Chapter Twenty-Seven-What He Did for Us-Azul
1683 Words
I didn’t know what to do with Enzo.
That was the problem.
I didn’t know what to do with a man who could walk into a room angry enough to make everyone afraid, then look at me and suddenly become gentle.
I didn’t know what to do with a man who had just returned from another country and, instead of resting, had immediately come looking for me.
And I definitely didn’t know what to do with the fact that when he hugged me that morning, I had held onto him.
I had not planned to.
I hadn’t even thought about it.
It just happened.
The moment his arms wrapped around me, something inside my chest loosened.
For the first time since those men had entered my bakery, I felt safe.
And that scared me.
Because Enzo Vitale was not supposed to be the person who made me feel safe.
He was supposed to be the person I stayed away from.
Everyone in Palermo knew the Vitale name.
I knew what people whispered.
I knew what happened around powerful men like him.
And yet, somehow, when I saw him standing in front of me that morning, I didn’t think about any of that.
I only thought about how much I had missed seeing him.
I hated admitting that to myself.
I hated it even more because Enzo had been telling me for weeks that he missed me.
And every time he said it, I never said it back.
Not because I didn’t understand.
Not because I didn’t care.
I simply didn’t know what I was supposed to say.
But now…
I knew.
I missed him.
More than I wanted to admit.
⸻
After Enzo told us that everything had been settled, the room became strangely quiet.
Mateo was sitting on the couch with his head lowered.
He looked nothing like the loud, shameless man who had spent the entire weekend in Sardinia taking pictures and eating everything Enzo put in front of him.
He looked broken.
My father sat beside my mother.
She was holding his hand.
Neither of them spoke.
I looked at Mateo.
For a moment, I was angry with him.
Really angry.
My bakery had been destroyed.
Our home had been damaged.
Our crops were ruined.
My mother had cried.
My father had looked like he had aged ten years overnight.
And I had been standing in my own bakery with a gun pointed at me.
All because of his gambling.
But when I looked at him, I couldn’t keep the anger inside me.
He was my brother.
No matter how foolish he had been, he was still my brother.
I reached for my tablet.
I typed slowly.
Azul: Are you okay?
Mateo looked at me.
His eyes were red.
He nodded.
Then he shook his head.
I knew exactly what he meant.
No.
He wasn’t okay.
None of us were.
He rubbed his face.
“I’m sorry, Azul.”
I stared at him.
He swallowed.
“I’m really sorry.”
I didn’t know what to say.
So I simply reached over and placed my hand on his shoulder.
He looked down at my hand.
Then he started crying.
Quietly.
And somehow that hurt more than seeing him angry.
My mother began crying too.
My father closed his eyes.
For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
Then Enzo spoke.
“Enough.”
His voice wasn’t loud.
But everyone heard it.
“What’s done is done.”
Mateo looked at him.
Enzo continued.
“You made a terrible mistake. You nearly destroyed your family because of it.”
Mateo lowered his head.
“But you’re alive. Your family is alive. And the people who threatened them are no longer a problem.”
I looked at Enzo.
He glanced at me.
His expression softened immediately.
That little change in him still amazed me.
One second he could look like the most terrifying man in Palermo.
The next, his eyes were gentle because he was looking at me.
He walked over.
He sat beside me.
Our shoulders touched.
I didn’t move away.
His hand found mine.
This time, I let him hold it.
He looked down at our hands.
Then at me.
I could see the surprise in his eyes.
He didn’t say anything.
Neither did I.
But I knew he noticed.
⸻
Lunch was quieter than usual.
Usually Mateo would be talking.
Usually my mother would tell him to slow down.
Usually my father would complain about something.
Usually I would be watching them all and smiling.
But that day, there was barely any conversation.
Enzo stayed.
He didn’t rush back to work.
He didn’t leave.
He sat beside me throughout lunch.
Every now and then, his thumb moved over the back of my hand.
It was such a small gesture.
But I noticed it every time.
After lunch, my mother went into the kitchen.
My father followed her.
Mateo disappeared outside.
That left Enzo and me alone in the living room.
He turned toward me.
“How are you really?”
I looked at him.
He waited.
