Author's POV
Ethan hadn't left his room in six days.
The house was silent.
Guards whispered.
Staff tiptoed.
Everyone knew.
The boss was broken.
And when the boss was broken, the empire crumbled.
Isabella couldn't take it anymore.
She gathered the family.
Mother.
Father.
Younger brother Luca.
They marched through the house together.
An army of concern.
An intervention of love.
---
His mother entered first.
Sofia Moretti was not a woman to be stopped.
Beautiful.
Fierce.
The only person who had ever made Ethan flinch.
She took one look at her son.
Lying in bed.
Unshaven.
Empty.
And her heart cracked.
"Ethan."
No response.
"Ethan Moretti, look at me."
Nothing.
She walked to the bed.
Grabbed his face.
Forced him to meet her eyes.
"What is this? What have you become?"
"Leave me alone, Ma."
"No. I will not leave you alone. You are my son. My firstborn. The heir to everything we built. And you're lying here like a dead man because of a girl?"
His eyes flickered.
Danger there.
Brief.
Gone.
"You don't understand."
"Then make me understand."
---
His father stepped forward.
Alessandro Moretti.
The head of the family.
The most powerful man in their world.
He looked at his son with something between disappointment and recognition.
He had been here before.
Long ago.
Before Ethan's mother.
Before power.
Before everything.
"I know what you're feeling."
Ethan laughed.
Bitter.
Empty.
"No you don't."
"I loved your mother before she loved me. I waited. I suffered. I thought I would die without her."
Ethan looked at him.
Really looked.
"And?"
"And I didn't die. I survived. I earned her. And now she's been by my side for forty years."
Sofia softened.
Sat on the bed.
Took Ethan's hand.
"Love is suffering, figlio mio. But it's also worth it. Every moment of pain. Every sleepless night. Every breath without her. It's worth it when she finally comes back."
"She's not coming back."
"How do you know?"
"Because I destroyed her. I called her things. I made her doubt herself. I showed her the monster and expected her to love me anyway."
---
Luca spoke.
Younger brother.
Nineteen.
Impulsive.
Reckless.
"Then stop moping and do something about it."
Ethan's eyes snapped to him.
Dark.
Dangerous.
"Watch your mouth."
"No. You watch. You're here dying while Vittorio laughs. You know what he did while you've been in this room? He took three more territories. Killed two of our men. Made moves he never would have dared if you were yourself."
Ethan sat up.
Slow.
Dangerous.
"What did you say?"
"Vittorio. The one who shot at your girl. He's been busy. Celebrating. Thinking you're finished."
Something shifted in the room.
The air changed.
Temperature dropped.
Ethan stood.
For the first time in days.
His eyes weren't empty anymore.
They were burning.
---
"Get my clothes."
Isabella blinked.
"What?"
"My clothes. Now."
She moved.
Fast.
Everyone moved.
The lion was waking up.
And when the lion woke up, people died.
Ethan dressed in black.
Rolled his sleeves.
Cracked his neck.
The man from the basement was back.
The monster was back.
But this time, he had purpose.
---
"Where is he?"
Luca grinned.
"His main compound. East side. He thinks he's safe there."
"No one is safe."
Ethan walked out.
Family following.
Guards falling into step.
Phones buzzing.
Cars starting.
The Moretti machine was moving.
And Vittorio had no idea what was coming.
---
The compound was heavily guarded.
Men with guns.
Walls with cameras.
Dogs with teeth.
Ethan didn't care.
He walked through the front gate like he owned it.
Because he did.
Everything in this city belonged to him eventually.
Guards raised weapons.
Ethan's men raised more.
Faster.
Better.
Deadlier.
"Tell Vittorio his guest is here."
A guard ran inside.
Shaking.
Terrified.
---
Vittorio came out.
Smug.
Arrogant.
Surrounded by more men.
"Ethan Moretti. I heard you were crying over some girl. Couldn't get it up anymore?"
Ethan smiled.
Cold.
Dead.
"You shot at her."
"I shot at you. She was just in the way."
"You shot at what's mine."
Vittorio laughed.
Nervous now.
Sensing something wrong.
"She's just a girl. There are millions. Find another."
Ethan moved.
Fast.
Blur fast.
Before anyone could react, he had Vittorio by the throat.
Lifted him off the ground.
Watched him choke.
Watched him panic.
Watched him realize.
"You don't touch what's mine. You don't look at what's mine. You don't breathe near what's mine."
"Ethan—please—"
"You shot at her on her birthday. You made her watch men die. You made her afraid. You made her run."
"I didn't—I wasn't—"
"You made her leave me."
