"I have some things to go over with Cristian, Rocco, and Mateo. They got a tip on Gio. I'm just waiting for Cristian to send someone to take over while I'm out. They should be here soon." Enzo tells me as I walk back in from the terrace.

"He has other guards here; I'm sure we'll be fine," I tell him, but from the look he gives me, I know it's pointless to argue over, so I begin pulling things out of the pantry and fridge to make dinner.

Enzo sits at the counter watching me, "You know you don't need to cook; Cristian has people who will make you anything you want."

I shrug, "I like to cook."

"And I like to help!" Lucy beams at him, and he returns her smile.

Lucy and I make garlic grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables. As we begin setting the table, we hear a knock at the door. Enzo walks to the door, and the guard inside the entry tells him who it is.

Adonis walks in with another man, and they exchange some words with Enzo but then brush quickly past him as Enzo scowls behind them.

"Stella," Adonis greets me. "We are here to relieve Lorenzo of his duties. This is Nicky." He gestures to the man next to him. Adonis speaks to him in Italian, introducing him to me. Nicky takes his shades off, greeting me in Italian, and kisses both sides of my face.

"I don't have to go, Stella; Cristian will understand," Enzo states, eyeing Nicky.

"It's fine, but eat before you go, please," I tell Enzo.

I turn to Adonis and Nicky. "You are both welcome to join if you'd like?" Adonis again speaks to Nicky in Italian; I realize he doesn't speak English or maybe very little.

Nicky thanks me and takes a seat next to me while Enzo sits on my other side, still eyeing him. "Stop with the death glares," I mutter to Enzo. "I'm assuming JP is the reason they're here?"

Adonis speaks up before Enzo does. "Cristian informed John Paul about the tip hopefully leading to Gio and knew Enzo would want to know, so he sent Nicky and me in his place." Adonis smiles after he takes a bite of his food.

"So...how long have you been working with John Paul?" I question but focus on my food.

"Since your grandfather brought him and the others to Italy after everything happened at Don Timoteo's property." He informs me.

"John Paul recovered rather quickly from the gunshot wound, but the other injuries took longer; I know now, after working with him, these past few years, it was out of sheer determination. He was anxious to return to find you and your friends, but Vito told him to be patient--to wait and see how the dust settles before coming back in a rage."

"JP's never been patient." I think to myself but realize I said it out loud.

Adonis smiles, "No. And still isn't. But he's learning to refine it, depending on the situation."

We finish the rest of the meal with light conversation, mostly the kids asking what part of Italy Adonis and Nicky are from originally.

"Call me if anything comes up," Enzo stresses as he hugs me before leaving. Nicky and Adonis remain in the kitchen and converse with the kids. I take my glass of wine and walk out onto the terrace again.

I pull my phone out and decide to get this over with and call Sean.

"Hey, Stels."

"Hey." I wipe at my eyes as the tears are already coming. "Sorry, it's taking me so long to call you back. But thank you for being patient."

Sean laughs softly, "You're giving me too much credit, lovely. Patient is not how I would describe how I've been. Are you okay? You sound stuffy. Have you been crying?"

"No," My voice sounds warbled.

"What's wrong?" He asks, concerned.

"Everything."

"I can be there in two hours...an hour and a half actually," Sean tells me, and I smile, laughing through my tears.

"No, Sean. Don't."

"Why does this sound familiar, Stella?" His voice is anxious as I shake my head and rub my forehead.

"No, I mean, don't come rushing over here because I'm a baby..." I sniffle. "Everything is just wrong, but it isn't. It's like great, but then it just makes everything so difficult, harder..."

"You're not making any sense, Stella," Sean says soothingly, trying to keep me calm.

"You remember I told you about Tobias, his wife Melanie, and the kids?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Melanie is living at the house with JP, and she's...sick, and she doesn't have long," I sob quietly.

He expresses his sympathy and tells me he understands what I meant now. I explain to him how Mel named me as a guardian when she passes.

"Maybe, she'll pull through." But even I hear the doubt in his voice. He asks if she doesn't have any other family that would care for the kids. I explain to Sean how Mel never knew her father and her mother had passed away from cancer around the same age, and her Grandparents, who raised her, have since passed.

"If you're worried this will scare me away, please know, it won't--it doesn't." He speaks hurriedly into the phone.

"Sean, you have your own goals, and it isn't fair for you to re-route your entire life--"

"Stop it, Stella. I told you I'm not going anywhere. Tell me about her kids, please."

I smile at his sweet gesture. I know I need to tell him about JP, too, but I don't want to overwhelm him; I feel that for the both of us as it is.

And yes, I am aware that I am a huge ass chicken for using this as a chance to avoid doing it.

I go through each one of the kids, telling him what I remember and express how grown up they all look now. "I don't know much about Tobin, other than he's super cute, and he's turning three at the end of the year. He goes by Toby." I state.

"Well, they sound like great kids; it's understandable for them to be indifferent stages on how they are handling everything that has happened or with what is going on right now." He sighs into the phone.

"Listen, I'm coming up to New York this weekend. We can get together Friday. I have a couple of business gatherings to attend with my dad, cousin, and Uncle, Friday and Saturday night, but I want to see you." He tells me.

