”Please… call me Samuele,” he again insisted firmly, yet softly.
“Samuele,” Rosa swallowed at the casual use of his first name.
“I don’t need a phone.
When I have some spare money, I’ll just buy a used one,” she replied.
Samuele shook his head slightly.
“How about this?
Let me buy you a phone, and you can pay me back later—after Renzo recovers.
No rush.”
Rosa looked conflicted, hesitating.
He softened his expression, a gentle smile lighting his features.
“I’m not going anywhere.
I’m here, and you’re here too, right?”
She nodded, still wary.
She didn’t want to owe him anything—especially not without knowing his intentions—but… she did need a phone, both for job hunting and to keep an eye on Renzo when she wasn’t around.
Then she took Samuele’s phone and called Lucy, quickly explaining everything.
Lucy said she had been planning to come anyway, as she wanted to talk to Rosa about today’s incident.
But she could wait, and they could discuss it later.
Rosa would go with Samuele, and Lucy would stay behind to look after Renzo.
Once Lucy arrived, Samuele led Rosa to the nearest mall.
The shops would be closing in about an hour.
So, the mall wasn’t crowded—only a handful of shoppers wandered through the corridors, and most of the people inside the stores were staff preparing to shut down for the night.
He guided her into a large gadget store.
The moment Rosa stepped inside, she felt it.
The looks.
The staff eyed her with polite smiles that didn’t quite reach their eyes—judging, measuring, dismissing.
As if she didn’t belong there.
Her steps slowed.
She hesitated at the entrance, suddenly wishing she had stayed outside.
But Samuele moved closer, his hand settling gently at the small of her back, urging her forward.
He sensed how she had frozen in place.
She glanced up at him.
He offered a reassuring smile—and she finally stepped inside.
He glanced around once, then slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded toward the display counters.
“Pick whatever phone you need,” he said calmly.
“Don’t worry about the price.”
Rosa bit her lip, her gaze drifting over the rows of glowing screens.
She had never imagined herself standing in a place like this.
For the past five years, thrift stores had been her only option—for clothes, furniture, even kitchenware.
Still, she walked forward.
Carefully.
Cautiously.
Though her eyes lingered on the high-end models, her real focus was on finding a phone with the features she needed at the lowest possible price.
After a long search, she finally picked one that suited her requirements perfectly.
She would have been fine with a second-hand phone, but Samuele insisted on a new one.
Even so, she remained careful with his generosity.
She would return the money as soon as she could.
She couldn’t let herself stay indebted to him forever.
Just as they were about to finalize the payment, chaos erupted outside the store.
Rosa froze, her eyes widening in horror.
Luciano Mancini—her ex-husband—strode forward, a gun in one hand, a dagger in the other, a cigarette clenched between his fingers.
His men fanned out around him, each armed and dangerous.
Ahead of them, a man ran, drenched in blood, stumbling toward safety.
Luciano Mancini strode in wearing an impeccable black suit, every inch of him screaming power and danger, looking like a man carved by God himself.
His charm usually stole every eye in the room—but this time it was the gun and dagger in his hands that commanded all the attention.
His men stormed in right behind him, hunting the wounded bastard who was trying to crawl away from them.
The man dove behind a counter, knocking over shelves as he went.
The whole store erupted into chaos—people screaming, running, knocking into each other—but the entrance was already blocked by the Italian don and his men as they spread out fast, sealing every exit.
“Shut the fuck up!” one of them roared.
“Keep your fucking mouths shut,” another snarled, raising his gun.
“Make one fucking sound, and you’ll be dead before you can pray.”
The threats echoed through the store, one after another, until silence dropped like a coffin lid and everyone froze in the place where they stood.
Luciano stepped forward, his predatory eyes sweeping the store.
He handed his dagger to one of his men and took a long drag from his cigarette.
“Come out, you bastard.
You ran long enough,” he called out in a cold warning.
“Now you’re fucking trapped.”
”Where’s that motherfucker?
Look for him!” Luca shouted from behind.
His men scattered instantly, fanning out and tearing through every aisle, every corner.
Then the Don’s eyes landed on Rosa.
Samuele reacted on instinct, pulling her behind him the second he saw the gun in Luciano’s hand.