Tissues may be needed for this chapter 🙁

~ Gabriella's POV ~

I don't know why I just stopped on the stairs, maybe it was the way Adrian was pacing around the hallway or maybe it was the look on Matteo's face.

Either way, I didn't expect to hear the words that came out of Matteo's mouth.

Both their eyes were on me as I came down the last few steps, walking over to Matteo who seemed so distressed. The expression on his face really broke my heart.

"Prison? What are you talking about?" I turned to look at Adrian when Matteo didn't respond, and Adrian just stared back at me like he didn't know what to say.

"Will one of you just answer me!"
I didn't shout very loud, but it was loud enough to get Adrian to snap out of whatever daze he was in.

"A judge will probably issue a warrant for Matteo's arrest soon."

"What? Why? How the hell do you know? He hasn't done anything wrong-"

"Gabby calm down." Matteo reached out to take my hand but I shook my head, stepping away from him.

"You already knew about this didn't you? That's what you couldn't tell me." From the look on his face I knew I was right.

"I didn't want to upset you if there was a chance it wasn't true. Over the past few weeks or so we've been trying to find out who that bitch Angelina is after. We thought it was someone else at first but then it turned out it could have been any one of us. Yesterday Adrian heard it might be me but it was just a possibility."

"Angelina is the prosecutor, right?" Matteo nodded his head as he took my hand, pulling me closer to him and this time I didn't stop him.

"Why does she want Matteo? Why..." My sentence trailed off as tears filled my eyes when I started process the fact that soon Matteo wouldn't be here. He was going to prison. When he saw the tears Matteo wrapped his arm around my shoulders - I don't know if he was trying to comfort me though or if it was more the fact that he needed it for himself.

"I don't know yet. I'm trying to find out but they're keeping it very quiet." I could tell Adrian was worried, more than worried actually. He was just holding it together a lot better than I was.

It fell silent for a while, the three of us lost in our own thoughts as I occasionally wiped away the tears that were silently falling down my cheeks.

"I'll do everything I can for you Matteo. We'll call the best lawyers tomorrow and go over everything with them. I promise, nothing will happen."

All Matteo could manage was to nod at Adrian before he released his hold on me so that he could give Adrian a hug. My tears only increased when Matteo held onto Adrian tightly and the two of them stood there for a while holding onto each other. I was pretty close to them but I only just about heard Adrian tell Matteo that he loved him, but I did hear Matteo mumble it back as he pulled away from the hug.

Adrian just nodded in my direction before he left, quietly closing the front door behind himself. It was quiet again for a while before I turned to face Matteo who was just staring at the door where his brother just walked out.

"Let's go back upstairs." My voice came out in a soft tone as I reached out, taking Matteo's hand in mine. The contact seemed to bring him out of his trans and wordlessly he followed me upstairs back to his room.

We got back to his bedroom which was still pitch black inside since we never turned any of the lights on. Once we got back into bed I shuffled across to Matteo's side, wrapping my arms around him as I buried my face in his chest.

"I can't believe this is happening." My tears started up again and Matteo rubbed my back softly while I cried into his chest.

You might think I'm overreacting but I definitely wasn't. Imagine finding out that one of, if not the, most important person in your life might be taken away from you and you have no clue when you'll see them again. Someone you love is going to be taken away from their family and put into prison, all alone. They could go any minute and you have no control, all because a prosecutor wants to take a short cut and climb a few rungs up the career ladder.

Such a superficial reason to take someone away from their family and their loved ones.

Maybe he was a criminal, but he was a good person. He didn't deserve this.

"It's okay Gabby, don't cry."

"I don't want you to go, I don't know what I'll do without you." I lifted my head to look at Matteo and although it was dark I could still make out his face pretty clearly.

"You'll be okay baby. If I'm convicted I don't know how long the sentence will be, so I need you to promise me something Gabby. If it's more than a year, which it probably will be, I need you to forget about me."

The second he said that I shook my head at him but he just nodded.

"Yes, you have to. Move on Gabriella, find someone else and just be happy. You can still have a life."

"Don't say that Matteo, stop it. I won't do that." I tried to push him away from me as the tears continued to fall, but he just held my hands against his chest to stop me.

I could tell he didn't want to say all of this, but since he's known about this for a lot longer than I have, he's got all of it thought through.

"You can't wait Gabby."

"I will. I'll wait however long I have to. This is the only promise I'm going to make you Matteo - one day, if you ask me, I will marry you." I gave him a shy smile at this. "We will have children and we'll be happy - together."

Matteo just stared back at me for before he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. When he opened them again they were glassy and red, a sight I definitely never wanted to see again.

"I love you Gabby, more than you'll ever know." I tried to smile at him but it came out a little weird since I started crying all over again at the same time.

"I love you too."

Once I'd calmed down again, Matteo sat up properly prompting me to do the same. "I want to ask you something or maybe tell you. I don't really know, it depends on how it comes out."

"Just say it baby."

"Stay here while I'm gone...live here? I want you to live here with Mr Skittles, permanently." I couldn't help but smile at the way he said that, partly as a question but mostly as a statement.

