A/N Last chapter: I cry. My baby has grown up DX. Picture above to what I picked as the wedding dress and hair. However, I don't quite like the flowers in the hair, so I guess everyone just use your creative imaginations!! Thanks for reading this chapter and for patiently waiting.

~five years later~

Shay's P.O.V

How long have I been out? I sit up groggily, squinting against the sunlight shining around the umbrella I'm under. There's a commotion going on behind me. I listen to the shouts intently:

"WHERE'S THE BRIDE? WHERE IS SHE? MAYDAY. MAYDAY. MISSING BRIDE. ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!"

"CODE RED. CODE RED." There's a flurry of shouts and footsteps before it calms. I vaguely understand the words, as I lay on my recliner half asleep.

"THERE SHE IS!"

"FOUND HER!"

"THANK GOD!"

I sit up from my rather comfortable recliner and peep around my umbrella. I see three pairs of worried eyes.

"Why do you have a loaded gun on my wedding day?" I glare at that hideous thing in Tony's hand. He grins sheepishly before casually slipping it back into his pocket as if that just makes everything better. I already saw it so I don't know why he is hiding it.

"Same goes with you two dummies." I raise an eyebrow at Dante and Leo, who whistle innocently as they too hide their guns.

"What are those?" Tony smirks as he points to my legs.

"My legs." I roll my eyes. What else are these two limbs? Tony can be quite dumb sometimes.

"Underneath your dress." Tony sighs as if I'm the dumb one.

"My skin....HEY!" I smack his arm before he reaches for my knives...oops. "Oh wipe those smirks off of your faces. These are for protection."

"Protection from what? Your clumsiness?" Tony furrows his eyebrows and asks the question genuinely.

Thanks. I tighten my lips in annoyance. "Really."

"What are you doing on the roof by the way?" Dante asks. "in your wedding dress no less. You nervous? You know it's okay if you are. You don't need to get married. You're too young anyways. Hell, just ditch that dweeb." He beings to ramble, almost as if he's the one who is nervous.

"Yeah sis. You can wait another five years. We can make sure you disappear without a trace. Your fiancé won't even be able to find you." Leo nods in a rather serious tone. He seems to be already planning it within his mind. Knowing Leo and his slight overprotectiveness, he probably has planned all this beforehand.

"No!" I shake my head to Leo's elaborate mental escape plan. "And no to Dante too! I'm just enjoying some me-time. It's rather suffocating to be cooped in that room downstairs. All i hear about is makeup stuff. You know how I am about being in a room for hours and hours. I just wanted a little break." I think back to my statement and realize how whiny I sound.

"Ariana and Marisa were freaking out over your disappearance. We are looking for you for the wedding party and family photos. And here you are lounging away." Tony frowns as he mentions his and Leo's wife. Ari and Mar are like sisters to me, so I feel slightly guilty sneaking away without telling them. They must have thought the worst possible case scenarios. They're so sweet but worry so much sometimes.

"Ah, sorry about that," I lower my head at their scolding. Some things never change. They always love to baby me even though I'm an adult now.

"Oh wait..." I frown a bit as I realize something. "I explicitly remember saying I didn't need maximum security. There's no need for all these guards, and you even had a code for my disappearance?" I am a bit angry at my father's complete disregard of my instructions on my own wedding day.

"Hey before you go pointing fingers, it was Leo's ideas." Dante speaks up, earning a whack at the back of his head from Leo.

"THERE YOU ARE!" I turn around to see a furious Pearl. I gulp in a bit of fear. My three brothers freeze and try not to bring attention to themselves as she stomps her way towards us. It's quite a sight as she manages to approach us quickly in her stiletto heels. She's dressed in her pale teal Sherri Hill customized bridesmaid dress. "I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING! YOU'RE WRINKLING THE DRESS!"

I stand up and back away carefully. "I was just taking a nap."

