{TRIGGER WARNING! EXPLICIT CONTENT! DO NOT READ IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, THANK YOU! Otherwise, enjoy!}
'It still doesn't make any sense.' I roll my eyes, wishing that North would just shut up about it already. 'Maybe you're just too stupid to understand?'
Her eyes fill with anger and I can see her debating if she should throw something at me.
'Can you guys just stop fighting and get over here already!' Leon exclaims as he walks out onto the patio, followed by Valentina.
I don't get where they get their energy from, but I'm exhausted. 'You need to figure out what to do with it, before it gets out of hand.'
'I'm not taking orders from you, North.' She inhales slowly, making me smile a little. I'm getting on her nerves more than she's getting on mine. 'Just because you brought two new Curzios into the world, does not mean that I'll listen to your orders.'
'I'm just trying to help here.' I get up from my seat and walk after Valentina and Leon, wondering why they want to go out on the patio, and notice North walking after me. 'Your help is unasked for, so say out of this.'
A soft guitar song plays in the background and I can't help but roll my eyes when I notice my wife dancing with my idiot of a cousin.
'Fine,' She grunts as she walks around me just to get in front of me, 'Just know that it would be a lot more difficult to deal with it later and-'
'Don't you have babies to focus on?' She frowns and mumbles something as she turns around, staring at Leon and Valentina who are still dancing. 'That's mean and I'm just trying to help.'
'Like I said,' I turn back to North and stare down at her, wanting to shove her face into the pool and drown her now that Leon's too busy to even notice, 'I didn't ask for your advice or help, so stop giving it.'
'That's enough.' Before North can respond, Leon sweeps her away, his arms going around her waist as he keeps her close.
Valentina slowly makes her way over to me and reaches out for my hand. 'Will you two ever stop fighting?'
'We're not fighting, she just needs to mind her business.' She leans in to kiss me and pulls me closer, slowly swaying us to the music in the background.
'What are we doing here?' I only danced with her twice. At our wedding and in a club. The club was packed with people, so it felt less intimate, even though it was way more sensual than this.
This feels warm and better than the other times, yet heavy, as if I'm going to ruin it by not moving with her.
'You're dancing with your wife.' Her eyes sparkle when she calls herself my wife, just like it makes my heart skip a beat.
'Why?' She slowly moves her arms around my neck, leaning in even closer, 'Because she feels like it.'
Because you feel like it...
'Since we're doing what my wife wants right now, we'll do what I want later.' She smiles as she locks eyes with me. 'And what is that?'
I lean in, pulling her in by her waist, and brush my lips against her neck, 'I want to fuck you.'
Her breath hitches in the back of her throat and when I lean back to look at her, I notice her cheeks turning red.
'Only if that's okay with my wife, of course.' She presses her lips on mine and keeps my body close to hers, not wanting to let me go any time soon.
I almost lift her up and take her to the bedroom, completely forgetting about Leon and North on the other side of the patio.
'What are you waiting for then?' She whispers against my lips, driving me completely insane.
'You really want me to-' 'Leon, we need to talk!' Marco exclaims as he rushes out of the house.
I lower my hands to my waistband, noticing Valentina smiling as she places her hands on mine to stop me from pulling my gun.
'Don't you dare.' I sigh and lower my hands, before turning towards my cousin.
'Right now?' Marco nods and stays close to the door, once glancing at me in fear, before quickly turning back to Leon, 'Out of all fucking times?'
'It's about the thing we talked about...' Thing?
North whispers something into Leon's ear before she stumbles back inside.
'I'll go with her,' Valentina gently presses her lips on mine, before she moves towards the house, 'Don't kill anyone.'
'I'll try.' She smiles as she walks past Marco and I head toward Leon.
'What thing?' Leon shrugs as if he doesn't know what Marco's talking about, even though I can tell he's hiding something.
'What thing, Barsetti?' I ask as I turn to Marco instead.
Marco glances between Leon and me a few times, wondering if he's going to survive this.
Because if he says nothing, I'll kill him, but if he tells me what's actually going on, Leon will kill him.
'I swear to god, I will give you five seconds to-' Leon pulls Marco over to the pool, away from me, and whispers something into his ear.
'I will fucking drown you two in a pool if you don't tell me what's going on right now.'
Leon turns around sighing deeply, before looking into my eyes.
'Alessio is still in Spain.' Are you fucking kidding me?
'I told him to leave, didn't I?' I ask, waiting for one of them to confirm.
I know I said it, but maybe he didn't see it like that. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.
'He has nowhere else to go.' Lies...
His family has a whole empire in the states, he doesn't need to be here.
I turn to Marco and watch as his eyes fill with a new type of fear. 'Barsetti, send someone to kill him.'
His eyes widen and he takes a few seconds to move before Leon stops him.
'There's no need, just let him hide somewhere for a while. It's the least he deserves.' I roll my eyes and almost push him into the pool.
'You have been doing this behind my back?' He sighs deeply, but nods, not denying it at this point. 'Could you please drop what happened and forgive him for his past actions?'
'He can rot in hell for all I care.' Leonardo takes a step forward, practically begging me to help that son of a bitch. 'Let me deal with it, okay?'
