The Final Chapter

Chapter Twenty Two

ELENA'S POV:

"Mommy look it's the island tower!" shouted Mia. I laughed as she ran towards it, pointing excitedly.

"Baby, it's called the Eiffel Tower" I said, picking her up as we looked at it. We'd landed in the afternoon, and the first thing Mia had wanted to do was come see the tower. Mattia and Axel hung back at the hotel since Axel was still napping.

"Can we go in it?" said Mia. I looked up myself and saw a tiny glass lift travelling up the tower.

"I think Papa and Axel wanna go too, so maybe after dinner?" I said. She nodded her head and skipped beside me. She always had that bubbly energy.

"Let's go to the park" she said, taking ahold of my hand. We walked into a large park, full of green trees and other plants. I took a seat on a bench whilst Mia tested out everything that was there. Just as I took out my phone, it started ringing and I pressed my lips together and answered the phone.

"Hi, I'm calling for Elena Polibio"

"Speaking, thank you so much for returning my call"

"No problem, how can we help you?"

I bit my lip, hesitating. I knew it was such a big thing to do without asking Mattia, but it had been on my mind for the past three months. I wouldn't go through the whole process without him.

Adoption required two parents.

"I'm thinking of adopting a child"

"That's great! You've called the right place, I can assure you of it. Wilson's Orphanage is full of young children who are desperate for loving homes, have you and your partner decided on your preferences yet?"

I took a sharp intake of breath, keeping my eyes on Mia who had started a conversation with another girl in the sandpit.

"A girl"

"Excellent, and I'm sure you're in France right now?"

"I am, we landed a few hours ago"

"That's wonderful, how early can you come see us?"

"I could come tonight, maybe around 7pm?"

"Yes that would be fine, we shall you then Mrs Polibio"

"Goodbye" I said, taking the phone away from my ear. My heart was beating out of chest as the adrenaline pumped through my blood. Was I really doing this? Without my husband?

"Hey beautiful" I looked up to see a man dressed in a striped shirt and shorts sitting next to me.

"I'm married, thank you" I said, standing up. But he stood up too, his eyes travelling to my chest. I gave him a dirty look and walked over to Mia, helping her up.

"We're going honey" I said, walking her to the exit.

"But Mamma I was playing" she whined. Ignoring her, I looked out the corner of my eye to see the strange man following us and started walking faster.

"Not now, Mia" I said, trying to look for a shop to go into. But we were heading down an alleyway.

"I wanna go back" she cried, trying to pull away from me. I clenched my jaw and picked her up as she started throwing a tantrum. She really picked her times.

"You want candy?" I heard him shout to Mia. She immediately stopped crying and held on a little tighter to me. Where the fuck had we come? I turned around to face him and he stopped too.

"Leave us alone or-"

"Or what? I just want a good time" he smirked, moving closer. I felt something behind me gently push me to a side, and Mattia came forward and swung for him, connecting his fist directly to his jaw. The man hobbled backwards, holding his face before running away from us.

"Yeah, fuck you" he yelled. I nudged him and he saw Mia and held his hands up quickly "my bad"

"God I missed you"  I said, putting Mia down.

"Papa said a bad word" she giggled. Mattia laughed and ruffled her hair before wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Are you good, baby?" he asked, kissing my lips softly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back, burying his head in my neck and I took a breath of relief.

"I am now"

-

"That dinner was so good" said Mattia, setting his knife and fork down. I nodded as I fed Axel a spoonful of his spaghetti.

"I want some more orange juice" said Mia, pushing the glass of water away. Mattia called a waitress and ordered one for her and took the water for himself.

"You good babe? You've been quiet all evening" said Mattia. I felt his hand stretch across the table and hold onto mine as I nodded quickly.

"Yeah no I'm fine, my friend is in town and I was thinking of going to see her"

"Really? That's great you should totally go, you've done Mom duty enough for one day, you deserve a break" he said softly. I looked into his thoughtful brown eyes and hated myself for lying to him.

"I'll go now, and I'll see you in the hotel before 9" I said, standing up. I kissed Axel and Mia before going over to hug Mattia.

"Seriously babe, you've been acting up, are you sure everything's good?" he whispered, keeping his arms around me. I looked at the kids who were engrossed in their colouring books and cupped his cheek with one hand. I kissed him slowly, controlling the pace with my lips before slipping my tongue in his mouth when he kissed me back passionately. I felt him smirk against my lips and pulled away to see his cheeks the same shade of red as my dress.

"Does that answer your question?"

"I can't wait for the kids to fall asleep" he smirked, pecking my lips quickly before I got up.

"I'll see you guys soon" I said, before leaving the restaurant and letting the crisp Paris air hit my skin.