45. Happily Ever After, After All

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"Harlow!" Cristiano called me as I was about to follow everyone into the kitchen. I stopped walking and turned around, grabbing his hands and holding them as he stepped closer to me.

"Yeah?" I smiled.

"I just wanted to say that I thought. A lot about us. And when I was in that bed, I slept on it. It felt like I'd slept for a year. My life flashed before my eyes and it wasn't what I wish it was. Not until I met you. I've come to the conclusion that you're the only reason I'm able to get through every bit of hell that's thrown my way." He smiled.

"Um. Okay." I grinned quirkily.

His forehead rested on mine, and I swear I nearly fainted at his words. "And that's why I love you. Because no matter what, you're always right there. You saved my life, and you're my hero who doesn't need a cape."

I smiled uncontrollably and kissed his lips, wanting to cry again. "I love you too." And I've been dying to say those four words.

He kissed my forehead we just enjoyed each other's presence for a minute. Just happy that he's alive. My eyes flickered up to his key necklace, and I smiled, taking it gently in my hand. He caught on and held on to the key while I held up my heart necklace.

He inserted the key through the keyhole in my necklace and, like he said, it emitted a pretty white light. "Yay. I've been waiting for this." I whispered. He kissed me again and I kissed him back shortly before smiling at him again.

"Come on." He held my hand as we met with everybody else in the kitchen.

"Dad, I want you to live here." I instantly said, taking everybody off guard.

He looked at me, then Dominic, then back at me. "I don't think so, sugarplum. I'm good in London."

"Your apartment smells like rats. I don't want you living in a place like that." I sat in a stool at the island counter. "Plus, the estate has more than enough space. There are twenty people that live here already and there's still space. Bossman doesn't mind?" I said in a questioning tone at Dominic.

He thought for second. "You should stay, Jack."

"Please?" I gave my dad the same puppy eyes I did when I was twelve.

He sighed. "You did that then and you still do it now. I guess I'm staying."

I grinned widely and giggled in excitement. "Great!"

"We can have all your stuff back here in three hours. I'll go tell Mario." Dominic went to leave the room but I stopped him.

"Tell him I'm sorry for threatening to kill him!" He just chuckled with a shake of his head as he left.

******
Time jump.

It was now March and my wedding was in a month. I was nearly into my eighth month of pregnancy and this time, I had to pee every five minutes and I could barely even see my own feet. The wedding was already planned and I was just glad I had someone to walk me down the aisle.

Cristiano told me that he loved me every single day and it never got old. Eli proposed to Lola as soon as she had her baby, and that was two weeks ago. The baby was a boy, and his name was Nicholas Jack Winters, after dad. But everyone called him Nicky. He was ridiculously cute with big hazel green eyes and dark brown hair, he only had a few curly strands.

Seeing Nicky made me want to speed up my pregnancy.

I was in the kitchen, finishing off two pieces of Nutella bread. I washed my hands and went to pick up my plate to wash it but Cristiano came in and grabbed it first. "I've got it, woman who chooses not to wake her fiancé up so he can make her a delicious breakfast."

"You don't need to cook for me every morning. Sometimes Nutella is all I need."

"Then let me make you the best Nutella waffles in the world." He finished washing the plate and he dried his hands before turning to me and resting his hands on my waist.

"Too late I've already eaten." I put a hand to my belly and grunted lightly. "They're competing for the Olympics in me, I swear to God."

He laughed and felt my belly too. "Yeah, I can feel it. Gold medal."

"So tell me about the progress of our house." I sat at the island counter in a stool.

"It's going great and guess who's helping out?" He leaned against the sink vanity, his hands in his pockets. The answer walked into the kitchen and kissed my temple.

"Morning, dad." I smiled at him as he sat across from me with a bitten apple in his hand. "You're helping with the house?" I turned to look at him.

"Yeah, I figure it's the least I could do with it being so busy around here. It's no problem, I've got a lot of free time." And at that moment, Dominic walked in.

I gasped. "Dominic you're hardly ever anywhere but your office, I was starting to think you lived in there."

"And you're not wearing a suit—did you retire already, padre?" Cristiano added, fixing himself coffee.

"Uh, no. I'm 49, not 69." He chuckled. "I'm just not working today."

I gasped again. "I never thought I'd see the day. It's the start of the apocalypse! Barricade the doors and windows, get to the shelter!" Cristiano laughed, sitting beside me.

"For the record, this day off wasn't my choice." Dominic rolled his eyes.

"Ma made you do it." Cristiano nodded. "Well, you are going to be a grandfather in the next two months, so maybe she just wants you to not be too busy for the babies."

