What Comes After (Alberto Scorfano x Reader)

Chapter 16

Meanwhile, in Genova, as soon as he received his sister's call that you were finally returning home, your father immediately went to the train station to wait for you. He'd have to wait hours and hours since Portorosso was so far away, but he missed you so much that he didn't care about anything else.

Until that moment, he already knew that you had probably already discovered the whole truth, even though he was afraid to face his past again, he passively accepted, knowing that he would have had to do it sooner or later.

After many hours of waiting and many people having sat beside him on the bench to wait and board their respective trains, someone in particular sat next to him, which caught his eye as no one else had.

She was a beautiful woman with long red hair, light blue eyes and the most charming smile on her lips. Mario was immediately surprised, it had been so many years since a woman had captivated his heart like that. And she was the love of his life.

"Buon pomeriggio." The woman greeted him, which startled him and made him fall off the bench. "Oh goodness, are you alright?" She asked in a dismayed tone, reaching out to help him up.

Even mesmerized by her beauty, he took her hand and stood up.

"Grazie."

"I'm awfly sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She apologized, giving an adorable laugh at finding it funny and cute how shy he looked around her.

"Alright, it was nothing." He replied between nervous laughs as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Wow, you look really tired, it looks like you've been waiting here for hours." She commented, starting a conversation, as she felt that he also interested her.

"And I am." He laughed. "I'm here waiting for my daughter."

Upon receiving his answer, the woman's smile slowly faded.

"... Daughter? So you're married?" She asked, trying not to look disappointed.

"Oh no." He replied, which made her smile again. "Her mother, who was also the only woman I've ever loved, is gone, shortly after her birth."

Although she was happy to learn that he wasn't married, she soon felt bad when she saw how sad he looked as he talked about it.

"I'm so sorry." She said softly, as she rested her hand on his shoulder.

"It's all right." He forced a smile. "Are you going to travel somewhere?"

"No, I'm waiting for my daughter and her amico, they're coming back from summer vacation in Portorosso." She explained.

He smiled, seeing that he had one more thing he could talk to her about.

"What a coincidence!" He exclaimed. "My daughter is also coming back from vacation in Portorosso."

"Really? What a coincidence indeed." She laughed. "Maybe they're coming here on the same train."

Both were silent, until they realized that none of them had introduced themselves yet.

"Piacere, Maria Splendore."

"Likewise, Mario Barone." He replied, squeezing her hand when their eyes met and they didn't seem to want to look away.

Suddenly, they both looked towards the horizon when they heard the sound of a train whistle, their hearts overflowing with happiness at the possibility that it was the train where their children were.

They looked attentively at all the people who got off the train when it stopped at the station, forgetting the fact that whoever they were waiting for had left together at the same time, so much so that it was a joy to see them.