Chapter 10 - The Sovereign's Dawn
Six months later.
The morning sun spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the master suite at the Aruri estate in Beacon Hill, Boston. Outside, the lush green lawns stretched down to the iron gates, where a team of discrete guards maintained a twenty-four-hour watch.
Inside the sunlit nursery, a carved mahogany crib sat near the center of the room.
Kate stood by the window, wearing a soft white silk robe, holding a healthy, chubby six-month-old baby girl against her shoulder. Clara had grown rapidly over the spring, her dark eyes and stubborn chin a direct mirror of her father.
The door to the nursery opened quietly.
Luciano stepped inside, wearing a dark suit without his tie, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The ruthless boss of Boston's underworld looked entirely different in the warm light of the nursery—softer, grounded, his eyes fixed entirely on the two women in his life.
He walked up behind Kate, wrapping his heavy arms around her waist, pulling her back against his broad chest. He leaned down, resting his chin on her shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss to Clara’s soft head.
Clara let out a gurgling laugh, reaching up with her tiny hands to grab at her father's dark hair.
"She's getting heavy," Luciano murmured, a faint smile touching his lips as he took Clara from Kate's arms, balancing the baby easily on his forearm.
"She has an appetite," Kate laughed softly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "The doctor said her lung capacity is completely normal now. No signs of her premature birth."
"I told you she was strong," Luciano said, gently tickling Clara's belly, causing the baby to squeal with delight.
Kate turned to look at him, taking in the faint scar near his jawline—a remnant of the territorial war that had finally ended three months ago with the total surrender of the Moretti faction. The danger was not entirely gone from their lives—it never would be in his line of work—but for the first time in years, the house felt like a home, not a fortress.
"Marco called earlier," Kate said softly. "He said the rest of your meetings for today are canceled."
"I canceled them," Luciano replied, meeting her gaze. "I told him I had more important matters to attend to."
"Oh? And what matters are those, Mr. Aruri?"
Luciano set Clara gently down into her crib, placing a soft plush bear beside her. The baby yawned, her tiny eyelids growing heavy under the warm morning sunlight.
He turned back to Kate, wrapping his hands around her waist, pulling her close until there was no space left between them.
"Taking my wife back to Hawthorne Ridge for the weekend," Luciano whispered, his dark eyes shining with an unmistakable warmth. "Just the three of us."
Kate smiled, placing her hands on his chest, feeling the steady, powerful beat of his heart beneath her fingertips.
May you like
"No divorce papers?" she teased softly.
"No papers," Luciano promised, leaning down to press his lips against hers in a long, lingering kiss that tasted of promise, forgiveness, and an unbreakable future. "Only forever."
