'When can we go?' Isabelle asks impatiently, waiting for the others to finish their plates.
She has been wanting to get her hair done for a while now.
'Don't be so impatient Isabella.' Marco taunts as he takes a sip of his glass.
Everyone goes silent, all the side conversations disappearing, and they all turn to Marco.
He barely said a word throughout the entire lunch because he was too busy listening to Leon about someone that they have to talk to about some guns coming in soon.
Isabelle turns to him too, ready to strangle him until he begs for his life.
'For the last time, it's Isabelle!' She sneers with her hands flat on the table, 'And I wasn't talking to you in particular.'
Marco grins to himself, placing his empty glass on the table before he slowly climbs out of his seat.
'Whatever you say, Isabella.' She rolls her eyes at him and turns to me for help, but all I can do is stare in awe while Marco walks out of the room.
I don't think I've ever seen Marco like this. Sure he enjoys annoying Neveah sometimes, but nothing like this.
Never this... Flirty.
'Can we please go?' She asks again. 'What's with the rush?' Killian asks, raising a brow as well. 'It's her birthday and she wants to get her hair and nails done.' Brandon answers when Isabelle doesn't.
'It's your birthday today?' Marco asks, stumbling back into the room.
'You didn't tell him?' I ask, looking at Isabelle now. She shrugs and stares at her hands, trying to avoid everyone's gaze. 'I didn't think it mattered to him.'
And just like that, Marco's gone again.
'Happy birthday Isabelle.' Leon, Vincent, and Killian say in unison, making Isabelle smile at them as a thank you.
'I have to make some phone calls, but you girls have some fun today.' Vincent says as he takes his leave, not looking at Celine once.
'We just need to wait for Veah and Victoria to get back, then we'll leave.' Celine says, cuddling Leroy who's sitting on her lap.
'Come with me.' Killian says, grabbing Brandon's hand. 'I'll be back in a few minutes.'
'Make it an hour.' Isabelle jokes as the two guys leave the room, 'We have to wait for Neveah anyway.'
'They sure are taking long.' Leon says, trying to peek into the hall to catch a glimpse of his girlfriend or Victoria.
'Or you're just too obsessed with her to wait longer than twenty minutes.' Rio says, keeping his eyes on Leon.
'Stop mocking him.' Rio turns to me, our eyes instantly locking, and I feel something run down my spine. 'Do I need to keep you here, Valentina?'
Shame creeps up my face, probably making me blush like crazy, and I keep my eyes on his.
It's like everyone else dissolves into thin air. 'It's not like you have time anyway.' I reply, trying to keep my voice steady.
'You guys are busier than usual.' Celine chimes in, probably realizing that I'm having a hard time covering up. 'Everything needs to get back on track, Cel.' Rio answers, turning to her entirely.
I almost gasp for air, feeling like I can finally catch my breath because he's not looking at me, and focus on Celine.
'I thought you had it all under control?' She taunts, making him tense for a second. She's doing it on purpose and I can't help but enjoy it. 'When has he ever had any control over anything?'
Isabelle's eyes widen before she tries to hide her laughter by coughing and Leon's grinning as well.
'You really want to go there, Valentina?' Rafael asks, turning back to me.
I don't feel the same shame I felt earlier and tilt my head a little. 'There's always someone messing with you, is there not?'
A muscle in his jaw twitches as he inhales slowly, 'There is.'
'So I'm just stating the facts.' I continue, smiling a little, 'You can't have control if there's always someone messing with you.'
'She's right, Adriano. You can never have complete control.' Leon joins in, trying to defuse the tension a bit.
It looks like Rafael is willing to jump across the table to lunge himself at me. And that's the last thing we'll need right now.
'As long as I have enough control, everything should be fine. Now get to work.' He's trying to dismiss them all so that we can talk about whatever this was, but it's impossible.
It's Celine's day off and Isabelle doesn't work for him, so they don't have to leave.