I don't have time to focus on an idiotic piece of shit, and neither does Leon.
'Why do you want to help him so badly?' It can't just be because he saved him. There's just no way.
'Because he saved me and because I feel bad.'
I inhale slowly, wondering if I should beat the shit out of him just for him to get back to his senses and try to calm down my nerves.
'It will be my own money, none of your expenses.' He would do that... Of course...
'Fine, it's all on you.' I state, just wanting to get away from this, 'If something happens and he fucks us over, again, I'll kill you with him.'
Marco's eyes widen and he stares at Leon, waiting for him to reply. But all Leon does is nod.
I turn around and walk back inside, hearing Leon shout something behind me, 'I love you too, Adriano!'
'All done, now I have to go check on the twins.' North says, hearing her from the kitchen.
I head in there and watch as Valentina cleans a few plates. She looks up and locks eyes with me, all the anger disappearing instantly.
God... I love her...
'Everything okay?' I nod and walk over to her, making sure I'm able to touch her, 'Just tired.'
I don't want to deal with Alessio. I don't want to deal with Steel, I don't want to deal with anything.
I just want it to be me and her. My wife and I.
Nothing else.
'We should head to bed then.' She says as she places the plate on the drying rack.
They'll deal with it in the morning...
'I guess we should.' I mumble, locking her between me and the counter.
'What are you doing?' I lift her up and place her on the counter, pressing myself between her legs.
'Rafael?' My lips brush against her neck and she grasps my shirt. 'Mhm?' I pull her as close as possible and slowly trail my hand to her thighs.
'In the-' She gasps for air when she feels my hand run further up her thighs, stopping at the edge of her underwear.
'In the what, Valentina?' I notice the goosebumps forming on her arm and smile against the soft skin on her neck.
'We shouldn't- shit.' Her toes curl up when I start rubbing my thumb on her clit in the most delicate way possible.
'Why not?' I breathe, continuing to kiss her neck, slowly moving down to my chest.
'Kitchen.' Is all she's able to bring out, too focused on making sure nobody else can hear her.
I smile against her collarbone, liking how hard she's trying to stay silent right now, and listen to her squirm in my hold. 'It's my house, Valentina.'
I suck on her skin, so hard that she's unable to keep herself composed.
'I can fuck you wherever I want.' She leans into me, her warm body pressed against mine.
I don't stop until I hear footsteps enter the fucking kitchen.
Valentina pushes me off as if she wasn't actually trying before, and looks at whoever just walked through the door as she slowly slides off the countertop.
Marco's face is starting to look more and more like a target for my bullets.
'I'm giving you two seconds to get out of here.' Marco nods and instantly walks out of the kitchen, not saying a word as he does.
'That's rude.' Valentina says as she gives me a gentle push, making me smile. 'He needs to stop ruining our moments.'
'That's no excuse for you to be rude to him.' She takes my hand in hers and heads towards the hall, 'Now let's go sleep, because I'm actually exhausted.'
As much as I want to finish what we started, or tried to start twice by now, I don't want to push her tonight.
And we're both tired.
'My time will come.' She chuckles as she leads the way to our bedroom, tiptoeing past all the other bedrooms.
I take off my clothes and follow her toward the bathroom, watching her as starts her nightly routine while I wait by the door.
Change clothes, hair up, brush teeth, wash her face, put a bunch of oils and creams on, something for her lips.
I can watch her do this every fucking night.
She climbs into bed and watches me brush my teeth, her lips slightly curling into a perfect smile.
'What?' I ask as I quickly wash my face and head to bed.
'My husband is very hot.' My heart flutters for the millionth time today, and I hover over her as I get to bed.
'Is that so?' She nods and leans up far enough to kiss me, before wrapping her arms around me. 'We're both exhausted.'
'That I can agree on.' I drop down next to her, pulling her into my arms as she plays with my fingers. 'The twins were adorable today.'
I smile as I listen to her ramble on about another thing the twins did today.
She absolutely adores them and every time I see her holding one of them, my heart skips a few beats.
I shouldn't get excited to see her holding a baby, but I can't fucking help it.
When I feel her doze off in my arms, I make sure she's laying comfortably.
Just as I'm about to fall asleep, I hear something rumble down the hall.
I instantly reach for my gun, trying to not wake up Valentina as I do, and sit up.
The sound stopped, but something feels off.
I slowly get out of bed and head to the door, listening for another sound.
A door opens downstairs and I open the bedroom door to see if there's someone in the hall.
I wrap my fingers around the trigger of my gun and look around the hall, wondering why I'm hearing so much noise coming from the other side of the house, but not seeing anything.
Slowly I make my way down the hall, looking around every corner to find absolutely no one.
I'm going crazy over absolutely nothing.
As I turn back to walk to the bedroom, I hear the back door open slowly.
I aim my gun in front of me and walk to the living room. The light in the corner of the room, close to the door is on, and the door is opened just a little bit.
'Do you need more blankets?' Norman? If she's screwing us over, I'm going to fucking kill her.
'No, it's not cold outside.' I drop my gun at the sound of North's voice and head to the door to see what it is they're doing in the backyard at this time of the night.
