DOMINICShit!Mateo’s plan actually worked and his babysitter was currently on my tail. But fuck, he was really shitty at his job.Renzetti really needed to invest in better men because this was like taking candy from a baby.I intentionally drove to the other side of town and headed towards the woods. This area was secluded and hardly got any foot traffic because of the rumors of wild animals lurking in the woods.I personally knew that the story was bullshit but we had found enough dead bodies here to make the story believable. So I figured this was the perfect spot to get myself acquainted with our friend.Maybe he might get an epiphany and decide to rethink his decision. There’s a slim chance of that happening but one can still hope, right?I glanced in my rear view. He was a few yards away from me but he was still there alright, which was perfect.I parked the car at the foot of the forest and walked into the woods. Welcome to my world motherfucker.I could hear his footsteps beh
DOMINIC“It seems our little play worked out perfectly. I haven’t seen my babysitter in a while. Whatever you did, it must have been enough to scare him away,” Mateo said.“I guess it’s a good thing he listened to my warning,” I replied but he narrowed his eyes at me.“Did you kill him, Dominic?” he asked.I laughed and shook my head. “I’m sure I’ll know if I did.”“That’s not an answer,” Mateo responded.“No, I did not kill him,” I replied. “I only injured him enough to pass my message across and left him in the woods.”“Good, the last thing I want is a war to break out before we have our affairs in order.”“I know that more than anyone else, Mateo,” I said. “How was the meeting with Bruno?”“It went okay,” he replied. “Actually, it kinda gave me an idea.”“Hmmm… I’m not switching clothes with you ever again if that’s what you’re thinking,” I joked.“Nah… I think once was more than enough,” he replied.“Then what is this grand plan of yours?” I asked.“I can’t go to war without co
MATEOI was woken by the sound of my ringing phone and I grabbed it from the nightstand as quickly as I could so I wouldn’t wake, Clara.I answered the call and put it to my ear. “What the hell, Dominic? It’s fucking three am in the morning,” I whispered.“Something’s come up and we need to meet,” he said.I looked at the number he had called me at. “You’re using your burner phone, can’t you just tell me what it is now? Or better still couldn’t this wait until dawn?”“I wouldn’t be calling you if it wasn’t important and no, I can’t take the chance and tell you over the phone so we need to meet now,” he replied.Fuck!Dominic wouldn’t be acting like this if everything was okay and all fingers were pointing at the bait I had him set.“Fine, let’s meet at the warehouse on the edge of town,” I said.“Got it,” he replied and ended the call.I sighed and checked to see whether Clara was still sleeping. Thankfully, she still was.She hadn’t been getting enough sleep because of her discomfo
CLARAI was days past my due date and at a point, I thought I was going to opt for an induction because of how stubborn this baby was.To make matters worse, I was so uncomfortable that I had to be put on bed rest which meant that the baby shower had to be postponed.I just wanted this baby out. I was so over being pregnant and honestly, I wanted to hold my baby.When my water finally broke in the middle of the kitchen, it was just me and Christopher in the house. Thankfully, he didn’t panic.I told him where my hospital bag was upstairs and he ran to get it, before getting in the car and driving me to the hospital.I tried to reach out to Lucaa on my way to the hospital but I couldn’t get through to her so I left a text, hopefully it went through. But the contractions came all of a sudden during the short ride to the hospital and judging by my calculations, they were less than two minutes apart which was weird because I shouldn’t be feeling this much pain when my water just broke.I
MATEOI drove like a maniac to get to the hospital, cursing myself for not being with my phone earlier.I had left my phone in my office because I didn’t need it but when I got back, I had a voicemail from Christopher he was sounding panicked when he informed me that Clara was in labour and he had driven her to the hospital.Just like that, I had become a father to a kid I didn’t plan for and looking at him in Lily’s arms, he was stunning, but my major concern was his mother, who was still sleeping.I could only imagine the pain she had to go through alone. She was such a champ, and my heart swelled with pride by just staring at her sleeping form.Still, I needed her to wake up so I could confirm with my very eyes that she was okay.Lily’s words kept ringing in my head but I didn’t want to bother about that now, no matter how much sense she made, I needed to confirm that things with Clara and I were okay because she had barely acknowledged me since the conversation we had the morning
CLARAI slowly opened my eyes, and for a while, I felt disoriented staring at the white ceiling. But the familiar smell of hospital disinfectant jogged my brain, and it all came rushing back to me.However, it all seemed heavily quiet in my room and I turned to find an empty bassinet but to my surprise, Mateo was sitting in the uncomfortable hospital chair with both hands over his face.It was almost like he was sleeping or maybe I was wrong and he wasn’t. Still, he was the last person I expected to see when I woke up. After he failed to show up to the party, I had concluded that I was setting myself up for disappointment the more I kept expecting things from Mateo so I didn’t even think to call him on my way to the hospital neither did I think he would want to be here.But I had to admit, I was happy to see him. It made me feel like he cared a little no matter how hard he tried to detach himself. So I appreciated the fact that he was here.Though I didn’t know how long I was passed