"But it'd make more sense to let me get all of my work done in the next two months. Plus, I don't have to work anymore after next month." And that made Cristiano happy.

"Because I'll be capo. You know, it's really not that hard." And that annoys Dominic.

"Tell me that again in a few months and we'll see if you're lying."

"I won't be. Plus, I'll have my own work-free house and when I leave to go home I'll have somebody take care of things and call for emergencies. Easy." Cristiano shrugged. It really was that easy.

******

I woke up to someone lightly shaking my shoulder, and I grabbed a throw pillow to throw it at them. "Leave me alone." I mumbled.

"Baby, you can't sleep on the couch. It's not good for you." He chuckled, putting the pillow behind me. "Come on, I'll take you upstairs."

"Nooooo." He sighed, and before I knew it he had me cradled in his arms, carrying me to the stairs. "How can you do this? I weigh like, two hundred pounds." I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"Actually, you're still under 180. I lift more than that." He corrected. We got to our room and he laid me on the bed, making sure I was absolutely comfortable. "One pillow or two?"

"Two's good, thank you." I smiled.

He asked me to sit up, and once I did he put another pillow under my head and back. "Blanket or no?"

I smiled at how much he cared. "Blanket, please." He put the fuzzy blanket over me and I freed my arms.

"Tea or no tea? If so, how much lemon or honey and do you want a snack with it?" He was dead serious about this and I found it amazing.

I giggled at his questions. "Tea with just a little bit of honey. And gelato, if it's not too much."

He kissed my forehead. "It's never too much. I'll be back, angel." He left the room and I sighed with contentment and turned on the TV to Netflix. He was only gone ten minutes and he returned with a bucket of vanilla gelato and two spoons, and two cups of tea.

He set my cup on my nightstand and his cup on his nightstand. He then sat next to me and put the gelato between us, handing me a spoon. I gazed in wonder at him, and when he noticed, he made a weirded face. "What?"

"I love you, Cristiano." I smiled again, triggering one from him.

Cristiano

I smiled, leaning toward her and kissing her lips. "I love you too, Harlow." It felt unbelievably amazing to finally be able to say that and mean it. God, I loved her so much. This bit over a year just goes to show that I really wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her.

She rested her head on my shoulder and I held her hand, interlocking our fingers. "Okay, more kicks." She suddenly put a hand to her belly and I chuckled, doing it too. "Right here." She moved my hand where the kicks were stronger, and feeling them made my smile widen.

She ate a spoon of gelato and I turned on the TV, turning it on the twelfth season of Criminal Minds. She perked up, her eyes twinkling. "Ooh, there's this guy guest starring in this episode. Lucian Montenegro."

"Never heard of him."

"Really? Well he's becoming a big deal in America." She shrugged, turning up the volume.

*****

"Bachelor party!" Zach jumped onto my back while I was trying to mind my business without being ambushed today.

"Zachariah, it's hot, I'm hot, and not in the mood for whatever crazy shit you've planned." I said, setting down a plank of wood I didn't need and wiping my hand towel over my face.

He analyzed the unfinished house and frowned emotionlessly with a shrug. "I see you're busting your ass."

The house was a large one story mansion fixer upper, supported by a crawlspace, we were just fixing it up and repainting it. The porch had steps and the inside had stairs of three steps surrounding the living room going into the hallway of bedrooms and the kitchen. The kitchen was large and there was a large living room with enough space for a playpen. The twin's bedrooms were the same in large size and they were going to share a bathroom in the hallway, and Harlow and I's bedroom was at the end of the hallway with a master bathroom.

"Yes, I am. Now stop distracting me." I went inside the house where Jack was finishing up the fireplace. The inside of the house was nearly finished; the dark oak floors were brand new and refurbished, the cream colored walls were painted with dark brown crown and floor molding with the doors and walkways the matching color.

Rosaria's room was light baby pink and cutely decorated with sketches of large flowers on the wall, and Eros' room was light baby blue with stars painted across the walls. Both rooms were carpet.

"Come on, you don't want a bachelor party? Harlow's having a bachelorette party. They are trying on wedding dresses and stuff and Charlie just flew in. I planned for us to have more fun at a—"

"That's a generous offer but I don't feel like being murdered by my future wife because I went to a strip club. Knowing you, that's exactly where you'd take me so don't try to deny it." I said, imaging what Harlow would do to me if I ever set foot in a strip club.

"Then how about we just get really drunk? No women for you." He suggested with a sigh.

My eyebrows drew together. "Uh, no women for any of us. Eli's getting married in two months and you have a girlfriend."