North is holding one of her sons, I think it's Domenico, while Norman places Emiliano in one of the swing things they bought a few days ago. 'Thank you, Isa.'
'They're absolutely adorable.' Norman mumbles as she bends down to play with Emiliano's hand or something. 'If only they would sleep at normal times.'
I almost laugh at North's statement, because it's not like she has a normal sleeping schedule.
'You can go back to bed and-' North smiles at me when she sees me in the doorway, making Norman turn to me as well.
Her smile drops and she instantly jumps to her feet. 'What are you doing out?'
'The twins don't want to fall asleep.' North answers while Norman excuses herself and rushes inside.
I walk outside and feel the warm tiles underneath my feet. 'So you take them outside? In the middle of the night?'
She nods and cradles one of her sons, looking more content than ever before, 'They calm down outside, so it's easier to get them to sleep this way.'
'They will get used to this ritual and you'll have to do this for the rest of their lives.' I joke, even though it might be true. 'I'm just glad that they stopped crying for now.'
They have been crying a lot indeed.
'They're your children after all.' She rolls her eyes but doesn't hide her amusement as she smiles.
I lower myself onto one of the chairs across from her, trying not to make too much sound since Emiliano looks like he's going to fall asleep any second now.
'Want to hold him?' I shake my head and keep my eyes on the little mix of North and Leon.
'Why not?' She asks, making me wonder why I'm even sitting here. 'Because I don't want to.'
She goes silent for a while, Domenico cooing from time to time, until he completely stops. 'You won't break him.'
'How do you know that?' I ask, finally lifting my eyes from the almost sleeping baby. 'If even Victoria could hold him without hurting him, I figure you can too.' She says, challenging me without actually challenging me.
If even a little girl can do it...
I move to the edge of my chair and nod at North, watching as she slowly places Domenico into his own swing. He stays asleep, not bothered by the sudden change at all.
North walks over to Emiliano, who's making more and more sounds by the second, and slowly picks him up. 'It's okay baby, shh.'
She makes her way over to me and I can feel my body tense. I'm going to hold a fragile thing, a baby for the first time in my fucking life.
Leon's going to kill me if something happens and I don't think if I'm ready for that, but- 'Lift your arm a bit, his head needs to be a little higher.'
I do as North says, wondering why I'm even doing this in the first place, and try not to freak out as she hands me her child.
Don't cry. Don't cry. Please don't cry.
He's too small. Too fragile. Especially in my hands.
I feel like I'll break him if I even breathe too hard. 'North-' Don't cry.
'Don't be so stiff.' She jokes, smiling at me, 'They won't break that fast.'
'Are you sure about that?' I ask as I try to relax every muscle in my body to at least look a little less tense. 'Don't get any ideas in your head, Rio.'
She walks back to her seat, suddenly looking a lot more exhausted than before, and watches me.
'Relax Rio. You're doing great.' I roll my eyes and try focusing on the small creature in my arms.
My nephew. So small and soft and innocent. God...
'You're just mocking me.' I whisper as I notice Emiliano looking at me with his beady eyes.
'I would be mocking you if I took a picture and sent it to Leya.' She says, making me wonder if she would actually do that.
North and I talked about a lot of things. She could've easily recorded some of our conversations and sent them to Valentina.
So has she? I don't think so.
I know for a fact that she told her about my love confession when I was drunk, I know that she told Valentina all the shit I said, but she never recorded anything, she never had evidence.
'You're doing better than Marco.' I want to look at North and ask what she means by that, but I'm too focused on Emiliano to even bother, 'When Marco held them, they both started crying and wouldn't stop doing so for at least an hour.'
I bet that hurt his ego. He always liked being around kids.
Marco wants kids, he always said he would try for kids once he turned twenty-five, which is next year. But he also said that he would only get kids with someone he truly cares about.
Someone he wants to settle with.
'Maybe they just didn't like Marco.' North chuckles and mumbles something under her breath as she slowly releases it.
'They seem to like you.' North says as she leans in. I can see her in the corner of my eyes, watching me attentively, as if she's waiting for me to slip up.
Or maybe she's waiting for me to say something.
But I don't know what to say and I don't want to move.
I don't want to make Emiliano or Domenico cry.
How can something so small and weak be so... Adorable?
I always thought I would hate babies around the house, that it would cause a distraction within the family and it would mess up the dynamic.
We wouldn't be able to travel as much, not that we have been traveling as much ever since we ran into North and Valentina in the club, and we wouldn't be able to unwind the way we used to because we would be responsible now.
They would be responsible now.
I would keep myself out of the mess that they would call children. I would stay on my own and only get someone pregnant if it was really necessary.
But now...
I'm holding one of my cousins, wondering what he could possibly think of as he looks up at me with those beady eyes of his.
I'm wondering what school they will send him to, I'm wondering if I'll be there for all of his graduations, and I'm wondering if he'll be safe if I'm not around.
I always thought that my touch would break a baby. That as soon as my hands touched the soft and fragile being it would drown in the blood on my hands.
But here I am, holding a baby that isn't even mine, yet feeling attached to it like it is.
