The Final Chapter

Chapter Twenty

ELENA'S POV:

"I'm scared, Mattia"

"Deep breaths, baby"

I held onto his arm as we walked into the hospital that night. We'd been trying to have another baby for at least two months now, and nothing.

"What if-"

"Elena" he said, turning to face me "we will worry when we actually have a reason to"

I nodded slowly, completely ignoring his advice and jumping to endless conclusions in my head. My phone went off in my pocket and I checked to see it was Vic.

"Hey Vic" I answered, taking a seat whilst Mattia went to check us in at the front desk.

"Hey babe, I just put the kids to sleep, did you get anything yet?"

"We just got here, I'll call you if I get an update"

I quickly bid her goodbye and turned my phone off. Vic and Alejandro had helped us so much lately with the kids, despite having to look after Leo too. I rubbed my hands together as Mattia came and sat next to me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer.

"What if Mom passed her cancer onto me?" I said, immediately covering my mouth when I realised I was thinking out loud. But Mattia sighed and a small smile spread across his face.

"Whatever it is" he whispered, burying his face in my neck "I'm not leaving your side"

I smiled, a feeling of relaxation setting in me. Having him by my side made even the worst situations seem easy. I leaned over and kissed his cheek, resting my forehead against his skin and closing my eyes for a second.

"Elena Polibio?"

I looked up and saw a female doctor with a clipboard ahead of us. I quickly stood up and she gave us a pleasant smile, beckoning us towards her office.

"Deep breaths, baby" Mattia repeated, his voice soft as if he was putting one of the kids to sleep. I held onto his hand as we took our seats. I watched as the doctor composed the paperwork on her desk whilst trying to make small talk. Something about the weather, all of it went in one ear and out the other.

"So obviously we had you run some tests for us" she said, placing her hands in her lap. I instantly nodded my head, waiting for answers. The doctor took a breath, giving me a tight lipped smile. I noticed her fiddling with a gold ring on her finger, trying not to make direct eye contact with me.

"What is it?" I pleaded, holding onto Mattia as if it were for dear life. I heard him saying something, probably trying to calm me down. But it felt as if all time was slowing down.

"And I'm afraid it's not good news, Mrs Polibio" 

She glanced down at the papers and I let out a sob, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't need to know anymore, my heart was already broken. Nevertheless, she continued telling me, worsening my heartache.

"After you suffered your miscarriage, the bullet wound damaged quite a large part of your reproductive system"

I felt tears sliding down my cheeks and quickly wiped them away.

"Due to this, I'm sorry to tell you that it has been made impossible for you to have a baby naturally"

"What?" I gasped through my tears. I felt time stop, instead of slowing, everything was stopped. I felt anger, hatred, heartbreak. All in me at once. I didn't know whether to break something or just cry till it hurt.

"The only option you have left is either surrogacy our adoption, I'm sorry" she said. I felt Mattia's arms pull me into his chest where I cried and cried.

"I know baby, I know" he kept saying, kissing the top of my head. I heard him speaking to the doctor about the options, but I kept hidden in his arms, never wanting to face anyone or anything again.

"Thank you" he said blankly, reaching over to collect paperwork.

"Baby let's go home" he whispered, helping me up. I didn't look at anyone as we walked out, I kept my head down, my eyes full of tears.

-

MATTIA'S POV:

I opened the front door, keeping an arm around Elena as I lead her inside, gently closing the door behind.

"You need to sleep, babygirl" I whispered, taking her jacket off. She pointed towards the kitchen where Vic was and I shook my head.

"I'll sort everything out, I just need you to sleep"

I kissed her head and held onto her as I lead her upstairs and into our bedroom. She glanced over at Axel and her eyes refilled with tears.

"No Elena, please don't cry"

I pulled her into a hug and felt her gripping onto my shirt as her tears melted into my clothes.

"I just wanted to give him and Mia another sibling"

She pulled away and wiped her eyes for the hundredth time.

"And we will" I said, pulling back the duvet as she got into bed. She gave me a weak smile before I tucked her in, leaving kisses on her forehead and cheeks. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and I felt a sense of relief knowing she was finally resting. I checked on Axel who was also sound asleep before walking downstairs to greet our friends.

"Hey man" said Alejandro, getting two beers out the fridge. I tried to say something but my eyes immediately teared up. Alejandro and Vic looked at each other and rushed over, pulling me into a group hug. I'd tried my hardest not to cry in front of Elena.

But now I couldn't hold myself back, and found myself sobbing onto their shoulders. After I'd calmed down, Vic lead me to the couch and Alejandro came over with a glass of water. I told them straight away, Vic reacted the same way Elena did, and Alejandro was simply sat there in shock.

"There's no way at all?" she asked, wiping her eyes with her hoodie sleeve. I sighed and shook my head miserably. It was difficult for a man to process, but I knew it had hit Elena a lot worse.

"What about adoption?" Alejandro asked. I took a sip of water, feeling the cold fluid travel through my body.

"We can do that, but it won't be the same" I frowned.

"But it's an amazing thing" said Vic, trying her hardest to see the silver lining above all of this.

"And you have more than enough time to think about it" added Alejandro. I nodded, taking in everything they were saying. They weren't wrong. It was a beautiful thing to do. But right now, the pain was still fresh.

"Thank you, both of you" I said, my lips curving upwards.

"How's Leo?" I asked, changing the topic. Vic and Alé both smiled simultaneously when I mentioned their son.

"He's good, my Mom's over at our place right now, we thought we'd let her look after him for the weekend" said Vic. We talked more about other things and before I knew it, it was reaching 1am.

"The guest room is free for both of you" I said, standing up "if you need anything-"

""Don't worry about us" said Alejandro "we're here to look after you guys, we'll do everything"

I smiled and thanked them both again before retiring to our bedroom. Elena was still asleep, and so were the kids. I got into bed next to her and wrapped my arm around her waist, leaving delicate kisses on the back of her neck. She still had that watermelon scent that had my attention from the start.

I smiled to myself as I felt myself dozing off into a much needed sleep.