The Beginning

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Aria

I laid wide awake in bed while Giovanni was fast asleep. I wanted to tell him but I wouldn't know how he would react. Wouldn't anyone freak out when they found out that you've been hiding a pregnancy from them for two months?

I am two months pregnant with Giovanni's baby and I couldn't bring myself to tell him. We weren't even trying and Giovanni didn't feel anything for me at the time. I found out the night I found Giovanni in the nursery room.

When I found out that night I knew that I couldn't tell him. I still don't know why I'm hiding it from him, he said he wanted kids. He wanted to start a family with me but little did he know we already started. Tomorrow though, I was going to tell him.

Tomorrow is going to be the day I tell Giovanni that we are having a baby.

My phone began to ring, I sat up and grabbed it to see it was my mother. I answered it.

"Hello?", I asked. I pushed the covers away from me and slipped out of bed making sure not to wake Gio up. I walked outside to the deck and sat on a tanning chair.

"Aria, honey.", her voice cracked.

"Mom, what's wrong? You're scaring me.", I said getting a little worried.

My mother took a deep breath, I stood up and began pacing around the deck.

"Aria, it's Antonio. They found his body at some abandoned building, h-he's dead.", she said beginning to sob.

I sucked in a breath, my body became stiff and tears began to trickle down my cheeks.

"W-what?", I choked out.

"Antonio is dead, he's gone. Someone killed him.", she cried.

My lip began to tremble as more tears came down, I dropped the phone. My vision began to get blurry.

"Oh my god.", I said in a faint whisper.

I began to sob uncontrollably.

"No.", I cried. This couldn't be happening. This was a bad dream, this was a dream.

I fell to my knees and cried hard, I held my head in my hands. I tried to breathe but I couldn't for a while until I drew a breath in and let out a cry.

Then I felt two strong arms wrap around me.

"Baby, what's wrong? What happened?", Giovanni asked. I didn't answer, I just continued to cry. "Aria, baby? what happened?"

Giovanni turned me to him then pulled my arms from my head slowly. I looked at him and wrapped him into a hug.

"He's dead.", I sobbed.

"What? Who?", Giovanni asked.

"My brother!", I held him tighter and he rubbed my back.

Giovanni wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him.

"Shh, it's okay. It's gonna be okay.", he whispered placing a kiss on my head and held me as I cried.

Antonio was dead, somebody had murdered him. Who though? Who would kill my brother? Who would want to? No one would want to kill him...except.

No. No, no, no there was no way. No.

I pulled away from Giovanni quickly, he looked confused and tried to hold me again.

"No!", I snapped.

"Aria", Giovanni said.

He touched my arm but I pulled away, I stood up and walked back.

"Don't touch me!", I spat. Tears were still rolling down my face. It couldn't be him. It just could be.

Then I remembered the conversation Giovanni and I had.

"No, no. I get it, you're upset because they hurt someone in your life but you cannot hurt my family.",

"Hurt someone in my life? Aria, they might have been the ones who killed my wife. They took someone so important to me away. I can never get her back. They deserve to feel the same pain that I do."

I looked up at Giovanni and swallowed hard.

"You? You did this didn't you? You killed my brother didn't you?", I asked sobbing.

Giovanni's eyes began to water. "Aria, please."

"No! You killed my brother! You..killed..my..brother."

Giovanni tried to get closer but I backed away.

"Don't! You leave me the fuck alone, don't touch me.", I snapped.

I walked around him before grabbing my suitcase and began putting my clothes in it.

"Aria please just listen to me, okay? Don't do this, don't leave. Please don't leave me.", Giovanni begged.

I ignored him and continued packing my stuff.

Giovanni came up to me and grabbed me, I tried to pull away but he held me.

"Let me go! Get away from me.", I screamed.

Giovanni held my arms and made me look at him. I looked away but he made me look at him. I looked at him with tears rolling down my face.

"Listen to me.", he said.

"No! Fuck you! You killed my brother you son of a bitch! How could you? He was my brother!", I cried.

Giovanni tried to talk to me but I felt yelling and screaming at him. He began to get upset and shook me gently trying to get me to listen but I continued to yell at him. Giovanni's face twitched with anger from me not listening to him.

Giovanni raised his hand up, I flinched and turned my head preparing for the hit but it never came.

"I'm not going to hit you, but raising my hand was the only way to get you to shut up for two seconds and listen to me.", he snapped before pushing me on the bed gently.

I looked at him and brought my knees to my chest.

"Antonio killed Greta. He pulled the trigger, Aria. He was the one who killed Greta and my baby. I get that your hurt and that he was your brother and I'm sorry that you're feeling the way you do! I'm sorry that you hate me so fucking much right now! He deserved it and you know that!", He sighed.

I continued to cry.

"I know you can never forgive me, Aria. I know. And I know that you hate my guts right now and it's killing me. The way you looked at me like you've never hated anything more in the world than me. Imagine seeing that look in the person you love most in the entire world's eyes. It's killing me!", his voice cracked.

He was right, there was this part of me that hated him. But there was still a big part of me that still loves him. But there was no running from the truth.

Giovanni Morello killed my brother.

••••

What do you think will happen next? 👀