Because it is my blood. It's part of my family and I'll take care of my family and make sure they're safe.
But it just feels different. Heavier than I expected, but in a good way.
It's not something pressing me to the ground and suffocating me. It's something wrapping me up and warming all over my body.
Kids... Babies...
Emiliano's eyes slowly close and I fear breathing all of a sudden. He's gradually drifting off to sleep in my arms as if it's nothing.
As if I'm not capable of murdering him within a second. As if I'm not the most dangerous thing he'll ever encounter.
So careless and free.
I figured I would hurt a baby, especially my own, just like Luciano did with me. And it's not that I want to, I just thought it would happen because it's what I'm used to.
I would say or do shit that would end up hurting my children, just like I hurt the ones around me when I'm angry or stressed.
But I don't see myself hurting... A baby... let alone my own...
'Are you okay?' I finally snap my head up, meeting North's brown eyes as I do.
My heart starts racing and I suddenly feel sick at where my mind is going.
Me... Having kids... I can't just- A little me?
I shake away my thoughts and turn back to the little guy in my arms.
'I should definitely take a picture of this moment.' I look over my shoulder and see Valentina walking our way, her robe wrapped around her body as she heads for a seat next to North.
'I told him I wouldn't, but he never said anything about you.' North taunts, making me sigh.
I instantly regret it because Emiliano moves just a tiny bit in my arms, making me wonder if my sigh woke him up or not.
I can hear Valentina and North giggle at my slightly panicked face, and wait for Emiliano to start crying.
'You're fine Rio, calm down.' North whispers as she slowly gets Domenico out of his swing and looks at Valentina. 'Can one of you help me get them back inside?'
Valentina nods and gets up, picking up the little swings as she heads inside.
I slowly get up, keeping my eyes on Emiliano the entire time, and slowly make my way back to the house.
North and Valentina are staring at me as I finally make it inside.
Domenico is nowhere in sight, meaning that North probably already put him to bed as I made my way over here.
Valentina stares at me in awe, seeming dazed at the fact that I'm holding such a fragile thing as a baby.
'I'll talk to you in the morning?' North asks, looking at Valentina as she simply takes Emiliano from my arms as if she's tying her shoe or something.
For some reason, it just looks natural when she does it.
Valentina nods at her friend, but keeps her eyes on me, 'Let's go back to bed.'
I take her hand and head back to bed, closing every door on our way, and wrap my arms around her as we lay in bed.
'Don't ever leave like that again.' I smile against her neck, enjoying the warmth of her body, and nod, 'Wake me up next time, please?'
'I will.' I whisper before slowly dozing off to sleep.
When I wake up the next morning, I wake up cold and alone, making me panic for a quick second.
I sit up and find a note on my side of the bed, something Valentina wrote.
ʙᴀᴄᴋ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇꜱ, ᴏᴜᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴄᴇʟɪɴᴇ, ʟᴇʀᴏʏ, ɴᴏʀᴛʜ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴡɪɴꜱ, ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀɪᴀ, ᴀɴᴅ ʙʀᴀɴᴅᴏɴ
Last night... I roll my eyes and head to the bathroom to take a quick shower and change.
Just as I head out the bedroom door, someone knocks on it.
When I open the door, I notice Marco standing on the other side.
I still want to lash out at him for last night and maybe I should, but something about him seems off.
'What is it?' I ask as I walk out of the room and he follows me like I got honey on my ass. 'Jayson Nadora said he will be paying a visit to see if Leon is alive for himself.' What?
I stop walking and look at him with a frown. 'What?'
'He doesn't believe Leon's alive and wants to see for himself, they say he's on the way and will be here in less than ten minutes.'
I look at my watch and notice that it's barely ten in the morning, meaning I slept in for once, but why is he coming over this early?
'Does Leon know about this?' He nods and starts walking again when I do. 'He sent me to tell you.' Of course he did...
'Where is he right now?' I ask as I turn around to face Marco entirely. 'Waiting in your office.'
I nod and walk over to my office, finding my cousin seated in one of the chairs across from mine. 'What could he want?'
We both know Nadora doesn't just come by to pay a visit. There must be something he wants.
Marco takes a seat next to Leon and looks at me with a worried look on his face.
'Do we owe him money?' I shake my head and keep my eyes on Marco, 'You said he needed an heir before.'
'Does he want a wife?' Leon asks, looking at Marco and I. 'We think he does, but we're not sure.'
'He should've said something before, we could've-' 'We are not giving him any one of our girls.' I interfere, making Marco shut up about it.
I appreciate his quick thinking, but there's no way I'm sending one of my workers to someone like him.
'So what do we do?' Leon asks instead, freaking out as well.
I hear the front door open and wait to hear who it is. 'We're home!'
It's Victoria.
Her footsteps get closer and closer, until she stops in front of my office and knocks.
'Come in.' She opens the door and smiles at us as a crown made out of flowers sits on her head. 'I'm officially a princess now so you have to do whatever I wish.'
'As if we haven't been that the entire time already, princess.' Leon gets up from his chair and bows down, letting Victoria run into his arms, before he picks her up and turns back to me.
