The Mafia Boss Woke Up After 49 Days In A Coma—And The First Word He Whispered Was My Toddler's Secret Name

Six months later, the Long Island estate felt entirely different.

The dark velvet drapes had been replaced with airy linen sheers that danced in the Atlantic sea breeze. The sterile second-floor medical suite had been completely dismantled, renovated into a sun-drenched playroom filled with wooden dollhouses, miniature tea sets, and a mountain of plush rabbits.

I stood on the wide stone terrace overlooking the lawn, holding a porcelain cup of Earl Grey tea. Down by the rose gardens, Poppy was running through the grass, shrieking with pure toddler delight as she chased a golden retriever puppy Rosalind had gifted her for her fourth birthday.

A pair of strong, warm arms wrapped gently around my waist from behind.

Matteo rested his chin against the crown of my head, pulling me back against his broad chest. His heartbeat was steady, strong, and rhythmic beneath his linen shirt—the very heartbeat that had nearly stopped forever half a year ago.

""You're thinking too loud, Nell,"" he murmured, his voice rich and low against my ear.

""I was just thinking about the laundry cart,"" I confessed, leaning back into his embrace, closing my eyes as the warm afternoon sun washed over us. ""How Poppy used to sleep inside it while I scrubbed floors at two in the morning. I was terrified she’d never have a real bedroom. And now she has an entire wing of a mansion.""

""She has an empire,"" Matteo corrected softly, kissing the side of my neck. ""And she saved its king.""

""We signed the real papers yesterday, Matteo,"" I said, turning in his arms to look up into his dark, handsome face. The scars on his jaw were still there, but the harsh, bitter lines around his mouth had vanished, replaced by a calm that this house had never known. ""You didn't have to marry me. The board accepted Julian's DNA test. Poppy was safe.""

Matteo looked down at me, his thumb tracing the curve of my cheekbone with that familiar, devastating tenderness.

""You shot a hitman for me when I was half-dead, Nell,"" he said, a genuine smile touching his lips. ""You walked into this lion's den with nothing but a gray rabbit and a lullaby, and you gave me back my brother, my life, and my family. I didn't marry you to satisfy the board. I married you because I spent forty-nine days in the dark, and your daughter's song guided me back to the light... but you are the reason I decided to stay.""

Down on the grass, Poppy tumbled into the soft clover, giggling as the puppy licked her cheeks. She scrambled to her feet, waved her little arms up toward the terrace, and shouted at the top of her lungs:

""Mommy! Matteo! Look at Mr. Fluff! He's flying!""