JANE'S POV
"Jane, you keep staring at the entrance. Who are you waiting for?," Lola asked besides me.
I turned to face her with a smile and she gasped in response.
"Don't tell me it's Silvia!," she cried out in disbelief.
I smiled again earning a loud gasp from her.
"I feel like Silvia is taking away my best friend! ," she whined.
I chuckled and hugged her.
"We are not best friends, Lola. We are sisters," l told her.
A huge smile lit her face.
"You are right. I am getting jealousy for no reason. We are more than friends."
Aunt Amira joined us. I have been postponing having a talk with her for weeks. For the past few weeks , l have noticed that she has been absentminded. It was clear that there was something weighing heavily on her mind.
"I have finished preparing dinner," she informed me.
"Oh Aunt! I had missed your cooking," l pouted hugging her.
She laughed and guided me to the parlour. She eased me down on a couch.
"A pregnant lady shouldn't stand that long. Your feet will swell."
Her pampering was getting much worse with each passing day. She and Bianca were like mother hens around me.
"I am only six months pregnant , Aunt!," l protested.
"You must be careful regardless," she replied with a smile.
I noticed for the past days that her smiles were forced and didn't reach her eyes. She had grown a lot more quiet.
"Aunt Amira...," l called her but she was already walking away heading to the dining room.
It was my wedding anniversary. Ferracco and l had decided to hold a small dinner party with only our close relatives and friends. I looked around the parlour and a smile broke out on my face. Bianca was talking closely with Luis and a faint blush could be seen on her face. Ferracco , Hazel and Elena were playing cards. Hazel was now working at the company and Bianca seemed relieved over it. She was causing less troubles under Ferracco's watchful eye.
Lola and Daniel were talking standing in one corner. They were now engaged. Daniel had proposed last month and they were going to get married in the next two months. We had one more reason to celebrate other than my pregnancy.
"Your golden couple is here," Lola's voice broke through my thoughts.
I stared at the entrance and saw Silvia and Claudius walking in. Silvia was looking like a model walking down those glamorous runaways in Paris. A smile flickered on my face. If someone had told me six months ago that Silvia and l were going to be close friends , l would have laughed my head off. I still couldn't believe the bond we shared.
I had learned never to judge a book by it's cover. There was so much more to her as a person. She had a sweet soul behind that hard exterior. I could see the love she had for Claudius in her eyes and l was glad that they had found each other.
We had a pleasant dinner and everyone was talking and merry. Luis continued his prison tales and we laughed a lot. After dinner , Luis and Bianca announced that they were an item and that they planned on getting married. Everyone was shocked but Ferracco and l exchanged a secret smile. Ferracco demanded his fifty dollars from Hazel and hazel complained saying that he cheated.
My eyes watered as l stared around the smiling faces around the dining table. Ferracco held my hand under the table and gently squeezed. I turned to him and saw him smiling down at me.
~****~
FERRACCO'S POV
After dinner, l secretly slipped out to the balcony. I needed a time alone to reflect on my new life. The joy inside has been too overwhelming that at some point l was on the verge of tearing. I stood there , with my hands in my pockets staring at the star capped night sky.
I could still hear the chattering and laughter in the living room. My heart ached with longing. I wished my mother was here to share in my happiness. I wish she and Jane had met. They would have become great friends. They were so much alike. When l first met Jane , she had reminded me of my mother. Her kindness , her innocence and her sweet nature. Those were the things that drew me towards her.
Someone laid a hand on my shoulder. I turned around smiling expecting to see Jane but my smile froze when l saw Silvia instead. She cast me a small smile and l smiled back awkwardly.
"Happy anniversary , Lucas," she told me with a smile.
"Thank you , Silvia," l replied feeling odd.
It still felt awkward to be around her. She now hanged out a lot with Jane but we rarely talked. During the first days of their friendship , l had suspected her of an ulterior motive and had one of my men follow her every movement but then l had discovered that she had none. Silvia was now crazy in love with Claudius. It was more like an obsession. I couldn't believe Claudius had managed to worm his way into Silvia's heartless heart. Ever since that day, Claudius had earned more respect from me.
She stood besides me , both of us stargazing in a peaceful silence. A part of me still felt guilty whenever l was in her presence. I had treated her badly in the past especially after our wedding was ruined. I cleared my throat and turned to face her.
"Silvia, l am sorry about the way l treated you in the past. I was bitter and resentful but that was no excuse and l...," my voice trailed off with difficult.
She smiled sadly at me.
"It's okay, Lucas. I am glad things didn't work out between us because l can't imagine a life without Claudius."
"You are right. I also can't imagine a life without Jane," l replied with a fond smile as l thought of Jane's beautiful smiling face.
"Imagine if we had gone through with that wedding. We would be shouting at each other and throwing around things. We would have drove each other crazy," she chuckled and we both laughed.
"It would have been a complete disaster," l agreed with her.
Silvia sighed and stared back into the darkness beyond the balcony.
"We were not good for each other. We both sparked cruelty in each other. We both had strong personalities and we enjoyed challenging each other to do ruthless things. We needed someone soft like Jane and Claudius. As for Claudius and me, we are like ice and fire. He extinguishes the resentment and bitterness burning inside me each day."
I silently agreed with her in my head. I was full of hatred , resentment and bitterness before l met Jane. When l met her , for the first time in my life , l had another purpose to live for but my loyalty to my deceased mother had won in the end and with a heavy heart l had betrayed her in the most painful ways.
For six years , her memory had haunted me. She had taught me that there was more to life than keeping scores. She had taught me how to love when l had forgotten the feeling.