'Tia Leya made me this crown, isn't it pretty?' Tia Leya... Since when did she start calling her Tia?
I shake off the thought and walk into the hall, followed by Marco, Leon, and Victoria.
'Goodmorning!' Everyone is holding a bunch of flowers.
Roses, sunflowers, dahlias, and tulips in a bunch of different colors.
'What's all this?' Marco asks as Brandon shoves a basket filled with flowers into his hands.
'Flowers are good for your mental health, so we picked some from the fields and paid the owner.' North explains, before handing her bouquet to Leon.
I walk over to Valentina and pull her into my arms, squishing the big bouquet of sunflowers. 'These are for you.'
The warm flowers make me frown at her for a second, because she never got me flowers before. I don't think I've ever received flowers from anyone that didn't want something financially from me.
'Thank you, but... You lecture me about disappearing, and then you disappear?' She smiles and quickly kisses me, making me forget about everything going on right now.
'I didn't want to wake you up because you looked so cute.' She smiles as she leans back enough to look at me.
Something warm rushes through me and I can't help but pull her closer, as if we're not already holding onto each other for dear life.
'Don't disappear again.' I say, trying to sound stern, even though it doesn't matter if she leaves again.
I'll find my way back to her. I'll always find her.
'I won't.' She quickly kisses me and brushes her lips against mine, 'We need to talk.'
I frown, wondering what she would want to talk about, 'Everything okay?'
She nods and smiles before giving me another quick kiss, 'It's not that important and we still need to talk, but we'll be fine.'
My mind starts spiraling. It's not that important? What is going on?
She turns towards the others, her back flushed against my chest.
'So what's on the agenda today?' Celine asks, turning to Leon since he'll probably tell them more.
'Well, we were just discussing that...' Leon turns to me, keeping North close to him as he still holds onto Victoria too.
A happy family... Fucking hell...
All this baby shit is making me want kids too, which is insane.
'Nadora is coming over so I need all the women to hide while he's here.' I don't need another Luca situation where I have to fight for one of their lives.
Especially now that everything is going fine.
'Nadora?' 'Jayson Nadora?' I look at my wife, wondering how she knows his full name without ever meeting him before.
At least not that I know of.
'Yes, that one. You guys need to stay in the basement for a while because we have no clue what he wants.' Leon explains while I try figuring out how she knows him.
'You mean that sick fuck who we thought wanted Leya as his new wife?' North says, looking at me. Maybe she told her about it?
'About that...' Valentina steps away from me and turns around to face me. 'Federico Lorence made a deal with Jayson's dad, where he would get her firstborn girl as a bride for his son.' What?
'So you're telling me-' Valentina turns to North and slowly nods. 'Federico Lorence is your father?' Marco asks instead, his eyes wide in disbelief.
No fucking way... Another thing to add to the pile of drama we don't need right now.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket and I look at the notification that popped up:
𝙹𝚊𝚢𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙽𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜.
I take a deep breath and look at Valentina, her eyes locked to mine with a shamed look on her face.
'We'll deal with that part later, get to the basement and stay silent. Lock all the doors and don't come out until Brandon comes to get you, do you understand?'
All the others start heading for the basement, but Valentina stays put.
'I should've told you sooner, I just-' 'Valentina, go to the basement and make sure you guys are safe.' It hurts that she didn't tell me, but right now I just need her out of Jayson's sight.
She moves closer, giving me another kiss, and nods. 'Be careful.'
I nod and watch as she follows the others. I wait for the locks to fall in place, before turning to the living room.
Leonardo and Brandon are talking about this new information about Federico Lorence, while Marco just stares at the door, waiting for someone to knock or ring the bell.
'Fare lo scemo.' I say as I sit down in the chair, close to the fireplace.
'We will, but this is big.' Brandon says, looking at me as he starts pacing around the room, 'Her father sold her before she was born?'
That fucker... I'll kill him for it.
Fuck finding Martin Steel, fuck doing everything else, I'll deal with this first.
I'll kill Federico Lorence for selling his daughter like some cattle. He doesn't deserve to live while we have to deal with his stupid decisions.
'We'll deal with him later, right now we just need to act cool about Nadora being here, clueless even.' Leonardo says, moving to the edge of his seat as he tilts his head at me.
I know he's angry about this as well, but he won't show it. We'll pull this off like we always do and keep Nadora on neutral ground.
'Tell them to let them through.' Marco types away, holding up his phone so that he can still watch the door.
'Does he know you're married?' Brandon asks as he continues to walk around the room, getting on my nerves now as well.
He's moving too much.
'I think that's the exact reason he's here- stop moving around and act normal for once.' Brandon stops walking and looks at me with an emotion I can't place.
Something like fear and annoyance at the same time.
'Let's see what he wants first.' Leonardo says as Brandon walks over to the couch across from him and slowly takes a seat.
The front door opens and Marco looks up, his face as hard as stone as the footsteps approach.
Three different sets echo through the empty hall, before they enter the living room.
Jayson walks in with a smile on his face and lowers his sunglasses to look at me, 'I guess you were expecting me, weren't you?'
