Dylan's POV:
"Lia? Lia? Wake up Sorellina..." I said while gently shaking her awake. She whined a little and turned her back on me still asleep. Chuckling at her cute antics I went to the other side where she was facing and started kissing her all over her face.
At first she was still sleeping but eventually she was starting to wake up and giggling while I still kissed her. She opened her eyes and smiled at me.
"There are those beautiful eyes and beautiful smile I have been waiting to see." I smiled at her softly and pinched her cheeks. She sat up on the hammock and sat on the ground beside her, River and Ace.
She stretched her arms then relaxed before looking at me. " What time is it by the way?" She asked, looking around.
I looked at my watch. "5pm." I said and looked at the orange sky.
I looked at her and saw that she was looking at the sunset, she breathed in and out. When she breathed out she had a smile on her face. She looked at me and saw that I was staring at her.
"What?" She asked while laughing. I smiled at her and shook my head.
" Fun fact, I was that one that made and tied the hammock around the trees when you were just a baby in mother's womb." I told her. She looked surprised. She asked why.
" I made this here for you. I am the only one that knew about this place, and I wanted to share it with you as we grow up together. I always dreamed that the both of us are sitting on the hammock while you were on my lap and I was swinging the hammock gently while the both of us are watching the sunset." I said. She stood up and pulled me up. I looked at her curiously.
"Come on sit down on the hammock. Let's make your dream true." She said. I smiled at her and sat down on the hammock. I patted my lap and she sat down. I laid my back on the hammock while Lia was laying on my chest. I started swinging the hammock with my feet gently as the both of us were watching the sunset.
"Lia?" I called her after a few minutes. She hummed in response. "Don't mind what mother said a while ago. Don't listen to her ok?" I said and looked down at her.
She looked up and smiled at me. "I know. Don't worry, I didn't take it to heart." She said. She looked back at the sunset. I sensed that she didn't want to talk about it so I dropped the topic and we resumed to what we were doing.
After a few minutes she got up and I looked at her curiously. " Come on, I want to make dinner for everyone tonight!" She said excitedly. I smiled and stood up. The both of us along with River and Ace went back to the mansion.
When we entered everything inside was a chaos. Some were yelling at their phones, other were sitting on the couch looking agitated and nervous, and some had tears it their eyes.
I was about to speak when Lia sneezed cutely. Everyone stopped and looked at our direction. Everyone was frozen for a second while looking at us.
"Bless you." I said to Lia.
"Uhmm why is everyone yelling and crying? Did something happen?" Lia asked them innocently. Caleb and Carter immediately got up and rushed to her hugging her tightly.
"Where have you been Triplet?! We were so worried for you! You and Dylan and River and Ace!!!" The both of them said worriedly and shook Lia by the arms.
"I was with Dyl. We were watching the sunset and then we decided to come back so that I can start cooking for the family's dinner." She said and smiled at them.
This went on for a few minutes the while family asking us if we were both ok. The both of us reassured them that we were both fine. Lia went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
"Maddox! Mitch! Felipe! Can the three of you help me cook for the family?!" She called out to the three of them. The three of them went to the kitchen to help her. I along with some of our brothers went to the kitchen to watch them.
When we got there we saw the four of them putting on an apron.
"Ok Chef Lili! What are we gonna cook tonight?" Felipe asked her and smiled at her. She smiled at what he called her and started to instruct them what to make and what to do.
After a few minutes of watching them I went to the living room where the eldest brothers and the elders were.
"Where is she?" I asked them. They already know who I am asking about.
"She's out, shopping like usual." Blake and Dad said.
I sighed angrily and sat down on one if the couch beside Uncle Venico. "I don't know why you are still with her Anthony. She's literally a gold digger. She doesn't care about anyone other than herself." Uncle Franco said.
" I can feel that she is hiding something, and if I divorce her now it will be harder for me to know what that is. And also I feel like I can use her someday and until then I will tolerate her even though she keeps on acting like a gold digger." Dad said and closed his eyes.