"A NAP!" She gasps in shock as if it's the most horrifying thing she has ever heard.

"WE'RE ABOUT TO TAKE PICTURES AND YOU WANTED TO TAKE A NAP IN YOUR WEDDING DRESS!" She raises her voices. "Oh dear me..." She rubs her temples as she inspects my dress.

"What was the point in spending so much money on the dress just for you to wrinkle it." She chews her lips in worry. "Okay, thank goodness you don't move too much when you nap. Your dress seems fine, but I'm going to get Carla to take a look since she's the expert here."

"Aye Pearl." I see Sky come up the stairs behind her. He's dressed handsomely in his tuxedo. Sky has bulked up the past years so he isn't as lean anymore. Guess I can't tease him about being a twig no more. My siblings and I visibly relax as soon as we see Sky. Pearl is the best but sometimes she's not only scary but also a bit much. Sky, on the other hand, has a calming effect on her. He's rather good at keeping his own emotions in check now. Thank goodness they have each other. "There you are, Pearls." He smiles happily and hugs her from behind.

"So uh Ariana and Marisa are quite heated right now. I had to stop Ariana from going all bounty hunter on your ass. Marisa and Ariana also almost made me go deaf from the amount of talking they were doing." He shudders as he tells us. "Good luck Shay." He gives me a supportive glance.

"I might as well face everyone's wrath now than later." I groan. Here goes another couple hours of getting ready. I walk downstairs and try to find the makeup room. There's so many rooms in this villa that I'm sure I'm going to get lost in here. I finally find the familiar glossy wooden door and pause.

Hesitantly, I finally step into the room. I already am prepared for the ruckus that is expected to occur.

"Oh my god."

"There you are."

"You little hoe!"

On and on the girls scream. There is a hell lot of Italian cursing though. Go Italians.

Ariana is the first to reach me and she glares at me with her icy blue eyes. "We have so much to do and you're napping!" Her ruby lips tightens into a scowl as she almost drags me to the makeup chair. Yep, Ariana is going to be doing my makeup. She's a professional makeup artist. That title is just scratching the surface of what she can do. Her expertise extends to covert disguises and special effects. She's damn good.

"Wait, how'd u hear I was napping? I was getting my beauty rest." I try to defend myself.

"Tony. Sit still. Now." Ariana can be freaking scary sometimes even though she totally looks like a docile Barbie doll.

"Of course Tony would rat me out." I purse my lips, but of course Ariana tells me to stop creating wrinkles on my face.

"I thought my makeup and hair was already done?" I try to stop her from dragging me.

"Not anymore." She clucks her tongue disapprovingly. "I need to touch up on your makeup once again. I'll fix the hair too with some hair spray."

"WHERE'S THE HAIR SPRAY, GODDAMMIT!" She yells in frustration. The stress seems to be taking a toll more on her than me.

I sneak a text on my phone, "Tony, come. ASAP. NOW."

"Are you texting?" Ariana stares at my phone.

"No, I was checking the time." I put it away.

In less than a minute, Tony comes knocking on the door. "Someone need help?"

"You okay? Need anything?" Tony looks worriedly at Ariana. I kind of hoped he would come and calm her down.

"I'm fine. Shoo!" She frowns as she finally finds the hairspray.

"Well, we are about to start the photos. Right now the bridesmaids and groomsmen are all on their way out."

"I'm almost done..." Ari mumbles with a makeup brush between her teeth as she applies the finishing touches. "And...done!"

All of us head to take the pre-wedding photos, separate from the groom. It takes an hour or two of pictures before we leave the wedding site so the guests can arrive and find their seats.

*****

I wait in my room as the ceremony begins. Then, gathering my nerves, I exit the room and get into position. I purse my lips tightly as I make out the security guards all over the place. Okay, I expected some to be here because we are mafia and all, but I've counted at least twenty so far. I don't think anyone is dying today, but I'd rather not jinx anything. Who knows what can happen today? However, if any motherfucker dares to interrupt my wedding, they will be sorry.