"Are you sure?" He nodded his head, taking my hand in his. "Absolutely. At least I know I'll have you and that stupid furry thing to come back to one day."

Even though he called my bestfriend stupid I couldn't help but laugh at that as I moved closer to him, wrapping my arms around him.

"I'll always be here waiting for you."

We ended up staying awake for the rest of the night, just lying there together. It wasn't always silent, sometimes I'd ask Matteo questions or he'd say something that was on his mind. But neither of us fell asleep after that.

"So you have no clue when they might come?"

Matteo shook his head, staring up at the ceiling when he responded. "Anytime in the next few days probably. Maybe even today."

When I didn't respond Matteo let out a sigh before turning his head to look at me. "Let's do something today, just me and you. We could go to Venice? You said you wanted to go there."

"Venice is like three hours away Matteo."

"I have a plane."

"Of course you do." He let out a chuckle at this. "I'm serious, let's go."

"No Matteo-"

"Gabby-" I narrowed my eyes at him when he tried to interrupt me.

"I want to, but we shouldn't. Firstly, because you should be with your family, and secondly because it will look bad if they come to arrest you and you're off enjoying yourself in Venice."

He rolled his eyes at my reason before nuzzling his face in my shoulder. "I don't want to be with anyone else but you. No one smells as nice as you."

"You'll forget how I smell." I don't know why I said that, I kind of said if without thinking.

"I'll never forget anything about you Gabby." I shook my head at this, I knew it was a lie even if he believed what he said.

"You're the most forgetful person I know."

"I only forget the little things." Once again I shook my head. This is the guy who forgot his niece at a supermarket, that wasn't a little thing. Sure she's little, but Caterina is important.

"I don't want you to forget me - anything about me."

Matteo went silent for a moment before he nodded his head and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"I know what we'll do today then."

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

"Why did you want me to meet you here?"

Matteo rolled his eyes at my question before putting his hands on my shoulders to turn me around. My mouth formed an 'o' shape when I saw the tattoo studio we were currently standing in front of.

"Tattoos?"

I rose an eyebrow at Matteo who just nodded his head, staring at the shop that, judging by the number of tattoos he has, he's spent a lot of time at.

Earlier Matteo told me he needed to go and see Adrian, so he disappeared at like 8am and only an hour ago he messaged me to meet him here. It's now 6pm.

"Come on." Matteo tugged on my hand pulling me towards the door while I reluctantly followed him, staring at the very intimidating shop as we walked in. The second we walked in, a very very tattooed man came up to us, giving Matteo a nod before he looked at me.

"You're pretty, why are you with him?" I couldn't help but laugh at the way he said this while Matteo groaned next to me.

"I don't come here to be insulted, I come here for the ink and that's it."

"I can't help it." The man lifted his hands in surrender clearly amused by Matteo's reaction.

"Decide what you want and then meet me in the back." He nodded towards a small room before he left the two of us standing in the shop surrounded by tattoo designs all over the walls. This is the last place I ever thought I would be, I've just never thought about getting a tattoo, ever.

"I know you've never wanted to get one one, but I was thinking of getting two. Your initial here and your name on my chest, above my heart." First he pointed at his ring finger to show me where he wanted the letter 'G' and then he pointed at his chest.

I couldn't help but smile at his suggestion while he just stood there waiting for me to give him an answer.

It really was sweet.

"Gabby?"

"Oh, yes. I love it." He nodded his head, giving me an amused smile before he took my hand and led me to the room where that freakishly overly-tattooed man was waiting for us.

He made Post Malone look like a beginner in the tattoo department.

Once he took a seat on the bench, Matteo told the man what he wanted and after a couple of comments he nodded his head and got to work. Considering it looked pretty painful, Matteo didn't even flinch when the man started on the tattoo on his finger.

That one didn't take very long and then he asked Matteo to remove his shirt, which he did and almost caused me to faint.

I may have been very up close and personal with him but that doesn't mean I'm used to it yet.

He's definitely the most good looking person I've ever come across.

Matteo pointed to an empty spot on his skin above his heart which seemed kind of perfect since he didn't have many tattoos in that area. While he got the second tattoo done he was busy talking to me about some of his other tattoos since this one took a little while longer.

Almost an hour later he was finally done and he sat up showing me the spot on his chest where my name was written in cursive letters on his red skin.

It looked painful but it still looked amazing.

"I love it."

"So you want one then?" I turned to look at the man who was already staring at me, holding the tattoo gun in his hand, before I turned to look at Matteo.

"She doesn't-"

"I do." I nodded my head as I went over to the bench while Matteo just looked completely confused.

"I thought you didn't want one?" I shrugged my shoulder while he put his shirt back on before taking a seat next to me. "I'm being spontaneous."

"So, what would you like?"

I thought for a moment, before I opted for a similar thing to Matteo, asking for the letter 'M' on my ring finger and his name but on my wrist instead.

"Can I have the letter on the side of my finger instead of the back?" The guy nodded as he turned the tattoo gun on and I turned to look at Matteo who was already staring at me. "Why did you change your mind?"

"To show you that I meant my promise - that I would wait for you."

