The Assassins Kiss

Chapter 28

Welcome Iris
Iris's POV

It's been two years.

Sofia is seven now, and Lily just turned thirteen.

Killian and Roman visit often. Sometimes Sofia even travels to southern Italy to see Aurora and Leo.

They've stayed true to their word—they've kept in touch. Kept us close. It means something, especially now.

Things here are... okay, mostly. Lily's doing a lot better. She finally let go of Luca—gave up on the idea of him coming back, of ever really having a dad. That part breaks my heart a little. It's like she didn't just give up on him—she gave up on the hope entirely.

But it's Ezra I'm most worried about.

She's not okay. Not even close. She hasn't improved in the slightest; if anything, she's only gotten worse.

Some days, she can't even get out of bed. I've had to step in and run the mafia myself because she physically and emotionally can't. And when she is up, she overworks herself to the point of collapse. Like if she stops moving, everything will fall apart—including her.

And then there's Rocco.

It was sudden. One day, we found him collapsed, gasping for breath.

Turned out to be a tumor that had spread to his brain. Then came the cancer diagnosis.

Watching him weaken so quickly—it crushed all of us. But especially Ezra. She'd just started to come up for air after everything with Luca. She was finally—finally—finding some kind of balance. And then that happened.

Since then, she's lost something—some spark, some fight. The fire that used to burn so hot in her? It's barely embers now. She looks exhausted, hollow. Like she's running on fumes.

She spends all her time taking care of everyone else: Lily, me, Sofia, her dad...and on top of all that, she's still trying to hold the mafia together.

She never puts herself first. Ever.

Everyone sees it. Everyone's worried. Killian and Roman have started stepping in more, handling operations so Ezra can rest—but even when she rests, she never really rests. Her mind's always somewhere else. On someone else.

Right now, Lily and Sofia are curled up in the movie room watching some animated thing. I can hear their laughter, faint and distant.

Killian, Roman, and I are heading to Ezra's office to check in. To see if she needs anything.

But mostly...
I just want to see her.
To make sure she's still there.

We step into her office, the air thick with paperwork, tension, and the faint scent of old coffee.

"Hi," I say with a soft smile.

She looks up slowly, eyes dull, shadows heavy under them. "Hi," she replies, voice low and hoarse.

"We'll take it from here. Go get some rest," Roman says, already moving toward her desk.

"I'm fine," Ezra mutters, immediately turning back to the stack of documents in front of her like she didn't hear a word.

She's not fine. Not even close. She looks like she hasn't slept in days—like the weight of the world is pressing down on her shoulders.

"Go watch a movie with Lily," I say gently. "She wants you."

I know she'll go. If Lily needs her, Ezra doesn't hesitate. She could be in the middle of a war, and she'd still drop everything for that girl.

Ezra pauses, her expression softening just slightly. "Okay," she says quietly, pushing her chair back.