---

Chapter — The In-Law Surprise

Damien stepped into Valarie’s office, his usual composed, lethal aura in place. He was here for one reason—to discuss Mikhail’s movements and end this hunt once and for all.

But the moment he walked in, he was greeted by something far more unexpected.

“Ah, Damien, perfect timing,” Valarie said with a sly grin, leaning back in her chair. “Meet our parents.”

Damien froze.

Sitting across from Valarie were two people—Luca’s mother and father.

His mother, a refined woman with warm eyes, gasped. “Oh my!” She clasped her hands together in excitement.

His father narrowed his eyes, assessing Damien like a man who had spent years protecting his family.

Damien had faced assassins, betrayals, and near-death encounters. But standing before Luca’s parents? This felt like enemy territory.

Luca’s mother stood, practically vibrating with excitement. “You’re the Damien?”

Valarie smirked. “Yes, mother. He’s your son-in-law.”

Damien choked.

Luca’s father stiffened. “Son-in-law?”

Valarie shrugged. “I mean, look at him. He took a bullet for me. That’s more than my last three boyfriends did. And he’s obsessively devoted to Luca—”

“Valarie,” Damien warned, voice low.

But it was too late.

Luca’s mother beamed. “Oh, how wonderful! Luca finally has someone! And such a handsome young man, too.” She clasped Damien’s hand. “Tell me, when’s the wedding?”

Damien opened his mouth, then closed it.

Valarie cackled.

Luca’s father, however, remained silent, his gaze sharp. “You’re the mafia boss Luca got tangled with.”

Damien met his gaze evenly. “I am.”

Silence.

Then, to Damien’s surprise, the man sighed. “At least you’re better than that idiot from Luca’s university.”

Damien’s head snapped up. “Who?”

Valarie coughed, grinning. “Ohhh, this is gonna be fun.”

Luca’s mother, oblivious to the tension, patted Damien’s arm. “We’ll have dinner together soon, dear. I want to hear everything about how you treat my baby.”

Damien merely smirked.

Oh, he’d make sure to remind Luca exactly who he belonged to.

And he’d definitely find out who this ‘idiot from university’ was.

Because no one touched his angel.

Not if they wanted to live.

---

--- — Dinner Plans & Teasing

When Damien stepped into their home, he was met with the soft hum of Luca flipping through a book on the couch. Ava, sprawled across his lap, kicked her tiny legs in the air as she doodled in a notebook.

The moment Luca looked up, Damien smirked. Perfect.

“Angel,” he drawled, casually tossing his jacket aside. “Guess what?”

Luca narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What?”

Damien strolled over, leaning down until their noses almost touched. “We’re going to have dinner with your parents tonight.”

Luca blinked. “...What?”

Ava gasped. “Grandma and Grandpa? Can I call them that PApa?!”

Damien hummed, eyes gleaming with amusement. “Your mother invited us. She seemed very excited to meet her ‘son-in-law.’”

Luca’s face turned crimson. “What?!”

Ava squealed and shot up from his lap. “I’M GONNA WEAR A PRINCESS DRESS!” She dashed off to her room, already rummaging through her tiny closet.

Luca, on the other hand, buried his face in his hands. “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

Damien chuckled darkly, sitting beside him and tugging him close. “Oh yes, angel. We’re officially meeting your family.” He nuzzled into Luca’s neck, whispering against his skin, “Your mother practically adores me. She asked when the wedding is.”

Luca groaned. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Damien grinned. “Every second.”

Luca turned and smacked his chest. “You’re evil.”

Damien caught his wrist and kissed his knuckles. “And yet, you love me.”

Luca huffed but didn’t pull away. Instead, he peeked at Damien through his lashes. “…What did my dad say?”

Damien smirked. “He disapproves. Obviously.”

Luca groaned again. “This is going to be a disaster.”

Ava suddenly reappeared, twirling in a fluffy dress. “Luca, wear something pretty too! We have to impress Grandma and Grandpa!”

Damien gave Luca a slow, heated once-over. “Oh, he always impresses, little one.”

Luca shoved him away. “Stop that in front of Ava!”

Ava giggled. “Papa always flirts!”

Luca sighed. “I hate both of you.”

Damien only chuckled, pulling him close and pressing a teasing kiss to his lips. “No, kiska. You love us.”

And Luca, despite himself, did.

Even if dinner was going to be an absolute nightmare.

---

Luca knew this was going to be a disaster the second they stepped inside.

The warm scent of home-cooked food filled the air, and his mother greeted them with an excited squeal. “My baby!” She practically tackled Luca into a hug, squeezing him so tightly he swore he lost a lung.

Ava giggled and tugged on her dress. “Grandma! It's nice to meet you”

His mother gasped dramatically. “My precious little granddaughter! Valarie had tell me a lot about you.” She scooped Ava up, spinning her around as the little girl squealed in delight. “Oh, you’re even more beautiful than I imagined! And look at these stubborn little eyes—exactly like Luca’s.”

Damien, standing beside them, smirked. “She is exactly like him. Stubborn, talkative, and absolutely adorable.”

Luca shot him a glare, cheeks already turning pink. “Shut up.”

His mother cooed. “Oh, Damien, dear, you’re so sweet.” Then she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. “Now, tell me everything about you!”

Luca stiffened. Oh no.

His father was sitting at the dining table, watching with a sharp gaze. He gave Damien a slow once-over and grunted. “Mafia boss.”

