Emilia's POV. So much for wanting to sleep my morning away, I could not even sleep the entire night. I kept tossing and turning and reaching out to Aria just to make sure she was still in bed with me. I managed to doze off for a bit but I soon woke up when I had a really short dream that Aria was taken away from me- I know it wasn't a dream but rather my fears and mind were busy playing a sick game with me. I did not bother trying to sleep after that and just stayed awake the entire night with Aria sleeping in my arms. Asides from my fear that Ric might take my baby away from me, there is the fact that I have to tell Aria about him. I don't even know how to go about it. I didn't expect this day to come so soon. I didn't even expect Ric to show up at my door. I have always known that it won't take him much to find me that is if he ever looked for me. I wasn't very worried about him finding me though because he was way too drunk that night that I doubt he even remembered what happened
Riccardo's POV. I don't know the kind of reaction I expected from Aria but it definitely wasn't this attitude thing she had going on. Okay, scratch that, I know what I was expecting. I thought she would be excited, you know, I thought she would go 'Oh yay! I have a dad now' but obviously I thought wrong. My first mess-up was showing up late to a doughnut date that I did not even realize I had signed up for and she was already giving me so much attitude and I also don't understand why I am so concerned about her attitude. I am Riccardo De Luca. I should not be getting concerned over a tiny five-year-old giving me attitude and shit. I don't even get concerned about anything other than the issues that have to do with the Mafia. "You might want to slow down here. The doughnut shop is right around that corner." Emilia said snapping me out of my thoughts. Aria was silent throughout the entire ride. Her silence either has something to do with me or she was just really interested in whatev
Emilia's POV. "We need to talk," I told Riccardo the moment we were alone. We spent the entire day together, or rather he spent the entire day with Aria. I was silent for most of the day and only interfered when it was absolutely needed. Aria had a great time with him. She was extra chatty, she asked a lot of questions and she wanted to do everything with her daddy. I also found out from her today that she had made a list of things she wanted to do with her dad when she finally gets to meet him. It makes me wonder how she managed to keep quiet about her dad all these years. I know how important having a father is to any child. I had both of my parents and even though they expected too much from us most of the time, my father has never deserted me. He might act all gruff and look angry most of the time but he is a sweet man, not very sweet but sweet. "Of course." He replied. Aria fell asleep on our way back home. She had so much fun that it was expected. I helped her to freshen up
Emilia's POV. "Somebody is excited to go to school today," I said in a singsong voice to Aria. She has been humming and doing a slow dance in the bathroom since and she didn't even complain when I was washing her hair so yeah, she is definitely in a good mood. "Yes, mummy. I am super excited." She announced. "You want to tell mummy what has got you so excited?" I asked her while helping her to dry her hair. "Daddy said he would come and pick me up from school later in the afternoon, isn't that exciting? I get to show all of my friends that I do have daddy too." She said. She was so excited about it that she could not even sit still and I wasn't about to ruin that for her. "Daddy said that?" I asked her and nodded. "We will go for ice cream after school and he will drop me off at the salon." She said. "Okay, Princess. Why don't you go and put on your uniform while mummy gets ready." I told her. She was out of the chair before I could even complete my sentence. I picked up my p
Riccardo's POV."I have news from our man in the Spanish Mafia," Enzo said the moment he walked into my room so I already knew it was going to be something serious. I was busy texting Emilia about picking Aria up from school. Aria had asked me the day before if I will be willing to pick her up from school and I agreed to pick her up. The look on her face, when I agreed to pick her up, made my heart swell— quite literally. I should have asked Emilia if she was fine with that but it slipped my mind and I didn't think she would have a problem with it. I was right. "What is going on?" I asked. "Word has spread that you are not in Italy anymore." He answered. "That wasn't meant to be a secret," I said. "You know what that means to them. You know what it means when a don leaves his territory. They have been looking for ways to harm you for years now, Riccardo. Do you think they won't take advantage of the fact that you are no longer in Italy and you have little security with you here?"
