In return, I offer my protection and a life where no one will ever hurt you again. ”
The massive iron gates of the Romano estate parted. A sprawling limestone mansion radiated staggering wealth and profound isolation. Inside, imported Italian marble floors, a sweeping staircase, no warmth.
No photographs. No scattered toys. Dominic led her upstairs, bypassing the master wing, ushering her into a suite across from the children’s bedrooms. “Your space.
My men will retrieve your belongings. You are a Romano now. ”
“When do I meet them? ” she asked.
“Tomorrow morning. They are not easy. They’ve chased away every caregiver on the eastern seaboard. ”
The next morning, the mahogany dining table felt like a frozen battlefield.
The four children were escorted in by a stern-faced nanny. Luca glared with naked hostility. Mateo refused eye contact, gripping Sophia’s hand. Sophia looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes.
Little Bianca stared with wide curiosity, clutching a stuffed rabbit. “Who are you? ” Luca demanded. “Another hired babysitter?
Pack your bags. ”
Meline didn’t flinch. She walked to the table and sat opposite him. “My name is Meline.
I’m not a babysitter. I’m not here to be your friend or replace your mother. Your father asked me to keep you safe. I have nowhere else to go.
You can yell, break things, try to scare me. It won’t work. I’m staying. ”
Luca blinked, taken aback by her bluntness.
He kicked the table leg and dropped into his chair. The breakthrough didn’t happen overnight. For two weeks, the household remained tense. Luca tested her relentlessly.
Mateo stayed mute. The turning point came during a stormy Tuesday night. A shrill scream pierced the hallway. Meline sprinted into Sophia’s room.
The six-year-old was thrashing in her bed, eyes wide and vacant, screaming for a mother who would never answer. Meline didn’t call for help. She climbed into the small bed, pulling the hysterical child against her chest. “I’ve got you.
You are safe. The monsters cannot cross the threshold while I am holding you. ” She hummed an old Italian lullaby. Slowly, the thrashing subsided.
Sophia buried her face in Meline’s neck, small hands gripping her sweater like a lifeline. Standing in the doorway, Dominic watched. He hadn’t seen such instinctive grace since Camila’s death. Something tightened in his chest.
The barren woman, discarded by her own blood, possessed boundless capacity for fiercely protective love. By the end of the month, the tension began to thaw. Mateo started sitting quietly beside her while she painted. Bianca demanded to be carried, falling asleep on her lap.
Luca’s hostility faded into grudging respect. Meline never lied, never patronized. They were her only chance at motherhood, and she guarded them like a lioness. But outside the fortified walls, a storm brewed.
Frank Rossy’s thirty-day deadline expired. He didn’t have the money. His reputation in the commission was ruined. In desperation, he reached out to Arban Haxha.
They conspired to snatch one of Dominic’s heirs for leverage. They targeted Luca. The ambush happened on a crisp Friday afternoon. Meline had insisted on picking Luca up from school.
The SUV idled by the iron gates, flanked by a trailing security car. Luca emerged and began walking toward them, waving. A delivery van smashed into the security car. A black sedan screeched to a halt, blocking the SUV.
Four masked men with automatic weapons spilled out. “Lock the doors! ” Meline screamed. But Luca was still outside, frozen on the sidewalk.
She threw open the armored door and sprinted into the crossfire. “Luca, get down! ”
She tackled him behind a brick column. A gunshot cracked.
Blinding agony ripped through her left shoulder. She gasped, but refused to let go. She curled her body over his, blood pouring from her shoulder, soaking through her blouse. “I have got you.
You are safe. ”
The skirmish lasted less than sixty seconds. Gregory and the guards laid down suppressive fire. The attackers fled.
Luca looked up at her pale face. “Meline, you are bleeding. ”
“You are safe,” she whispered, and then darkness. She woke in a hospital room.
Dominic sat motionless beside her. “Luca? ” she croaked. “Unharmed.
Because of you. ” He took her hand. “Arban and your father planned it. They are dead.
I handled it. No threats remain. ”
The door creaked open. Luca slipped in, walked to the bed, tears in his eyes.
“You took a bullet for me. Thank you, Mom. ”
The word struck her. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
Dominic watched, his guarded heart breaking open. He stood, pulled a velvet box from his jacket, revealing a flawless diamond ring. “I don’t want a marriage of convenience anymore. I want you as my equal.
As my wife. ”
Meline looked at the powerful man who gave her purpose. She was exactly what this fractured family needed. “Yes,” she whispered, her smile radiant and genuine.
“A real wedding. ”