57- The Confrontation in the Abandoned House
POV- Eleonora Vitale.
I wake up abruptly, to find a frightened Viktor, as he holds me by the shoulders. He asks me if I am well, and his voice seems even far away from the anesthetic effect of the sleep I feel.
"Heavens, I almost had a heart attack when I heard you scream." He says when he sees that I'm fine, then he gets up and gets a glass of water for me. "What happened, Nora?" He asks worriedly, as he strokes my hair.
"I had a strange dream about my mother." I lower my view, but he puts his finger on my chin, making me look at him again.
"You can tell me if you want..." He takes my hand and leaves a tender and affectionate kiss on her back.
"Well, I dreamed of the fig tree next to the mansion and under it were two young men who seemed to love each other very much. Then I spotted Alfred's mansion and moved closer. When I got ahead, I ended up seeing a woman leaving. She was holding a child in her lap. It was then that I realized the similarity between us and realized that the woman was actually my mother. I don't know, Viktor..." I think of everything I have seen. "I had never dreamed of anything like it, and in all the times I had such similar experiences with my mother, it was never like this. Without understanding what that means."
"Dear, I wish I had the answers to your questions. However, I don't know what that means either. But I ask you not to think too much about these things. I don't want you to be upset." He kisses me on the forehead and snuggles me to his chest, wrapping me in a hug. I close my eyes and go back to sleep.
THE NEXT DAY...
"You look terrible." Renzo says, with a cynical smile.
"I already know that, Renzo. You don't need to remind me." I sigh, as I play with the food on my plate.
"What happened, daughter?" Alfred asks, somewhat worried.
"I had a strange dream about my mother." I say sadly. Renzo breaks his smile and whispers a "I'm sorry". As Viktor holds my hand, as if to give me strength. So I tell you what happened, and when I finish, I realize that Alfred is incredulous.
I wonder what he's thinking...
...
POV- Alfred Castelli.
I am very surprised by the dream that Eleonora has just told us, but the detail that catches my attention the most is the part where Martina says that one day she will find her daughter. Although she was possibly carrying Eleonora on her lap, it is probably another child.
It is not impossible that Martina had more than one baby, as there were many parts of the story that only those who were present know. The love of my life, unfortunately, was no longer here to talk about what happened, and much less the people of that time.
"Alfred? Is that okay?" Eleonora asks me, when she realizes that I'm aerial.
"Oh, yes. I'm just a little surprised that you dreamed of something so... significant." She nods and goes back to concentrating on her meal.
"Alfred, can we talk for a moment?" Viktor asks. I agree and say:
"Of course, let's go to my office to talk better." We got up and walked towards the room, under the curious eyes of Eleonora and Renzo.
Once we enter the space, I point to the chair, so that Viktor can sit down. I go around my desk and also sit down, gesturing for him to start talking.
"I know how it must feel, having your real daughter by your side. And I really understand that you want to say that you are your father, that she recognizes him as such. Just as I now recognize you as your father-in-law. But understand: Eleonora is pregnant, and I don't want her to feel bad. I pray not only for her, but also for my son." He says, making me reflect on the question.
"I hadn't thought about it." I say when I look at a knick-knack, which is on top of a notepad. "I will never wish harm to my daughter and grandson, so I will not say anything to her for now. I'll wait a little longer."
"I'm sorry, but if it weren't for this situation, I would be the first to step forward in support of you." He smiles sadly and I agree in the same way. "It would be a great emotion if Eleonora knew that she had spent her whole life calling a man who had never been her biological father 'father'. And that his life was changed by intrigues of the past."
Viktor is completely right! There is no way to tell something like this so suddenly, and especially with Eleonora being pregnant.
"I didn't stop to think about these things. Viktor, I planned to tell you everything this weekend and I didn't even measure the consequences that this could cause. I'm glad you alerted me in time, but..." I sigh and continue: "It kills me to know that she is my daughter and that she cannot know."
"Alfred, I know it's not easy. But have just a little more patience... Yes?" I agree, and so we ended up talking about other subjects.
HOURS LATER...
Together in the open, Eleonora, Viktor, Renzo and I talked casually near a lake at the back of the mansion. We made our bambina laugh like a little child, and that made me more than happy.
Until she suddenly moves away a little and walks around. At a certain point, we realized that it was no longer in sight and we started to worry. We ended up separating to better search. The more I walk and don't see any signs, the more I despair.
"Eleonora?!" I hear Viktor's voice calling for her, but there is no answer.
"Eleonora, where are you?" This time it is Renzo who calls her. Silence was present, and this brings me enormous anguish.
"Eleonora..." I whisper when I find her unconscious and lying on the floor. I take her in my arms. "Viktor, Renzo!! She's here!" I scream, and in a few minutes the two appear.
Viktor despairs when he sees how Eleonora was doing and takes her in his arms, taking her to the mansion. He insists on taking her to the hospital, but knew it was just a fainting. So I ask one of the maids to bring me alcohol and cotton.
When wearing them, she comes back to herself and opens her eyes slowly, blinking a few times to get used to the light.
"What happened?" She asks and tries to get up, but I stop her, saying:
"Stay lying down. You've just recovered from a fainting. But tell me: do you feel any pain?" I put my hand on his forehead to see if he has a fever, but his temperature seems normal.
"No, just a little dizziness. However, I believe it is caused by pregnancy." Still worried, I agree and so I give space for Viktor to talk to her.
"You scared me, love. Never walk away like that again..." He says and hugs her. With her smiling, I smile at the way the two treat each other.
That my daughter is happy, of that I have no doubt! I think when I see her happy.
\[...\]
POV- Eleonora Vitale.
I sigh, bored from spending the whole day doing absolutely nothing. I even thought about calling Alice, but she's probably still at work.
So I decide to leave my room and start wandering around the Sorrentino mansion, admiring the various well-made paintings. "The paintings really are very beautiful!" Above all, the painting of two twin babies. They were not identical, as one had blue eyes and brown hair, while the other had brown eyes and black hair.
That's when I feel a presence next to me and turn in the same direction.
"Mrs. Suzana?"
"Hello, my dear! I see that she is concentrating on painting." He says and points with his chin to where he was observing earlier.
"Yes, it caught my attention a lot. Could you explain something about it?" She frowns, but smiles and says:
"Well, I made this painting thinking about some moments of my youth. This represents the birth of two babies. Before I married Viktor's grandfather, I lived with my mother in the countryside, and she was a midwife. I witnessed many births, but this one was the one that marked me the most."
"And for what reason?" Ask. She remains smiling for a few seconds. But then he says:
"With the wickedness of that time, one of the children was separated from his mother." I am shocked and thoughtful by such a revelation.
"But that's illegal." Comment. She sighs and asks:
"Yes. But if we didn't, we would be killed." I'm perplexed. "If the mother of this baby is alive, may she one day find him and give him the love he could not give as a child."
Still with our thoughts on this event, Mrs. Suzana and I followed the corridor, still admiring the other paintings.
MEANWHILE...