Chapter 5 - The Walking Man
Three months.
That was the agreement Camila and I had made. Three months of home care, three months of physical therapy, and then I would pack my bags, pay my tuition, and return to my normal life.
Except my normal life no longer existed.
The final day of my contract arrived with the crisp, golden light of early spring. The cherry blossoms across the Pascale estate were in full bloom, painting the grounds in shades of pink and white. Inside the mansion, however, the mood was tense. Elena bustled about the kitchen, while the guards stationed outside maintained a rigid, watchful silence.
I stood in the library, packing my medical bag for the very last time. My notebooks were stacked neatly. My stethoscope was tucked into its leather pouch. My clothes were packed in the small suitcase waiting by the door.
The library doors opened, and Massimo rolled in.
He didn't use the wheelchair today.
He wore a dark tailored suit, his shoulders broad and upright. He gripped two heavy wooden canes, his jaw set in fierce concentration as he shifted his weight from his left foot to his right.
One step.
Then two.
It wasn't graceful. It wasn't fast. His legs trembled with the immense effort, but he was standing. He was walking.
I dropped my bag, my hands flying to my mouth as tears welled in my eyes. I rushed forward, hovering close just in case he lost his balance, but I didn't touch him. This was something he had to do on his own.
Massimo stopped two feet away from me. He took a ragged breath, leaning heavily on the canes, and looked down at me with a triumphant, undeniable fire in his dark eyes.
“Three months,” he said, his voice steady and proud. “Contract is complete, Miss Fitzgerald.”
“You’re walking,” I whispered, a sob catching in my throat.
“I told you,” he smiled faintly. “I’m very stubborn.”
Suddenly, Massimo tossed the canes aside.
Before I could react, his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me firmly against his chest as he caught his balance. I gasped, throwing my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder as a wave of overwhelming joy washed over us.
“You did it,” I cried softly against his collarbone. “You actually did it.”
“We did it,” Massimo corrected, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. His expression turned serious, the playful triumph fading into something deep and permanent. “The debts are paid, Tessa. Your tuition was transferred to your university this morning. Paid in full, for all four years of your doctoral program.”
I pulled back, staring at him in shock. “Massimo, you didn't have to—interfering with my life was not part of the deal!”
“It’s not interference,” he interrupted, taking my hand and pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. “It’s an investment. Just like you invested in me.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. My breath hitched. He dropped to one knee—an action that clearly strained his recovering spine, making him wince, but he refused to stop. He opened the box, revealing a stunning, antique diamond ring that sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight streaming through the library windows.
“Tessa,” Massimo said, his voice thick with emotion. “I spent my entire life building an empire of fear. I pushed everyone away, believing love was a weakness. But you walked into my home, uninvited, unafraid, and you forced me to see that the greatest strength I could ever have is the person standing beside me.”
He looked up at me, his dark eyes vulnerable and entirely open.
“Don’t leave, Tessa. Stay and help me build a new life. Marry me.”
The room around us seemed to disappear. The guards outside, the mafia enemies, the dark past, the uncertain future—none of it mattered. All that mattered was the man kneeling on the floor before me, a man who had fought his own body and his own demons just to build a future with me.
I smiled, tears of pure happiness spilling over my eyelashes.
“Yes,” I whispered, pulling him up into my arms. “Yes, Massimo. I’ll stay.”
May you like
He stood up, wrapping his arms around me, and kissed me with all the passion and promise of a man who had finally found his way home.
The mafia boss who had lost his power had found something infinitely more valuable. He had found his heart. And as we stood together in the sunlight, wrapped in each other's arms, I knew that whatever dangers lay ahead of us, we would face them together. Unbroken. Unstoppable. Forever.
