I hated the whole sober shit with a passion. If I had to sit in a circle and listen to all of those drunks talk about all the mistakes they made while drinking one more fucking time, I was going to shoot myself in the head. When I promised Reyna I would get help, I didn't think it would be this kind of bullshit.

It was crazy to think that me, one of the most fearless and ruthless men in the world, was at a meeting to end my bad habit. Sitting in that group meeting made me want to drink more than it made me want to stop drinking. The only thing that stopped me from pouring my favorite liquor into my favorite glass was the big smile on Little Red's face as I walked into the house.

"So... how was it?" she immediately asked, her eyes shining in hope.

"I enjoyed it so much," I lied, grinning.

"I'm so proud of you," she told me.

I looked over at the table and catalogs after catalogs of wedding planning. She followed my eye and ended up gazing at it disappointedly.

"My mom's forcing me to plan for our big wedding," she said, frowning.

"You don't seem too excited about it," I pointed out.

She walked over to the table and pointed at a very large venue that could probably fit the entire city.

"I don't want a big wedding. I don't even have any friends, and the only person you consider close to you is Adriano. I don't want the big flashy dress, or the bridesmaids, or the after-party... I just want to share a very special moment with you," she explained. "Why can't we have that?"

I walked over to Reyna, wrapping an arm around her waist, and I planted a kiss on her neck.

"Who says we can't?" I asked her.

"In fact, go get dressed. Wear something nice—preferably white." I smirked.

"What?" she laughed.

"Go! Sbrigati!" I told her. She rushed down the hall, making her way to my room, laughing as she went. I only watched her every step of the way.

When she was gone, I pulled out my phone and dialed Adriano's number.

"Don," he greeted me.

"How are things with Serenity?" I asked him. When he met her, I noticed that he was more smitten with her than he let on. They announced their engagement the day they met each other, and I could feel Serenity's resentment with it every step of the way.

"Difficult..." he grumbled.

"It'll get better," I promised. "I need you to do something for me."

"I'm listening," Adriano said.

"I'm getting married... tonight," I told him, glancing over at where Reyna had exited. It was like saying the words out loud only made them feel more real. I was going to marry someone on my own will, and the happiness that hadn't made home in my heart in so long was almost incomprehensible.

"I thought you and Reyna weren't getting married for another couple of months," Adriano stated confusedly. I began to slowly walk over to the table to see all of the wedding planning set out for us. I wasn't particularly fond of a big wedding either. At the end of the day, Reyna's happiness was now my own. If Reyna wanted it to just be the two of us, then that's how it was going to be.

"There was a change of plans. I would like you there as a witness. Also, I need you to inform Alfred that we'll be needing a driver shortly," I stated.

"Do you want me to call up your minister?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll be meeting you at the church,"Adriano said before hanging up the phone.

Just as I placed my phone back into my pocket, I headed up the stairs and into our bedroom. I quickly spotted Reyna wearing a flowing white gown. I loved her deep plunged v-neck of the dress with the thick band that really accentuated her waist. It flowed down to her feet and with each movement she made, she looked like an angel.

"I'm almost ready!" she exclaimed. Her hair was flowing down in waves and she was busy doing her makeup. From what I could see so far, it was going to be clean and elegant. My favorite part of all was her smile.

"You are aware what we're about to do, no?" I questioned, raising a brow as I reached out for her hand. Once she slipped her hand into my own, I pulled her into my chest.

"Eloping, no?" she mocked, laughing.

"You don't want to tell your mother? Your sister-in-law? Your brother?" I asked.

She scoffed. "My mom will go insane if she hears about this, and if I tell Alessandro or Natalia, they would most certainly tell her. We can have a ceremony later. For now, I just want the two of us," she explained.

I leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips.

"Alessandro will be joining us... as a witness," I told her just so she was aware.

She nodded her head in understanding just before pulling away from me and going back to her makeup. I made my way into my closet where I stood in front of my many suits of a variety of brands and colors. I grabbed one I hadn't worn yet and began to change my clothing. Before I did, I slipped her wedding band into my pocket.

Occasionally, I would hear Reyna place a new makeup brush on the counter or rummage through her bag of her makeup while I slid my pants on. With those on, I picked up my shoes. She soon joined me in the closet to gather a pair of heels I bought for her as a gift one time. She sat down on the stool I had in the center of my closet and I walked over to join her. Once I was seated, I began to place my shoes on.

"This is crazy... We're crazy," she said in astonishment. The smile wouldn't fall off her face as she slid her heels onto her feet.

I chuckled. "I've been aware."

She laughed. I finished putting on my shoes before she did, so I got down on my knee in front of her. She let me take the heel from her hand and slide it onto her feet just before fastening it so it could fit.

"Come on," I told her. She allowed me to pull her up to her feet where I held her hand and guided her out of the room.

We headed outside where the car was already waiting for us. Alfred, the driver, held the back door open for the two of us. I helped her in just before getting in right behind her.

Once we were inside the car, Alfred closed the door.

