The Mafia Boss Showed Up Drunk at My Door Whispering, “I Need You”—I Never Expected What Came Next

The aftermath of the purge moved with dizzying speed.

By nightfall, Julian had been put on a private cargo transport out of the country, his loyalists hunted down and removed from the city's infrastructure. The syndicate was thoroughly reorganized, its dirty street operations shut down and converted into high-yield commercial real estate and shipping networks.

Three weeks later, I stood in the doorway of my old apartment.

The crime scene tape had been removed, and a cleaning crew hired by Frank had restored the laminate floor, replaced my Target rug with an authentic Persian carpet, and repainted the walls a warm cream color.

Roman stood behind me, his broad hands resting gently on my shoulders as I looked around the quiet living room.

"It looks... normal again," I whispered softly.

"It's yours," Roman said near my ear. "I had my attorneys buy the entire building under your name yesterday. You're the landlord now."

I turned around in his arms, looking up into his dark, handsome face. He was wearing an open-collared white shirt, looking relaxed, healthy, and completely free of the dark burden that had consumed him for years.

"You keep buying things for me, Roman," I teased gently, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"I'm trying to make sure you never have to worry about rent, debt collectors, or broken elevators again," he murmured, his hands sliding around my waist, pulling me snug against his chest.

"I don't need a building to feel safe, Roman," I said softly, tracing the sharp line of his jaw with my thumb. "I felt safe standing behind you in a room full of mobsters."

Roman looked down at me, his dark eyes filled with a deep, boundless tenderness that made my chest ache with happiness.

"I spent my whole life believing that power meant having a hundred men with guns waiting for my orders," Roman whispered softly, his thumb caressing my cheek. "Then I bled out on your cheap linoleum floor, and a tired girl with a fifteen-dollar medical kit showed me what real strength looks like."

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, velvet-lined mahogany box. He popped it open, revealing a breathtaking diamond ring set in antique platinum—simple, elegant, and timeless.

My breath caught in my throat.

"I know my world is complicated, Nora," Roman said, his voice trembling slightly with a rare, beautiful vulnerability. "I know I'm a man with scars and a dark past. But I swear on my life, if you give me your future, I will spend every single day protecting you, loving you, and making sure you never face the dark alone."