Katerina De Luca

Ice cold water hit my face as my body lurched forward into a sitting position and I looked around in alarm, with my eyes widened and lips parted in shock. My hands slowly raised up to wipe the droplets of water away from my face as I gasped and looked around the dark luxurious bedroom in an effort to make out any shapes.

I was still dressed in my purple summer dress from before, except there was a small splatter of blood across the side of my dress just above my bump. My face instantly paled as I glanced at the clock on the nightstand and it showed that it was only a little past midnight.

Wha...what happened? Where am I?

A few feet away from the huge bed I laid on, I could make out the familiar silhouette of Arosio facing me with an empty glass in his hand.He must have thrown the water on me before to wake me up. His gaze hardened as he watched my every movement like a hawk.

My breathing hitched in my throat once I met his dark gaze glaring at me with nothing but the moonlight shining through the window behind him to illuminate his dark presence. I could practically feel his murderous rage and the more I looked into his alighted eyes, the harder it became to even breathe.

He looked exactly as he always did with his clean shaven handsome face and dark hair styled back to perfection. From an outsiders perspective, it would look as if it was easy for him to find me but I knew it had taken him three months and probably a lot of work.

"Aros--" I began but flinched back when he suddenly threw the glass across the room against the wall, resulting in the glass shattering to a million pieces onto the floor.

"SILENZIO." Arosio suddenly yelled as tears quickly gathered in my eyes and I shut my eyes in fear while leaning back into the headboard to create as much distance as I could from him. (SILENCE)

The room fell eerily silent as nothing but his slow, calculative footsteps could be heard stalking towards me. My lips trembled in fear when I felt him sit down on the bed beside me and lean forward with his hot breath fanning my face. Almost immediately, I turned my cheek the other way, only to have him grip the bottom of my chin painfully and force me to look back at him.

"How could you, Katerina?" Arosio questioned in fury as his grip on my face tightened further and I wondered if it would leave a bruise. I flinched back at his sudden use of my full name and his words felt like stab wounds to my heart.

I could tell how much I hurt him just by his tone of voice, it was heavy with pain and grief but no matter how many times I opened my mouth, I could barely form any response to him.

Would he even believe me if I told him the truth now?

"I...I'm so... I'm sorry, Arosio," I whispered through more tears as I met his dark gaze and tried to express my feelings through my eyes since my mouth was failing me right now.

Arosio gazed deeply into my eyes for a few more moments before sighing deeply and letting go of my face. His eyes widened slightly when he looked at my chin and he ran his hand through his dark hair while muttering curses in Italian.

His other hand reached out towards my face again but I subconsciously leaned away from him, something that he immediately noticed and his gaze instantly hardened.

"Tre mesi, three months, Katerina. You ran away from me, from our child, from our whole family and stayed hidden for three fucking months with those strangers. You ran away with my babies and lived in those strangers house. I don't want your apology, I want to know why, Katerina, why would you betray me like this? Why would you leave our family and live with those nobody's in their poor house? Did I not provide you with the very best things in this world? Why did you leave me, WHY?" Arosio questioned darkly as his hard gaze remained on me and I could do nothing but cry even more as each of his questions caused a thousand needles to prick my heart.

Wait... JAMES!

"Oh my God, James! What did you do to him? Where is he? Is he okay? Arosio, I swear if you did anything to James--" in the heat of the moment I had unconsciously gripped the collar of Arosio's black dress shirt and shook him back and forth as I continued to yell at him when he remained silent and didn't answer my questions.

"Ha...ha...ha..." Arosio suddenly began to laugh but it wasn't a humorous laugh, it was a terrifying laugh that sent chills down my spine. Within seconds, he held onto my two hands that were still on his shirt collar and yanked my body flush against his.

"Even now, as I confront you for your betrayal, your only thoughts are on him. Tell me, did you love him? Is that why you left me? DIMMI DANNAZIONE, KATERINA," Arosio questioned in a fury as his grip around my wrists tightened and I gasped in shock before repeatedly shaking my head. (TELL ME, DAMMIT KATERINA)

"No... it's not like that, I swear! James is one of my best friends, his wife and daughter were there too. Arosio, tell me what happened, what did you do to James? Did you ki...did you...Arosio, please tell me you didn't kill..." I trembled off in fear and tried to take my wrists away from him but he only pulled me even closer to his body and pressed his forehead against mine.

