ROSALINE
“She’s asleep now” I said quietly, a hand still patting her hair gently while Russo’s steps approached me. His hand gently moved to the back of my head in a gentle, soothing pat
“Russo” I pulled my hand away from Damien and looked up at him. His eyes were gentle and immediately I rose from the bed, he pulled me into a warm embrace that I very much needed. Diane made me remember my younger self so much but I was a bit luckier. I had Russo and I also had this generational wealth that my family had left for me.
“She’s so helpless” I mumbled.
“I know” His deep voice soothed me as he patted me comfortingly. I felt so warm in his arms. It was like my own personal safe space that I could always run into.
“Russo” I pulled back a little from the hug.
“Does she have any other family? Her mum is dead and Karl is dead too. Is there any other person for her?” I asked.
“According to the records, Karl has no relative anymore but who knows if he was lying about that just the way he lied about not having a child? I will have to double check his family background”
My arms were still wrapped around him as I fixed our gaze.
“If… If she has no one she can go back to, what do you think about us adopting her?” I shot the question.
“Cara” Russo’s hands moved to my face and cupped my face.
“You want us to adopt her?” There was a bit of hesitation in his eyes.
“She’s lovely and she reminds me of myself. If she has no one, we can help her. We can keep her with us and take care of her”
“You do know that by adopting her into this family, we might be putting her in danger, Cara?” He asked and a sad look crossed my face. I knew exactly what he meant by that.
“I… I guess it’s fine to let go of her if we find her family then” My face turned crest fallen.
“Cara, look at me” Russo made me look back into his eyes.
“You want her?” He asked and I nodded, moving my hands from around him to his chest.
“I do. I want her.” I affirmed and Russo took his gaze off me and looked to sleeping Diane.
“She’s adorable, Russo. She can be the start to our family” I said and sharply pressed my lips into a thin line, recalling that Russo had once told me he had no plans of having children in the future.
“I am getting a bit too ahead of myself. I am sorry” I pulled myself out of his grip.
“It is fine if you do not want to adopt Diane. I can go through with the adoption process myself once she agrees to it.” I turned away from him, walking towards the door.
“You don’t have to feel pressured about having a family. It’s…”His arms wrapped around me, cutting me off.
“Pressured?” His voice caressed my ears.
“Yes, I remember you told me you didn’t want a family and…”
“And I remember telling you I was uninterested in falling in love but here I am, in love with you.” He cut me off and I felt my heart skip a beat.
“You want a family too?” I couldn’t keep my smiles in check.
“A child wi3th your eyes would be bliss, Cara” He turned me to face him, his hand sliding to my waist.
“Are you sure about this, Russo?” I asked seriously and he moved closer to me, leaning down to my ear.
“I am going to sound like a hypocrite while I say this but I really do want children from you. Just you. No other woman” He moved his head slightly to look back at my face.
“You already have me doing things I think I would never do. And you have me fucking glad to do those things. I want you and I want a mini version of you. I wish I had never uttered those stupid words to you that night. Fucking stupid of m, judging by the fact that I already had feelings for you even back then”
My face lit up at his last words and a small blush rose to my cheeks.
“You already had feelings for me back then?” a smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
“What do you think?” A teasing smile appeared on his face.
I was about to respond when we both heard Daiane stir in her sleep.
“We should leave her to sleep well for now” Russo suggested and I nodded in agreement. His arm was around my waist as he led me out of the room. The room that would now be known as Diane’s room. The thought of it made my heavy heart lighten up a little bit more.
I still had my mind occupied with the thoughts of Karl’s death when I was swept off my feet by Russo, making my stomach tighten and then explode with tiny butterflies.
“You should have enough rest, Caramia” He kissed my forehead gently before taking me back to our room. I loved the sound of our room.
He gently dropped me on the bed and pulled the sheets over my laps.
“Russo, you know last night is not your fault, right?” I asked, looking at him. I just could not completely shake off the feeling that Russo still held on that cloak of guilt over him firmly.
“I know” He assured me but I could feel that he had just said those two words to please me.
“Do you need me to get you anything?” He asked, with the clear intention of completely changing the topic.
“I am fine” I assured him and he leaned, showered my face with kisses.
“I will be back in less than an hour and I promise I will return as clean as possible” He whispered to me and pulled away.
I watched him walk out of the room before letting a smile cross my face. Things could be down a bit for now but I could already see how things would look in a few days or maybe a few weeks.
I was barely able to visualize the entire scene of my future joy when my phone rang, shattering my world building.
I reached for the phone and checked who was calling.
Rick.