Epilogue 3
The following days were filled with a heavy silence.
The mansion, once loud with laughter, baby cries, and endless teasing between Alexander and Lorenzo, suddenly felt different. Even the walls seemed quieter, as if they too understood something painful was happening.
Lorenzo barely left the hospital.
Every night he stayed beside his grandfather’s bed, refusing to go home no matter how many times the doctors told him to rest. I visited every day with the babies, but Lorenzo remained there long after we left.
Sometimes I would find him sitting beside the bed, holding his grandfather’s hand while staring quietly at the machines.
Fear lived in his eyes.
For the first time since I met him… Lorenzo looked helpless.
Two weeks passed like this.
Then one morning, the call came.
Grandfather had taken his last breath.
Peacefully.
The doctors said his heart simply stopped while he was sleeping, calm and quiet, as if he had already accepted his time had come.
Maybe he truly did.
Because before closing his eyes for the final time, he knew Lorenzo was no longer alone.
He had a family now.
A wife.
Two sons.
A home filled with love.
But losing him…
Was the greatest shock Lorenzo had ever faced.
The funeral was held two days later.
The entire mansion filled with people who respected the man who had built everything from nothing. Powerful men came to pay their respects, but the atmosphere remained somber and quiet.
Lorenzo stood at the front the entire time.
Silent.
Unmoving.
His face was calm, but I knew him well enough to see the storm hidden behind his eyes.
Alexander stood beside him like a brother, saying nothing but refusing to leave his side.
Even Nisha looked unusually quiet that day.
When the ceremony ended, everyone slowly began leaving.
But Lorenzo didn’t move.
He remained standing in front of the grave, staring at the name carved into the stone.
I walked toward him slowly, Lucas sleeping in my arms while Laksh rested against my shoulder.
For a long moment, Lorenzo said nothing.
Then finally he spoke quietly.
“He built everything.”
His voice sounded distant.
“He raised me. Taught me how to survive. How to fight. How to protect what belongs to me.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“And now he’s gone.”
I gently placed my hand on his arm.
“You still have us,” I whispered.
Lorenzo looked down at the babies in my arms.
Lucas moved slightly in his sleep, his tiny fingers curling around the edge of my saree.
Something in Lorenzo’s expression softened.
Slowly, he reached out and touched Laksh’s tiny hand.
The baby immediately wrapped his fingers around Lorenzo’s thumb.
And just like that…
For the first time since the funeral began…
Lorenzo’s expression broke.
Not into tears.
But into something quieter.
Something softer.
Love.
He looked at me, then at the twins.
And for the first time since losing his grandfather, he whispered something that made my heart ache.
“I’ll protect this family.”
The days after the funeral pass slowly.
The mansion is quieter than it has ever been. The halls that once echoed with Nonno’s deep voice and occasional scolding now hold only silence.
But life… doesn’t stop.
Lucas and Laksh still wake up in the middle of the night.
Leo still patrols the house like the twins are the most important mission of his life.
And Lorenzo…
Lorenzo tries to be strong.
But I can see the grief hiding behind his calm face.
Some nights I wake up and find the bed beside me empty.
The first time it happened, my heart dropped.
I walked through the quiet halls of the mansion until I found him.
In Nonno’s study.
The room still smells faintly of old books and cigars, exactly the way it always did.
Lorenzo sits behind the large wooden desk, staring at the chair across from him—the one Nonno used to sit in.
His expression is distant.
Lost in memories.
I quietly walk inside without saying anything.
For a moment he doesn’t even notice me.
Then Lucas makes a small sleepy sound in my arms.
Lorenzo looks up.
His eyes soften immediately when he sees the baby.
“You should be sleeping,” he says quietly.
“So should you,” I reply.
I walk closer and place Lucas gently into his arms.
At first Lorenzo freezes slightly, as if he wasn’t expecting it.
Then his large hands carefully cradle our son.
Lucas stretches his tiny arms and yawns loudly.
Lorenzo lets out a quiet breath that almost sounds like a laugh.
“He sleeps like Nonno,” he murmurs.
I lean against the desk beside him.
“He would have loved watching them grow up.”
Lorenzo nods slowly.
For a moment the room fills with silence again.
Then Lorenzo suddenly speaks.
“He used to bring me here when I was a child,” he says quietly.
“He would sit in that chair and tell me stories about our family… about mistakes… about loyalty.”
He gently brushes Lucas’s soft hair.
“He always said one day this family would be mine to protect.”
I smile softly.
“And now it is.”
Lorenzo looks down at Lucas again.
Our son opens his eyes for a moment before immediately grabbing Lorenzo’s finger with his tiny hand.
The sight makes Lorenzo go completely still.
Then Laksh suddenly starts crying from the baby monitor sitting on the desk.
I sigh.
“Your other son disagrees with this peaceful moment.”
Lorenzo actually chuckles.
The sound is quiet, but it warms my heart instantly.
“I’ll get him,” he says, standing up carefully with Lucas still in his arms.
I follow him out of the study.
A few minutes later we’re back in the bedroom.
Laksh is now awake and loudly protesting life.
Lorenzo picks him up gently while still holding Lucas.
I stare at him.
“You look ridiculous.”
“I look efficient.”
“You look like a walking baby holder.”
Lucas suddenly sneezes.
Laksh immediately starts waving his arms dramatically.
Leo walks into the room and sits near the bed, watching the twins with serious concentration.
Lorenzo sighs dramatically.
“This house is chaos.”
I laugh softly.
But as I watch him holding both of our sons…
I realize something.
The grief is still there.
Nonno’s absence will always hurt.
But Lorenzo is no longer the lonely man he once was.
Now he has something bigger.
A family.
A future.
And as Lucas and Laksh continue making tiny chaotic noises in Lorenzo’s arms, he looks at them with quiet determination.
Just like he promised.
He will protect them.
Always.