Hannah sat with Valerio near the counter of her coffee shop, sipping from the lemonade Maria had made her. It was mint and lime flavored, resembling a mojito. It was refreshing, Maria might have a hidden talent after all. It wasn't creating healthy cake and pie options, the woman was a freaking goddess when it came to creating new drinks.
Glancing at Valerio, she noticed he had been staring at her. Raising an eyebrow at him she pressed her lips together to make sure she wouldn't giggle when the older man looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She caught him staring and he had the decency to feel embarrassed about it.
"I've met her." She told Valerio, glancing down at the cold glass she was holding onto, "She is relentless, really. It made me realize that I might have judged Nero a bit too harshly at the time."
"I thought you were friends with her?" Valerio asked confused.
Hannah looked up, narrowing her eyes on the confused looking Valerio, "Are we talking about the same woman here? I'm clearly not on friendly terms with the woman who pretends I'm a fly buzzing around Nero." Hannah scowled, "She would have put her claws in him while I was right there beside him. It seriously pisses me off."
"We're clearly not talking about the same person." Valerio muttered.
"Serena, the brunette who touched your son in all his private places while being in public."
"Who is that?" Valerio frowned, sitting up in his chair, "I thought we were talking about the great Audrey Tower, Nero's best friend and apparently also yours."
"No, Audrey is cool." Hannah put her glass upon the table next to her and slumped back in her chair, "I'm talking about the brunette who came onto Nero months ago. She was one of the reasons why we broke up. We met up again last week, nothing about her changed. She is still a freaking Siren searching for her next pray to bleed dry."
Valerio tried hard not to laugh, she could tell by the way he was puffing out his cheeks. Rolling her eyes at him, she got to her feet and reached for her glass. Walking up to the counter, she got behind it and let Maria take a break while she took over. Valerio got to his feet as well and closed the distance between them, leaning against the counter with his side while he tried to make up for laughing at her by smiling warmly at her.
"Nero is a smart guy, he catches onto things like that pretty quick."
"He drew a clear line between them." Hannah agreed, "But that's not the point, I didn't know there were women like that out there. She showed us once again that the world we're living in isn't all that pretty. We'll do anything to survive, even walking all over innocent people. As long as we're living comfortable it doesn't matter what it takes to get there."
"It's true, there are people out there who live their lives like that." Valerio placed his hand gently upon hers, his smile fading as he got serious for a minute, "But Hannah don't close your eyes to the beauty that is still present. It might not be as clear to our eyes, but I promise it's still out there."
"I know." She whispered, "She just pisses me off." She muttered and knocked back her cold drink, needing it to calm her down, "I'll be fine." She promised Valerio, "I just needed to talk to someone about it or her. Freaking Serena."
"Don't let her get to you." Valerio warned her, "That's what she wants. All you need to do is trust in Nero." She noticed the warmth in Valerio's eyes as he talked about his son, "That boy is complicated and he has lots of issues he's struggling with, but I do know that he cares about you. Last thing he wants to do is hurt you. So have faith."
Grabbing onto his hand with both her hands she held his gaze, "I love you."
He laughed, pulling away from her only to give her head a little pat, "Isn't my daughter the cutest?" He stepped away from the counter and stared at the door, "I need to head out, you two will be alright, Hannah."
Valerio having so much faith in their relationship, their marriage, it meant everything to her. She had an ally who'd always be loyal to her.
"Bye!" She greeted him, watching Valerio leave.
She glanced down at her hand, her eyes fixated on the engagement ring around her finger. She had faith in Nero, she knew as well that he'd never intentionally hurt her. She was sure after Nero drew a clear line between him and that Siren she'd stay out of their lives. There were other things to worry about, like her due date getting a lot closer. The closer it got the scarier the thought of giving birth became. She felt like her heart was beating out of her chest, she needed to get through that. Facing Serena was nothing compared to pushing a baby out of her body. She knew everyone around her told her she'd be okay. She still had doubts though, no words could take that away. She figured the only way for her to be less afraid was to actually go through with it. To see for herself that it wasn't actually that bad. If it was she'd call her mother a liar without regret.
"What are you thinking about?" Maria asked her, "It looks like you're in pain."
"Shut up." Hannah told the smirking girl, "I was just thinking there is no way I'd ever let Nero knock me up again."
Maria laughed, loudly. The remaining customer they had, a student who was typing furiously away at her laptop glancing at them. They both flashed the girl a smile and glanced at each other again.
"Hush now." Hannah whispered to Maria.
"Trust me after you pop this one out, you'll be thinking about having another one."
"Definitely not."
"Sure, sure." Maria laughed quietly.
Hannah pouted, "I'm serious though."
Maria nodded, "I'm sure you are. But then that boy is going to do something which will rock your world and you'll be like, yeah he can definitely put his babies in me."
