- 2 days 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'm not supposed to be here on Christmas Eve, but here I am,
00:04breath trembling against the stained glass glow of saints I used to believe in.
00:08The church is full of warm gold and holiday garlands, but none of it reaches me.
00:14I sit alone in the front pew, trying to keep myself from coming apart,
00:18but grief leaks out of me like a cracked pipe under pressure.
00:22I press the heel of my hand under my ribs, as if I can keep everything inside.
00:27Hold it together, Leona, I whisper to myself.
00:31My voice fractures anyway, but this is the moment my body refuses to obey.
00:37Christmas Eve, and I'm breaking where everyone comes to feel whole.
00:41I promised myself I wouldn't cry again.
00:44I lied. I always lie when I'm scared.
00:48The scent of pine from the wreaths burns in my throat.
00:51The choir rehearses soft carols near the altar,
00:54each note landing like a quiet accusation.
00:57Their harmonies float through the sanctuary, warm and bright,
01:01while I'm freezing from the inside.
01:03I came here because it's the only place my past can't follow me.
01:07Or so I thought.
01:09But the truth is, I'm not hiding from my past anymore.
01:13I'm hiding from the people it created.
01:16I wipe tears with the sleeve of my coat,
01:18but another falls straight into my lap.
01:20Stop! Stop! I hiss under my breath.
01:23Stop! Please!
01:26Someone walks in behind me before I can finish the sentence.
01:29I feel the shift in the air before I hear footsteps.
01:32Heavy.
01:33Unhurried.
01:34Certain.
01:36My spine straightens as if commanded.
01:38No one walks like that except someone who owns the room simply by entering it.
01:42I don't turn around.
01:44I don't need to.
01:45My instincts, cursed and sharp, already recognize the danger.
01:49He found me.
01:51I tell myself that's impossible.
01:53He shouldn't know this church exists.
01:56He shouldn't know where I go when I'm trying not to fall apart.
02:00And yet,
02:00the air changes in a way only he carries.
02:04A gravity that pulls instead of pushes.
02:07A calm carved out of chaos.
02:10Leona.
02:11His voice slides down the aisle like warm steel.
02:14I inhale too sharply.
02:16The sound is embarrassing.
02:18I swipe tears from my chin,
02:20forcing my face into something neutral.
02:22But my breath betrays me again with a tiny shake.
02:25He steps into my peripheral vision.
02:27Matte black coat.
02:29Leather gloves.
02:31A presence that fills every inch of the quiet sanctuary.
02:34His shadow swallows the aisle's golden light without dimming it,
02:37just bending it around him like it knows better.
02:39Cassio Rulani.
02:42The mafia boss whose name used to be a warning in the streets.
02:46The man I once feared.
02:48The man I now fear for reasons I don't dare speak aloud.
02:51I don't know why he's here.
02:53I don't know how he found me.
02:55I only know that I'm not ready to see him while my heart is still in shards.
03:00He sits beside me without asking.
03:02Like he's done it a thousand times.
03:04The bench dips under his weight.
03:07Steady and controlled.
03:08So unlike the way I occupy space.
03:10Fragile.
03:11Hesitant.
03:13For a moment, he doesn't say anything.
03:15His silence isn't empty.
03:17It's protective.
03:18Like he's giving me a moment to breathe before he demands air back from me.
03:23I didn't mean for you to see me like this.
03:25I whisper.
03:27Voice thin as a thread.
03:29He leans back.
03:30One arm draped along the pew's top, taking up space like he's claiming it.
03:35I know.
03:36He says.
03:37But you did.
03:38It's infuriating how calm he is.
03:42How steady.
03:44How he looks at me like crying isn't weakness, but information he needs to understand.
03:49My hands ball into fists around the fabric of my coat.
03:53You shouldn't be here.
03:55Tonight.
03:56Of all nights, I should.
03:59His gaze sweeps over me, reading everything I'm trying to hide.
04:03You came here to get away from something.
04:05Or someone.
04:07My throat tightens.
04:09You don't know anything about why I'm here.
04:12Leona.
04:14His voice softens just a shade.
04:16I know you're terrified.
04:18I also know you'd rather tear yourself in half than ask for help.
04:22He's not wrong.
04:24And that terrifies me even more.
04:26The choir shifts into another carol.
04:28A bright, steady melody that fills the space between us.
