Two days later, Rebecca was still thinking about everything Lidia said. She had held it together until they had pulled out of the driveway before she burst into tears. Vincent had placed his hand on her thigh to comfort her. He didn't remove it the whole way and he held her hand on the elevator too. But as soon as they got into the apartment, Rebecca shook him off and walked to her old room shutting and locking the door. She spent the rest of the day in there not coming out to even eat no matter how much Vincent begged. The next day she came out but didn't say much unless she was spoken to. Vincent tried hard to get her to talk. To show his love and support, he didn't leave her side for the whole day waiting for her to want to talk or need him for anything else. He apologized for his sisters' words but she didn't want to hear it. She was waiting for him to really think about what Lidia had said and decided that he believed her.
Rebecca was trying to pay attention to the movie that was playing on the couch but Lidia's words kept playing over and over in her head. There wasn't a single time Rebecca had asked Vincent for anything and yet somehow something she was doing told Lidia that she wanted Vincent for his money. She sighed as Vincent walked out of the kitchen with a plate with three pieces of cheesecake, her newest craving.
"Are you alright, Amore?" he asked her as he handed her the plate before sitting down beside her and throwing his arm behind her. She smiled at him. He had been calling her some version of love in Italian since they came home and she appreciated what he was trying to do. She just really hoped it wasn't just because of the baby. "Bella, please. Talk to me," he turned to face her and grabbed the hand that wasn't holding her plate of cheesecake. She looked at him and chewed on her lip.
"Do you believe her?" She asked finally.
"Who? Lidia?" Rebecca nodded her head and looked at her plate. Her want for the cheesecake was fading quick as she waited for his answer. "Of course not," he chuckled. She lifted her head and looked at him.
"Seriously?" She gave him a look that told him that she didn't believe it. "Before we weren't together because of safety and now when a baby is involved, I'm suddenly okay with the danger. You don't find that strange at all?" Her voice raised more with every word. Vincent laughed.
"You are arguing for the wrong side, Amore," he sent her that smile that always got her but this time it didn't work.
"Be serious, Vince," she told him moving to the edge of the couch and putting her plate on the coffee table before turning to look at him in the eye.
"I am being serious," he smiled at her. He realized that she was completely serious and he sighed. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Rebecca. I know that you are not using me for my money, power, or anything else. Well... Maybe my skills in the bedroom," he smirked and Rebecca knocked his hands off her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. But seriously, before I know we both were worried about your safety but that was because I was scared. I can and I will protect you and our child."
"I know that. That's not what I am worried about anymore."
"Look I love you, and I know you feel that same. So, stop worrying about what my stupid sister says. It's not good for my son," he placed his hand on her stomach. She rolled her eyes.
"What are you going to do when it's a girl?" She smirked at him.
"It's not," he shrugged and sat back on the couch. Rebecca laughed and laid back to cuddle up in Vincent's arms. He ran his hand up and down her back enjoying the feeling of relaxing with her in his arms. He smiled thinking about how much she had him feeling. He never thought this would happen but he couldn't be happier that it had. "Has Roxy contacted you about shopping yet?" He asked her after a while. She nodded her head.
"We are going tomorrow after the dress fitting." Vincent smiled wider.
"That's perfect," he sat up causing her to sit up also. She looked at him with a questioning face. "Hold on," he said as he stood up and quickly walked down the hallway toward his office. Rebecca wondered what he was doing. She thought about following him and stood up just as he came jogging back into the room. "Here," he said stopping in front of her and handing her a card. She took it looking down at it. She shook her head when she realized what it was.
"I have my own," she told him as she handed it back to him. He pushed her hand back. "Vince. I don't want your money," she sighed.