"Guardami negli occhi e dimmi che credi davvero che farei del male a chiunque ti interessi, Katerina," Arosio stated earnestly as he gazed into my eyes as if searching for something deeper. (Look into my eyes and tell me that you truly believe I would hurt anyone you care for, Katerina,)

I continued to stare into his dark eyes that my heart has yearned to see for the past three months. Deep down, I know that Arosio would never do anything that I don't like, he was always a devoted and loving husband to me.

But I also know that my actions from three months ago must have hurt him and caused a huge scar in his heart. His anger might have pushed him to do something he might regret.

A few moments passed in complete silence as I wanted to scream no and tell him that I believe he would never harm my loved ones but the words simply refused to leave my lips.

Arosio's dark eyes flashed with a mixture of shock and pain at my lack of response but it was gone almost as quickly as I saw it. He suddenly dropped my hands and took his phone out to make a call while I used that as my chance to sit up properly and covered my bump with the duvet blanket.

With the phone pressed against his ear, Arosio's gaze remained on me as he watched me cover my bump with the duvet and shiver slightly from the cold air seeping in through the open window. He immediately walked across the bedroom and shut the window close before returning to my side.

"Cosa c'è, Aro??" Giovanni's familiar voice suddenly pierced through the room as Arosio held his phone towards me and I could make out Giovanni's distinct features. (What is it, Aro?)

He seemed to have grown a beard in the months I was gone and I wanted to tease him about it but stopped myself when he looked at me in shock with a clear expression of betrayal on his face through the FaceTime call.

"Mostra a mia moglie quel bastardo, Gio. ADESSO," Arosio ordered coldly when Giovanni hesitated, all the while his hard gaze remained on me as he stood beside the bed. (Show my wife that bastard, Gio. NOW,)

"Sì, eccolo qui. The doctor said he will be fine, the bullet only grazed his shoulder and the second bullet didn't even touch him so he's fine. Don't worry, princi-- Katerina," Giovanni directed the last bit at me and I sighed in relief at the news of James being safe and could see him resting on a hospital bed. (Yes, he is here)

"Thank you, Gio. Thank you so--" Arosio cut the call before I could complete my words and threw his phone onto the nearby sofa before taking a seat on the bed and leaning towards me.

His intoxicating familiar scent filled my every sense as I took a deep shaky breath and tried to fight the urge to throw myself into his comforting, strong arms. Arosio stared at me for a few more moments in silence before slowly removing the blanket from my bump and reaching his hand out to caress it.

"I miei bambini," Arosio whispered as I gasped at the sight of tears in his eyes. Arosio rarely ever cried before, something about him being the Mafia boss and not being allowed to show any emotions. (My babies)

Yet, here he is, his dark eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Arosio, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I was a coward...I should have stayed and talked to you instead of running away, I'm so sorry, Arosio, I'm sorry," I cried out as I placed my hands on top of his hands that were still on my bump.

Arosio's dark gaze lifted up towards me before a single tear slipped from his eye and he pulled me into a tight embrace. My arms instantly wrapped around his broad shoulders as I continued to cry into his chest, having missed the feeling of his strong, protective arms wrapped around me.

"You vowed to be with me for eternity but you left me. You left our son. You left our family. Why, Katerina, why?" Arosio whispered into my ear as I broke down and gripped onto the back of his shirt even tighter with my face buried into his hard chest.

"I...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to...hurt you all...I was so scared... I thought...you would leave me or get killed by somebody...everybody I loved always...abandoned me...I didn't want to lose you too...I...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry..." I hiccuped in between my sobs and met Arosio's shocked gaze when he pulled me away from his chest and gently wiped my tears away.