"And the money that she is spending? That money came from your company that you worked hard for." Aunt Sophia said angrily.
"Oh about that, don't worry about that. She isn't spending my money, she is spending the money that her family left for her." Blaze said triumphantly. We all looked at him questioningly.
"The card that she is using right now doesn't contain any of the family's or the company's money. It contains the money that her parent left for her. So with each shopping spree that she does the more money decreases from her back account, so when the time Dad divorces her she will most likely be left with nothing." He explains. All of us looked at him impressed.
After a few minutes of talking a shout came from the kitchen.
"DINNER IS READY!" Lia, Maddox, Mitch, and Felipe shouted. We all went to the dinning room and saw a delicious feast ready.
Everyone was in awe of how much the food is on the table.
"Felipe could you go and call Savier, Connor, Derek, and Miles for dinner? The five of you should eat dinner with us." Lia asked Felipe. He immediately nodded and went to get them. All of us sat down and we're about to eat when Lia stopped us.
" Ah! Ah! Ah! What do you think are you doing? We will wait for the others to arrive before we eat." Lia said sternly. The younger ones whined but one look Lia gave them and they shutted their mouths. We oldest and adults smiled at shook our heads at them.
When Savier and her bodyguards arrived they sat down, we were about to eat when Lia spoke.
"Mother's not here yet. We should wait for her, maybe she'll be here any minute." Lia said and looked at the door hopefully. All of us saddened, because we knew that even if mother treated her like that she still loves her and would like to create a bond with mother.
"She's out with her friends Princess, she'll eat outside. Don't worry about her." Dad said and smiled at her gently. She nodded sadly and told us that we can start to eat.
At first we were quite but her bodyguards later on started talking to keep the sadness of mother not being here out of her mind. Later on she started laughing at what her bodyguards were telling her. As she started to laugh we also started to feel the mood lift.
As the dinner progressed we all were laughing and talking. After the dinner, Lia volunteered to wash the dishes but we didn't let her. We pushed her out of the dining room to the living room before she could even touch any plate. Alex, Alec, Lee, and Ree volunteered to wash the dishes while Zoren, Ashton and Augusto arranged the clean dishes to their respectful cupboards.
After that we all went to the living room and sat down with Lia who was currently watching an anime.
"それは天空侵犯ですか？！" Our cousins from Uncle Dan's side asked excitedly.
(Translation: IS THAT HIGH RISE INVASION?!" )
"うん！ あなたもこのアニメを見ますか？" Lia said equally excited.
(Translation: Yeah! You also watch this anime?!)
Our cousins nodded and sat beside her watching the anime. The rest of our family sat down with us and watched the anime.
"私たちはこのアニメを見るのが本当に好きです、netflixだけがまだシーズン2をリリースしていません。" Lee and Ree said still watching the anime. We didn't understand them at all, the only people who can understand them were their parents.
(Translation: We really like watching this anime, only netflix has not released season 2 yet.)
"Can you guys speak in either English or Italian? Cuz we really can't understand what you guys are saying." Alex, Alec, Elijah and Ezra said.
Our cousins from Uncle Dan and Lia laughed at them. We smiled at the four of them cuz we know that the four of them were too lazy to study different languages.
"By the way Lia. Your younger older brothers are taking you shopping tomorrow." Blake said. Lia looked at him curiously.
"Why? I have enough clothes already I don't need anymore just yet." She said.
"One requirement in enrolling at Royalhood University is that your clothes either have to be formal, semiformal, or trendy. It's a prestigious university that not everyone get the chance to enroll in so being fashionable is a must." Maddox explained.
"Well I'm not really that fashionable so I'm going to have a hard time about that." She said and scratched the back of her ear.
"That's why your younger older brothers are there to help you. They will help and give you tips to become more fashionable." I said and looked at her gently. She smiled at me and nodded.
After sometime she stood up yawning and saying that it was getting late, she hugged and kissed everyone before saying goodnight and went up to her room. The adults also told us that it was time for bed so all of us said our goodnights.
