A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Alena

I had spent the next couple of hours freshening up. As I took a full body shower in the bathroom, Matteo had helped packed my bags, a few clothes I had bought online during my stay here for the past few weeks because my old clothes were a bit too small. By the time I was finished, it was almost thirty-minutes before midnight.

Luca and Angelo had been waiting downstairs, in the living room as they had a few drinks. Mama made sure they were feeling comfortable and being treated as guests instead of enemies. I only knew what they were doing through Matteo.

I was fully clothed in a pair of sweatshirt and sweatpants. It was comfortable enough to keep me warm until I reached home later. Besides, it belonged to Matteo and I never complained whenever I wore his clothes especially when they always smelt like him. "I've packed everything. Do you mind double check incase I missed?" Matteo asked, pointing at the duffel bag on the bed.

I made my way towards the bag before checking but I stopped as soon as I saw a gift box in the middle. As I slowly reached out to grab it, my lips began to curve up into a smile and I turned to look at my husband, who had a smirk plastered on his face.

"What's this?" I raised an eyebrow, playfully asking.

"I don't know. Who put it there?"

"Mm, let me check."

I opened the box and my eyes widened at the sparkling white gold jewellery. My fingers touched the necklace, eyeing the beautiful material. As I stayed still at my spot with the box in my hand, Matteo came to stand beside me.

"It's really beautiful," I muttered under my breath.

"Let me help you to put it on," he replied before he slowly grabbed the box.

We both walked towards the mirror and he helped me to put on the necklace. I continued to stare at my husband as he stood behind me, a smile plastered on his face-he was looking at me in awe, somehow loving the jewellery he had chosen for me and how beautiful it looked around my neck.

I played with the locket with my hand before I turned to face him.

"When did you buy this for me?"

"A few days ago. I saw it and it reminded me of you,"

I smiled; my cheeks heating up. "I love it. I really love it."

"I know you'd love it. It suits you well," he added.

As my smile began to spread wider, I wrapped my arms around his neck before pulling him in for a hug. We didn't leave any space between us as we remained in each other's arms. I was snuggled close, I could inhale his scent as he wrapped his arms around my waist. We could spend hours hugging each other and we could never get bored.

"Thank you, Matteo." I whispered in his ear.

"Anything for you, baby."

I leaned back to look at his face again, seeing him still smiling at me.

We leaned forward as we kissed each other's lips, feeling the softness of them. The kiss was short and deep, enough to show how much we appreciated one another. Other than always hugging, we were crazy when it came to physical touches. We loved it whenever we could feel our skin.

Once I had double checked everything, Matteo had helped me to carry the duffel bag downstairs. I followed behind him closely until we reached the hallway, where I found Luca and Angelo laying on the sofa as they watched some sort of comedy show. They were laughing as they ate snacks.

It wasn't out of the ordinary for me to see Luca behaving that way but for Angelo, it was slightly odd. He wasn't the kind of person who would casually smile. He was quiet and reserved, I never expected him to laugh at comedy shows. "That's just insane," Luca said.

"Can't believe it."

It was a conversation between them and I knew it was best to not eavesdrop.

Matteo turned to look at me when he realised I had stopped walking. As soon as he saw what had caught my attention, he began to chuckle. "You seem surprised. What's wrong?"

Ishook my head, "Nothing. I just never saw Angelo like that,"Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

"He's not always like that. It's a rare occurrence."

Then, he walked into the living room before he placed the duffel bag on the sofa. Both Luca and Angelo were startled, causing them to stand up. Once they saw my figure by the doorway, they tried to make themselves presentable; when I said they, mostly it was just Angelo.

probably had caught him off guard.

"Can you please bring this and wait in the car?" Matteo asked.

"Sure, let's go."

"We'll be there in a sec,"

Luca raised an eyebrow, "Alena's coming with us? Have you settled the problem with Mikhail?"

Matteo nodded, "Yeah. I'll tell you all about it later,"

They continued to have a conversation in Italian and I knew it was my time to see Mama. Even if I stayed throughout their conversation, I didn't understand a word they were saying. So, I walked down the hallway and straight into the kitchen.

Mama was sitting on the stool near the kitchen island with a drink in her hand. She was eyeing the half empty bottle of wine before she took a sip of her drink-Mama wasn't a fond of alcohol. She only drank whenever she felt like it which was rare. Unless something was bothering her.

"Mama," I called out.

She looked up at me before smiling, "Have a seat, honey."

I walked towards her, sitting beside her.

"Matteo worked it out with Papa."

"I know. I'm happy for you,"

"You can always come visit again."

"Of course, sweetheart. You can always come visit me, too."

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I grabbed both of her hands, "I actually enjoyed staying here with you. It reminded me of the good old days we had before I went to medical school. Made me feel like a little girl again,"

"I also enjoyed having you here, Alena. All of my girls are grown up, it's what I miss the most."

""You seem a bit sad,"

She shook her head, "No, honey. I just feel overwhelmed."

"Is Ana coming home soon?"

"She's really busy with studies. She should come home soon though,"

I pulled Mamma into a hug before I whispered in her ear, "I love you so much, Mama. Thank you for always being there for me whenever I needed you the most. I'm going to miss you when I get home."

Once I pulled away, I saw her teary eyes and it made my eyes water, too.

"Honey... you'll always have me. Always."

Mama and I were always close. Despite having the phase where I didn't feel like I needed my mother growing up, it was all hormones. Throughout my teenage years, I always needed my mother even though some of my friends complained about how much they hated their mothers' guts.

I had my moments when I felt annoyed but I never hated her. I never said it out loud to her face and broke her heart. Then those raging teenage hormones were gone and I grew to understand how much I needed her in my life especially as an adult woman.

Mama had helped me to understand myself better. She guided me on how to become a woman and she was really open-minded about things which made me appreciate her more. We talked about uncomfortable topics about sex and so on, I never felt ashamed to ask her anything.

"Call me every day. Video call me."

"Screw video calls, I'll be at your house every morning."

"Ma... please, not every morning."

We both laughed as we continued to hug each other, loving the way she made me feel warm. Despite having a husband and enjoying his hugs, I preferred my mother's hug over anyone else. She was the number one!

We talked for the next few minutes until Matteo entered the kitchen.

"Ready whenever you are," he said.

I hugged Mama one last time before I walked with Matteo down the hallway. We were heading towards the car parked out front but Papa's office had caught my attention. The door was slightly ajar and I knew Papa was inside with Alexei, probably discussing a few things. It didn't feel nice to leave without saying goodbye.

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So, I turned to look at Matteo who had been eyeing me. He slowly let go of my hand before he caressed the side of my face and gesturing for me to follow my heart-it was as if he knew what was in my mind.

"I'll wait in the car," he said before he kissed my forehead.

I nodded and he began to walk out, leaving me standing on my own.

I knocked a couple of times on the door before I pushed the door open, seeing Papa and Alexei were talking in Russian. Once they saw me by the door, they stopped talking.

Both of them continued to look at me, not expecting to see me here.

"I just came to see you before I leave," I said to Papa.

"I'll be outside." Alexei stood up before he made his way towards the door.

As he was about to leave, I managed to grab onto his forearm. Both of his eyes looked down at me and I knew we needed closure as well-we had a great relationship as siblings and we didn't have to spend the rest of our lives hating each other. "Thanks, Alyosha."

It had been awhile since I called him by that name.

"You're thanking me?"

"For being a stupid brother but I know you care,"

He scoffed, "See you around."

Once he left, it was just Papa and I.

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