Here's the last ever chapter with this family 😢

I hope you enjoy it ❤️

Four Years Later.

~ Matteo's POV ~

"What are you doing?"

I glanced in the rearview mirror of my car with a glare and instantly the giggling in the back stopped. But then I looked away and it started all over again.

"Georgio." At the sound of my warning tone the giggling stopped again and my four year old son spoke. "Sorry papa."

All I did was let out a chuckle as we finally pulled up to the store. Getting out the car I helped Georgio out of his booster seat before I helped Fabian out too.

Carrying my two year old son in my arms, I held onto Georgio's hand as we started our walk into the store. Before we even got here I already knew we were going to be there for a long time as usual but it didn't stop me from getting annoyed by the end.

"Don't go near anyone."

"I know papa. I don't talk to anyone except mama and you." I nodded my head as I placed Fabian in the toddler seat in the shopping cart.

"Why are you smiling so much?" I narrowed my eyes at him as I pushed the cart with one hand while holding Georgio's hand. All my two year old son did was giggle before he turned away, watching the aisles that we passed in fascination.

We went down every single aisle getting the things that were on the shopping list, while we stopped whenever Fabian wanted to hold something or Georgio stopped to ask questions about different food items.

We did this for almost forty five minutes until we got to my part of the shopping list.

"Cake for mama's surprise?" I nodded my head, letting go of Georgio's hand so that he could step towards the shelf and choose one of the cakes.

"Which one do you like?" I watched as my son analysed the different cakes before he eventually pointed at the black and white cake with a smile.

He knew exactly what she liked.

"Good choice." He let out a laugh when I gave him a high five, before I put the cake in the cart.

"Oh no."

Oh crap.

"Really?" I turned to look at Fabian who had wide eyes as he sat in his seat before he gave me a shy smile. I rolled my eyes at his smile before taking Georgio's hand again and started walking.

This was the last freaking thing I needed.

"You couldn't have picked a better time could you?" I scrunched my nose up as I threw the used diaper away, ignoring the giggles coming from Georgio who was waiting patiently in the corner of the bathroom. Once I'd changed Fabian's diaper and washed my hands, I lifted him up into my arms, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Love you." I nodded my head, letting out a laugh as I held him in my arms. "I love you too my little man."

"And me?" I turned to look at Georgio who was smiling at me, it was just like her smile.

"Yes and you, now let's go. I don't have all day." I gestured for him to leave the bathroom before I put Fabian back in his seat in the shopping cart and we went back into the main store. We went through the last few things on my list before we got to that dreaded aisle.

"Papa can we go and look at the toys?"

"Don't you already have enough toys?" All of his aunts and uncles bring him toys whenever they visit and yet he manages to run out of them so freaking regularly.

It's actually because he leaves them all over the freaking house so whenever I get up to piss during the night I step on something that belongs to him or Fabian.

And that's in our freaking bathroom, never mind the one that they use.

Georgio shook his head at my question before turning to look at the aisle with all the brightly coloured toys in, until I begrudgingly gave in.

"Fine let's go."

As soon as we stopped in the aisle, Georgio was busy looking around as I held Fabian in my arms, showing him some of the toys that would be good for his age.

"Blue one." He pointed at the blue box with a racing car in, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Do you know how many of these I find around the house?"

"Blue one." When he repeated himself I narrowed my eyes at him causing him to try and copy me but all he did was close his eyes and then open them again.

"Fine you want the stupid blue one, I'll buy you the stupid blue one." Even though I was clearly becoming more and more agitated during our now hour long shopping trip, the boys didn't even seem to notice, or care.

"I'm ready papa." Just as I put the blue racing car in the cart, I turned too look at Georgio as he walked towards me with his arms full of different toys. He stopped in his tracks when one slipped out of his grasp, and when he bent down to pick it up the rest just fell to the floor too.

"Oops." I watched as he stood up and turned to me, standing behind the six different toys that were now on the floor.

"There's absolutely no way I'm buying you so many toys Georgio. Go and put five of them back."

Guess who now owns a million and six freaking toys?

