I didn't know how to help her, help us.
It was a feeling I'd become all too accustomed to these past weeks.
God, I hated everything about this. But most of all I hated seeing her cry. I'd do anything not to see her cry ever again.
She pressed her palm to her heart as she took deep breaths with her eyes closed.
Taking the opportunity, I stalked towards her and encased her body in my arms.
She fought against my hold and screamed. With her fists balled, she pounded on my chest and pushed me back.
Her shaking hand came up to her mouth as she stepped back, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to" she said as her voice broke.
I stepped forward and grabbed her wrists bringing them up to my chest. "Hit me," I said looking dead into her tear-filled eyes.
"N-no, I won't. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She said frantically and I stopped her as I pressed my palm to her cheek.
"Hit me again Ana, have at it. Give me all of your anger, frustrations, and fears, I can handle it."
Tears roll out of her red eyes uncontrollably as she rests her forehead on my chest, her fists tightening. "I'm sorry," she whispered before she slammed her fists into my chest. I held onto her hips as she pounded into me, filling the room with cries and screams.
She fisted my shirt and pulled onto it, slowly lowering herself to the ground as she sobbed. Her hands drop to her sides weakly and I drop to my knees in front of her.
I lift her and pull her onto my lap. She settles on my chest and wraps her arm around my neck as she sobs loudly.
I take deep breaths trying my hardest to hold back the tears. I let her cry and release all of her frustrations as I rubbed her back and wiped the tears that fell down my face.
We sat in silence for a while after she stopped crying, the only sound being heard was the heavy rain as it pounded against the glass.
She was the strongest woman I'd ever known and to witness her heart completely break, made me devastated.
Eventually, I lifted her as I stood, and I lay in bed with her on top of me. I played in her hair as she traced the tattoos on my chest with her finger.
She sat up so she was straddling my thigh and I quickly wiped the tears away from my face. "I love you," she whispered as she leaned forward and wiped another tear that fell.
"I love you too", he said, only he didn't know just how much those words meant to me. With him, by my side, I knew we'd get through anything that life threw at us.
Another tear slipped out of his eyes, and I pushed his hand away as he went to wipe it away.
It broke me more than anything to see him cry.
I was being selfish, he needed me just as much as I needed him right now.
I got off of him and laid on my side before I pulled him to me, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, and I shook my head as we looked into each other's eyes.
The love I had for him was unlike any other. And I knew, with everything in me that the love he had for me had no bounds.
Our love was limitless.
I pressed my forehead to his and we stayed just like that until we fell asleep.
The next couple of days were complete hell. I had to stay on bed rest and be catered to by everyone.
Which I loathed the most out of everything else.
Grey and I cried together multiple times and fell asleep in each other's arms with damped cheeks every night.
He was overly protective and gentle with me. So much to the point that he wouldn't even let me have the sliding doors open too long, fearful that I'd catch a cold.
He took care of my incision as if he was an actual nurse. By the second day, it had become a normal routine.
Xile slept with us some nights but insisted she slept at the foot of the bed, so she didn't hurt me.
Honestly, it was a good idea, great even. Since she was young she'd always slept like she was in Arkham Asylum fighting off every patient and guard.
Grey refused to answer emails and calls at first, but I insisted he did. We were starting a new business venture together and we needed to be the ones doing it, not Mariano and Emilio.
I held a meeting with the various teams at my company letting them know what I'd expected of them for the following weeks.
As much as I'd love to stay home and hang out with Grey every day, I needed to return to work as soon as I was cleared by the doctor.
Today was the day of the appointment and I prayed everything was going well and that I'd be able to finally be off of bed rest.
Xile and I sat in the car as we waited on Grey. I wore a comfortable black maxi dress and pinned my hair into a top knot. I didn't care to do too much today; I was too sore to find comfort in anything else.
"Am I supposed to get you a wedding present?" Xile asked.
I looked back at her and shook my head at the random question. She blinked repeatedly at me and motioned for me to answer. "No, just show up," I said, and she gave me a thumbs up.
"Thank God, because I wouldn't even know where to start." She said dramatically pressing her hand to her chest.
Today was also the day we were supposed to be tying the knot in Italy.
Everything would fall into place for us, I was sure of it.
I pulled my handy-dandy mirror out of my purse and applied the green apple-flavored lip balm to my lips.
As I closed the mirror, Grey made his way out of the house with what looked to be, two hoodies thrown over his arm and two water bottles in his hand.
I placed the mirror and lip balm back in my purse as he opened Xile's car door. He handed her one of the water bottles and hoodies, "It's cold at the hospital" he said as she looked at him dumbfoundedly.