I shrug and look at his men, they're both bald and almost as tall as their boss, 'I had no clue until you called my cousin,'
'It was supposed to be a surprise, my friend.' He looks at Brandon, probably waiting for him to get up from the couch, but Brandon stays seated.
'What brings you here, Jayson?' He turns back to me and slowly takes off his glasses, before handing them to one of the bald men.
'I heard about the miracle.' He says as he looks at Leon, who starts smiling at his words. 'I wouldn't call it a miracle.'
'You're alive after allegedly being dead for months!' I almost roll my eyes at his loud tone, and glance at Marco.
His eyes are aimed at the two bald men, as if he's ready to rip them to pieces when they move the wrong way.
'Now personally, I would call it a miracle.' He says as he grins at all of us. Brandon and Leon force a smile on their faces, while Marco and I simply stare at them. Waiting for them to move.
'It would be a pity if he died, wouldn't it?' Jayson asks as he turns back to me. Every hair on my body goes up and I feel my heart stop for a few seconds.
'Is that a threat?' He smiles and walks over to the couch Brandon is sitting on, dropping down right next to Barsetti. 'Make of it what you want, it doesn't matter anyway.'
'I'll ask you again, what brings you here, Jayson?' My patience is running thin and I feel like I'm wasting time by talking to him.
But I know he has friends that I would rather not be enemies of right now.
We're not stable enough to deal with all of that shit and I'm trying to focus on my relationship and making sure everything runs smoothly.
'I came to get my wife.' He says, his tone suddenly way less playful. 'Your wife?'
'The one you married, Rafael.' He tilts his head and places his hand on Brandon's lap, making Brandon stiffen underneath him.
'Don't touch him.' My voice is stern, making him grin as he slowly lifts his hands in the air like I caught him stealing or something. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'
'Your wife is my wife by right, so hand her over.' Breathe in... And out...
'My sister is married to Rafael, how can she be your wife?' Leon asks, leaning forward to look at Nadora. 'Sister-in-law- which doesn't make sense because she's supposed to be my wife.'
'She's not.' Marco says, his voice dark and sinister, almost making me smile.
He's definitely down to kill Nadora.
'Yet.' Nadora chimes, locking eyes with me, 'Not yet.'
'If you came here to claim my wife, I suggest you get out and never return before I kill you, Jayson.'
He chuckles and slowly shakes his head, 'I came to get what's mine by right.'
'She is-' 'I know she's in here and I'll burn down the house if I have to, Rafael.' My palms start getting sweaty as I think about my next move.
The urge to just shoot him is almost winning, but I don't want to risk it.
'She's not here.' Brandon says, trying his hardest not to shake because of Jayson's stare.
He nods and swiftly pulls his gun, pressing it underneath Brandon's chin, 'Don't lie to me.'
The two bald men pull their guns as well, pointing them at Leonardo.
They knew it was going to go down this way. They prepared it all.
'One wrong move and he's dead, Rafael.' I'm not handing her over. There's just no fucking way.
Shooting him will get us killed, maybe now or maybe in a few days because of his dangerous friends.
'What else do you want?' I'm willing to give him anything at this point, 'Money? Hotels? Deals?'
'I want an heir.' I move to the edge of my seat and nod. 'You can get an heir anywhere, you don't need my wife for that.'
'We're meant to be.'
'Just because your dad made a deal with hers, doesn't mean you two are meant to be.'
Marco's target slowly starts glowing red, my hand aching to just kill him on the spot.
'So you do know.' Nadora chimes as he looks back at me.
Marco ruined it all. He let his anger get the best of him and slipt in our ignorant act.
'Tell me what you want instead, it will be yours.' I would sell everything I own for him to drop the act.
He will not take her from me.
'I want an heir.' 'I'll get you a wife, maybe more than one, who will give you heirs.' I state, trying not to let the desperation get the best of me.
'Cataleya-' 'She's my wife and will remain my wife until I die.' Nadora frowns at me and slowly grins at my words, as if he realizes what I'm actually trying to do here.
'Then maybe I should kill you?' I watch as the challenge flashes through his eyes.
He's not the only one with those so-called friends. He'll die if he shoots me, he knows that too.
'You can have it all. Every existing deal and every deal that's bound to happen in the future. All the profit will go to you and you'll be set for life. You can always conceive an heir.
'You would give it all to me.' The deals, the houses, the guns, the drugs... He can have it all.
The hotels are mostly owned by Leon, so they'll be able to keep themselves comfortable too.
I nod and notice that his gun is still pressed against Brandon's chin. 'Lower your gun and I'll sign it all over.'
'Is this really happening?' He asks sarcastically, pushing Brandon off the couch, before he gets up and moves over to me, 'How the mighty have fallen.'
He's not getting Valentina. There's no fucking way.
'The big, bad, scary Rafael Curzio, ready to give it all away for Cataleya Velez.'
'She's a Curzio now.' I say, feeling something rush through me as I get up and look at the man in front of me, 'I protect my family with all I have, including my wife.'
'So let's make something clear,' He chimes, suddenly sounding cheery again, and he starts walking around the room, 'You will give me your entire empire just to keep her?'
