Chapter 331: Let’s Get You Home To Nonna

Eve laughed.

"I bet Nonna will have soups and herbs ready to fatten me up," Eve said, a slight smile crossing her face. "Because she’ll spend the entire time complaining that I’ve lost weight."

Dimitri laughed...a warm, genuine laugh that showed his relief, his joy despite everything they’d been through.

"Well, that’s Nonna for you," Dimitri said warmly. "She believes that all problems can be solved with food and Italian herbs. Come on, let’s go home."

He helped Eve to her feet, keeping one arm around her waist, making sure she was steady.

Mike moved toward them.

"I’m coming with you," Mike said. "Someone needs to make sure my sister stays where she belongs."

"She belongs with me," Dimitri said, but there was no harshness in his voice, just a statement of fact. "But you’re welcome to come. For Nonna’s sake."

They moved together toward the exit.

Dimitri kept his arm around Eve the entire time, not willing to let her go even for a moment.

Eve stayed close to him, still processing everything, still understanding that she’d survived something she wasn’t sure she would survive.

As they reached the vehicle waiting outside, Eve looked up at Dimitri.

"Thank you," she said simply.

"For what?" Dimitri asked.

"For coming for me," Eve said. "For not stopping until you found me. For being willing to do whatever it took to bring me home."

"Always," Dimitri said, pulling her close one more time before helping her into the vehicle. "Always, piccola. That’s what you are to me. You’re always worth anything."

The vehicle pulled away from the safe house, heading toward Manhattan, heading toward the penthouse, heading home.

Eve leaned her head against Dimitri’s shoulder, her hand holding his, understanding that despite everything she’d been through, despite the fear and the trauma and the uncertainty, she was safe.

She was loved.

And she was going home.

***

Nonna was waiting at the door when they arrived.

The moment she saw Eve, her entire face transformed, tears streaming down her face, her arms opening wide.

"Cara mia," Nonna said, pulling Eve into an embrace. "My sweet girl. Thank God. Thank God you’re home."

Eve collapsed into her arms, and for the second time that day, she cried, but this time it was different. This time it was the cry of someone who was surrounded by people who loved her completely.

Nonna was murmuring in Italian, her hands moving over Eve’s hair, her face, checking for injuries, assessing her condition with the eye of someone who’d spent decades caring for people.

"You’ve lost weight," Nonna said immediately, her voice carrying the characteristic Italian complaint. "Look at you. So thin. We need to feed you. I have soup. I have bread. I have herbs to make you strong again."

And despite everything, Eve laughed.

Dimitri watched from the doorway as his grandmother hugged Eve, as she was welcomed back into the warmth of their protection.

And he understood, finally, what he’d been fighting for.

Not an empire. Not territory. Not power.

But this, the right to have people who loved him, who would come home to him, who made his world complete.

Eve was his center.

And he would burn down the entire world to keep her safe.

After observing from the doorway, Dimitri walked inside.

The moment his presence registered, the energy in the room shifted, not uncomfortably, but with the kind of recognition that came from his being the center of everything.

Nonna looked up from where she was fussing over Eve.

"Dimitri!" Nonna said, her face lighting up. "Come, sit. You need to eat. Look at you, you’re as thin as a ghost. War makes men forget to feed themselves."

"I’m fine, Nonna," Dimitri said, moving toward the table where Eve was already eating.

"You’re not fine," Nonna said with the absolute certainty of someone who’d spent decades mothering men. "Sit. Eat. Both of you need feeding."

Dimitri smiled slightly, the kind of smile that suggested he was humoring her, but also that he genuinely appreciated her concern.

He sat beside Eve.

The moment he was seated, Nonna placed a plate in front of him...pasta, risotto, vegetables, fresh bread still warm from the oven, everything prepared with the kind of care that only Nonna could provide.

"This one," Nonna said, pointing to Eve with her wooden spoon, "has lost so much weight. I can see her bones. Not good. Not good at all. We need to build her back up."

Eve laughed...a genuine, warm laugh that made Dimitri’s chest tighten with relief. The sound of her laughing, genuinely, after everything she’d been through.

"Nonna, I’ve been captive for less than two days," Eve said, smiling at the older woman. "I haven’t exactly wasted away."

"Two days is enough to lose weight when you’re scared," Nonna said firmly, already bringing out more food...antipasti, fresh vegetables, different types of cheese. "Eat. All of you. Especially you, Dimitri. You look like death."

"I feel like death," Dimitri said dryly, which made Mike laugh from across the table.

"Well, you look worse," Mike said. "You look like you’ve been through a war."

"I have," Dimitri replied simply, taking a bite of the pasta Nonna had prepared.

The dinner continued in this way, Nonna constantly bringing out more food, constantly insisting they eat more, constantly fussing over them like they were her personal responsibility to keep alive and well-nourished.

And they let her.

Because there was something profoundly comforting about being cared for in this way. There was something deeply grounding about sitting at a table with people who loved you, eating food that had been prepared with intention and care.

Eve was laughing more now, the color returning to her face as she ate, as she felt safe, as the reality of her rescue and survival truly began to settle into her bones.

Dimitri watched her.

He watched the way her eyes brightened. The way her smile became more genuine. The way she relaxed into the warmth of Nonna’s care and Mike’s protective presence.