I went up and went to Lia's room to check on her. I wanted to talk to her about what happened in the restaurant so that she can vent out just like what Elizabeth said. But when I opened the door I saw that she was already sleeping, I decided not to disturb her as she looked really peaceful.
I closed the door and went to my room. I wasn't really sleepy yet so I decided to do some paperwork. Helping Blake and Blaze run the Mafia and the family company was hard sometimes but I can manage. I was currently reading a file when I heard screaming. I immediately looked up and saw that it was currently 12:30am, I heard another scream and got up from my seat getting my gun and ran out of my room.
When I got out all of my family was coming outside their rooms and looking around. Another scream rang out and that was when we realized whom it belonged too.
"LIA!!!" We all shouted and ran to her room. When we entered we saw her on her bed thrashing in her sleep. She was having a nightmare.
"PLEASE! DONT LEAVE ME! PLEASE!" She screamed and thrashed around crying.
"TRIPLET! /LIA!" Me and her triplets shouted and ran towards her. We tried to hold her hands to keep her from thrashing but I didn't work even if we held her down she was trying to get out of our grip.
"LET GO OF ME!!! MOTHER!!! DONT LEAVE ME PLEASE!!! I WONT DO IT AGAIN, I WONT DISRESPECT YOU AGAIN PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME!!!" She screamed and cried while calling mother.
"MADDOX CALL HER FAMILY IN SPAIN NOW!" Dad instructed him and went closer to Lia. Maddox nodded and got his phone out.
"Lia, Lia! Wake up Sorellina! It's just a dream." I said trying to get her out of her dream. Maddox came back with his phone still beside his ear.
"Don't wake her up! " He said. We looked at him as if he was crazy.
"What do mean don't wake her up?! She's have a fucking nightmare Maddox!" Ezra shouted at him. Maddox looked unfazed. I looked at the rest of our family and saw them standing in her room looking at her shocked at what they were seeing. Even we were, we knew that she had nightmares but never knew that the were this bad.
" I know but Elizabeth said that she has to get out of the nightmare by herself or her emotions will be too unbalanced that it will only add fuel to the fire. She has to get out of the nightmare naturally if not her mind will be in an even worse state." He explained while looking at Lia with a pained expression as he couldn't help her.
We all looked at her knowing that we couldn't help her, she has to do this on her own. I went closer to her and wiped the sweat on her forehead using my hand.
"Come on Lia. I know you can do this. I'm sorry we can't help you with this, but we're here for you." I said holding my tears in. It pained me to see her like this. She was being hurt mentally, this was worse than being hurt physically.
After a few minutes of us soothing her, she eventually calmed down and her screaming stopped but she was still crying.
She woke up with a start and hugged the first thing that was close, me. I hugged her back tightly and started to comfort her. She kept on crying while the rest of our family looked at her sadly, some of our cousins as well as our aunts and grandma were crying. Dad, Uncles and Grandpa we holding back their tears just like me.
Her triplets came closer to her and patted her head and held her hand.
"Hey Triplet, how do you feel right now?" They both asked. Lia shook her head and buried her face in my chest and hugged me tighter. I shook my head towards them indicating to them that she didn't want to speak for now. They nodded sadly.
"Let's give them some space for now. Elizabeth said that she needs some space after having a nightmare. Not many people should stay in her room as she easily gets agitated and claustrophobic when there are alot of people after having a nightmare." Maddox said quietly. Everyone nodded and slowly started going out not before they kissed Lia's head and assured her that everything is gonna be alright.
Caleb and Carter were the last, at first they didn't want to go but I assured them that Lia is gonna be fine. They nodded later on even if they didn't want too, they kissed her head and told her that they were always here for her. When they left I looked at Lia and saw that she was silently crying.
I laid the both of us down and hugged her tightly. I rubbed her back while massaging her head. I looked down at her and saw that she stopped crying but was still visibly shaken.
"Lia? What happened in your dream?" I asked her quietly not wanting her to start crying again.
I sniffed and tears and started to pour again. "She left me...." She whispered softly.