"I don't care," he laughed. "I added you to all my accounts and this card link them all. I know you work and have your own money, but I want you to have this. I told you. I want to take care of you and our child." Rebecca knew by the look in his eye that he would fight her on this and she was too tired to argue with him. She sighed and walked over to her purse, pulled out her wallet and put the card in it before putting it back. She walked back to stand in front of him again. "I will be monitoring it to make sure that you use it," he told her knowing that she was probably just trying not to fight and wouldn't use it. "I will start dumping money into your account if you refuse." Rebecca rolled her eyes. He was so stubborn.
They spent the next few hours watching whatever came on the television and cuddling on the couch. Well, Rebecca slept, she was so tired. She didn't know that creating life was this tiring. When she had to go to work, Vincent dropped her off telling her he would pick her back up when she was done. After he made sure that she got into the hospital okay, he headed to his parent's house.
"Vinny, is that you?" He heard his mother call to him when he walked through the door.
"Yes, Mother," he called. Nadia walked around the corner with a smile. She looked behind him and her face fell. "What's wrong?"
"You haven't brought my future daughter-in-law," she was visibly bothered by this which cause Vincent to laugh.
"She had to work tonight." Nadia nodded her head, still not pleased. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning around and walking away with her shoulders slumped. Vincent shook his head as he laughed before walking to his father's office.
"Father?" He called after knocking on the door. He didn't get an answer so he pushed the door open. He saw his father sitting behind his desk on the phone. He walked in, shutting the door behind him and walking to the seat he always used. He waited for his father to finish his call by sending Rebecca a text telling her that he loved her. He knew she wouldn't see it until her break but he hoped it would make her smile. She had been so tired lately. He morning sickness had shown up for hours at a time at night for the last couple days so she hadn't been sleeping much between being sick and working. He didn't like the fact but he knew better than to bring up her not working again. She would stop in a few months. In the meantime, he would make sure that she knew that if she chooses to stop before she originally planned, he would support her.
"Sorry, Son," his father said bringing him out of his thoughts. "How are you? How's Rebecca?"
"Fine, Father. She is tired and not feeling well most of the time but she says it will fade within the next couple of months." Francesco laughed.
"I remember your mother when she was pregnant with you. She was so sick all day long for two months. She would yell at me in between to tell me she hated me," he continued to laugh. His eyes looked at nothing in particular as if he was picturing the memory.
"Well, I hope she starts feeling well or stops working so she has more time to sleep. She's so tired. I worry about her."
"Rebecca is practically a doctor. She won't push herself to the point of endangering herself or your child, I'm sure." Vincent nodded his head. His father had a point Rebecca knew her limits and she wouldn't push them.
"Anyways. Has Milena taken a test yet?" He decided to dive into why he had come to see his father. He wanted to get this taken care of already. He was more than over it. Focusing on Rebecca was what he wanted to do. He watched his father shake his head before he took a breath. Vincent knew what that meant. His father had bad news.
"Chaykovsky agrees with his daughter. Says that it is uncivilized and he has declared war," he said calmly.
"What?" Vincent shouted and stood up. Francesco was always good at delivering bad news like it was no big deal and Vincent was always good at reacting strongly to said bad news. It was how they did things. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was late last night and I didn't want to disrupt you and Rebecca with bad news."
"This is serious, Padre," he glared at his father. "You have to tell me things like this. I have to make sure that Rebecca is safe and get things started," He said pulling his phone out to dial as Gio and Domenico walked in.
"What is all the shouting about?" Gio asked.
"We are at war and your brother is overreacting," Francesco brushed it off.
"I am not," Vincent growled. "Gio we need more protection on the women," he told his brother before going back to his phone. He dialed Ant and waited for him to answer.
"Hello?"
"Ant, I need you to call Teo and tell him we need as many men as he can spear and we need them yesterday," he sent his father another glare when he said yesterday. Francesco rolled his eyes. He was actually proud of his son and how he had sprung into action but he wouldn't tell him that yet. He wanted to see how this turned out. He heard Gio speaking with the men making sure that Rebecca, Vanessa, and Rosalina as well as other women, had more protection. He walked over to Domenico. "Do you want to postpone the wedding?" He asked him. Domenico raised an eyebrow at him.
