# 2 — Chapter 35
Arabella
Gaetano said he wants nothing to do with me. Lazzaro said he doesn’t care if I stay or go but his focus is on finding another non-defective bride for his psychopathic Consigliere.
The hospital let me go after a week and I still feel sore, but my spirits are high because I have Carmelo by my side. He stayed by my bedside the entire time and tried to lighten the mood as much as possible. He would say things like, ‘at least now you won’t have any periods which means we can have sex every day.’
The doctors wanted him to stay in his own room where they could continue to give him pain meds for his shoulder and let him rest, but he refused. He said being without me all those hours while I was in surgery was the worst thing he ever experienced. He said after going through that, he’s not ready to leave me alone. Which is good because I didn’t want him to leave me alone.
I almost want to thank Samuel for his lucky shot. If I never had the hysterectomy Gaetano would probably be planning the second attempt at our wedding.
Carmelo and I arrive at the villa. It’s the first stop since leaving the hospital. I’m packing my clothes and Carmelo and I are just going. I don’t know where to yet, but we’re leaving. I don’t bother saying goodbye to anyone, not even my brother or his wife and nephew. Instead, I make a quick stop at the garden and say one final goodbye to my Nonno.
“Ready?” Carmelo asks putting his arm around my waist.
“Get me out of here.”
We walk to the car Lazzaro generously let us borrow. I mean it really is the least he can do. I sit in the passenger seat as our bags fill the trunk and the backseat. Carmelo drives out of the gates and I don’t dare turn around to look back at the villa. I’ve had enough for a lifetime. I’m ready to leave.
My phone rings and I pull it out of my sweatpants pocket to answer it. “Hello?”
“Come home.”
“Antonio?” I’m taken back.
“Lazzaro called and told us everything that happened. Liliana hasn’t stopped crying about it. She wants you home.”
“Samuel didn’t kidnap me before the wedding.” Carmelo told me the cover story he used. If Lazzaro talked to Antonio then that was the side he knew. “I ran away with Carmelo because I love him. I betrayed the family and betrayed orders to be with him. Only then did Samuel see us.”
Antonio sighs over the phone. “You two love each other? It’s not just because your fucking around?”
“I really love him, Antonio,” I look over at Carmelo, who eavesdropping and smiling while his eyes are locked on the road.
“Then fuck it. You can come home. Just… don’t tell anyone the truth about what happened that day.”
“What about my father? He’ll never allow it.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
“And you won’t kill Carmelo?”
“No, Arabella, I won’t kill Carmelo. Now, get on a plane back to Chicago before I have to listen to my wife cry about how much she misses you again,” with that the line clicks as he hangs up the phone.
“What do you say about going back to Chicago?” I ask Carmelo with a sly smile.
“I say it’ll be pretty easy to get tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at the Cadillac Palace Theater.”
“We’re going home!” I cheer.
***
Being back in America is refreshing. I’ve missed the city, I’ve missed the traffic noise and the crowded streets. I miss the tall modern buildings and this crazy windy weather. I’m home again.
“Come on!” I urge Carmelo.
“I have to bring up our bags.”
“No you don’t, just have the driver do it or whoever. Come on, I’m so excited to see my goddaughter!”
Carmelo groans and politely asks the driver to take care of the bags. I swear I see him tip him, even while knowing that the man driving is a part of mafia. I should’ve used “I’m a Moretti,” it’s like a get out of jail free card. People will do anything to please.
We take the elevator up to the penthouse and when the doors open with a ding, I am tackled with an overbearing hug.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Liliana is sobbing into my shoulder.
“Let then breathe, Lily. They just got in,” Antonio says standing in the foyer. He’s holding Viola in his arms while shaking his head.
Carmelo steps out of the elevator and looks… awkward. He’s not used to visiting Antonio on such a casual basis. He’s used to business and following orders. He blends back into his role of bodyguard but Antonio claps him on the back and welcomes him home. My heart warms. As for Liliana, she has attached herself to me like a leech as if my ‘vacation’ has caused her an incredible amount of distress.
“Lily, I’m here. I’m back for good and you know now I can babysit while you and Antonio have a date night,” I hug her tight one last time before releasing her.
She sniffles. “Yeah. That’ll be nice.”
“A much needed date night,” I hear Antonio mutter to Carmelo.
“I’m so glad you’re back. I’ve had no one to talk to!” Lily locks arms with me and leads me over to the living room couch.
“What am I?” Antonio raises his eyebrow.
