Chapter 54 Set The World On Fire
Set The World On Fire
You’ll always be my best friend, no matter what. —Enzo
Six months later
Enzo
I pace the hospital waiting room. Back and forth. Back and forth.
Izzy was taken in for a scheduled C-section—no way was she pushing three humans out of that tiny frame.
I was with her. Until I pulled a gun on the doctor because she started crying. That’s when they kicked me out.
That was an hour ago.
Papa places a steadying hand on my shoulder. “You’ll wear a hole in the floor, Lorenzo.”
“Shouldn’t they have called me by now? What if something’s wrong—with Izzy, with the babies?”
My breath comes in sharp bursts.
Then, finally, the door to the operating room opens. A nurse steps out, her expression unreadable.
“Mom and babies are all doing well,” she says. “I’ll take you to them now.”
Relief slams into me.
I follow her down the corridor, still half-numb, until we stop outside a door. She opens it.
There she is.
My wife.
The love of my life.
And our children—three perfect little bundles resting peacefully on Izzy’s chest.
She gives me a sleepy smile as I step closer. Dark circles under her eyes.
I press a kiss to her temple. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Want to meet your babies?”
I nod, overwhelmed.
She gently guides me to lift one. I fumble a bit, not sure I’m holding them right.
“That one’s Giulia,” she whispers.
We’d settled on names early—triplets were enough of a surprise, we didn’t need any more. Giulia is named after my mamma—she cried when we told her.
“And this is Chiara,” she continues, “and Leonardo.”
“You got your wish,” I murmur.
She squints at me. “What wish?”
“You wanted three kids.”
“You remembered that?”
“Of course. I remember everything you say to me.”
Her smile is soft, her eyelids already drooping.
I set Giulia gently in the crib, then take the other two, holding them briefly before laying them down beside their sibling.
“You’re getting a vasectomy,” she mumbles through a yawn.
“What?”
“I have my three. I’m not doing this again.”
I chuckle and climb into the bed beside her, careful not to jostle her. “Okay, Cuore mio. I’ll get one scheduled.”
She’s asleep in seconds.
“I’ll love you forever,” I whisper—to her, to our babies.
The door cracks open.
Papa pokes his head in. “Look who’s here.”
He pushes it wider.
Carina’s pink hair is the first thing I see, Nate close behind her.
Kai walks in bouncing Nico on his hip, and Tess follows, rolling her eyes—still claiming Nico hates her.
I press a finger to my lips and nod toward Izzy.
Sliding off the bed, I gesture them toward the cribs.
A chorus of whispered “oohs” and “ahhs” fills the room.
I don’t let them pick anyone up—Izzy and I agreed: no unnecessary germs yet. Tess pouts but doesn’t argue.
I shoo them out not long after.
Izzy is all that matters right now.
The way I love her is tangible, visceral.
It’s a deep-seated need that aches in my bones when I’m not with her.
She’s my first thought when I wake up, my last before I fall asleep.
As long as I have her—her, and now our three beautiful little babies—nothing else matters.
I’d set the world on fire for them, and watch its ashes burn with a smile on my face.
She rolls over in the bed, mumbling in her sleep.
I just want to hold her.
So, I do.
Forever.