Surprise shawty... double update 🙊 y'all not ready for this one

Carmelo's POV

I slowly stretch my body out on the bed as I come out of my sleep, the bed that I've been longing for so long.

Adriana let me stay in the same bed as her last night, but has yet to let me put a fucking hand on her. Sleeping in the same bed together and not being able to touch her, hold her, kiss her, is definitely worse than sleeping alone in the guest room, it's fucking torture.

I turn beside me to find her side of the bed empty.

I frown and turn back around to grab the new iPhone that's lying face flat on the nightstand, instantly relieved that I don't have over thirty messages on my screen.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely do miss the excitement, the dramatics, the adrenaline it brought, but then again I was always used to that lifestyle, I didn't know anything else.

It wasn't until over a month ago where I realized how much I was overworking myself and my body, how much I missed out on my marriage, my son. I definitely didn't wanna make that same mistake with my grandson. After so many years of keeping my guard up, looking over my shoulder it was finally easier to fall asleep, easier to sleep in longer, but breaking out of tedious habits was harder than I thought.

The time on my phone reads 6:14 am, 16 minutes before my alarm is due to go off and this woman is already up; she's never up this early unless I'm waking her up to go on a trip, my queen loves her beauty sleep so what the fuck has her awake at the crack of dawn.

My ears quickly pick on a noise coming from the left of me where the bathroom is. She's showering? Why the fuck is she showering so god damn early.

I set the phone back down on the night stand as Adriana cracks the bathroom door open and is walking out a second later, entirely fucking naked, her body glistening with water droplets, her hair dry and up in a clip.

This woman will be the death of me.

It takes almost everything in me not to rip this fucking duvet off of me and fly out of this bed rushing over to her, throw her over my shoulder and bring her back to bed.

She's definitely not making it easy on me, not that I expected her to, but this is the hardest she's ever made me fight for her.

We're in the same fucking room and yet she feels so far away from me, she's keeping her distance from me, pushing me away, pushing me out, and I'm afraid I won't be able to win her back this one time.

I keep my eyes trained on her, taking in every fucking inch of her, missing her more than I did five minutes ago. I miss her touch, her gentleness, the way she felt wrapped around me; this is the longest that I've gone without being inside her and it's fucking hell.

I inhale a deep breath watching her walk towards our walk in closet. "That's not fair, Adri, that's dirty.."

"It's actually clean," she smirks, shrugging her shoulders as she disappears in the closet.

I smile knowing what she's referring to, instantly letting myself fall back on the bed and reach for a pillow beside me, placing it on top of my face, nearly wanting to scream out in frustration.

I don't know how much more of this I can take, I don't know how much more I can apologize to her, make her see my reasoning. I hate that she hates me. I'm not a patient man to begin with and I know she's using that to her advantage because she knows exactly how and where to hit me.

My eyes quickly wonder where she's at, she walks out of the closet in almost no clothing still. She's thrown on black lace bra, covering up those breast that I'm absolutely obsessed with, pairing her bottoms with a black thong.

I inhale another deep breath trying to regain my composure, quickly throwing the blanket off of me in the next second, sitting up at the edge of the bed.

Fuck it, I'm done waiting, I need to touch her, I need to push in order to make her push back. I know she misses me just as much as I missed her, I just gotta remind her that's all.

Physical touch is my love language.

I wasn't so much a man of words, probably why my son struggles so much to communicate because I do, but I do know how to emphasize my love for my wife through touch, through our intimacy.

I get up from the bed and walk towards her, she's standing in front of the vanity mirror, watching me through the reflection as I stand directly behind her, immediately towering over her.

I glance down at her chest through the reflection to see it rapidly rising up and down as her eyes lock with mine. I'm really good at reading people but Adriana, she was and still is the one person that I struggle reading. I can't tell if the sudden motion is because me being so near her is making her uncomfortable or if it's the anticipation of longing for my touch.

I bring my hand up to the side of her arm, careful not to touch her, debating if pushing her to me is really the right move. My hand lingers in the air right beside her arm as I lean down to whisper into her ear, "I miss you so much, Adriana."

She inhales a deep breath, turning her head to the side, giving me full access to her neck. I take my time, not accepting the open invitation just yet. I slowly begin to trail the back of my hands, fingers, up and down her arm, softly grazing her skin and she's instantly trembling under my touch.

