Enjoy ✨

~ Gabriella's POV ~

Was it possible that everyone hated me even more after Dean's testimony?

Yes it was.

Very much possible actually.

The next day at the courthouse went by pretty quickly while Lazzero did his absolute best to plant seeds of doubt into the jury's mind. In my opinion it worked, he had enough evidence to suggest it wasn't Matteo, like Matteo's personal letters from his bank and things like that.

But it was still impossible to actually prove he was innocent which is where Adrian and Kaito came in.

Neither of them came to the courthouse on the Wednesday when it was the defence's turn to present their case. According to Kaito they did what they had to do to convince Frank to let Matteo off. I don't know how they did it, obviously they never told me. All Adrian said was that Matteo would be okay, and that was it.

So on Thursday both Angelina and Lazzero gave their closing statements in the court room and the jury left to deliberate on their decision. According to Lazzero they could come back anytime during the day. They could actually take as long as they wanted.

During this time we weren't allowed to see Matteo so we just went home and waited. I spent the day cleaning the house and making sure everything was perfect for Matteo to come back home. I even had the time to cook so I made his favourite food too.

I did anything and everything that I could to pass the time and make the day go even faster.

When Jordan called me to say that they'd come to a decision I was just lying on the floor in the living room just staring at the ceiling. This was because I didn't want to mess up all the cushions on the couch that I'd just cleaned and tidied but I was tired since it was pretty late.

By the time I got back to the courthouse and we were sitting and waiting for the judge to come back it was almost 11pm. We waited for quite a while, none of us saying a word to each other as we just sat there.

The gallery in the court room was pretty empty since it was so late at night and so only people directly affected by the case were there. Once again I wasn't allowed to see Matteo beforehand so all I could manage was a small smile to him when the guards brought him into the courtroom and he sat down next to his lawyers again.

"Please call the jury back in." I let out a deep breath when the judge finally spoke after she'd come in and she now asked a guard to bring in the jury. One by one all twelve jurors came back and the only one of them who remained standing was the foreman who was the spokesman for the jury.

"Have you reached a decision?" The judge directed her question at the foreman of the jury who nodded his head and handed an envelope to the guard. The guard took the envelope to the judge who read whatever was inside before she gave it back to the guard who took it back to the foreman.

"Please state your final decision for the court."

The foreman nodded his head before he looked around the courtroom, his eyes landing on Matteo who was staring straight back at him.

"On the charges of tax fraud, we the jury find the defendant...not guilty."

The moment he said those words I let out the deep breath that I was holding as I looked over at Matteo who was just staring into the space ahead of him.

Before any of us couldn't even stand up or say anything the judge spoke again.

"Well, then Mr De Mancuso you're free to leave. The guards will process your release."

With that she banged her gavel and stood up, leaving the court room, probably to go home and go to sleep. As soon as she left Matteo stood to his feet along with his lawyers who were congratulating him although he wasn't saying much back to them.

He was only given a minute to talk to his lawyers before the guards asked him to go with them. At least this time they didn't force him out like they have been doing when he was still classed as a prisoner and a criminal.

Adrian went to speak to Matteo's lawyers, thanking them himself before he came back to where I was standing with Jordan and on the other side of her was Carlotta and Matteo's parents.

They seemed to be everywhere these days.

"Lazzero said his release will still take a while, I'll bring Matteo home later, we'll see you there?" Adrian directed the last part at me and I nodded before he went back over to Matteo's lawyers.

I turned towards Jordan who was still watching Adrian until I said her name to get her attention. "Shall we go then?"

Honestly all I wanted to do was go home and be with Matteo but I could tell that it wasn't going to be that simple.

She glanced over at Adrian again before looking at Carlotta who was busy looking at her phone and then turned back to me.

"I guess." Even she was reluctant for all of us to be together at Matteo's house.

We told Carlotta she could come and see Matteo at his house if she wanted to before we left, without letting her reply. I already felt awkward enough having to tell her to come to the house, when we both knew we didn't want to be anywhere near each other.

All of us ended up waiting at Matteo's house for him and Adrian to come home and there was only one word to describe the hour.

Awkward.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like anything to drink? Even water?" I once again tried to offer a drink to Matteo's parents who both just shook their head again. They'd refused everything I'd offered; food, wine, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water, everything.

And they say older people are supposed to be mature.

The one surprise was that Carlotta accepted my offer for a drink but that was probably because she wanted to me do something for her. But it gave me a chance to leave the silent living room so I didn't mind in the slightest.

By the time Adrian came in the house with Matteo it was way past midnight but I didn't care, not even a little bit. I was just happy to have him home.

"He's gone upstairs. He said he's tired." Adrian stood by the door as he spoke, gesturing for Jordan to get up so that they could leave.

"He's not even coming to say hello?" From the way Carlotta spoke you'd think he personally offended her by not coming into the living room. Adrian just shook his head as Jordan put her coat on next to him before he took her hand.

"He said he'll come and see everyone tomorrow."

Carlotta let out an annoyed sigh and stood up along with her parents as she picked up her coat and her purse. I watched as they walked out of the living room, mumbling a good bye to Adrian who just watched them leave.

