Chapter 10 - The Choice to Stay
Adrian asked Sofia to meet him in the library one rainy October evening.
A year earlier, she would not have entered the room without permission.
Now Emma’s drawings decorated one corner of the fireplace, and Sofia’s favorite books sat on a shelf beside Adrian’s.
Still, Sofia looked nervous.
“What is it?” she asked.
Adrian stood near the window.
“I have something to tell you.”
She waited.
“The Moretti organization is finished.”
Sofia blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve sold the legal businesses. The illegal operations are shut down. Marcus is helping the authorities clean out what remains.”
“And you?”
“I’m leaving Chicago for a while.”
Her face changed.
Adrian felt it immediately.
“You’re leaving?”
“I was offered a chance to work with a foundation for families affected by organized crime. Victim support. Legal aid. Housing.”
Sofia looked down.
“That sounds good.”
“It is.”
“But?”
“But I don’t know if I deserve a new life.”
Sofia’s eyes lifted.
“Adrian.”
He rarely let anyone use his first name.
“You don’t earn a new life by suffering forever,” she said. “You earn it by becoming responsible for the life you have now.”
He took a slow breath.
“I want you and Emma to come with me.”
Sofia was silent.
“I’m not asking you to marry me,” he added quickly. “I’m not asking you to owe me anything. I just… I don’t want to build a life without you in it.”
The rain struck the glass.
Sofia walked toward him.
“You used to think protecting people meant keeping them close,” she said. “Behind gates. Behind guards. Behind your rules.”
“I know.”
“And now?”
“Now I know love means giving them a choice.”
She studied him for a long time.
Then she smiled faintly.
“Emma and I have been running for almost two years.”
“You don’t have to run anymore.”
“No,” Sofia said. “We don’t.”
Emma appeared in the doorway, holding Daisy.
“Are we having a serious talk?”
Sofia laughed.
“We are.”
Emma walked to Adrian.
“Are you sad?”
“Not today.”
“Good.” She climbed onto his lap. “Because flowers don’t like sad people.”
Adrian held her close.
“No,” he said. “They don’t.”
Three weeks later, the three of them visited Luca’s grave.
Sofia brought white lilies.
Emma brought a sunflower.
Adrian stood a few steps back until Sofia reached for his hand.
“We don’t forget him,” she said.
“I know.”
“We carry him with us.”
Adrian nodded.
Emma placed the sunflower against the stone.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said. “Mommy smiles now.”
Sofia began to cry.
Emma continued.
“Mr. Moretti is good. He’s learning.”
Adrian laughed softly through tears.
Then Emma looked up at the sky.
“Claire helps too.”
The wind moved through the cemetery grass.
And for the first time, Adrian did not feel surrounded by death.
May you like
He felt surrounded by love that had survived it.
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