'I have at least another hour and I'm waiting for Neveah.' Leon answers, filling his glass with some water before taking a sip. 'Fucking hell.'
Rio gets up from his seat and walks past me, his scent trailing behind as he walks out of the room.
'You sure know how to piss him off, little one.' Leon chimes, smiling at me.
'I-' 'We're ready!' Victoria shouts as she runs into the room. She's wearing a cute beige dress with puffy arms. 'You look adorable!'
'She chose it herself.' Veah says as she walks in as well. They're practically matching.
'You look gorgeous.' Leonardo says as she walks over to him, giving him a quick kiss before she turns to me. 'Ready to go?'
'We have to wait on-' 'I'm here, we can go!' Brandon shouts as he runs into the room and tries to fix his hair.
'What happened to you?' Neveah curiously asks, taking Victoria's hand as we all make our way into the hall. 'I did something not so child-friendly.'
'Be careful and text if you need anything.' Leonardo says as we make our way outside.
'We will. Have fun with work!'
I close the door behind me and turn around to see a black van waiting outside.
The window slowly rolls down and I have to pinch my eyes a little to see who it is because he's standing so far away.
'Your transport to the mall is here.' Kai chimes overly excited.
Isabelle opens the door and we all get in, thanking Kai for taking us to the mall. 'Where were you at lunch?' Brandon asks, making Kai shrug.
'I wasn't hungry.' I catch him glancing at Celine for less than a second, but she doesn't notice. 'I also had to get this car.'
He starts driving and we all listen to the music in the background, Hello by Adele.
Brandon and Neveah sing at the top of their lungs as always, making it seem like they're in a dramatic music video.
'Kai, how did you even get out of the house?' Isabelle asks curiously, leaning towards him a bit to be louder than the music and Brandon's singing.
I can tell that question has been eating her inside for a while now.
Everyone goes silent almost instantly again.
All eyes are on Kai as he continues to drive us all to the mall nearby.
'I left ten minutes before you guys got to diner.' He answers, glancing at Isabelle through the rearview mirror, 'I told Hunter I had to get some shit from one of his clients and I dipped.'
'Didn't Noah go with you?' Right before it all happened, I heard Hunter talk about this client with Kai.
He ordered Noah to go with him, but I haven't seen Noah since.
'I dropped him off at the client and said that I had to go somewhere else, I have no idea where he is right now.'
'You're telling me that Noah's still alive?' Isabelle asks, frowning at us both. 'I'm not sure, but I certainly didn't kill him.' He answers, focusing on the road again.
I didn't realize we were in the parking lot already until he stops the car and sighs deeply. 'We're here.'
'Thanks for the ride, Kai!' Veah chimes as she jumps out of the car and takes Victoria with her. Everyone else follows and Kai helps put the buggy together for his son.
'You should come to the mall with us.' Isabelle suggests.
His eyes widen for a second and Celine stiffens as well. What's going on?
'No.' Celine says, slowly lowering Leroy in the buggy, 'He has other stuff to do, right?'
Kai takes a deep breath and nods as he takes a step back. 'Maybe another time, have fun and text me when you need anything.'
And just like that, he's gone again.
'Come on, let's go.' Celine says as she strolls towards the entrance, leaving Isabelle and me a little flustered.
'Everything okay between them?' She asks as she hooks her arm around mine. I shrug and follow after everyone else, wondering what's going on between them.
Because the last time I heard anything about them, everything was fine.
'Are you really not coming to the hairdresser?' Veah asks as we make our way into the mall. I shake my head and smile, before answering, 'I'm pretty happy with the length of my hair.'
'Maybe you can dye it?' Celine asks, making Brandon gasp for air. 'No fucking way is she dying her hair!'
He steps in front of me, shielding me from the others, and dramatically shakes his head, 'I refuse.'
'Calm down, I'm not dying my hair or cutting it. You guys can go and we'll go check for some clothes and we'll meet up at the nail salon to get our nails done.'
