Sold to the Capo-Chapter 135: LEAVING BUT NOT LETTING GO

ADRIANA’S POV

This wasn’t my plan. I wanted to leave the hospital but I couldn’t bring myself to open the hospital door.

I couldn’t bring myself to leave him behind again. I had left at the warehouse, it was because of me that he had endured all of that, it would break me to live with the fact that I had left without knowing that he was okay.

The look on his face was priceless, his lips slightly parted and a vulnerable look in his wide eyes, his body rigid on the bed as he stared at me.

I choked back a sob and shrugged. He remembered. He was fine.

The doctor cleared his throat and looked at Master LaRosa who grunted something under his breath before he left both of us alone, the door shutting a little too loudly behind him.

He tried to sit up, wincing slightly and I quickly took a step back but I made sure that I wasn’t too close to him. "Careful. Just lie down" I crossed my hands, biting down on my lip nervously.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his gaze searching me over as he gripped the edge of the bedsheets lightly, his fingers shaking.

"I’m fine.... You are too. You had me worried" I looked him over again, my heart bleeding at the thought that I could have lost him.

He must have noticed the tears pooling in my eyes because he shut his eyes and muttered something. "Don’t...don’t shed a tear for me. I’m not worth it."

That caught my attention and I frowned, sniffling slightly. "You shouldn’t say that. You’re more than enough"

I meant it. He was more than enough for me, he was far too good for me.

He looked at me and slightly chuckled but the sound felt forced and his voice came out hoarse. "You say that but your actions stay otherwise. You’re scared of me..."

Panic gripped me and I wrapped my hands tighter around myself. "You need rest. I’m not scared of you... I just tㅡ"

"You’re 4 feet away from me, Tesoro..." He said, his gaze darting between me and his bed like he was mentally calculating and I blew a deep breath through my mouth. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Tesoro.

I heard that name again. I had thought I would never hear it again.

"That doesn’t mean shit" I countered but I knew it was true, I was avoiding him.

"You won’t look me in the eye. You clearly want to hold me, you’re holding back and it hurts... I can’t get up or I would have wrapped my hands around you but trust me, I would crawl to you if you would let me" He said sincerely.

My eyes widened and I tentatively took a step forward, my breath caught in my throat. "Better?" I whispered, looking into those hazel eyes for a long time. They were dull, full of fatigue but still managed to make my heart skip a beat.

He looked up at me, reaching up a hand that trembled evidently against his will and he groaned, staring at his trembling hand so near to my face. "I’m a mess..." He whispered.

Without thinking, I grabbed his hand in mine, immediately remembering the feel of his hand in mine and it still sent a thrill through me. "You’re not"

He looked at me like he was trying to decipher something and I wondered if this was my cue to leave him, he was supposed to be resting. "You want to know why I did it, don’t you?" He asked, his brow raised, his thumb slowly rubbing circles on the back of my hand.

I froze at that, my mind reeling. I didn’t want to have this conversation now.

"He was going to harm you. I digged about his past. He trafficked girls, Adriana. I still have proof... you barely had a dad, it was easy for you to go missing without anyone giving a fuck, he was just trying to get closer to you to make his work easier..." His words snapped me out of my thoughts and with each word, it felt like something sharp was being sliced into my heart before it was ripped out.

"What?" I whispered, wanting to take a step back but his grip on my hand tightened ever so slightly but it felt like he was straining with that simple movement. I could slip my hand away, his grip was still weak but somehow my feet was rooted to the state.

It couldn’t be true. He loved me. Aiden was never a bad person to me and for a while, I thought about spending the rest of my life with him, he was my safe space apart from the man I called my father. Surely, that couldn’t have been a lie too.

"I loved him..." The words spilled out of my lips before I could stop it and I looked at Vincenzo through glassy eyes.

Vincenzo shook his head, his gaze piercing. "No, you didn’t," he said, his hazel eyes locking onto mine with a quiet certainty that made my stomach twist. "You just wanted peace. He gave it to you, so you thought you loved him."

My lips parted, but no words came out.

He must have seen the hesitation in my eyes because he gave a weak, humorless chuckle. "You don’t want to believe it, but you know I’m right."

I shook my head, gripping his hand tighter. "That’s not true. I...I loved him, Vincenzo. He...he was good to me. He was there when..."