"Gia is not my girlfriend!" He groaned.

"Oh my God, it's been over seven months and she's still not your official girlfriend?"

"She has a six year old son, Cris." He said, looking down.

Harlow and I called it. "I know. When we were learning about the babies back in December, she gave hints throughout the entire appointment. We weren't sure if she actually had a kid, so we didn't want to tell you until we were sure. But you shouldn't let a kid get in the way of your relationship."

"I'm not. I've met him, and I see him every weekend. It's just that if Gia and I go our separate ways, I don't want to hurt Sammy too."

"Then make your relationship official and put more of an effort into being a good boyfriend. Which means deleting every woman from your phone except for her, and the Familia women. And no more strip clubs." I said, glad I had a strong relationship myself to the point that I could give accurate advice.

"Fine. I'll do that. So what do you say to getting drinks, Bob The Builder?" He asked, snorting at his own joke.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, we'll get drinks tonight. But you're buying."

Harlow

"You know, someone should've told me that being seven months pregnant and about to get married would mean that I'd get shotgun wedding dresses." I said, walking out onto the platform for them to see.

I was wearing a strapless dress that was shirt in the front and long in the back, and it was fit for my belly. It was so shotgun. Charlie grew agitated with the past few dresses I've tried on and he got up and stormed out of the room.

Then after a few seconds we heard him nagging a man about getting me better dresses, because my wedding was 'too damn special for cheap-lookin'-ass fat dresses' and that I was 'wasting my time and working too damn hard to keep trying on these fucked up dresses', making me laugh along with the girls. Lola left Nicky with Dominic since his parents were at bachelor and bachelorette parties.

Gia came along too, because she was one of my bridesmaids along with Alexi, Lola, and Charlie who was maid of honor. Marcella was with us too, because she wanted to see my dress too. She was a lot looser without the Mafia men around to pressure her into being uptight, proper and fancy.

Speaking of Mafia, we told Charlie that we were the Mafia. He went off about it for a few hours, but eventually calmed down. He said as long as we didn't kill innocent people, he was semi-chill with it. He swore on his life that he'd never tell and I persuaded everybody to take his word for it.

Charlie came back with a smug and bitchy look on his face as three men came in with three long racks of whole new sets of dresses. They stood with nervous looks on their faces. "You can leave!" Charlie said, and they hurried out. "I swear, it's like they don't know how to do their jobs. I got you new dresses."

"That's why you're one of my bestest friends." I took a random dress and went to the dressing room to try it on. "So Gia, how's Sammy?" I knew about Gia's son before Cristiano and I'm waiting for Zach to tell him himself.

"He's good and he loves Zach. He starts school this fall and he's so excited. You're gonna love being a mother, Har."

"I think so." I smiled as I walked out in a large, fluffy, off-the-shoulder, long lace sleeved white gown with a long train and a long lace cape. It was pretty, but a lot of weight.

"I like it." Lola shrugged, but her face said 'eh'.

"It's way too much. You're like a super hero and your catchphrase is 'I may be knocked up but I'll knock you out'." Charlie shook his head, making Alexi and I laugh.

"But I like the high waist. The poofiness covers her belly and makes it stand out, but at the same time discreet. Obvious but not. So try something high waist, and we'll make more adjustments from there. And no capes, the veil is enough." Alexi added.

I nodded and chose another dress, heading back into the dressing room. "So Alexi, tell me about the boyfriend you're hiding from Cristiano and Dominic."

"Angelo isn't my boyfriend. He's just a guy I met a few months back and I call him every week." She defended. Angelo was the reason she was at a tattoo parlor a long time ago before I even got pregnant. Cristiano was mad that she was at a tattoo parlor with her friends and she didn't tell him why, nor does their father know. But Marcella knows all about it. Or as much as we've talked about.

"Sweetie, you have to tell your father and brother about him eventually. Especially Cristiano. He doesn't like secrets." Marcella said. Amen to that. "And your father already isn't too accepting, you should just be upfront and blatant with them about it."

I walked out to present the dress. It, like the last, was large and white. It had a strapless sweetheart neckline and double layered with tiers. It also had a semi-long train and shiny accessories decorating the bottom. It was beautiful.

"Okay, I know it's early but it's perfect." Charlie grinned in excitement. "You know, those are real diamonds."

My eyes widened. "They are? This has to cost like, a billion dollars then."

"No, it costs 1.2 million euros." Marcella said. "Cristiano set the wedding budget to 50 million. So we're good to get it."

________________________________________

Not the end of the book, I repeat, this is NOT the end of the book! Bye, loves!

- COA

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