seen him since.
23:17But I feel him everywhere.
23:18Like a memory the sun refuses to wash away.
23:22Today, though, something is different.
23:24Because my phone buzzes.
23:25And for the first time in weeks, it's not an unknown number.
23:28Not a detective.
23:29Not a social worker.
23:31It's him.
23:31My breath catches.
23:33I almost drop the phone.
23:34My fingers tremble like I'm sixteen.
23:36Again and falling in love.
23:38With the wrong person, except...
23:40Dante was never the wrong person.
23:42Just the impossible one.
23:44I answer on the third ring.
23:46Amara.
23:47His voice.
23:48God.
23:48It feels like stepping into warm water after freezing for too long.
23:52My knees go weak.
23:53I lean against the railing because my body forgets how to hold me up.
23:57Dante.
23:58I whisper.
23:59Silence stretches out.
24:00Warm and heavy.
24:01Then he exhales softly.
24:03You sound okay.
24:06I swallow hard.
24:08I...
24:08I'm trying.
24:10How's Lila?
24:11Instant smile even through the ache.
24:13Thriving.
24:14She keeps drawing you with superhero muscles.
24:16A quiet laugh.
24:17Warm.
24:18Real.
24:19My heart stumbles.
24:21He breathes in deeply like he's bracing himself.
24:23Is it safe to talk right now?
24:25Yes.
24:26He hesitates.
24:27And Dante Moretti?
24:29Hesitating?
24:30That scares me more than any gun ever did.
24:32Amara.
24:33He says.
24:34Voice low.
24:34Steady.
24:35Almost reverent.
24:36I want to see you.
24:37My heart stops.
24:39Not races.
24:40Not stutters.
24:41Just stops completely.
24:42I look at the house behind me.
24:44Sunlight spilling across the floor.
24:47My daughter humming as she colors.
24:48We're safe.
24:49We're healing.
24:50But Dante asking to see me feels like picking at a scab.
24:53I'm not sure is ready to fall off.
24:55Why now?
24:56I whisper.
24:58Because I promised to stay away until it was safe.
25:00He says quietly.
25:02And today.
25:04It finally is.
25:05My eyes sting.
25:06I blink against the sunlight.
25:08Where are you?
25:09I ask.
25:10Outside.
25:11I freeze.
25:12Outside?
25:13As in here?
25:14I turn slowly.
25:16Heart hammering against my ribs.
25:18I walk toward the side of the house.
25:19Around the corner.
25:21And there he is.
25:22Standing in the bright sunlight like he belongs in it.
25:25No shadows.
25:26No darkness.
25:27No threats.
25:27Just Dante.
25:29Taller than I remember.
25:30Wearing a white button-down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.
25:34Sun catching the warm brown in his hair.
25:36He looks like a man who...
25:37Gave up an empire and kept only the...
25:40Parts of himself that were human.
25:42Good.
25:42Steady.
25:43Mine.
25:43My breath leaves me in a rush.
25:45He stays still.
25:46Letting me come to him or run away.
25:48His eyes soften when they land on my face.
25:51Scanning for pain.
25:52For fear.
25:53For anything I don't say.
25:55I walk toward him slowly.
25:57Every step a confession.
25:58You shouldn't be here.
25:59I whisper.
26:01I know, he says.
26:02But you said yes anyway.
26:04The truth of that hits me deep.
26:05I don't know if I'm whole.
26:07I admit.
26:08Voice trembling.
26:09I don't know if I'm ready.
26:11You don't have to be.
26:12His voice is warm sunlight.
26:15You just have to be honest.
26:16I take one more step.
26:18Then here's my honesty.
26:19I breathe.
26:20I missed you.
26:22Every day.
26:23Even when I hated myself for it.
26:25Something raw flickers behind his eyes.
26:27And here's mine.
26:28He says quietly.
26:30I fixed the parts of my world that were dangerous to you.
26:33I stepped away.
26:34I'm not who I was.
26:35And who are you now?
26:37I whisper.
26:38The man who will hold your hand.
26:40He says.
