OMNISCIENT
Since it was December, last month of the year and also the month of Christmas, the ambience around the city had changed. There was lightning everywhere, shops for Christmas and New year's shopping had also been set up. Basically the environment around was filled with festive joy.
This year for the first time in years, Maya had someone, her mother, with whom she could celebrate Christmas. Every year she'd either work during Christmas times as well, or Bianca/Amanda would have to force her to come to their place to celebrate. Maya being Maya, thought she was being an interruption in what should be a family get together. But not this year, this year she would be able to celebrate Christmas with her family.
"I overheard Michelle saying she saw a hot greek god like man this afternoon." Bianca stated. "And then cut to Amanda who told me how she saw a very familiar man going inside the hospital."
Maya knew that the news of Massimo's arrival at the hospital would be out soon, especially since he had made a scene at the OPD. No wonder half of the hospital was already talking about how Maya had taken him by his hand, and then the two had gone inside the room and had stayed there for a while, doing God knows what.
Maya had returned back to the OPD, Sam had given her knowing looks and smirks all the while. Once they had been done with their shifts, Sam had asked Maya about Massimo, about what had taken her so long with him. Maya had only told her that he was just someone she knew. Sam had looked like she wanted to ask some more, but then she didn't because no matter how outspoken/bold Sam was, the girl knew her boundaries.
Coming to present time, Maya was with Bianca. Both of them were ready to call it a day. Amanda had gone earlier since she had taken half a day off because she had a date with her boyfriend, Mason.
"I made it clear to him, not to disturb me again during working hours." Maya said, sighing to herself.
"You think he'd listen?" Bianca asked with a raised eyebrow. "By the way, I had a call from Hana the other day-" Bianca then said, taking Maya's complete attention. "Uh Enzo also called, they were asking about you."
Maya felt so bad for dragging them in her mess. Both Hana and Enzo had been nothing but nice to her. They only wanted her well-being and Maya couldn't even talk to them. She felt like a bitch on treating them like that.
Her not talking to them had been because of Massimo, but now since he was already here, there was no reason she shouldn't be talking to them anymore. Maya made a mental note to call them later and apologize for her behavior.
***
Massimo saw Maya getting in her car, as she waved at her friend who went in her own car and then they parted ways out of the hospital's parking lot.
Every day ever since Massimo had landed in California, he had been keeping an eye on Maya, not that he had anything else to do since his only motive to come here was to win Maya back.
After that Friday at her apartment, Massimo had tried to talk to Maya and he did get a few chances as well, but she wouldn't listen to him for too long. And so Massimo would try his best to get any chance to talk with her. Just like how he had done today at the hospital. Though instead of talking they had done something else. Not like he was complaining or anything, since he had been dying to feel her lips against his anyway. But it would've been even better if he had gotten a chance to talk to her as well.
Massimo saw Maya's car making its way out on the road. He knew she was a smart, independent woman, but the thought of her driving a car in such speed during such condition, it was making him a little mad. According to him, she shouldn't even be working, she should just stay inside, rest and relax. He might sound like a possessive caveman, but he didn't care. What he knew was that he cared a lot for Maya and he definitely had started to care a lot more for his unborn baby as well.
Massimo turned on the engine of his car and then he was on the road as well, his car following behind Maya's car. He didn't know if Maya had noticed him yet or not, but he had been following her from home to work and from work to home, making sure that she was safely reaching her destination.
Massimo saw Maya's car slowing down. As he looked at the front he saw no red signal, then why did she slow down the car, he thought to himself. Massimo slowed down his car as well, waiting to see why she did it and as he looked in her direction, he saw Maya approaching a woman who was carrying a boy in her one arm. In her other arm, the woman was carrying some balloons and roses, she probably was selling them. Her condition looked poor to Massimo given how the woman only had a thin cardigan over her body, while the kid had a sweater with holes on arms and shoulders.
Massimo saw how Maya had brought the car to the side, so as to not create any traffic behind. Massimo did the same. He saw Maya coming out of the car, a smile on her face as she said something to them. She then gently caressed the cheek of the little boy, who only looked at her with hesitant eyes but did smile at her anyway.
Maya then said something more to the woman, and then reached inside her wallet and handed her what Massimo could guess was probably money. With yet another smile on their way, Maya took a balloon from the woman and after giving a last gentle caress to the little boy's cheek, Maya got inside her car, waved at them and then she was back on the road.
Massimo looked around, noticing how no one was giving any importance to the poor woman. Forget about importance, they weren't even glancing her way. Though a man did glance her way but only to tell her to get away from his path. But other than that it was like she and her little boy didn't even exist for the people.
And yet Maya managed to not only notice the woman but she also stopped by and bought a balloon from her. A balloon that she probably had no use of, but she did buy it anyway because she was just so damn selfless, and a wonderful woman Massimo had ever met or would ever meet in his life!