---
The sound that came out of Ethan was not human.
It was rage.
Pure.
Ancient.
Absolute.
He threw Vittorio against the wall.
Bones broke.
Vittorio screamed.
Ethan's men held back the guards.
Watched.
Waited.
This was their boss.
This was the lion.
This was why no one crossed the Moretti family.
Ethan walked to Vittorio.
Crouched beside him.
Voice soft.
Deadly.
"You took her from me. Even for a moment. Even temporarily. You took her."
"I'm sorry—I'll give back the territories—I'll—"
"You'll die."
"No—please—"
"Slowly."
---
It took hours.
Vittorio wished for death long before it came.
Ethan gave him no mercy.
No quick end.
Every cut.
Every break.
Every scream.
For her.
For Meera.
For his little star who was thousands of miles away.
When it was over, Ethan stood in the middle of the carnage.
Blood on his clothes.
Blood on his hands.
Blood on his soul.
He didn't care.
Let them see.
Let them all see.
This was what happened to anyone who threatened her.
This was what happened to anyone who took her from him.
---
He walked out.
Family waiting.
Isabella's face pale.
Luca's eyes wide with something like pride.
His father nodded.
Slow.
Approving.
"That's my son."
His mother said nothing.
Just pulled him into a hug.
Blood and all.
"Come home, figlio mio. Let us help you."
For the first time in days.
Ethan let himself be held.
---
Back at the house.
Clean clothes.
Hot food.
Family around him.
Isabella spoke first.
"You can't just kill everyone who upsets you."
"Watch me."
"I'm serious, Ethan. You want her back? You need to be someone she can love. Not someone she fears."
"I don't know how to be that."
"Then learn."
His mother nodded.
"She's traditional, yes? Indian. Family oriented. Religious."
"Yes."
"Then show her you respect that. Show her you're willing to be part of her world. Not just drag her into yours."
Luca grinned.
"Send her family gifts. Traditional ones. Sweets. Flowers. Show them you're serious."
Isabella added.
"And wait. Give her time. But let her know you're waiting. Send letters. Not texts. Real letters. Handwritten. Romantic."
Ethan looked at them.
His chaotic, annoying, loving family.
They were trying.
For him.
For her.
For them.
---
His father spoke last.
Quiet.
Serious.
"When I wanted your mother, her family hated me. Thought I was a criminal. Thought I would destroy her. And I was. I would have. But I proved them wrong. I proved her wrong. I became someone worthy of her love."
"How?"
"Slowly. Patiently. One day at a time. I showed up. I was present. I respected her culture. Her family. Her beliefs. And eventually, they saw. They saw that my love was real. That I would die for her. That I would kill for her. That I would change for her."
Ethan absorbed this.
Let it settle.
"I can do that."
"Can you? Can you be patient? Can you wait? Can you love her without possessing her?"
"I can try."
"That's all any of us can do."
---
That night, Ethan sat alone.
But not broken.
Not empty.
Hopeful.
He had a plan.
Not a violent one.
Not a controlling one.
A real one.
He would write to her.
Every week.
Letters.
Honest ones.
About his day.
About his feelings.
About his regret.
About his love.
He would send gifts.
Traditional ones.
Ones that respected her culture.
Ones that showed he was paying attention.
He would wait.
As long as it took.
And when she was ready.
When the time was right.
He would go to her.
Not as the monster.
Not as the man who hurt her.
As the man who loved her.
The real one.
The one she deserved.
---
He picked up a pen.
Found paper.
Began to write.
*My little star,*
*I don't know if you'll ever read this. I don't know if you'll ever want to hear from me again. But I need to say it. I need you to know.*
*I'm sorry.*
*For everything.*
*For the words.*
*For the pain.*
*For making you doubt yourself.*
*You are not those things I called you. You never were. You are the most beautiful, innocent, precious person I have ever known. And I destroyed that. I destroyed us.*
*I don't ask for forgiveness. Not yet. Not until I've earned it.*
*But I ask for something else.*
*Time.*
*Let me prove that I can be better. Let me show you that the man who loves you is real. Let me wait for you, however long it takes.*
*I love you, Meera.*
*I will always love you.*
*Forever.*
*Yours,*
*Ethan*
---
He sealed the letter.
Addressed it to her family's flat.
The one he had researched months ago.
The one he had memorized like scripture.
Tomorrow, it would fly to Chennai.
Tomorrow, a piece of him would travel to her.
And he would wait.
Patient.
Hopeful.
Loving.
Because little stars always came back to the sky.
And he would be there.
Waiting.
Always waiting.
For her.