26:41Instead of your past.
26:43My vision blurs.
26:44I step closer until I'm right in front of him.
26:47Chest rising and falling too fast.
26:49Dante.
26:50I'm scared.
26:51Not of you.
26:51Of me.
26:52Of trusting wrong again.
26:54He reaches out slowly.
26:55Giving me every chance to pull back.
26:57And cups my jaw with his warm hand.
27:00You didn't trust wrong.
27:01He murmurs.
27:02You trusted me.
27:04But what if I break again?
27:05Then I'll be there to help you rebuild.
27:07The words crack something open in me that's been locked for years.
27:10I don't kiss him.
27:12I don't fall into him.
27:13I don't melt the way I used to.
27:17I just lean my forehead against his chest and breathe him in.
27:20Warm.
27:21Safe.
27:22Home.
27:23His arms come around me gently.
27:24As if he knows I'm made of something fragile right now.
27:27Something healing.
27:29For the first time in a long time I let myself be held.
27:32After a quiet moment he whispers into my hair.
27:35Is she inside?
27:37Yeah.
27:37I breathe.
27:39Do you want to see her?
27:40He pulls back.
27:41Eyes brightening like the sun just flared.
27:43More than anything.
27:45I lead him through the sliding door.
27:47Lila looks up mid-coloring marker in hand.
27:49When she sees him, her whole face lights up like a sunrise.
27:53Dante.
27:54She runs to him.
27:55He drops to one knee.
27:57This man who once ruled a violent empire opening his arms wide.
28:01She crashes into him.
28:03He catches her effortlessly, lifting her.
28:05Spinning once in a circle as she giggles loud enough to fill every empty space inside me.
28:10You came back!
28:11She says proudly.
28:13He kisses her forehead.
28:14I promised I would.
28:15I press my hand to my mouth because the sight of them.
28:19Sunlit.
28:20Warm, alive.
28:21Breaks me open in the most beautiful way.
28:24Lila looks between us.
28:25Mommy?
28:26Is Dante part of our life now?
28:28I look at her.
28:29Then at him.
28:29Then at the sunlight streaming over all of us like a blessing.
28:33And I tell the truth.
28:34Yes, I whisper.
28:36If he chooses to be.
28:37Dante stands, holding her on his hip, eyes locked on mine.
28:41I choose you.
28:42He says quietly.
28:44Both of you.
28:44Not because you need protection.
28:46Because you deserve peace.
28:48And I want to build it with you.
28:49My heart finally, finally lets go of fear.
28:52I step closer.
28:53The sun warm on my skin.
28:55Then stay.
28:56He exhales like he's been underwater for weeks.
28:59I'm here.
28:59He murmurs.
29:01For good.
29:02Not dramatic.
29:03Not desperate.
29:04Not perfect.
29:04Just honest.
29:06Just real.
29:06Just ours.
29:07Lila wraps an arm around his neck, smiling.
29:10Mommy?
29:11Can Dante stay for lunch?
29:12I laugh.
29:14A sound I thought I'd forgotten.
29:15Yeah, baby.
29:17I think he can.
29:18Dante's hand finds mine.
29:20Gentle.
29:21Steady.
29:22And this time, I hold it back without hesitation.
29:25Not as a promise.
29:26Not as a fantasy.
29:27As a choice.
29:29A choice to live.
29:30To heal.
29:30To love without fear.
29:32The fire didn't destroy us.
29:33It left us something better.
29:35Something strong.
29:36Something sunlit.
29:37Something true.
29:38What the fire left behind.
29:40Was a family.
29:41And for the first time in my life, that word doesn't terrify me.
29:44It warms me from the inside out.
29:46If you felt every heartbeat of this story.
29:48If you held your breath for their danger and their love.
29:51Then don't forget to subscribe.
29:53Like, comment.
29:54And share this with someone who loves a good, emotional mafia romance.
29:58Your support lets more people discover these stories.
30:00And it means the world.
30:02Stay with me.
30:03More sunlit danger and slow burn love is coming.
Be the first to comment