MISMATCH

Chapter 30: Second Chances (TONY)

Disclaimer:

(Since I was undecided on how the story would end, I decided to make three versions so that readers could choose the ending they saw fit - and who they wanted to end up with whom. The real ending is Nicole's, but Tony and Matteo have their own)

A month has passed and yet my feelings for her never changed. For the years we spent together, it was only when we broke up that I realized how much I loved her. I never valued love - I always thought that your needs came first and you always fought for your happiness. She taught me something different. She taught me that love meant sacrificing for the happiness of others. And because of that, I knew I could never love anyone as much as I did her.

I visited her as often as I could. I knew she would want time with her baby, but even I had fallen in love with her son. At first, I admit that I could still feel the hurt when I looked at Nikolai since he was the son of Matteo. It also didn't help that she had fallen in love with him. Nikolai served as a reminder of that. I never once asked Nicole about Matteo - I guess I was scared of finding out the truth that she could love someone else and not me.

When Nicole finally left the hospital, she told me that she would spend two weeks with her sister and then go back to living with her mother. I helped her move her things which she said she was grateful for. It's not as though I wanted her to owe me anything, but rather she taught me how it was to take care of someone without asking for anything in return.

Miranda was heartbroken when Nicole moved out. I guess she was used to the idea that her sister was around. She eventually opened up to me about the real reason Nicole decided to momentarily move in with her. That actually didn't sit well with me when I found out. It turns out that it happened when she and Matteo had a misunderstanding. She had told him she loved him, was rejected, and the only thing she could think of to get over the hurt was to disappear from his life. Whether or not she still had feelings for him, I didn't have the guts to ask. All I knew was that I wanted to be there for her, I wanted to ease her pain because I never wanted her to experience that again.

When she moved back to her parent's house, my visits grew lesser. I knew her family would want to spend time with her and the baby to make up for the time Nicole left. I also knew she and the baby still had to settle in. If I had my way, I guess I would've spent more time with her, but I didn't really want to impose. I felt that she wasn't really ready for a relationship and wanted to focus on the baby.

A few weeks after the baby's birth, Nicole told me that it was about time that she took care of Nikolai's baptism. She had a couple of godparents in mind - the main one of course being her sister and Wacks - who I later found out was Matteo's best friend. "How are you and Nikolai?"

"It's been wonderful. Tiring because of the sleepless nights, but everything's ok. Ma loves her grandchild that I'm scared she might spoil him when he grows up. She keeps on buying baby stuff I don't really need till later when he's months older." she laughed. We had decided to have lunch together and she had left Nikolai with her mother.

"I'm lucky she dotes on him a lot - that gives me enough time to take care of his baptism which I plan to have in a month."

"M's still taking care of the shop?"

"Yeah. But after the baptism, I plan on coming back. She needs to get a better job. I can't afford her salary." she joked. "Plus, I figured she needs to get back on her feet."

"Why, what happened to her?"

"She was as broken as I was. I guess we really are sisters...both victims of unrequited love." she sighed.