"There is no way Ros will let that happen," he shook his head. Vincent nodded he had figured but he wasn't sure.
"I could ask Rebecca to talk to her," he suggested. Domenico shook his head.
"No, the wedding will happen as planned."
"Okay. Hopefully, the back-up from Italy will be here soon and we can take care of it before then anyway." Domenico nodded in agreement.
"What are you going to tell Rebecca about having more men follow her around. She hates that," He asked Vincent. He took a deep breath and shrugged.
"The truth. It's the only way," he told him. He knew better than to lie to Rebecca if he wanted this to work. She wouldn't take any shit. Domenico nodded in agreement. Vincent took his phone out to send Rebecca a text.
I will explain when you get home. I promise. I love you.
He put his phone back in his pocket a turned to Francesco. "I need to go to the club and cheek on things. Let Rocco know what's going on," he told him. Francesco nodded but said nothing. He looked at Domenico and Gio. "Either of you going with me?"
"I will," Domenico said walking toward the door."I have to an appointment with Vaness," Gio said.
When Vincent and Domenico got to the club, the night was just starting. The bartenders were finishing up prepping and the D.J. was setting up. They walked to Roco's office.
"Brother. Cousin," Rocco greeted them.
"Rocco, how are things going here?" Vincent asked him. Domenico walked to the window overlooking the club in order to watch things like he always did.
"Great. We are bringing in an even bigger crowd with this new D.J.," he handed over some papers so Vincent could see how well the numbers were. Vincent looked at the papers seeing how well the club was doing. He made a note to add Rebecca's name to the club so if anything happened to him, she would have it to fall back on.
"That's great. We are going to need more security," he told him handing the papers back. "We are at war. We hope to resolve it quickly but just encase. I don't want any of our customers getting caught in the crossfire." Rocco nodded his understanding as he reached to the phone sitting on his desk and pushed a button.
"Marcus. We need to hire more security," he spoke to his head of security on the other end of the intercom.
"Yes, Boss," he heard back. Rocco looked at Vincent who gave him an approving nod.
"So, what's this I hear about you getting into a fight with Lidia?" Rocco asked with a smirk. Everyone in the family knew that Lidia could cause an argument without even trying. They loved her but she had strong opinions and a loudmouth.
"Lidia was out of line," Vincent said through clenched teeth. He was still angry about what his sister had said. He knew that she did have the best intentions but it wasn't okay. "I don't know how to prove to her that I actually love Rebecca and it's not just about the baby." Vincent sat back in the chair across from his brother.
"First off you shouldn't have to prove anything to any of us. You are your own man. If you love her and feel it's right then we shouldn't question it. Especially when it's obvious how she makes you feel." Vincent wasn't surprised his brother was so sappy, he always had been. He was just more sensitive than most men in the family. That was why he never wanted anything to do with the family. Vincent agreed with what he said anyway. "Are you going to marry her?"
"I would love to, but she doesn't want to. I won't force it. We are together and that will have to be enough for now." He sighed.
"How do you know she doesn't want to?" Rocco asked brows pinched together. He assumed it was his brother thinking he knew everything again.
"I overheard her telling Ros the other day," he shrugged.
"You know she's not going to be happy that you were eavesdropping on her conversation," Domenico said turning away from the window.
"I didn't mean to. I was walking into the dining room and they were talking. I couldn't help it," he ran his hands through his hair.
"Maybe when she has the baby and has gotten used to the life, she will be ready," Rocco said. Vincent didn't say anything he just sighed. He hoped one day she would be ready. Wasn't marriage what most women wanted? He hoped she wanted it with him. Hope was all he had right now.
I know this took so long to get out and I am so sorry. Writer's block got me bad this time around. Let me know what you think I am still not 100% in love with this but wanted to give you something. Vote and comment!