Chapter 135

Adrian's POV

The baby was here, finally. Oh! How I loved being a father!

There was no other feeling as incredible as this and I could barely believe I was capable of these feelings.

Who would have thought, that, I, Adrian was capable of leaving the Mafia, live a civilian life as a partner and a father? I could never believe it, if I had been told.

Life was good. We had set up everything we needed before his arrival, so that bit was done.

We decided he was going to be with us in our room for a while before heading over to the other room with the baby monitor on.

No one said having a child was going to be so stressful, as well as rewarding.

Mia looked tired each passing day and it was obvious being a new mother was beginning to take its toll on her.

I knew if I did not step up, it would be much worse and so I decided, them and there, that we were going to have pampering sessions, mostly for her. Sessions where I would set up everything good, a warm bath, a pedicure with massagers available.

Those were going to be great for the evenings.

I opted to do the shopping as well, that way the stress of sourcing for groceries and household supplies would be nonexistent.

She made sure to tell me how happy she was that I was willing to help. She was appreciative of the work I put into the household.

Baby was a few weeks old already and we had not yet thought of a name for him. We decided we could call him, Adrian JR. It was pretty cool too.

It was a bright morning, with the promise of being sunny. A perfect day to sunbath and skinny dip in a cool body of water.

Mia decided she did not need any of that though. She had written up a list of what she wanted around the house and she was ready and excited to leave the house to go shopping with me.

I was excited about that too. Since giving birth, she had barely left the house. So, she saying she was leaving today was some sort of a breath of fresh air.

She went on to prepare breakfast for us both. She also pumped some milk for JR and put some in the fridge.

There were going to be given to him when we were back.

Soon, she was ready and she was good to go.

We both made our way to the car and I drove through the path onto the highway and into the mall's lot.

Things were going well. Just a heterosexual couple with their child getting household items. Then, I saw him.

He looked at me sternly. He had a sharp jawline and deep, piercing eyes. His aura could be sensed from miles away and I knew someone was watching the moment I felt his presence.

It was unmistakable.

He was a frenemy. He was from a rival mafia group and was a high rank leader there.

Both of our groups were not rivals in the sense of the world, but we also would resist from crossing each other’s path.

I knew he wanted to have a word with me and if it was not serious or urgent, he would not be here.

I looked at Mia, she did not seem to notice him, since she was excitedly showing JR the items on the shelf like he could understand any of it. I was happy though. That was a nice moment to witness.

But, I knew something or someone was waiting for me and I needed to attend to it to avoid any form of creating a scene.

Now, I was conflicted between letting he know where I was going and just disappearing, or lying.

I chose to lie instead, so she does not panic when she turns around and don't find me.

“Hey, Mia. I'd just get something from the men's section. Will be back in a minute.”

She smiled at me, “have fun !’ before turning back to go on with her previous activity.

I nodded in response, then turned to look at him, gesturing with my head to go out of Mia's sight.

She did not see him and I wanted it to remain that way.

“Andrew.” I greeted.

“Howdy, Adrian!” He greeted back, smirking. He was known for his infamous smirk and it was annoying.

“What the fuck are you doing here? In this mall? Coming to keep tabs on me?” I hushed out, feeling the emotions build up.

“Hey, now! Is that how you greet a friend around here?” He asked, annoyingly.

I lost control and I rolled my eyes at him. A habit I had picked up from Mia. She always did it, when I was being insanely annoying.

“Oh my! Is that a new habit? You picked that up from the beautiful lady, I guess.” He mocked and I gritted my teeth.

“Now, don't get your balls all up in a tight grip. But, it is just so sad that you would have to leave them, for a while at least.” He said, putting on a mock pity face.

I did not fall for that. I knew he acted this way and it was not surprising. For someone who had such domineering features and held such high position, he sure did act like an unhinged teenager.

“Why is that? Is there something wrong? And what makes you so sure that I would leave this little life of mine to go back to that world?” I asked, looking intensely at him.

He looked at me for a moment and let out a laugh.

“Look at you! You miss this! I know because I have been there. You miss the action and everything that comes with being a leader. You want back in and this is an avenue. The guy you left to handle things can only hold out for a minute. He is exhausted. Come on! This is not his life, it's yours and you are pretty good at it.”

I looked at him, not getting what point he was driving at.

“Alexei was defeated. There are a ton of guys that think they can take you on. Christian or whatever his name is cannot handle it. You had better come back if you do not want your sweat to be burned down.” He continued, now talking more seriously.

I made a promise to myself and Mia, but if I did not do this, there was every possibility that my family would be targeted and that was the last thing I wanted.