Isabelle chuckles as she walks over to Veah. 'Are you sure?'
I nod at Neveah and smile at her. 'We'll be fine.'
'Okay. Okay.' She kneels down a bit and turns to Victoria, 'I need you to behave with them okay? We'll be back in an hour or two.'
'I promise I'll behave.' Victoria chimes, before running over to me.
She grabs my hand, memories of Jade flashing in my vision, but I blink them away.
She's not Jade. She's Victoria. Someone completely different.
Yet so much the same.
God... I miss her so much...
'You okay, Leya?' Brandon asks when I'm still standing on the same spot and everyone else already moved. 'Yeah, I'm okay.'
'I have to get a few clothes for Leroy before we go visit my family, so is it okay if we do that first?'
Brandon and I nod and wait for Celine to take the lead. 'What's the plan with that anyway?'
'I'm going to go back to France soon, just for a couple of days.'
We walk into the clothing store and follow Celine straight towards the children's section.
'So what's up with you and Vince?' Brandon asks, dramatically bumping his arm into Celine's while she goes through some clothes on the rack.
'Why would something be up with us?' She asks in return, tensing a little. Oh?
'This one's pretty!' Victoria holds up a purple dress and smiles at us.
'It's so cute, but you already have a dress like that.' Brandon says, smiling back at her. 'Oh, okay.'
She puts it back on the rack and goes through the other dresses.
'You two aren't as close as you were before.'
Celine stops going through the clothes and stares at Brandon. 'What are you trying to say?'
'I'm just asking if something is up.' He walks over to the jeans and grabs a few of them in Victoria's size.
There's an awkward silence as we all go through some clothes for the kids, meaning something is up with those two.
'I need to confess.' Celine starts after a few minutes of awkward silence. She looks at Brandon, before slowly turning to me, 'Vincent and I broke up.'
'What- when did that happen?' 'I knew it.' Brandon crosses his arms and waits for Celine to explain how this happened, looking at her with a raised brow.
'He said he didn't feel like we were going anywhere and that he didn't want to get in the way of Kai and I, even though there's nothing there anymore.' Oh...
I'm no expert in relationships, but there sure is something there between Kai and Celine. Even if it's just something small right now, it might grow big again.
'And he also admitted that he wanted to travel for some time, but he's waiting for Neveah's decision.' On what?
'What does Neveah have to do with this?' I ask as I grab a white dress off the rack and show it to Brandon, 'This would be great for Victoria, don't you think?'
'It's adorable.' He chimes as she inspects it a little more, before turning to Celine as well. 'Apparently, she wants to go too.'
What? Brandon and I look at each other, before turning back to Celine, who's looking at us as if this is nothing new.
'Since when?' Brandon asks as I try to process what she just said. 'She said she was leaving from the beginning so don't act surprised now.'
Neveah's leaving...
'She told me she was staying until the wedding.' Celine shrugs and places some clothes on top of the blanket that is covering her child. 'You should ask her because I only know what Vincent told me.'
Why didn't she tell me?
'Okay, so back to you and Vincent.' Brandon chimes as he looks at another dress Victoria's trying to show him.
It's perfect for the warm weather coming up next week.
'There's nothing else to talk about, he just thinks he will become an obstacle so he broke up with me.' She mumbles, clearly done with the topic already.
'Maybe it's a good thing.' Brandon replies, making me frown at him. 'Guys...'
'How can it be a good thing?' Celine asks, completely ignoring me.
'Because you and Kai have a child together.' Brandon counters, staring at her as if she should've known better.
'So?' I simply stare at the two and notice Victoria doing the same. 'Is everything okay?'
'How about you go and find some cute skirts?' I ask, hoping she can stay away from whatever it is that's about to go down between these two.
She nods and runs off, staying in our view, while Brandon and Celine stay focussed on each other.
'It's best if you just stick with him.' Brandon continues. 'Why would I do that?'
'Because Vincent's right, there's still something going on between you two.'
She stays silent but shakes her head instead.