“You work a lot and we don’t talk, we do other things,” she gives him a pointed look. He gives her a seductive smile and I cringe know what the other things entail.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been having your M*A*S*H binge-a-thons,” I look at the DVD set on the coffee table.
“I get lonely!” She says defensively.
“What about Viola?” I stand and hold out my arms to take her. Antonio gladly passes her over to me and I kiss her big chubby cheeks.
“She can’t talk yet and all I do is change her diaper, play with her, feed her, watch her sleep… I’m exhausted. I want adult interaction.”
“Go have a date night,” I wave my hands at them.
“What? Now? But you just got back,” her eyes widen. “We can’t leave you!”
“Yes and I can tell how exhausted and stir crazy you are. Go, Carmelo and I will babysit and we will be here when you get back. Besides we’re a little jet lagged, we will put a movie on and take a nap with the little babe.”
“If you’re sure…” Antonio seems suspicious.
“Go!” I force them out. As much as I want to stay in the penthouse and talk with Liliana and Antonio, I’m too tired for talking. I’m definitely too tired to explain to an overly emotional Liliana everything I went through. They deserve to go out, I can always talk to them when I get back. Right now I have other things on my mind.
Silence fills the penthouse and I can hear myself think again. I look at Viola, who is starting to fall asleep in my arms. “Look who is tired, Daddy,” I smirk. “I think our baby needs to be put down for a nap,” I hand her off to him.
Even though I don’t want kids and can’t have kids, seeing him with a baby really gets me going. “It’s been months since we’ve had alone time together, Mommy,” he plays along making me giddy.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
“Mmm. It’s been way too long,” I follow him up the stairs and into Viola’s nursery.
“Hopefully we won’t wake the baby up, because the things I plan to do to you will have you screaming,” he nibbles on my earlobe.
He sets Viola in the crib and then turns to me. We pounce on each other and he picks me up. I wrap my legs around his waist as we kiss with burning desire. His hands grip my ass and our lips don’t break contact as he leads us out of Viola’s room and into my old room.
He throws me on the bed and I giggle. He’s quick to take his clothes off which in turn makes me fumble with my own shirt and pants. Although we’re both exhausted from an almost nine hour plane ride, we definitely saved some energy for this.
Once I’m in my bra and underwear I watch Carmelo fumble with his belt, shirtless. I stand from the bed and get down on my knees to help him. He peers down at me, his chest heaving. I push his pants and boxers down to his thighs and I make sure to maintain eye contact as my lips wrap around his tip.
The groan Carmelo makes only spurs me on. I take as much of him as I can into my mouth, feeling him hit the back of my throat. His hands fist in my hair and his hips gently thrust as I let him fuck my face. I use my hands to rub up and down his thighs while my tongue licks the underside of his member and my mouth continues to suction around him.
I grab tightly on his ass as his thrusting becomes a bit faster and I start to gag. I keep my eyes on him as he loses himself in the sensations. When I feel him get more jerky with his movements I pull back with a pop. I wipe the salvia from my chin and push him back onto the bed.
I straddle his legs and makeout with him until I can no longer ignore the frenzy that’s taken over my body. I lift myself up and slowly sink down on him. He fills me completely and I tip my head back, moaning at how perfect he feels inside of me.
“Let’s make another baby,” he chuckles.
I laugh as I bounce on top of him riding him thoroughly as the tip of him hits an angle inside of me that makes my body shudder with utter delight. I can feel myself grow tired as my muscles tighten up while impending my orgasm. Carmelo grasps my hips and thrusts up hard and deep and continues until I scream out my pleasure.
I moan out his name as my body goes limp on him and I ride out the wave of my release. Carmelo is right there behind me as he pants and moves quicker. He pushes in deep, spilling himself inside of me and holding me close to his body as rides out the remainder of his orgasm. We lay there sated and breathless, while buzzing with the aftermath of our releases.
“That was amazing,” I prop myself up on his chest looking down at him.
He’s staring at the ceiling and nodding. “Yeah.”
“And I think Viola is still asleep. Want to do round two?” I raise an eyebrow. “Daddy.”
The word eggs him on and just like me, he loves to play pretend. He grabs and pulls me under him as I laugh uncontrollably.
At the end of the day when Carmelo and I are done roleplaying and we’re no longer Mommy or Daddy, or Teacher or Student, or even Husband and Wife, nothing about us is pretend. We are Arabella and Carmelo and we’re madly in love with each other. We are two dreamers who have finally found happiness and neither of us are willing to let that go.