CLARA Lily excused herself to call in a nurse who checked me over and confirmed that I was okay. Although I still needed to rest and the healing process might be ait painful in all, everything was okay. We thanked her and I finally let Lucaa carry the baby. The girls continued talking but I was only half listening because I couldn’t help wondering where on earth Mateo had gone. I knew I was a little harsh at first but I didn’t think that was enough for him to just leave. Has he even held the baby? “Someone looks a bit distracted,” Lucaa said. “Sorry guys, I guess I’m still a little bit foggy from the whole labor and passing out,” I replied. “That’s understandable. Again, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that pain alone. I made a promise to you and I failed to keep it,” Lucaa said, bouncing the baby in her arms. “It’s okay. There’s no need to apologize. After all, none of us could have anticipated that this little one was going to choose to make an appearance today
CLARA“So who’s the father of your child?”Lucaa and I were startled and turned to find Lily holding my baby and staring between both of us.I turned my panicked gaze to Lucaa, wondering how much of our conversation Lily had heard but she beat us to it.“There’s no need to look so worried. I just heard Lucaa’s comment about you being single and I figured that I didn’t even know who your baby’s father was but if you don’t want to talk about it I totally understand and I’m going to drop it,” Lily said.I sighed in relief. At least she didn’t hear what we had said earlier.“It’s okay, Lily. I don’t mind answering your questions,” I said.“Really?” she asked and I nodded.“Yes, and to answer your first question, the baby’s father left the moment I got pregnant, wanting nothing to do with the baby,” I said. It was a lie but a necessary one. “That was when I met Mateo.”“Hmm… first of all, I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she said.“Second, does Mateo know about this?”I nodded. “He k
LILYNo, no, no.This can’t be happening. Just when things were finally going in the right direction, Alina just had to crawl out of whatever hole she was hiding in, and now things were complicated. Worse, how the hell was I going to make this right?Wait, why did this have to be my problem?This was Mateo’s mess, and he was going to have to clean it up. I just have to limit the damage.If only Mrs. Antonia didn’t say anything when I introduced Clara as a guest, but I knew deep down that there was a slim chance of that happening.Alina was the epitome of the kind of woman she couldn’t stand and there was no way she was going to be quiet while Alina acted like the grade A bitch she was.The surprising part was how calm Clara was taking everything that was happening. I had expected her to go off on Alina, especially after the demeaning way she addressed her but she ignored her and was currently helping herself to a serving of the pasta we were all about to eat.If there was anything Al
CLARAMateo followed me out of the chapel and we walked side by side towards the house but he stopped abruptly as we got close.“What’s wrong?” I asked.“I have to go,” he replied.“But I thought the whole point of you being here today was because you didn’t have much to do,” I said. For some reason I couldn’t understand, I didn’t want him to leave.“Well, life is unpredictable and things come up when we least expect them to so I have to go,” he told me.I sighed. It’s not like I had the power to hold him here against his will anyway. “Okay, then.”“Tell my mother something came up so I can’t stay for lunch,” he said, already walking away so I didn’t have the chance to reply to him before he got to his car and drove off.I stood there until his car was out of sight before I headed towards the house.Walking into the dining room, I found Lily and Mrs. Antonia, already seated. She was cradling Ale to her chest and singing a lullaby to him.Hmmm… he must have woken up in my absence and I
CLARAI stared in shock at him while Mateo was glaring at me.How long had he been standing there?And most importantly, how much of our conversation had he heard?From the look on his face, I could tell that he had heard more than enough.Still, I was going to act dumb until he proved otherwise.“Uhm… how long have you been standing there?” I asked.“Long enough,” he replied curtly.“Well, you scared me,” I said choosing to ignore his tone.“You would have noticed if you weren’t lost in your phone call,” he said.“It was an important call I must make,” I said.He nodded. “I can imagine,” he said sarcastically then asked, “Who were you talking to?”“Oh, it was just Lucaa,” I replied.“Hmm,” he said and began stalking towards me. “I don’t believe you.”I moved backward the closer he got until my back hit the wall. He looked so pissed that I wondered what exactly was the matter.I held my phone towards him. “You can check the call logs if you don’t believe me. There’s no way I would hav
