~ Gabriella's POV ~

"Good morning Mrs De Mancuso."

There was that sound again.

"Can you speak one more time? I love your morning voice." Matteo let out a chuckle next to me and although I still had my eyes closed I'm sure he had that confident smirk on his face.

Unfortunately I have no filter when I'm half asleep, which meant I pretty much gave Matteo's ego a boost every morning.

"Did you enjoy the wedding?" I nodded my head as I shuffled closer to him, resting my head on his chest. "It was perfect."

"Good, I'm glad. You deserve the best of everything Gabby." A small smile tugged at my lips as he ran his hand through my hair, both of us enjoying the peace and quiet we finally had after the last few crazy days.

"I saw you leave with Alex yesterday, what was that about?"

The fact Matteo asked me with this without using a swear word in his sentence showed just how far we'd come since the last time he almost killed me for dancing with Alex.

Finally I shifted from my place on his chest and turned to face him properly.

"I was asking him about Mia."
Matteo seemed surprised by response, probably because not many people would have the balls to just go up to someone as rich and powerful as Alex and ask him such a personal question.

"What did he say?" I rolled over onto my back as I let out sigh, a movement which definitely didn't miss Matteo's attention when the bedsheet slipped a little lower on my chest than intended.

"He wasn't happy about it, but I guess he's okay with us looking into it."

"So what have you got for me then Sherlock?" I couldn't help but laugh when Matteo said this before I let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.

"He said they used to spend all their time in Naples, did you know that?" I turned my head to look at Matteo who shook his head.

"Alex hardly told me anything."

If these men actually spoke to each other, they probably would have sorted out their issues a long time ago.

"Right, well, I think we should focus on Naples then. He also said he tried to find any birth records or adoption records in relation to Mia's name, but he couldn't."

"I tried that too. I had my private investigator search all over Italy, all the databases and everything, but he couldn't find anything."

"Which names did you try?" Matteo let out a sigh as he thought back to the events that happened five years ago.

"Mia De Mancuso of course, I tried Alex's surname, Williams, aswell. I think I tried her middle name as her surname too."

"Well, which other names might she have used? Think about it, she would have wanted to hide her pregnancy from your whole family and Alex too. She would have been clever about it."

When I said this, Matteo just shook his head, letting out a sigh. "I don't know Gabby."

It fell silent for a while before I voiced my only idea.

"How about your mothers maiden name?"

"Why the hell would she have used that?" I rolled my eyes at Matteo's tone as I sat up, leaning against the headboard as I pulled the bedsheets closer to my chest.

"I don't know, it could just be something she did. If I was trying to hide something like that and I was trying to think of a name, I would probably do that."

It fell silent for a while before Matteo spoke again.

"I'll look into it."

"What will you do if you do find the child?" He shook his head at my question. "I have no clue Gabby. I guess I'll have to start by telling Adrian and Carlotta."

I'm sure that will be fun.

"Anyway, let's not think about that right now." I turned my head to look at Matteo just as he moved so that he was now hovering over me, with a hand on the pillow by either side of my head.

"There's something else I would rather do instead."

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

8 weeks later

"Matteo!"

"Matteo!"

"Matteo!"

"Ma-"

"Damn woman, I'm here, calm down." I let out a laugh as Matteo came down the stairs, and since I had the chance, I allowed my eyes to roam over his body, before they eventually got to his face.

This man could make grey sweats and a white T-shirt look better than any other human could.

They were both Gucci but I'm sure that had nothing to do with it.

"Are you done checking me out?" Matteo rose an eyebrow at me in amusement, picking up his car keys while I just shamelessly shook my head.

"Give me one more minute." He let out a laugh as he stepped closer to me before pressing his lips to mine in a quick kiss. "Come on, we don't want to be late again, do we?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes when he gave me a pointed look, clearly referring to the midwife appointment at the hospital that we were half an hour late for because we overslept a few days ago.