04:32Christmas Eve swells around me.
04:34All golden ornaments and hopeful voices.
04:35But none of it masks the tension coiling in my chest.
04:39I whisper.
04:41Why did you follow me?
04:43Because you disappeared.
04:45He tilts his head, eyes trained on me like he'd track my heartbeat if I tried to hide it.
04:50And I can't allow that.
04:53Anger sparks under my ribs.
04:55You don't own me.
04:56I never said I did.
04:58But you act like you do.
05:00He exhales quietly.
05:02A patient, practiced breath.
05:04I act like someone who knows you're in danger.
05:07I freeze.
05:09Danger.
05:10The word slices through me, cold and too familiar.
05:14My fingers tremble on my lap.
05:16They found me?
05:17He doesn't answer right away.
05:19And that silence is more terrifying than any threat.
05:23Cassio.
05:24I push.
05:25Heart pounding hard enough to bruise ribs.
05:28Did they?
05:29His jaw ticks once.
05:31A small, controlled movement, but enough to tell me everything.
05:35Yes.
05:37My breath leaves me in a single, crushed exhale.
05:39It feels like my lungs collapse.
05:42I grip the pew with both hands to keep myself grounded, the wood warm under my palms.
05:47Christmas Eve carols fill the air.
05:49Too bright.
05:50Too full of hope.
05:52My world is shaking again.
05:54And the sanctuary feels like it's tilting.
05:57How long do I have?
05:58I ask.
05:59Not long.
06:01He shifts slightly, angling his body toward mine, presence anchored, steady.
06:07But you're not alone anymore.
06:10I bite down on a sob, but it escapes anyway.
06:13It's raw.
06:14Humiliating.
06:15His eyes flicker with something that isn't pity.
06:18It's sharper.
06:19More protective.
06:21Look at me.
06:22He says quietly.
06:24I shake my head.
06:25Leona.
06:27His voice wraps around my name with a weight that steadies me even when I don't want it to.
06:32Look at me.
06:33I force myself to lift my gaze.
06:36His eyes catch mine.
06:38Dark.
06:38Focused.
06:39But carrying something almost impossible to survive.
06:42Conviction.
06:43It's over now, he says.
06:45You're done running.
06:47The words hit me like a blow.
06:49I want to believe him.
06:51God.
06:52I want to fall into the promise he's offering.
06:53But promises like his come with a cost, and I've paid enough in blood and fear to know nothing ends cleanly.
06:59I don't know if I can trust you.
07:03I whisper.
07:04He nods, accepting the wound.
07:07You shouldn't.
07:08Not yet.
07:09That honesty cracks something inside me.
07:12He could have lied.
07:13He didn't.
07:14He lifts a gloved hand.
07:16Slow enough that I can pull back.
07:18But I don't.
07:19He brushes a tear from my cheek, with a care that doesn't match the reputation carved into his name.
07:25You're safe with me.
07:27He murmurs.
07:28For the first time in months, I feel something like solid ground under me.
07:33Not perfect.
07:34Not permanent.
07:34But steady.
07:36Too steady.
07:37I shut my eyes because I feel myself leaning toward him.
07:40Gravity.
07:41Wrong.
07:42Inevitable gravity.
07:44Cassio.
07:45I breathe.
07:46What aren't you telling me?
07:47He stills.
07:49His silence thickens.
07:50Heavy.
07:51Loaded.
07:52Tell me.
07:53I demand.
07:54Voice breaking.
07:55When he finally speaks, his voice is low.
07:57Almost gentle.
07:59They didn't just find you.
08:01He pauses, letting the words gather weight.
08:04They've found me, too.
08:06My eyes snap open.
08:07The sanctuary seems too bright suddenly.
08:09Too still.
08:11What does that mean?
08:12I whisper.
08:14His gaze holds mine, unblinking.
08:16It means the danger isn't chasing you anymore, Leona.
08:20It's coming for both of us.
08:22My pulse stutters.
08:23The choir hits a high, pure note that rings through the church like a celestial warning,
08:28and his next words land like the strike that splits everything open.
08:31They know what you are to me.
08:34My breath shatters.
08:36What am I to you?
08:37I manage.
08:38He leans in, sunlight catching along his jaw, eyes burning with something I don't have a
08:44name for.
08:45You already know.
08:47The world narrows to the space between us.
