32. Elena
Chapter thirty-two
Elena
Two Months Later
The evening sun is gentler today, warm without being harsh.
Even the movement of the water is gentle, in slow and steady waves, as if the Earth is breathing calmly.
Today’s a special day, but even though I’ve spent time preparing for this, I can’t help the anxiety that is slowly slipping in as Enzo loops his arm around mine.
“I’m happy for you, Elena.” He tucks a loose strand of hair from my face. “I never got to see my daughter get married, but seeing you… like this. It fills a space that I didn’t know was still empty. Thank you.”
My heart skips a beat when he pulls me in for a hug.
“Thank you, Enzo, for being the father I never had.”
He smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he pulls back to place a soft kiss on my cheek.
“Let’s go meet your groom before he murders me for keeping you from him.”
My sandals crunch against the warm sand as I walk down the aisle, my arm looped in Enzo’s. The nerves return but soon disappear when I see him at the other end of the path.
Adriano. My… husband.
He’s dressed in a fitted black tuxedo, looking like a… a god. From this spot, I can’t clearly see his eyes, but I know they’re focused on me. I feel it.
I exhale gently, letting my eyes drift to the small, intimate crowd by my side. Bella and Annora, my bridesmaids, look radiant in their lavender dresses as they dramatically dab their eyes. Dominic, Bella’s husband, is seated in the front.
On the other side of the aisle, members from my core team at Elané smile at me, including Maya Hart. A few of Adriano’s reconnected business associates sit quietly nearby.
And on an empty chair, there’s a cluster of expensive bouquets. The mayor’s wife had sent them. She’d sent some batches when she heard about the engagement, both as a congratulatory and apologetic gesture for the chaos her husband and his illegitimate son had wrought.
We found out that she was indeed innocent of all of her husband’s schemes. And that she was genuinely interested in my brand… and still is. But I have to settle some things within me before attending any of her events again.
The train of my open-back, white wedding dress billows behind me as I get closer to the altar. Francesco stands beside Adriano as his best man, his usual grimness softened by a rare smile.
Then my eyes connect with Adriano’s, and for a second, my world pauses. This is all I wanted. Everything I’d wished for. The future I was too scared to dream of.
When I reach him, he immediately takes my hand in his, his eyes showing a softness that’s slowly becoming familiar.
Waves crash behind us as the officiant talks, but I barely hear a word. I tune out everything, my senses attuned to the soft brush of Adriano’s knuckles against my wrist and the genuine warmth in his eyes. Until it’s time to say our vows.
“I, Elena, choose you as my husband. My partner in every dream, my man in every universe, my equal in everything. I promise to challenge you, to build with you, and to love you with the same fierce determination I’ve built everything else in my life.”
He smiles, hands tightening around mine. “I, Adriano, vow to be your shield and your sanctuary. To protect the world you create,” he swallows, looking down at the bump in my belly, “and to create a world worthy of you. My life is yours. My loyalty, my strength… and my heart is yours. Forever.”
I can barely breathe right now. In the haze of it, we exchange rings, are pronounced husband and wife, and the crowd erupts in cheers and applause as he pulls me to him with an intensity that makes my knees buckle.
This is it. My happy ending…. Our happy beginning.
***
Five Months Later
I twirl slowly, raise my hands in the air, then drop low to the floor. Ever since the first trimester, there have been a lot of cravings. And unsurprisingly, today I’m craving a dance for my husband.
The beat drops and the music comes to an end, making Adriano shoot up from his seat.
His smile is wide as he claps his hands enthusiastically, but it’s obvious he’s more worried than happy. The slight arch in his eyebrows says it all.
“Did you enjoy the dance?” I say, heaving like I’d just run a marathon.
“It was so fucking good, Principessa,” he smiles, eyes darting to my extremely protruding belly. “Now I need you to just sit—”
I scoff, pushing him away before he can wrap his arms around my waist. “Were you even watching me the whole time?”
