Chapter 89 Barriers,

Chapter 89 Barriers,
♡ Alexander's P.O.V ♡

It was literally the next day and we were yet again at another hotel. We'd landed in Greece just hours ago and while I was ready to get the hell out of this place, Andrea had been shouting into the phone for the past hour. Liam had spiked a fever when we landed, and it didn't take Andrea and I long to put two and two together, narrowing it down to the last dish he ate on the flight.

And while Andrea spoke Greek and was already moving around the city handling things, I chose to stay here with Liam, afraid that I'd get lost dealing with the language barrier.

Since his decision for us to come here was last minute, we didn't have a security team or a driver. Andrea was working on it though. He wanted to put together the right team, people who spoke English, Italian, and Greek with clean backgrounds and experience. Which honestly sounded exhausting, but very on brand for him.

No way in hell I was going to download a translator. 

Andrea would never let me live that down. He'd taken multiple language courses throughout his lifetime, while some languages he'd known naturally since he was a child. His parents were businessmen and women who were always traveling around the world.

I picked up Italian in college, tried Mandarin, but it was too hard so I dropped it. I kinda wish I hadn't. Andrea is about five languages ahead of me at this point.

I plan to catch up to him eventually.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I pulled my damp curls into a messy bun as I made my way over to the bed where Liam was laying flat on his back with a towel-wrapped ice pack resting on his forehead.

I didn't even know what else to do to make him feel better.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I pressed the back of my hand against his forehead.

He wasn't burning up anymore, but his temperature was still a little elevated. Pinky and the Brain was playing quietly from the television in the background, the low volume filling the silence of the massive hotel suite.

Liam sighed before turning to look at me.

"My head stopped hurting, but now my stomach feels weird."

I frowned. I hated this for him. He'd been so excited when we landed, practically bouncing around the airport talking about Greece and how he wanted to see the ocean from the balcony.

"Are you still up for touring the hotel later?" 

I'd heard him make Andrea promise to walk us around the property earlier. The place was ridiculously huge, with indoor pools, water slides, restaurants, private beaches, and even a massage parlor.

I needed one of those massages immediately.

"I don't know. I don't feel too good." He removed the ice pack and rolled onto his side with a dramatic sigh.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." I gently patted his hair back from his forehead.

What else was I supposed to do?

"Will Papa be back soon?" Liam asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think so." I glanced over at the clock mounted on the wall.

"Coming to think of it, he's been gone for quite some time. Do you think he's lost?"

I turned to Liam just in time to catch the slight movement of his shoulder as he scoffed.

"Even if he is lost, he'd never admit it."

I giggled.

So true.

Andrea Russo would rather fight a bear barehanded than admit he took a wrong turn.
Liam cracked the smallest smile before wincing and pressing a hand to his stomach again.

"Do you think I'm dying?"My eyes widened.

"Oh my God, Liam, no." I laughed despite myself, sitting down beside him on the bed. 

"You just ate something bad."

"People die from food poisoning."

"Okay, first of all, stop watching documentaries with your father."

"They're educational."

"They're traumatic."

Liam snorted softly before another sigh left him.
I grabbed the bottle of water from the bedside table and handed it to him.

"You need to stay hydrated."

He stared at the bottle like it offended him personally.

"I don't wanna."

"Liam‐"

"It tastes sad." I blinked at him.

"Tastes... sad?"

"Sì."

I shook my head, laughing under my breath.

"You are definitely Andrea's child." That earned me a proud little smile.

The hotel suite suddenly felt quieter after that. Too quiet.

My eyes drifted toward the massive glass windows overlooking the city. Greece was beautiful, almost unreal looking beneath the late afternoon sun. White buildings stretched across the hillsides while the ocean glittered in the distance.

A part of me still couldn't believe I'd actually left New York behind‐ I left Jaxon behind for fucks sake...

My engagement ring caught the light as I adjusted the blanket over Liam and my stomach twisted a little..

Everything had happened so fast.

One minute I was standing outside about to walk down the aisle, and the next I was running toward Andrea like some insane fucking movie scene.

And the crazy part? I still didn't regret it‐ not even a little bit.

The sound of the suite door unlocking pulled me from my thoughts.

Liam instantly sat up.

"Papa!"

Andrea stepped inside moments later, sunglasses pushed up into his dark hair and phone still in his hand. His white button‐up was rolled to his elbows, exposing his forearms, aside from the stress lining his face, his eyes immediately softened the second they landed on us.

"There are my two favorite people." His voice came out tired but warm.

Liam pointed accusingly.

"Alex thinks you'd never admit if you got lost."

Andrea paused mid‐stride before narrowing his eyes at me. 

I lifted a shoulder innocently.

"You would've."

"I absolutely would not."

"You once drove in circles for forty minutes in Manhattan because you refused to ask someone for directions." 

Andrea scoffed.

"I knew where I was going."

"You ended up in New Jersey."

Liam burst out laughing while Andrea looked personally offended.

"That happened one time."

"It was enough."

Ooouu, he was urked...