"I want to see you too, Sean. Let's meet up Friday morning, then." I smile, "Wait, what happened with your leads with Jimmy?" I ask, remembering he said they might have found Jimmy.

"They were a bust. Well, one wasn't. We're pretty sure we found where he's been holed up. He had papers on Gio, and there were old pictures of you. I didn't recognize you at first because your hair was lighter in the pictures, and I'm guessing the girls in the pictures are old girlfriends; one had dark blond hair and the other brunette."

He must be referring to Annalisa and Sofia.

"It looks like he could be in New York, too. So please be careful." Sean urges. He doesn't say anything for a moment.

"Stels, have you talked to him? To JP?" He asks quietly.

"No, not yet, but I know I need to."

He's quiet again, and the seconds tick away; the tension is growing. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling, Stella, but...I know it must not be easy to see him, after all, this time after believing he was dead."

"I don't know what you're talking about; it's a walk in the park," I say dryly.

He laughs for a moment before he quiets down. "Always finding a way to make a joke of things."

"That's because my life is a joke, Sean," I tell him.

"No, it's not," He sighs, "Listen, Stels, I just wanted you to know, I trust you."

I frown, not liking how he felt like he had to tell me that, but before I can say anything, Sean tells me another call coming in from his Uncle and tells me he will call me tomorrow.

I sit out on the terrace for a while longer, finishing my glass of wine, when my phone chimes and I see that it's Rio.

R: We need to talk.

Me: Don't worry, I'm not quitting...yet

R: What do you mean "yet"?

Me: A lot is going on besides Johnny Santiago turning out to be John Paul, but it's too much to go over in text.

R: Fine. The girls are scheduled to begin practicing on Monday at the club around 10 a.m. Be there.

R: Please.

Me: I'll be there.

I sigh and then stand up, stretching my arms and twisting, and then I pick up my now empty glass and head back inside.

"Are you alright?" Adonis's voice scares me, causing me to jump when I shut the terrace doors. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to scare you."

"It's okay. My nerves are just shot from the last few days as it is." I head to the kitchen to set my glass in the sink, and he tells me the kids are in their rooms.

I take a few drinks with me and some water bottles and begin offering them to the guards at the entry and the two outside the doors; they each thank me, taking the drinks.

Adonis looks at me, amused.

"What?" I ask him.

"Nothing. Capo always talks about your kindness." He smiles, and then his face becomes serious.

I watch as he takes a deep breath before he begins talking again. "It's none of my business, but you should know after working closely with John Paul, he never entertained the idea of another woman before the accident, Stella, which, in all honesty, is practically unheard of in this life. All he thought and talked about was you, and Charlotte knew that."

"When she heard he lost his memory, she jumped at the chance to sink her claws into him and used the physical therapy he needed with his injured hand and foot as her way in, to get to him. I didn't realize what she was doing until it was too late. It's crazy how women can move so quickly when they have a goal in mind." Adonis chuckles but stops when he looks up at me, apologizing, "Not all women, of course." He amends.

I look back at him, narrowing my eyes at him, trying to figure him out.

"Within the few weeks she was with him, she managed to have all of your portraits removed from the house. She was even trying to convince him to send the kids to a boarding school after the summer was over so he could focus on his businesses."

The thought that it could have happened makes my blood boil and makes me hate her even more than I already do. I admit my hatred was out of pure jealously, at first, but now I know she's a manipulative, conniving bitch.

Adonis continues, "For a moment, Melanie considered, leaving with her kids. Can you imagine? In her condition? But Nurse Dot, Isabella, Santino, and some of the men who remembered and worked with Tobias--convinced her to stay.

Isabella promised Melanie that if Johnny continued to move away from what the main goal was to find you, she would take care of the kids herself.

The men also noticed the obvious change in him, and once Charlotte started to become an issue, Vito was set to remove Johnny from his position. But, I convinced Vito to give me a couple of weeks, and then you came, knocking the sense back into him, literally. I'm not a praying man, Stella, but you are an answer to many prayers." Adonis smiles.

"There's someone else." I blurt out.

I don't know why I just said it like that, but with everything else he was telling me and all the emotions I was feeling, I felt like I would explode.

Adonis shakes his head, "No, Stella, you misunderstand. Charlotte is no one to John Paul--"

"I mean, for me, Adonis."

He looks back at me, his eyebrows raised.

"It's fairly new. I know him from my childhood, though, and we reconnected a few years ago before everything happened at Timo's. And then we ran into each other again, on the night of my birthday. But nothing happened until a little over a month ago..."

"All these years, I was never interested in anyone else or looked at anyone either. I couldn't let JP go.

"Then Sean was there, and he's so kind, and I...I thought JP was dead, but he wasn't--isn't. But it doesn't matter, now."

I take a deep breath to slow down my breathing and racing heart. "John Paul had the chance to find me, and he didn't; other things took priority for him like they always have. It's too late for us, so..." I exhale as I look at him, feeling drained. "I'm not an answer to anyone's prayers, Adonis."

Adonis is quiet; he looks worried but doesn't say anything as he looks away, rubbing his chin.

I grab another glass and pour myself some more wine. I head to my room to take a bath and tell Adonis to let me know when Enzo returns. I walk away towards my room, with the eery feeling like it's the calm before the storm.