A V E L I N AThe past couple of days in this house has been miserable for me. Serafina made sure I never had a breathing space.She was so much worse than her son.Her hatred for me was immeasurable. I didn't understand why. She didn't know me, but she was dead set on hating me.And Lorenzo was no help.He was completely blind to his mother's manipulations. His mother was the perfect definition of the devil's incarnate. She was a vile, vicious woman who enjoyed others' misery.And now, she had taken an interest in me. "How can you live with these conditions? I'm appalled. Look at this kitchen! It's so tiny and dull. What do you even cook here?"I didn't bother answering her. It's not like she was listening to me anyway. She kept talking, criticizing every single thing in the kitchen."Seriously, Lorenzo. This is unacceptable. Your wife shouldn't have to live like this. We need to find her a proper place to stay.""Mother , we've discussed this. This is my house. You have no say in ho
A V E L I N A We reached the hospital in record time. Lorenzo rushed inside, and I followed. Doctor Anderson met us in the waiting area. "Where is she?" Lorenzo asked, his arm wrapped around my waist. "She's in surgery, Mr. Salvatore. We were able to get her stabilized, but there's complications. I'm sorry, but I cannot discuss her medical history with you. Only the immediate family." I looked at him, and his expression was unreadable. "Avelina is family, Doctor Anderson. I am her grandson. Now, tell me everything." "Very well. Mrs. Salvatore has been having issues with her heart for quite a while now. The heart attack was unexpected, and her heart couldn't handle the pressure. As you know, she also has cancer, which has spread through her body. I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to live longer than we expected. At this point, there's no telling how much time she has left." Lorenzo didn't say anything. He looked at the doctor, his eyes hard. "And the surgery? What's that for?" "The
A V E L I N AWe were waiting for Maggie. It had been five hours since we were here, and the surgery was supposed to have finished by now. But, no news."How much longer will it take?" Valerie asked, her face pale and her hands shaking."I don't know." Lorenzo sighed, running a hand through his hair."Did you see her? Before they took her in?" She asked me and I shook my head."She had already been rushed into the operation room before we arrived." I responded.Serafina and Leonardo had left thankfully after waiting for only two hours, they got tired and left.Vito and Alessio were sitting with Valerie, their younger sister, holding her as she cried quietly. Giovanni was sitting very far away from us, but I didn't miss the glare he gave me from time to time.While Santino and Nicholas were nowhere to be seen."Do you need anything, Avelina?" Lorenzo asked, his fingers grazing against mine."No, I'm okay. I don't have the appetite for anything. I just need to know Maggie is okay.""S
A V E L I N A"Oh, God. I'm so sorry." I said, tears falling from my eyes."I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me. I'm sorry for everything, Maggie. Please, wake up." I touched her hand, and felt her skin. It was warm, and my tears wouldn't stop."You'll be okay. You'll be okay. I know you will." I felt Lorenzo's hand on my shoulder, and looked up. He had the most tender look on his face, and he wiped away the tears that were on my face. He pulled me closer to him, and hugged me."I'm sorry.""Don't say sorry. Don't you dare say that. You did nothing wrong. This wasn't your fault.""If I had been there-""What would've changed, Ave? Would you have known she was having a heart attack? Would you have been able to get her here before it got worse?""I don't know.""That's right. You don't. And, you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. Maggie wouldn't want that. She would want you to be strong, and she would want you to not give up on the life you were given.""I know. I
A V E L I N AI fell asleep in the chair, only to be awaken by the constant ringing of my phone. Groaning, I sat up straight, and looked at the time. It was almost six. I looked over to Maggie, who was still in the same position, before answering the call."Hello.""How's Maggie?" Lorenzo asked."No change. I'll talk to the nurse and check what's happening.""Okay. Have you had breakfast yet?""No.""Take your time, Ave. Don't rush, okay? She'll be fine.""Yeah.""Call me if you need anything, I'll be there soon. Just need to get some work done." "Will do." "Alright. Bye, baby." I was caught off guard and a deep blush formed on my cheeks.Thankfully, no one could see it. My heart hammered against my chest, and the butterflies in my stomach were doing crazy flips.I hung up, and immediately ran towards the nurse's station. "Hi, good morning. Is it possible for me to clean her body since she can't physically do it herself.""Of course. We can also provide you with a robe for her. Just
A V E L I N AThe next six months passed by in a blur. Maggie was discharged after two weeks of waking up from coma and had gone home. She had a lot of trouble breathing, but she was so much better now.She was still the same, sassy and bossy woman who wouldn't take no for an answer. But, I had gotten used to her quirks.Lorenzo and I have been married for eight months, and in four months, we would be filing for a divorce.Lorenzo had started getting busy with work and I've spent most of my days at home or with his grandmother. I was trying to avoid my in-laws, especially Giovanni and his mother. They were toxic, and they didn't care much about anyone but themselves.The rest of the family seemed to like me more than they did in the beginning, and I was glad. I liked spending time with his siblings. They were kind and welcoming.Giovanni hasn't stopped acting like an asshole, it was as if his grudge with me grew as the months passed. Lorenzo was trying to control himself from beating
A V E L I N AToday was Valentine's Day. Lorenzo was planning a surprise date for us, but he wouldn't tell me anything.Lorenzo left early in the morning, and had asked me to be ready by 5pm. I had spent the entire day at Maggie's, and we were having fun.I had a lot of fun with Maggie and she was teaching me a lot of recipes. Cooking was something I loved doing, and I had a really good time. While we were in the kitchen, Maggie had said something that caught me off guard. "Avelina, dear. Are you sick? I noticed you've pale and you've been adding more weight lately." Her face was filled with curiousity as she studied me."Uhh, no. I'm not sick." I said, avoiding her eyes."You know, when I was pregnant with Lorenzo's father, I had the same symptoms." She said, turning back to what she was doing.My blood grew cold at her words as I faced away from her, cutting the cabbages. "I'm not pregnant, Nonna.""Oh, please, girl. It's the first stage, it'll only get worse as the weeks go by.""
A V E L I N AThe next day, I had woken up feeling dizzy and nauseous. I've been sick to my stomach for the last week, and my period was already late. I've been throwing up and feeling nauseous almost every single day.And I've gained more weight, which wasn't normal. I had been ignoring Lorenzo the past few days, and he's been giving me the cold shoulder too.He's been spending a lot of time at the office, and has been working a lot. I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that I could be pregnant, and it was stressing me out.I was afraid to find out the truth.What would I do if I was pregnant?A pregnancy would ruin everything. This wasn't the plan. I wasn't supposed to get pregnant.What if Lorenzo finds out and doesn't want the baby? What if he kicks me out?My thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing. I reached over to pick it up and saw that it was Carina.A huge relief filled my body. It was as if my best friend knew the right time to call me, because this was