Epilogue - Carmen
Months pass. The ash washes away from where the Rubio Mansion burned. My father is buried with a bullet hole in his chest. Life can never be the same again.
But I don’t want it to be, either.
The war is over, but peace doesn’t happen overnight.
At first, I didn’t want anything to do with it.
But the negotiations were slow, tense, full of old grudges and fresh wounds. The Cartel surrendered to avoid bloodshed, but they were more than capable of causing headaches.
And at some point, between Dante’s complaints and late nights, moving from hotel to hotel, to pure frustration at my morning sickness and sheer, inescapable boredom, I walked into the Prince’s Guild casino and sat myself down at the table.
Mia was on one side, and Dante was to my left. Both were capable of taking out anyone who had any problems with me.
The remaining factions of the Cartel refused to negotiate with Leon after what happened. Bitterness and frustration from both sides only fueled those fires.
But me? Ironically enough, the Cartel seemed to view killing your father as a right of passage. At least, that’s what they told me. Dante theorized they were trying to get a handle on the power vacuum that my father and Lacruz left behind.
So, the Cartel surrendered. Under my terms.
It was strange at first, stepping into that role. I had spent my whole life being owned by the Cartel, a daughter, a pawn, a symbol of their empire. But now, I sat at the table as something else. Not a princess, not a prisoner— a leader.
Dante doesn’t love it. I see the way his jaw clenches every time I step into another meeting, the way his hand always hovers near his gun when we sit down with men who used to call themselves my father’s most loyal.
But he doesn’t stop me. He trusts me to make the decisions I need to make.
Mia, too, has been by my side through all of it, offering insights or a discrete assassination when we debrief afterward. Often, while the redhead indulges in a glass of wine and offers me herbal remedies for my horrendous pregnancy symptoms.
I end up meeting Cassandra and Isabella, too. Rocco and Teo’s partners end up welcoming me into their group with surprising ease.
Isabella is sharp-tongued and devastatingly beautiful. She is completely ruthless when she wants to be, but she laughs wildly and freely and draws me in with a surprising gentleness.
Cassandra is quieter, but there’s a steel in her that’s impossible to ignore. It takes a while for her to open up, to sing for me. But after hearing her voice, there was no going back. I was always going to be totally enamored by her.
Between the three of them, I have something I haven’t had in years— friends.
And when we meet together, when they bring their children and share their own stories and happiness, I see my own child’s future. This is the next generation of powerful leaders—capable of anything they put their minds to.
The city belongs to the Prince’s Guild now, a formidable empire with no one left to oppose it.
After the negotiations finish and pregnancy gets the better of me, I whisper one night to Dante that I’m done.
The very next day, the Cartel is essentially annexed to the Prince’s Guild, and Dante eagerly hands over the reins to Rocco. If he muttered “good riddance” as he did so, that’s between him and God.
Teo and Isabella also settle back in Brooklyn, keeping on top of the Guild’s operations, while Leon and Mia keep Manhattan in line, both couples working tirelessly to strengthen an alliance that has taken a heavy beating from the war.
And Dante and I help. We’re in Brooklyn one week and Manhattan the next. We take a surprisingly unremarkable trip to Cancún, and then it’s several nights in Long Island.
As the city settles into a new rhythm, so do we.
But it never quite feels like home.
Even when, one quiet morning, in a hospital room surrounded by our friends, we welcome a new addition to our family.
It’s a boy.
Felix.
The room was filled with joy, laughter, and tears. Hugs are offered by old friends and new ones. Dante’s eyes never left our son’s tiny face. His hands were gentle and steady as he held him for the first time.
There were a thousand unspoken promises in his gaze. That he would protect him. That we would raise him in a world where he could be anything he wanted to be.
But as the excitement slowly faded and the life we had been living began to settle, something else became clear.
Brooklyn wasn’t where we were supposed to be.
It wasn’t because we had to leave. It wasn’t because we hadn’t built something strong here. It wasn’t even because the city was unsafe.
It was because there was somewhere else our hearts called home.
Dante and I, hand in hand, packed our bags and made the journey back to Montecroce.
* * *
The very cobblestones beneath our feet seem to welcome us back. The gentle breeze is a loving caress as we walk the familiar streets. Felix dozes in his sling around my chest as we take it all in.
For a while, it feels like I’m walking into a dream.
We don’t talk much as we make our way up to the Castello di Ferro . There’s no need.
Dante simply squeezes my hand, and I know he feels it too, this sense of finally being free, being able to breathe again.
The Iron Castle looms ahead, the tall, jagged silhouette sharp against the skyline. It’s still as intimidating as ever, but now I look at it with such nostalgic fondness, that it’s hard for my heart not to race at the sight of it.
“We made it,” I whisper.
He smiles back. “We did.”
Evelina doesn’t wait for us to reach the doors of the Iron Castle before she runs toward us, her arms outstretched, her face glowing with that unmistakable joy I haven’t seen in far too long.
All the stress, the endless worry, the loneliness—it all melts away as she draws us into her embrace.
“ La mia principessa .” Her hands reach for my face, her eyes brimming with tears before they shift to Dante and then to the tiny bundle across my chest.
“Evelina,” I say softly, unstrapping sleeping Felix so that they can greet each other properly. “There’s someone we’d like you to meet.”
“My grandson,” she says, her voice trembling.