Brandon sees it as a win and points his finger at her. 'There's not.' She quickly adds, making him roll his eyes.
'He's the father of your child, Celine.'
'He's also the reason Leya had to endure the Steel's for months.' She says, gritting her teeth, 'He's also the reason Neveah and I were taken in the first place.'
'He's also one of the reasons you guys got me back though.' I try, hoping that they'll calm down a bit.
'It's only fair that he fixes the mess he made, don't you think?' She asks, looking at me as if I'm crazy for acting like it was not his fault at all. 'See now you're just going crazy, he's trying his best to be better.'
'Guys, can we please not do this in a clothing store.' I say, trying to get in between them before they start killing each other.
They both look at me, anger flaring from both sides, and I can't help but panic a little.
I don't think I've ever seen or heard them fight like this.
'Fine, let's go and pay for all this shit and just go do our nails.' Brandon grunts as he takes a few clothes to the cashier.
Celine stumbles after him while I wait for Victoria to come back.
After paying for a bunch of clothes and ending up with three full bags, we make our way to the salon to get our nails done.
Celine and Brandon don't say a word to each other and force me to sit in between them at the salon.
'Can we get some drinks?' Brandon asks a girl that introduces herself as Vera. 'Of course, is it okay if we do the little girl as well?'
They all turn to me, waiting for my answer, and I shrug. 'Do you want to get your nails done, Victoria?'
'Yes! Please?!' She exclaims overly excited. I smile and nod, watching as an older lady takes her towards the seat next to Celine.
Vera comes back with a silver platter filled with glasses of champagne and some lemonade for Victoria.
'Are we supposed to-' 'Just go with it.' Brandon whispers as he takes his glass and lifts it up to mine.
Celine chugs it down in one go, making me wonder how long it will take for it to kick in, and I take a small sip.
'Okay, first we'll do a pedicure and then we'll manicure and maybe we could do a massage afterward?'
We all nod and lay back in the massage chairs they put us in, enjoying the vibrations against our muscles.
'This is what you call heaven.' Celine mumbles as she presses herself deeper into the chair.
They do our feet first, massaging them, then polishing them like never before. It tickles, but I fight through it, liking the way they look once they're done.
'Did you text Neveah and Isabelle where we are?' Brandon asks, looking at Celine. She nods and empties another glass of champagne.
'Maybe you shouldn't drink that fast-' 'I'm fine, trust me.' She's already slurring her words and I can't help but sigh when she asks Vera for another glass.
Once they're done with our feet, they ask us to move our hands over to the side so that they can do our nails.
'Finally.' I look at the door when I hear Isabelle's voice and can't help but stare at them in shock.
'You're hair looks amazing!' Brandon shouts as he rushes over to check out Veah's hair. I take them both in, staring at Veah's braids and Isabelle's short hair.
It's braided entirely and way longer than I thought it was going to be.
'Holy shit.' She does a little spin and smiles as she walks over to us. 'It's probably going to be ruined by the end of the week though.'
'I didn't think I would like short hair this much.' Isabelle says as she brushes her hand through her hair.
It's a lot shorter than I thought, but it looks so good on her. Her hair barely reaches her shoulder now, instead of almost reaching her ass the way it did before.
'You two went to the right salon, let me tell you that!' Brandon chimes, staring at the two of them.
'Thank you.' They chime before both taking a seat in the only available chairs left.
'More champagne?' Vera's already filling our glasses before we can even answer, and Brandon almost immediately downs it in one go again.
'Do you ladies want a glass of champagne as well?' She asks, looking at Veah and Isabelle.
Isabelle starts nodding like crazy, eager to get herself a glass, but Neveah shakes her head and says, 'No thank you.'
'Is everything okay?' I ask, trying to pry a way into her mind. Because I need to know if what Celine said is true, and if so, why she hasn't told me yet.
'Just tired, I haven't done shit like this in a while.' She chimes as she stares at Victoria in awe.
