Chapter 21 - It's True

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~ Gabriella's POV ~

For the first time in what felt like ages I woke up feeling at peace and happy. There was no stress, nothing important in our lives apart from each other.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was him staring straight back at me.

"Hey baby."

A smile tugged at my lips as I looked into the brown eyes that I'd fallen so in love with, which were glistening in the sunlight which was shining into the room.

"Hi."

Matteo reached his hand out, stroking my cheek as he looked into my eyes like nothing else mattered but me. Like I was the most important thing to him at that moment.

"You're so beautiful Gabriella, I don't know how I could ever be so lucky to have you." I smiled at him as I moved closer to him, bringing my face close to his.

"I'm the lucky one." I gently pressed my lips to his, savouring the sweet kiss before I pulled away, resting my head on his pillow as I stared up at the ceiling.

"I remember when we first met, I couldn't take my eyes off you. The more I got to know you the more I knew that you were the person I needed. The person who would make me into the best version of myself." I turned my head to look at him but he was also staring at the ceiling.

He looked so deep in thought, as if what he was saying were his deepest thoughts and feelings.

"I can never imagine ever hurting you, the thought of being the reason for your sadness breaks my heart. You're my best friend and the love of my life. I've never felt like this about anyone. I don't want to lose you."

"Oh Matteo you'll never lose me. Even if you push and push, I'll always be here."

"I'll never push you away, I need you. You're my everything; my strength, my courage, my passion, my drive. You're my reason to carry on."

All I could do was smile as I rolled over onto my stomach, facing him as I spoke. "I love you so much."

"I love you too Gab Gab." Matteo reached out and kissed my lips softly, but soon the kiss became even more heated. Before he could start getting too carried away my hand went to his chest to push him away from me causing him to pout.

"I'm not changing these sheets again Matteo - not today. Anyway, I'm going to take a shower now and then I'll make us some breakfast." I gave him a smile while he just stared at me dejectedly before I kissed his cheek and got out the bed.

Making my way into his bathroom, I turned the shower on and almost instantly the room started to fill with steam - Matteo's shower was really hot and really powerful.

Just as I finished stripping off my clothes I felt two hands come around my waist, and soon Matteo was pressed up against me.

"'You didn't think I would let you get away that easily, did you?" His voice held amusement as he kissed my cheek before stepping away to take off his clothes. Before I could even ask what he was doing he took my hand and pulled me into his huge shower. I rose an eyebrow at him as he pushed me against the wall with one hand on my waist and other resting on the wall above my head.

The water was pouring down on us as he leaned in close to me.

"I love you."

He pecked my lips before he sent me a smirk and started kissing my neck in the exact spot he knew would always turn me on.

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My eyes flew open as I looked around the dark room, trying to figure out my surroundings before I let out a sigh, dropping down on to the pillow.

It was a dream.

I turned my head to look at Matteo who was for the first time in weeks, fast asleep next to me.

I just stared at him, taking in his frown as he slept and the way he left so much distance between us. He never used to do that.

He was always all over me during the night - even when we were just friends and I put up those pillow walls which he would destroy as soon as I fell asleep.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

I must have been lost in my thoughts because the sound of Matteo's husky morning voice caught my attention and I noticed he was looking back at me with tired eyes.

"No reason." I didn't really know what else to say so it fell silent for a moment before I spoke again. "What time did you fall asleep last night? You look really tired."

Matteo cracked one eye open to look at me before he let out a sigh, turning over to lie on his back.

"I don't know Gabriella." It was obvious he didn't want to talk to me, maybe he was just too tired, but the tone he used was pretty harsh.

Of course I still cared about him too much to ignore him, so I tried again.

"Shall I make you some coffee?"

At the sound of my voice he let out another annoyed sigh and turned his head in my direction.

"I'd prefer it if you just stayed quiet."

This time I let out a scoff, shaking my head a I sat up which caught his attention. Leaning against the headboard of his bed, I kept my eyes down on the couple of rings on my fingers, fiddling with them as I spoke.

"Last night a had a dream...I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but I am. I woke up next to you and you were so happy to see me, you smiled and you told me how much you loved me, how much I meant to you. We kissed and then I stopped you from doing anything more because I didn't want to change the sheets again."

A small laugh escaped my lips when I said this, remembering the times in the past when we argued over who would change the sheets after our activities got a little hot and heavy.

"You didn't listen though and when I left you followed me to the shower."

I turned my head to look at him, trying my best to swallow the lump in my throat as I spoke.

