Val's POV
Luca and I say our goodbye's which were emotional for me because it was possible he was going to be in Russia for four months at the most. That'd mean we'd have to stay in America for as long as he was in Russia. My heart absolutely broke. "But that means you might miss the birth of the twins," I say at the airport. He looks me dead in the eyes. "I don't care what I'm doing, I will be by your side holding your hand during their birth. I promise." It made me a tiny bit happy. Not much. I still had things I was upset about. Like I want the twins to be born in Venice. Not Ohio.
He pulls me into his chest, and I lay my head down, and try to get the tears to stop. They slowly stop, leaving my eyes red and puffy. He cups my face and forces me to look into his eyes. "Hey, I promise to be safe. I promise to be there for the birth of our children. I promise to come back to you. I'm going to try my best to come home in less than four months, I love you princess. See you soon." He says kissing my forehead, making me melt in his embrace. He walks away. "I love you too," I say quietly. Stella put her hand on my shoulder, signaling me it was time for our flight.
By the time we made it to our plane, we were almost late. Luca paid for us to have first class seats. I didn't complain. Somehow me, Stella, Violet, and Roberto got to sit by each other. I was grateful for this. It was about an eleven-hour flight. I decided to sleep the entire time. God knows I needed it. But I'm not really counting on it because one, Luca wasn't here and wrapped around me, and two, have you ever tried to sleep on a plane? And I was pregnant. Almost impossible unless you were desperate. And I was. I prayed that I could sleep. Vi rubbed her hand on my shoulder.
"I'm right here. You can sleep, love. I'll protect you." I almost start to cry, but I don't. This was one of the reasons why I loved Violet so much. She always told me the things I needed to hear most. "Thank you, Vi, it means a lot." She nods. I lean back in my seat since we were in the fancy part of the plane. I get my pillow and toss and turn until finally, sleep takes over.
"WILL ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE FASTEN THEIR SEAT BELT AT THIS TIME. WE HAVE ARRIVED IN OHIO, UNITED STATES. THE PLANE WILL BE LANDING IN FIVE MINUTES." A voice says over the intercom. The cheers of the people around me wake me up. I probably look like a hot mess right now, but it doesn't matter. I cannot wait to see my nonni. They meant the world to me. I felt bad because I haven't told them about the pregnancy or the engagement. They were probably going to freak just like the girls did.
Once we finally get off the plane and grab our luggage, we go to get a taxi. We find one, and get a ride to their house. Once we pay the man, we get our luggage and go up to the door. My Nonna opens the door. She looks at my face happily. Then she sees my stomach, and her mouth drops. I put my luggage down and run into her arms.
She embraces me, kissing my head. "I missed you so much, Bello." She says. "I missed you guys too." She then places her hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. She looks super serious. "Did someone hurt you again?" She asks, gesturing to my belly. I grab her hands. "No no, I actually met someone," I say. She smiles. Then I show her the ring, and now she was crying. "Awe, my baby. You grew up. I'm so very proud of you. When can I meet the mysterious man?" She says. I quickly stiffen. I don't know if I should tell her about what he does just yet. "One day soon, I promise." She smiles. I hear the girls clear their throat.
"OH. Nonna, you remember Violet right?" She smiles hugely. Then she sees Roberto and starts to cry again. "Awe did you meet someone as well?" She says grabbing Roberto. There's a sudden change in the atmosphere. Nonna notices it as well. She averts her eyes to Vi's left hand. "Oh dear. What happened." She says. I look at Vi. She nods.
"Do you remember my ex-boyfriend Alex? The one who almost raped me?" She nods. "He uh, knocked up Violet, and was going to kill her as soon as the baby was born. Turns out he was the leader to the Russian mafia." She looks at me curiously. She must've picked up on the emphasis I put on 'was.' "I uh... might've killed him." She gasps, almost dropping Roberto, but she doesn't.
She sets him down in the house, and he quickly runs to my Nonna's dog. "You did what?" I look at my feet. "It was self-defense." I half lie. She finally breathes again. "Oh thank god." I look back up at her. Then she looks back at a very silent Violet. She steps out and hugs the crap out of Vi. "I'm so sorry Violet. You definitely did not deserve to go through that." She smiles sweetly at Vi, then motions her inside. Then she looks at Stella.
"Who's this beautiful girl?" She asks curiously. I laugh as her face turns red. "This is Stella, my fiance, Luca's, twin sister. She's my other best friend." Nonna sticks her hand out, and they shake hands. I can see her carefully analyzing Stella. She gasps. "W-What's your last name?" Stella looks a little surprised but recovers quickly. "Alfonso." My Nonna covers her mouth with both hands as she gasps. Tears start to fill her eyes. "I'm so sorry baby." She says, pulling her into a hug. Stella looks at me. Confused. I shrug.
"My grandson was terrible. I know there's no way I could ever stop apologizing for his behavior." Both of our eyes widen in realization. Stella quickly spoke up. "No, it's okay. You aren't him. I do not blame you." Nonna smiles weakly and then gestures her inside. Once they're inside Nonna pulls me towards her. "Marrying a mafia leader? Bold choice Valentina." She says smiling at me. My face turns red. "Heh. Yeah." I quickly grab my bags and go inside. I see a very tired looking Nonno hugging Violet, and introducing himself to Stella. Then he sees Roberto and almost cries seeing how cute he was.
I couldn't help but laugh. He must've heard me because his head swivels to look at me. Tears forming in his eyes. Arms opened wide, he walks to me. I embrace him in a hug, and then he takes my left hand and studies it. He looks me in the eyes then nods. He was proud of me. I almost let out an awe. But I contain it.
As I walk back to my old bedroom, I notice my room hadn't changed. It'd been the same since the last time. I laugh at how different I was more than a year ago.
I set my luggage down next to the bed and lay down. I look at my phone and check the time. The dogs couldn't come on the plane so they had to take a special plane to get here. They'd luckily be here any minute.
I start to get lonely. Maybe I could text Luca? But that could get us both in trouble, and I don't want him in trouble. But then again, he never said I couldn't? Oh gosh, what do I do?
Right as I was about to find my phone, two very big dogs come running into my room and onto my bed, I luckily sit up so they wouldn't hurt my babies. But I missed them so much! I quickly hug them. And then stand up. I'm sure they needed to pee, so I guide them outside and close the door. I walk into the kitchen to a very familiar scent.
"Awe Nonna, are you making my favorite?" I say, she turns to me. "Yes, Bello. It's a congratulations dinner for your babies and your engagement." I smile hugely. But then, I never told her about the twins. "How'd you know I'm having twins?" I say, she smiles.
"Honey, your mom's stomach was just as big as yours is right now. Of course, I knew." I couldn't help but smile. I look like my mom? I start to cry. "Thank you, Nonna. I love you." She smiles at me. "I love you too."
Then I go and sit at the table. Stella and Violet were already at the table, but Vi was feeding Roberto. "Hey girls," I say, sliding into a chair. They look up and smile. "I know Emma doesn't like you but she likes me and sent this picture," Stella says and shows me her phone.
Luigi and some other guy I don't know were flirting with girls, and there were girls all up on Luca but he sat there, uninterested. My baby boy was so loyal.
"Awe," I say. Both girls smile. "True love babe," Vi says I smile back. "True love," I repeat. Anyways, dinner was done, and we all sit around the table to eat. My Nonno was telling me all about the events that have happened here the past year.
"Woah, no way." The girls and I say many times. My Nonna smiles the whole time, she said she was glad we were back, and visiting for a while. I was too. I was of course still very sad that Luca was going to be gone so long, but this company helped me forget the sadness. I was grateful for it. After dessert, everyone went their separate ways and went to bed. Except for me. I couldn't sleep because this room had too many bad memories, plus Luca isn't here to protect me. So I lay there, watching the fan go around and around.
When about an hour later, I hear my phone buzz on the nightstand. I quickly pick it up and turn it on. The brightness blinding me for a good four minutes. The time read 12:38 a.m. It was text from someone.
I opened iMessages and it was from him. My heartbeat was quickly escalating. Was he okay? Did someone get hurt? What happened? A million questions ran through my mind at the moment. I open his text.
Baby!: You may or may not be asleep at the moment, but it's 7:40 a.m. here which means it's 12:40 a.m. in Ohio. But knowing you, you're most likely not sleeping. So I just wanted to say I love you. So far it's been easy finding and killing the mafia. I will most likely be home in one to two months. I cannot wait to see you, princess. And our babies. I love you.
My heart once again freaked out. He was okay. Alive. Everything was going well.
Me: I'm so glad you're okay. I love and miss you so much. I can't sleep but it's alright, I'll be in your arms soon. I love you, Luca. So much. <3
I text back. He replies with a heart as well, and I put my phone down smiling. I roll on my side and close my eyes. Even if I can't sleep, I can literally rest my eyes. So that's what I do for the next seven hours until someone else is up. I get up to join them. It's Stella. She goes outside and plays with the dogs. I decide to join her.
authors comments:
So I'm almost done with this story and I'm crying. I don't wanna leave, but I have too. I love you.