"Can we get some food on the way?" Matteo glanced over at me as he got in his Maserati before he turned on the engine. Something about watching him drive had been really effecting me over the last few weeks. Such a simple task and yet it gets me so hot and bothered whenever I see it.

I blame it on my pregnancy. Being six months pregnant is no joke.

"McDonald's?" As soon as he said that word a smile tugged at my lips and I nodded my head causing him to smile too.

Almost everyday for the past month and a half we'd been going to McDonald's so that I could get breakfast and then sometimes I would have it again in the evening.

I couldn't help it, unfortunately my main craving during my pregnancy was salt and everyone knows McDonald's have the best salty chips. It was also pretty close to our house so sometimes we would walk there so that I could get some exercise.

Of course Matteo didn't need the walk since he was still working out every single day and he didn't eat the food from there as much as I did. I knew it was bad for me but, I just couldn't help it. We tried some healthier alternatives for a few days and all it gave me was a headache and I couldn't stop crying so we decided to stop.

Once we'd finally gone through the drive thru, we started the short drive to Adrian's house while I ate my breakfast, feeding Matteo a little bit here and there.

We were actually going to see Matteo's family to tell them the sex of the baby which we found out a few days ago. We were originally going find out at my week 20 scan, but I panicked and changed my mind at the last minute. I have no clue why but I just did. So, when we went for my next scan at the start of my 26th week, we found out then.

For the past two months Matteo and I had been enjoying the 'easier' months of my pregnancy during my second trimester. Matteo was still working but it wasn't as much as before so that we could spend time together and we also built the nursery together.

Well, Matteo built it and I sat on the rocking chair we bought, instructing him on what to do.

We hadn't heard much about Mia's possible baby, the private investigator was still searching and I guess we wouldn't know until he calls Matteo and tells him that he's found something. It wasn't something you could say that he was getting closer to, it was just moment of luck if he found anything or not.

Anyway, during the times that Matteo was working, for the first month I was still working at the salon and then Matteo made me quit. This was because I would cry every time I got home from work, complaining how tired I was and how much food I wanted to eat and then eventually he just told me it would be better if I quit and then when the baby was old enough I could think about working again.

I didn't actually mind it as much as I thought I would have, since I really did hate my bosses and they hated me.

"Are you okay?" I tiredly nodded my head as I rubbed my stomach, a small smile tugging at my lips when I felt my baby moving inside of me. As much as the movements at night were starting to keep me awake, I was enjoying every moment of it.

Feeling the baby move inside me, especially when it was responding to a touch from my hand or Matteo's hand was amazing.

"We're here Gab Gab." When I heard those words I opened my eyes and as he said, we were parked outside Adrian's house, along side the other cars.

Some of them belonged to Adrian because he was exactly like Matteo and bought more cars than he would ever need, one belonged to his father and one belonged to Angelo.

Yes that also meant Carlotta and Paola were going to be there. No I didn't want them to be there but Matteo was trying to mend his relationship with them, so I didn't want to be the reason his efforts failed.

Matteo came around to my side of the car to help me get out, causing me to give him a grateful smile. Once we walked to the front door, I rested my head on his arm, waiting for someone to open the door.

"You brought us food?" I gave Jordan a guilty smile when she opened the door while shaking my head. "It's empty, do you mind throwing it away for us?"

Of course since she's like the nicest human I've ever met she just let out a laugh before taking the empty McDonald's bag from Matteo before letting us in.

Would you like to know how I know I managed to get the best husband in the world?

He bent down to take my shoes off for me.

I could cry, but it would set me off for the rest of the day.

Once we were in the living room, I gave Adrian a hug, and then Jordan when she came inside behind us. I smiled at Matteo's father who smiled back, but decided to stay next to his wife instead of coming to give me a hug. As much as I didn't like her, I understood he just didn't want to take sides which was fair enough.

Angelo did exactly the same since he was trying to be fair between me and Carlotta.

