CHAPTER 64
THIRD PERSON’S POV
He woke up and gave a lazy smile the moment he saw her. She looked so beautiful laying beside him. In that moment, he realized there was probably nothing he couldn’t do for the woman. She just completed him. He hadn’t woken up, feeling so refreshed in weeks. Not wanting to wake her up, he carefully stood from the bed and made his way into the bathroom. Due to the fact that he had spent the night at his cousin’s, he was left with no other choice but to use his wife’s skincare products. He particular loved her shampoo, so it wasn’t much of a bother.
Immediately he was done having his bath, he dabbed his body dry and stepped out of the bathroom. Bella was still very much asleep, so he put on his clothes and checked his phone to know what the time said. It was already 9am! Had they slept in that long? Without thinking further, he made his way out of the room and headed towards the living room.
“Good morning Aunt Mia.” He greeted his aunt, who was curled up on the sofa, going through her phone. His face contoured into a frown when he noticed she wasn’t looking alright.
“Hello Alex.” She replied weakly. “I bet you had a splendid night with your wife, aye?” The fact that she was trying to still tease him when she was clearly not alright, only made him chuckle.
“You do not look fine.”
“It’s nothing serious, honey. I just have a slight headache. I would be fine after some hours of rest. Meanwhile, I’d appreciate a warm cup of tea. Just tell Anna to make…”
“There’s no need to disturb any of the maids, when I can handle it by myself.” He smiled.
“Thank you so much.” She sighed, and he made a turn towards the kitchen. There, he said hi to the two maids he had seen, and got busy trying to make some tea for his auntie. Immediately he was done, he took it to her.
“Would you like anything else?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Manuel and Bianca?” He asked.
“I guess they are sleeping in late today.” She gave a lazy shrug in her laying position.
“Alright.” He nodded. “I wanted to make breakfast for myself and Bella, but since it seems like they are also yet to eat, I’d make some food for them as well.”
“That’s so thoughtful of you. Though, there is a leftover in the fridge, from the salad we ate this morning.”
“Oh?” He muttered. “Fine then. I would just squeeze out some fresh juice and make pancakes.” He walked to the kitchen and started his business. It wasn’t up to half an hour later, when Manuel showed up with Bianca.
“Hnmmm!” Manuel hummed behind him, looking very amused.
“Good morning to you too!” He chuckled.
“Good morning Alexander.” Bianca yawned tiredly and got closer to give him a peck.
“Good morning Bianca.” He grinned.
“I can see Bella had you so bad, that you woke up to make breakfast for her today.” Manuel chuckled.
“That is a normal gesture every husband should be able to give.” Alexander shot back as he rolled his eyes.
“Exactly! But is it really expected from a man who claimed to have only come here to say hi to my wife and I?” Manuel taunted, making Bianca burst out in laughter. “Had a great night, huh?”
“Yeah.” Alexander shrugged indifferently, not wanting his cousin to know how he had literally begged his wife to tell him she loved him.
“Oh?” Manuel muttered, his face sinking a bit. Did that mean things didn’t really go well between his cousin and Bella? Just then, Bella rushed to the kitchen, worry etched over her face. Bianca and Manuel stood at the entrance, making it impossible for her to see or walk in.
“Bianca, he has gone!”
“Who has gone?” They all asked at the same time. Bella could definitely identify her husband’s voice anytime of the day. She gently pushed Bianca asides and walked into the kitchen to see her husband holding a spatula in his hand and wearing an apron. Okayyyy. Now she felt extremely embarrassed.
“Are you okay, babe?” He quickly dropped the spatula into an empty bowl and made his way towards her.
“I thought you had left me.” She whispered, her eyes getting teary. He quickly hugged her and released a small sigh.
“I would never do that, my love.” He muttered onto her head as she held him tightly. “I wouldn’t, okay?”
“Hmmm.” She bobbed her head up and down.
“If I leave you, where do I go?” He asked, making her chuckle in between sniffles. He pulled her head upwards and leaned down for a deep kiss.
“Oh wow.” Manuel let out, grinning at the both of them. For a moment, he had actually thought things hadn’t gone fine between them. But with the how passionately they were currently kissing each other, it was safe to say that they were just fine.
After Alexander pulled away from the kiss, he softly patted her cheeks and explained the reason he was out of bed when she had woken up, even if it was clear enough for her to see.
“I just wanted to make us some breakfast.” He pointed at the already made pancakes lying in a pile atop a flat plate.
“I noticed.” She muttered.
“What are your plans for the day, Alex?” Bianca suddenly asked.
“Well, I do not really know. I would probably remain here with my wife for a few more days, before we head back home.”
“Then it looks like you would be spending your day with Manuel.”
“Why?” Both men asked in confusion.
“Well, that’s because I am to accompany Bella for her regular antenatal checks today. She is supposed to be told her expected date of birth today.”