'Look!' Victoria chimes, wiggling her toes to show Veah how pretty pink they are. 'They look amazing.'
'When will we start with the wedding preparations?' Neveah asks when everyone slowly takes a sip of their champagne.
'Already? The wedding is three months away?' Celine asks, dramatically rolling her R for the word three.
'Exactly, and we barely did anything yet.' Veah continues, looking at me, 'Have you talked to Rio about it?'
'I have not.' So far we only picked out a date.
November eleventh.
A date when everyone has time and everything is fixed, according to Rio.
I suggested getting married next year, around spring or summer, but he wants to get married this year.
And I honestly don't see why we shouldn't get married, especially with everything that happened.
But at the same time, I don't want to rush into things.
So I told him that we have to wait at least three months.
'Your wedding is three months away and you haven't done anything?' Brandon asks, frowning at me as well. 'Three months is a long time, don't you think?'
'It might sound like a long time, but it's not.' Isabelle joins in, finishing her champagne in one go as well. 'How so?'
'You have to make a guest list, make sure there's enough food, you have to find a dress, we all have to find dresses that perfectly match yours to work with the color scheme, you have to make sure that there's entertainment, and let's not talk about a venue- where are you even planning on having the wedding?' Neveah's wave of questions makes me blush, because we have barely discussed any of it yet.
'I don't know.' I ask as I down my champagne as well.
It all becomes too much too fast at this point, and I ask Vera to fill my glass again. 'We'll help you, of course, but that's things you have to start thinking about now, Leya.' Brandon chimes excitedly.
'I want to help too!' Victoria chimes, making me smile. 'You will be a great flower girl, don't you think?'
'Do I get to make flowers?' Even the nail ladies giggle at her question, but she waits for one of us to answer. 'You get to throw the flowers before Cataleya walks in.'
'Really?' Celine nods and smiles at her, making her shine entirely. 'So you have to wear the prettiest dress ever.'
'I will!' She says, moving to the edge of her seat.
'How has it been going in the babymaking department?' Brandon asks, startling all of us.
'What do you mean?' Veah asks with a frown on her face. 'Well, Celine just popped out her child and as much as I like going out, I think it's only fair if Leroy has some friends to grow up with.'
'Honestly, I agree with him.' Celine mumbles, trying to point in Brandon's direction.
I knew it wouldn't take long for the champagne to kick in.
'Well, since Tiago and I are taking it slow you shouldn't be expecting anything any time soon.' Veah chimes, turning to Isabelle, before looking at me, 'But those two might?'
'I know I'm sleeping around a lot, but I'm not getting pregnant any time soon, trust me.' Isabelle says, slumping down in her chair.
'So that leaves you.' They all turn to me and I can't help but feel shyness creep up my face.
Another thing Rio and I haven't talked about yet.
'We're not trying but if it happens it happens, right?'
'You guys should be able to, you have been... doing the right things to make a baby.' Brandon jokes, making all of us laugh a little. 'Well-' 'I want to make a baby too!'
I almost spit out my drink and burst out in laughter, just like everyone else, at Victoria's statement.
'No- No you don't, you're too young to make a baby.' Veah says, smiling to contain her laughter a little. 'But baby's are cute, look at Leroy.'
'You can make baby's when you're older, Victoria.'
We continue to talk about a bunch of things we don't get to talk about at the house. It's like we never have spare time anymore, so I try to savor every second of spending time with my friends like this.
After getting our nails done, and emptying almost five bottles of champagne in total, we go and shop a little more before we head out and wait for Kai to come and pick us up.
Apparently, he has been waiting outside the entire time.
He drives us back to the house and helps us all out of the car, carrying most of the bags since we can barely walk straight.
Neveah helps him and lets me lean on her for support as she helps me back into the house while the others stay by the car.
'I can't believe you got drunk.' She says, suddenly stopping in the middle of the hallway.
I almost fall, almost, but someone catches me.
I instantly melt at his touch and look up into those gorgeous hazel eyes. 'Rafael!'