"Who?" I asked her.
"Mother. She left me because she said I was a disrespectful and didn't follow what she wanted. She said she abandoned me because I took everything from her and that I didn't deserve to be part of the family. She said alot more things but I can't remember any of it anymore. " She whispered and hugged me more tightly. I was angry, not at her, but at mother, even in her dreams she bullied and tormented Lia.
"What do you think is the reason why you had a nightmare?" I asked her. She has to let it all out. Just like what her family in Spain said, penting up her emotions isn't good for her, especially mentally.
"I have been feeling sad for a few days now. Mother has been pushing me away since the very first day and it made me sad as all I wanted was to get closer to her and create a bond with her." She said quietly. I felt sad for her.
"Why do you even want to be close to her Lia? After every single time that she disrespected you, you still want to create a bond with her?" I told her sadly.
She looked up at me and smiled sadly. " I still respect her because she is my mother, our mother. Even though she does that she is still older than me, then all of us. I get it, I was gone for 16 years, maybe she is still adjusting." She said gently and smiled.
I shook my head at her and kissed her forehead. "Not everyone deserves respect Lia, just doesn't mean they are older means they get respect. Respect is earned not forced. " I said and hugged her tightly.
She was about to say something when she yawned. I told her it was enough for tonight and she should get some sleep. I told her that when she woke up, I will be beside her.
She fell asleep while hugging me. I caressed her hard and rubbed her back comfortingly. I was also starting to get sleepy so I kissed her on her head before I closed my eyes. Sleep engulfed me immediately, I had a peaceful sleep after many years with Lia in my arms.
~~~~~
EZRA'S POV:
All of us went to the living room not wanting to sleep after what just happened.
"Since when did she start having those nightmares?" Uncle Franco asked and looked at Father.
Father sighed and explained to him what Lia's family in Spain told us. All of our family was shocked at what they heard. We were talking when the door banged open. All of us went to see what happened and saw mother so drunk that she could barely walk.
She looked up at as and smiled when she saw that all of us were standing infront of the door.
"Lara why are you drunk?" Father asked her calmly but you could see that he was holding back her anger.
Mother looked at him and smiled at him smugly.
" B- because *hick* I caaan and *hick* I will. Being part *hick* of the Rossi F- fhaaamily *hick* has its *hick* advantagessss. *Hick* And having unlimited*hick* money *hick* is one of thossssse *hick*." She said when slurring. The adults looked at her in disgust while we looked at her disappointed. Father shook his head and asked the maids on duty to bring Mother up one of the guest rooms as Mother can be annoying as hell when she is drunk.
When the maids got her upstairs, which they had a hard time doing, we shook our heads at what mother just did.
Father called one of his men that was assigned to follow mother everywhere she goes. Father's man entered and bowed as a sign of respect. I don't really get why they need to bow, we never told them to do that. But even after hundreds of times that we told them to stop, they still keep on doing it.
"You asked for me sir?" She said and looked up at Father seriously. Leila Smith, the one in charge of following Mother wherever she goes. I hope she has interesting news for us.
This is Leila:
"Yes, I wanted to know your report for today. Why don't we discuss about it in the office?" Father told her. She nodded and we all followed father to the office.
Before I went to the office I wanted to check on Lia and Dylan.
"Hey, you guys wanna come? I'm gonna check on Lia and Dylan." I asked them. They nodded and we all went to check on the two of them. I opened her door quietly and we all peeked. We saw the both of them sleeping peacefully while hugging each other. We all sighed of relief and went to the office.
When we entered we saw Leila sitting on the chair infront of the office table. The rest of us either stood up or sat on he couches. Father, Blake, and Blaze went to the office table while father sat down on the chair Blake and Blaze stood on either side.
"What did she do the moment she left the restaurant today." Father said calmly. In these discussions it was father who mostly did the talking as he was the one who assigned them.