Damien, completely unfazed, nodded. “That’s me.”

Luca groaned. “Please, not now—”

His mother ignored him and leaned in. “Do you really love my son?”

Damien’s gaze turned dark, possessive. “More than life itself.”

Luca choked.

His mother sighed dreamily. “Ah, how romantic.”

His father scowled. “Romantic? He’s dangerous.”

His mother waved him off. “Oh, nonsense. If he’s dangerous to others, that means he can protect our Luca.”

Damien smirked. “Exactly.”

Luca wanted to die.

Ava, meanwhile, was stuffing her face with cookies. “Papa always protects Luca! He fights bad guys for him!”

His mother gasped again. “Oh my, how chivalrous!”

Luca put his head in his hands. “I hate this.”

Damien chuckled, pulling him close and pressing a teasing kiss to his temple. “No, angel. You love this.”

His mother squealed. “Oh, you two are just perfect together!”

Luca groaned.

This was worse than he imagined.

And Damien?

He was loving every second of it.

—

Dinner was almost going smoothly. Almost.

That was until Valarie—traitor that she was—decided to ruin everything.

She leaned back in her chair, sipping her wine lazily, and smirked. “So, Damien,” she started, feigning innocence. “Did Luca ever tell you about his ex?”

Luca froze.

Damien, who had been resting an arm over Luca’s chair, suddenly stilled. His dark gaze snapped to Luca, unreadable.

“Oh?” His voice was dangerously smooth. “Ex?”

Luca kicked Valarie under the table, but the evil woman just grinned.

“Oh yeah,” she continued, ignoring Luca’s silent threats. “What was his name again? Adrian? No, wait—Aiden! The one who—”

Damien’s fork snapped in half.

Luca’s mother gasped. “Oh dear!”

Ava, stuffing her face with dessert, blinked. “Papa broke the fork.”

Luca groaned. “Val, shut up.”

But Damien turned to him, eyes dark with jealousy. “Who. The. Hell. Is. Aiden?”

Valarie smirked. “Oh, Luca’s first serious boyfriend. He was so sweet—”

Damien’s entire presence darkened.

Luca panicked. “It was years ago! We broke up forever ago! It meant nothing—”

Damien’s jaw clenched. “Did you love him?”

Luca stared at him. “Are you serious right now?”

Valarie, his so-called sister, only egged him on. “Oh, Aiden was such a gentleman. And so good-looking—”

Damien slammed his hand on the table. The plates rattled.

“Valarie,” he said darkly, voice dripping with warning. “Do you want to die tonight?”

She only laughed. “Relax, Mafia Boy. I was just testing how possessive you were.”

Luca kicked her harder. “You are so dead after this.”

Meanwhile, Damien still looked murderous, gaze locked onto Luca.

Ava tilted her head, curious. “What’s an ex?”

Luca muttered, “A mistake.”

Damien grunted in agreement. “Exactly.”

His mother giggled. “Oh, Damien, you’re adorable when you’re jealous.”

Damien didn’t respond. He was still seething.

Luca sighed. Great. He was going to deal with a, over-obsessive Damien all night now.

—

After dinner, as they were leaving, Luca’s father pulled Damien aside.

“You,” he said, voice dangerously low. “I don’t care how powerful you are, mafia or not. If you ever hurt my son, I’ll make sure you regret the day you were born.”

Damien smirked, completely unfazed. “That’s cute. But there’s only one problem—”

Luca stepped in between them. “Dad, stop.”

His father glared. “He’s dangerous, Luca.”

Luca sighed. “I know that. But so am I, in my own way. And Damien’s…mine.”

Damien visibly preened at that, wrapping an arm around Luca’s waist. “That’s right.”

Luca groaned. “Not helping.”

His father eyed Damien one last time before scoffing. “Tch. We’ll see.”

Damien chuckled, completely smug. “Oh, you’ll see all right. Mr Ivanov.”

Luca had a bad feeling about Damien’s obsessive jealousy brewing.

Tonight was going to be hell.

—

Luca’s mother pulled him into a tight hug, stroking his hair. “You’re too thin, sweetheart. Are you eating well?”

Luca sighed. “Mom—”

Damien smirked. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I make sure he eats plenty.”

Luca froze.

Valarie choked on her drink.

His mother, completely oblivious to the innuendo, beamed. “That’s wonderful, dear! Luca always forgets to take care of himself.”

His father, on the other hand, shot Damien a look.

Luca groaned, stepping back. “Okay, we’re leaving now—”

Ava ran up and hugged Luca’s mother’s leg. “You’re so pretty! Like my Luca!”

Luca’s mother gasped, hand on her heart. “Oh, you adorable little angel!” She bent down and kissed Ava’s cheeks, making her giggle. “You take care of my son, okay?”

Ava nodded seriously. “I will!”

Luca’s father, arms crossed, stared Damien down.

“You listen to me,” he said, voice deadly serious. “My son is precious. If you ever hurt him—”

Luca sighed. “Dad—”

“—I will hunt you down.”

Damien didn’t even flinch. Instead, he smirked. “You think you’d get the chance?”

Tension crackled.

Luca stepped in between them. “Alright! That’s enough testosterone for one night.” He grabbed Damien’s arm. “Let’s go.”

His mother waved sweetly. “Come again soon, dear!”

Valarie, leaning against the doorframe, smirked. “Try not to kill anyone on the way home, Damien.”

Damien shot her a look.

Luca groaned. “Goodnight.”