08:50Before I can speak, before I can inhale, footsteps echo behind us.
08:55Fast.
08:55Purposeful.
08:57Coming straight down the aisle.
08:59Cassio's hand closes around mine.
09:01His grip is warm.
09:02Steady.
09:03Final.
09:04He whispers.
09:05Don't move.
09:07I turn just in time to see a figure step out from behind the last row of pews.
09:11And the sanctuary erupts into a moment I'll never outrun.
09:14The world doesn't explode the way danger usually does in my memory.
09:18No gunshots.
09:19No shouting.
09:20No chaos tearing open the seams of Christmas Eve.
09:24Just the figure walking toward us down the aisle.
09:27Sunlight catching the polished metal at his belt.
09:30A glimmer warning me this isn't a church moment.
09:32This is a reckoning dressed in holiday gold.
09:36Cassio rises before I can breathe.
09:38He pulls me up with him.
09:40His grip unbreakably calm around my wrist.
09:43Stay behind me.
09:44He murmurs.
09:45I should fight him.
09:47I should shove him away and run.
09:49That's who I've been for months.
09:51Sprint first.
09:53Breathe after.
09:54But something in his voice roots me behind him.
09:57My fingers caught in the fabric of his coat.
09:58Like the only stable point in a spinning world.
10:02The man approaching slows.
10:04Raises his hand slightly.
10:06Boss.
10:07He says.
10:07We need to go.
10:09He's one of Cassio's.
10:10Tall.
10:11Steady.
10:11Eyes flicking to me with a mixture of concern and calculation.
10:14Not danger.
10:15Not tonight.
10:17Cassio's jaw tightens.
10:19Anyone follow you?
10:20No.
10:21The man answers.
10:22But they're moving.
10:23Word is out.
10:24My stomach clenches.
10:26Cassio nods once.
10:27A decision.
10:28Not a thought.
10:30We leave.
10:31He turns toward me.
10:33And something about the way he looks at me feels like an apology he doesn't know how to form.
10:38I told you it was over.
10:40He says softly.
10:42But it gets worse before it gets better.
10:44My breath shivers.
10:46What happens now?
10:48You come with me.
10:49It isn't a question.
10:51It also isn't a threat.
10:52It's a fate.
10:54I whisper.
10:55I should say no.
10:57Then say it.
10:58He challenges me gently.
11:00I won't force you.
11:02But I can't say it.
11:03My tongue refuses.
11:05My will collapses under the weight of my own exhaustion.
11:08I'm too tired to run.
11:09Too hunted to stay.
11:11Too tangled in him to walk away.
11:13So I don't answer.
11:15Cassio nods.
11:17Understanding the silence I can't voice.
11:19The three of us move fast down the side aisle, weaving around poinsettias and wreaths that
11:23feel absurdly innocent compared to the pulse pounding in my ears.
11:27Sunlight pours through stained glass, splashing bright blues and reds over our path.
11:32Beautiful.
11:33Vivid.
11:34So alive it hurts.
11:36When we push through the back door into the courtyard, the winter air slices clean across my cheeks.
11:41Bright.
11:42Crisp.
11:42Icy enough to shock breath into my lungs.
11:44Cassio guides me toward a car parked beside the parish house.
11:49I climb in, heart jackhammering, hands shaking so violently I tuck them under my thighs.
11:54He gets in beside me.
11:56His presence fills the space, warm and controlled.
12:00I can't look at him.
12:01If I do, everything inside me will crack open again.
12:05The car pulls out, quiet on the pavement.
12:08Minutes tick by.
12:10My breathing finally evens enough for me to speak.
12:12Tell me the truth.
12:15All of it.
12:16He doesn't hesitate.
12:18The people chasing you.
12:19They were never just after you.
12:21I swallow hard.
12:23You said they found you too.
12:25Yes.
12:26And they know what I am to you.
12:29The words tremble out.
12:31His jaw flexes at that.
12:32Not irritation.
12:34Fear.
12:35Real fear.
12:36Caught in the lines of an otherwise unshakable man.
12:39Did you tell them something?
12:40I ask.
12:41Did you say something about us?
12:44There is no us to tell, he says.
12:47Not in a way they'd normally care about.
12:49I look at him sharply.
12:51He turns his head toward me, eyes steady, intense.