I lean into her, burying my face into the crook of her neck she's given me access to. "It's been almost two weeks, Adriana," I whisper against her skin. "I know you're missing my touch just as much as I'm missing yours, baby."

My ears quickly pick up on a soft sound beside her when I feel the cold barrow to a gun dig into the bottom of my chin.

I quickly snap my eyes open, looking at her through the mirror.

Sure enough she has my fucking Barreta in her hand, pressing into my skin, slighting tilting my head away from her.

That's where that went.

"Get your fucking hands off of me," she snarls viciously.

I smile taking my hand off of her arm, placing my arms up about mid air, leaning back into her ear, "I thought everything you fucking know, a gun in my face doesn't exactly scare me, Adriana, if anything it's turning me on."

Her nose scrunches up for a mere second, anger evident in those gorgeous brown eyes that I love so much. I put my hands back down, placing my left hand around her waist, pulling her into me.

She pulls the safety back, removing it, digging the barrel deeper into my underchin, "try me," she hisses.

My lips instantly tug to the side as I bring my other free hand up, placing it on top of hers, putting my finger on the trigger, something I've taught her to do only if she plans on firing a weapon.

Wrapping my hand around hers, I dig my 9mm even deeper into my skin, "fallo." (Do it)

Her hand immediately begins to tremble.

"I'd rather my own wife end my life than to die by enemy hands."

Her breath hitches as she keeps her gaze on me, never once tearing her eyes off of me, something she was always good at, staring me down.

Even when I came down to losing my temper and yelling at her, she hardly ever broke our eye contact, she hardly ever cowards away, she always stood her ground and I love that about her; my woman definitely has a backbone.

She shifts her gaze down to the gun in between us and is turning her body around, my hand never easing up from her waist, her hand quickly letting go of the gun.

I place it down beside me as she cups the side of my face, caressing my cheek, "did you really miss me?" Her voice is soft and fragile.

"Every. Fucking. Second."

"Good." Her voice is now sharp and stern.

Half a second later she connects her knee with my groin and I'm quickly doubling over, but not before getting another blow into my stomach knocking the air out of me

I fall to the ground on my side, my hands instantly covering my crotch as the pain attempts to subside, she really went in with full force there.

She places her bare manicured foot on my shoulder blade, turning me on my back, keeping me down with her foot on my balde.

She leans forward with a mischievous smile on her face, "I rather see you writhing in pain than bleeding out all over my floor."

I can't help the instant smile that's on my face as I watch her remove her white toes off of my shoulder and attempt to walk away from me.

I say attempt because my hands quickly fly out to reach for her ankle, pulling her to me, quickly making her lose her balance.

"Carmelo!" She quirps following to the floor.

My hand immediately shoots out to the back of her head, preventing it from hitting the hard wood floor.

I instantly roll over on top of her once she's laying flatly next to me, unharmed, pinning her hands above her head.

I lean into her, hovering right above her lips, "like I said, I thought you every fucking move you know. Kicking me in the balls stopped hurting years ago, baby."

"Get off of me,"she squirms from underneath me.

"I don't know if your sons told you yet- but Hailey and him are moving out by the end of the week," I smile as I watch the blood drain from her face. "It'll just be you and me soon, you can't escape me, Adriana, you're bound to let me back in."

"Get. Off. Of. Me."

I lean down to place a kiss on her forehead, "put some fucking clothes on and get back into bed, I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing up so early but daddy in charge again and you're not leaving this house."

"You wouldn't fucking dare.."

I smirk letting go of her wrists and stand up to my full height. I stretch my hand out in front of me, helping my wife up to her feet, "it wouldn't be the first time I look you up in a room against your will."

**

It's a little past 7:30 in the morning by the time I make it back over to the warehouse and I'm sitting in my daughter in law's challenger.

I gotta make some time to take my ass to the dealer and get a new wagon, or at least send Dom to get me a new one. I could've easily picked another one of my many cars in the garage, or even had a truck pick me up, but her challenger was the safest choice at the moment.

Her car isn't marked, it's not known in the city, I can drive around without getting spotted and stopped.

I smile looking down at a small Polaroid picture of her, Isaac, Ricci, and Angela on her dash. It's gotta be from last year when Hailey was in school because I don't recognize the scenery.

