Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ISABELLA
I didn't sleep last night.
Neither did Enzo.
We spent the night in his room—the guest room Matteo assigned him after the rescue because apparently kicking him out permanently became complicated when he saved my life—and we just lay there in the dark holding each other.
Not talking. Not sleeping. Just existing in the same space and breathing and being alive.
"You okay?" Enzo asks quietly into the darkness.
"No. But I will be."
His arms tighten around me. "You’re okay."
"You can’t leave me again, Enzo."
"I'm here," he confirms quietly. "I'm not going anywhere. Whatever Matteo decides today, whatever happens next, I'm not leaving you again."
"He might make you leave."
"Then you're coming with me."
"Enzo—"
"I mean it, Isabella. I'm done being separated from you. I'm done letting other people decide whether we get to be together. If Matteo says I have to leave, you're leaving with me and we'll figure out the rest as we go."
The certainty in his voice makes my chest tight.
"Okay," I whisper. “If he makes you leave, I go with you."
He kisses my forehead and we lie there until the sun starts coming up and neither of us has slept and there's a knock on the door.
Rafael's voice. "Matteo wants to see you both. His office. Ten minutes."
We get up in silence.
I shower quickly, change into clean clothes and try not to think about what this meeting means, what Matteo is going to say, whether this is the conversation where everything falls apart again or the one where it finally comes together.
Enzo is waiting when I come out, already dressed, his face carefully neutral.
"Ready?" he asks.
"Let’s do this."
We walk through the house together and I'm acutely aware of the way people are looking at us, the staff and the guards, everyone knowing what happened yesterday, everyone knowing that Enzo came back and rescued me and killed for me.
Everyone watching to see what happens next.
Matteo's office door is closed when we arrive.
Enzo knocks and we wait and my heart is hammering so hard I can hear it in my ears.
"Come in," Matteo's voice.
We enter together and Matteo is behind his desk, when he sees us his eyes immediately go to the way Enzo's hand is resting on my lower back, the way we're standing close enough that our shoulders are almost touching.
"Close the door," he says.
Enzo closes it and we stand in front of Matteo's desk like students called to the principal's office.
I'm trying to read his expression, trying to figure out what he's thinking, but his face gives nothing away.
He's quiet for a long moment, just looking at us.
Then he speaks.
"I had a conversation with Alessia last night," he says. "A long one. About you two. About everything that's happened. About what I should do."
I hold my breath.
"She told me I was being an idiot." A small smile flickers at the corner of his mouth. "Not in those exact words, but close enough. She said that keeping you apart is only causing more damage. That I'm punishing you both for something that isn't actually a crime."
"Matteo—" I start.
He holds up one hand. "Let me finish."
I close my mouth.
"I've been angry," he continues, and his voice is measured and careful.
"Angry mostly at you, Enzo, for going behind my back.
" He pauses. "But Alessia pointed out that Isabella is not my property.
That she doesn't need my permission to love someone.
That treating her like she does is part of the problem. "
Something in my chest loosens slightly.
"And she also pointed out," Matteo says, looking at Enzo directly, "that you have repeatedly proven yourself.
When Isabella was taken, you were the one who knew where she was.
You were the one who led us in. You were the one who got her out.
You killed Killian O'Rourke. You saved her life multiple times.
" He pauses. "There is no one better suited to keep her safe than you. I know that now."
Enzo doesn't speak, just stands there with his hand still on my back, waiting.
"So I've made a decision," Matteo says. "I'm not going to stand in your way anymore. If you want to be together, you can be together. I won't fight it."
"Really?" My voice comes out barely a whisper.
"Really." Matteo looks at me and something in his face softens. "I want you to be happy, Isabella. That's always been what I wanted. And if being with Enzo makes you happy, then I'm not going to stand between you."
Tears are already running down my face and I don't try to stop them.
"Thank you," I manage. "Thank you, Matteo."
He nods and turns back to Enzo. "But I have conditions."
"Name them," Enzo says quietly.
"First, my trust in you has been broken. That's not something that gets fixed overnight. You're going to have to earn it back and that's going to take time. Maybe years. I don't know yet."
"I understand."
"Second, you will be honest with me from now on. About everything. No more secrets, no more hiding things, no more going behind my back. If something is happening that I should know about, you tell me. Clear?"
"Clear."
"Third, you will protect her. With your life if necessary. She and Alessia are the most important thing in my world and if you're going to be with her, that means she becomes the most important thing in yours too. Non-negotiable."
"She already is," Enzo says simply. "That's not new."
Matteo studies him for a long moment and then nods. "Good. Then we understand each other."
"We do."
"One more thing." Matteo's voice gets quieter, more serious.
"The De Lucas are still a problem. Salvatore is demanding answers about Vittorio's death.
As you know, the O'Rourkes are weakened but not destroyed.
And there are going to be people who see your relationship as weakness, as distraction, as something to exploit.
" He looks between us. "Being together means being targets. Both of you. You understand that?"
"Yes," I say.
"And you're willing to accept that risk?"
I look at Enzo and he looks at me and I see everything we've been through in his eyes, all the pain and separation and fighting to get back to each other.
"Yes," I say firmly. "I'm willing."
Matteo nods slowly. "Then my decision is final. You have my blessing. Such as it is."
The words hang in the air for a moment.
Then I'm moving, crossing to Matteo's desk, and I hug him hard enough that he makes a surprised sound.
"Thank you," I say into his shoulder. "Thank you for understanding. Thank you for—"
"You're my sister," he says quietly, hugging me back. "I just want you happy and safe. That's all I've ever wanted."
I pull back and wipe my eyes and Matteo looks at Enzo.
"Take care of her," he says simply.
"I will," Enzo says. "I promise."
"Good." Matteo stands. "Now get out of my office. I have a war to prevent and I can't do it with you two standing here looking at each other like that."
I laugh and Enzo's hand finds mine and we turn to leave.
"Enzo," Matteo says when we're at the door.
We stop.
"Welcome back," Matteo says quietly. "Officially."
Something passes between them, some understanding or forgiveness or beginning of forgiveness, and Enzo nods once.
"Thank you."
We leave the office, the door closes behind us and we're standing in the hallway. I'm crying and laughing at the same time because it's over, the fighting is over, Matteo gave us his blessing and we get to be together.
Enzo pulls me against him and holds me tight.
"We're okay," he says into my hair. "We're actually okay."
"We're better than okay." I pull back to look at him. "We're together. Finally. Actually together."
He cups my face and kisses me, slow and sweet, and I kiss him back with everything I have, with all the relief and joy I feel.
When we break apart we're both smiling.
"So what now?" I ask.
"Now we figure out how to live our lives without looking over our shoulders every five seconds." He takes my hand. "And we do it together."
"Together," I agree.
We walk through the house hand in hand and I don't care who sees us, don't care who knows, because this is real now, this is allowed, this is ours and no one can take it away.
The future is uncertain. The De Lucas are still a threat. The O'Rourkes are still out there. War might still be coming.
But right now, in this moment, I have Enzo's hand in mine and my brother's blessing and the knowledge that we survived everything they threw at us.
We survived and we're still standing.
And whatever comes next, we'll face it together.