12:55But they saw something in me I didn't understand until tonight.
12:59My heart thuds.
13:00What did they see?
13:02That losing you would break me.
13:05Air leaves my lungs in a fragile gasp.
13:07I look away, out the window, where Christmas lights shimmer on apartment balconies like fragments of joy floating up into the afternoon sky.
13:15You think I matter that much to you?
13:18I whisper.
13:19I know you do.
13:21My throat burns.
13:23I wrap both arms around myself.
13:26You shouldn't say things like that.
13:28He lets out a quiet breath.
13:30I know.
13:32The admission sits heavy between us, thickening the air.
13:35The driver continues weaving through the city streets until Cassio speaks again, his voice returning to that controlled, calculated tone.
13:44They want leverage, he explains.
13:47My organization is fractured.
13:49Some want to replace me.
13:51Some want to break me.
13:52They see you as a way to do both.
13:55So I was just unlucky enough to cross your path.
13:58You were unlucky enough to matter to me.
14:01His honesty wrecks me.
14:03Cuts me open.
14:04Fills me with something warm and terrifying.
14:07The city blurs past in ribbons of holiday lights and storefront displays.
14:10It looks festive, almost unreal.
14:14A world celebrating while mine trembles in my palm like a wounded bird.
14:18I whisper.
14:20Where are we going?
14:22Somewhere safe.
14:24You keep saying that.
14:26But what does safe even mean to you?
14:28I turn toward him, anger crackling through the fear.
14:31You live in a world where no one is safe.
14:34His expression shifts.
14:36Barely.
14:36But enough.
14:38I know.
14:38Then don't promise what you can't give.
14:41His gaze softens.
14:43I'm not promising safety.
14:45I'm promising I won't leave you to face this alone.
14:47The words slide into me like warmth after too many cold nights.
14:51I hate how deeply they land.
14:53We arrive at a penthouse overlooking the city.
14:56Floor-to-ceiling windows.
14:58Natural light splashed everywhere.
15:01The brightness is overwhelming.
15:02Almost intrusive.
15:03But I don't have the energy to react.
15:06Cassio leads me inside.
15:08But not with force.
15:09More like he's walking beside my fear.
15:12The door clicks shut.
15:14My breath catches at the sudden quiet.
15:17This place is nothing like the world he comes from.
15:19No dim corners.
15:21No shadows collecting like secrets.
15:23Everything gleams.
15:24The marble countertop.
15:26The wide pale floors.
15:27The sunlight painting the living room in gold.
15:30It feels...
15:31safe.
15:32Safe enough to break again.
15:33I turn toward him.
15:36What now?
15:37He takes off his gloves slowly.
15:40Placing them on the counter as though giving me space to watch him shed the armor he lives in.
15:44Now we figure out why they want you.
15:47I stiffen.
15:48I told you everything.
15:51No.
15:51He says gently.
15:53You told me the parts that hurt you.
15:55Not the parts that could kill you.
15:57I flinch.
15:58Cassio steps closer but stops a foot away.
16:01Respectful of the tension spiraling through me.
16:04Leona.
16:05He says quietly.
16:06What did you run from before you ran to me?
16:09My lungs freeze.
16:10I shake my head.
16:12I can't do this.
16:13You can.
16:14No.
16:16I back up until my spine hits the glass door leading to the balcony.
16:19You don't understand.
16:21If I say it, it becomes real again.
16:24I barely survive the first time.
16:26His voice lowers.
16:27Let me carry some of it.
16:29Why?
16:30My voice cracks like thin ice.
16:33Why do you care?
16:34You barely know me.
16:36His presence closes in.
16:38Not physically, but emotionally.
16:40Like gravity tugging my confession toward him.
16:43I know enough, he says.
16:46Those words are almost my undoing.
16:48I slide down the glass until I'm sitting on the floor.
16:50My hands cover my face, not to hide tears, but to hold myself together.
16:56My voice spills out in pieces.
16:58I got someone killed.
17:01Cassio kneels slowly in front of me.
17:04Who?
17:05My ex.
17:06I whisper.
17:08He wasn't... good.
17:10He wasn't gentle.
17:12He wasn't anything I should have stayed with.
17:14But I did.
17:15And when I finally left, someone threatened him to get to me.
17:19And he died because of it.
17:20The confession tastes like blood.
17:23I've been running ever since.
