Chapter 93: Grateful
Carrie
Alessandro and I sat in silence for a very long time.
We held hands and watched how the sea displayed its flowing beauty.
Then, after many minutes, I asked, “How have you been?”
Alessandro faced me, his gorgeous eyes making my heart thud as though it was my first time meeting him.
“Shitty. Very shitty.”
His response tempted me to imagine how terrible he must have felt after my father kidnapped me. I didn’t give in to that temptation because I’ve been stopping myself from recalling those horrible moments.
“Alessandro…” My other hand rested on our entwined hands. “I’m sorry.”
He frowned. “Why would you say that?”
“My father… he caused us too much pain. He uh…”
“Don’t,” his voice stopped me from peeping into the horrible memories. “It’s too sad.”
“But it happened.” I held his soft gaze. “If I stop myself from talking about it, what about later? I cannot run away from it forever.”
“Carrie.” I heard the crack in his voice. And I watched as he bit into his lip. “You… You were in hell back there.”
My lids fluttered as a scene flashed in my mind. “I know.”
“I know saying this is foolish, but for as long as possible, I don’t want you to remember that hell.”
Gently, I smiled. “I also want that.”
“I couldn’t protect you. I don’t want you to-”
“I am here now, Alessandro,” I replied, my voice growing weak. “I am with you.”
“You are. For that,” he kissed the back of my hand, “I am very grateful.”
To hide the tears that grew in my eyes, I looked around.
“How long have we been living here?” I asked seconds later.
“Many months.”
“Wait.” I faced him. “Have we been surviving on seawater and raw fish?”
“What?” he mused.
“You just said we’ve been living here for months.”
He laughed. It was soft and melodious.
“Carrie, I meant this area. Our house is not far from here.” He gave a playful side eye. “Why would we live out here?”
The view of his laughter healed something inside me.
So, as I shrugged, I smiled and answered, “Who knows? You might have a hidden desire to be as free as a bird.”
“Well, ever since we moved here, I’ve felt free.”
“So… You officially left CDP?”
He nodded, and this time, he didn’t seem sad or regretful. He truly looked happy as he replied, “I left CDP and now learn carpentry from Ian.”
“Ian?” My brows knitted with further curiosity when I finally processed his response. “You are learning carpentry?”
A sheepish smile formed on his lips.
Oh, my husband is the cutest.
Oh my, that’s true. Alessandro and I got married. Alessandro is my husband.
Wow.
My heart fluttered insanely as I processed those words.
I really love this man, don’t I?
“I had to get busy with something while waiting for you,” Alessandro replied. “Office work sounded like a bore, so I borrowed your dream and picked up learning carpentry.”
“You were meant to be my intern, Alessandro. Have you been professionally cheating on me? Huh? Wait…” I frowned. “What do you mean by you were waiting for me? I am here. Why would you wait for me?”
“Huh…” He cleared his throat and looked elsewhere.
“Alessandro?”
“Yes?”
“What. Do. You. Mean. By. That?” I repeated my question, each word stressed as much as possible.
“Do you really want to know?”
“That’s why I am asking.”
He sighed and turned to me. “Carrie, after the… You lost some of your memories. And uh…” His hesitation bothered me. “You uh… forgot a lot. Including who I was.”
My heart sank to my belly. “I did?”
Alessandro nodded, and the thought of how wrenching the wait must have been for him drove me into his embrace.
He held me tightly, caressed my hair with his chin and said, “Don’t feel bad about it. I loved waiting for you. Doing that assured me that I truly love you. I want to experience life with you for a very long time.”
His words reached my heart, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the way they made me feel.
“I love you too, Alessandro,” I said after a lifetime of silence passed.
“We should leave. It’s almost dinner time.” I could detect a smile in his voice, and that made my heart joyous. “I must show off my new chef skills in celebration of this moment.”
“Thank you, Alessandro.” I remained in that embrace; I was not ready to let go.
“For sharpening my culinary skills?”
I nodded while stifling a chuckle that was almost overridden by a cry. “And for learning carpentry. And for bringing me to the sea. And for waiting for me. And for loving me.”
At the end of my response, the tears I tried to hold back turned into sobs, and I buried my face into his chest.
“What can I say?” Alessandro hugged me closer to his warmth. “Loving you is one of the few things I know how to do best.”
“I am glad to hear that,” I replied amidst my sobbing.
“I love you, my flower. I mean that with all my soul.”
My tears replied to him.
Alessandro patiently listened to every bit. He patted my back, combed my hair, kissed me at intervals, smiled like a clown to make me laugh within tears and watched me with the most desiring gaze I’ve ever seen.
When I became calm, we got up and headed for our house.
We walked hand-in-hand, and I thought back to every moment, situation, fate, destiny and feeling that brought me to this point. I appreciated them for being part of the reasons I get to be loved in this special way.
When I was tossed into the abyss of hatred and darkness, I met Alessandro, and with every crazy step, I was guided into the embrace of love.
For that, I’ll be eternally grateful to the aforementioned factors and, most importantly, to Alessandro, the love of my life.