Massimo couldn't be more prouder to call this woman his. He felt so unworthy because there was no way he'd ever be able to be like her, but he also felt so fortunate because he got to have Maya. That wonderful woman was his!
Not wasting any time, Massimo got out of his car while he dialled Nicolas' (the man who was his assigned driver here in The US) number and then told him what he needed to do.
"Si capo." Was all Nicolas said in return. He didn't show any surprise nor did he question as to why his capo wanted him to come right now at the given place, take this poor woman and her kid to a mall first to buy some new clothes, then bring them some food and then later provide her with a generous amount of money.
(Yes boss)
Putting his phone back, Massimo made his way towards that woman. He tried not to look intimidating, because the last thing he needed was to scare away the poor woman and his kid.
"How much for these Roses?" He asked, trying his best not to sound too hard.
The woman obviously wasn't expecting a man like Massimo to approach her. To her he looked quite rich, who could easily get flowers from some big shop. Not someone who'd approach a poor roadside seller like her.
But since he was already there asking for the roses, the woman gave a small smile to Massimo before replying, "A single rose is for $1."
"And for all of them?" Massimo asked.
The woman looked up at him in surprise. "You want to buy all of them?" She asked looking down at all the roses she was carrying. They had to be around 100 something roses, that she had been carrying with her since yesterday but had managed to sell only 10 something so far.
"Yes, all of them." Massimo exclaimed.
The woman had to do quick math. "Uh it should be around $100 but since you're taking them all $80 would be fine."
Massimo nodded at her and then reached inside his pocket to bring out his wallet, while the woman began to tie all the roses together as much as she could. It took her a few minutes but she managed to beautifully tie them all in a bunch, making it look like a bouquet.
She handed it to Massimo who in turn handed her the $100 bill.
The woman was about to give him the change when he said, "It's alright, keep the change."
Before she could reply with something, Massimo was already going back towards his car with the bouquet of roses in his hands.
He needed to deliver these roses somewhere after all.
***
Maya groaned in satisfaction as her body hit the bed. After coming home from work, Maya had changed into her comfy pyjamas and was now all ready to just get a quick nap before the dinner. Since it was only 6 pm yet, there were still a few hours left until dinner time.
She pulled the comforter over her body, the warmth it was providing, making her sigh in contentment. Having a warm comforter around you on your bed, especially in winters, it was a blissful feeling for Maya.
Her eyes were about to get closed to get a much needed nap, when the doorbell of her apartment rang, making her groan in annoyance. But then she remembered her mother was out in the living room, so she'd see who was at the door. With that thought, Maya closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Sophia was sitting on the couch, watching something on the T.V when the door bell rang. She stood up immediately as she didn't want Maya to get distrub from the sound of it.
This time she looked through the peephole first and as she did her eyes first fell on the bouquet of roses, following by the masculine hands carrying them.
When she saw who it was she contemplated whether to open the door or not. Last time when she had, Maya had finally found out about the truth but she had also been very upset. Sophia knew her daughter still very much loved the man, but she might not be ready to forgive him yet.
Since Maya was inside her room, probably already deep in her sleep, Sophia decided to open the door and see what he wanted. Also, there was no way that she could've treated him any badly after what all he had done for her and her daughter.
So, unlocking the door, Sophia opened it. As expected Massimo's eyes first fell on her and when he noticed that it wasn't Maya, his eyes then fell behind her, searching for the one his eyes had been looking for.
"She is in her room, resting." Sophia exclaimed, stepping aside a little so that he could come inside if he wanted to.
But Massimo didn't move from his position and instead brought the bouquet of roses towards Sophia. "I'm not coming in." He said. "Just uh, take these." He gestured towards the roses. Massimo had expected Maya to open the door so that he could give those roses to her by himself. But then again Maya probably wouldn't have accepted them unlike her mother, who carefully took the bouquet from him.
Taking the beautiful bouquet of roses, Sophia smiled up at him. "You don't want to come in?" She asked.
"No." Massimo replied. "Just...give these roses to her."
"I will." She replied.
Giving one last look inside, Massimo nodded at Sophia and then left from there.
***
Maya yawned as she woke up from her nap. Sitting up straight as she grogilly rubbed her eyes, she saw a beautiful bouquet of red roses placed on the chair in her room.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Maya wondered from where these roses came. She was sure they weren't there before.
Pulling away the comforter from her body, Maya got up from the bed and walked towards the bouquet of roses. She took them in her hands and brought them to her nose, her senses got filled with the floral smell of roses, making her smile to herself.
She assessed the bouquet, to check if any card was placed, and as she did that she surely did find a card. Taking the card out, she put the roses back on the chair.
"I am sorry mio amore.....Please forgive me this time.....Give me one last chance....I promise to never hurt you again like that ever...."
