The voice again, closer this time, more urgent. Definitely not my imagination. But I don't turn around, don't let whoever it is see the doubt that flickers through me. This moment is mine, and I won't let anyone take it from me.
The next wave is larger, and when it hits, I let it take me under.
The cold is everything—sharp and clean and overwhelming. For a moment, I can't tell which way is up, can't think about anything except the shock of total immersion. It's like being reborn, like every cell in my body is waking up for the first time.
I am Sofia Gallo, and I choose this life.
I choose Dante.
I choose love.
I choose the risk and the danger and the possibility of building something beautiful in the middle of chaos.
I am not my father's victim or Vito's pawn or Kieran's prize.
I am myself, naked and freezing and absolutely certain.
The water closes over my head, and for a heartbeat, there's perfect silence. Peace. The kind of clarity that only comes when you strip away everything that isn't essential and find yourself still standing.
Then strong arms wrap around me, hauling me up and out of the waves with desperate efficiency. I break the surface gasping,my body shaking violently from the cold, my vision blurred by saltwater and shock.
"Jesus Christ, Sofia, what the hell were you thinking?"
I know that voice. Know those hands holding me steady as my legs threaten to give out. When my vision clears, I'm looking into familiar blue eyes—dark as midnight, wide with fear and relief and something that might be understanding.
"Dante?" My voice comes out as barely a whisper, my lips probably blue from the cold.
"Yeah, princess. It's me." His arms tighten around me, and I can feel him shaking too, though whether from cold or adrenaline, I can't tell. "I've got you."
He lifts me easily, carrying me toward shore, and I press my face against his neck, breathing in the scent of him. My chest aches with how much I've missed him.
"How?" I manage to ask as he sets me down on dry sand, immediately shrugging out of his jacket to wrap around my shoulders.
"Vito gave me an address. I've been driving for three hours to get here." His hands frame my face, thumbs brushing away the saltwater on my cheeks. "Sofia, what were you doing? You could have?—"
"I was claiming my space," I interrupt, surprised by how steady my voice sounds despite the violent shivering. "Making a choice that was mine alone."
He stares at me for a long moment, and I see the exact second he understands. The fear in his eyes shifts to something warmer, prouder.
"And what did you choose?"
I lean into his touch, this man who drove three hours to find me, who pulled me from freezing water without asking questions first. Who's looking at me like I'm precious and brave and exactly who I'm supposed to be.
"You," I whisper. "I choose you, Dante. Not because I'm scared or grateful or don't have other options. Because loving you feels like the most honest thing I've ever done."
His smile transforms his entire face, and when he kisses me, I taste salt and relief and the promise of everything we're going to build together.
"Good," he murmurs against my lips. "Because I choose you too, princess. Every day, for the rest of my life."
The waves crash behind us, and the wind cuts through his jacket, but I've never felt warmer. This is what courage looks like—not the absence of fear, but the willingness to act in spite of it.
I am Sofia Gallo, and I choose love.
CHAPTER 43
Dante
GettingSofia back to the house is a blur of carrying her up the rocky path, her body still shaking from the cold, my jacket wrapped around her like inadequate armor against the October wind. She's practically hypothermic, her lips blue and her teeth chattering, but she's here. She chose me. She fucking chose me.
