--Dahlia POV--
"Let me help you with that," I attempted to take the laundry basket from her hands, but unlike how she would usually let me take it, she quickly swerved away with an amused laugh.
"Why?" Is all I asked, following her to the large garden.
"With that man watching over you in the way that he is, I'd feel like a villain if I let you help me," She didn't need to specify which man she was talking about, since there's only one staying under the same roof as us, but as she said, I turned to look behind me where he was sat under the canopy, drinking his iced latte, eyes pinned on my every move.
"So... Why did you lie about not knowing each other?" Margot asked, changing the subject as she put the basket down to start putting the washing up.
"I wanted to pull your leg. You're always the one pulling pranks on me, so I figured it was my chance to do the same to you," I quickly produced an excuse, hoping she'd believe it.
"Well, one thing's for sure..." She paused to spare me a smile.
"And what's that?" I crossed my arms with a raised brow.
"Your child is going to be adorable. Whether it takes after you or the father," I couldn't help but laugh, shrugging my shoulders since it wasn't exactly a lie, and without further ado, I started helping her with the laundry.
"I'm glad... That I didn't give up." I uttered out, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath of air, the floral scent of the laundry detergent mixed with the clean Roman air calming me.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes... With nothing to live for, I found no reason to keep trying so hard. But being here has helped me find a peace I didn't know existed. Meeting you, the kids, and all the nice people from the village has made me feel like I'm at a home away from home, so I'm thankful. Turns out, all I really needed to do to get rid of the pressure weighing me down was to explore the hidden wonders of the world a little bit; A place where people don't know anything about Dahlia Tarantino the figure skater, but just Dahlia."
"I'm happy for you, dear. But, you know, I don't really have anything to live for either..."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused all of a sudden.
"You'll be surprised to know that a lot of people in this world don't have anything to live for," She gave me a knowing look, the smile unmoving from her lips.
"Really?"
"Yes. I don't think you need something to live for. You can find peace, and happiness, just like everyone else without needing something to live for; All you need to do is open your eyes a little wider and take in the beauty that is here for you to explore," She gestured around herself.
"The world is vast and beautiful, take in that beauty that's here for you instead of searching for something complicated to live for. You're living, aren't you? Is that not enough? Your life is yours, and yours alone, nothing can change that."
A few simple words that she spoke without much thought was all it took for me to see this world in a new light. A complicated sight that was never meant to be so complicated, I felt so silly all of a sudden; It was so simple.
"You-" I had to cut myself off, repeating her words in my mind as an unknown weight was lifted off my shoulders, and with a smile on my face, I leaned in to hug her tightly.
"I'm glad I came here and got to meet you, Margot," Humming, she hugged me back, her hand stroking the back of my head in a motherly manner.
"I'm glad you came here, and I got to meet you too, dearest Dahlia,"
With that, we finished hanging the washing up together, and she returned inside the house as I went to sit beside Marcos on the outdoor couch. He was busy at work, tapping away on the iPad in his hands, pausing to take a sip of his iced coffee every now and then.
"You done with the laundry? I told you not to strain your body, the first trimester is the most important one for pregnant women," He said, too busy with his work to spare me a glance, but the over-protective worry was evident in his voice.
"I'm not straining anything when it comes to hanging a few clothes on the washing line," I got comfortable as I spoke, picking up the book I had been reading before off the coffee table to continue where I had left off.
"And if you've got a problem, then you should have offered to help like the gentleman that everyone claims you to be," I added on.
"Oh, I would have loved to. Until I realised that on the condition of me coming here, I would have to still do as much work as I could on this little, annoying, digital device unless I want that stubborn little secretary, Carlos, of mine to personally come and drag me back to Rome by the ear, which I can't afford to let him do as long as you're here." He glared at the iPad, picking his head up a moment later to look at me, the glare that was on his face a second ago completely gone as if I had hallucinated it up a second ago.
"I understand." Is all I managed to say as I silently went back to reading my book as he did the same with the work on his iPad.
"Hey, Marcos..." I finished the Chapter I was reading before speaking again, and he was more than happy to comply, turning his iPad off and setting it aside to give me all his attention.
"Yes, Dahlia?"
"Why do you love me?" I curiously asked, meaning no bad intent with the words but just genuinely wanting to know what it was that he saw in me that was worth loving. And who knows, maybe it would help me on this self-love journey I'm going on right now?
He wasn't surprised by the question, instead, he looked as though he'd been waiting to hear it for some time as a soft smile enveloped his features, and he got comfortable beside me, perching his arm up to rest his cheek on.
"How can I not? You're one of the strongest people I've ever had the luxury of meeting, and I've met a lot of people in my life, so you know it's genuine,"
"Strong? Who? Me?" He nodded.
"You underestimate just how strong and brave of a person you are. Not anyone can go through what you have and be able to find their smile again; I'm not going to lie, I was worried that I'd never get to see you smile again, but I'm glad my worries were put to rest."
"I've not found it yet, I'm still looking..." At least, I think so?
"I love you for who you are, who you used to be, and whomsoever you'll become. Whether you're a figure skater with millions of fans across the globe, a scared young woman trying to find something to live for, or a dreaming woman trying to figure out motherhood, I would like to stand by all of her sides, holding her hand, and kissing her worries away."
Silently, he picked me up to sit me down on his lap.
"I love this Dahlia Tarantino, all versions of her. Including the one that had a high school crush on me. And finally, I took my time, but I can tell that girl that I love her too." My breath hitched as he laughed, kissing my nose.
"I love you." Those words have never sounded so beautiful to me as they do now.
"You... Are such a poet."