Maya didn't have to check for the name to know from whom it was. After all there was only one man who called her mio amore.
Sighing, Maya put the card aside and took the roses again in her hands. She had no idea that a man like him could also be so thoughtful.
If someone had told her months ago that Massimo would send her roses while asking for her forgiveness, there was no way Maya would've believed them.
And there he was sending her not one but so many roses. The weird thing was Maya had seen roses on her way back home. The poor lady from whom Maya had bought the ballon, she had been selling roses as well. Maya had wanted to buy one but then she had changed her mind and had gotten a balloon instead.
Well, apparently Maya did get roses after all and not one but so many!
It was after dinner time, neither Maya nor did her mother had talked about the bouquet of roses that were inside Maya's room. Currently, Maya was on her bed, wondering if she was forgetting anything to do before finally calling it a night, and only then her mind reminded her of the fact that she needed to call Enzo.
***
Maya shouldn't be surprised, after all it was Enzo she had just talked to. When she had dialed his number, only after two rings had he immediately answered her call, making her feel even worse for taking this long to call him. Before she could've even said something, Enzo had bombarded her with so many things, ranging from how she had been doing, if she was fine and then he had almost screamed through the phone while he had been congratulating her for being pregnant.
At one point his voice had gotten low, it was evident from his tone that he had been very worried and upset because of Maya. She had almost cried but then he'd said something different making her cackle.
"I just cannot imagine Massimo changing baby diapers." Enzo had said.
"He thinks being a capo is too much...just wait until he becomes a dad." He had also added.
Maya had felt so good after finally speaking with Enzo. It felt like as if something heavy had been lifted off her chest and now she could fully breath.
She had wanted to talk to Hana as well, but Enzo had told her that she had recently went to solo trip to a place where network was a big issue. And so Maya had to wait until Hana got back.
Enzo had also told her about how Martha and Gabrielle had been missing her as well ever since she had left from Italy. He had joked about how they still didn't use peanut in the kitchen because of Maya being allergic to them.
At the end of the call, Maya had apologized for avoiding them, especially him, her zozo. She had promised to stay in touch and had asked for him to visit her if possible. To this he had given the following reply, "Oh I'd love to visit you tesoro, but we all are waiting for you here."
"I'm not sure if I'd be coming to Italy again anytime soon." Maya had exclaimed.
"Oh you will tesoro. You soon will..."
***
Maya looked at herself in the mirror with a pout. Since her belly had started to grow, all her clothes had started to get a little tight on her as well. For instance, this sweater that she loved wearing in winters wouldn't come past her tummy. It was already a size smaller but Maya would've managed to get it on in the past, but not anymore.
"Looks like you need to do some shopping for extra large clothes." Bianca said, looking at Maya.
Currently they all were in Maya's bedroom, Bianca, Maya and Amanda. Since it was Christmas in four days, they all decided to go out and do some shopping, buy some gifts etc.
Sighing, Maya pulled the sweater off her body and instead wore a high neck sweater along with warm leggings. She then wrapped herself in a trenchcoat.
Maya noticed how Amanda hadn't said much ever since both her and Bianca had stopped by her house.
"Hey Amanda, what do you think about this look?" Maya asked, looking at her friend through mirror. As suspected, Amanda didn't hear Maya at first and only looked at her when Bianca elbowed her lightly.
"Huh sorry, you were saying something?" Amanda asked, getting out of her deep thoughts.
Maya's suspicion got clear and she gave her friend a concerned look. "Is everything alright Am?" She asked. "You've been looking a little lost ever since you two arrived."
Amanda looked at Bianca who was also looking at her as if she was trying to read her. Maya had suspected right. There was surely something wrong, but Amanda didn't know how to say it.
"Um, it's not like that." She replied, looking away from her friends.
Bianca then put her hand on hers and said, "Don't lie. Even I can tell that something is there that's troubling you."
"Ya, just tell us what's wrong Am." Maya exclaimed, forgetting about her clothes and sat down with her friends on the bed.
Sighing, Amanda bit down on her bottom lip, trying her best not to cry while saying so.
"I-I think Mason is, I think he is c-cheating on me."
Both Maya and Bianca looked at Amanda with furrowed eyebrows. "What?" Bianca was the one to speak first. "But why?" She then added, "Have you seen him with someone or....?"
"No, I haven't seen seen him with someone like that, but-" Amanda began. "But after our date the other day, he wanted me to go to his place and so we went there." Both Maya and Bianca were closely listening to her. "We spent good time together, he seemed very happy as well, but then he, he wanted to..." Amanda paused before continuing, "It started with just normal kissing and then to a make out session. It didn't feel like other times because he was, I don't know kind of a little too rough."