17:25Trying to find some place where that guilt couldn't chase me anymore.
17:28But it always finds me.
17:30It always.
17:32Cassio reaches out, not touching me.
17:35Just letting his hand hover near mine.
17:37An offering.
17:39You didn't kill him, he says quietly.
17:42But I left him.
17:43Sometimes leaving someone is the first step toward surviving them.
17:47The words unravel something in me.
17:49I look up.
17:50Eyes burning.
17:52He doesn't look away.
17:54Your past, he says.
17:56Isn't the weapon they think it is.
17:58But they'll try to use it against you.
18:00And against me.
18:02My breath trembles.
18:04Why against you?
18:06He stands slowly.
18:07Offering me his hand.
18:09Because they think you're my weakness.
18:11And are you?
18:12The question escapes before I can stop it.
18:15He doesn't look away.
18:16Doesn't move.
18:17Doesn't flinch.
18:19You are the one thing I can't lose, he says.
18:22My heart seizes.
18:24He helps me to my feet.
18:25For a moment we just stand there.
18:27The city spreading out behind us in glittering holiday brightness.
18:31The air between us thickens with everything we don't say.
18:35I whisper.
18:36If I stay with you.
18:38I'm pulling you into my trouble.
18:41Cassio steps closer.
18:43The space between us warm and charged.
18:46Too late.
18:47He says softly.
18:48I walked in willingly.
18:51Something inside me splinters open.
18:53But before I can breathe him in.
18:55Before I can lean into the pole anchoring us together.
18:58His phone vibrates sharply against the counter.
19:01He checks it.
19:02His face changes.
19:03What?
19:04I whisper.
19:05Dread curling up my spine.
19:07He looks at me with a severity that freezes the air.
19:10They found this building.
19:12My blood turns to static.
19:14He reaches for my hand again.
19:16Leona?
19:17He says.
19:18Steady but urgent.
19:19We have to leave.
19:20Now.
19:21The sound of a door downstairs slamming open echoes through the building.
19:25He pulls me behind him.
19:27And the world tilts.
19:29The stairwell door slams somewhere below us.
19:31The sound rising through the building like a warning shot wrapped in holiday cheer.
19:36I feel Cassio's hand close tight around mine.
19:38Steady even as the world pitches sideways.
19:41We're not running blindly.
19:43He murmurs.
19:44Already guiding me toward the back exit.
19:47We're choosing the direction this time.
19:50I want to believe him.
19:51I want to borrow that confidence and wrap it around my fear.
19:54But the truth is pounding through my ribs in a frantic, relentless rhythm.
19:59They're coming up the stairs?
20:00I whisper.
20:02Yes.
20:03And we're going...
20:04Down?
20:05No.
20:06He looks back.
20:08Eyes sharp.
20:09Strategic.
20:09We're going sideways.
20:13Sideways makes no sense.
20:15But nothing in my life has made sense since the moment he sat beside me in that church.
20:19I let him pull me into a service hallway lined with bright emergency lights and polished
20:23flooring that should feel clinical, but somehow feels like a lifeline.
20:27I can still hear them.
20:30Heavy boots echoing up stairwells.
20:32Voices murmuring, urgent.
20:34They're close.
20:35Too close.
20:37Cassio swipes a card at a maintenance door.
20:40It opens into a service elevator big enough for moving furniture.
20:44Inside, he orders softly.
20:47I step in.
20:49My breath shakes out of me.
20:50My hands still trembling.
20:52Cassio follows, taps a panel behind a false cover,
20:55and the elevator begins descending with a hum that feels too peaceful for what's happening.
21:00My voice cracks the silence.
21:03Cassio.
21:04What if they catch us?
21:06They won't.
21:07You don't know that.
21:10His eyes lower to mine, unwavering.
21:13You survived everything until this moment.
21:15You survived this too.
21:17The elevator hums downward, slicing through floors of bright holiday luxury
21:21and straight into a basement lit by harsh white lights.
21:24When the doors open, I blink at the unexpected scene.
21:28A private garage, empty except for a sleek black SUV parked near the far wall.
21:33Cassio leads me forward.
21:35This isn't running, he says, unlocking the car.
21:39This is buying time.
21:41Enough time to change the terms.
21:43We climb in.
21:44As he starts the engine, I grip the armrest and force air into my lungs.