“Then I should go with…” Alexander was still talking when Bella cut him short.
“We are just fine, love. You would enjoy your day with manuel.” She gave a small smile and looked at the plate of pancakes once again. “We should go eat.”
“But why?” Alexander whined, wanting to spend as much time as possible with his wife today. He hadn’t seen her arrangements with Bianca coming.
“Bianca and I, made it a date.”
“Fine then. Whatever you want.” He mumbled, making Manuel and Bianca chuckle. It was so clear to everyone that Alex would happily let them put him into his wife’s purse, if that meant he would be with her at every given moment.
“I hope Massimo has been informed about your outing?” Manuel asked his wife, eyeing her closely. He couldn’t afford a repitition of what happened the last time.
“Yes, he would be here soon.”
“Miguel and Andrew?” He asked. “Those are their names, right?”
“Miguel and Andrew are currently unavailable. And I do not blame them because I didn’t inform them about my return to Italy yesterday.”
“I do not want you both going out on your own without enough security. I could call a few men to escort you…”
“But Massimo does his job perfectly.” Bianca cut him off. “Plus, we would be visiting the hospital. You don’t want us making the other patients tensed. Massimo is enough for today. I promise to take the others with me, when next I’m stepping out.”
“Fine then. Just be careful, and don’t delay to call for help if you notice anything suspicious. I just want you both and our babies to be safe.” He muttered.
“I know.” She sighed. “And thank you.” She smiled and leaned towards him for a kiss, but Alexander was very quick to interrupt their mood.
“Let’s eat!!” He yelled out, purposely wanting to disrupt them. Manuel threw him a glare that got everyone laughing.
*
*
“I’m excited!” Bianca giggled as she held Bella’s hand in hers. They were on their way to the restaurant, just after stepping out of the hospital. Bella’s expected date of birth was a week from now, and Bianca truly couldn’t contain her happiness.
“I’m excited as well.” Bella grinned, caressing her big belly. “But Alex would be more excited. He has awaited this for the longest time.”
“Hmmm.” Bianca nodded, a sad expression making its way to her face as a result of Bella’s words. Truly, she understood the pains Bella and Alexander had probably gone through after losing their first child. It wasn’t something she had ever experienced, but she definitely knew how painful it could be. She couldn’t imagine losing this child in her belly. “I’m so sorry about your first child. Manuel told me about it.”
“He did.” Bella nodded, her eyes seeming far off as she probably relieved the experience. “It still remains the worst phase of our lives.” She sighed. “It wasn’t just about the child we lost. I had almost lost my life and my ability to give life. This baby…” she softly patted her tummy. “… is nothing short of a miracle.”
“Oh, my.” Bianca gasped. Manuel hadn’t told her that part.
“Yes.” Bella nodded. “And everything only happened for me to know how much of a blessing that Alexander remains in my life. Even after we found out that there were chances I would never be able to have any other children, he stood by me.” Tears clogged her eyes. “He reminded me every day that I was all he needed to be happy.” Bianca quickly cleaned off the tears that had dropped down her eyes. “I’m so thankful for your husband and his family. It’s not a secret that Alexander’s parents have never really approved of me. Ever since he married me, your new family where the ones who truly treated me as a part of them. And Nonno.” She smiled at the mention of Nonno, equally bringing a smile to Bianca’s face. “I rarely got to see the man but whenever I did, he was always so kind and gentle. A huge contrast to what Alexander’s family may have painted him to be.”
“He is actually a kind and sweet man.” Bianca nodded in agreement. “But he shows that side only to peoeple he really takes a liking to. I guess that was the reason he chose we worked together for the gold empire project. Do you know the original owner of that project was our late Nonna?”
“No, I didn’t.” She gasped in suprise. “Are you for real?”
“Totally!”
“Woah! Then he must really adore you like everyone says.” She grinned.
“You bet, he does!” Bianca winked at her. Just then, the car came to a stop and she quickly looked out the window. They had gotten to their destination. “Thank you Massimo.”
“Always welcomed ma’am.” He turned back to her and gave a small smile.
“You can stay back in the car while we…”
“Not at all.” He cut her off before she could say more. “I was sternly instructed by the Don, to not leave your side, no matter the situation. Except, the situation entails me leaving your side to protect you.” He recited the words like a written manual.
“Great!” She gave a sarcastic smile, before stepping out of the car with Bella. They walked into the restaurant and sat on one of the empty tables, while Massimo took a seat at the table behind them. A waitress appeared and took their orders, before bringing a pack of juice for them to sip on, while their order was being processed.
A few minutes later, a man in a black hoodie stepped into the restuarant. Bianca could clearly see him from the angle which she sat, but not Bella. For some reasons, Bianca couldn’t help but feel something off about the man.