My son.

"Thank you papa." Instead of responding I just rolled my eyes and closed his door, before I got into the drivers seat.

"Before you were born it took me twenty minutes to get the food from here and leave. We were there for almost an hour and a half."

Did they care?

No.

All they did was go back to messing around like they had done all the way to the store during the first drive.

I let out a grumble as I took the shopping bags inside the house deciding to leave the boys in the car for two more minutes to give myself some freaking peace and quiet.

Once I'd taken all the shopping in, I closed my eyes and leaned against the car door enjoying the quiet, apart from when Georgio would knock on the window every minute or so to remind me that they were still in the car.

"Matteo let them out now." My eyes opened when I heard her voice and I turned to look at Gabby as she waddled out the front door, rubbing her baby bump with an amused expression on her face.

"Please just one more minute."

I could tell she was about to say something but then Georgio knocked on the window causing me to turn around to send him a glare. Gabby just laughed at this before she came and opened the door, causing both boys to let out a squeal.

"Hello my babies." She started unbuckling them from their car seats before she let Georgio out, placing a kiss on his cheek before she went to get Fabian out.

"Papa." I turned to look at Georgio when he patted my leg and I bent down to his level so that he could speak to me.

"Did you forget me in the car?" Feigning shock, I quickly shook my head.

"There is no way I would ever forget you baby. You know I love you like crazy." He smiles when I said this until I leaned closer to him, hoping Gabby wouldn't hear my next words. "And you make my life hell, I'd know when you're not around."

"Matteo be nice." I turned to look at Gabby who was giving me an amused smile as she held Fabian's hand walking him inside the house.

I'll never know how she hears everything.

All Georgio did was laugh as he wrapped his arms around my neck causing me to let out a chuckle. I let out a sigh as I stood up, lifting him up into my arms pressing a kiss to his cheek as I walked inside the house.

"Papa help me open all my new toys."

"Right now? Can I at least give your mama a hug first?" I rose an eyebrow at him as I closed the front door while he shook his head.

"No now."

Can you believe Gabby and I are having another one of these little monsters?

I let out a sigh as I walked into the living room, glaring at Mr Skittles who was stretched out in my favourite spot on the couch.

That is how I ended up opening all Georgio's toys for him while he sat there watching with Fabian. It was the same thing every time they got new toys.

First they would play with their toys, then they would try and find a new function for the toys which often included throwing them around the room or at me and then they would just start jumping on me while I lay on the floor remembering the times I could come home and have a drink and watch TV instead of doing this.

"Jordan and Adrian are coming to get them soon, I've got their bags ready." I nodded my head while I covered my eyes to protect them while Fabian rolled his new racing car all over my face.

Gabby just laughed before she called him over to her and he crawled off me, very graciously kicking me in my baby making area as he got off me.

"Holy fu-"

"Matteo."

"Fudge." I let out a grown as my hand went down to my balls. As I lay on the floor recovering from the blow I was vaguely aware of the front door bell ringing before I recognised my brother's voice and the sound of more children entering my house.

"Uncle Matteo why are you on the floor?" I turned to look at Leo as he frowned, coming over to where I was lying.

"Your cousin kicked me in the-"

"Matteo."

"Privates." I glared at Gabby as she hugged Caterina, not even bothering to look at me when she used her warning tone. Even when she's not really concentrating it's like she knows to just cut me off before I can say a bad word. It's like a sixth sense or something.

Since Leo was now almost twelve years old, he just laughed at this since he probably knew what I was going to say anyway. I'm sure he's heard Adrian use his fair share of bad language.

All the De Mancusos do it. We were never blessed with a filter.

"I knew he was my favourite." I turned my head in the other direction to see Adrian picking Fabian up into his arms as he placed a kiss on his cheek.

"That's why I brought you more toys."

When Adrian mentioned toys, Fabian smiled while Georgio looked over at him, breaking his conversation with Mario for a moment.

"Thank you uncle Adrian." Adrian just nodded sending his nephew a smile before he turned back to me, his smile widening when he saw the glare I was sending his way.