***

We made it to the church, and even through the night of the sky, I was able to make out Adriano standing in front of it. I stepped out of the vehicle and guided Reyna out. Reyna shut the door behind herself.

Adriano made his way over to us with his hands buried in his pockets. He gave a curt nod to Reyna before doing the same to me.

"I never expected you to ever elope, Saint." Adriano chuckled. "What makes you both in such a hurry?"

Reyna smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "One thing I learned is that later may never come. Time waits for no one and if we can do it now, we should," she said.

Adriano seemed pleased with her answer as he nodded his head. "Well, let's get this show on this road." he smiled.

Together, we walked into the church where our minister was already standing on stage. Chairs after chairs were lined up, one behind the other. The chairs resembled more of a clean, wooden bench. There were morals in each stained glass window. Warm lights lit up the walk way all the way to the beautiful stage. It was my favorite church to attend when I was younger.

"Well, go up there," Adriano whispered to us.

I glanced down at my beautiful Little Red as she gazed up at me. I grabbed ahold of her hand and led her down the aisle all the way until we stood in front of the minister.

"Santino Venturi, it's been a while, hasn't it?" the minister asked me.

"It has," I responded. I watched his gaze shift from me to Reyna where his eyes lit up.

"You're beautiful," he complimented her. "May I ask for your name?"

"Thank you." she smiled. "I'm Reyna Fields."

His attention returned back to me. "Your mother would have loved this one, wouldn't she?"

"That's why I'm marrying her," I said. He chuckled. With that statement, he opened his book and took a step back. I grabbed both of Reyna's hands and stared into her eyes. For the first time in my life, I actually understood what butterflies meant. I was fucking nervous.

"We are gathered here today to join Santino Venturi and Reyna Fields in holy matrimony," he began, speaking to no one other than Adriano who watched from afar.

"Do you, Santino, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?" he asked.

With no hesitation and a smirk, I answered, "I do."

"Do you, Reyna, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?" he asked.

Her smile grew. "I do."

"Santino and Reyna have chosen rings to exchange with each other as a symbol of their unending love. As you place this ring on Reyna's finger, please repeat after me...With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever," he said.

I grabbed the wedding band from my pocket and slid it onto her ring finger. "With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever," I repeated.

"Reyna, as you place this ring on Santino's finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever," the minster spoke.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. I watched her pull out a ring from her bra. She smiled at the minister apologetically and placed it onto my finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever," she repeated.

"Before these witnesses, you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have now sealed this pledge with your wedding rings. By the authority vested in me by the great State of Illinois, I now pronounce you married!" the minister exclaimed.

I grabbed my wife and pulled her in for a kiss. She pulled away and let her arms curl around my neck where she hugged me.

I picked her up and carried her off the stage and down the aisle. She laughed the entire way as we made our way out of the church. I was sure there was a wedding license we still had to sign but it could all wait for tomorrow. For now, I wanted my wife.

Just before we got into the car, I placed her down on the ground and let the moonlight kiss her glowing skin. I could hear the church doors opening as Adriano walked out.

"Congratulations, you two! Goodnight!" he called out just before heading over to his vehicle.

"Goodnight! Thank you!" Reyna returned just before bringing her attention back to me.

"I have to tell you something..." she said.

"What?" I asked.

"Santino, I'm pregnant. I'm eight weeks along and I only found out yesterday. I've just been trying to figure out when to tell you," she said.

My heart stopped beating. I could feel the way the last beat thumped in my chest just before it began to pick up. I placed my hands on either side of her face and brought her in for a kiss.

"Baby, our relationship will never be perfect. We will have our ups and downs and I will fuck up plenty of times, but I want you to know that my love for you is infinite. There will never be a time when I won't be there for you and our family. We are in this together for the rest of our lives. I trust you with every part of me and I only hope you can trust me, too," I told her, noticing the tear in her eye.

She nodded. "I do, I do trust you."

"Just before we end this night as Santino and Reyna Venturi, I want you to know that there are more people out there like Viktor. There are bigger fishes out there to catch that gave Viktor all those women, that are taking over Viktor's organization. There's nothing more I want than to have a child with you, but I'm going to need your help protecting them so they never end up like our family. The game isn't over, Reyna. We may have won this round, but there's plenty more to go. What do you say about that?" I asked her.

"Checkmate."

—

Epilogue is already posted on my Patreon. Also, I will be including a bonus chapter only exclusively on my Patreon. So, if you want to read it, subscribe for early updates. Go to link in my author description, or go to https://patreon.com/eroticmarie

Don't hate the ending guys, okay? I know we really wanted that big wedding but I wanted this to be more telling of Reyna and Saint's life and relationship. A big wedding just isn't them. This is them. Messy, adventurous, unforeseen.

Thank you for joining me on this very long journey! I love you all especially the ones who have been there since the beginning. If you just joined, THANK YOU! If you are reading this ten years later, THANK YOU! I love you all for the support and love you've shown this book! It's crazy how far we've come!

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