"You thought I would abandon you like your family did? Did I ever do anything to deserve that assumption from you? Did I ever treat you like they did? Katerina, why would you ever think I would have abandoned you, you are my wife, my tesoro, the mother of my babies," Arosio held onto the sides of my face as he spoke with sincerity dripping onto each word. I met his steady gaze and nodded my head at him to show him that I believed him.

"Yes, I know. I'm so sorry, Arosio, I should have realized that before. I shouldn't have gotten frightened and ran away from you. I was going to come back to you and that's what James was speaking to me about before you arrived," I revealed and flinched back a little when Arosio's demeanour suddenly changed and his jaw clenched in anger as if remembering something.

"Is that really true? Why would you want to come back to me? I am still the Mafia leader, what has changed?" Arosio suddenly stated coldly as his narrowed eyes bore holes through me. I gulped nervously before taking a shaky breath and finally revealing my true feelings.

"I...I know. And although I will never be able to understand the side of you that is dangerous and capable of killing others, I still love you more than that side scares me and want to be by your side. I know that what you did before was to protect little Eli and I. In the past three months, not a day went by without you taking possession of every single one of my dreams at night. Even though you weren't by my side, you were in every waking thought of my mind and heart, and I can truly say that I love you Arosio De Luca, please forgive me, please," I pleaded earnestly with Arosio as his eyes widened slightly in shock before he suddenly crashed his warm lips onto mine.

I felt myself melting into his scorching touch that I had craved for so many days. Arosio kissed me long and hard, as if he wanted to imprint the very feeling of my lips into his heart forever. I kissed him back with just as much intensity and soon a battle ensued but of course he won with his dominance quickly overpowering me.

His warm lips left mine and I gasped to take in a much needed breather before a moan escaped my lips when he trailed kisses down my neck and quickly found my weak spot. He lightly nibbled on the tender flesh before smirking against my neck.

"Arosio..." I whimpered out and met his heated gaze as he smirked down at me mischievously before practically ripping my dress off of me and taking his own clothes off.

My cheeks instantly flushed red since this was the first time Arosio was seeing me practically naked with my big bump. My hands immediately flew down to cover myself before Arosio took ahold of them and held them over my head.

"Sei perfetto, tesoro. Non nasconderti mai da me, mai" Arosio whispered huskily before his lips quickly found mine again as his other hand squeezed my slightly swollen breast, eliciting a sharp moan from my trembling lips. (You're perfect, tesoro. Never hide yourself from me, never)

Before I could even blink, I felt Arosio's hard tip positioned at my entrance and felt him slowly thrust himself inside me. It had been so many months since we made love to each other and I had missed the feeling of his naked body flush against mine.

"Arosio" I moaned aloud and dug my fingers into his back as he continued to thrust his full thick length into me. I could tell that he was trying to hold himself back from using too much strength though since I'm pregnant and it warmed my heart even more.

"Mi mancava questa sensazione tesoro, la tua tensione che mi risucchia, i tuoi dolci gemiti sono come musica per le mie orecchie," Arosio whispered huskily into my ear as I shuddered from the pleasure rippling through my whole body and came right before I felt him release inside me. (I missed this feeling tesoro, your tightness sucking me in, your sweet moans that are like music to my ears).

My whole body suddenly felt very exhausted and I could feel my eyes slowly fluttering shut. I could briefly make out Arosio's figure fixing the blanket over my body before laying a sweet kiss on my forehead.

"I love you, Arosio," I whispered softly with a smile on my face before welcoming the much needed rest accompanied by darkness.

***

Rays of sunshine flooded in through the bedroom window and hit my face as I slowly blinked my eyes open. Using the side of the bed, I lifted myself up and smiled at the slight soreness between my legs. Last night felt like a dream, but I am so thankful that it wasn't.

Arosio and I made up.

He forgave me and made love to me.

Soon, we will be back home in Los Angeles with little Eli, Papa, Mama, Alanzo and Adriano. Then in three months, our little family will be complete with the arrival of our twins.

A small giggle escaped my lips before I glanced around the empty cold room and frowned at the open window that had an ash tray sitting on its window sill with a burnt out cigarette.

Since when did Arosio smoke?

I was about to call out to Arosio but froze when I noticed a stack of papers on the bed beside my feet. I slowly reached towards it and felt all of the colour drain from my face as I read its title.