Amanda stopped again, looking at her friends faces before continuing again. "I mean we've done making out a lot of times but we still haven't done that." She looked again to see if that information made any changes in their expressions, but it didn't. "It's not like I'm a virgin or anything. You guys know that. It's just that I don't feel like I'm ready to take that step in our relationship yet." Amanda hoped it didn't make her sound stupid.
"Fair enough." Maya agreed, making Amanda sigh inwardly. "Doesn't matter how long it's been or how close you two have gotten, if you still don't want to take that step, it's your choice."
"Ya. I mean as far as I know, I personally wouldn't stop that long unlike you, but it's your choice and so I respect that." Bianca said. "And I hope Mason does too."
On hearing the last part, Amanda's face fell. "That's the problem because he doesn't." She then said. "So as I was saying, Mason that day at his house didn't feel the same. He wanted to take it to another step while I didn't." She continued. "I tried to make him understand, but he wasn't ready to listen and simply asked me to leave if I didn't feel to do that with him."
"I felt so bad." Amanda looked down at her hands, "I asked him if we could just cuddle and spend the night together and he, he said he couldn't because he had something important to do."
"What an asshole! If he had something important to do then why did he invite you there? Bullshit! He didn't have shit to do." Bianca scoffed. "Just because he didn't get what he wanted, he was throwing tantrums like a baby."
"But what made you think he's cheating on you?" Maya had no idea that someone like Mason could've behaved like that.
"After that day we haven't spoken much. I've tried to call him, text him several times but each time he'd give me some excuses." Amanda replied. "Then the other day, I'd had enough and so I decided to approach him in the hospital. I had found out that he was doing a surgery and so I patiently waited for him after my shift ended." Both Bianca and Maya waited for what was to come next. "I was in the parking lot when I saw him, I was about to go near him when I spotted someone else with him. I don't know why but I thought to keep an eye from afar and so I hid behind another car." She paused before continuing, "And then I saw him walking towards his car with this woman, I think Trisha is her name, she's recently joined as a cardiologist." Amanda couldn't help but to think back to how Mason had been laughing with that Trisha and how she had been giggling with him. "The way they both were laughing together and the way she was leaning towards him, I felt so uncomfortable."
"But I still gave him benefit of doubt and decided to call him." Amanda still remembered the way he had answered her call. "I called him and saw how he stopped a little to see who was calling. His laughter even ceased when he saw who was calling but he picked my call nonetheless."
"I asked him how he was to which he replied with a Fine. That's it. He didn't even ask how I was doing. Then I asked him where he was and if we could go out tonight."
"He very rudely replied that he just got out after doing a surgery and I wanted to go out etc etc..." It was the first time Mason had talked to her in such a way and so she was a little shocked.
"Before I could say something else, he ended the call. I looked at him from the distance and saw that woman saying something to him to which he said something back and then he....he put his hand on her back and guided her towards his car. They got inside and took off, all the while I was standing there and wondering what the hell just happened?!"
"That's it. I'm going to castrate him." Yup it was Bianca.
"What the fuck is wrong with these men!?" She then said. "Why are they hurting my two best friends like that?!"
"Did you confront him?" Maya asked. She felt bad for Amanda, she could clearly empathize with her after all she had been in her position once. Though it had turned out to be not true, but still she could understand what her friend must've been going through.
"He doesn't talk much over call and he's always busy in the hospital." Amanda replied with dejection.
"Then approach him while he's working. The asshole owes you an explanation as to what the fuck is wrong with him?!" Bianca didn't like when someone cheated or insinuated anything closely related to cheating.
"I found out from Chad that they all have planned to go to the club downtown tomorrow." Chad was the nurse that usually worked with Mason in his surgeries.
"And guess who else is going?" Amanda had no personal problem with Trisha but the entire hospital knew about Mason and Amanda being a thing, and surely Trisha also probably knew. So then why did she have to put her claws on Mason. But then again, it was Mason who should've been the responsible one.
"I don't know about others but we all surely are going to the club tomorrow." Bianca announced with a sly smirk on her face.
***
"While following them today, I found out that they're planning on going to the club downtown tomorrow." Just like in the past, Nicolas gave this information about Maya and her friends going to the club, to his capo.
Looks like it's time for some more Deja Vu...
*********
A/N: Hi guys! Belated Merry Christmas🌲✨
So, my exams are finally over and now I've all the time to write and update new chapters!😄 (Until I get busy with my new job)
I'm sorry in advance if this chapter wasn't good enough in terms of where Massimo and Maya's relationship is going. Also, a little something about Amanda's life is important for future reference (maybe a book of hers 😉).
Lol I thought I'd be able to finish the book within 100 chapters😅 Guess I was wrong hehe 🤭
Do tell what you guys think about this chapter or overall book so far.
Apologies for errors or any grammatical mistake.
Do VOTE!⭐
Thank you💕
All the love
~G🤗