She reaches for him, taking him from me with practiced ease, her gaze softening as she gazes down at the baby.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so at peace, so whole —and I wonder, briefly, if it’s because of the little life we’ve created or if it’s just the joy of having us all back where we belong. Perhaps it’s both.
“Let me have him for a while,” Evelina says, a gentle command in her voice, and though I don’t want to let him go, I can see the hunger in her eyes. She needs this time, and I know better than to deny the matriarch this.
I nod, stepping back and watching as she cradles him in her arms. Her soft hums fill the air as she speaks to him in Italian, words I can barely catch. She holds him like he’s the most precious thing in the world.
I turn to Dante, and he watches the scene unfold with a small, fond smile, one that I’ve come to love more than I ever thought possible.
Ever since we got off the plane…hell, ever since we made the decision to come back, there’s been something different about him. Something softer, more relaxed. Something right. His smile comes easier, his laughter freer.
And all I can do is fall in love with him all over again.
“Come,” Evelina says, breaking my reverie. “Let’s go inside. There’s much to catch up on.”
We follow her, the sound of our footsteps on the marble floor echoing through the halls. My fingers brush against the cool, worn walls as we tread the familiar passages. I’m remembering Italian curses and masquerade balls and indiscrete kisses in every crooked corner.
When we reach the sunroom, the light of the late afternoon filters through the glass, casting golden beams across the room, but something pulls me magnetically toward the open veranda beyond. It’s like an invisible thread tethering me to this place.
The doors open wider with a soft creak as I step through, drawn immediately to the sprawling castle gardens before me.
I stand there, rooted to the spot, letting my gaze sweep across the landscape—the same flowers, the same stone paths, the half-crumbled walls. Time feels both endless and fleeting here. It feels as though I’ve never truly left.
My breath catches in my throat as I press my palm against my beating heart, the reality of it all sinking in.
I’m home.
Everything that happened—everything I’ve fought for—has brought me back here. It’s a fantasy turned to reality.
I never thought I could have anything more than what my father expected from me. Now, my choices have led me to the only place I ever truly felt I could belong.
I can hear Evelina’s voice in the sunroom, a soft murmur as she speaks to the baby, her words laced with affection. Her joy is palpable, and for a moment, I let the sound of it wash over me, the peace of it settling in my chest.
It feels like all the pain, all the grief, has melted away. I’ve returned to a dream, one I’m not sure I ever wanted to wake from.
How far I’ve come, how much has changed, how much I’ve lost, and how much I’ve gained, all swirl around my mind in joyous equilibrium.
Peace. Complete and utter peace.
Finally.
I don’t hear him at first, but then I feel his presence behind me. The air shifts just slightly, and I turn to find him standing there, a tender, almost uncertain expression on his face.
“Are you happy?” Dante asks softly as if trying to hold the moment in his precious tone.
It’s a simple question, but one that catches me off guard.
I blink, trying to process his words, trying to find the answer I know is true. I open my mouth to speak, but the words are slow to come, as though the gravity of it is too much to put into a single sentence.
But then I realize that it doesn’t need to be complicated. I am happy. I am more than happy. I’m complete. I have everything.
“I am,” My eyes never leaving his.“More than I ever thought I could be.”
Dante smiles, his eyes lighting up as his fingers brush against my arm gently…before he lowers himself to the floor in one smooth motion.
My heart skips a beat, my breath catching in my throat as I try to understand what he’s doing.
When he opens his palm, I see the glint of a diamond, and my brain just short-circuits.
Peace? What peace.
My heart races at a thousand miles a second. The shock is too much, and my chest tightens with the unfathomable realization of what is about to happen.
“Dante…what the fuck?” My voice comes out higher than I thought it was capable of.
“I was going to wait,” he starts, giving me a meaningful look that obviously reads “shut up and let me do this”. “I thought we’d at least get the unpacking done, settle in first, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“Oh, you bastard, ” I say, but the heat is taken away by the tears that are already dripping from my eyes.
“Carmen, I love you. I always have. I want you to curse my name in Italian for the rest of our lives, scream at me, love me , just...be with me. Always.”
He holds the ring out to me, his fingers trembling slightly as though he’s as nervous as I am.
“I can’t believe this is real,” I murmur as a laugh escapes me. My heart is pounding, my hands shaking as I reach for the ring, my fingers grazing his.
With another soft, breathless laugh, I finally manage to say, “Yes. Yes, Dante. A thousand times, yes.”
Before he can say anything more, I pull him to me, my arms wrapping around his neck as I kiss him—gentle at first, but then with all the passion I’ve held inside for so long.
When we finally break apart, both of us breathing hard, I rest my forehead against his, my arms still wrapped around him, as though I never want to let go.
“I can’t believe you’re mine,” I whisper against his lips, shaking my head in disbelief.
“I think you’ve been mine all along,” Dante replies just as softly.
As he slides the ring onto my finger, everything falls into place. There are no more questions, no more doubts.
This is where we belong. This is our beginning. Together. Forever.
And as I look into his eyes, I know that no matter what comes next, we’ll face it together. Because now, there’s nothing standing in our way.
“I love you, princess.”
“I love you, too,” I reply, my heart full.
And as we stand there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the weight of our journey behind us, I know this is the start of everything I’ve ever dreamed of.
* * *
Loved this? Then read Leon and Mia’s story next in Deception & Desire: An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance