Arsenio's POV
"Buongiorno, Bella," I said, kissing the top of her head. (Goodmorning, beautiful)
"Good morning, Arsenio," she whispered as she turned around in my arms to face me. "How did it go last night?" She asked.
"Everything went according to plan. No women or children were hurt and we took the captives to the club," I replied.
"I'm glad that nobody got hurt," she said as she twirled a piece of my hair between my fingers. "You worry me every time you go out...I can't sleep or eat."
"You need to eat. You aren't just feeding yourself anymore."
"I know, I know. I've been forcing myself to eat when you're gone now that I'm pregnant, and I try not to stress out, but I just can't help it. How can I not worry about you when you do things like this for a living," she said sadly, a frown on her lovely face.
"Eloise, I'm not trying to make you upset. I know that it stresses you out and I know that you don't like it, but the way you compose yourself is stellar. You handle everything very well, even though it is so foreign to you. I'm very impressed by your ability to accept this and to adapt to your new life with me."
Eloise nodded and wrapped her arms around me as she pressed closer to my chest. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too."
THIRD PERSON'S POV
"You will give it to me - Now!" Kazimir boomed before landing a blow into the victim's gut.
The victim screamed out in pain as they struggled against the ropes that trapped them to the chair.
"Not yet, please sir, not yet," the victim begged. But their begging was of no use.
Kazimir was infuriated. His plan for the women's shelter was ruined by none other than Arsenio Campione. All he could see was red and all he wished was for Arsenio's head to be mounted on his office wall.
This sex trade would have brought millions to his empire, but Arsenio prevented that from happening. Kazimir didn't care so much about the death of his men as they were disposable, but he was angry about the money. He needed that money.
He was going to employ his attack on Arsenio and he was going to do it as soon as possible. He was done waiting. Arsenio had pushed him to his limit. He was worried that if he waited any longer, Arsenio would only continue to steal potential profits from him and weaken his family.
Kazimir cracked his fist across the victim's face, and a stream of cries soon followed.
"You will tell me where Campione lives today, or when we do finally get it out of you, those will be the last words you ever speak," Kazimir growled, a spray of his saliva covering the victim's face. He pulled his fist back once more, about to punch the victim again when he was interrupted.
"Wait!" The victim yelled. They couldn't take the abuse anymore. After a few measly minutes, they had already broken down.
"I will tell you, please don't kill me," they begged.
Kazimir crossed his arms and glared down at the person as he awaited their response.
"Arsenio lives about an hour away from Nebula. I have his address written down on a notepad on my desk. I will give it to you when you let me go, but please don't kill me," the victim begged as tears streamed down their face. They were almost hysterical.
"Fine," Kazimir relented. "I will release you and you will give me the address, immediately," he sneered.
A feeling of joy overcame the man. He believed that he finally had Arsenio trapped. All he had to do now was kill the man, and he would be victorious. After decades of being pushed around by the Italians and after decades of Russian plans and advancements being destroyed, he would finally be victorious.
"One more thing," the victim said. "His girlfriend, Eloise, is pregnant."
Kazimir stoked his chin while grinning, and a laugh erupted from his gut. It seemed as though all the balls were in his court. A child was the icing on top of the cake and would make his revenge that much sweeter.
ELOISE'S POV
I laid out on a reclining lawn chair on the pool deck, soaking up the summer sun.
I looked up when I heard the sliding glass door open. Arsenio walked out in swimming shorts and a towel hanging over his shoulder. He didn't even need to tan though. Due to his Italian heritage, he already had a dark complexion and he got even more so in the summer, something I was very jealous of.
"Arsenio!" I yelled when he dove into the pool and sent a tsunami of water right onto me.
"What?" He asked with a sly smile.
I shook my head and glared at him. "You make me crazy," I muttered.
Arsenio looked at me for a moment before his eyes traveled down to my stomach. A look of shock crossed over his features and he pulled himself out of the pool.
"What's wrong?"
"You have a bump!" He whispered in surprise.
"What?"
"A baby bump. I can see a baby bump!" He reached out and pulled down the high-waisted bikini bottoms off my belly.
"Arsenio, there's no bum- oh. There is a bump. There's a bump!" I squealed. I jumped up as Arsenio leaned down and we shared a hug.
"I know you're pregnant, but it just feels so much more real now," Arsenio said as he pressed his forehead against mine. A beautiful smile graced his lips and I wish I had a camera to capture this moment forever.
His rough hand moved over my belly as he gently caressed the minuscule bump. It wasn't very big at all as I wasn't very far along, only thirteen weeks, but there was a small swollen protrusion that wasn't there before. He was right, it did just get ten times more real.
"I don't know how I didn't notice it this morning when I was putting my bathing suit on. This is amazing!"
His smile quickly fell though and his expression returned back to normal. It worried me some.
"What?" I asked, upset this his beautiful smile had disappeared.
"We shouldn't tell anyone about your pregnancy. Other than the few people we have already told, I don't want anyone else to know. I have enemies Eloise, a lot of them, and I don't want word of your pregnancy to get out and them using you or the baby as a way to get to me," he said seriously.
"Okay," I nodded. "We won't tell anyone else."
He leaned down and pecked my lips before reaching down and picking me up.
"No, Arsenio, no," I growled. I wrapped my arms as tightly around his neck as I could to try to prevent him from tossing me in the water.
He did not listen to my protestations and continued to walk me toward the pool. Holding me bridal style, he walked into the shallow end of the pool and unwrapped my arms from around his body.
"I don't want to get wet!" I yelled while trying to clasp my arms around his neck as he waded deeper into the pool.
He held me out from his body and dropped me into the water.
"Arsenio!" I yelled when I came up from under the water. I knew I must've looked like a drowned rat with my wet bun now flopping around and my black mascara running down my face.
"Now I look disgusting," I said as I walked toward the stairs to get out.
Arsenio blocked my way and wrapped his arms around me as he pulled me into his body.
"Sei bella la, mia dolce ragazza." (You are beautiful, my sweet girl.)
Our moment was interrupted when we heard a vehicle coming up the driveway.
"Damnit, I forgot to close the gate when I came home last night," he growled. "Stay here," he said as he pulled himself out of the pool and grabbed a .45 pistol from underneath the chair I was sitting in.
When did that get there?
I saw his shoulders visibly relax and wondered who was coming up the driveway. "It's my mother," he explained. While he put the gun back in its place, I got out of the pool and wrapped a towel around myself.
Arsenio wrapped his towel around his waist and grabbed my hip as we walked over to his mother's car.
His mother stepped out of the vehicle and greeted us with a smile and a wave. "Hello!" She said enthusiastically as she ran over to greet us. She gave Arsenio a hug before giving me one as well.
"What are you doing here, mother?" Arsenio asked. Carlotta's face twisted into a worried expression as she looked at the car behind her.
Arsenio and I both looked over toward the car. I was surprised to see movement in the vehicle when the passenger side door opened. A man stepped out of the vehicle and slowly turned to look at us.
My mouth dropped. He looked like Arsenio.
I looked up at Arsenio, noticing that his grasp on my hip had gotten increasingly tighter. His body tensed and his shoulders trembled as he ground his teeth. He wasn't just angry, no, he was absolutely furious.
"Arsenio," I said quietly hoping that my voice would calm him down.
"What is he doing here?" Arsenio growled. Carlotta's expression was one of both fear and sadness. She probably hadn't seen her son this angry in quite a while, if not ever.
"He wanted to see you, son," she said sadly.
"I don't want to see him," Arsenio said, his voice dripping in rage. I'd never heard such cold words come from him. I felt my stomach start turning, I knew this wasn't going to end well.
I looked from Arsenio to his father and back to Arsenio again. They were both very alike in appearance. They were similar in terms of build and had almost exactly that same scowl that seemed to be plastered to Arsenio's face daily. I guessed he got that from his father.
"Arsenio, please give him a chance," Carlotta begged. "He wants to see you, to make up for the past."
"It's a little bit late for that," Arsenio seethed as he stared down at his father who was slowly walking toward us.
"Son-" his father started.
"Don't call me son. I'm not your fucking son." He was practically simmering in rage and I didn't know how to calm him or how to offer him comfort in this situation. I wasn't sure that he could be comforted after the abuses his father had put him through. All I could do was make my presence known. I raked my nails down his back and trailed my hands across his arms.
"Arsenio," his father, Pietro, corrected. "I wanted to see you again, to make up for... lost time." Pietro did seem genuine, but I didn't want him near Arsenio after he told me all about how awful Pietro was to him and his mother.
Instead of bursting at the seams like I thought he would, he simply looked between Pietro and Carlotta and said, "Leave, now."
"But, Amore-" His mother started. (Love)
"No! I want both of you gone. I never want to see that bastard again and you know that. Why would you bring him here? To my home?" Arsenio's voice rose in anger as he spoke. He felt betrayed by his mother.
I trailed my right hand down his arm and clenched his hand in mine while running my left hand down his back.
"I thought this would be good for you! I thought you would want to make peace," his mother said sadly. I felt bad for Carlotta, she only wanted what was best for her family. But she shouldn't have brought Pietro here. She shouldn't try to force her son into this.
Arsenio shook his head as he began to laugh menacingly at the scene in front of him. He opened his mouth and was just about to say something when I hurriedly pulled away from him and ran behind the house.
"Eloise?" I heard Arsenio call closely behind me. When I rounded the corner of the house I pulled my hand away from my mouth and let the "morning sickness" run its course. Immediately Arsenio was by my side, pulling my wet tangled hair from my face and rubbing my back.
When I looked up after I was done emptying the contents of my stomach, I saw Carlotta and Pietro standing a few feet away from us, looking down at us with both confusion and surprise.
"Oh, my sweetie! You're pregnant!" Carlotta shouted in excitement as she noticed Arsenio's hand rubbing my belly. "A grandbaby! I'm going to have a grandbaby!"
****
"Arsenio?" I said a few hours later after he made his mother and father leave. He didn't even contemplate the idea of speaking to them, he just forced them to leave after I had gotten sick.
He looked up at me with his crystal blue eyes and I found myself in a trance-like state. He was so captivating.
"I love you," I said as I bent down to hug him from his position on the couch. He pulled me into his body and wrapped his arms around my back. "I just wanted you to know that," I said.
I wanted him to know that I was his family, that I was his comfort and support, just as he was mine.
"I know you do. I love you, too."
While I did want Arsenio to make peace with his father as I believed it would benefit him, it couldn't be forced on him. He would make peace if and when he felt ready. Maybe he wouldn't ever be, or maybe he would be ready next month. It was all up to him.
Healing took time and patience, it is something that cannot be forced onto you. I was not ready to forgive my father either for what he had done to my mother and me, and I would be beyond outraged if someone else tried to rush me into forgiving him. Family trauma, trauma of any kind, took time to heal and move forward from.