He suddenly looks nervous. “Yes, baby. I wa—”
“No!” Suddenly, tears well up in my eyes. He was watching, scared that I’d hurt myself and the baby. Just like Francesco, Kristina, and every other person who comes around me.
No one even lets me do anything anymore. I’ve gotten too fat, too ugly, too… unattractive.
“You don’t even look at me with love anymore.” A heavy sob wracks my throat. I don’t know if it’s actually my feelings or the hormones.
His eyes widen as he quickly appears before me, pulling me to him as much as my belly allows.
“Ti amo (I love you), don’t say that. You know I love you. I’m just…” he whispers softly, kissing my neck. “I’m just worried. You’ve been… craving a lot of… unorthodox things lately and your due date is close. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
I sniffle and see his face fall as he wipes a tear from my cheek.
“I’m ugly, and I just feel like—”
Pain ricochets through my stomach, cutting the words off. Then, suddenly, I feel a liquid running down my thighs. My eyes widen in horror. I’m not due until next week.
“I think… I-I think m-my water just broke,” I swallow tightly, fear clenching my throat.
“Shit!”
Instantly, he scoops me up, as if I weigh nothing, and carries me from the living room to the garage. Francesco and the guards’ eyes widen in horror when they realize what’s happening.
“B-Boss should I—”
“Start the fucking car,” Adriano growls and the rest of the orders he barks are a blur. Another sharp wave of pain travels from my stomach through my pelvis, eliciting a scream from my chest.
As we settle in the car, I grip onto Adriano’s biceps, eyes clenching as waves of pain spasm through my body.
“Hang on, Principessa. We’re almost there.”
In no time, we reach the hospital where nurses run out with a wheelchair, gently placing me on it as they wheel me inside.
My world contorts into one of pain as another contraction hits.
“Check if she’s fully dilated,” a female doctor orders the two nurses at my side just as they transfer me onto the bed. In an instant, we are set up in the private room with a whole bunch of wires and needles connected to my body.
“Okay, baby, I want you to be your strongest today.” Adriano holds my hands, but I barely hear anything. The doctors guide and spread my legs.
“I need you to push Mrs. Bellandini.”
And I do. I push with every ounce of strength in me, through sweat, pain, screams, and Adriano’s encouragement, which is a mix of desperate promises and curses.
After what feels like an eternity of pain and pushing, I suddenly feel the pressure in my abdomen lessen, and it’s at that moment when I finally hear a tiny, indignant wail echoing through the room.
Exhaustion fills my body as I collapse back on the bed, watching through droopy eyes as the doctor places a slippery bundle on my chest.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Bellandini. It’s a baby girl.”
The world seems to freeze, and my heart completely melts. Exhausted, the only thing I can muster is a weak smile.
As the nurses clean my baby up, Adriano kisses the top of my head, pulling back to reveal a softness that makes my heart race. “Thank you, Principessa,” he whispers against my ear. “Thank you for making my world whole again.”
I nod softly and his eyes follow her tiny movements as the nurses place her back on my chest. His large hand hovers over the baby, unsure of where to land, so I grab it and place it gently on her back.
He looks from our daughter’s face to mine, a raw emotion shining in his eyes that I’ve never seen in him before.
“Meet your daughter,” I smile.
The baby’s cries soften as he moves his hand to hers, his index finger dwarfed by her tiny hand. Her fingers curl around his instinctively, and he breaks into the widest smile I’ve ever seen on his face.
Watching their interaction somehow energizes my body. Or maybe it’s the thought that all this is the beginning of something beautiful.
“She has your will, Elena. I can feel it,” he whispers. And I release a hearty laugh.
“And she has your hair and eye color,” I respond.
He nods gently, then leans in to place a kiss on her forehead, but instead of pulling back completely, he rests his head on my chest… just beside the baby.
My free hand instinctively flies to his dark hair, threading through the strands as silence settles over the room.
My whole world rests against my heart, and for the first time, it’s exactly where it belongs.