The night before the wedding arrived like a whispered promise, soft and trembling at the edges. The villa glowed with lanterns strung across the courtyard, casting golden halos over the late September evening. Laughter floated through the air from the rehearsal dinner, where friends and family toasted to new beginnings and old battles survived. Music drifted on the breeze, slow and romantic, wrapping itself around the heart. Aria stood at the edge of it all, half hidden behind a column draped with climbing roses. Her heart was a wild, fluttering thing, her hands trembling as she smoothed the silk of her dress. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she would walk down the aisle toward Luca, not as part of a reluctant alliance, not as a girl bound by circumstance, but as a woman choosing the man she loved. "Thinking about running?" The familiar voice teased her from behind, and Aria turned to find Sonia, Luca’s cousin and now one of her closest friends, leaning against the stone balustrade with a knowing smile. "Not a chance," Aria said, laughing softly. "Though my stomach feels like I swallowed a whole flock of birds." "Normal," Sonia said, walking over and linking arms with her. "It means you care. It means it’s real." Aria looked out over the glowing garden where Luca stood laughing with Marco and a few of his men, his tie loosened and sleeves rolled up, the firelight carving gold into his cheekbones. Even from a distance, her heart recognized him, the tilt of his head, the warmth in his eyes, the quiet strength that always drew her in. "Do you ever think," Aria whispered, "about how strange it is that we ended up here? That this is my life now?" "Every day," Sonia admitted. "But then again, you and Luca were always heading toward each other. It just took a few explosions and kidnappings to get there." Aria laughed, the sound light and real. "Just a few." Sonia squeezed her arm gently. "You know, when I first met you, I thought you were too soft for this world. Too kind. But you’ve got steel in you, Aria. The kind that bends but never breaks. Luca’s lucky to have you." Aria blushed, her gaze drifting back to Luca. "I’m the lucky one. He sees me, really sees me, in a way I never thought anyone would." Sonia nodded, her eyes softening. "That’s what love does. It strips away the masks and leaves you raw but safe. You two have that." A few hours later, after the last toast had been made and the final guests had retired to their rooms, the villa fell into a hush. The night was cool and fragrant, the sky scattered with stars like blessings. Aria slipped away from the bustle and wandered into the olive grove beyond the garden, needing a moment alone with her thoughts. Tomorrow, she told herself. Tomorrow she would become Aria Deluca, by choice, by love, by everything they had fought for. The weight of it was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. She was lost in that thought when she felt a familiar presence behind her. "You’re not supposed to see me tonight," Luca murmured as he stepped out from the shadows, hands tucked into his pockets. Aria turned to him with a soft smile. "And yet here you are." He shrugged. "Couldn’t sleep. Thought I might find you here." The moonlight kissed his features, turning his usually sharp expression almost boyish. It made her chest ache, this man who had once been the embodiment of danger, now standing before her with vulnerability just beneath the surface. "I was thinking about tomorrow," she admitted. "Me too." He stepped closer, the distance between them shrinking until his warmth wrapped around her like a familiar blanket. "You’d think after everything we’ve been through, a little ceremony wouldn’t shake me. But it does. Because it’s you." Her heart stuttered. "You’re nervous?" "Terrified," he confessed, his voice low and honest. "Not because I doubt this. Never that. But because I never thought I’d deserve this. Deserve you." She reached for his hand, threading their fingers together. "Luca, you don’t have to deserve love. You just have to accept it. And I want you to accept mine, all of it." He exhaled shakily, pressing his forehead against hers. "I already do." They stood there, swaying slightly as if some invisible melody played just for them. The olive trees rustled gently around them, and the world felt beautifully still. "Tell me something," Luca murmured, his breath brushing her lips. "Something no one else knows." She thought for a moment, then smiled. "When I was little, I used to dream about weddings. But in every dream, the groom’s face was blurred, like my heart knew it wasn’t time yet. But if I close my eyes now, I see you. Always you." Luca’s throat worked as if the words lodged there were too heavy to speak. He kissed her softly, reverently, like a man worshipping something far greater than himself. "My turn," he whispered against her lips. "I used to think love was a weakness. A distraction. Something that made men like me lose. Then you walked into my life, and suddenly strength looked