He grabbed the seatbelt and strapped her in as if she was a child. And she didn't help her case as she whined to take it off.
I quickly buckled mine and he glared at me when he heard the click.
He got in the driver's seat and handed me the water bottle & hoodie before he drove off.
The doctor's appointment went by quicker than I thought it would. He informed me everything looked well and that my stitches should dissolve on their own in the next couple of days or so.
As expected Grey and Xile had numerous questions for the doctor. They even went as far as to have them written in the notes on their phones.
Unsurprisingly, Grey was right yet again. We hadn't even been in the hospital for five minutes before Xile and I threw on the hoodies. He smirked when we got them on and Xile shut him up before he could say anything with her death stare.
When we left the appointment, we went to a restaurant of Xile's choice. It was an Italian restaurant not even Grey knew of.
Grey held our hands as we entered the restaurant and the waitress lead us to a table.
The menu was in Italian, so it took longer than usual for me to decide on something. Even after deciding on what I'd be getting, it still took another fifteen minutes for Grey to teach me how to order in Italian.
When the waiter came to take our orders, my anxiety got the best of me, and I froze. Xile chuckled as Grey went ahead and ordered for all of us.
I'd only realized how much I got when it was placed in front of me. I had risotto pancakes that id fallen in love with since Grey made them, ravioli, creamy tortellini soup with sausages, calzones, and of course I had to get a pizza and alfredo pasta.
Stuffed was an understatement when I decided I couldn't eat anymore and leaned back in the chair.
Grey smiled at me as if he was proud I'd eaten so much. He rubbed my belly, "That's my girl," he said, and I slapped his hand lightly.
After not having much of an appetite this past week, I was glad I'd finally got it back. This was to make up for all the meals I missed.
Once the table was cleared, the waitress returned "Vuoi un dolce?" (Would you like any dessert) she asked.
"N-" Grey started, and I interrupted him. "Sì grazie," I said understanding since dolce meant dessert in both Italian and Spanish. The waitress nodded and handed us the menus.
Xile gave me a thumbs up with a wink and Grey shook his head.
"What are you getting shorty?" he asked, "Zeppole," she answered as she closed the menu and placed it on the table.
"And you, my love?"
"Tiramisu." I smiled and he called the waitress over. He ordered himself an espresso and not long after, the desserts were brought out.
I felt like I weighed 600 pounds as we walked to the car. I pushed all of my weight onto Grey as he wrapped his arm around me and led us across the parking lot.
He opened our doors and to my surprise, peonies were resting on the seat.
"How did you?" Xile asked as she grabbed the white roses sitting on her chair.
"I'll never tell." He said and we both hugged him.
"Thank you, baby," I said as I tip-toed and kissed him.
"Ew, thank you, dad," Xile said, and he kissed both of us on the forehead before he held our hands as we got into the car.
On the ride home, Xile and I both fell asleep. I woke up as Grey lifted me in his arms and carried me into the house with Emilio carrying Xile ahead of us.
"Be careful," he said to Emilio as he closed the front door and Emilio started up the stairs. "I know you're awake."
"Shh," I said.
Not long after we'd laid down in bed, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Grey said as he sat up.
The twins entered and jumped onto the bed.
"Ugh, today was so stressful," Kaia complained.
"Why? What happened?" I asked as Grey helped me sit up.
"So many meetings."
"Gosh, you are so dramatic, we had two meetings that were both less than an hour. Anaís does more than you from home." Zayn said, "And she just had surgery!"
"Shut up," she defended as Grey laughed. "But do you know what the cherry on top was?" she glared at Grey, "Your pain in the ass fiancé told Mariano he'd start training us today."
"If I recall perfectly, you asked for this. Threatened him even." I laughed.
"Not my finest moment, I'll admit." She said as she sat up. "Can't we reschedule?"
"Nope," Grey said.
"Ana" she complained, and I crossed my arms as I shook my head.
"Sorry, I can't help you." I said, "But it would be fun to watch, how about we join them?" I looked up at Grey.
"You know what, I think that's a great idea." He said, "We leave in an hour."
"See, this is where your big mouth gets us." Zayn stood throwing his hand in the air as he made his way out.
"I hate you both, you belong together," Kaia said showing us the middle finger as she got off the bed and followed Zayn.
"We know," Grey shouted as she slammed the door.
I rolled onto Grey's chest and hiked my leg up over his. He wrapped his arms around me, and I smiled.
I always felt safe when I was with him, but to be in his arms was a whole other feeling completely.
I informed him that the movers were coming tomorrow to deliver our things from the penthouse.
