A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

possible; how she was standing in front ofwhen it was clear five years ago, she was gone. Even if she was

alive before, why now?

She glanced down at my fingers as | reached out to call for Angelo. | wanted him here to take care of Alena as |

was settling things with Sofia-there was a lot of investigations needed to solve this.

"Did you remarry?" She asked, continuing to look at my wedding band.

"Can you

please wait in the living room, Sofia?"

She kept quiet for a few seconds as she hesitated, but she walked away, heading to sit back on the sofa in the

living room.

Alena, on the other hand, stayed still beside me. Her eyes were red and teary as | cupped onto her face,

grabbing her hand until we were in the kitchen. She started to cry, and the tears were streaming down her

cheeks as she pulledin for a hug. She was in shock.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. Did she do anything to you?"

"No. | got home, and | heard noises. Then | saw her in your room."

"What was she doing in our room?"

"I don't know. | didn't see anything, but she cout as soon as she heardcalling for you. | thought it was

you, Matteo."

"I'm going to call Angelo."

I quickly called Angelo, asking him to cover with a couple of men.

had

Had

Alena was starting to trustagain and when this happened, it was becoming hard for her, but this was a shock

for me, too. Sofia was dead. She was dead and | was aching for her. It was not possible for her to be here and

alive unless something happened, and she wasn't really dead. Chapter 27

| continued to hug Alerra, rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry, baby."

She shook her head before sniffing, "I thought she was dead."

"I thought the sthing. I'm going to investigate things further, okay? You don't have to worry about anything."

FD

FD

| leaned in to kiss her on the lips, trying to give her my strength. Once she was feeling slightly better, we walked

back to the living room, hand in hand. She was staying close tobecause wanted her by my side, needing her

to know | wanted her here. Sofia was sitting quietly on the sofa as she watched us, her eyes glancing down at

our hands, but she didn't say a single word.

There was sadness in her eyes when Alena and | sat on the opposite direction from her. She expected something

different. She expectedto go into her arms, but she was wrong. This was becoming a different story and |

needed to take precautions. "Can you start by tellingwhat happened?"

"Did you remarry, Matteo?"

Our eyes met and | nodded, "Yes."

"| thought you were going to wait for me."

"You were dead, Sofia. | mourned you for five years, for god's sake. | cried and cried every single night because

you weren't there. You never left my mind but if | kept waiting for you, what was | going to get? You were gone,

you were dead." | shook my head. "So, you're in love with her?" wife."

"She's my

"I'm your wife,"

"No, the Sofia | knew passed away. Until | figure the hell out why you're here, | can trust you."

Sofia leaned back on her seat, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. "They did it, Matteo. They faked my death

to get to you. They thought they could crush and end you,"

"Who are they?"

"I can't tell... I never knew."

"So, you're saying you were kidnapped?"

She nodded her head, "They faked the accident because they wantedto tell them everything about you.

They said they were going to letgo after five years. | could be free earlier if | told them the things, they

wanted to know but | didn't. I could never hurt you," "You knew nothing about the mafia," "Exactly, | couldn't tell

them anything if | wanted to."

| sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as the headache began to kick in. We were talking about our enemies,

and we couldn't even tell which one. | had a lot of enemies trailing my back and waiting for the right tto

attack-it wasn't anything new. Chapter 27

"You didn't try to escape?" Lasked, looking down at her wrists.

They were slightly red with marks but when she sawstaring, she hid them under her sleeves.

"l was weak."

FD

FD

Angelo and a few of my men stepped inside, straight into the living room. Their eyes widened as soon as they

saw Sofia- they couldn't believe who they were seeing either. She was alive and she was acting the sway

she did years ago. She was the sperson. It was starting to play tricks with my mind. "I think we should talk

but not today. Angelo will take you to a hotel and one of my men will guard you. If there's anything, you go

through them, and they'll reach me. You should rest and we can talk tomorrow."

"I can stay where, Matteo. | don't need | to stay

at a hotel."

"I think it's best if you stay at a hotel, Sofia."

Her smile faltered as she tried to control her emotions. She didn't try to fight as she nodded her head, walking to

Angelo as they took her away. They left in the sblack SUV, leaving Alena and | to ourselves. Alena

immediately wrapped her arms around my neck, snuggling close.

| couldn't help but pull her closer towards me, as if there were any distance left. She was waiting patiently as she

watched the whole thing-she was confused, but she knew | was as confused as her.

"Are we in

in danger, Matteo?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"No, baby. You don't have to worry about anything. I'll figure it out,"

"I'm worried

| about you. What if anything happens to you?"

"Nothing will happen to me. | promise you, Alena because I'm going to take care of you. | need to take good care

of you and in order to do that, | have to be well."

I ran my fingers through her hair before cupping her face, staring straight into her green eyes before leaning in

to kiss her lips. They were soft and wet as if they were waiting for mine.

| never hated Sofia. That was insane ofto hate her. In my memory, she passed away and | had mourned her

while | tried to move on. When Alena cinto my life, | wanted a fresh start without forgetting Sofia. Alena

knew that, too.

| visited Sofia's grave many times, but it was starting to hurtbecause | realized she wasn't there all along.

"I'm sorry | couldn't surprise you for your birthday," she replied softly.

Well, things did take another direction and | was surprised with something different, but | wanted to spend the

rest of the night with my wife, my Alena regardless of what happened earlier.

We could think about it tomorrow.

we cou

For tonight, | was going to focus on Alena.

"Your presence is enough, Alena. Besides, | can help you cook now that I'm home. Then, we can choose a movie

to watch but not until we take a shower together." | smirked, caressing her face.

"| think you're only looking forward to the showering together part."

08:27

Thu,

Oct

Chapter 27

"You caught me."

She

both laughed and | couldn't help but kissed the back of her Hands. | was grateful for her, more than | could

express. There was nothing in this world that could replace her.

was becoming my everything.

"Happy birthday, my husband."

My eyebrows raised at the word 'husband' before smiling widely "Say it again." "Say what?

"| love hearing you callyour husband,"

"Happy birthday, my dear husband. May all your dreams and wishes ctrue."

immediately kissed her lips passionately, wanting to taste every inch of her. She was the definition of perfection

and when her lips curved up, it was enough to tease me. This woman was going to be death of me, and she

didn't even know that yet. "Oh, are they?"

y're coming true, now." | muttered.

all

"Mm, because let's start by making that baby."

Alena laughed loudly as | leaned in to kiss her neck, trying to unbutton her shirt. She pretended to pushaway

as she was ticklish, but she gave in to my touches. Maybe, it was showering together and making love. Then, we

were going to cook together and choose a

movie.

While we were going to watch a movie, maybe we were going to have another love making session. | wanted an

endless session of making love to her.

Besides, | couldn't wait to see her pregnant.

It was going to take a lot of effort.