Chapter 29 – The Aftermath
The hospital room was quiet except for the steady beep of the heart monitor.
The windows were closed, the curtains drawn halfway, letting in a soft glow from the late
afternoon sun.
I sat beside Mateo’s bed, my fingers laced with his, watching his chest rise and fall.
He was alive. That was all that mattered.
I hadn’t left his side since the paramedics brought him in.
I’d slept on the uncomfortable couch, refused to eat unless he was stable, and ignored every phone call except from my family.
Mateo had taken a bullet for me. No one had ever done that. No one had ever loved me that deeply, that completely.
Dante was gone. The police had him in custody. Every crime, every betrayal, every sick twistec plan of his had been exposed.
The recordings we took at the lounge, the confession Dante made during the kidnapping, the inks to Renata-it all came out.
His name was now written in blood across headlines around the world.
The world knew what he’d done. But more importantly, the world knew what Mateo had done. And I… I couldn’t stop staring at him.
Even now, bruised, pale, stitched up and exhausted, he looked like a hero. My hero.
The door creaked open. A nurse stepped in and gave me a warm smile.
‘His vitals are stable. The doctors say he’s out of danger.”
nodded slowly, whispering, “Thank you.”
She left, and I looked back at him. My hand brushed his cheek. “You scared me.”
He stirred a little.
‘Mateo?” I leaned in.
His eyes fluttered, then slowly opened. He blinked at the ceiling before turning his head weakly oward me.
‘Hey,” he said, voice hoarse.
Tears filled my eyes instantly. “You’re awake.”
‘You’re crying,” he whispered.
‘You nearly died, you idiot,” I laughed through the tears. “What did you expect? You’ve been unconscious for a week.”
He smiled weakly. “It was worth it.”
I squeezed his hand. “Don’t you ever do that again.”
He let out a low chuckle, then winced at the pain. “No promises.”
8:55 pm DD
I pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Where’s Dante?”
“Behind bars. He’ll never come near either of us again.”
Mateo gave a tired nod and closed his eyes for a second. “And Lorenzo?”
I looked away. “Gone. After everything, after the company fell, after the press crucified him-he vanished. No one knows where he is. Some say he left the country. Some say he’s dead. I think… I think he just couldn’t face the world anymore.”
Mateo didn’t say anything.
We both knew Lorenzo’s fall wasn’t just from power. It was personal. He had lost everything and had loved him once. But that version of me died with Ariella. The rest? I didn’t care anymore. Mateo opened his eyes again and looked at me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded slowly. “I will be. Because you’re here.”
He smiled again, and for a while, we just stayed like that. In peaceful silence.
After a while, he cleared his throat. “Sophia?”
“Yes?” I answered.
“There’s something I need to say.”
I leaned closer, brushing hair from his forehead. “I’m listening.”
He stared into my eyes, his voice soft but clear. “I’ve spent most of my life filled with hate. I wanted revenge. I wanted power. I wanted to make the Morettis pay for what they did to my mother… to me. But then you came into my life.”
I swallowed hard.
“I didn’t expect to care about anyone. But you made me feel something I thought I was incapable of. You made me feel at peace.”
Tears filled my eyes again. “Mateo…”
He reached for my face and touched my cheek gently. “When I thought I was going to die… all I could think about was you. Not revenge. Not war. Just you.”
I leaned in, my forehead pressed to his. “You don’t have to say more. I feel the same. Every time I close my eyes, I see you. I hear your voice. I’ve been through hell and back… but when I’m with you, everything stops hurting.”
He kissed me then-soft, slow, and filled with every emotion we couldn’t say.
It felt like love, it felt like peace, it felt like… home.
When we pulled back, I rested my head against his shoulder, and he held me close with the strength he still had. His fingers ran through my hair gently.
“I want a life with you,” he whispered. “Not just as partners in war. As partners in everything.”
I smiled, tears sliding down my cheek again. “Then promise me this is the last time you’ll ever take a bullet for me.”
“Can’t make promises I can’t keep.”
8:55 pm
D
I rolled my eyes and kissed his chin. “Idiot.”
We stayed like that for hours, just wrapped up in each other.
For the first time in years, I wasn’t thinking about revenge, pain, or loss.
I was thinking about tomorrow. About waking up beside him. About a life without fear.
Sophia’s Pov
