~ Massimo ~
The silence stayed heavy, pressing down on the room like a physical weight while my father stared at me, his dark eyes boring straight into my soul as if he were peeling back the layers of my skull to see what lay underneath.
He must have seen something raw in my eyes right then, probably the lingering pain of the years I spent chasing his approval, the burning anger at Kyo, or the pure desperation of a man who needed this victory to make a statement, because his harsh expression suddenly softened just a fraction.
"I've heard you," Don Giacomo's deep voice cut through the quiet, his gaze pinned on me. "Take over the reins concerning the Yakuza matter, Massimo. I'll be right here anytime you need advice."
My heart soared so fast and hard with gratitude that it almost made me dizzy, and though it felt embarrassing for a grown man in my position to admit it, a deep sense of love for my father rushed through me alongside the relief.
