Chapter 15 - THE LIFE THEY BUILT IN THE LIGHT
Two years later, Naomi stood in the garden of their home overlooking the Hudson River.
The morning sun warmed her face.
A little boy laughed nearby.
“Mommy!”
She turned.
Their son, Luca Russo, ran toward her.
Dark curls.
Bright eyes.
A smile that looked exactly like Damian's.
Naomi laughed.
“Slow down, sweetheart.”
Damian appeared behind him.
He lifted Luca into his arms.
“Trouble?”
Luca giggled.
“Daddy!”
Naomi watched them.
For a moment, she remembered the night her scarf slipped.
The dining room.
The silence.
The fear.
Then she looked at the life they'd built.
Her restoration business had expanded.
She now worked with museums and private collectors.
Damian had stepped away from the criminal organization he'd inherited.
He focused on legitimate shipping and property investments.
That evening, after Luca fell asleep, Damian found Naomi in the library.
She was holding the silk scarf she'd worn that night.
He sat beside her.
“Thinking about the past?”
She smiled faintly.
“A little.”
He took her hand.
“Regrets?”
She thought about it.
Then shook her head.
“Not about choosing you.”
Damian smiled.
Naomi looked at him.
“Do you remember what you asked me at dinner?”
He nodded.
“Who left those marks on your neck?”
She swallowed.
“And do you remember what you said afterward?”
Damian looked at her.
“You don't owe me an apology for someone else's cruelty.”
Her eyes filled.
She leaned against him.
Outside, the river glittered beneath the moonlight.
Inside, their son slept peacefully.
And Naomi finally understood something.
Love wasn't supposed to make her afraid.
It wasn't supposed to demand silence.
It wasn't supposed to turn her into someone who hid behind scarves and excuses.
May you like
Love was supposed to make room for the truth.
And with Damian, she'd finally found a place where she could tell it.