"I'm not going to lie, I didn't come up with those words on the spot," He shrugged with not a hint of embarrassment, and that only caused me to laugh aloud.
A laugh so true that I almost cried, tilting my head back as my stomach tickled with the sound of his heart-warming words, I laughed in his arms. And he laughed with me.
"Alright, your turn." He asked a while later.
"What?" I blinked.
"Give and take. I told you what I love about you, it's your turn to do the same for me." Furrowing my brows at his logic, I couldn't say no to him when he had that waiting look on his face.
"I don't know. I just love you." I spoke, too embarrassed to say any sappy words like he did.
"Come on, I'm sure you can do better than that," He nudged me to do better, and I sighed, glaring at him while grumbling the better answer under my breath.
"You're just... Someone that sees my scarred self but embraces it and calls it beauty... Margot told me that we don't need a reason to live, we just enjoy the little things in life, and I love you because you're able to help me see those little beauties in life... Whatever sadness I've overcome in my life, I was able to do so because you were watching over me... Both metaphorically and literally," I laughed at that last part as he rolled his eyes.
But my answer seemed to please him as he smiled, resting his forehead against mine with his eyes closed, breathing in our scent.
"This village is like a home away from home for me." I whispered.
"Yeah?" He hummed.
"But my home is you. No matter where you are."
Opening his eyes, he was surprised to hear my words, but quickly, the largest, happiest grin overcame his face as he pulled me tighter to his body, peppering my face with kisses.
"As are you. My home, it's you, it always will be." Grinning, I coiled my arms around his shoulders, leaning back to get a clear view of his face as I stroked his cheek like he always did mine, and leaned in, kissing his lips.
"I also forgot to mention that I love your face. This adorable face with these chubby cheeks, pouty lips, and button nose," He broke the kiss to add, pinching my cheeks as he did before leaning in to catch the said lips with his again.
"I also love your body, it's so cute, and fits perfectly with mine."
"I get it," Laughing, I pulled him in again for another kiss before he could keep talking.
"Oh yeah, and your laugh, and smile, and how you quietly snore when you sleep, and how you love to be organised, and get embarassed easily, and how you look when you wear my clothes, and how you can't handle spice, and how you get this crinkle whenever you're annoyed- Like now-" His thumb stroked over the said crinkle between my brows.
"What? You asked me what I love about you, I'm just telling you."
"I don't want to hear it anymore,"
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, I'll keep kissing you now," Chuckling, he found my cheeks again, leaning down to kiss me once more, and this time, he didn't cut it short.
We lounged around in the garden for a while after that, simply enjoying each other's company as the sun shone as brightly as it was until the sound of familiar little feet approached us.
"Dahlia! We're here! What are we going to do today!?" Dario's voice appeared before he did, and Lila's followed not a moment later with Nico lagging behind them as I crouched down for a hug from all three of them at once.
"How about we follow Pablo today?" I suggested.
"Pablo? The fisherman?" Lila asked as I nodded.
"He gets lonely having to go fishing by himself, but we could change that, right? And if I recall correctly, one of you is a brilliant fisherman," I raised an amused brow as I spoke.
"It was me, I'm the brilliant fisherman," Lila raised a proud hand in the air.
"Don't be silly, it was obviously me," Dario scoffed.
"Me too, I'm a fish too!" Nico chimed in with his laughter.
"We'll go and find out ourselves, you three go and get Jose, he should be finishing up with his homework in his room. I'll follow you along in a moment," They nodded before, once again, racing off without wasting a moments breath.
"Yesterday was the beach, today's fishing, what's tomorrow?" Marcos casually asked as I stood up straight once more, turning to look at him.
"Tomorrow, I'm thinking of making plans to return home."
"What?"
"It'll take the rest of the week to get everything sorted. All my luggage, and saying goodbye to everyone... But I think it's about time to end this little vacation of mine."
"Really?" He stood up straight, shocked.
"There are things I still need to do back in Rome. I left without any prior notice, so people are probably really confused. I have an interview, my last one, about my figure skating career, I need to get my retirement money which will set me for the rest of my life, and I need to talk to Daniel too, I might become a coach like him now that I can't be the figure skater-"
"Dahlia... This isn't because I'm here, right? I don't want my presence to overwhelm you, I just want to support you. Take as much time as you need here, don't rush yourself,"
"I'm not. Don't worry. And... You promised." I took his hand as his gaze shifted to look at our intertwined hands.
"Promised what?"
"You'll be with me for the rest of my life."
He looked surprised, but nevertheless, he nodded his head.
"Then that's enough, I'll be okay... Besides, I miss my dads', and Isaac too, I also have to find my mother and have a go at her for ruining my career-"
"-What?" He cut me off, even more surprised now.
"What?" I echoed.
"Your mother?"
"Yes. You think I should let her go scat free after what she's done to me?" I raised a confused brow, wondering if that's truly what I should do.
"...No, but are you sure you'll be alright?" He asked.
"You'll be by my side. Just like you were last time. So yes, I will be alright," I assured. And yes, I was sure, now more than ever before.
He breathed in a deep sigh, closing his eyes and taking a moment before reopening them and smiling at me, tightening his grip on my hands as he did.
"Okay then."
"Great. Also... what do you think of marriage?"
"What?" And his confusion was back.
"I was thinking about it for some time now. I love you, and I love this child that I'll be giving birth to, and I know that cohabitation is a thing, but I'm not sure if it's meant for me. Just like most other girls out there, I too want a day to celebrate our love, a wedding day."
"...Really?" He asked as I smiled, nodding my head, and pulling him down by the arm to peck his lips.
"So, I was thinking..."
"...You were thinking?" He urged me on.
"Will you marry me, Marcos?"
...