Chapter 114 Chapter: 114

Chapter 114 Chapter: 114
ANDREA

Patrizio pointing a gun at me, punching me, me shooting him, more gunshots, and blood, then Alessandro getting shot in place of me, gunshots, blood, chaos. I gasped, my eyes fluttering, sweat trickling down the side of my face.

Even in this cold weather, I suddenly feel hot. It took me a while for my heartbeat to normalize and for me to realize that I wasn't alone; two pairs of eyes stared at me worriedly. Lara and Meredith.

With their help,I was able to sit up on the large daybed I've been sleeping in; these days, sitting and standing took effort, and I can barely see my feet anymore.

I smoothed my hair back from my face, not looking into their eyes, I hate the pity I always see there. Though I understood it was their care and concern, I hated seeing it all the same.

I also understand that it might take time for me to stop having these bad dreams, despite Alessandro being alive, my brain, or rather my heart, still hasn't gotten the memo. Maybe when he finally comes back from the hospital, I might find my equilibrium again.

It's been 104 days since Logan flew Alessandro to the hospital in Rome to save his life, a period filled with uncertainty and hope. Alessandro had hidden the extent of his injuries from everyone just to get me to safety and stop Don before he could escape.

It wasn't until after he'd been taken to the hospital that Logan found out how badly he'd been severely injured.

The doctors in Rome had said that Alessandro's body had suffered severe physical trauma due to the three gunshot wounds he'd sustained, two of which I knew about. Nicklaus had told me that Alessandro had been shot again.

These bullets had resulted in serious damage to his body and had caused severe blood loss, which was why they had administered a medically induced coma.

So that his body can regenerate and recuperate without the excruciating pain he would have gone through while awake, which might have slowed his recovery. He'd also undergone a couple of surgeries, but none of the bullets had punctured any of his major arteries.

Just like Alessandro himself had said, though I didn't know he was alive then, even after Alessio and Casio had told me that he was, I didn't believe them because I couldn't see him for the first week he was in a coma.

I thought they were all lying to me because of my condition, not wanting to stress me, in case it affects my pregnancy.

But when Alessio/Nicklaus showed me a video of Alessandro in a comatose state in the hospital, I begged him to please take me to him. He didn't take me to see him; rather, he arranged for Alessandro to be transferred here to New York, saying he couldn't risk my safety, which is what he would have been doing by taking me back to Italy.

Ever since Alessio, Casio, and Alex brought me back from Italy, I've been overwhelmed by grief. Nothing feels good or tastes right. Life has lost its color. I only get out of bed for the life growing inside me, feeling the weight of loss and helplessness. I force myself to eat, knowing someone depends on me, but inside, I feel broken.

Whenever I recalled the exact moment Benedetto shot at Alessandro and me, protecting and getting shot in my place. My whole body would tense, then I would feel like it's just happening all over again, gunshots, the blood, the screams.

Everything is still fresh in my memory, especially the intensity of Alessandro's gaze, the same intensity I had no doubt was in my own.

I had confessed my feelings to him; I'd told him that I love him, and he might have said the same. I couldn't be sure that wasn't just my imagination. Though that moment has forever been etched in my heart.

There are so many things that still felt like a dream to me, though I recalled being forced into an SUV with sounds of shooting all around us, and I recalled staring at my hands, soaked with Alessandro's blood.

I recalled Alessio and Alex trying their hardest to console me while I sat there in the car, still in shock, staring at my bloody hands.

I recall folding in on myself and sobbing my heart out throughout our drive to Nicklaus' private plane that transported us back. I remember everything about that horrible day so vividly that it haunts me.

It didn't matter if it was day or night, they just sneaked into my sleep and ruined my entire day or night—there's still a part of me that doesn't believe I'm finally free.

“Is it the same dream?” Meredith asked, handing me a glass of water. I nodded, then took the water and gulped it down, letting the water soothe my throat. Then I gave her back the cup. I glance at Lara, who is still sitting beside me on the daybed.

Both girls have decided to move in with me and keep me company. The penthouse I've been living in is in upstate New York, not very far from the Montgomerys. It was Alessandro's.

Casio had insisted that Alessandro would want me to live here, so they brought me here, to his penthouse, which was at the top of a 30th-story building. Which Alex had told me belongs to him.

“What time is it?” I asked, then glanced at the table beside me where I'd last kept my phone.

“It's 12:15 pm,” Lara replied, passing me my phone.

“Has Nicklaus called me? Or came while I was sleeping?” I asked, glancing at both girls before checking my phone. He'd made me a promise last night, and I expect him to keep it. I didn't miss the look exchanged between them; instantly, I knew he'd done it again.

“Uhm, he'd called on my phone, I told him you were sleeping. He said he would be here soon, that he has a surprise for you,” Meredith said nervously, finger-combing her hair, which she'd cut short. I narrowed my eyes on her, not believing a word. She's hiding something. What a lying jerk! I meant Nicklaus, of course.