It's funny because the only person looking at the fucking camera is my son, everyone else seems to be laughing with each other and then there's Isaac. He's standing in front of his friends, probably one of the biggest smiles on his face as he throws up the peace sign, a bottle of beer in his other hand.

My heart slowly begins to ache in my chest because I'd kill to see this side of him, I'd love to get to know this version of my son, I'd love to see a carefree, playful Isaac.

Pulling a whole proud dad move, I grab my phone from the cup holder beside me and take a picture of the Polaroid.

A message comes in from Dominic as I'm taking the picture displaying his message at the top of the screen. "You plan on staying in the car all morning?"

I scoff to myself and quickly reply that I'm on my way and tuck my phone away, stepping out of Hailey's car.

My phone vibrates in my hand as I'm walking towards the front doors. It's another message from Dom.

"Downstairs prepping moles, be up in 20."

I thumbs up his message quickly replying, "meet me in office."

"Boss!" A deep voice calls from behind me. Tearing my attention away from my phone I shove it back into my slack to find one of my front gate men running in my direction, excuse me- correction, one of my sons front gate men.

"What's going on, Mig?"

"This was dropped off for you," he holds up a yellow Manila envelope in his hand.

My heart quickly sinks to my stomach as panic instantly begin to set in, they can't know already, they couldn't have caught on that fucking quick.

"Who dropped it off?" I asked while reaching for the package.

"A woman," Mig answers. "About over two hours ago, maybe, a little past dawn."

"Why didn't you turn it in to Don?" I questioned.

"She seemed pretty harmless, boss. She begged me to keep it with me until I got it into your hands."

I frown looking down at it, "you recognize the woman?"

"No sir, she had a hoodie over her head and dark glasses on her face. She said you'd know exactly who she is once you open the envelope."

My frown deepens as confusion quickly begins to settle in.

Who in the fuck is dropping off mysterious packages at my front gate?

I nod, "let this be the first and last time that you deliver me mysterious packages, Mig."

"Yes sir, I'm sorry. She genuinely had this urgency in her voice, almost as if she was scared, constantly looking behind her. Mando even asked her if she was hurt or needed any help and she took off."

"Tell Tech I want footage of your interaction with the woman."

"Yes sir."

Hanging onto the yellow package I continue making my way towards the warehouse, stepping inside of it. A handful of men actually try to come up to me and I dismiss every single one wanting to get to the bottom of this.

I head straight for the office and close the door behind me, making my way toward the desk. I plop myself down onto the comfortable chair and stare down at the Manila envelope in my hands, at my name written in the middle of it, it's in cursive writing.

Carmelo M.

I quickly flip it over in hopes of checking if there's a name from the sender in the back but there isn't. The yellow package isn't heavy, it's actually pretty light and that immediately throws me off.

I grab the letter opener from in front of me and open the Envolve and immediately pull out two pieces of paper that are folded in three ways, setting the small packet down on my son's desk.

I unfold the pages and read my name and only my name in the left corner of the page before flipping through both pages and seeing the signature at the bottom of the second page.

Cathalina.

I instantly begin to frown all over again.

Cathalina is Cris Roxwell's mother; why in the hell is she dropping off random mysterious envelopes at my front gate, correction- my son's front gate; that's definitely gonna take some time.

The last time that I ever talked to this woman was way before her son and my son were born, before Adriana and I got married, when her husband was still alive...

What the hell kind of business could she possibly want with me.

Her husband was no longer alive to tournament her family, her son was doing good, he wasn't falling into any bad habits or getting involved with the wrong people anymore. I hadn't broken my promise to him, I'm still trying to safely get him out of this lifestyle, after all I owed him everything for helping me out these past few months.

I put the second page back behind the first and begin to read it.

"Carmelo, hi, I know we haven't talked to each other in years, since that one night really, and I really don't know how else to say this so I'm just going to be as straightforward as I can be because the thought alone of having to tell you this in person or even over the phone is making me sick. I'm just hoping that you can at least understand my penmanship because my hands are extremely shaky as I write this."

The writing in the letter begins to get a bit more sloppier and the cursive is now a little harder to read.

"I felt completely heartbroken, devastated, when I heard the news that you had died. My conscience instantly started to eat away at me because I never had the courage to tell you any of this, but now that you're back from the dead I think it's only fair that you know the truth."