All I managed was to force a smile in Carlotta's direction while I completely ignored Paola and she did the same with me.

"Oh Gabby you're getting so big now, how are you feeling?" As I sat down next to Matteo, I let out a tired laugh while rubbing my bump.

"I'm okay, I just can't believe I've still got so long left to go." Jordan laughed at my words and nodded her head as she watched her children play with their toys in the middle of the room. Carlotta's children were also there, and as much as I didn't like her, they were super cute.

"I'm not going to lie to you Gabby, it's going to get a lot worse than this."

Thank you. Thank you so much.

"How has Matteo been handling it?" Adrian smirked in Matteo's direction after he asked me the question.

"I could say the same about you." I glanced between Adrian and Matteo in amusement, knowing Matteo was hinting at Jordan's pregnancy.

I still couldn't believe she was already 14 weeks pregnant.

Their stare down lasted a few more moments before Adrian let out a chuckle and broke it, turning to face me again.

"Matteo's been amazing, I don't think I would have been able to do this without him." I gave Matteo a small smile when I said this causing him to smirk back at Adrian.

"That's better than Adrian then, he's useless." Jordan sent a glare in Adrian's direction causing a sudden frown to form on his face.

"What? I do everything you tell me to do. What have I done wrong?" Jordan just ignored his question causing me to laugh while Matteo gave him a sympathetic smile.

"It's okay bro, they do that sometimes. Don't even try because you'll never understand why."

Woah.

"They?" Matteo's eyes widened a little when he saw the look I gave him and he quickly shook his head.

"Not you Gabby, I didn't mean you, you're not..."

"I'm not what? A woman?" I could hear Adrian and Angelo laughing to themselves while Matteo struggled to get himself out of the hole he'd just dug.

"I love you?" He gave me a sheepish smile causing me to roll my eyes even though a smile tugged at my lips.

"Anyway, that's enough small talk, I want to know! Is it a boy or girl?"

I let out a laugh at Jordan's excited tone and I turned to Matteo to see that he was already looking at me. The whole room fell silent while they waited for us to finally announce it.

Matteo gestured for me to tell them and I couldn't stop the shy smile forming on my face when I realised I was the centre of attention, especially considering so many of the people in that room thought I was the wicked witch of the west.

Or probably worse.

"It's a boy."

As soon as I said it Jordan let out a squeal and stood up, rushing over to Matteo and I. She didn't even let me stand up before she gave a tight hug.

"Congratulations!"

We spent the next half an hour gushing over the fact that Matteo and I were expecting a little boy. Well, when I say 'we' that excludes Carlotta and Paola who didn't really say much to me apart from congratulations.

"Oh Gabby, the boys will love having a little cousin soon that they can play with. You just need to have another one soon because so far Caterina is the only little girl in the family."

She looked over at Caterina with a small smile watching as she ran around trying to get the attention of her older brothers who were busy playing.

"I'm not sure about that yet, let me have this one and then we'll talk about a second. But, if you want to, you can always arrange a little play date with Emilia's daughter Lilly. They're around the same age."

When I mentioned this Jordan nodded her head and her smile widened.

"That's a great idea, she would love to finally have another girl to play with."

After that, we had dinner at their house too although I'm pretty sure they had the food brought in by a caterer from the way Jordan refused to go anywhere near half of the dishes because of the smell.

Morning sickness...I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

"I'll be back in a minute." Matteo looked up at me and nodded when I placed my hand on his arm to get his attention. He quickly went back to his conversation with Adrian while I went off to go to the bathroom for the third time since we'd started eating.

This baby had no mercy for me or my bladder.

"Gabriella." Just as I was leaving the bathroom, I turned to face the direction of the voice and I found Carlotta standing a few feet away as if she was waiting for me.

I hope she was because that was one of the longest pees of my life.

"Sorry, the bathrooms free now." I made a move to walk past her but she quickly stepped in front of me to stop.

