Holy moly 700k reads?! I didn't think this story would get this many, thank you so much you guys are the best. Road to 1 mil!

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Arya's POV -

"Elijah? Wake up." I pathetically plead as I slowly make my way over to him.

I can't keep my hands from shaking as I frantically look over his wound, my eyes darting to his face that is becoming paler and paler by the second.

"Elijah!" I say again, shaking his body but he's completely unresponsive.

I flinch as I hear more gunshots but then everything stops, and now all I can hear is heavy breathing.

I go to call Elijah's name again but then I'm lifted in the air and crushed to a hard chest.

"Cazzo, stai bene." Rome says, his warm breath tickling my neck.

(Fuck, you're okay.)

"Rome," I whisper and he hugs me tighter, pressing multiple kisses to the crown of my head.

"W-We need to help Elijah! A-And Izzy, she was shot too. She's in the restaurant."

He turns his head the other way, "Porta dentro la ragazza e portala in ospedale.."

(Get the girl inside and take her to the hospital.)

Rome turns back to me and places me down on the ground, looking me over but I'm more focused on Elijah.

"I'm okay, Rome. You need to help him." I point towards Elijah and he nods.

James rushes towards Elijah, kneeling down and pressing on his wound with a worried expression on his face. Grant follows behind him while Rome takes out his phone.

"Wyatt, A Elijah hanno sparato, lo portiamo a casa. È meglio che tu sia lì quando arriviamo. Ivan è stato curato."

(Elijah was shot, we're bringing him to the house. You better be there when we get there. Ivan has been taken care of.)

"It's okay, buddy. I've got you." I hear James speak lowly to Elijah, lifting him along with Grant.

They rush him to one of the SUV's and Rome grips onto my hand making me look at him.

"Are you okay, baby? Did he hurt you?"

With my lip wobbling, I look around at our surroundings. Bodies are everywhere, along with Ivan's.

"Is...Is it over?" I dismiss his question and his eyes soften.

"Sì baby, It's over."

A huge wave of relief falls over me and I rest my head against his chest. His large hand comes to rest on the back of my head and he places a kiss to the top of it.

"Are Elijah and Izzy going to be okay?" I question but he doesn't give me an answer which only increases my anxiety.

He slowly kneels down in front of me so we're face to face, and he moves some hair out of my face.

"Let's go home and wash up, and then we can check on them, okay?" He says gently and I bite my lip, nodding.

Feeling extremely vulnerable, I raise my arms up as he stands and he smiles softly, lifting me and carrying me to his car.

Resting my head on his chest, I close my eyes due to the still throbbing in my head from when Ivan knocked me out.

I can't believe It's finally over.

Ivan is dead.

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Once we got back to the house a lot of Rome's men were here, all with concerned expressions as they stare at the closed door to Wyatt's hospital room.

My heart warms at the way they truly care for each other. They're like a big, bad family.

Rome presses a hand on my lower back and guides me to the stairs which I oblige.

I shiver a little as we reach the top steps and we walk to Rome's room.

"Take a shower sweetheart, I'll use the other bathroom." He says once we're inside his room and I nod.

I open my mouth to ask if I can wear one of his hoodies but he seems to read my mind because he walks to one of his drawers and pulls out a tan sweatshirt.

Smiling, I take it from him and before I can walk to my own room to get pants he gently grips my wrist.

"You didn't answer me earlier. Are you okay? What did he do to you before I got there?"

Swallowing, I muster out, "Can we t-talk about it after we've gotten cleaned up?"

He slowly releases my wrist and nods.

"I love you." I mutter and he looks a little surprised at those words but he doesn't hesitate to say it back.

"I love you too darling, so much."

He gives me a hard kiss on the forehead before letting me retreat to my room.

A buzzing sound makes me pause and I grab my phone out of my pocket. How did it manage to stay there the whole time?

I look at the notification and I see Mama's name, wanting to call and wish me a happy birthday along with Papa.