"Yes. Thank you uncle Adrian." Of course he was just amused by the hard edge to my voice.

"You're very welcome."

If only she would let me take my freaking gun out so I could hit him with it.

When I finally stood up, I looked around my living room which was now full of children as I limped over to the couch, moving some of the toys to the side before I sat down.

My eyes moved from Gabby and Jordan who were busy talking about something or another while Caterina stood next to Jordan, holding her younger sister's hand. Jordan and Adrian finally had one more daughter to complete their family of six, which came a couple of months after Georgio was born.

They named her Eleanora which means shining light in Italian, because she really was their light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Once I looked away from Jordan and Gabby and the girls, I saw Adrian holding Fabian in his arms as he watched Mario and Georgio play some sort of game while Leo just sat next to them playing with Mr Skittles.

It's been five years to the day since Gabby and I got married and almost six years since we met.

Six years ago I never would have imagined my house would be so full of love and laughter. So full of purity.

Both Adrian and I had done horrible things in our lives, all of us in the family had been through hard times. But they made everything worth it in the end. They may be freaking annoying and hard work, but it didn't matter.

I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

It was perfect.

~ Gabriella's POV ~

"Thank you so much for taking them Jordan. I can't imagine how you're going to handle six kids."

Jordan smiled as she shook her head, looking at all the children who were playing in my living room.

"It's really okay. I'll just put a movie on for them tonight after dinner and they'll fall asleep easily after that. Tomorrow Adrian and I will take them to Carlotta's house since Alex is here with Viola."

Carlotta.

She was one of the hardest parts of my marriage to Matteo.

For the first two years we didn't speak, hardly ever. That was until Fabian was born and she finally told me why she hated me so much.

Flashback

"You don't have to stay. Matteo will be back later he's just checking on Georgio." All she did was quietly shake her head as she stroked Fabian's cheek while he slept in his baby bassinet by my bed.

I watched her as she sat down on the chair next to my bed before she turned to look at me. "How are you doing?"

"Uh...I'm good, thank you."

"Gabriella, I want to tell you something." I rose an eyebrow at her as I took a sip of the water on the table by my bed.

"The reason that I've...disliked you for so long."

"And what is that Carlotta?" I was hoping by my tone she could tell I wasn't in the mood to talk especially after just giving birth but unfortunately she couldn't.

"Matteo doesn't see it but you remind us so much of Mia. Almost everything about you; the way you speak, the way you give sarcastic responses or speak your mind when you feel like you need to. I guess that's why I liked you so much before but then you started pursuing Matteo and I realised you would become part of our family very quickly. Matteo couldn't take his eyes off you that day you first met, it was so obvious."

I stayed silent while she spoke, she didn't sound angry like she often did. She just sounded tired almost.

"Matteo always says you're nothing like Mia, you're Gabby, you're unique. But at the start I was worried he would try to replace Mia with you, then he fell in love with you and suddenly you just took over his life. He argued with all of us a lot more than he ever did before and I guess I blamed you for that. I've never really been good at apologies, but I'll try anyway. I'm sorry Gabriella, for everything. I've tried to bring myself to apologise to you but every time you look at me with that look, I remember all the times I had to apologise to Mia when we were little and I can't do it. You may not look like her but you really remind me of her Gabby."

Once it went quiet between us I let out a sigh, trying to think of what I wanted to say to her. I had so much I could have said, I could have told her I didn't believe what she was saying and that she was just trying to make excuses. But I didn't. Some how I managed to surprise myself.

"Okay, I forgive you." Her eyes snapped over to mine when I said this.

"You do?"

"I do. I just want to move on now. Georgio is two years old, I don't want him to start noticing tension between us. I don't want it to impact their lives." I glanced over at Fabian who was sleeping peacefully next to me.

"Do you forgive my mom?"

"I don't know. A few weeks after Georgio was born she just started acting like nothing ever happened and eventually I had to do it aswell, but she never bothered to apologise."

All she did was nod her head before she turned to look at Fabian again with a soft smile on her face.