like protecting you. It looked like wanting a future. It looked ." Aria’s eyes burned, tears slipping free before she could stop them. Luca caught them with his thumbs, his gaze tender. "I don’t ever want to go back to the man I was before you." "You won’t," she promised. "We’re writing a new story now." The rıghtful source is 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝 "Together," he breathed. They stayed wrapped in each other’s arms for what felt like forever, speaking in murmurs and silences that needed no translation. At some point, Luca pulled back slightly and reached into his pocket. "I wasn’t going to give you this until tomorrow," he said, his tone almost shy, a rare thing for him. "But I want you to have it tonight." He pressed something small and cool into her palm. Aria looked down and gasped softly. It was a delicate silver pendant shaped like a tiny olive branch, a symbol of peace, of beginnings, of what they had fought so hard to find. "It was my mother’s," Luca said quietly. "She used to say that olive trees survive anything, drought, fire, storms. They bend, but they don’t break. Like us." Aria’s breath caught. "It’s beautiful." "It’s yours," he said simply. "Wear it tomorrow. And every day after, if you want." She threw her arms around him, burying her face against his chest as emotion swelled too big to contain. "I love you," she whispered fiercely. "More than I ever thought I could love anyone." Luca held her tighter, his heartbeat steady against her cheek. "And I love you. More than my past, more than my empire, more than my own life." They kissed again, slow and deep, the kind of kiss that carried everything words couldn’t hold. It was a promise, a vow before the vows, a seal on the life they were about to build. As they stood in the olive grove, Aria felt the weight of the moment settle into her bones. This was more than a wedding, more than a ceremony. It was the culmination of every choice they had made, every risk they had taken, and every moment they had chosen each other over fear. She thought of the early days, when Luca had been a storm she didn’t understand, his world of power and danger so far from her own. Yet even then, there had been something in his eyes, a flicker of the man he could be, the man he was now. She pulled back slightly to look at him, memorizing the way the moonlight softened his edges. "Do you think we’ll ever get used to this? To being happy?" Luca chuckled, a low, warm sound that vibrated through her. "I hope not. I want every day with you to feel like a gift I don’t deserve." Her heart swelled, and she pressed a hand to his cheek. "Then we’ll keep surprising each other. Every day." "Deal," he said, his voice thick with emotion. They lingered in the grove a while longer, talking about small things, the flowers for tomorrow, the way Marco had nearly spilled wine on his suit during the toasts, and the little traditions they wanted to start as a couple. Aria spoke of her dreams for their future, a quiet life someday, maybe a house by the sea where they could wake to the sound of waves. Luca listened, his eyes bright with the same hope, and shared his own vision, a garden for her to tend, a place where their children could run free. Eventually, they pulled apart, breathless and smiling. "We should go," Aria said reluctantly. "It’s bad luck to see each other before the wedding." "Then I guess I’ve never believed in luck," Luca murmured, brushing a final kiss to her forehead. "Only in us." As they walked back toward the villa, hand in hand, the night seemed to hum with anticipation. Tomorrow would be the start of everything, a day that would mark the end of all their battles and the beginning of a love that had been forged in fire. At the door to her room, Luca stopped and cupped her face in both hands. "Sleep well, amore mio. Tomorrow, we make forever." Her heart melted at the words. "I’ll meet you at the altar." He lingered for one last heartbeat, his gaze memorizing every detail of her face, then turned and disappeared down the corridor. Aria stood there for a long time, fingers brushing the olive pendant at her throat, her lips still tingling from his kiss. Inside her room, she moved to the window, gazing out at the starlit garden. The villa was quiet now, but she could still feel the pulse of the evening, the laughter, the music, and the love that had filled every corner. She thought of Sonia’s words earlier, about the steel in her, and felt a quiet pride. She had fought for this life, for this love, and tomorrow she would step into it fully. She whispered it aloud as she slipped into bed, the word a lullaby and a prayer. Tomorrow she would walk toward the man who had become her home. Tomorrow she would say "I do," not because she had to, but because every part of her wanted to. And as sleep pulled her under, Aria dreamed not of blurred faces or uncertain futures, but of Luca, waiting at the end of an aisle lined with olive branches and white roses, his hand outstretched, his eyes filled with forever.