"I can't even remember the last time you told me you loved me or you kissed me. You look at me like I'm a stranger, like all of this never happened and I'm just someone you accidentally fell asleep next to after a one night stand. Like you don't even care anymore." I let out a deep breath, wiping away a couple of tears that fell from my eyes.

When he didn't say anything I avoided making eye contact with him as I got out of the bed, aware of his eyes following me as I did.

"I'll go and make some coffee."

I left his bedroom, making my way downstairs the whole time thinking about what I just said to him. I have no clue why I told him all that, never in a million years did I think I would ever tell him about a sexual dream I had, never mind about him.

But it all kind of just came out. I've never been able to control my emotions, I'm still trying to work on that.

I'd almost finished making the coffee when I heard Matteo come into the kitchen behind me. I stayed silent watching the coffee brew in the machine while he leaned against the counter, probably staring at me.

A moment passed before I heard him move and seconds later his hands went around my waist and he turned me around to face him.

"I don't want to see you cry, not because of me, I'm not worth your tears."

"You are, to me you are." Matteo gave me a small smile, rubbing my cheek with his thumb as he looked into my eyes. He seemed like he wanted to say something but he didn't. We just stood there for a moment before he stepped away from me and looked around the kitchen.

I watched in confusion as he went over to the centre island in the kitchen, moving the only item which was the block of knives before he came back over to me. He came in close to me and put his hands under the back of my legs.

"Jump." Doing what he said, I jumped up into his arms, instinctively wrapping my legs around his waist and placing my hands on his shoulders.

Matteo walked us over to the empty counter before he sat me on top, before pressing his lips to mine. Very quickly the kiss became heated before Matteo removed my T-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Instead of replying to me he just removed his own shirt revealing his tattooed chest before he connected his lips back to mine. His hands went to the waistband of my shorts before he started pushing them down which is when I pulled away from him.

"Matteo we cook here."

"I'll clean it." With that he crashed his lips against mine again, successfully managing to remove my shorts and then my underwear.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

"How was that?"

I rolled my eyes at his smirk, after putting my underwear back on before resting my forehead on his shoulder in an attempt to catch my breath.

"It's was okay." Matteo chuckled at my comment before he stepped away kissing my forehead before he put his boxers back on.

"That's all? It's been weeks and that's all you have to say?" I nodded my head causing him to roll his eyes. "Can you pass me my shirt?"

I pointed towards my T-shirt which was lying on the kitchen floor when I became aware of the fact I wasn't wearing a bra since I hated sleeping with one on.

"No I like you like that." I rolled my eyes at him when his eyes zeroed in on my chest before he let out a chuckle at my reaction. Thankfully he did get my shirt for me even though he made sure to stare a little while longer.

"But seriously, that was good wasn't it?" I could tell he was really pleased with himself after his performance and as much as I didn't want to admit it out loud it really was one of the best times we've had. I watched as he went over to the fridge to get a bottle of water before I responded.

"Not really. Your form is slipping Matteo, what can I say? You're just not as good anymore." I sat down on one of the stools when he came to stand next to me. He gave me an amused smile which only increased when I took the bottle from him.

"Help yourself." I nodded my head, mumbling a 'thank you' before I drank the water and then handed it back to him. It fell silent for a moment before he eventually spoke after drinking his water.

"Gabby, about what you said earlier-"

"Forget it Matteo. I don't want to talk about it." I instantly shook my head, cutting him off which definitely annoyed him.

"I don't care. Just listen to me." We had a mini stare down before I let out a sigh, gesturing with my hand for him to speak.

"I'm sorry, for how I've treated you-"

"Haven't you said this before? We're going round in circles-"

"Can you stop freaking interrupting me and give me a second to speak?" I narrowed my eyes at him and just as I was about to open my mouth to argue, he rose an eyebrow at me giving me a pointed look.

"Fine."

"I will explain everything to you, I just don't know when. You'll understand when I tell you Gabby, it's just hard right now. I'm sorry it's really vague...it's kind of the best I can do."

When I didn't say anything to him he let out a sigh, stepping closer to me. "I'm sorry Gabby. I love you, you know that. You're the only girl in the world who's ever made me feel like this. It hasn't even been that long but I can't imagine my life without you."

~ Matteo's POV~

It's true. I couldn't imagine being without her but I also couldn't imagine being with anyone else but her.

There was no way I would ever love anyone the way I love her. There's no way I could ever imagine waking up next to someone else, having morning coffee in bed with someone else or having long ass conversations about absolutely nothing with someone else.

She really was my everything. I just didn't know how to show her that, especially with all this going on too.

"Say something." I stood there waiting for her to respond only for her to take my hand as she stood up. She was still silent for a moment like she was having an internal battle over what to say.