My heart nearly sinks to the bottom of my stomach when I read the next sentence. "I truly believe that Cris is your son, Carmelo."

I immediately dropped the letter on top of the desk, as if the paper had actually burned my finger tips, backing away from the desk, staring at the cursive penmanship laying flatly on the metal material.

There's no fucking way... then again- it's also not entirely impossible.

The air in the room quickly begins to feel real thin as I try and think back to that one hazy night that happened over twenty years ago.

Adriana had just left me, she had dumped me for the very first time in our relationship and the younger version of me was livid to think that she could do such a thing without my permission, without my okay. I was far more narcissistic and delusional when we first met than I am now.

I didn't take too kindly to not being in control of something, someone, rejection in general, so I did everything in my power to try and get her out of my head, my system, including hooking up with Cathalina one night, and only one night.

I was drowning myself in alcohol a couple nights after the break up when she came stumbling into the bar, her face badly bruised, tears running down her face and she instantly grasped my attention.

Narcissistic and whatnot I still despised a woman beater and immediately approached the booth she was trying to hide in.

I never had any intention of sleeping with her when I approached her, I knew who her husband was, I would never dream of crossing that boundary because of the alliance I had with her brother, I just wanted to help her, get her out of the tough situation she was in.

The Cathalina, Cathy, I knew back then- she was far too broken and way too afraid to accept my help and I wasn't about to push it on her.

I had made it perfectly clear to her though should she ever change her mind she knew where to find me, unfortunately for the both of us alcohol made her a lot more stupid and braver than she actually was.

She immediately came up with what she thought was this genius idea to try and get even with her husband by hitting on the man he hated the most and quickly started coming on to me.

Unfortunately my head wasn't in the right place due to my sudden break up, and being highly under the influence I did the majority of my thinking with my dick and allowed myself to fall into it, giving her an escape from her husband, even if it was just for one night.

That's actually the first and last time that Cathy and I ever had any type of interaction with each other. She never once came looking for my help and I never seeked her out.

I assumed that she probably didn't want to leave the man that she was going to have her third baby with, seeing how she was newly pregnant months later after running into each other at that bar.

I had actually managed to pull my head out of my ass around the same time Cathalina announced her pregnancy and managed somehow to get my girl back once I realized that I couldn't forget her, couldn't live without her.

The second Adriana took me back I allowed myself to completely give in to her, completely fall for her, and begin to let her change me and vowed to always put her first, unfortunately bad selfish habits die harder than you think and she left me again back to back through her pregnancy with Isaac.

Our relationship at the start was completely toxic and I hated the man that I was back then. I regret not trying more back then, not being there for most of Isaac's pregnancy, that I actually wanted more power back then rather than focusing on my family.

I was back to being heartless, ruthless, selfish, not having a care for anyone in the world but myself. I needed more power, I needed more money, I needed more control, a bigger empire now that I knew I would have an heir to my name, or so I thought at least.

The arrogant part of me actually stopped chasing Adriana after our second break up. I knew that Adriana would come back running to me the second our son came into the world, she needed me, I had completely isolated her from her family at the time, she had no one, therefore I never sought her out, I decided to give her the space she so desperately was trying to put between us but then she did the unthinkable.

Adriana actually went into labor and delivered our son without my knowledge and I remember going fucking ballistic for all the wrong reasons. I was becoming him, I was becoming my father and it instantly made me sick to my fucking stomach.

I decided right there and then that I'll never let her take another moment away from me, from my son, and instantly stormed off to confront her that she could either learn to live in my life, my ways, or she could walk away, but she had another thing coming her way if she thought she could take isaac away from me.

Things obviously didn't go that way. The second I stormed into her room everything completely changed when I saw her laying in that hospital bed, when I saw Isaac in her arms, when I seen the genuine fear in her dark brown eyes.

I built that woman into the queen she is now. Adriana was still hurting, healing, from her previous relationship with her abusive ex boyfriend when we first met. I promised her that another man would never lay their hands on her even before I knew I was in love with this woman and there I was ready to tear her back down.

She didn't need me, she never did, she was the most strongest, independent woman I had ever met in my entire life, me being around her only amplified that, I simply gave her that confidence boost that she was lacking, and then realized where all the anger was coming from.