I nod and wait for him to take it. He has to take it.
Not even an heir will get him what I'm offering him right now. All the gold, the power, everything goes to him.
'You will get access to all my associates-' 'Even the hotels?' Shit... I hoped he wouldn't want those.
'Some of them.' He frowns again, before quickly glancing at Leon, who's probably looking at me, 'You divided your power, smart move.'
'So we have a deal?' He shakes his head and starts smiling again. 'How do I know you won't come after me?'
'I swear to you-' 'That will not be enough!' He aims his gun at me, making Leon pull his gun as well.
I tilt my head, watching as Jayson's fingers play around the trigger.
I haven't been shot in a long time, but I know it hurts like a bitch.
'What will be enough?' I don't get why I'm negotiating with someone like him, but here I am.
One gun is pointed at me, while two others are pointed toward my brother.
'You.' He lowers his gun and nods to confirm for himself, 'Your associates won't listen to me and neither will your men, so I'll take you hostage and you'll work for me.'
I haven't really worked for someone before. At least not for a long time.
For the rest of my life... Working for Jayson Nadora.
'You'll leave me and my family alone?' His grin grows as he shakes his head, 'You'll be under my roof so I can watch you, but I'll leave the rest alone.'
What?
Never seeing Leon, never wanting to kill Marco, never getting annoyed by Brandon or North, never bickering with Celine again, never seeing... Valentina...
She'll be safe. They'll all be safe.
And Nadora won't kill me. Not unless he has full control of my men.
'Deal.' I can see Leonardo lower his gun in the corner of my eyes, and just pray that he'll keep his mouth shut.
Nadora laughs to himself, before wailing his gun around like it's a toy, and his men join in. They don't sound sincere, more like they're afraid of what might happen if they don't laugh with their boss, and lower their guns as well.
'I actually thought I had to burn down the house and kill everyone who would stop me, but this is way better.'
This might've been the biggest mistake I've made, but I'm not regretting this.
'If you break a rule, they get to kill you.' Nadora nods and places his hand on my shoulder, 'I always keep my end of the bargain, my friend.'
That he does. I know he does, but something feels wrong.
And I don't want it to be the fact that I have to leave my wife. The love of my life...
'We will be waiting outside, you have thirty minutes.' Nadora leaves the room, followed by his men, and we wait until we hear the front door shut.
When it closes behind them, everyone turns to me. 'Are you fucking insane?'
'Go get the girls.' Brandon doesn't say a thing as he rushes to the basement, doing as I ordered him to.
I sigh and drop back into the chair, 'I need you guys to keep a close watch on the girls, make sure none of them, especially Valentina, come after us, okay?'
'Adriano, you're not going.' Leon says as he stares at me in shock. 'We're going to kill him and-' 'We have enough to deal with already, he has friends that we don't want to anger right now.'
'You are not going.' He repeats, a little firmer this time. 'Promise me you'll stop her from doing something crazy.'
I know I asked him before, when they took North, and he didn't keep his promise.
'Adriano, I-' 'Do not let her come after me, Leonardo.' He shakes his head and glares at me, angry that I won't listen to him.
But it's done.
There's no other way around this.
Jayson is waiting for me in front of the house, so even if I was going to try and escape, we wouldn't get far enough on foot.
'Adriano-' I hear a few doors open and meet Celine's panicked gaze. 'You're-' 'It's settled. There's no way around it.'
She reaches for one of the pillows and throws it my way, 'You fucking idiot!'
Marco grabs onto her and tries to keep her away from me, but I let him know that he doesn't have to.
Celine lunges at me, pushing me back as hard as she can. I stumble back and wait for her to calm down, wondering how long it will take.
Because time is ticking. And I don't know what I'm going to say to Valentina.
'You don't think, do you?!' She shouts, making my heart race as I notice North behind her. She's holding one of the twins.
'There has to be another way- maybe we could-' She stops when Valentina appears next to her, she's holding the other twin.
Her eyes are glossy but filled with anger too.
Brandon takes the baby from her arms and moves away from her.
'I'll kill him right now.' She states as if she's waiting for the words. 'I'll shoot him and burn him so that no one can find his whole body ever again.'
'Valentina-' 'You are not going with him, because we'll kill him.' My heart tears at every step I take, but I ignore the pain and reach out to wipe a rolling tear.
She stumbles back and shakes her head, reaching for my gun and turning to the door.
I pull her back and let her fight in the tiny cage I'm forming around her, waiting for her to calm down.
'Let go of me! I'm going to fucking- You piece of shit!' Her legs tremble as she throw herself forward, and I quickly catch her and carry her up the stair, to our bedroom.
I don't want the others to see her like this. And I don't want our last moments to be like this either.
'Put me down!' She slams her fist into my back, trying to break free, but I don't let go of her. No matter how hard she slams her fist into me.
'Please, calm down.' She starts kicking again, but stops when I put her on our bed.
Tears are streaming down her face and I wish I could kiss them all away.
'Tell me this is a joke.' I look at my watch. Because of everything that happened downstairs, we barely have fifteen minutes left.
