Chapter 16
LEONARDO
Seven years later…
Our new four-bedroom house was chock-full of unpacked boxes and half-strewn furniture, but it was a fresh start.
Angelina, my insightful seven-year-old, sat in the corner of the living room playing on her iPad, choosing to ignore the world. She was salty about the move, frustrated at being made to leave her friends and school.
My wife shuffled up to my side, her concerned gaze perusing our surly daughter. “Do you think we made the right choice?”
I skimmed my knuckles over Gabriella’s cheek before I kissed her frown away, then proceeded to kiss the top of Celeste’s head, our ten-month-old, nestled in her chest. She was our surprise baby—an addition we were ecstatic to welcome into the family.
“She will come around, Ella,” I placated. “She’s sad now, but she’ll adjust.”
Gabriella pecked my jaw and settled on the couch to breastfeed Celeste. We hadn’t made the decision to relocate lightly, but a drastic change had to be made in order to leave the lingering unease behind.
Over the years, Nico had remained an unwanted presence in our lives. After the court case, he had quite literally lost everything, which resulted in his manifesting a toxic pattern of obsessive behaviour and fixation.
The initial catalysts were the threats he sent after Angelina’s birth. I acted immediately, setting up extensive surveillance, new and improved devices and emergency systems.
Gabriella thought I went overboard, and after five years of silence, I was inclined to believe her. Until Nico attempted to reach out via social media. His messages were apologetic, nonthreatening and vying for our forgiveness.
However, when his innocent forms of engagement were ignored and blocked, his need for validation soon escalated.
Nico began calling Gabriella from multiple unknown numbers, harassing her through social media and work phones. He never showed his face, choosing to harass rather than gamble my reaction in person—he knew I was more than ready to throw down on sight.
We submitted a statement to the police, which didn’t go far as his attempts at contact were considered innocuous, despite my misgivings.
It didn’t help that Nico would go radio silent for long periods. If anything, those were the worst times. My defences were always on high alert, waiting for him to pop up again.
Everything came to a head when we had our secondborn. Shortly after Celeste’s birth, Nico levelled up his stalking, driving by our house, keeping tabs on Gabriella’s whereabouts.
When we managed to catch him on our security camera, I had never experienced such fear in my life.
I wanted to hurt him in the worst way. Instead, I had to settle for a flimsy restraining order. Following that escalation, Gabriella wanted out, and I couldn’t have agreed more.
After calling in a few favours, it wasn’t hard to get a transfer, and soon after, we found ourselves starting over again with renewed safety and reassurance, far away from him.
As I looked at my family in our new home, I knew we had made the right move.
Five months later…
A perk of relocating to that city was the expansion of our surrounding support system. Gabriella now lived near her friend, Daisy, and we had made fast friends with her close circle, including her partner.
Angelina took some time, although she was starting to enjoy herself, bonding with other children and settling into school. My beautiful girl was adjusting, and I was beyond grateful to see childlike excitement returning to her eyes.
In five months, we had grown as a unit, embracing the fresh lifestyle and thriving with the changes. My workplace was also welcoming and proactive. I had recently been invited to speak at an upcoming medical conference as an honoured guest.
Daisy offered to watch the girls so Gabriella and I could go on our “boring date” to some “work thing”.
I was reluctant, at first, but my wife always knew how to sway me.
With Daisy’s background, no one was going to breach that gated community.
And as soon as Angelina caught wind of staying with her favourite aunty, there was no going back.
That was how I found myself driving into the city, my hand tenderly squeezing my wife’s knee, enjoying the sensation of her against my skin.
“Thanks for accompanying me, darling. I can’t remember the last time we were out on our own.”
Gabriella caught my lust-filled gaze and bit into her lip. “Definitely overdue. I’ve missed you, husband.”
My fingers tentatively traced up her inner thigh. “Maybe we should ditch the convention? Get a hotel… while I worship your body. Show you how much I missed you.”
My wife shivered but stopped my roaming hand with her own. “You made a commitment, Leo.”
I whined. “But—”
“But if you want to leave straight after your presentation, I can’t stop you,” she said, raising my palm to press against her breast. “In fact, once you’ve completed your obligation… you can then fulfil your duty to me.”
I licked my lips at the thought of having Gabriella all to myself. With two young kids, moving homes and settling into a new job, we were in dire need of alone time. And I was more than happy to oblige my first love.
“Put the timer on, darling. Because as soon as I walk off that stage, I’m putting all my effort into my next task.”
“Mm. And what’s that?”
“You.”