'How much did she drink?' He asks, looking at my best friend instead.
'Hey!' I firmly grab his face and tilt it so that he has to look at me, 'Look at me when I'm talking to you.'
His lips are pouted because of my grip on his face, and it's making me laugh. 'You look like a fish.'
'I don't even know how much, but she's fine. Just make sure that she doesn't have a headache tomorrow morning.' Veah states as she walks back to the front door, followed by Victoria. 'I have to make sure the others get home as well, but I'll see you tomorrow!'
I let go of Rio and stumble towards the door, waving like a maniac as I watch them all go their separate ways.
'Goodbye guys!' I shout right before I close the door and turn around.
Rio's leaning against the frame of the door towards the living room, and frowns at me.
He's so tall. And handsome. And... All mine...
'Are you okay?' He asks as I keep my eyes on those perfect lips of his.
'Perfect.' I mutter in response, even though I might as well be talking about his lips.
I run over to him and jump into his arms, knowing that he'll catch me no matter what, and kiss him.
His lips meet mine, kissing me with sudden, forceful heat that explodes in my chest, slowly going through my entire body.
A breathless moan leaves me before I can hold it in and he pushes me against the wall, keeping the both of us stable.
He leans back just a little and breathes against my lips, 'We're not doing this.'
I groan and try to kiss him again, but he makes sure our lips won't touch.
It's clear that he doesn't want to stop me, but he has those morals.
'You said that last time too.' I grin, slowly trying to pull him closer.
His lips curl up and I wish I could feel them against mine again, 'This time I mean it.'
Instead of kissing my lips, he kisses my hair before taking a step back.
He looks at me as if I'm a child who has to walk for the first time again.
I stumble over my feet and let him lift me up just a little. 'Did you eat?' I shake my head in response and focus on his lips and nothing else.
Those perfect lips...
'Alright.' He sweeps me off my feet and carries me to the kitchen, placing me on the counter, before he grabs a plate out of the oven.
There's steam coming from the food, and my mouth instantly starts watering. It's pasta.
'Did you make it?' I ask curiously. It doesn't look like something the chef would make, but it looks delicious nonetheless.
'Is it that obvious?' He asks a little ashamed. I shake my head and take the plate, quickly placing it on the counter since it's warm.
'It looks amazing.' I say, following his frame through the kitchen as he grabs a fork for me. 'Here you go.'
I twirl some pasta onto the fork and take the first bite, trying to act like it's not too salty at all, but failing miserably. 'It's bad isn't it?'
'It's fine... You just...' I climb off the counter and look at him, 'Why did you use so much salt?'
'I just followed a recipe, I didn't even add any salt.'
I can't help but giggle at his frustration and finish the entire plate as he rambles on about how hard it was for him to make this simple plate.
'Finished.' He turns to me with a frown when he realizes I indeed finished the entire plate. 'But you-' 'I appreciate the gesture, now get me to bed.'
He tilts his head a little, making me wonder if he's going to follow his stupid morals or not. Please just break...
'You're very direct when you're drunk, Valentina.' He says as he makes his way to me, caging me between the counter and his huge body. Fuck... 'I'm always direct, mister Curzio.'
'Not with me.' He says, leaning down a bit more. I close my eyes, waiting for his lips to touch mine again, but it doesn't happen. 'Kiss me.'
'You're drunk.' He whispers against my neck, making me lean back to give him more access. 'I don't fucking care.'
'Valentina-' 'Kiss me, please.' I didn't want to beg tonight, but I want this. I want him to kiss me, just a kiss and nothing more. 'Let's get you to bed.'
I sigh deeply and let him take my hand as he leads me out of the kitchen and up the stairs. 'I suppose you had fun today?'
'I did. So much, look at my nails!' I show him my nails and almost fall over, but he catches me again. 'They look good.' He says as he kisses my hand, making me melt again.
This man sure knows how to make me feel things.
