Chapter 10 - The Christmas Gift
Four years later.
Christmas Eve arrived once again at the Moretti estate. Outside, a gentle snow was falling, covering the pine trees in a soft blanket of white, echoing the night Dante had knocked on my door in Cape Loray eleven years ago.
Inside, the grand living room was warm and bright, lit by the golden glow of a massive fireplace and a towering Christmas tree covered in handmade ornaments.
Eli, now twelve years old, was sitting on the carpet near the hearth, patiently showing his three-year-old baby sister, Sophia, how to open a small silver-wrapped gift box. Sophia had Dante's jet-black hair and my bright green eyes, a perfect blend of both of us.
Dante sat beside me on the plush velvet sofa, wrapped in a warm blanket, sipping hot chocolate. He looked at peace—the lines of stress and anger completely smoothed from his face over years of quiet family living. His empire was now entirely legitimate, converted into a philanthropic foundation and clean commercial investments managed by Marco.
"Look, Daddy!" Sophia squealed, holding up a small carved wooden horse that Eli had helped her unwrap. "Santa brought it!"
"He sure did, sweetheart," Dante chuckled, his voice rich and full of warmth. He leaned down, picking up his little daughter and settling her onto his lap, while Eli sat beside him, leaning against his father's knee.
Dante looked over at me, reaching out to wrap his arm around my shoulders, drawing me close to his side.
"Eleven years ago tonight," Dante whispered softly into my ear, "I knocked on a porch door in Maine, thinking my life was over and that I had nothing left to live for."
I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady, comforting beat of his heart. "And what do you think now, Dante Moretti?"
May you like
Dante looked at Eli, who was laughing as Sophia tried to put a reindeer hat on Buster's head, and then down at me with a look of infinite tenderness and gratitude.
"I think," Dante murmured, kissing the top of my head, "that it was the greatest Christmas miracle of my life."