Right now is not the best time...so I quickly say I'll call later because I'm out with Rome.

Grabbing a pair of sweats and anything else I need, I quickly make my way to the bathroom to take a shower.

Once I'm inside and the water is running to drown out any noise, I cry.

My body shakes as I slowly slide down the shower wall, tucking my knees to my chest.

Another cry escapes me but I try to cover my mouth so no one can hear. I'm not entirely sure if the water is loud enough.

The tears aren't only because of sadness, they're of relief.

Relief that Ivan is finally gone.

Sadness that Izzy is in critical danger.

Relief that Ivan can never attack again.

Sadness that Elijah was shot as well.

I press my face into my arms while my body continues to shake.

A knock on the door has my head shooting forward with wide eyes.

"Arya? It's me baby, can I come in?" I barely hear Rome on the other side and I figure he heard me crying.

Standing up, my legs wobble a little bit but I'm able to steady them.

Pondering over my two options for a moment, I decide to dismiss the fact that I'm completely naked, and let him in.

"Yes, you can come in." I almost yell over the water and the door opens, revealing the pretty man.

Just at the sight of him has more tears falling and he glances at me worriedly before quickly getting undressed.

He leaves on his black boxers and opens the shower door, quickly getting inside and shutting it behind him.

His eyes stay on my face as he slowly wraps his arms around me and tugs me into him.

The comfort he provides is enough to have me balling again.

"Shh," He whispers to me, rocking us a little.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Everything's okay."

I attempt to pull him impossibly closer to me, but all he can really do is squeeze me tighter since our bodies are already touching.

"Why are you crying, darling? Because of Izzy? Ivan?" He asks gently and I shake my head, looking up at him with teary eyes.

"No, w-well yes...It's of both relief and sadness." I respond as his thumbs caress my face and he nods.

"Ivan knocked me unconscious that one time...but other than that all he really did was try to drag me to one of his cars." I recall the events and his jaw clenches.

"It's over amore mio, Ivan can never hurt you or anyone else again."

(My love.)

Shakily sighing, I wrap my arms around him again and he does the same.

This moment feels so intimate right now, and I never want it to end.

"Did you wash your hair yet?" He asks after a few minutes and I slowly shake my head.

He pulls away and I almost try to grab him but I watch as he grabs one of my shampoo bottles that I placed in here a while ago.

Opening the cap, his emerald eyes captivate mine as looks at me in silent question and I nod.

Rubbing some of it onto his hands, he reaches for me and runs his hands through my hair.

I close my eyes as he rubs my scalp and once all the shampoo is in, he tips my head back so the water doesn't hit my eyes.

The shampoo washes out and he watches me in silence, but It's one we're both content with.

He does the same with the conditioner and once he's satisfied he reaches for his own, but I stop him.

"C-Can I?" Feeling slightly embarrassed with my cheeks flushed I gesture towards his hair and he nods after a few seconds.

Gathering his shampoo onto my own hands he bends down a little so I can reach, wrapping his thick arms around my waist as I scrub the shampoo into his hair.

What I love is that he never looks down once, always keeping his eyes on mine or my face.

I love him so much.

Once the conditioner is washed out as well, we stare at each other for a few beats of silence, vulnerability visible in our gazes.

Reaching my small hands up I cup his face, swooning over the way he closes his eyes and leans into my palm.

"I love you, Rome." I say softy and his eyes open again, showering with so many emotions.

"I love you more than you could ever know, Arya."

With that our lips meet.

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After some more soft kisses and touches, we decide to get out and check on Elijah.

Rome helps me dry off with a towel and I quickly change, automatically smelling Rome's cologne on the hoodie.

Once we're both ready he interlaces our fingers and guides me out of the room.

He's wearing a t-shirt which slightly confuses me. Isn't he cold?

I notice that the men that were previously here are now gone as we reach the door. Does that mean Wyatt told them how Elijah is doing?