She didn't need me but I sure as hell needed her. I needed her in my life way more than she needed me in hers.

I could feel her changing me and I didn't like that one bit, I was actually afraid of it, but the second she placed Isaac in my arms I felt my entire world crash on top of me and nothing but that little boy and his mom mattered, and I'll be damned if I ever lose them.

My heart continues to slam in my chest as I reach for the written letter all over again.

If what Cathalina is saying is true then that's it, I'm done, Adriana will never forgive me for this, she'll have it set in her head that I knew about it, about him the entire time, that I fucked around on her while we were still together.

I continued reading the letter, "I never said anything before because I don't have any actual proof proving that he is your son, but Carmelo, he's so much like you in so many ways. Cristo was constantly forcing himself on me that I automatically assumed that Cris was his from the start, and also because I was terrified of what he would do if he found out that his son wasn't his so I immediately put the doubt in the back of my head.. It wasn't until a few years ago that more and more of you started popping up in my son, after every toxic male in his life was completely out that I started questioning who his father was again, so here I am- confessing my biggest secret."

There's a soft knock on the door as I hear it slowly begin to open but I don't look up from the confession that's in my hands, turning the page over.

"Please do me this favor and put me out of my torturous misery and get a paternity test, put my mind at ease because the more I stare at him the more he begins to resemble you, the more everything begins to make sense. Why he's so different from his family, from all the men in his life. I was able to get my hands on some of his hair the last time he was here visiting to make it easier for you. Should the results come back negative then please forgive me for even trying to intrude in your life and pretend that this never happened... Cathalina."

"Carmelo." Dominic's groggy voice tears my attention from the papers in my hand.

I stare up at him quietly.

He immediately begins to frown as he takes a step deeper into the room, "what is it?" He questions.

I pick up the Manila envelope and dump out the last item that's in it, a small snack size sandwich bag is falling onto my desk, a tiny bunch of dark brown hair.

"The hells going on?" Dominic walks up to the front of the desk, snatching the hair into his hand. "Why the fuck would someone send you that?"

"I need a DNA test on it," I mumbled. "Immediately."

"Okay, who am I matching it with?"

I look at him, "me... I need a paternity test."

His frown instantly deepens and he's quickly reaching over, snatching the letter from me with his other hand and is turning it over, reading it.

I wait patiently, quietly, shaking my right leg up and down under the desk, until he's done reading both pages.

He suddenly looks up in my direction, "please tell me that you're not that fucking stupid, Carmelo."

Dominic is the only one who knows of my one night stand with Cathy. He was always the one who was picking up after my messes, escorting my company out from hotel rooms whenever I decided to bring someone back. He was my wingman and second in command all in one back then, he's seen and been through it all with me.

I shrug my shoulders, "it was so long ago, I honestly don't remember."

He tosses the papers onto my desk, losing his shit, "God, Carmelo! I let you do what the fuck you wanted to do, who you wanted to do, under one condition!! I asked you to do one fucking thing, one!"

Wrap my dick. Don't get any broads pregnant. Were his exact words.

"I'm sorry!" I shout back. "I was drunk, Dom, it was out of my control! I wasn't thinking back then!"

"Is there an actual possibility that it could be true?"

I hesitantly nod my head, "I think so, what the fuck am I gonna do if it's comes back a match?" My heart suddenly begins to thump in my chest. "How the hell am I gonna explain this?"

Dom shakes his head running his hands through his hair, "it doesn't exist, it got lost in the postal or whatever, you never got it."

"She had it personally dropped off at the front gate with Mig and Mando."

There's another grimmance on Dominic's face, "I should slap the fuck out of you right now."

"I think ima be sick," I confess and quickly roll the chair to the side of the desk, reaching for the small trash can, leaning over it as the nausea begins to settle.

I listen to Dominic sigh on the other side of the desk, "relax, we're not gonna panic until we have actual proof and results that it's true, alright? I'll send it out the second I leave here."

I nod feeling another wave of nausea.

"It'll definitely explain your attachment to the kid if it comes back positive," he mutters under his breath and I'm quickly looking in his direction. "I'm just saying, you don't trust anyone, Carmelo and out of everyone you let this kid help you, you trusted him more than your own blood, more than me."

I place the bin down, "I already told you why," I growled in between clenched teeth.