21:48Cassio.
21:49I whisper.
21:50Why are they doing this now?
21:53Christmas Eve.
21:54Why push things tonight of all nights?
21:56Because they think holidays make people soft.
21:59His jaw tightens.
22:01They think they can catch me unguarded.
22:03Take something important from me.
22:06Me.
22:07He doesn't deny it.
22:09We shoot out of the garage into blinding afternoon sunlight.
22:12Streets glitter with garlands.
22:14Crowds carrying shopping bags.
22:16Families laughing.
22:16The world is celebrating while we're racing the edge of something sharp.
22:21Tell me where we're going, I say.
22:24He hesitates.
22:26That's what terrifies me most.
22:28Cassio Rulani hesitates.
22:30There's a place I trust, he finally says.
22:33A friend whose loyalty is older than my enemy's ambition.
22:37That answer should comfort me.
22:39It doesn't.
22:40I lean my head back, closing my eyes.
22:44My voice drops to a whisper.
22:46I'm so tired of running.
22:48Cassio's hand finds mine.
22:50Not grabbing.
22:51Not pulling.
22:51Just holding.
22:53Warm.
22:54Certain.
22:54Like he's anchoring me back into my own bones.
22:57You're not running anymore, he says.
23:00You're walking beside me.
23:02The simplicity of those words unravels me.
23:04My throat burns.
23:05I press my free hand there, trying to contain the emotion threatening to overflow.
23:11Cassio, I whisper.
23:13You shouldn't risk yourself for me.
23:15Too late, he says quietly.
23:18I chose you the moment I sat beside you in that church.
23:21I breathe in sharply, the memory of that moment striking through me with painful clarity.
23:27But why, I ask.
23:29Why me?
23:30He glances at me, eyes shadowed with truth.
23:33Because I saw someone who had been carrying pain alone for too long.
23:38And for the first time in years, I wanted to help someone without expecting anything back.
23:44My heart squeezes in a way that is equal parts ache and relief.
23:48But they'll destroy you for helping me.
23:51He shakes his head.
23:53They'll try.
23:53The car turns down a quiet residential street, lined with bright decorations.
23:59Wreaths, glowing reindeer, red bows.
24:02Holiday magic spilling over sidewalks.
24:05And then Cassio parks in front of a modest two-story house that looks like it belongs to someone who bakes cookies for neighbors.
24:11Someone who doesn't know the world he lives in.
24:14This is the safe place, I ask softly.
24:17He nods.
24:19Trust me.
24:20I'm trying.
24:21He gives me a small, almost broken smile.
24:25That's more than anyone's given me in a long time.
24:28We walk to the door.
24:30Cassio knocks twice in a pattern that sounds rehearsed.
24:33Inside, footsteps shuffle, and then the door swings open to reveal a woman in her late fifties with bright eyes and flower still dusted across her sweater.
24:41Cassio Rulani, she says, hands on hips.
24:45You only show up when trouble breathes down your neck.
24:48Cassio exhales like he's been holding air for years.
24:52Good to see you too, Rosa.
24:54Her gaze shifts to me.
24:56It softens instantly, in a way that makes me want to cry all over again.
25:00Come in, sweetheart, she says.
25:02You look like you've been carrying too much.
25:04I step inside.
25:06The warmth hits me first.
25:08Then the cinnamon.
25:09Then the genuine human gentleness I've been starving for.
25:13Rosa ushers us to a kitchen table covered in cookies and ribbons.
25:16You tell me if anyone tries to hurt you.
25:19I'll hit them with my rolling pin.
25:20I'm serious.
25:22A laugh escapes me.
25:23A real one.
25:24Small.
25:25Fragile.
25:26But alive.
25:28Cassio watches me, something tender flickering across his face.
25:32Rosa returns with two mugs of steaming chocolate.
25:35Drink, she orders.
25:37And Cassio?
25:37You can stand guard by the window like you always do.
25:40But don't break my blinds again.
25:42He mutters something under his breath that almost sounds like apology.
25:46When Rosa disappears into another room, I turn to Cassio.
25:50This woman would fight a mafia war with a rolling pin.
25:53She has, he says.
25:56Despite everything, the warmth in my chest grows.
25:59But it doesn't last.
26:01Because the moment stretches.
26:03Quiet, soft, painfully honest.
26:06And something changes in his expression.