When I spoke to Xile and the twins two days ago about it they were more than excited about moving in indefinitely. I also let them know they had the choice of staying in the guest houses, but as I'd expected, they refused. We also agreed on keeping the penthouse. It was the first thing we'd bought when our company started growing. Those walls had seen many late nights as we worked, family game and movie night, tears, arguments, but most of all, the love we had for each other.
When we were done getting ready, we joined the others in the living room. Grey grabbed his keys off of the entryway table. "Wait for us!" Xile said as she ran down the stairs.
"Isn't it your bedtime shortcake?" Grey said and she rolled her eyes as she reached the bottom, "No, I think it's yours old man" she said and I snorted.
"Is everyone ready?" I asked and they all said yes. I turned around and opened the front door to see Carmen and our moms. Carmen dug in her handbag and my mom shined the flashlight on her phone so she could see as Grey's mom leaned against the wall, her head hung low with her handbag on the ground next to her feet.
"Why aren't the lights on, we've been out here for five minutes looking for the key," Carmen said as she stepped in.
"Carmen, a little help please" my mom called as she walked over to Grey's mom and picked up her purse. Carmen ran over and they both wrapped their arms around her.
I looked around at everyone and they all stood confused at the sight in front of us. "Is she okay?" I asked.
"Oh, don't worry about her, she'll be fine. She's just drunk." My mom said.
"She forced us to drink with her, and after two drinks she was done for," Carmen said as they walked past us. "We'll take care of her, don't worry." She yelled as they descended into the house.
"Welp Grey, she's finally gone rouge," Mariano said walking out of the front door.
Everyone else followed him to the car and I stayed back with Grey as he locked the door. He took my hand, and we went to the car. He lifted me, sat me down in my seat, and before he could close the door I stopped him. "I'm hungry," I said rubbing my tummy and he smiled, "Okay, I'll get you something on the way."
On our way to the warehouse, we stopped at Dairy Queen. I got chicken strips, a cheeseburger, fries, and a slushie. I nibbled on my fries and shimmied as we drove the rest of the way.
Grey lifted me out of the car and carried me the whole way until we were in the glass room. I said hi and waved to everyone as we walked through the warehouse, and they bowed like usual.
I don't think I'd ever get used to that.
Grey had one of the couches and a blanket brought from his office for me to lay on as I watched them train.
I laughed hysterically when Emilio dragged Xile off of the couch and told her she'd be training as well. "I thought we were just coming to watch!" she complained. As he wrapped her wrist.
"That's what I wanted you to think, now shush."
As I sat sideways in the chair eating my food, Grey rubbed my feet and shouted words of encouragement at Xile whilst shouting at the twins to get their shit together because they weren't doing it right.
We laughed together as we watched the twins struggle to keep up with Mariano and some of the men.
We were getting a kick out of this.
"Go show them how it's done, my love," I said as he stood and ran his hand through his hair stressed.
He smiled as he turned around and bent to kiss me softly.
My eyes trailed his gorgeous body as he walked over to them. He was everything I could ever want in a husband, in every way possible.
In less than five seconds he had Zayn and Kaia pinned to the ground. I laid back and watched as he continued to throw them around like rag dolls all the while giving Xile thumbs-ups and the biggest smiles when she did the bare minimum.
Kaia laid on the matted floor and begged Grey for a water break to which he just shook his head. "Ana, please" she pleaded as she raised her head to look at me. I gave Grey a look and he nodded.
"Hurry before he changes his mind," I said, and Kaia dashed over to me. I handed her my water bottle and she drank from it before handing it to Zayn. She slumped down in front of the sofa, "He's killing us," she said.
Grey clapped his hands, "Nope, get up,"
"Fuck you, Grey!" Zayn cursed as he sat next to Kaia.
"Yeah, fuck you, Grey," Kaia said showing him the middle finger.
He snapped his fingers and his men that stood behind him stalked over to us. They grabbed the twins and dragged them back to the middle of the floor where he and Mariano stood.
Grey walked over to me and left Mariano and his men to deal with the twins. He lifted my legs and sat down, resting them on his thighs.
I sat up and turned so my head rested on his lap. "Look at our girl," he said, and I looked up at him as he looked at her, a smile on his face in complete awe.
I looked at her and saw she was doing better as she utilized the bit we taught her last time. "She's our daughter all right," I smiled.
Grey and I screamed and jumped off of the sofa when she pushed her leg back and pinned Emilio to the ground.
She smiled widely as she ran over to us. "Did, you see that, did you see dad?"
"I did shorty," he said as he gave her a high five.
"How did I do mom?"
I smiled pushing the hair out of her face, "You did good baby, you did really good."