A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

090% +5

Matteo

The next morning, I was awaken by the sound of birds chirping by the window. They were singing cheerfully, something I hadn't heard in awhile. I turned to look at my wife, seeing her sound asleep, unbothered by the birds.

I took a few minutes to admire the beauty she possessed. I could spend hours being in this exact position, staring at her and never be bored. Whether she was awake or not, she was too beautiful to be true but whenever she was asleep, she looked at peace.

Alena deserved to be at peace. We both did.

I slowly stepped down from the bed, not wanting to bother the sleeping beauty. Then, I made my way towards the bathroom for a quick shower-it didn't take me long to get ready for the day, only about thirty-minutes and I was fully dressed. Sometimes, it could take me longer but this morning, I just wanted to be simple.

Besides, I wasn't going to the office today and any business matters could be discussed in my home office. I didn't want to leave Alena on her own today especially when she was going to start work soon-we were also going to get an ultrasound done later. I glanced one more time at my wife and she was still sleeping.

It didn't take me long to grab my phone and send a quick text message to Luca:

'Come over. We have a few things to discuss.'

Within seconds, a reply came in but it was only a simple thumbs up. We weren't a big fan of texting whenever we had important things to say which was why I decided to invite him over, it was easier to talk and discuss face to face. Things could go wrong in text messages.

I was in the kitchen making scrambled eggs, a simple dish I loved to eat during breakfast. It was healthy and enough to fill me until lunch but this time, I made extra for Alena incase she was awake later.

My left hand was busy scrolling down the news on my phone while I enjoyed my breakfast. It was a habit of mine whenever I was eating in the morning, doing something else other than work in order to stay updated with what was happening in the world.

It had been around twenty minutes since Luca replied to me and there he was, standing by the doorway of the kitchen. I had heard him come in when a sound came from the front door but honestly, I didn't expect him to come over this quick.

"Good morning," he said before he took off his shades.

"Morning. You're early today," I replied.

"I didn't sleep last night. It's a good thing you texted me,"

"Why didn't you sleep?"

"I don't know. I just couldn't,"

"You should get your mind checked up."

Luca scoffed, "Yeah, I don't have to. I know my mind's fucked up

"At least get a prescription so you can sleep at night. Otherwise, your own body is going to kill you before anyone else does," I responded as I took another bite of my scrambled eggs, loving the way it tasted in my mouth.

OU

Not just that, I was already starving when I woke up because of the multiple actions I did last night. Alena and I had spent hours making love, satisfying each other and we didn't exactly cat anything afterwards. We both had fallen asleep and I knew I was going to wake up hungry.

It wasn't just me, my wife was starving too. She deserved a good meal when she was awake later on, something to fill her stomach.

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind," he replied, sarcastically.

"I actually care about you, Luca. You can be as sarcastic as you want but I really meant it when I said I didn't want to lose a brother. Take better care of yourself because if you don't think anyone else cares about you, you're wrong."

He sighed as he took a seat at the stool, "I'll hook up with some therapist or something

"That won't fix anything,"

"What? I'll use my charms,"

"See a therapist for professional help, not for sex."

For the men in our line of work, our mental healths were always challenged. I knew it could be hard for anyone out there but for us, we were fighting with our own demons. We faced different problems every day and sometimes, we never had the time to fully rest. The number of men we had lost, the number of sufferings we had endured, those were the traumatic experiences we had faced. People tend to overlook whenever we were miserable, they thought we were content with the amount of riches we had but that wasn't it. It was never going to be enough for us.

One of the reasons why the men in our line of work, deserved a good woman.

A good woman could understand us better, could provide us support. The younger men were always seeking out for sex as a temporary relief and they seeked in different women but as for me, I was content with one woman. I was fully content with only Alena in my life. As for Luca, I knew he probably had enough of being a womaniser. He had spent years with different women, enjoying his life and having fun-he never wanted to settle down and he made it very clear. I just hoped that he was going to settle down one day with someone. It could fill the void in his heart. It could make him see clearer.

"I'll think about it," he said. "You said you had things to discuss. What is it?"

"Let's talk in my office," I replied as I took the cup of coffee and we began to walk towards my office, where it was secluded and away from anyone else.

understanding when it Honestly, I didn't want Alena to walk in on us whenever we talked about business. I knew she was very came to my work but I didn't want to make her worry. The things I had to worry about was supposed to be my worries and not hers-she deserved to go and pamper herself, spoil herself instead of thinking about the boring things. Once we were in my office, Luca closed the door behind him,

I placed the cup of coffee on my desk before I gestured for him to take a seat, something he did without waiting actually. The dark circles under his eyes were obvious and it seemed to me, he hadn't slept for days. Not just last night.Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

"First of all, you look like shit." I said, frowning.

"I know. I'm going to get a facial later though,"

"Fun. That'll help you out?"

Sun,

"Yeah, the Chinese lady at the clinic is amazing. She'll massage me and all that, I'd be able to get a few minutes of deep sleep. Not just that, I'll leave with a glowing skin, too. So, it's kind of a win-win situation, don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Okay, Luca. Good for you,"

"Enough about me. What's up? What's going with you?"

I took a few seconds to think about the words to say.

"We're expecting," I said.

"Huh?"

Luca continued to stare at me in confusion as he tried to process the words I said earlier but instead of questioning me again, he decided to wait for me to say the next words. It didn't take me long to clear it all out for him and he leaned back at the seat. "Alena's pregnant."

"Congratulations but I'm not following. Isn't that a good thing, Matteo?"

"It is. I'm very happy about it."

He frowned, "You don't look happy about it. What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I still remember the first time you told me when Alena was pregnant. That time, you looked really, really happy. This time, you just look like you're worried and you're putting up a fake smile for the world to see. So, you don't look happy. You don't look happy at all," he replied and the words were like knives, they went straight to my heart.

Truth be told, I was more than happy about the news. After losing Marco, I hadn't expected for Alena to be pregnant again that quickly but I knew it was bound to happen anyway. The wound from losing Marco was still new and fresh, I couldn't just forget about my son.

However, life was always about moving forward regardless of the things we went through.

Both Alena and I deserved a new beginning.

I was more worried about the man on the loose, the one hunting Alena down. The things that happened to Alena before could never happen again and it was a promise I made to myself as well as Mikhail-I had to protect my wife at all cost. This time, it wasn't just my wife but the baby in her tummy.

We were going to be a family of three again.

I was worried about the possibility of things that could happen to us.

"I'm just really worried about her. I'm worried about the whole thing that's going on and I'm scared if anything bad happens to her. Fuck, what if something bad happens to her and I can't be there to protect her? What happens then?" I asked a few questions, pacing back and forth as I tried to calm myself down.

Luca, on the other hand, continued to stare at me.

"Shit, you're right... things can get out of hand."

"Alena will start working soon and I can't protect her all the time I'm fucking anxious,"

"With the words that Mikhail said to you?"

"That and the possibility of what could happen."

"Angelo can be there with her at all times. He can keep an eye on her,"

"Not all the time, Luc. She's a doctor, for fuck's sake."

Luca sighed, "Do you think she should stop working for awhile?"

"No, I can't make her do that. She loves working, it's her passion.

"Then, we have another problem to think about."

The sound of the doorbell caused both of us to be on alert especially when we heard a scream.

☐☐☐☐☐ 90%

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