“How long ago was that?”

“Three hours.”

I snicker. I remember this tactic; he'd done it before. He'd waste my time so much, wait until in the evening when I'm most sleepy, tired, my legs swollen and the time is late for visiting patients then he would come with his too innocent smile, a box of my favorite cakes and ice cream tell me he's sorry he hadn't noticed the time until it's now blah blah blah.

“Where's Casio?” I asked, getting out of the daybed, my mood souring even more. I'm not waiting for Nicklaus anymore. I know the way I can fucking take myself there.

“He just went out.”

“If he's back before I'm out of the bathroom, let him know we're going out,” I yelled, going into Alessandro's room so I can empty my full bladder in the bathroom and shower. I'm tired of both Alessio and Casio treating me like a kid. Jerks all of them, for the love of God, being pregnant doesn't equate being crippled or handicapped.

Though I'm so mad at them at this moment, both Nicklaus and Casio have been doing their best in taking care of me. Nicklaus has taken on the role of Alessandro, taking me to the doctor for my antenatal check-ups and shopping for baby clothes and stuff. Accommodating my needs and cravings, at least the ones he could, despite his resemblance to Alessandro, I never once took Alessio for him.

Whenever I look at him, though they share the same face and everything, there is no chemistry between us. When I stare into his eyes, I don't see that dark, intense look that triples my heartbeat and arouses my soul. In that way, only Alessandro knows how to, like he wanted to consume me. Alessio/Nicklaus is like a friend and the brother I never had.

Casio, on the other hand, has taken his job as my bodyguard way too seriously. Wherever I am, he's never far behind, even when it's just seeing me at the doctor, you'll find him right outside the door—waiting, watching menacingly.

Lara, Meredith, and the rest of the Montgomerys have also been extremely kind to me. The girls were the reason I'm saner and happier than I should be. We have movie nights, go shopping together, and they've even tried to help me set up the babies' room and beds. Still, it was Nicklaus and Casio that had done the bulk of the work.

The others are always calling to check up on me, sometimes even dropping by with food and other things they've heard I like. All of them know of Alessandro and what happened to both brothers, though not in detail, except Alex, who is running some of Alessandro's businesses, including Vault, while Nicklaus takes care of the rest.

Alice and Beth had both visited me so often that it felt like they lived here in Manhattan. The first time they saw me, they were shocked, all right, both staring at my bulging stomach with slack jaws.

It took a lot of strength for me to explain the truth to them and apologize for everything I'd put them through. Alice had kissed and hugged me, saying there's nothing to forgive and that it wasn't my fault. When I told them about Alessandro, they'd both visited him with me.

Alessandro had successfully established many businesses and invested in others. Thinking back now, I realize not all his trips back when I was in Villa Marchetti were about the mafia. He'd probably been checking up on Nicotech, his own businesses, and Alessio, who had miraculously woken up from his coma then.

It's ironic how Alessandro is the one in a coma now. It's been six weeks since he'd been in an induced coma, during which I'd visited him almost every day, after he was transferred to the state. Then, after the doctors had brought him back, he'd been taken to the ICU.

I couldn't visit him because my doctor had told Nicklaus that my blood pressure is high, which might affect the babies, and had warned against anything that could be a danger to my health and the babies.

Alessio had taken that warning so seriously that he'd decided that, since my mood always plummeted whenever I went to see Alessandro, I always ended up crying. Which is true, but that's just my hormones and not the point anyway. Not seeing him might make me worse.

Alessio had told me that I needed to take care of myself and the babies first and that Alessandro is in good hands; as such, I shouldn't see Alessandro for a while, especially since he'd finally come out of the coma and out of danger.

I'd fought him about it and lost; he and Casio with the girls had all gang up on me. I'd relent in the end, especially since walking now is such an effort with my huge stomach and swollen feet. I should have delivered by now; it's been a week past my due date.

Any day now, I'll be in labor; that thought alone freaks the hell out of me. Just the thought of two lives coming out of me is enough for me to start crying. Yeah, I'm having twins! I'd told the doctors I don't want to know their genders; I'd like that to be a surprise.

Sometimes, just thinking about holding my babies, touching and seeing them for the first time, makes me feel like all the things I'd gone through to have them were worth it. But when I also think of Alessandro not being able to be there for our children's birth, I feel so sad that I become a sobbing mess.

My stomach is so freaking huge, you'd have thought there were actually four tiny babies in my stomach, not two. It's been weeks since I visited Alessandro, but I know he's doing better. Alessio has been sending me videos of himself. The last video I saw made me tear up. He looks good, which means he's healing and will be back in the world soon.

I miss him so fucking much it hurts; there's this need to see him inside me that I couldn't take anymore. So I begged Nicklaus to take me to him. He'd of course agreed to come pick me up today, but now I find out he'd ditched me? Asshole! I'm going there myself, even if Casio also refuses to take me.