"You're going to regret it." He looked down at his hands, shaking his head when he spoke. He really did believe that I wouldn't wait for him and I can't lie and say it didn't make me sad, because it did.

"No I won't, because I love you and I intend to keep you as mine forever." He lifted his head to look at me but instead of saying anything he just took my free hand and kissed the back of it.

The tattoo on my finger only lasted a few minutes and then he moved onto tattooing my wrist on the other hand.

"Does this one hurt more?" I nodded my head looking away from the tattoo needle and at Matteo instead. "Which one of yours hurt you the most?"

Matteo thought about my question for a second before he spoke. "Probably my ribs, I don't have a lot there but it definitely hurts the most."

We ended up talking for the rest of the fifteen minutes that it took to get my second tattoo done before we finished up and went to pay. Of course we argued over the payment since Matteo really wanted to pay for mine.

And of course he won.

"I want to show you something." I rose an eyebrow at Matteo as I picked up Mr Skittles when we walked through the front door while he put his keys down.

"What?" He nodded towards the living room and so I went inside and sat down while he stood in front of me. "This morning Adrian and I met with some lawyers and then I went to the tattoo studio to get another tattoo done before you came. I spent hours there for this."

With that he lifted the left leg of his sweatpants, showing me the tattoo on his calf which caused my eyes to widen in shock.

When I say shock I mean I probably stopped breathing.

No I did, I did stop breathing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Matteo chuckled at my response while I stared at the tattoo which took up the whole side of his calf. "I suppose should have expected that kind of response."

"You got my face tattooed on your leg! Of course I would respond like this."

Of course he only laughed at this before he came closer to me, taking my hand as he pulled up off the couch. "Now I can see you everyday, no matter what happens. You'll always be right there with me. You and your beautiful smile."

As soon as he reminded me of that, I felt the tears prick my eyes again. All day I couldn't stop crying, whenever I remembered what was going to happen it would just start. Instead of saying anything else he just pulled me into his arms, a place I wished I could stay forever.

In that moment, I knew that no matter what happened, I'd already found the one person in my life who made every single second worth living.

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

The next couple of days went by pretty similarly to that day, except we didn't get any more tattoos.

The only time Matteo wasn't with me was when he was with Adrian and his lawyers not that they could do much since there was very little information to go on about the case against Matteo. Since no arrests had been made, there was no way to get any information.

It was just a waiting game.

So we waited for the next five days. We did almost everything together; we tried to make every second count because we didn't know how long we had left together.

Some days we would just stay at Matteo's house or sometimes we would go to Adrian's house in the evening and spend time with Jordan and the children. Every time Matteo left there he would say goodbye to the Caterina, Leo and Mario like it could be the last time he saw them since they wouldn't be able to visit him in prison.

It hurt me every time to see it.

Even though we had five days together before it happened, I don't think either of us really enjoyed any of that time - the only good thing was that we were together. Otherwise we were just on edge, I was crying all the time and Matteo was nervous and anxious. Every night when we went to bed he held onto me so tightly, like he was scared that in the morning I wouldn't be there anymore or that it could be our last night together.

Finally that day did come.

From the moment I woke up in the morning I had a feeling it was the day. There was a pit in my stomach like something bad was going to happen. For the whole day I felt like that until Matteo got the call from Adrian.

When he put his phone down he took a deep breath and turned to face me. Just by the look on his face I knew what Adrian had said.

"He said I have five minutes."

You'll never guess what happened.

I cried, again.

"Gabby don't, I need you to listen to me." I shook my head as I moved across the couch towards him, throwing my arms around him. I continued to hold onto him as tight as I could and eventually he just wrapped his arms around me.

We stayed like that for a moment before he gently pushed me away from him, wiping my cheeks with his thumbs as I looked at him.

"Please Gabriella you need to listen to me. I need you to do a couple of things for me." I nodded my head before he stood up causing me to do the same. First he handed me his phone before he gave me his wallet.

"You already know my passcode for my phone, you can keep it if you want but Adrian might need to see it sometimes. I need you to take my cards and close all my accounts tomorrow, transfer all the money to your account. I've already cleared it with my accountant, everything you need is in my wallet."

"I can't do that-"

"You need to, if whatever this is goes to trial they'll freeze all my assets which means I could lose all my money if I'm found guilty. You need to take it, all of it."

As much as I wanted to just cry and hug him until the police came, I could tell by the expression on his face that he was trying to tell me all of this stuff before they came, and that it was all really important to him.

"Is that it?" He shook his head at my question.

"The combination to my safe in my office is written on a piece of paper in my wallet, I need you to take everything out and take it to Adrian, tonight. Don't touch any of the guns with your hands, wear gloves or something."

I nodded my head slowly as I tried to process everything.

"I know it's a lot, I probably should have told you all of this before I just didn't want to think about it."

"It's okay, is that all?"

"No, one more thing. I need you to promise me something. If things get too hard here or something happens, promise me you'll go and stay with Adrian and Jordan."

The second I started to shake my head he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Promise me Gabriella. I know at least you'll be safe if you go there." As much as I wanted to argue I didn't want to waste any more time talking about that so I just nodded my head before I leaned up and pressed my lips to his.

"I love