Embarrassed, Hannah covered her face with her hands, shaking her head at Maria who kept teasing her. She knew Maria was probably right though. Nero had many bad traits, so whenever he did something out of character to prove to her he wasn't all that bad at all it only made his efforts stand out more. Making her love him even more.
***
Hannah watched as Nero whipped them up a quick meal. It was like watching a movie, she was entranced, following his every move. It was one of those moments which he proved to her that there was more to him than meets the eye. She reached for a piece of carrot he just chopped up and nibbled on it.
"No snacking." Nero warned her.
She popped another piece in her mouth and grinned at him, "It's just one piece of carrot."
After cooking the chicken Nero reached for the veggies he cut up like a professional chef and tossed them in the hot pan as well, frying them up together with the chicken. Then he added the egg noodles and sauce and tossed everything around. It was a form of art.
"It smells so good." Hannah whispered.
"It's almost done." Nero reassured her.
Hannah got their drinks ready and headed to the living room. Putting the glasses upon the coffee table in front of the couch, Hannah turned the TV on and decided upon watching a comedy. She needed something to amuse them, making the both of them laugh a little, even though Maria had tired her out by making all the jokes about Nero and his babies. Sitting down she smiled as Nero sat down beside her, handing her plate to her.
"Have you prepared Maria to take over your duties?"
"She'll be okay." Hannah knew the woman would be okay with taking over while she was on maternity leave, "Maria has been taking over a few times already."
"That's true."
"I'm scared though." Hannah admitted to Nero.
She wasn't talking about leaving the coffee shop for a while and Nero caught on. It was like Valerio mentioned, his son did catch onto things pretty quick. He was a smart boy after all.
"I know." He quietly told her, "But I'll be right there with you, Hannah."
"We'll be okay?"
She knew when the time came he couldn't do much for her other than just being there, but that was all she wanted. She wanted him by her side, watching over her and their little miracle. It would give her the courage she needed to actually go through with it all.
He glanced at her, a small smile spreading across his face, "We'll be okay, I promise."
They finished dinner together and watched the comedy till the end without her falling asleep. Nero actually went to bed with her at the same time and not getting some work done while she slept. She figured he wanted to stay beside her because she admitted to him she was nervous about actually giving birth. He worried about her. As they laid beside each other Hannah leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Night." She whispered.
He glanced at her, "Night."
While he gently held her she drifted away, feeling slightly less nervous about what was awaiting them in the near future. She actually trusted in him, they would be okay. She'd be okay.
***
Four weeks later Hannah gave birth to their baby girl, Emilia D'Amore. It took longer than Hannah anticipated and it actually hurt, it wasn't like the pain magically disappeared like her mother told her. Lies, they were all lies. She did understand when she was holding Emilia what her mother actually meant by it.
The little girl was sleeping, making little sounds which made Hannah's heart melt. She watched as Nero paced back and forth in her private room, talking to someone at the hotel. An emergency occurred, but Nero refused to leave her side.
Their parents had left a few minutes ago to give them some time to themselves. Emilia was being spoiled and she wasn't even a day old yet. Hannah watched as Nero ended the call, looking frustrated. He let out a tired sigh, covering his eyes with his hand. Smiling Hannah glanced down at the little girl in her arms. She figured if someone could cheer up Nero it was Emilia.
"You want to hold her?"
Nero dropped his hand and glanced at her, "It's your turn. Dad and Lillian claimed her pretty much the minute you pushed her out." Hannah quietly laughed at that, shaking her head at her husband, "You need anything?" He asked, moving to her bed and poured her a glass of water.
"You've done enough."
Nero gave her a look, "I haven't done anything."
"You were here and you're still here, that's enough."
He narrowed his hazel eyes dangerously on her, "It's really not, Hannah." He sighed once again, his eyes shifting to the little girl she was holding, "I say one is more than enough, right?"
"Right." Hannah agreed, remembering she pretty much had the same conversation with Maria the other day, "According to Maria I'll be begging you to put your babies in me."
Nero snorted, "Does Maria have any kids?"
"No." She told him hesitantly.
"Then she doesn't know what she's talking about. We'll talk babies when she pushes a watermelon out of her vagina."
Hannah couldn't keep her laughter down, giving her husband a playful slap against the arm. When Emilia stirred Nero took his daughter in his arms, hushed her quietly and put her in the little crib beside her bed.
"You're horrible." Hannah told her husband playfully.
"What you went through wasn't exactly pretty." Nero reached for the glass of water he poured her and helped her drink a bit of water, "Besides you are an only child and you grew up fine. Those old wife talks about only children being selfish little brats are just that. If we raise Emilia properly she won't end up like a little brat."
She agreed, laying back against the fluffy big pillow and closing her eyes for a bit, "But let's not make big life decisions right now. I'm going to rest my eyes for a little while."
He chuckled at that, "Just go to sleep, Hannah. I'll be right here."
Smiling she did what she was told and drifted away knowing Nero wasn't going anywhere. Another moment where he proved to her that he wasn't actually all that bad at all.