My brother
My brother
BEN POV
Maybe this was the best decision.
To leave and go back to the life I used to have before I blew it to flames.
Ambrose had opened my eyes because I had been fighting for a lost cause.
Maybe everything was just a hallucination.
After being discharged from the hospital, I had thought it through and decided to go back to New York.
Alessia sat beside me.
“Mommy, are you feeling better now?”
I nodded quietly.
Ever since the accident happened in the vineyard, Ambrose can't stand to be in the same room with me, so he was avoiding me, and it was pretty obvious.
“Is Grandpa still upset because you got hurt?” she asked curiously.
I gave her a small smile.
“No, he's not mad at me… We just had a small fight, but we’ll talk and make up.”
She cocked a brow at me.
This girl is too smart for her age.
I changed the topic, trying to distract her.
“Are you excited to go back to New York? I know Uncle Nolan and your grandmother missed you very much.”
She looked sad but smiled.
“Yeah, I guess so…” she mumbled quietly.
I gave her a puzzled look.
“I thought you’d be excited to go back home.”
She shrugged and lay on my lap.
I hummed in response, playing with her hair.
“You made me move here when I didn’t even want to… and when I got used to the idea of staying here with Uncle Matteo, Grandpa, and you, but you’re making us move again.”
I felt bad.
“I’m sorry, honey. I had no idea that you felt that way… I promise that from now on we’ll make decisions as a team.”
She got up, holding out her pinky.
“I want you to promise me.”
I smiled, hooking my pinky around hers.
“We are officially a mother-and-daughter team.”
She wrapped her arms around me.
I sighed softly, stroking her hair.
She pulled back.
“When are we leaving?”
“Tonight, so you should probably pack your luggage, and please don’t forget anything because we won't be returning here for a long time.”
She nodded quietly and went to her room.
I got out of bed and began packing my bags as well.
There was a knock on the door.
Matteo stood in the doorway, and I urged him to come in.
“So, you’re really leaving? Just spend one more week here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“That would be torturing myself… and I’m not ready to go through that again.”
He nodded in understanding.
“I realized that Nolan was right all along, and I get why he hid the truth about his father’s existence. I mean, look at me: the moment I learned that he was alive, I abandoned my marriage, put my daughter’s future at stake, and came to Italy on a whim without a backup plan.”
“When I thought about how much time I’ve wasted trying to make Ambrose remember his past, I could have done something useful back at home… but look at me, I’m going back home feeling like I failed Alessia, and I failed myself.”
Matteo placed his hands on my shoulders.
“Ben, look at me.”
I couldn’t even look him in the eye as a lone tear rolled down my cheek.
“Hey, look at me.”
Our eyes locked in a frenzy.
“You didn’t fail, and I’m glad you came to Italy to fight for what you hold dearest in your heart. You didn’t give up, but sometimes we can't control everything, and the only thing we can do is accept reality.”
I nodded quietly.
He wrapped his arms around me.
“Besides, you didn’t come here all for nothing. I enjoyed cooking for you and Alessia.”
That made me chuckle.
Someone cleared their throat, and we broke apart and found Ambrose watching us with a look I couldn’t describe.
“I’m sorry for interrupting the both of you,” he said quietly.
Matteo looked nervous and excused himself.
I ignored Ambrose and continued packing my bags.
“Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?” he finally asked.
I remained silent.
“It’s not like Alessia and I are leaving anytime soon… I was planning on saying goodbye after dinner.”
He sighed deeply.
“Benedykta.”
Our eyes locked in a frenzy.
“I’m sorry about the way I spoke to you at the hospital… It was very rude and inconsiderate.”
I nodded quietly.
“Apology accepted. You can leave now; I’m kind of busy at the moment.”
He didn’t make any attempt to move.
“Ambrose, what’s going on? I accepted your apology; what more do you want from me?”
He looked frustrated as he ran his fingers through his hair.
He looked at me like he was pleading.
Like he was begging me to stay.
Why were you toying with my feelings?
He left without saying anything, and I sat on the bed as tears filled my eyes.
I decided to pull myself together and zipped up my suitcase.
I closed the door and went to take a shower.
A few hours later, dinner went swiftly; Alessia and Matteo carried us through some conversations.
The tension between Ambrose and me seemed to get worse.
I bid everyone goodbye and said goodbye to Matteo.
He was driving us to the airport.
I offered Ambrose my hand because I couldn’t bring myself to hug him.
He shook my hand.
And that’s how we went our separate ways.
It felt like I was losing him all over again.
I vowed never to set foot in Italy again.
We were waiting for our flight to be called when I received a phone call from my mother.
Matteo stayed with Alessia while I excused myself.
“Honey, you need to come back home.”
I got worried.
“I’m at the airport right now; what’s going on?”
“My son is still alive… the boy I lost the night I adopted you came to the mansion with your mother.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“How is this even possible?”
“Your mother hid the fact that he miraculously survived that fateful night… your grandfather made sure that a DNA test was conducted, and the results came back positive.”
“You have a brother, honey, and his name is Asher… you share the same birthday too.”
She was over the moon.
I felt a little shaken but still composed myself.
The only thing I could think about was my biological mother.
Did she even ask for me?
I swallowed hard.
“What about my mother?”
There was silence from the other end of the line.
“Cecilia only wanted money, honey… I’m so sorry.”
I felt the pain in my heart.
My own mother didn’t even remember me.
A lone tear rolled down
my cheek.
“It’s okay; I just wanted to know if she was still around… but anyway, I have to go before we miss our flight.”
She sighed softly.
“Ben…”