'I need you to promise me something.' She shakes her head and steps closer, slowly placing her hands on my chest, 'Promise me you'll-' 'No. Stop. Don't do this. You don't have to go, we could just-'
She continues shaking her head as tears roll down her face. I cup her face and wipe them away with my thumb, feeling something shoot through my chest at every sob I hear coming out of her mouth.
'Please, don't go. We just- Everything was just going great and we were- Please, stay. We'll deal with him later. For now, we run and just- I don't fucking know!'
'Valentina.' She tries to shake me off, thinking about every possible outcome, 'Look at me, Valentina.'
Her teary eyes lock with mine and I can't help but tremble at her pain.
She's done. She's exhausted. She got her hopes up on a happy ending, but it's ripping apart in front of her eyes.
'He won't kill me.' She shakes her head, pulling me even closer so that our heads are pressed together. 'You don't know that.'
'He won't gain anything if he kills me, he knows that too.' Her arms wrap around my waist and I can't help but lean into her touch.
'I'll be fine.'
'I won't.' She cries into my chest, making me smile a little. Not because she's in pain, but because she loves me.
It's news to me every time she says it, Igniting a new spark in me.
'You will, everything will be fine.' I whisper into her hair, letting my hand go up and down her back.
It's supposed to be soothing, but it comes off as needy instead.
She leans back and wipes her face, before shaking her head again. 'You can't leave.'
I watch as she walks around the room, like the thoughts in my mind. All over the place and failing at trying to keep her cool.
'Valentina, I-' 'I'm pregnant.' My heart stops beating and I meet her eyes, as fear takes over.
'What?' She slams her hands to her mouth and nods, as if she just said something she wasn't supposed to.
'I- The pill has one percent and I'm- We still needed to talk and I know you don't want kids, but we need to make this decision together. I can't do this alone!'
I stumble forward, dropping to my knees as I look at her stomach.
A baby, something I feared and hated before.
'You...' I look up at her face and see the tears streaming down, 'You're pregnant?'
She nods and tries to get me back on my feet, but the world is spinning. 'I found out this morning and I wanted to tell you when we would return.'
'You're pregnant.' I repeat, letting it sink in.
My wife is pregnant. She's carrying my child.
Our child.
'I need you here to decide what we're going to do, so don't go.' She begs, making me look at her stomach again.
'Keep it.' I whisper breathlessly, feeling like I'm about to faint, 'Take care of it the way you see is fit, but keep it. Please?'
'You want-' 'I want you to have something of me while I'm gone.' I say as I climb back to my feet.
My legs feel weak, but I'm able to stand as I look into her eyes. She shakes her head and steps back. 'I can't do this without you, you-' 'You're stronger than you think.'
The clock is ticking and I pull her into my arms, kissing her for a long time.
She lets me, her tears wetting my face a little, and slowly leans back to look at me. 'Don't do this, please.'
I hate seeing her like this and I want to give in more than anything, but I know she'll survive.
She has to.
'I have to.' I head for the door, hearing her run after me. 'Don't!'
To keep her safe...
She pulls on my shirt, almost ripping it as I continue to walk down the stairs.
To keep her safe...
'Rafael!' She pulls at my arm, my leg, my neck, but I continue walking.
To keep her safe...
'Hold her.' I say, looking at Leonardo as we enter the foyer.
Everyone's there. Everyone's standing there, waiting for me by the door.
He shakes his head and glares at me, hating for making this decision.
I look at Marco and repeat the same thing, 'Hold her.'
He moves closer, trying to peel Valentina off of me. 'Let go yo- He's going to fucking die!'
To keep her safe...
I'm doing this to keep her safe. I'm doing this so that they can move on, so that they can live.
So that my kid can live.
'Rafael, do not take another step away from me!' My hand hovers around the doorknob, but I don't move at her tone.
'Stay with me, please.' I look over my shoulder, noticing that Kai and Brandon had to jump in to keep her away from me.
I want to run over there and take her in my arms, I want to kiss her until I can't breathe, I want to never let go of her again.
But I can't.
'Don't-' I choke, watching as she squirms to break free as if her life depends on it, 'Don't come after me, Valentina.'
To keep her safe...
I turn around and head out the door, hearing them struggle to keep her inside as the door closes.
Five bodies are placed in front of me. Five of my men were killed.
Nadora and his men look at me, waiting for me to make my way to the car, but I stay put.
I need more time with her. I need more time with my wife... And kid...
'Don't even think about it, Curzio.' I look at the person talking and see red.
He ruined my life. He ruined everything.
'Throw him in the car.' Jayson orders.
The two bald men make their way over to me and I don't fight as they carry me toward the van behind them, saving my anger for the moment I'll be able to kill Jayson Nadora for what he did today.
To keep her safe...
Because I will make sure he suffers for what he just put my wife through.
----
A/N: For all of you who wanted Leya to be pregnant... Are you happy?!
So Nadora now has Rio? For how long? Will they go on with their life like Rio wants or will they try and save him and risk dying?
Don't forget to vote and comment on what you liked the most!
What do you think Leya and Rio's baby will be? A boy or a girl or both?
I love you guys so much and I'll see you in the next chapter my loves <3