Riccardo's POV. I drove as fast as I could to Aria's school even though a part of me already knew that Emilia would have picked her up. Just as I expected, the school was already by the time I got there and even the guy that I placed in charge of Aria was nowhere in sight. I fucked up big time. Aria was really looking forward to me picking her up from school. I could see the excitement in her eyes yesterday and now...I don't even want to imagine the pain she would be in. I don't know how I forgot all about picking her up because I was looking forward to picking her up too and now... I drove out of her school and started heading for Emilia's workplace. Emilia, I have only given her another reason to not come with me to Italy. I started thinking about how I was going to apologize to Aria. I don't even know the things she likes yet, apart from doughnuts. I stopped over at a toy store and just started picking all sorts of things that I thought Aria would like but then again she is way t
Emilia's POV. I was mad okay. I was mad. Who forgets to pick their daughter up from school? He even forgot to drop a text too. I was really mad at him and I got even madder when I got to Aria's school and found her crying alone. I had no plans of forgiving him as easily as I did but I could not stay mad at him when I saw just how sorry he was and I particularly enjoyed how he looked like it was painful for him to apologize. It was evident that he was not used to saying the word 'sorry' to anyone and he has been using the word often since he showed up at my doorstep. "You forgot to mention just how hot he is, girlfriend," Patricia said after he went out of sight. "Is he hot?" I feigned ignorance "Oh you know he is hot, Emilia. How have you not jumped him yet? I admire you, girl, it can't be easy to resist that." She said. I rolled my eyes at her. "Stop being dramatic, Pat." "Just saying. I won't blame you if you come over tomorrow and tell me you are pregnant with baby number two
Riccardo's POV. I won't be getting any sleep this night, that much is already clear. I shouldn't have gone as far as I went this night. I didn't plan to, I was just going to warn her about her urge to always interrupt me when I am trying to talk to her and to make her keep quiet about the love thing but she has been tormenting me since she stepped out of her room in that nightie that wasn't supposed to be so seductive or rather won't look seductive on anyone else but it looked really good on her. It fitted her like a second skin and showed off her body in the most flattering way. I think I was just able to hold myself back because Aria was with us. I should have just allowed her to go to bed after Aria did but the urge to have her close was too strong to resist.The feel of her body against mine and her smell, that fucking smell that I couldn't resist. She smelled like chocolate cake and I have never been one to enjoy that dessert but I couldn't resist it and she was responsive. I ha
Emilia's POV. 7 months later... I waddled down the stairs for dinner. I was supposed to wait for Riccardo to come and fetch me for dinner but I was done being treated like an invalid even though I feel much like an invalid. My stomach was already four times its usual size and I felt like I was going to explode very soon to top it all off, I couldn't even see my feet anymore. I got to the dining room and it was filled with my family and friends chatting away and laughing. It has been 7 months since that incident happened. Aria was thankfully oblivious to what happened. Gabriella had drugged her and the doctors had to flush the drug away from her system. Speaking of Gabriella, her father apologized profusely for what she had done even though apologies could not solve anything. She did not only attempt to kill me and my daughter. She killed the parents of the man she claimed to be in love with, people who cherished her, and she also killed poor Dante. Riccardo told me all about how D
Riccardo's POV. I would probably dwell on the fact that I just signed my divorce papers if I didn't have a daughter to save. I tried to wave it off but I knew something wasn't right. It is impossible for things to just go haywire like that. She has had the papers for a while? Like hell. I just signed the fucking papers to make her happy for now. After I have this whole was sorted out, I will get to the bottom of things. After I have brought Aria back home safe and sound. If she thinks she can just put an end to our marriage because she wants to then she should think again. I have every intention to win my wife back. "Riccardo..." Enzo called softly. He was probably feeling bad for me or something but I trust him not to mention it. "Do we have anything yet?" I asked him. He nodded. "I got a code. I am just going to get it interpreted." "Okay." We are close. I just need Aria to be safe. "Are you okay, Ric?" Enzo asked. "I am fine. Let's find Aria." It took him another ten minu
Emilia's POV.I woke up with a start and found Riley and Isabella on either side of me. It took about one second for me to remember what had happened. "I need to go," I said immediately and tried to get out of bed. Riley held me down. "You are going to stay in bed, Emilia." "Excuse me? My daughter is out there somewhere. She is alone with that crazy bitch and you are asking me to stay in bed? Are you being real?" "Riccardo is already out there trying to find her..." "And I should be out there with him trying to find our daughter. She is my daughter too for fuck sake. I can't just sit down here and do nothing." "What do you plan to do then?" Isabella asked. I got out of bed faster than I had ever done. "I don't know but I won't just sit down here and do nothing." "You should think about the baby, Emilia. This is..." "The baby is fine. I am fine. I was just shocked earlier and that is it." I said. "I have to go find my daughter." I started heading for the door and Isabella qui