26:08A decision anchors in his gaze.
26:11Leona, he says.
26:12There's something I haven't told you.
26:14My stomach drops.
26:16What?
26:17He sits across from me.
26:19Leaning forward.
26:20Hands clasped like he's holding himself together.
26:22I didn't just come to find you in the church today.
26:25I know.
26:26You said.
26:27No.
26:28He interrupts softly.
26:30I mean, I didn't come because I had to.
26:33I came because I wanted to.
26:35My breath catches.
26:37He continues.
26:38Voice low.
26:39Stripped bare.
26:40For months, I've been watching you break pieces off yourself to stay alive.
26:45I kept my distance because I thought getting close would ruin you.
26:48But when I saw you crying on that pew, when I realized you were preparing yourself to disappear
26:53for good, I knew I couldn't let that happen.
26:56I stare at him, too stunned to speak.
26:59He draws a slow breath.
26:59I'm not here because you're in danger.
27:03I'm here because you matter to me in a way I didn't think I was capable of anymore.
27:07My chest tightens until it hurts.
27:10I shouldn't feel this, he admits.
27:12Not with everything I am.
27:14Not in the life I live.
27:16But I do.
27:18Tears rise hot and sudden.
27:20But I blink them back.
27:22Cassio, I whisper.
27:24You don't even know what to do with a normal life.
27:27Maybe not.
27:29His voice softens.
27:30But I know what to do with you.
27:32The air between us thickens with a tenderness that feels dangerous in a different way.
27:36But before I can respond, before I can give in to the gravity pulling us together, a low
27:41buzz vibrates on the counter beside him.
27:44Cassio picks up his phone.
27:45He reads the message.
27:47His entire body goes still.
27:49What?
27:51My heart stumbles.
27:52What is it?
27:54He lifts his eyes to mine.
27:56It's over.
27:57He says.
27:58My breath freezes.
28:00What do you mean?
28:01They called off the hunt.
28:03The faction going after us.
28:04After you.
28:05Is done.
28:06Someone higher stepped in.
28:08Why would they do that?
28:10Cassio stands slowly.
28:11Crossing to me with steps that feel like a shift in fate.
28:15Because, he says, voice quiet.
28:17I gave up my seat.
28:19The words hit me like a blow.
28:21You.
28:22Stepped down?
28:23I whisper.
28:24Yes.
28:25For me.
28:26For us.
28:27He corrects.
28:28Kneeling beside my chair.
28:30For a life that doesn't end with you running and me killing whoever tries to take you.
28:34My throat tightens painfully.
28:36Cassio.
28:37You gave up everything.
28:39He takes my hand, bringing it to his chest.
28:42No.
28:43He murmurs.
28:44I traded it.
28:45For what?
28:46For the chance to stop surviving and start living.
28:49With you.
28:50Something in me breaks open.
28:52Softly.
28:53Beautifully.
28:54Like a seed splitting so something new can grow.
28:56I don't know how to be with someone like you.
29:00I whisper.
29:01You don't have to know, he says.
29:04Just choose.
29:06And here, in a kitchen that smells like cinnamon and Christmas warmth, with sunlight gleaming off the countertops and Rosa humming in the next room.
29:13The choice feels less like a leap, and more like gravity.
29:17I intertwine my fingers with his.
29:19His inhale is sharp, quiet, reverent.
29:23Cassio, I say.
29:24I'm not running anymore.
29:26His eyes close for a moment, like I just gave him back a piece of himself he lost long ago.
29:31When he opens them, the world softens.
29:34We rebuild, he says.
29:36Together.
29:37He stands and pulls me into him.
29:39Not fiercely.
29:40Not desperately.
29:42Just a steady, certain embrace that feels like a future.
29:45Christmas Eve glows through the window.
29:48The danger is gone.
29:49The guilt eases.
29:51And for the first time in years, I feel something like peace pulse through me.
29:56Not perfect.
29:57Not magical.
29:58But real.
29:59And real is enough.
30:01If you enjoyed this story, hit like, drop a comment, and share it with someone who loves a good twist of danger and romance.
30:09Your support helps more than you know.
30:11And it tells me you want more stories just like this.
30:13Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the next chapter of love, chaos, and heart-thumping moments.
30:19Thanks for being here with me.
30:22You make this journey worth every word.
Be the first to comment