“Tonight, we celebrate what the Morettis have always valued most—family.”
Emma’s stomach flipped.
“My grandson has spent his entire life protecting this family. Sacrificing for this family. Building a legacy that will outlast all of us.”
Luca’s hand found Emma’s.
“But tonight,” Teresa continued, “I want to celebrate the fact that he finally found someone worth building a life with. Someone brave enough to challenge him. Someone strong enough to stand beside him. Someone who reminds us all that love is the strongest protection we have.”
Emma’s eyes burned.
Teresa raised her glass. “To Emma. Who walked into our lives and reminded us what it means to be home.”
The room erupted in applause.
Emma couldn’t breathe.
Luca leaned in. “Breathe.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
Emma forced air into her lungs.
When she looked up, everyone was watching her.
She should have been terrified.
Instead, she felt something she’d never expected to feel in a room full of Morettis.
She felt like she belonged.
After the party, Emma found Teresa in the library.
“That was too much,” Emma said.
“It was exactly enough.”
Emma sat down beside her. “You barely know me.”
“I know everything I need to know.”
“How?”
Teresa smiled. “Because I’ve watched you with my grandson. I’ve seen the way he softens when you’re near. The way he laughs. The way he touches that ring in his pocket and then reaches for you instead.”
Emma’s breath caught.
“He’s going to propose,” Teresa said simply.
“You don’t know that.”
“I had the ring resized last week.”
Emma stared at her.
Teresa patted her hand. “When he does, say yes. Not because I want you to. Because you’ve already decided to spend your life with him. I can see it in the way you look at him.”
Emma wanted to argue.
But Teresa was right.
She’d already decided.
Six months later, Luca proposed in the garden under the oak tree where Emma had gone to process her anger and her fear and her love.
It was early morning. The light was soft. Emma was still in her pajamas.
Luca knelt in the grass and held out a ring that had belonged to his grandmother.
“I was going to plan something elaborate,” he said. “Something worthy of you. But then I realized you’d probably hate it.”
Emma laughed through tears. “You’re right.”
“So I’m doing this here. Now. In the place where you decided to stay.”
Emma’s chest ached.
“I love you, Emma. I love the way you argue with me. The way you make me laugh. The way you’ve turned this house into a home. I love your sister. I love the way you’ve survived everything and still managed to be kind. I love—”
“Yes,” Emma interrupted.
Luca stopped. “I haven’t finished.”
“I know. But I’m saying yes anyway.”
Luca’s smile could have lit the entire city.
He slid the ring onto her finger.
It fit perfectly.
They were married three months later in the garden, surrounded by family and friends and all the people who had watched them transform from a fake relationship into something undeniably real.
Sophie cried through the entire ceremony.
Teresa cried harder.
