The Final Chapter

Chapter Twenty Six

ELENA'S POV:

I held Axel in my arms as the cab driver opened the door for us. Thanking him, I took my seat, gently placing Axel in my lap so he wouldn't wake up. We began driving and I looked at my phone since it'd started vibrating in my pocket. There was a text from Mattia.

Mattia: Would you ever adopt a child?

My eyes went wide at his text message. I couldn't help but think he'd found out, maybe it was time I came clean about the whole thing. But then, what if he was causally asking? I pressed my lips together, feeling the lip gloss causing my lips to slide across each other.

Me: It may have crossed my mind once or twice

I turned my phone off, lying to Mattia was bad enough but going through with something as big as this was even worse. I leaned back into my seat, glancing into the car next to me as we came to a red light. The windows were tinted so I squinted a little to make out the man sitting there.

Then I realised. Mattia was sitting with Mia in his lap. I gasped and ducked quickly, placing my hand over my mouth.

"Ma'am? Are you okay?"

I nodded at him, trying to force a smile as we drove past Mattia's cab. What was going on?

"Do you know where that cab's going?" I said, pointing at the other vehicle. The cab driver tapped on a few buttons on his gps and nodded his head.

"Wilson's Orphanage"

"What?!" I shrieked, covering my mouth immediately when Axel started waking up. I looked at Mattia who still hadn't noticed me and felt my heartbeat racing. We were both headed to the same place, for the same reason.

MATTIA'S POV:

"Papa I wanna get breakfast" whined Mia, sprawling herself out in my lap. I sighed and asked the driver to go to McDonald's instead. She smiled at me, she always had her way.

"Now I'm going to be late" I said, tapping her nose gently.

"That's okay" she said, giving me a kiss on my cheek. I felt the corners of my lips curving upwards and pulled her into a hug, feeling her smooth skin against mine.

"Wouldn't you want a little sister, Mia?" I asked, watching a smile appear on her face.

"I'd love a little sister, Papa" she said, scrunching her nose up and tapping her chin thoughtfully. 

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm sure Mamma asked me the same question"

"She did?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. She nodded her head and I sighed, looking out the window at the busy traffic ahead of us. Elena and I both probably wanted this, but there was all the stress of choosing the same child. What if she wanted a child older than Mia? Or younger than Axel?

Maybe this was a bad idea.

"I should've just told her" I said to myself. Mia didn't hear me but started tapping my shoulder as we pulled into the McDonald's drive thru.

ELENA'S POV:

"Hello Mrs Polibio!"

I smiled at Mrs Rosella as Axel and I walked through into the building. She shook my hand before picking up Axel in her arms. He looked at her strangely before bursting into tears. He wasn't used to strangers picking him up like that.

"I'll take him" I said, holding the crying baby in my arms. He immediately rested his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes.

"You're good with kids" winked Mrs Rosella. I laughed quietly and kissed the side of Axel's head.

"Thank you"

"I was going to ask" started Mrs Rosella "is your husband joining you today?"

I bit my lip anxiously and looked around for Mattia and Mia, wondering whether we'd made it first. But something told me Mrs Rosella already knew what was going on between us.

"He's...busy" I said. She gave me a small smile and beckoned me over to her office. I held my breath as she pushed the door open, but there was no one else in there.

"Is the other parent coming too?" I asked. She nodded, her smile growing wider as she sifted through loose papers on her desk.

"They're on their way" she said. I nodded, taking a seat. But she shook her head and stayed standing.

"I was thinking we could go greet Gracie" she said.

"Oh, okay" I said, taking ahold of Axel's hand as we walked out of the office. We made our way down a long corridor until I could hear the familiar sound of children in a playground. We went outside and I looked around at all the children, trying to spot Gracie.

"Papa!" shouted Axel, running towards the sandpit. I looked over at the sandpit where Mattia was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking down at Mia and Gracie who were building a castle.

His eyes met mine and for a second it was as if everything around us had stopped. Time had stopped, all my worries and anxieties had vanished. He found me, and I'd found him.

I felt Mrs Rosella's hand on my back, suddenly snapping me back to reality.

"I think your husband is waiting for us" she said. I felt my cheeks heating up as Mattia walked over to us instead.

"We're awful at keeping secrets" he smirked, standing beside me. I leaned on him as we both watched the three children play together. It was as if they'd known Gracie their whole lives. Today was the day our family would finally be complete.