"I was waiting for you actually." When she stopped me I took a step away from her and without a word I just waited for her to say whatever she needed to say.

"I'm happy for you and Matteo, I really am."

Did I believe her?

No.

"Thanks." Once again I tried to walk past her but she still stopped me.

"Gabriella, you're my sister in law now. Maybe we should work on our differences - for Matteo's sake."

"Our differences? Carlotta I had absolutely no problem with you but you hated me the moment you found out about Matteo and I."

All she did was let out a sigh, clearly not wanting to apologise for all that she had put me through.

"I'm not a push over Carlotta, you almost single handedly ruined my relationship with Matteo, I'm not going to get over it that easily, especially without an apology."

Without waiting for her to say another word I walked past her and made my way back to the dining room where everyone was sitting still having dinner.

As soon as I walked in I noticed that Matteo was no longer sitting next to Adrian.

"Where is Matteo?" When I spoke, both Jordan and Adrian turned to face me. "He just rushed out to take a call, he looked pretty stressed out actually."

A frown formed on my face and I mumbled a 'thank you' before I left the room in search of my husband. It didn't take me long to find him in Jordan's kitchen, holding a glass of liquor as he stared straight ahead into space.

"Babe?" When I walked in his eyes snapped over to mine allowing me to finally see the shock and pain in his eyes. I slowly made my way over to him, stopping when I was a few feet away.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

He still remained silent for a while until he spoke in a low tone.

"They found her."

I probably should have known who he was talking about but it just didn't register with me in that moment. That's another thing I blame on my pregnancy, I'm always forgetting things.

"Who?"

"Mia's daughter."

Once again it fell silent while I just stood there staring at him in shock.

It was true, she really did have a baby.

"Why do you look so upset Matteo? Isn't that a good thing?" I spoke in a tentative tone, since I had feeling there was something I didn't know.

In response to my words, Matteo let out a dark laugh and shook his head before he drank the last bit of liquor in his glass.

"How can someone be so damn cruel?" He turned to look at me as I just stared at him, not having a clue how to respond to him. It didn't matter though, because he just continued speaking anyway.

"How is it possible that someone I grew up with, some I loved so much could turn out to be such a monster?"

Just as his hand reached out to take the liquor bottle next to him, I grabbed his hand instead.

"I don't think that's a good idea baby."

"Why? If it helps, then of course it is." All I did was shake my head before I took the glass from his and put it down next to the bottle.
Stepping in front of him I placed a hand on his cheek, tilting his face so that he was looking at me and not the alcohol next to us.

"Talk to me, tell me what happened."

Once again he fell silent, his mind clearly going back over whatever he'd just found out that had hurt him so much.

"She's six years old Gabby. She's been in an orphanage all her life. Mia didn't even give her a name, which is why we took so long to find her. They had to make one up for her. She just left her there, with no family or friends or love."

My own eyes filled with tears as I watched Matteo begin to tear up, a pained expression on his face.

"Oh Matteo, come here." I wrapped my arms around him and he buried his face into my shoulder. Without another word we stayed there for a few minutes until he'd finally calmed down and then he eventually pulled away from me.

"I need to tell Adrian. We need to go and get her today." All I could manage was to nod my head before he took my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen, back towards the dining room.

"Woah, what's wrong? What happened?"

Jordan spoke in a worried tone as she stood up, taking note of the tears in my eyes which hadn't dried up and Matteo's red eyes. Her words caused everyone to turn to look at us and soon Adrian was standing up too next to her.

"Matteo? Bro what happened?"

I glanced over at Matteo who looked like he had absolutely no idea of how how he was going to tell his family what he'd been keeping from them for the last five years. He just stood there, staring at them with such a broken expression on his face.

"We need to tell you something, I think you should all sit down for this." Apart from Matteo, everyone turned to look at me when I spoke. I tried to keep my voice steady, knowing that I would need to speak as clearly as I could, relaying all the facts that I knew to the rest of Matteo's family. It was clear Matteo