I picked up my tablet.
Azul: I’m okay.
He frowned.
“That’s what you always say.”
I looked at him.
He leaned closer.
“You were threatened with a gun.”
My fingers stopped.
“You watched your home get destroyed.”
I swallowed.
“You were hurt.”
I looked down at my palm.
The bruise was still there.
Enzo’s jaw tightened.
“I should have been here.”
I quickly shook my head.
He looked at me.
“I should have been here,” he repeated.
I typed.
Azul: You came back.
He stared at the words.
Then he looked at me.
“Of course I came back.”
His voice was almost a whisper.
“I’ll always come back to you.”
Something moved inside my chest.
I looked away.
Enzo reached for my face.
He stopped before touching me.
He waited.
That was something I had noticed about him.
For all his possessiveness, for all the things he said about me being his, there were moments when he actually stopped.
He gave me the choice.
I slowly nodded.
His fingers touched my cheek.
Gently.
Nothing like the man everyone feared.
Just Enzo.
The man who brought flowers.
The man who brought my family to Sardinia.
The man who remembered that my mother loved The Notebook.
The man who bought me a ridiculous blue bag because it matched my eyes.
The man who called me vita mia.
My life.
I didn’t understand when he had become so important to me.
I didn’t understand when his messages had become something I looked forward to.
Or when I started noticing when he didn’t call.
Or when I started looking toward the café door whenever a black car stopped outside.
I didn’t understand when his absence started feeling strange.
But it had happened.
Somehow.
Quietly.
Without me noticing.
Enzo moved his thumb over my cheek.
“I was terrified when I saw that bruise.”
I looked into his eyes.
He looked tired.
Really tired.
“You don’t know what it did to me.”
I reached for my tablet.
I typed.
Azul: I’m sorry.
His eyebrows pulled together.
“Don’t apologize.”
I looked at him.
“You didn’t do anything.”
I nodded.
He leaned back.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I typed something else.
Azul: Thank you.
He stared at me.
“For what?”
I typed.
Azul: For helping my family.
He shook his head.
“I didn’t do it for thanks.”
I knew.
That was exactly what made it harder.
He didn’t have to do any of this.
He didn’t have to settle Mateo’s debt.
He didn’t have to protect us.
He didn’t have to bring us to his estate.
He didn’t have to take us to Sardinia.
He didn’t have to buy flowers.
He didn’t have to buy me anything.
He simply did.
Because that was Enzo.
When he wanted something, he gave everything he had.
And somehow, I had become something he wanted.
Something he cared about.
Something he was willing to fight for.
I looked down at our hands.
His fingers were still wrapped around mine.
I didn’t pull away.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
A tiny smile appeared on his face.
“My life.”
I looked at him.
“I missed you.”
My heart beat harder.
This time, I didn’t look away.
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
It never did.
But I picked up my tablet.
My fingers hovered over the screen.
Then I typed.
Azul: I missed you too.
Enzo froze.
Completely.
He stared at the screen.
Then at me.
“You…”
He stopped.
His eyes widened slightly.
I could almost see the moment those words reached him.
“You missed me?”
I nodded.
He looked like he had forgotten how to breathe.
Then he laughed.
Not loudly.
Just a quiet, disbelieving laugh.
“You finally said it.”
I blushed.
He leaned closer.
“I knew it.”
I shook my head quickly.
He smiled.
“You did.”
I rolled my eyes.
He laughed again.
And for the first time since the night everything fell apart…
I smiled.
A real smile.
Not because everything was okay.
It wasn’t.
Our home still needed repairs.
My bakery was damaged.
My family was still hurting.
Mateo had a debt he had nearly destroyed us with.
And there were still things I didn’t understand about Enzo.
About us.
About what he wanted.
About what I wanted.
But sitting there beside him, with his hand wrapped around mine, I realized something.
Maybe I didn’t have to understand everything today.
Maybe I could simply take one day at a time.
Maybe I could let myself care.
Maybe I could let myself miss him.
And maybe…
Just maybe…
I was finally beginning to understand why Enzo kept calling me his life.
Because somewhere along the way, without asking permission from my heart,
he had become part of mine.
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