She couldn’t clearly see his face because of the hoodie he was wearing, but she noticed he kept looking towards them. A waiter had walked up to him and taken his order, but immediately the waiter walked away, he turned his gaze back to them. Bianca tried to not make it obvious that she was staring at him, and only hoped Massimo had noticed the weird man as well. She was tempted to tell Bella about the man, but she really did not want to scare the poor lady.
“I should take a pee before our meal gets ready.” Bella excused herself and quickly walked away before Bianca could respond to her. But then, Bianca was particularly happy the other lady had left, because if at all her hunch was correct and this man was here to cause mishap, she wanted her to be away and safe. Bianca noticed that the weird man’s gaze followed at Bella until she disappeared out of sight, before putting his phone to his ear and talking to someone. It wasn’t up to 15 seconds later when another man in a hoodie walked into the restaurant and made straight for the restroom. Just as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on her, she quickly realized what was going on. This man wasn’t here for her, but Bella! Immediately, she took her phone and texted Manuel. Her hands shook vigorously as she quickly typed away. ‘Send Help! Just shared my location.’
The moment Bella had relieved her heavy bladder off the excess urine in it, she released a sigh. Not in any hurry, she took her time cleaning herself up with some toilet wipes, before pulling up her panties and unlocking the door. Just as she stepped out, she ran back into the restroom almost immediately. But before she could successfully run in and shut the door, the man that had caused such a fright within her, dragged her out so roughly. She whimpered in pain as he pulled onto her hair so tightly. She was sure a few strands had fallen off in the process. She wondered how a man with just a single arm, acquired so much strength.
“Ahhhh…” He chuckled in his rich Italian accent. “Long time, no see baby girl.” He whispered into her ear, making her shudder.
“Patawan please.” She whispered, her lips shaking in fear. Tears had already gathered up in her eyes because she knew a meeting with Patawan wasn’t going to end well.
“What are you begging for baby?” He whispered, licking her ear lobes as she shivered in disgust. “You want me to take you here in the ladies restroom? I can do that much.”
“No!” She yelled out, tears finally dropping down her face. “Please, no.”
“I fucking thought as much!!” He yelled in anger, pulling at her hair more roughly. “You unfaithful slut!” He cursed. “You had been up there, opening your legs to the wealthy dude, huh? Yet, nothing for me?!! You never had anything for me ever since you married that bastard that was supposed to be my cash cow. Isn’t it amusing that you haven’t funded my account for a couple of months now? Or do you think I wouldn’t make do on my promise?”
“Patawan, please let me go. You’re hurting me.” She whispered, making him release his grip a little. She sighed in relief, more hot tears falling from her eyes.
“You dirty little slut.” He spat. “You are pregnant again.” He chuckled humourlessly. “I guess all you are to him is a child making machine, after all. Does he fuck you like I used to? Huh?” It was quite a hassle to bit down the urge of screaming at the bastard, letting him know he wasn’t qualified to be compared with her Alexander, when it came to that. “Does he fuck you like the slut you are? Or would he begin to do that, when I let him know how you didn’t really marry him because you loved him? How the only reason you have remained with him is just for his mon…?”
“He knows already!” She yelled out, unable to hold herself. He had gone quiet for a moment, slowly realizing that he had no hold over her anymore.
“Fine then.” I grunted. “You really fell in love with the bastard, hmm?” He turned her head to himself and landed a heavy slap across her face. She could feel her entire face burning up as blood rushed towards the side of her cheek that had just been assaulted. Before she could tell what was happening, he landed yet another slap to the other side of her face, and she fell to the floor of the restroom. Hot tears stung her eyes, and her eyes turned continuously. “Since you were foolish enough to go against me, I would make you regret it.” He spat out. “Before I go ahead and kill off your sister and mother, I should kill you first. Don’t you think so?”
“Please don’t hurt my family!” She rushed out, her hand reflexly resting on her belly. “Please.”
Her pleas fell on deaf ears as he pulled out a small knife from his pocket. Christ! Her heart flew out of her chest.
“Bianca!!!!” She yelled out in fear as the man she had once loved, leaned down towards her with a sharp looking knife.
“There is no need calling your slut sister in law. She may probably not make it out of here alive.” He shrugged, making her release a gasp. “My men have surrounded this premises.” Just then, a gunshot was heard, making her go stiff in her spot. “You see?” He smiled. “So what do you think?” He asked, glancing at the knife in his hand. “My arm was taken for your sake. How about we get even?” He grinned devilishly and grabbed her arm.
“Oh God!!!” She yelled out. “Please!!! please!!! Please don’t do that to me!!” She was still screaming at the top of her lungs when she felt the sharp edge of the knife slicing into her right arm.This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
“Calm down baby. I would make it slow and painful.” He chuckled. Just then, she felt a sharp contraction in her lower abdomen, as warm liquid trickled down her thighs. Oh no.