"Be careful when you speak to him Gabby, I don't think he's in a very good mood." I nodded my head at Adrian who just nodded his head in my direction before guiding Jordan out of the room. I picked up the couple of glasses which were dotted around the living room before following them out into the hallway, just in time to see the front door shut.

I took my time in taking everything to the kitchen and putting into the dishwasher only because I was actually really unsure of how to approach Matteo. I didn't expect him to be in a bad mood, I had no idea how to deal with that.

After a few minutes I finally went upstairs, slowly pushing his bedroom door open when I saw it was already cracked open. The first thing I heard was the sound of the shower causing me to let out a sigh. To pass the time I changed out of the black dress I wore to the courthouse in the closet before I took off my make up and tossed my hair up into a messy bun.

I was busy mindlessly scrolling through Instagram on my phone when the bathroom door finally opened and I looked up to see Matteo walk past the bed as he crossed the room, going from the bathroom to his closet.

He didn't turn his head to look at me or acknowledge me in any sort of way, but it didn't stop me from noticing the white bandage just above his hip. It wasn't hard to miss against his tanned skin and the black towel around his waist.

A few moments later he came out of his closet dressed in his boxers and a T-shirt, tossing the towel in the laundry hamper as he came over to the bed. I just sat there watching as he sat down on his side of the bed before he eventually turned to look at me for the first time.

"Where's my phone?" When I didn't reply to him for a second and instead I just stared at him, he said my name to get my attention.

"Gabriella."

When I was sure he wasn't going to say anything else I stood up, taking his phone out of the bedside table next to my side of the bed. He watched me as I tossed it onto the bed before I went into his bathroom without saying a word.

For the last few weeks I'd dreamed of the moment we'd finally be together again in his room, just the two of us, alone. Every single possibility that I came up with in my head of how those moments would be didn't include anything like this.

I get he might be a bit upset, no one ever said coming out of prison is easy. But I didn't think he would ignore me.

I thought he'd be happy to see me.

"In the mafia they don't really have girlfriends."

"He's probably just unsure about marriage."

"You'll never fit in."

"No one needs or wants you here."

The moment I closed the door, Antonia's words came back to me all of a sudden. It was like she was sitting there next to me all over again, saying it to me all over again.

I guess Matteo's behaviour made sense then. If he didn't care, why would he be happy to see me? I didn't mean much to him. I was just there.

I let out a frustrated sigh when my eyes filled with tears again, for what felt like the millionth time in the last few weeks. I leaned against the bathroom counter, taking a deep breath to calm my emotions before I grabbed a tissue and dabbed at my eyes which were almost always stinging with amount of crying I'd been doing recently.

In that moment all that was going through my head was that I needed to get myself out of this situation. Even just temporarily I needed to find a way out. I needed to be somewhere else.

I had to think of my baby, I knew in my heart it wasn't healthy for me to be under this kind of constant stress and emotional pressure. But all this time I'd hoped that it would be worth it when Matteo came home.

But he didn't seem to care about me.

I turned around facing myself in the mirror as I dried my tired eyes before I took a deep breath, nodding to myself in an attempt to convince myself this was the best thing to do.

Once I'd got my emotions under control I made my way back into the bedroom, noticing that Matteo was still sitting in the same position, focusing on something on his phone as I went to the closet across the room.

When I emerged from the closet with my large leather holdall bag, I finally caught his attention when I put it on the bed so that I could pack my things properly.

"What's that for?" I felt Matteo's eyes on me as I went back into the closet to get some clothes. When I came back he was standing up, watching me with a frown on his face.

"Gabriella, what are you doing?"

Once again I ignored him as I put the clothes in the bag and then went back into the closet to get more. When I came back the second time he was standing next to the bag, watching me as I stopped next to him to put the clothes inside.

This time when I tried to walk away to get some more things to take with me, his hand shot out to stop me. Matteo held onto my arm, pulling me closer to him when I tried to step away from him.

"Let me go."

"Not until you tell me what you're doing."

I shook my head at him, trying to pull my arm out of his grip but he didn't loosen it at all. It wasn't tight enough to hurt me but there was no way I was able to walk away.

"I need to go Matteo. Let me go."

"Go? Why?" When I didn't reply to him, he sent me a glare, clearly losing his patience in this situation.

"Gabriella just freaking answer me." I gave him a glare of my own as I tried to pull my arm again.

"I need to get out of here. Away from all of this."

"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense." I shook my head at this in frustration, the calm exterior that I'd formed in the bathroom very quickly becoming undone.

"I need to get away from you Matteo, just let me go!" When I said this, he finally let go of my arm, his eyes flashing with hurt and confusion.

"Why? What did I do? I know I didn't say much earlier but I just-"

"Just stop." I shook my head, this time successfully getting past him as I went to the vanity where all my make up and things were.

"Gabby, what's wrong? Did something happen."

When he said this I let out a laugh, shaking my head as I picked up my make up bag.

"Oh you have no clue."

"Then just talk to me. Why would you leave when I just got home?"

"Because I need to. You don't understand Matteo, it's not just for me."