CLARAI loved my son. With my whole heart, I’m grateful every day that I have him. But sometimes, I wished he would just sleep through the night because I was so close to losing it.My little bundle of joy was a hellion in the night and I was so over it. I was so tired and I couldn’t remember the last time I slept through the night.I had been healing nicely after birth and I was enjoying every part of motherhood.Well, almost every part, if only he could just shut up at night then all would be blissful.Luckily, I had Mrs. Antonia and Lily to help me sometimes with the midnight feeding and I couldn’t be more grateful for them. In fact, Mrs. Antonia relished those times with him.All I had to do was feed him and hand him over to her. Sometimes, she took charge of the feeding since I had begun pumping my breast milk and storing it in the freezer.Without them, I would be a certified crazy person by now. I even went as far as calling the doctor when I found it hard to put him down for
MATEOThe joy on Clara’s face was palpable and for some reason, I felt a sense of satisfaction seeing her that happy. Like I have been holding my breath and now I could finally breathe.She loved the gifts, especially the car seat and crib. When no one was looking, I gave a slight appreciative nod to Lily for setting it all up within the short time frame and she smiled in return.“What’s his name?” Mom asked.The girls smiled at each other before Lily said, “You are so going to love his name.”Mom stared at Clara expectantly till she finally said, “His name is, Alessandro Antonio.”My breath hitched at her words while my mom gave an audible gasp, tears already filling her eyes.“Please don’t cry,” Clara pleaded.“How do you expect me not to cry when you named him after me,” Mom said.“I thought it would be fitting. You have already done so much for me and I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you,” Clara said.“We’re family, dear. You never have to repay me for anything but I feel
CLARAAt this point, it was safe to say that sleeping in the hospital after you’ve just given birth was an impossible feat.What with the nurse coming in at odd hours to take the baby for routine tests, or me jerking awake at intervals to confirm whether my baby was still breathing. Yeah, I guess you could say I had a fitful sleep.Also, whoever wrote that they felt relieved after they took their first shower after giving birth in those pregnancy books was a huge liar.The shower was painful and uncomfortable. In fact, I still felt uncomfortable and I was wearing an adult diaper because of my discharge and bleeding which the nurse said was normal for the next few days.My stomach had gone down a bit but not by much. I looked like I was in my second trimester. But regardless of it all, nothing could dim my happiness at all.I finally filled out all the paperwork regarding the baby this morning, along with all the discharge forms. The nurse was giving me some aftercare instructions whe
MATEOI figured that Clara would prefer if I wasn’t in the room so I left but for the life of me I couldn’t drive away and it wasn’t for lack of trying.I had gotten in my car and willed myself to start the car but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t leave when Clara was in this very hospital after what she described as a horrifying labor.At least she wasn’t alone. She was with her friends and the last thing I wanted to do was dampen her mood after everything she had gone through. So I remained in my car, occasionally getting out to grab a coffee or snack from the nearest cart.I called my assistant to cancel and reschedule all the appointments I had for that day. I was in the middle of that call when I saw Clara and the girls turning away from the entrance. My first instinct was to run after them and scold them all for letting Clara be on her feet so soon but I stopped myself.Her steps, while slow and measured didn’t seem to look painful and I figured the nurses wouldn’t have let her out
CLARA“So who’s the father of your child?”Lucaa and I were startled and turned to find Lily holding my baby and staring between both of us.I turned my panicked gaze to Lucaa, wondering how much of our conversation Lily had heard but she beat us to it.“There’s no need to look so worried. I just heard Lucaa’s comment about you being single and I figured that I didn’t even know who your baby’s father was but if you don’t want to talk about it I totally understand and I’m going to drop it,” Lily said.I sighed in relief. At least she didn’t hear what we had said earlier.“It’s okay, Lily. I don’t mind answering your questions,” I said.“Really?” she asked and I nodded.“Yes, and to answer your first question, the baby’s father left the moment I got pregnant, wanting nothing to do with the baby,” I said. It was a lie but a necessary one. “That was when I met Mateo.”“Hmm… first of all, I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she said.“Second, does Mateo know about this?”I nodded. “He k
CLARA Lily excused herself to call in a nurse who checked me over and confirmed that I was okay. Although I still needed to rest and the healing process might be ait painful in all, everything was okay. We thanked her and I finally let Lucaa carry the baby. The girls continued talking but I was only half listening because I couldn’t help wondering where on earth Mateo had gone. I knew I was a little harsh at first but I didn’t think that was enough for him to just leave. Has he even held the baby? “Someone looks a bit distracted,” Lucaa said. “Sorry guys, I guess I’m still a little bit foggy from the whole labor and passing out,” I replied. “That’s understandable. Again, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that pain alone. I made a promise to you and I failed to keep it,” Lucaa said, bouncing the baby in her arms. “It’s okay. There’s no need to apologize. After all, none of us could have anticipated that this little one was going to choose to make an appearance today