At last, it's my turn. I look to my father and smile. To my surprise, his eyes are watery.

"Papa, we're about to walk down the aisle." I nudge him gently.

"Ah, mi principessa, you're all grown up now. What a beautiful woman you are now. You take after your mother. You look just like her when I first met her. " He reminisces fondly before continuing," You're already getting married. It's too soon...." He sighs affectionately. He clears his throat as it catches a bit. We share a tender moment as he regains his composure like usual. However, over the years, he's been a lot kinder with me. We have reached an understanding and strengthened our bond in the past few years.

"...are you sure you are ready to marry that boy? I can rearrange things if you want to wait a little." My dad suggests a bit hopefully. I wonder what he means by "things."

"Not you too?" A small laugh escapes. "Leo and them already tried persuading me. No papa. I'm fine. I love "that boy." All of you do. I mean, he's still alive still even though you gave him the talk. -No, don't try to deny it. I know you brought out your favorite gun and tried to scare the poor boy." I interject as my father opens his mouth to defend himself.

"He's got guts. Not many people live that long when they go one-on-one with me." My father says proudly.

"Wait," I pause. "One-on-one? As in he actually fought you? When was this?"

"Oh! Look the doors are open!" He evades my questions.

"Papa!" I laugh once more at his protectiveness.

I won't deny that I feel very nervous right now as I start walking down the aisle. Even though we tried to keep the wedding small, we are Italians. Small isn't in our vocabulary. People flew here from all over the world. All the guests stand up and stare at me as I walk past. Talk about nerve-wraking. Yikes, don't think about the sea of eyes. Don't think about your brothers who are low-key hoping you trip.

I feel a pat on my arm. I look to my father, who gives me a kind and reassuring smile. It helps that he's walking me down the aisle. I don't know what I would do if he wasn't by my side. I certainly would have tripped since my legs feel like jello. I also look through the sea of people and smile as I spot people I haven't seen in ages.

I try not to focus on my swirl of thoughts:

Don't trip...don't trip...Gosh I shouldn't even think about tripping. I'm going to end up rolling down the aisle.

Walk slowly for the pictures...remember everything!

Posture! OOOHHH, the aisle decorations are gorgeous!

Act natural. Look natural. Smile! Enjoy!

I totally need a manual for this.

Then, I spot Jacob. We make eye contact and I don't even want to say how cheesy the moment is. As soon as I see him with his huge grin, my nervousness disappears. I also can't stop the smile coming onto my face as I see him. He always makes everything so much better. I blink my eyes rapidly, trying not to cry and ruin my makeup. Ari would totally kill me for ruining the makeup before I even finished walking down the aisle. My eyes water so much though as I stare at Jacob's happy grin.

He's waiting at the end of the aisle. The guy I've chosen, who'll walk with me in life until the end of my days. This is what I have chosen. This man. This life. This future. This is just the beginning. All I have to do is walk down the damn aisle.

There's also the fact that he had such a dumbfounded look on his face as soon as he saw me. I wish I could've taken a picture of that. Yet, it soothes all my worries completely.

We reach the end of the aisle and my father stops before giving me to Jacob. "Just remember, I can and will kill you if you break her heart." He says it with a kind smile that it takes a few seconds to process his words.

"Duly noted." The grin never leaves Jacob's face. He's not fazed by much.

Finally, we stand in front of each other.

"You're so beautiful." We both can't stop smiling at each other.

"Thank you." I blush a bit under his lively eyes. He never stops looking at me.

"You're very handsome." I wink at him.

Everything is a blur until I hear the words, "You may kiss the bride."

Then, a huge wave of applause and shouts come out, mostly coming from the groomsmen.

Jacob and I hold hands and practically skip down the aisle ecstatically.

