A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Chapter Matteo

30

| had been staring at the doors to the operating theater for the past three hours. My hands were trembling, and

my heart hadn't stopped beating fast ever since it happened. Everything was happening too fast because the

last thing | knew, we were in bed. She was supposed to stay in bed. She toldshe was going to the bathroom,

and that was supposed to be it.

|

1

There were a lot playing in my mind; from her surviving her injuries or dying and leavingforever. We were at

the beginning of our highs, starting the marriage of with a lot of possibilities. There was nothing more than

happiness. | knew | had a lot of enemies, and | was bound to keep them out of my life especially away from

Alena. It didn't matter toif | had to deal with them every day as long as my wife, Alena was safe and sound. |

knew of her background. | knew she had the skills to fight because Mikhail had taught her when she was

younger, but she hadn't encountered a dangerous situation like that, and it was impossible for her to be fully

prepared. | felt like something was wrong when she was leaving the bed.

ent

| should've asked her to stay in.

As | began to pace back and forth, | was silently praying for a miracle. It was ironic for a sinner liketo pray

but I had no other choice-I was truthful to Alena, and | needed to have more hope that she was going to survive.

She was never going to leave me.

Memories of f her began to cloud my mind, from the way she smiled, the way she talked, the way she moved,

and even the way she looked. Those beautiful green eyes were always going to be death of me; she had the

most mesmerizing pair of eyes. Every tshe looked atwith those eyes, she could bewitch me.

| sat down, my head in my hands before closing my eyes.

My body was growing restless because | couldn't wait any longer. The waiting had gottenanxious of what

was happening inside. Was she having complications? Was she going through something awful?

I needed to know.

"Matteo," someone called which causedto look up, seeing Luca..

He was wearing a black hoodie with black sweatpants as he sat down beside me. There were dark circles under

his eyes, and | was confident my dark circles were much more obvious-I had been crying ever since they took

her inside the operating theater.

If it was taking any longer forto see my wife, | was about to lose my mind.

"How long has she been inside?" He asked, breaking the silence. "Three hours."

"No

|

news?"

shook my head, sighing heavily before running my fingers through my hair. It didn't botheranymore if |

looked like a mess because that was a fact. My mind was a mess, | couldn't stop thinking Chapter 30 @65%

about Alena or about Sofia. | was thinking about Alena's condition but when it cto Sofia, it was about

torturing her. "Who is she with?" | asked, referring to my ex-wife, Sofia.

"Angelo and the others. You told to wait for you,"

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"Because | want to do the killing."

Luca sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Do you think that's a good idea, Matteo? You're not thinking

straight right

now."

| scoffed, "I'm thinking very straight right now. She cinto my house in the middle of the night to look for God

knows what and she shot my wife, Luca. She knew not to mess with me, but she decided to hurt the only person

| cared most. She was asking for a death sentence," my voice low and serious.

"I know but she used to be your wife. Let someone else do the dirty work,"

"l want |

t her to feel what Alena felt. There's no one else better to hurt her than me," | spoke before running my hands

across my face.

Luca kept quiet, nodding his head. He knewwell enough to understand my genuine feelings. He was there

when | married Sofia, and at the time, he was also skeptical-he knew he wanted nothing more than forto be

happy. When he met Alena, he didn't question much, and he was instantly talking to her.

It took almost seven months for Luca to start talking to Sofia.

He never liked her ways.

"They broke her legs. Punched her face. She looks horrible now," he added.

she's breathing, right?"

"And conscious."

"I want you to help me, Luca."

| was looking straight into his eyes. There was no one else in the mafia that | trusted most than Luca-if one day,

he was going to betray me, he could because he knew absolutely everything. He knew the details, the plans, the

strategies, but he was as loyal as anyone could be.

| had no problem in trusting my best friend.

We made an oath. A blood oath.

"Anything, man. What is it?"

war.

"I need you to find out who is responsible for all of this. Look back for the data from five years ago when Sofia

disappeared. | want you to giveevery single information and then we can plan an attack. | don't care if it's

the Americans or the Germans, they started this war." "Consider it done."

Luca patted behind my back, nodding to every word | said.

An hour had passed, and we were both still waiting here in our seats. Luca had fallen asleep sitting down with his

arms Crossed while | kept praying for a miracle. | began fidgeting, something | hadn't done since | was younger,

but | grew anxious at the unknown.

The doors were pushed open, revealing a doctor.

Luca turned to look, awaken from his short nap.

She was walking towards our direction, and | immediately stood up, trying to read her expression but | was left

confused. | could feel as if my heart was thumping out of my chest, yet | managed to stay calm. "Are you Alena

Lerclerc's husband?" She asked, removing her face mask. dded my head, "That's me."

nodded

"The operation was a success. Your wife is stable and she's currently resting."

