Chapter 144. HONEYMOON (FIONA)

Chapter 144. HONEYMOON (FIONA)
Same hotel, same room, but with a slightly different occupant. I opened the balcony door wide and smiled at the beautiful view of Rome. I couldn’t believe I was back here again. Life felt unreal to me.
“Mommy, where’s Daddy?”
I turned around and saw Melissa sitting on the bed. She was munching on a sandwich. She’d been starving since we arrived at the hotel. Mia was going to take her to a restaurant, but I told her I’d order room service for Melissa. I told Mia to rest in her room because she barely slept during the flight to Rome.
“He’s smoking in the garden with Uncle Rick. Do you want to take a shower with Mommy?”
“I want Daddy.”
She started whining noisily. This little girl couldn’t be away from Joshua for even a moment.
"He'll be back in a minute. Finish your sandwich. I'll get us some warm water ready for a soak."
This suite held so many memories that I couldn't stop smiling. Even though our honeymoon four years ago ended tragically, we spent so much time in this suite.
I opened each of the colorful bottles of liquid soap near the bathtub. They all had delightful floral and fruity scents. I chose the pink liquid soap with a strawberry and cherry scent. Melissa would have loved seeing her bathtub filled with pink water and pretty glitter. My little princess was a pink monster. She loved all the pink stuff.
Melissa finally got a pink balloon after waiting months for it. I thought Joshua had forgotten about it, but apparently he hadn't.
About two months ago, Joshua took Melissa to the backyard after dinner. I had no idea what he was going to do. And when I opened the kitchen door that led to the backyard, I was amazed by the thousands of pink balloons filling the backyard. Lots of pink balloons. They were tied to three metal rods. They danced noisily in the air every time a strong breeze blew.
Melissa couldn't stop saying "wow" and jumping up and down excitedly. My little girl was so excited to fly those pink balloons with her Daddy. They filled the sky with pink balloons that night. I was so proud of Joshua for creating such a memorable moment for Melissa. I was sure our girl would never forget it for the rest of her life.
"Mommy, where are you?"
"Right here, Honey."
Melissa approached me in the bathroom. As I expected, she was thrilled to see the bathtub filled with sparkling pink water. Her breath hitched, and she seemed impatient to jump in.
“Take off your shirt and pants before you get in the water.”
“Mommy, the water is pink! It’s pink.”
“I know, honey. Do you like it?”
Melissa nodded enthusiastically.
She managed to take off her pants, but she struggled to undo the small buttons on her blouse.
“Mommy…” she whined.
“Come here. I’ll help you.”
“It smells like Grandpa Roberto’s cookies.”
Melissa took a deep breath of the soapy scent from the bathtub.
“Yup. It smells like Grandpa Roberto’s cookies. Do you miss him?”
“A little. Why isn’t Grandpa Roberto coming with us?”
“He likes to stay home with his favorite flowers.”
“But I’m glad Mia and Uncle Rick are coming with us.” Melissa wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me briefly on the lips.
“You can’t wait to go on an adventure with them, huh?”
“Yes. I want to go on an adventure with Mia and Uncle Rick.”
My adorable daughter.
Roberto must have been lonely at home without Melissa. My little daughter, even though she was a toddler, was able to make such a big house so lively with just her noise. I couldn't imagine how noisy this house would be when two new members arrived in a few months. My twins. I was sure our house would never be as peaceful as it was.
I slowly climbed into the bathtub with Melissa. We giggled as the glittery pink water submerged us. Melissa was so excited to catch the glitter. She splashed it on her face and mine. It wasn't just Melissa who loved it, I loved it too.
"Mommy, I want a pink swimming pool at home."
"You already have a swimming pool at home."
"But the water is blue, not pink. I want a pink pool with unicorns. I'll ask Daddy to build me a pink pool at home."
I sighed softly.
Joshua wouldn't be able to say no if his little girl asked him for something.
"We already have a huge swimming pool at home. If you ask for another one, who's going to clean it, hmm?"
"Of course, Grandpa Roberto!"
"Grandpa Roberto is old, honey. He'll be exhausted if he cleans two swimming pools and does all the other housework."
"Mia will clean it then."
"Mia is busy with the kitchen and taking care of you."
Melissa looked at me with a frown.
"Uncle Rick?"
"He's busy helping Daddy at the office."
"The guards?"
"They can't clean the pool."
"They can only shoot, Mom?"
"Yeah, they can only shoot."
Melissa was used to seeing armed guards roaming the house. She knew about pistols and their uses because Joshua had told her. Once, Melissa walked up to a guard who was in the yard. She wanted to touch the rifle he was carrying.
Tony was confused by Mellisa's request. He wanted to refuse, but Mellisa kept whining. Tony removed all the bullets from the rifle before letting Mellisa hold it. He was very tense as he stood beside Mellisa. Sweat beaded profusely on his forehead. Meanwhile, Mellisa played with the heavy rifle enthusiastically.
She's a Lident.
Joshua kept telling me that with pride.
He couldn't wait to take Mellisa to his gun room and teach her how to shoot.
When I blinked, I saw Joshua leaning against the bathroom wall. One hand held a wine glass, the other in his pocket.
"How long have you been standing there?"
Melissa turned around when she heard me talking to her father. She called out to Joshua enthusiastically.
"Daddy, come here!"
"Since you've been daydreaming. I've been enjoying watching the two most precious women in my life soak."
"Daddy, Daddy, I want a pink pool at home too."
“Okay. You’ll have a pink pool at home.”
“Josh!” I warned him sternly, shaking my head.
“We already have a huge pool at home.”
“But my princess wants a pink pool.”
“Don’t you dare build a pink pool at home for her.”
Joshua laughed and took a sip of his wine. He loved teasing me.
“Darling, your mom won’t let me build a pink pool for you.”
“Why? I want a pink pool,” Melissa whined.
She was starting to fuss, and it was all because of Joshua.
“Josh, you’re ruining my peaceful day.”
“Okay, okay.”
Joshua set his wine glass down by the sink. He rolled up his sleeves and sat on the edge of the bathtub.
“Lilly, listen to Daddy. We’re not building a new pool at home, but we’re going to fill the bathtub in your bathroom with pink water and glitter like this. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, Daddy!” she exclaimed excitedly.
Yeah, this sucks.
I didn’t like it when they started teaming up to carry out their plan. Nothing could stop them. Not even my words or even my anger.
“Chill, baby. This is our honeymoon and our first family vacation. You should be happy.”
Joshua lifted my chin and kissed my pursed lips in annoyance. He nibbled on my bottom lip, teasing me with his hot tongue.
My eyes dropped to his neck, simply to avoid eye contact. The corner of my eye caught a red stain near the collar of his shirt.
I poked it with the tip of my index finger.
“Is this blood?”
Joshua pulled away from me. His eyes fell to the tip of my index finger.
“Is this blood?”
Joshua stared at me for a few heartbeats before saying yes firmly. The warmth in his eyes faded and turned to coldness.
I glanced at Melissa, who was busy playing with the glitter floating in the water. This wasn’t the right time to talk about that.
“You owe me an explanation, Josh.”
“My bad. I underestimated your keen eye.”
“Even your black shirt couldn’t hide that blood stain from me.”
“I know.”
Joshua stood up. He took his wine and walked out of the bathroom.
My heart was pounding in my ribcage. I had managed to survive three months without blood with Joshua. My hope was to spend the rest of my life with him without blood.
And it turned out that was too much to ask.