*****

During the reception, everyone enjoys themselves to the food and music. Many of my Italian familia toast us with "Per Cent'anni." Whenever there's a lull in the party, we hear "Evviva gli sposi" which means "Hurray for the newlyweds."Everyone celebrates in a blithe manner as they enjoy the food, which we have more than fourteen courses. Also, each guest is given candy-coated Jordan almonds, an Italian tradition.

I prance around, talking to as many people as I can but also enjoying the moment. Dante pulls me aside.

"Whoa, who's that?" Dante whistles lowly and looks at Serena in a starstruck manner. I'm happy that she managed to come.

"Serena, one of my closest friends," I pinch his cheek to wake him up from this trance he is in. "Close that mouth of yours and show some manners." I say it as sincerely as possible as I tap his open mouth shut.

"Shut up." Dante nudges me aside in a friendly manner. "Why haven't I see her though? I'm just wondering by the way." He tries to put on a casual front, but I see right through it.

"Just wondering, my ass." I murmur.

"Say that again, sweet sister?" Dante slings his arm around my shoulder and leans in with a frown.

"Nothing, dear brother." I roll my eyes before finally answering his question. "She just flew in for my wedding this morning. Is that best friend goals or what?" I had planned on making Serena one of my bridesmaids, but that didn't work out because she wasn't sure if she would be able to make any of the rehearsals let alone the wedding. Serena and I met when I was traveling to third-world countries. We hit it off really quickly. I photographed and also acted as an interpreter.

"Where'd she fly in from?" Dante asks.

Is this a game of twenty questions? I ponder for a second. He's trying to conceal his curiosity, but something about Serena has grabbed his attention. It must be her strikingly attractive looks. Of course it would be. I feel like Dante has a thing for tall, Brazilian models. Serena was a part-time model in order to pay for her medical bills. She left the modeling industry to pursue her philanthropic career as a Doctor in foreign countries. I think she started volunteering under another non-profit organization just a while back.

"Alright Dante." I clap my hands together. "Use those legs of yours and go talk to her. I know you have a working mouth and legs. Use. Them." I give him a small push towards her direction. I'm totally playing matchmaker right now but I kind of what to see how the pair will work out. Serena is a sassy girl who will not let anybody walk over her. Perhaps she will change Dante's playboy ways...perhaps....

"Serena!" I wave at her cheerfully. She comes over. "Have you met my brother Dante?"

"No, I don't believe so. Hi, I'm Serena Silva." She sticks out her hand professionally. I see her eye me as if she knows what I'm up to.

"Nice to meet you." Dante flashes his flirty grin. Ugh. I kind of know how this heading. That's so not going to work with her.

"Oh, Jacob is calling me! Bye!" I smile apologetically, even though Serena narrows her eyes as if she's saying she's going to talk to me later about this. I just wink at her.

I continue to chat and eat with my family. The joyful atmosphere is almost too good to be true. Heck, the past years have been so relaxing that I am a bit restless. I try to travel around the world in order to replace the "adventurous and dangerous" side.

Jacob still works sometimes on the field whenever he isn't training and recruiting new agents. It took almost two years of convincing for him to finally let me work beside him. And even still, I'm stuck with recruiting duties. I do it as a side-job as I travel the world taking pictures and acting as an interpreter. Okay, I honestly enjoy it but I do miss the action sometimes.

It's been as peaceful as it can be in the Ricca family too. My brothers have wives and children now. Well, with the exception of Dante. Dante is still trying to remain a bachelor. Ariana and Tony have been married for almost two years now. They have two beautiful baby boys named after Niccolo and Lorenzo. When I heard Ari was having twins and planned on naming them after Niccolo and Lorenzo, I gained a new respect for her. I even burst out crying. The boys are now one, and boy do they remind me of Nicco and Lorenzo. The boys are so mischevious, especially because of Dante's bad influence. Anyways, Marisa and Leo have actually been married for almost four years now. They have a three year old daughter Lia, who was also my adorable flower girl. She's a beautiful little angel. Marisa is expecting a baby boy next.