'We talked about the wedding, which we have to talk about as well.' He takes a deep breath and nods, making me frown a bit. 'What was that?'
'The wedding is entirely up to you, because if it was up to me, you would become my wife in less than five minutes.' Fucking hell...
'So you'll leave it up to me?' I can't help but get a little excited. 'As long as you keep me updated and don't cast me out entirely, I don't see why not.'
We finally make it to the bedroom and walk inside. 'Is there anything I need to take into account?'
'I have one demand.' He says, slowly wrapping his arm around my waist. 'What might that be?'
'I want you to wear red.' What?
'Red?' He nods and slowly circles his thumb on my back, making me lean into him even more. 'Why red?'
I can't be wearing a red wedding dress, I was honestly thinking about making everything white and red, but not red and white. It's just-
'You look good in red.' He whispers, kissing my entire face, except for my lips. 'Red it is.'
He slowly lets go of me to turn on the lights, making me squint my eyes for a couple of seconds.
'We also talked about kids.' I say, tying my hair into a bun. I stumble over to the bathroom and wash my face, waiting for him to ask about it which takes longer than I expect.
'Rio?' I look at myself in the mirror and frown when I still don't hear from him. 'Mhm?'
'They think we should get kids so that Leroy has friends.' I joke, even though it's what they said.
I make my way back into the bedroom and reach out for his hand. 'Do you want that?' He asks as he lets his finger intertwine with mine.
I shrug and look into those mesmerizing eyes again, almost melting instantly. 'I don't see why not.'
He tilts his head a little, something washing over his face, but I might be imagining it.
'But we don't have to have kids right away, I mean we have some time right?' I ask, smiling a little.
His lips curl up a little and I can't help but focus on his lips again.
'If we have kids, we're going to have all boys and I'm going to teach them to never act like you when they grow up because if they do, I'm going to have to discipline them one by one and I don't have the time for that.'
He frowns at me and chuckles as he slowly leads me to the bed. 'Really?'
I drop onto the bed and stare at the man hovering over me, nodding my head as he helps me out of my clothes, into the bed. 'Wouldn't that be fun, a whole army of little you's mixed with my DNA?'
He stays silent and simply smiles as he hands me a new set of clothes. 'How much did you have to drink, Valentina?'
'Not too much- but just imagine. A bunch of mini Rio's running around the grounds in Barletta and Spain, can you imagine?' He helps me into one of his shirts and kisses my neck softly, making me grin from ear to ear.
'I like the name Elio, but I don't know if it goes with Curzio- Elio Curzio?' I mutter as he picks me up and moves the pillows and sheets around, before placing me down again. 'I don't know.'
He pulls the covers up all the way to my neck and walks around the bed, taking a seat right next to me, all while keeping his eyes on mine. 'Curzio... I really like your last name, Rafael.'
'You do?' I nod and look up at him, feeling my cheeks heat up when I realize he's staring at my lips. 'Will you change your name to Curzio as well?'
'Yes. Of course.' I say as I turn to his side, throwing my leg over his to get comfortable. 'But I must admit, I like it when you call me Velez.'
'You do?' He asks, brushing some loose strands of hair out of my face. I nod and kiss his hand, smiling a little. 'I like Valentina more though.' I whisper before stretching a little.
'No, I kind of want girls too if I'm being honest.' A frown appears on his beautiful face and I wish I could kiss it away. 'I thought you said you only wanted boys?'
'Why not both?' His lips look delicious right now.
'I think you should get some sleep.' I nod and roll over, trying to calm down before I actually jump him and- 'Goodnight, Valentina.' He whispers against my hair, making me smile.
'Goodnight Rafael.'
I close my eyes and drift off to sleep, feeling his warm arms around me like a blanket.
In the middle of the night, I feel the bed dip a little and feel cold for just a second, before I feel the warmth of an actual blanket again.
'What the fuck do you want?' Rio whispers before I hear the door close. I turn over and notice that he left the room, making me wonder who he was talking to.