I don’t know why I was trying to defend Aiden but I just wanted to prove that I hadn’t made another mistake. That not everyone from my past whom I liked turned out to an opposite of what I thought of what they were.

"When no one else was?" he interrupted. His voice wasn’t mocking, just quiet and knowing. "That’s not love, Tesoro. That’s survival."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he continued.

"In high school, you stayed away from people because of the bullying, Tesoro. You didn’t trust anyone. Then Aiden came along, and he didn’t hurt you. He gave you an escape, so you clung to it. But if you really loved him, you would’ve wanted to stay with him, even when things got dangerous."

I inhaled sharply, my mind racing through memories I didn’t want to relive.

The way I’d distanced myself from classmates, avoided getting too close to anyone. The way I’d found solace in Aiden’s company because, for the first time, someone had treated me like I wasn’t invisible.

And yet... I had walked away from him more times than I could count. When things got complicated, when I felt suffocated, when he made choices I couldn’t understand—I always ran.

But with Vincenzo?

I should have left.

I should have stayed away after everything.

But I didn’t.

Even after almost dying in his world, after all the blood, the chaos, the fear—I was still here.

I sucked in a shaky breath, unable to deny the truth staring me in the face.

Vincenzo watched me closely, his expression unreadable. Then, in a barely audible voice, he said, "I’m sorry."

I frowned, my throat tightening. "For what?"

"For killing him." His grip on my hand was weak, but his fingers trembled against mine. "For not telling you sooner. But I couldn’t—" His voice broke slightly, and he swallowed hard before continuing. "I couldn’t let it happen. I couldn’t let him kill you, I know it sounds bullshit because of how I treated you but... I still didn’t want you to go through that."

Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.

"And Michael?" I whispered, my voice barely there. "Why didn’t you tell me he was my father?"

I already knew why, Micheal had said so but a part of me wanted to hear it from Vincenzo also.

Vincenzo let out a shaky breath, his eyes closing for a second before he forced them open. "Because he asked me not to."

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to scream at him, to tell him he had no right to make that choice for me. But I couldn’t.

Because deep down, I understood why he did it.

The door creaked open slightly, and the doctor peeked inside. "Okay, time’s up, we’re going to need to sedate him," he informed me gently and almost immediately a nurse walked into the room and went to his IV, injecting something into it. He would be out any second.

I looked down at Vincenzo, my heart pounding.

This was it.

I could walk away now. Leave things as they were.

Or...

I hesitated, then, before I could talk myself out of it, I slowly guided his hand over my stomach, pressing our hands over it as I locked eyes with him.

Vincenzo’s breath hitched. His tired, hazy eyes widened as he looked down at where our hands rested. Then back up at me.

For a second, he looked like he was about to say something.

Then he froze and his body relaxed almost instantly. His eyelids fluttered, his mouth slightly open in shock as the sedative took hold. But before he completely faded, his gaze locked onto mine.

Pure, raw emotion flashed in his eyes.

Then, just like that, he was out.

I exhaled sharply, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles before gently placing his hand down on the bed.

The doctor adjusted the IV, checking the monitors. I turned to him, my voice steady despite everything. "How is he?"

He glanced at me, then back at the readings. "His vitals are stable. He’s weak, but there’s no internal problems. The biggest concern is his muscle weakness. His motor function is compromised, but with physical therapy, he should regain full strength. He just needs time."

I nodded slowly, processing his words. "And mentally?"

The doctor hesitated. "That’s harder to say. Some patients wake up feeling disoriented, others experience emotional distress, especially after trauma." He met my eyes. "He seems fine but I want to avoid a relapse. I’ll inform you of his progress."

I swallowed and nodded again. "Thank you."

Without another word, I turned and walked out of the room.

Michael was waiting just outside. Oh, he was here already.

His gaze met mine, a quiet understanding in his expression. "I heard he woke up."

I nodded, wrapping my arms around myself. "He did."

A long silence stretched between us. Not uncomfortable. Just there.

Then, Michael exhaled, his voice softer than I expected. "Did you two settle things?"

I let out a breathless, almost bitter laugh. "We broke each other’s hearts a little more. So, yeah. I guess we did."

Michael’s jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he studied me for a moment before nodding.

Then, after a pause, he asked, "Are you ready to leave?"

I didn’t answer right away.

I turned back to glance at Vincenzo’s door one last time.

Then, finally, I looked back at Michael and whispered, "Yeah. Let’s go."