And just like that, | began to calm down as Luca pulledin for a hug, patting my back for reassurance. Tears

were pooling in my eyes before they began to stream down my cheeks, and | hadn't realized just how relieved |

was. "When can | see her?" | asked.

"You can wait in her room. We're getting ready to bring her up," she replied. hank you so "Your wife's a Your wile

a fighter"

Then, she began to walk back into the operating theater.

| was smiling and feeling happy because | knew, my wife was safe. She was alive and well-she didn't leave me. |

was never going to let her be ever again. Her life was at stake today and | knew better than to let her encounter

a situation like this. When Luca and | reached her room, we kept quiet as we waited for her.

It didn't take as long as it did in the operating room because within less than an hour, the nurses were pushing

the hospital bed and | was seeing a sleeping Alena.

Her soft skin looked slightly pale as she laid still, her eyes closed.

"Give her tto rest and when she wakes up, we'll check on her." One of the nurses said, makingnod

before they left

the room.

I made my way towards my wife, grabbing her hand and feeling her skin was ice cold.

Tu"

I leave you two for a smoke. I'll be back," Luca said before walking out, leavingand Alena on our own.

| knew my wife as someone with porcelain clear skin-she had the softest skin. It was heartbreaking to see her

laying like this. There were bruises around her neck and on her face along with a few cut marks, but she was

safe and that was all that mattered. | carefully leaned in to kiss her forehead, closing my eyes as | felt a few

tears had slipped. This woman was mine to take care of and | had failed her.

| held tightly onto her hand, wanting to warm her up. Even in her sleep, she was looking peaceful, and it was one

of the things | loved about her. There was nothing in her mind right now.

| kissed the back of her hand, "Thank you for coming back to me, baby."

"I can't lose you. | never want to lose you, Alena. You're everything toand if anything, ever happens to you

ever again, | swear I'll lose my mind." | added, kissing the back of her hand even longer before watching her

sleep.

She was in a deep sleep, her lips slight apart as her chest moved calmly. Chapter 30

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It didn't takelong to fall asleep beside her, my head resting beside her hand as | held onto it tightly. | was

scared of letting her go because | was afraid if | was going to lose her. The feeling of her skin against mine was

soothinga little bit but | was going to be alright as soon as she woke up. This woman was definitely the death

of me..

She didn't do much to attract me, but | was head over heels over her.

|

| didn't realize how long | had fallen asleep yet the touch of her hand on my face had slowly awoken me. | blinked

a few times, trying to get a clearer vision of her face.

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Her dark green eyes were looking straight into my brown ones, lettingsit up straight before grabbing her

hand, kissing her palm.

A small smile appeared on her face, "Hi there."

| couldn't hide away the tears from falling as | cupped her face, leaning in to softly kiss her cheeks. They were as

soft as | could remember and she was giggling, even though she sounded a bit tired.

"You missed me, Matteo?" She asked, caressing the side of my face.

"I was losing my mind."

And she was right here. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as they were streaming down mine and we were

both crying, couldn't let go of one another. It was a relief to hear her voice, to feel her touch, to see her eyes

staring back at me.

| was grateful for another day with her. Another life.

"You look really tired. Are you okay?" She asked, frowning.

"Don't ask about me. | was worried sick about you,"

"I'm fine. | told you | would be fine."

"I thought I lost you, Alena." | shook my head, not wanting to think about the pain of losing her-it was going to be

unbearable.

Without wasting any time, | leaned in to kiss her lips. It was a soft kiss, but it lingered long enough to show how

much | missed her. The way her lips moved against mine, it showed just how much she missedtoo. We were

clinging onto one another as if we were going to die if we let go. The

way

she tasted; it was like a breath of fresh air.

How could I ever live if I lost her?

"Mm, your lips are so warm." She muttered under her breath, smiling.

Then, | ran my fingers softly down her neck, hating the sight of the bruises. | knew Sofia tried to stop her from

breathing and if my girl wasn't strong enough, she couldn't be here. | was always going to be blaming myself for

what had happened.

| was supposed to be there..

"It doesn't hurt much if you ask me." She added, clearing her throat. "And | know that look on your face, Matteo."

My eyes went up to look at her, hating just how much she was struggling to speak as well. Sofia choked her hard

enough to put a strain on her vocal cords and she needed enough rest in order to recover. Once the bruises

faded and the swelling went down, she was going to be okay. 08:37/ Fri, UCI 18

Chapter

30

11 didn't say a word, but had different plans in my head about the ways to kill Sofia.

The door was pushed open, revealing Alena's mother, Ana, Mikhail, and Alexei.

The women rushed over to Alena, but the two men were looking at me, with looks ready to kill.

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