HIS

Chapter 22

I shared my college plans with Domenico, and he was fully supportive. He agreed that continuing my studies online would be a great option, giving me the flexibility to focus on other things as well. He even mentioned that he'd love for me to travel with him, if I felt up to it.

We've decided to get married tomorrow—Saturday. I didn't want a big celebration, so we planned to book a hotel for a small, intimate ceremony with just us and a few members of the Mafia. But Matteo's mother insisted we hold it at their estate instead.

I know things between us have moved quickly, but it feels right. I'm not going to punish myself for wanting happiness. I live my life without regrets—and this is a choice I'm proud to make.

I've been thinking about asking Mia and Tessa to be my bridesmaids, which is why I'm on my way to see them now. I called earlier and explained everything that's happened since the party, letting them know there are no hard feelings on my side. Both of them broke down in tears, and it made me feel awful for not reaching out sooner. They insisted they were partly to blame too—we had promised to look out for each other. I reassured them, telling them not to dwell on it. What's done is done, and we're moving forward.

Domenico is dropping me off outside their building. I didn't feel comfortable driving myself today.

I knew they were home—the soft hum of music playing in the background confirmed it. I took a deep breath and knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Mia, her eyes wide with shock and dark circles beneath them. As soon as she saw me, fresh tears welled up and began to stream down her face.

I stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug. "Please don't cry," I whispered. "If you cry, I'll cry too." I gently took her hand off the door handle and closed the door behind us, still holding her trembling figure in my arms.

"Mia, who's at the—" came a familiar voice from behind her. It was Tessa.

"Olivia!" she gasped, clearly stunned.

I gave her a small smile and waved, then guided Mia toward the living room. Once she was seated, I walked over and hugged Tessa tightly.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Mia asked through her sobs. "I wanted to visit you, but your boyfriend was so angry with us for not looking after you. I don't blame him, though."

"I told him you're not to blame," I reassured them. "I'm responsible for the choices I make and the consequences that follow. What happened was on me."

"No, he's right," Tessa said quietly, her voice heavy with guilt. "That could've happened to any one of us. We went to that party as a group—we were supposed to look out for each other. When I saw that you'd tried to call me and I missed it because of all the noise... I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I've been beating myself up ever since. Honestly, we both have."

"I don't want you both to keep blaming yourselves for something that didn't happen," I said softly. "It's over now—let's leave it in the past and move forward. Seeing you like this breaks my heart."

"Would you mind telling us what took place?" Mia asked.

I nodded and began recounting everything in detail, making sure they could grasp how it all unfolded. Once I finished, a flood of new questions came my way.

"You were in a coma for that long? We thought he was making it up and just didn't want us to see you," Tessa said, stunned.

"No, he wasn't lying. He told the truth. My heart actually stopped on the way to the hospital, and Domenico gave me CPR until we got there. That's the reason I'm still alive today."

"That's seriously intense... but we're just so relieved you're alive. We love you so much. These past few months have been absolute hell, not knowing what was going on. We came by your place every single day, but there was never an answer—we feared the worst," Tessa said, her voice trembling.