170: EPILOGUE PART 2
LORENZO’S P.O.V.:
When Isabella walked in, her eyes were swollen and rimmed with tears. She was holding onto Lily tightly as if she were worried that she would disappear. I stood patiently by the counter with a mug of hot chocolate in my hands for her. I had a hunch about how the talk was going to go; I didn’t expect it to be this bad.
“He was at the hospital,” she said finally, and I stayed silent. “I deserved to know.”
“Yes, you did.”
“You should have let me make the decision. You shouldn’t have sent him away.”
“Both you and Lily were at risk of dying. You had an emergency C.S., and you were cursing everything and everyone. The last thing you needed was more stress, and we both know that is what Mac would have been. I knew that, he knew that, and he was content to come later, but he had to go away for a while.”
She pursed her lips but stayed silent. Even she couldn’t argue with my logic. Lily’s birth was one of the scariest points in my life. I had never felt so human and fragile before. I couldn’t fight my way out of things; I had to stand there helpless as she was wheeled into surgery, and our baby girl was taken out of her.
She took a seat with a resigned sigh. Her shoulders were stiff and her eyes were unfocused. I immediately knew this was about much more than just Mac being at the hospital. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Natalia walk in and I gestured for her to come over. She rolled her eyes but obliged. Over the last few months, she acted less like a spoiled mob princess and more like a spoiled sister. I wasn’t sure which part I preferred.
“Can you take Lily, please?” I asked, and she stilled.
It was probably my use of the last word; I never said please to anyone except Isabella and Leo. She immediately nodded, and Isabella was completely stoic as Lily was slowly taken from her arms. Once Natalia was gone, I turned back to my wife.
“Walk with me,” I didn’t give her the chance to respond before I intertwined our fingers and pulled her to her feet. She moved on auto pilot as I slowly led her outside until we got to the large swing set I had erected for Leo. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“Carmen is pregnant,” she whispered, and my brows rose. “I don’t know how to feel about that. It feels final, you know, like she is part of his life.”
“She was part of his life the moment he went to her.”
She shot me a death glare and I raised both hands in mock surrender. “I cant forgive her, I don’t want to.”
“Then don’t, you don’t have to, just forgive Mac.”
“He has done nothing wrong.”
“He left you, and you are pissed about it. You don’t have to like Carmen, but you will hate yourself if you don’t have a relationship with Mac’s child and you know it.”
She didn’t say a word, but she didn’t need to. I already knew what she was going to do before she knew what she was going to do. I pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and walked away, giving her the chance to think and make a choice for herself.
Matteo and I were in my office pondering over some files when the door opened, and Leo stumbled in. I raised a brow in his direction. He came in here for two reasons only- to bother me or to snoop. I wasn’t sure which it was.
“Mum said you need to be at dinner- both of you,” he whispered as if scared that Isabella would over hear him. “She said if you aren’t there in five minutes she would drag both of you by the ears.”
Matteo laughed but stood to his feet. She couldn’t do it, but she was darn well going to try if she had to. “Tell your mother we will be right there and not to get her panties in a twist.”
Leo wrinkled his nose. “Why are you talking about my mum’s panties?”
He mumbled a few words before walking out of the room. Once he was gone, Matteo turned to me. “Do you know what this is about?”
“I might have an idea, but I need to confirm it first. You’ll see.”
If I was right, Matteo was better off not knowing.
The table was set when we arrived and I couldn’t help but note the two empty spots. Everyone else seemed to notice it too because they all stared at it in silent question. The door bell rang and Isabella stilled. I could tell she was anxious about what was about to happen, but she squared her shoulders and opened the door. I knew the exact minute Mac, and Carmen walked in because Matteo stilled.
“This better be a fucking joke,” he snarled, but Isabella simply shot him a bored look. “Have you forgiven her for almost killing your son?”
“No, and I probably never will but that doesn’t really matter, does it? She is Mac’s family and Mac is mine. I couldn’t care less if she lived or died,” she paused then turned to Carmen, “no offense.”
“None taken,” she managed a small smile, and Isabella turned back to Matteo.
“I miss my friend, and you miss your cousin. For the first time in a long time, we are at peace, and I would like to keep it that way, so can we please have dinner like a family?”
Matteo grumbled a few words under his breath but nodded. Carmen and Mac took their seats, and I saw relief settle on Isabella when she realized that things were actually going well. She took hers as well and reached out for my hand.
“You did good,” I whispered and she gave me a small smile. I kissed the back of her palm not caring who was watching. “Ti amo, mia cara.”
She gave me a watery smile. “You better, considering you forced me into this marriage.”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “It was the best decision I ever made.”