I had ached to go back to her and seek her forgiveness . l had ached to hold her warm and sweet smelling body in my arms. I had longed to hear her voice and smell her scent. Her memories had nearly drove me crazy. I had buried myself in work trying to numb her memories but it was futile.
"I wish you a happy marriage, Lucas. Jane is like a gem, you better treat her right. If you lose her again , you will live to regret it."
I smiled at her , feeling comfortable around her again. It's like our talk had lifted a dark cloud between us.
"Thank you , Silvia. I wish you and Claudius the best. He is a nice man."
"I know," she said with a smile before walking back into the house.
~****~
JANE'S POV
"Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess named Rose. She lived in a great palace. She was kind and helped the poor and everyone on the land of paradise adored her. She had everything money could buy but she was not happy. She felt alone and scared."
"But what about her parents," Elena asked curiously.
"The king and queen were taken away into the Neverland by a cruel witch. No one ever returned from the Neverland . Rose refused to believe everything people said about her parents. She spent most of her time , in her room sitting on the windowsill staring at the great gates of the palace. She was waiting for the day her parents returned to Paradise land.
The people on the land were already mourning the death of the king and queen but not Rose. One day as she sat on her window sill, she saw a young man wearing tattered clothes entering the gates. The palace guards immediately seized the man and wanted to throw him out the gates. They believed he was a thief from the village. Princess Rose felt sorry for the poor boy seeing him dragged away by the guards. She gathered her dress and ran down to them. She saw a paper in his hand and her heart was filled with hope.
" Do have a message from my parents?," she asked in a hopeful voice.
The boy seeing that it was his way out of poverty and a way to get his revenge replied that it was. The king had hanged his parents when he was a kid and he wanted to get his revenge. Princess Rose took him in thinking that he was indeed helpless. The shrewd man gained the princess trust and then stole the golden sword and ran away. Without the golden sword , the kingdom was going to collapse. "
"Then what happens to the princess after the strange body runs away with the golden sword?," Elena asked again.
Ferracco looked up and noticed me standing by the doorframe of Elena's room. I smiled at him and he smiled back. He continued his tale still staring at me. I felt butterflies erupting in my stomach as his dark gaze pierced into my eyes as he told Elena of our love story.
"The princess was sad. The young man thought that he would be happy when he avenged his parents but he was not. He missed the princess. The princess gave birth to a cute little baby ," he said tapping Elena's button nose and Elena giggled.
"They met after six years and the young man asked for forgiveness. They lived happily ever after with their daughter and new born baby. He returned the sword and the kingdom was restored."
Elena fell asleep right after he finished his story. I watched him as he tucked Elena in her blankets and kissed her cheek. He turned off the light and took my hand as we headed towards our room. A shocked gasp escaped me the moment l stepped foot into our room.
"Do you like it? ," Ferracco asked with a wide grin looking pleased with himself.
I nodded my head as my eyes travelled around the room in awe. The lights were off but the room was dimly lit by scented candles. They cast a golden glow around the room. Our bed was nicely decorated . There were roses on the bed made in the shape of love. On the small television screen of our room was the slideshow of our pictures dating from six years ago. There were also Elena's baby photos.
"Ferracco! , " l gasped out loud in disbelief.
"When did you arrange all this?," l asked him.
He laughed and came to me. He wrapped his muscular arms around my waist. I placed my hands around his shoulders. He leaned down until our faces were mere inches from each other and our breaths mingled.
"I sent Lola to distract you," he whispered.
"Is that why she took me for a walk around the neighbourhood in the middle of the night," l replied in a husky voice feeling a little breathless.
"I guess," he replied in the same husky voice,staring deep into my eyes.
He turned me around until l was facing the mirror. He hugged me from behind . Our eyes met and held in the mirror. His other hand cupped my protruding stomach where our baby nestled. I felt a slight flutter and l knew it was the baby kicking. Ferracco must have felt it too because he laughed. His melodious laugh ringing in my ears. His hand went under my shirt and he continued caressing my naked bulging stomach. I closed my eyes and threw back my head on his shoulder feeling the familiar sensations swirling around my body.
"He is going to be a soccer champion. He kicks like a pro," he murmured in my ear before his teeth grazed my earlobe.
A moan escaped me.
"Don't be so sure it's a boy. I don't want you to be disappointed," l told him , my eyes still closed , my head resting on his shoulder.
"Do you want to bet?," he asked me and l laughed.
He swept aside my hair and he nibbled my shoulder blade. He buried his head in the crook of my shoulder and inhaled. His hand was still moving around my stomach. It began to inch upwards dangerously close to my bosom. My eyes flew open and our glazed eyes collided in the mirror. He sucked my neck still holding my eyes in the mirror. I felt the familiar molten heat pooling low inside me.
"We look good together , Jane," he whispered in my ear.
He let out a sad sigh before lowering his eyes from mine.
"I don't deserve you at all," he added in a sad voice.
I immediately turned around and placed a finger over his mouth.
"If you say that again, l will get mad at you. We both belong to each other. I can't imagine a life without you."
He kissed my hand on his mouth.
"I love you Jane."
I responded by dropping a small light kiss on his lips. He placed his large hand on my waist , drawing me much closer. His other hand cupped my cheek and he took charge of our kiss. The kiss soon turned into something deep and savage. Ferracco moaned in my mouth and deepened the kiss. We broke apart after some minutes for air both of us panting. His hand stroked my cheek as his dark gaze seared through mine.
He kissed my forehead and placed his forehead on mine, both of us trying to catch our breaths.
"I need you, Jane," he whispered to me.
I responded by raising my hand and began to unbutton his crisp white shirt. Ferracco kissed me again, slowly backing me towards our bed.
A/N: l know it's been long, my lovelies. Sorry for late updates.