Rome knocks on the door and less than 10 seconds later, Wyatt opens it.

"Boss, Arya." He nods to us.

"Come è lui?" Rome asks and Wyatt shifts uncomfortably.

(How is he?)

"Sono riuscito a tirare fuori il proiettile ma ha perso molto sangue. Attualmente è in coma, quindi solo il tempo lo dirà." He responds and Rome sighs.

(I was able to get out the bullet but he lost a lot of blood. He's currently in a coma so only time will tell.)

I can't understand what they're saying and it frustrates me to no end, but based on the look on their faces It can't be good.

"Va bene, hai qualche stima su quando si sarebbe svegliato?" Rome says.

(Alright, do you have any estimation on when he'll wake up?)

Wyatt shakes his head, "Le prossime ventiquattro ore sono critiche, dipende tutto da lui. In questo momento sarebbe meglio non avere visitatori."

(The next twenty four hours are critical, It's all up to him. Right now It'd be better to have no visitors.)

Rome nods and guides me away from the door while I'm completely lost. Everyone here can speak Italian except me.

"What did he say?" I question quietly once we reach the kitchen, and Rome lifts me to sit on one of the stools.

"He was able to remove the bullet but he's been put into a coma. It's all up to him now." Rome sums it up and my heart clenches painfully.

He was never supposed to be shot, that bullet was meant for me.

"I can see where your thoughts are drifting, sweetheart. Don't blame yourself. The only one to blame here is Ivan." He assures me.

"Can we go see Izzy?" I ask.

"Sure, but I want you to eat something first."

As Rome heats up some chicken I look around before questioning, "Where's James?"

"Right here, princess." The said man answers and I turn around in my chair to see him a few strides away from me.

I smile and get up and despite Rome's look of disapproval I give him a big hug.

"I-I'm sorry," I say and he shakes his head.

"Nothing to be sorry about. This is all that bastard Ivan's fault."

"But Elijah-"

"Elijah will pull through, Arya. He's strong and won't let some measly bullet kill him." He reassures me and I pull away.

Rome and James converse a bit in their Italian language as I eat, and once I'm done I'm ready to go and see Izzy.

"Can we go now, Rome?"

He turns to me and nods before patting James on the back and moving towards me.

"See you later, princess." James waves before leaving the kitchen.

I'm about to get up from the stool but Rome places a hand on my shoulder.

"Before we go I wanted to give you a gift for your birthday, my love. I know that so much has happened today and I wish it could all go away, but I want to put at least one good smile on your face."

Speechless at his words, he pulls out a small little gift box from his back pocket.

He gently grabs my hand and places it in my palm. "You can open it now or you can open it later, but I want you to have it."

Deciding to open it now, I slowly tear off the wrapping paper around it, revealing a black box.

Opening the box, my hand freezes as I look at what's inside.

Gently picking up the small item, my eyes water a little at the sight.

It's a silver ring that definitely looks like it costed a fortune with a word carved in cursive inside it.

'Ti amo'

On each side of the word there's small little silver flowers that connect all around the ring in a circle.

"Ti amo?" I whisper and look up at him with big eyes. He chuckles at my expression and pecks my forehead.

"It means I love you."

Still in awe, Rome takes the ring from me and lifts my right hand, sliding it onto my ring finger.

"Potrei non essere ancora in grado di mettere un anello di fidanzamento sull'anulare sinistro, ma per ora andrà bene."

(I may not be able to put an engagement ring on that left ring finger yet, but this will do for now.)

I have no idea what he just said but a huge smile reaches my lips and I see Rome's eyes fill with relief.

"I love it! Thank you, thank you!" I press kisses all over his face and a small chuckle leaves him.

"You're welcome darling. Now let's go see Izzy, yes?"

I know Izzy has made a terrible mistake but I need to see if she's okay despite how angry I may be.

Rome takes my left hand in his since I'm still gazing at the ring on my right hand, and we make our way to the door.