Riccardo's POV. Gabriella? I couldn't wrap my head around it. Gabriella has always been around. She was there for me for a while after I lost my parents before he father had her shipped off to study Maybe Riley is right, I have been so blind but...fuck it, it is Gabriella. I wasn't sure what went down after Riley's story. I know she and Emilia had a talk and I think they are still friends. Weird that, I never thought I would see the day when my ex and my wife would be friends and good ones at that. "The party can't hold," I said out loud. "What no. What are you going to tell, Aria?" Emilia exclaimed. "Her birthday party is all she has been talking about for weeks now, Riccardo."Enzo already left us in the living room and he was somewhere in my office trying to track Gabriella. "I can't keep you two safe if..." "Get more security. Lock the gates, search every single person if you have to but the party is going to happen." Emilia said. "Emilia..." "If you are going to canc
Emilia's POV. We spent hours in the mall. We ended up buying more things than we needed. Okay, let me correct that, I ended up buying more things than I needed. Don't blame me, shopping was a nice distraction. I found that I stopped worrying so much about everything that was currently going wrong with my life and just shopped. I bought some maternity dresses and clothes. It was already obvious that I would grow about three times my normal size to accommodate the little peanut in my stomach. When I was pregnant with Aria, I didn't get so big. My bump did not even start showing until I was about six months along.We picked Aria up on our way back home and she was very excited to see us especially when she saw the car loaded with party supplies and bags. We chatted all the way back home. She kept talking about how excited she was and how she had invited the entire school to the party— I exaggerated that part a little bit but she did say something about inviting all her classmates. I was
Emilia's POV. I woke up feeling the same way that I have been feeling for days now. Not sad, not happy. Just there. I put on a smile for my baby girl and got her ready for school. She of course asked for her daddy and I managed to come up with some excuse for him, I can't even remember what I said to her anymore but I know it was enough to cause she didn't question it. I dropped her off at school and Raffaele and some other bodyguards stayed with her. I drove to my workplace to pick Riley up. I have my doctor's appointment this morning and she offered to come with me and from there, we will go to the mall to get some things that we would need for Aria's party tomorrow. The party will be held in the garden, the event planner will be coming over in the evening to put everything up. I just needed to get a few things at the mall. Riley made mine and Aria's dress for the party tomorrow. Aria is yet to see the dress but I am pretty sure that she would love it. I stopped outside the shop
Riccardo's POV. I wanted to stay. I wanted it badly but I can't. I can't allow myself to be weak now. Not when hers and Aria's lives depend on my actions. I know how distant I have been since that day. I needed to do it, to pull back. It was very necessary. I just didn't realize that it would hurt her that much. She fucking cried. I felt like a bastard. I wanted to go on my knees right there and beg for her forgiveness but I couldn't. Oh, I will beg, I will grovel if I have to but first I need to get rid of this bastard. The only advantage the bastard has on us is the fact that we don't know who he/she is. We have been doing a lot of digging. Enzo already ran a background check on every single staff I have and they all came out clean, all of their activities have been tracked but we didn't find anything suspicious and that just made me feel more uncomfortable. If it isn't my staff, if it is not one of them then who the fuck is this person and what on earth does the person want from
Emilia's POV. It has been weeks and this house has been annoyingly silent. Too quiet. Riccardo changed so much after that night. My sweet husband was gone and he somehow managed to go back to the Riccardo that I had met in New York. He didn't torture me or anything. He doesn't even stress me out. He agrees to everything I ask without question— unless it has to do with my security details. I have security details following me every fucking where. The number went from two to seven. I don't mind having them around because their presences seem to put Riccardo at ease a little bit. I miss him though. I miss him like crazy. We barely talk now. We always have breakfast together with Aria and Aria is always the one chatting and keeping the table lively. He listens to her and responds when he is supposed to, he even manages to smile at her sometimes but he has withdrawn from me, both physically and emotionally. The last time he touched me was that night, oh, he kisses me sometimes. A fleetin
Riccardo's POV.I saw the glint of the gun before it went off. I moved as fast as I could and threw my weight on Emilia while pulling her to the ground immediately. I mentally thank my stars that I had yet to take off my gun and knives. I pulled them out and quickly fired two shots in the direction that the bullet came from. Emilia writhed under me trying to get out and somehow my dick managed to remain hard even though a bullet just went off. “Jesus Christ woman, fucking stay still,” I said harshly. “Aria, I need to check on Aria.” She cried. “No, you are going to stay right there until I ask you to move. Aria is safe, Raffaele will make sure of it.” I told her and miraculously, that managed to calm her down and she stopped moving. She remained silent for a while then she laughed softly. I don’t know but I think my wife might be a little bit crazy. “I love the fact that you have managed to find humor in this situation we are in,” I said. She chuckled. “How is your dick still