"Then who else is this for? Because it's certainly not for me." When he said this I stopped in my tracks and I turned to face him.

"You don't know what's been going on Matteo. This is all just too much for me to handle. I don't know how to do it anymore, you were supposed to be happy."

He probably thought I was crazy or something when he stood there watching me speak as tears filled my eyes. I made no move to wipe them away as I continued to talk.

"You're not happy to see me, you don't need me. She was right, you don't want me."

When I said this he stepped closer to me, taking the make up out of my hands and putting it down before he pulled me closer to him.

"What are you saying? Of course I'm happy and of course I want you Gabby. You're my everything. Where is this all coming from? Who are you talking about?"

Instead of replying to him I just stepped closer to him, burying my face in his chest as I cried. It felt like I was crying out all of the pain, stress and frustration that I'd felt over the last few weeks while he'd been gone.

There was the obvious thing of Matteo being in prison, then I found out I was pregnant and I've had to come to terms and deal with that alone. Matteo's entire family hates me, and he went against his tradition of marrying someone and instead asked me to be his girlfriend. On top of that I had Dean to worry about and the break in.

All in the space of a few weeks.

"Gabby, baby, what's wrong?"

Oh you don't know how close you were there, Matteo.

"Everything, and now I've ruined your homecoming too."

"Nothing is ruined Gabby just talk to me. Stop crying and talk to me."

I shook my head, keeping my face buried in his chest as he rubbed my back soothingly. It's amazing how one person can have the power to calm you down within moments. We stood there for a few moments while Matteo waited for my cries to subside before he gently pushed me away from him so that he could look at me.

"Come downstairs with me. I'll get you some water and you can talk to me." I stared at him for a moment before I reluctantly nodded. I allowed him to guide me downstairs and I went into the living room while he went to get me some water.

A moment later he came and sat down next to me and I thanked him, taking the glass from him.

"So you want to start from the beginning?" He gave me a small smile, leaning back as he watched me drink the water.

"There's a lot to go through Matteo, you're tired. Maybe we should do this another time." When I said this he frowned at my words and shook his head.

"I'm not tired. I also don't want to let you go to sleep with this idea that you want to leave me."

I let out a sigh when he said this as I got more comfortable on the couch after I put the glass down.

"So the beginning. Well, I guess I'll tell you the most important thing first."

Matteo watched me as I spoke and he stayed silent allowing me to tell him whatever I wanted to.

"Around a week after you went to prison I took a test."

"A test?" He frowned at me when I said this and he sat up properly when I nodded my head.

"A pregnancy test."

As soon as the words left my mouth his frown disappeared and he just stared me in surprise, before he looked away, staring straight ahead instead. It stayed silent as he digested the news that I just told him before he eventually turned back to look at me.

"You're pregnant?" I nodded my head when he looked at me again as I waited, trying to gauge his reaction. When he didn't smile I started to feel the panic inside me begin to rise and the worst thoughts I could possibly have started surfacing.

"Matteo? Say something." Instead of saying anything he just leaned forward, resting his head in his hands as he covered his face. I just sat there, watching him as he sat there, without saying a word.

A few moments later he finally lifted his head to look at me, rubbing his teary eyes in the process.

"Come here." He opened his arms to me and almost instantly I shuffled closer to him and wrapped my arms around him as he pulled me onto his lap.

Matteo buried his face into my shoulder as he held me and we ended up just sitting there in silence for a while, just enjoying the comfort we got from each other.

"I love you Gabby." Matteo lifted his head to look at me and I gave him a smile, wiping the tears off his cheeks. "I love you too baby."

Matteo brought his face closer to mine, pressing his lips to mine for the first time in so long. We might have kissed when he was in prison if I had a chance but it wasn't the same as this.

"So tell me the rest then, because I don't understand why you would want to leave if you're pregnant."

When he said this, he gave me a frown as he recalled what had just happened when I pretty much almost lost it and tried to leave.

"Your family hates me Matteo." When I said this he just gave me a weird look as he shook his head in disagreement. "No they don't."

"Yes they do. You haven't been here, you don't know what's happened." As I said this I slid off his lap back onto the couch so that I could sit more comfortably as we had this very uncomfortable conversation.

I was pretty much about to bad mouth his entire family to his face. It wasn't going to be easy, especially if he didn't believe me.

"So what happened then?"

"Carlotta can't stand me Matteo, she always has something to say about me or she always questions my presence."

"I already know that Gabby but that's just her, she was like that with Jordan too and I'm not actually speaking to her properly so she might just be taking it out on you." I nodded my head as he said this, watching as he leaned back against the couch. I already knew all of that.

"And your parents don't like me, well, your mom hates me." When I said this Matteo just frowned so I elaborated by telling him about what happened the day when I was sitting with Jordan and Carlotta and her mother came into the living room.

Flashback

"Hi Mrs De Mancuso..." I gave her a small smile unsure of what I was supposed to say but she just looked away from me and towards Jordan instead.

"What is she doing here?" My eyes widened a little at the pure disdain in Paola's voice.

"She just came to see me." Jordan gave her mother in-law a smile although anyone could tell it was forced. "Hasn't she caused enough trouble for this family?"

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