The Soldier I Married Is the Don’s Heir Chapter 09

The Soldier I Married Is the Don’s Heir Chapter 09

Michele sat in the chair of the hotel suite and didn’t speak for a long time.

He looked at Rocco and me holding each other, then raised his eyes to me. For the first time, there

was no contempt in them.

“Estate, what kind of person are you? Or rather, what have you two been through this past half year? I always thought you were like the others in the Conti family-vain, wanting to use Rocco to climb up.”

I lowered my eyes, my lashes hiding my emotions.

“Maybe in your eyes, I’m like everyone else in the Conti family. Greedy. Wanting everything. But what I really want is just for Rocco to be safe.”

Michele was silent for a long time after hearing that.

In the end, he left only one sentence.

“Leave the rest to me.”

After that, I left the hotel with Rocco and didn’t look back at anyone.

Three days later, the Conti family fell completely.

To save their precarious company, my parents had to issue a public statement cutting ties with

Aurora.

The Vadala family terminated all cooperation with the Conti family, and the tax authorities began auditing their accounts from years past.

Aurora was formally charged with drugging and assault. Luca stood trial alongside her for planning and preventing rescue. In the end, Aurora was sentenced to prison, and Luca served several months under a plea deal.

My parents waited outside the Long Island estate all night.

Michele didn’t let anyone open the door.

Later, they came to find me again.

I didn’t see them.

I took Rocco to Miami and stayed by the beach for a long time.

After that incident, Michele finally tacitly accepted our marriage, but we didn’t rush to get married.

Later, Rocco and I moved to Vancouver, and the comments before my eyes disappeared completely.

Only then did I understand that those voices were tied to Aurora’s life path. Once she crossed a line she couldn’t come back from, the comments lost their power to influence the story.

Back when we lived near the construction site in Brooklyn, our only dream was:

Once we had money, we’d eat our way through every kind of food and travel the world together.

To truly take over the family business, Rocco decided to go back to school with me. He finished high school and applied for a business prep program, while I transferred to UBC to continue my origina

studies.

Three months later, I saw Luca again in Vancouver.

He had lost a lot of weight.

Luca had always cared most about appearances. Even when the Conti family’s finances were at their tightest, he still wore tailored suits.

Now he was wearing the cashmere coat I’d given him when I was eighteen.

That coat had cost me eight hundred dollars from my part-time job.

And now it was the best piece of clothing he owned.

I pulled Rocco to leave, but Luca blocked the way, choking up for a long time before he could speak.

“Estate, come home. We all know we were wrong. Aurora and I shouldn’t have lied to you with the meal vouchers. Mom and Dad miss you too.”

I turned around and slowly smoothed the wrinkles on my sleeve.

“Do you really know you were wrong, or are you finally afraid? No one in New York will help the Conti family anymore, so you came to Vancouver to find me, right?”

I kept walking.

“Luca, we cut ties a long time ago. Don’t come into my life again.”

After I’d walked far away, I vaguely heard suppressed sobbing behind me.

When we got back to the apartment, Luca was already gone.

He left an apology letter and a bank card at the door, with three hundred thousand dollars in it. Supposedly, it was the last money he could freely access.

“Guess he’s feeling generous this time.”

I looked at the card and smiled bitterly.

“I thought it was another nine-dollar discount voucher from some restaurant.”

Rocco stood behind me, drying my hair.

“He’s probably afraid you’ll get bullied in the future. Guess he has a little conscience left.”

I casually set the bank card next to the cake box on the dining table.

The next morning, I found another card under my pillow.

I didn’t find out until I came home from class that Rocco admitted it was money he’d saved from

investment returns.

He said even if Michele didn’t give him a cent, he could still support me.

“Besides, income should go to the wife anyway.”

Who was his wife?

My face burned instantly.

I was about to argue when he pulled a red velvet box from his pocket, his eyes bright.

Inside was a pair of extremely plain rings.

No diamonds, no intricate patterns, not even a brand.

“I bought these when I got my first full paycheck at the construction site.”

“Now I can finally give them to you.”

Rocco got down on one knee in front of me and looked up.

In his eyes, there was only my reflection.

“I know I’m not well-educated and don’t understand high-society rules. Even without the Vadala family, I’m still just a man who makes a living with his hands.”

But I swear, whether I have money or not, I will love you well.”

“With me, you’ll never have to worry about going hungry.”

“Estate, will you marry me?”

I looked at those plain rings, and a rainy night from a year ago flashed in my mind.

Back then, I’d handed him a hundred dollars to help me find a job. In those days, we often lived on near-expired food from supermarkets and staff meals from the restaurant.

But later, I no longer wanted to eat myself sick. I could finally let food just be food.

What changed all that?

Love. Acceptance. The respect Rocco gave me.

I nodded.

The moment the plain ring slid onto my finger, the clouds outside parted.

I watched the birds flying across the winter Vancouver sky and suddenly knew that the hole in my soul had been filled with love.