I knew it was hard for her to just accept what I said, so I understood why she was taking so long. I just hated having to wait.

Blame my De Mancuso genes - we all have a lack of patience, it runs in the family.

"I love you too." She gave me a small smile before standing on her tip toes to kiss me.

She really was short and it was so damn cute.

Deepening the kiss my hands went around her waist as I held her against me, savouring the softness of her lips.

"We forgot about the coffee." When she pulled away from me she looked over my shoulder at the coffee machine with a sad frown. She really did love her caffeine.

"Go back upstairs and I'll make you a fresh cup."

Her frown turned into a smile and she nodded her head, stepping towards the door but just as she did a pained frown formed on her face. She stopped next to me, reaching out to grip onto my forearm.

"What's wrong?" She shook her head at me with her eyes closed for a moment before she finally looked at me again. "Nothing, I'm just a little sore. It happens sometimes when I walk after we..."

Was it really that big?

I couldn't help but laugh when she gave me a sheepish smile since she always hated having to say the word 'sex'.

Instead of saying anything I just wrapped my arms around her waist again before lifting her up into my arms bridal style. The sudden action caused her to let out a laugh while I started walking towards the kitchen door to leave stepping over the rest of our clothes on the way out.

"I'm fine Matteo it only takes a minute to go. I can walk, put me down." She was looking at me as I walked, but when I didn't reply she let out a defeated sigh and rested her head on my chest. When we got to my room I put her down gently on the floor, standing behind her as I spoke into her ear.

"You're not too sore are you?" She shook her head at me giving me a small smile as she turned to face me, which began to falter when she saw the smirk on my lips.

"So why don't we try out that little fantasy of yours in the shower?"

I was expecting her to blush or to just walk away or something at the bluntness in my statement but to my surprise didn't.

Instead she took off her shirt and dropped underwear, stepping out of them as she gave me a smirk of her own. I must have been staring at her with wide eyes because she took my hand, leading me towards the bathroom while I continued to stare.

All I can say is damn.

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We ended up spending the rest of the day together at my house after our escapade in the shower. We did everything together apart from when I had to take a couple of phone calls from Adrian but she was fine with that.

Every time he called or I saw a message from him I was reminded of the possibility of what could happen. I couldn't tell Gabby in the kitchen this morning, there is no way I would know how to. I just had to hope it wasn't true.

If it was then somehow I would have to find a way to tell her.

We didn't talk about anything else that had happened over the past couple of weeks throughout the rest of the day. It was like we just locked ourselves into the house and for one day we forgot about everything else. It really felt like those first couple of weeks when she became my girlfriend and everything was just perfect.

So we had breakfast and lunch and dinner together, we watched a bunch of shit movies and played with Mr Skittles (she played, I watched) before we eventually went to bed.

It was all perfect.

At least for a short time.

It could have been around 2am, maybe 3am, when I heard banging on my front door before my phone started ringing, bringing me out of the best sleep I'd had in weeks. I felt Gabby start moving next to me as I sat up, grabbing my phone to answer it.

Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough and the call went to voicemail which resulted in even more banging on the front door.

It's those De Mancuso genes.

"Who is that?" Gabby sat up next to me, rubbing her eyes, her voice thick with sleep as she spoke.

"Adrian." I threw the covers off me as I got out of bed, tiredly making my way out of the room and through the dimly lit hallway before going downstairs. Wincing at the volume of the banging I reached out and opened the front door, sending Adrian a glare as I let him in.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You woke Gabriella up and probably Mr Skittles too."

"I don't care, this is important." Adrian was dressed in similar clothes to me except he had a hoodie on over the top of his T-shirt. He also looked like he'd been sleeping before he came here.

"What happened?" My brother started pacing in front of me as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. Whatever was on his mind was definitely bothering him, he took ages to speak which only drew out the suspense. Eventually he turned to face me with a look of pure worry and panic on his face.

"It's true."

When he said those two words, the words I had been hoping he wouldn't be saying, I felt like all the air had been knocked out of me. I shook my head at him as he stepped closer to me, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"I won't let anything happen to you Matteo. I'll get you out, I promise."

I took a deep breath as I looked into my brother's eyes while trying to process what he just said.

What it meant.

"I'm going to prison."

Just as the words came out of my mouth an audible gasp came from behind me and I turned around to see Gabby standing on the stairs, staring at me with wide eyes.

I couldn't wait so I posted it early today.

I've loved reading all the predictions of what Matteo was keeping a secret, but now it's finally out 😁

This book might end up being a lot longer than I originally planned but I love writing it.

Thank you for reading! ❤️

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