"You did, but this makes more sense, regardless of whether you knew or not. You trusted an instinct in you, in him, something made you trust him. You trusted the little parts of him that remind you of yourself, of Isaac. You've even said it yourself that Isaac and him are so alike and your son is exactly like you, they both are in some strangely weird way."

"I'm gonna lose them," I mutter. Dominic frowns as he looks over at me. "If that comes back true, if Cris really is my blood, I'm gonna lose them. Isaac's barely coming around, he's starting to call me dad again, this will push him over, this will completely set him off."

"Or maybe it'll help him.."

I frown and watch Dom walk forward and take a seat in one of the two chairs.

"Isaac used to be unpredictable, especially when he lashed out, but you no longer know your son, Carmelo. Your supposedly death genuinely changed that kid, him becoming a father has really changed him, he's a lot more family oriented than you know. I watched that kid grow up his whole life, he wanted nothing more than to have siblings, to not feel so alone. Cristofer being his brother might break him, but it could also be his strength."

"I hurt him so much already, I can't handle him thinking that I kept this from him too."

"Then we'll nip it in the bud immediately. The second we get the results we'll get both boys in here and tell them at the same time."

"Fuck man."

"Maybe you could do it over dinner, with the women involved.."

I look at him confused.

"Adriana.. Hailey... it wouldn't kill you to have some estrogen in a room of alpha testosterone."

I shake my head, "I can barely handle Isaac and his mother down my throat, separately, I'll lose my shit with all four of them coming at me."

"Oh fuck," Dominic quickly mumbles under his breath.

"What?!"

He stares over at me quietly for a second or two. "Cris is what, five, six, months older than Isaac?"

I nod, "something like that, why?" Dom stays quiet and it instantly begins to set me off. "Why do you ask, Dominic?!"

He inhales a quick deep breath, "if this comes back positive, Carmelo, Cris would be your first born, not Isaac.. "

Vile instantly begins to make its way up my throat as reality sets in. Isaac wouldn't be the heir to the family, Cris would be.

I double over again and reach for the trash bin Vile coming up my empty stomach and into the black bin.

Dominic softly chuckles from where he's sitting and I'm quickly frowning looking in his direction, "I'm sorry," he says. "It's just- out of all the years we've worked together I've never seen you this nervous, this worked up."

I quickly reach for the black empty mug on the table and throw it in his direction. He instantly flies out of the chair, dodging the flying item, laughing.

"I'm sorry!" He grins.

"Get the hell out and get me results, Dom."

"And I will, don't worry. Pull yourself together, you gotta act like you're the same hard ass you used to be before you went MIA."

I begin to shake my head, "he won't care, he won't take it, I know him," I mumble. "Cris doesn't want this lifestyle, he'll turn it down, we'll be okay."

Dominic looks anything but convinced, "let's hope that's actually true. The kid hates this life because of the family he was raised in, but I saw the way he looked up to you, Carmelo."

"Do you have everything ready to go downstairs?" I asked, desperately needing a change of subject.

He nods, "let me go drop this off and I'll meet you there in 10?"

"How long you'll think it'll take?"

He shrugs his shoulders, "couple days max, I don't know, boss, I can ask."

I nod, "check Isaac and Cris location, I don't want them near each other before I can get the chance to explain myself, tell them'em anything before they kill each other."

Dom smiles immediately looking down at the ground.

"The hell you smiling about? What?"

"Your sons actually with each other, he's staying within Roxwell's reach, in the Santa Clarita."

"Will you stop that shit."

"What?" He smiles. "Just testing the waters, I like the sound of it, sons."

I quickly grab the frame that's near him, and pick it up in the air, getting ready to toss it in his direction.

"Don't you fucking dare! That's not yours to ruin!"

I pause looking over at the frame to see that it's Isaac's favorite picture of us when he was younger, the same photo that I ruined over a year ago.

"How-"

"Your wife gave it to him after you died. It's the original."

I inhale a deep breath, a sharp pang stabbing me in the chest as I set the frame back down, "I need those results before they get back into town, Dom."

He nods, "I'll try my best, boss. Wait for me here, don't go killing anyone before we get to interrogate."

I nod dismissing him, "hurry the fuck up then."

*** Bahahaha wtf was that right? Anyways bye lmao