~GIA~ A week later. I was asleep in my bed, still mad at Mario, for carelessly ordering his man to kill someone else when I thought that he had changed. I didn't want to utter a single word to him even after we moved to the new house. When I heard a door knock early this morning, I groaned, sat up on my bed, and told the person outside to come in. It was Mario. "I hope I didn't wake you up." He said when our eyes met. I didn't want to pay attention to the pace of my heartbeat. So, instead, I looked him in the eye and pretended that I was still mad at him. Seeing him did not make me want to jump out of bed and bury my face in his neck, and let him kiss me until we were both out of breath and lusting for one another. "No. But what do you want? Are you here to ask me when I am leaving your house?" I folded my arms across my chest. "No. I am here to give you this," he came forward and handed me a document. 'Conti Logistics' was boldly written on top of the document. I to
~GIA~ I woke up from Mario's chest and looked at him sleeping. He looked so peaceful and beautiful. I remembered the first night we spent together, and I could not get over how peaceful he looked when he looked angry and annoyed almost all the time. I wanted to touch his face and lean up and kiss him. "Why are you not sleeping?" I almost jumped out of the bed when he asked me. He startled me. "Why are you spying on me? I thought you were sleeping." I got off the bed and put on my gown. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the bed. "Where are you going?" He asked. I giggled. "I'm going to bathe and then go and check up on Bella." "I didn't hear Sofia complain that Bella needs you to check up on her," he kissed my neck. "I'm sure she misses me and trying to be a good girl to Sofia!" I giggled while Mario turned me on with his neck kisses. "Then let them bond!" He stripped off my gown, covered us inside the sheets, and then whispered. "I have plenty of surprises fo
~MARIO~ "Where is she?" Gia asked beside me. "We will find her," I took her hands, trying to get her to calm down and not panic. "Someone took Bella, Mario! What are we going to do?!" Her eyes looked terrified and were filled with tears. "I need you to trust me. She's still in the house," I answered her. "Is it Charlotte? Is she back?" She cried. I kissed her forehead. "She's not going to take Bella from us, okay?" She gave me the tiniest of nods. I turned towards the door and ran down the stairs and was stunned when I saw a woman holding my baby in the living room. The guards had guns on their heads. We were surrounded by Charlotte and her men. I could only wonder how she was able to get inside the house and hold all my guards at gunpoint. "Charlotte," I said her name as I walked slowly to where she was sitting with Bella in her arms. She chuckled when I said her name. "Surprise, surprise, Mario. I told you we would meet." I walked closer to her. Bella was sound
~GIA~ I was up all night. Contemplating the idea of going back to Mario. It sounded absurd that I came all this way to keep Bella and me safe, and yet, I found myself wondering every single minute if it was the right thing for me to do. I didn't want to keep Bella away from her father, even though that meant keeping her safe. I wanted him there. I wanted him there with me. It bugged me every single day that we were miles away. And so, I needed to make a choice. To leave Milan and go back to him. "Well, after everything you've told me about your baby daddy, I think you should stay as far away from him as possible. For Bella's sake, of course," Aurora voiced out her opinion after I ran to her to ask for her advice. But I knew that was just going to be impossible. I loved Mario. I didn't know why or how, but I fell in love with him and could no longer be far away from him. It felt like I was being torn from the inside when I had to imagine my life without him. "He needs to
~MARIO~ "I will give you 48 hours to get here, or I will kill the last of the men you sent to take my daughters away," she answered. I was about to speak when she hung up the call on me. "FUCK!" I snapped and punched the steering wheel. I slipped my cell phone inside my pocket and thought of what to do for a second. It was true that Charlotte had outplayed us. We underestimated her, and now, we had lost men to her. Andries was one of my best men, so I had to find a way to save him. But first, I had to go and get Gia. Without thinking or hesitating, I pushed the key into the ignition and drove to Milan. I didn't know where or how I was going to find Gia, but I knew in my heart that I could not go any longer without her. It was a long and tiring road trip to Milan. I was alone in the car and just thinking about how I was going to feel to see her and our baby. I was, of course, going to be mad at her for leaving without thinking that I had every right as she had to be
~MARIO~ "Did you find the kids?" I asked on the phone. I was talking with Andries. "Yes. But we have a problem," he stated. I sighed. "What kind of a problem?" "We are going to be outnumbered. There are so many guards here than we estimated," he explained. Of course. We should have known that. They were Charlotte's kids, and she would place the kids' safety first, considering that she knew that we were after her and knew who she was. "I will send more men to you. We need those kids by the end of the day," I provided a solution. "Yes, boss," Andrea answered. I hung up the call and turned to Marco. "What do we do now? We need more men. Andries and his guys are outnumbered," I folded my arms across my chest. Marco sighed and scratched his head. "I see. Okay... I guess I will have to talk with Vince and see if he won't be able to organize about 30 men to join Andries. What do you think?" Well, it was better than less than 30. "That's a great number," I bit my lower lip, try