I think Sky is about to pop the question to Pearl. I think if he waits another year to pop it, Pearl is going to explode. Actually, I think she might just propose instead if she has to wait any longer. Ooh, I feel like that's totally going to happen.

"So when are you going to get me some grandchildren, Dante?" My mother turns the conversation onto my youngest brother. He shifts around in his chair rather uncomfortably.

"Mom..." Dante's lips raise in a light grin. "You know me. I'm in my prime living as handsome bachelor. I've got all I want."

Everyone at the table is silent for a moment, before we all start snorting in laughter.

"Just you wait, I'm not going to become whipped, old farts like you two." He points to Leo and Tony, who raise their eyebrows in amusement.

"That's what they all say." Ariana grins knowingly.

"I see how you were looking at Serena," I elbow Dante's side and whisper mischievously.

"Did I hear you say Serena?" My brothers perk up with their unnatural hearing.

"There's nothing going on between us." Dante tries to appear calm.

"We all saw you dancing with her rather closely." Marisa joins in on the fun and teases him.

"You know, not everyone can resist the Ricca charm." Dante says in a cocky tone.

"True that, brother." Leo and Tony raise their champagne glass in agreement. Of course, Marisa and Ariana shake their heads, mouthing "boys."

I merely laugh at the entire exchange.

Jacob looks at me.

"What?"

"I can't believe we are here. I'm the happiest and luckiest man ever." He says it straight to the point I can't help but blush.

"And I'm lucky to have you. I love you." I lean into him and smile contently.

"Love you too."

"Awwww why can't you be like that too?" Marisa whispers to Leo, who glares half-heartedly at Jacob.

"I know right." Ariana sighs wistfully. "Young love is great."

Tony and Leo frown and throw grapes at Jacob and I.

"Oh no you don't! Don't start a food fight. Don't you dare." My mother raises her voice sharply.

All of us pause mid-throw and listen to her like good children.

"It was their fault." Dante points fingers.

"I thought I raised adults." My mom groans.

All of us laugh together.

I sit back and enjoy the scene with my husband and family. It's been quite a long ride of ups and downs, but in the end, we are all bounded together through blood and sweat. I'm happy that I can share this important day with each and every single one of my family and friends.

The Ricca Family are strong until the end.

___

A/N

I made a Twitter for my wattpad account! It's the same user but here's the link: https://twitter.com/lystrandra

I would love if you tweeted me questions or just tweeted me in general! :] Share this story through twitter too!! I MADE THIS ACCOUNT JUST FOR YOU <3

@HecDaevis this last and final chapter is dedicated to you.

Thank you everyone for waiting patiently!

I honestly had to rewrite this chapter over and over. I finally decided to keep this chapter a light chapter. I was going to do action, but I felt that since I'm not writing a sequel, no action is needed. I could have done a better job at writing this entire story, but this is how a writer is. We grow as we write. None of my stories will be perfect; it's impossible! I don't edit any of my chapters.

Also, please remember that this is my story, so I'm sorry if some of you didn't like how I ended it! (Then again, i had so much trouble ending it so PLEASE GIMME FEEDBACK!!!! <3 MUCH APPRECIATED BUT PLEASE POSITIVE COMMENTS ONLY!!!!!)

Yes, I am for sure not writing a sequel! Sorry!

I have questions: What should I write next? What do you want to see next? *Don't say sequel O_O LOL

Thanks for being with me through this entire journey!!! I appreciate it so much! It's been quite a ride writing this. I have exactly one week left before I head to college! Plus, I'm finally going to turn 18 (in like an hour lol if you count 12 AM)! Haha I don't know if any of you all read this or even care, but thanks to those who read the A/N!

Again, I love everyone for their support! Even the haters hahaha. Haters will always hate.

Love, Lystra <3

Please comment any ideas or suggestions or just to leave a comment haha

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