I sit up and rub my eyes as I try to make my way through the dark room.
Sometimes I wonder how he can see in the dark. Because it's pitch-black.
I open the door and slip out of the room, hearing some mumbling coming from down the hall.
Whoever it is he's talking to, has a familiar voice.
'Marcello called.' The closer I get, the clearer it becomes.
It's Leon he's talking to.
'What did he talk about?' Rio asks, opening a door down the hall.
I watch as they enter the room and close the door behind them, debating if I should go after them or not.
He probably won't like it, but I want to know what's going on, so I decide to follow them anyway.
'He asked about... any possible heirs to the Curzio line.' What?
'For fucks sake, again?' Rio mutters, sounding obviously annoyed. 'He said you're not getting any younger and that there's always danger lurking around the corners.'
'What about you and North?' Wait... Why does he- 'What about us?'
'I thought you said you guys were trying again?' Neveah told me the same thing a few days ago. And today as well.
'We're taking it slow.' Rio sighs deeply, making Leon chuckle a little. 'Come on, Adriano. Don't you want to have a family of your own?'
'I don't have time for kids right now, Leon.' One of them was walking around the room, but whoever it was stopped when Rio said that.
'What do you mean?' Leon asks, probably frowning at his cousin. 'I- forget it. You should head back and get some rest.'
'Finish that sentence, Adriano.' Leon insists, making my heart race like crazy.
'Some people are just not cut out to become parents- fathers, you and I both know that.'
'And you think you're one of them?' It stays silent for a while, but I hear Leon chuckle suddenly. 'I see the way you act with Victoria, you will be a great father.'
'She's not my child, it's different.' Maybe I should- 'How is it different?'
'It just is.' Rio sneers. My heart beats faster and faster, so fast that it's starting to hurt. 'What makes you think you won't be a good father, Adriano?'
It stays silent for a while again, making me want to be inside that room to know what's going on that I'm missing.
'I just know I'll end up like Luciano and ruin it.' No...
'Adriano-' 'I don't want kids, Leonardo.'
My heart aches for a long second as I lean against the wall for support, and try to process what he just said.
He doesn't want kids...
'You don't actually mean that.' He doesn't... Want... Kids...
'I do, kids will only complicate things and we're young. If we get kids now we won't be able to move as much and we will have another target added to our fucking backs.'
I should've stayed in bed. Maybe that way I wouldn't have heard about all of this and I would just be happy with what we have.
But I can't help but wonder when he was going to tell me about it, because I told him.
I told him about my wish for kids a few hours ago, and he didn't say anything about how he doesn't want kids.
Nothing at all.
He just sat there and listened to me ramble on about kids, even though he doesn't want them.
'You would be fine, our parents managed all this shit with us around, didn't they?'
I hear Rio's chuckle and blink away the tears that are trying to escape, slightly feeling my heart break at the annoying undertone echoing through him.
'And look how they ended up.' No...
I want to crawl into a ball and cry, I want to go back in time and force myself to stay in bed, I want to go back to the drinking and trying on a billion dresses.
Anything but this.
'What about Leya?' I hold my breath as I await his answer. 'What about her?'
'She wants kids, right?' They stay silent, but I can hear someone walk around the room. 'If it happens, it happens, but I'm not planning on getting kids any time soon, Leonardo.'
'She wants kids, Adriano.' Leonardo insists. It's like he's trying to convince Rafael on the subject, but I don't think anything can get through to him right now. 'She's young, she doesn't know what she wants.'
Despite having a hard time standing up, I find the energy and courage to stumble towards the door and slightly open it.
They both look at me as I take the final step, walking into the room with tears in my eyes.
One escapes and slowly rolls down my cheek, catching Rio's eye.
'You don't want kids?'
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A/N: I just love leaving you guys on a good cliffhanger... Next chapter will be... Interesting to say the least!
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Anyways! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you guys think in the comments and please don't forget to vote, it keeps me motivated!
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