"IN THE COURT OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, COMPLAINT FOR DIVORCE OF AROSIO DE LUCA AND KATERINA DE LUCA"

What...what is this?

And why is Arosio's signature on it?

My eyes widened in shock as the papers fell from my hands and hit the cold floor. I felt my head begin to spin before the bathroom door suddenly opened and Arosio strode into the bedroom with an emotionless expression on his face. He was fully dressed in a black suit and looked like he was ready to leave.

"Oh, you've seen the papers." Arosio stated coldly when he saw my tear stricken eyes and bent down to pick up the fallen papers.

"I'll give you until the end of the day to sign them. Since you seem to enjoy Texas more than my home, you will be staying here until you give birth. Once you've given birth, I will have full custody of my twins," Arosio continued as my jaw practically hit the floor and I stood up quickly onto my feet but felt the cold air hit my naked body.

Arosio's gaze darkened instantly before he wrapped the duvet around me and took a deep breath while looking away from me. I quickly held onto the blanket and looked at him with tears as he turned his dark gaze back to me and held the papers out to me again.

"But...you...last night we...I thought you..." I mumbled in shock and could feel bile rising up my throat when he suddenly let out a chilling laugh.

"What, you thought I would believe your lies last night? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice? Well, there's no such thing, Katerina, because I, Arosio De Luca, am no fool. Last night, you lied and said you and your lover boy James were talking about you coming back home to me but I clearly heard him telling you that you will be with them forever," Arosio began as I opened my mouth to correct him but he didn't allow me to.

"Nevermind your blatant lies, I simply refuse to bring you back into mine and my family's life, only to have you run away again. You have caused my family and I enough pain as it is. Give birth to my babies and get out of my life, intesa?" Arosio stated darkly before turning around to leave but I quickly latched onto the sleeve of his suit and screamed in protest. (Understood?)

"NO, wait. I didn't lie about James, I swear. Please, you don't mean this. I know you still love me, I mean you made love to me last night. You can't do this Arosio, please," I whispered with trembling lips but flinched back when he suddenly turned around and ripped my hand off of his.

"Do not be mistaken, Katerina. Last night, I did not make love to you. I only used your body for pleasure and that is all. Nonno was right, I should have never married a weak woman like you. I will find a strong woman who will stand by my side and lead my Mafia with me," Arosio glared at me harshly before turning away and making his way towards the door.

No.

This can't be happening.

Arosio would never do this to me.

There's no way.

I must be dreaming.

BAM.

Within seconds, Arosio had turned around in shock and stalked towards me before holding my two wrists away from my bruised cheek that I had slapped just moments ago. He glared down at me furiously with rage burning through his heated dark orbs.

"What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?" Arosio gritted out as he stared at my bruised cheek with a pained expression before quickly hardening his gaze and making me question whether I had even seen his pained expression before.

"Let go of me! I must be dreaming! You would never do this to me, let go of my hands," I screamed through tears while trying to pull my hands out of his tight grasp but froze completely when he grabbed the back of my head and pulled me close to his face.

"Listen, Katerina and listen well because I will only say this once. If you ever hurt yourself again, I will make you regret it, intesa?" Arosio threatened in an eerily calm voice as I met his stern gaze while his other hand gently caressed the side of my bruised cheek. (Understood?)

"See! You still love me, why else would you say that to me?" I cried out as his eyes widened in shock before he released me and took a couple steps back.

"Don't flatter yourself, I am simply concerned for the safety of my unborn babies. This mansion is filled with housekeepers on every floor and my guards are stationed everywhere. Stay put and don't cause any trouble," Arosio adjusted the jacket of his suit before leaving the room as I held onto the divorce papers and fell to the floor in complete shock.

How could...

Arosio...

You said you'd never abandon me...

******** HELLO LOVELY READERS!

First off, thank you so much for the birthday wishes! I'm sorry I haven't replied to every comment yet, I had a lot of work to do for my birthday and then the first week back to school aha!

I hope this update was worth the wait though ;)

As always, please leave your comments!

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