"The moment she left the restaurant she got a taxi and went to the shopping mall. When she arrived she waited by the entrance for someone. After a few minutes Mrs. Rashwood came and they went inside. They immediately went on a shopping spree. Then they went inside a cafe and talked there for a bit before they exited the shopping mall." She said seriously. Mrs. Rashwood was one of mother's so called 'best friends'. She was just like mother a gold digger.
"Wait! If they went on a shopping spree, who carried the shopping bags? And where are those? " Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
Leila looked at him calmly. "About the shopping bags, Mrs. Rashwood's driver and PA carried it throughout the whole shopping spree. The shopping bags are currently being brought inside by my team from the trunk of Mrs. Rashwood's PA whome brought Mrs. Rossi back here." She explained to Blake who nodded.
"What time did she go to the bar?" Father asked.
"The went to the bar around 5pm and atrted drinking around 5:30pm as they waited for the rest of Mrs. Rossi's company. They drank until 12am. Mrs. Rossi did the usual things that she did when she got drunk. But tonight she was more wild, she talked to her company about Ms. Catalia. She told them how much - in her words - despised Ms. Catalia." She said. I could see that she was pissed of about what Mother has said.
"What were her exact words?" I asked her. She took out her phone and typed something on the screen before a recording played of mother talking shit about Lia.
At first we heard loud music pumping, then we heard mother's friends talking.
"So Lara? How is your daughter doing? You told us that she was ugly, but when we looked her up she was gorgeous!" One of them said.
"Gorgeous?" Mother scoffed. "Have you seen those eyes? The looked beautiful on Carter and Caleb but to her? It's looked hideous! Bleehhhh!!!" Mother's said. We all stayed quiet while listening to the recording but all of us were equally getting pissed.
We heard mother's friends whispering something but we couldn't hear it much.
"Why do you even hate her some much Lara? She hasn't done anything to you." One of them said seriously.
Mother laughed. "It's not something she did. It's about something that she will do or happen." Mother said. We all looked at each other questioningly. What is she talking about?
"Lara, she's an innocent girl. She doesn't know anything about her family yet. How could you hold so much resentment for your daughter whom barely even knows her family?" One of them said angrily. I could tell that all of us agreed to what she said but stayed quiet.
"She's not innocent, she's a bitch Hailey. You don't know her, so how can you say that?!" Mother said angrily, clearly getting drunk.
We could hear multiple people sigh. "And you don't know her! How could you vent all your anger towards an innocent?! FOR FUCKS SAKE LARA SHE'S YOUR DAUGHTER!" One of them said angrily.
"I don't know why I'm even friends with you up to this point. You're not the same Lara that we used to know. You blinded yourself with money that you are willing to hurt even your own daughter just to get it." Another said.
"I can't handle this conversation anymore, I'm leaving. Good night ladies." Another said and we heard more saying the same thing. Then the recording ended.
We all sat in silence after the recording.
"Thank you for reporting even at this time Leila. You and your team should go back home and take a rest we'll handle everything else. Good night. " Blaze said. Leila smiled at him gently and nodded.
"No problem sir, it's our job. And good night to all of you too." She said. She bowed down before she walked to the door and exited.
"As for the rest of you, you all should get some sleep. All of us are going with Lia on their shopping tomorrow." Grandpa said.
"Yeah, all of you need your clothes as school will start next week." Grandma said. "By the way, are the rest of the youngsters going to be enrolled here forghe mean time?" She asked out Uncle whome nodded and told them that they were already enrolleded in Royalhood University.
We all wished them goodnight and went to our rooms.
I laid down on bed and closed my eyes. Before I drifted to sleep I thought of something.
'School is about to start. I hope Lia can adjust to her new school peacefully. But even if she couldn't adjust quickly, we will be there to help her adjust.' I thought and drifted to sleep.
******
Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. I was just finishing some school work.
What do you think will Catalia's experience in her new school? Hint: In the next chapter, it's their first day of school.
What do you think Lara meant?
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 6K+ READS!!! I LOVE YOU YUYS SO MUCH!!!
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See you guys in Chapter 12
Stay safe and stay happy!
-kittykat_1605
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