I may have not liked her, and I may never love her as much as I love Jordan but she was definitely good with the children in this family. I guess that was a plus.

"Oh are they back from America?" Jordan nodded her head before she spoke. "They arrived last night, they're staying with Carlotta. You and Matteo should come tomorrow to see them. I know Viola would love to see you."

I nodded my head as I thought of Matteo's ten year old niece who was always smiling and laughing. It took her a while to finally get used to us but after a few months, she finally started smiling more and then she just would never stop laughing. It was a beautiful sound to hear.

She was so happy now now that she finally had a little family of her own.

Alex got married a year ago and before that his wife had a baby girl. She may be her half sister but it's so clear she loves her.

"We will, definitely."

After this we started getting all the kids together so that Jordan could some how manage to get all six of them back to her house.

"Bye bye mama." I gave Georgio a smile as he ran over to me, wrapping his arms around my legs in a hug. I did my best to get as close to him in height as I could but being almost nine months pregnant, that was no easy task.

"Bye baby, look after your brother and be good. I'll see you tomorrow." I kissed his cheek as he nodded before he called Fabian who came running over to us.

He was only two and yet he was already doing every thing that Georgio told him to do. He looked up to his older brother so much, it was extremely cute.

"Bye." He waved his hand before he let out a squeal when Matteo snuck up behind him and picked him up into his arms. I let out a laugh as I stepped closer to my husband before placing a kiss on Fabian's cheek.

"Bye baby." He grinned at me before he turned his attention to Matteo and started touching and poking his face like he always did.

While holding Fabian in his arms, some how Matteo still managed to see as he walked out the front door to take him to the car. I watched from the window as he put Fabian in the car and then Georgio, before he said his goodbyes to them, placing a kiss on their forehead each.

He may complain almost all the time but he really did love them. He was the best father to them, from day one.

Finally he came back inside, coming over to where I was standing in the living room which was covered in toys and the packaging from all the new toys that Matteo bought for the boys.

Just as I let out a groan and bent over to start picking them up, Matteo rushed over to stop me.

"Don't do this. I have something else for you to do, just sit here and wait. Don't move." He narrowed his eyes at me after he sat me down on the couch and placed Mr Skittles in my lap.

"Stay." This time I narrowed my eyes at him when he pointed at me before walking out of the living room.

"I'm not a dog Matteo!" I could hear his husky laugh as he went upstairs to do whatever it was that he wanted to do.

I didn't know exactly what he had planned but I wasn't clueless. It was our fifth wedding anniversary so I knew he would do something sweet like he did every year, but also Fabian had been repeating the word 'surprise' all day even after Matteo told him to shut up multiple times.

It took him ten minutes before he came back downstairs and took my hand, helping me to stand up.

"Come on." He held my hand in his as we walked up the stairs although I'm sure he was regretting not just going up alone when I took double the usual time to go up. It was his fault though, he was the one who got me pregnant.

"Close your eyes." We eventually stopped outside our bedroom door and Matteo stepped in front of me.

"I already know what you've done though-"

"No you don't, close your eyes."

"I can't Matteo, I'm almost nine months pregnant I'll just lose my balance and fall over."

"I'm not going to let you freaking fall, just close your eyes." This time I rolled my eyes before closing them, letting out huff. I heard him chuckle before he opened the door and then guided me through our bedroom and to the en-suite bathroom.

This was because he didn't want me to see the bedroom.

"Open your eyes baby." His voice was close to my ear as he stood behind me and I opened my eyes which took a moment to adjust to the dim light around me.

"Wow..."

I stared at oversized bathtub in our bathroom which was filled with water and rose petals. Around the bath Matteo had also lit some candles.

I felt his hand in my hair as he took my hair tie out before he started unbuttoning my shirt.

"You can relax while I go and sort everything else out downstairs."

I turned around to kiss him as his hands went to my baby bump, rubbing it gently.

"Thank you. I love you." I pecked his lips one more time causing him to smile.

"Happy anniversary baby."

With that he helped me into the tub before he left me in the bathroom warning me that I wasn't allowed to go into the bedroom and that he would come and get me from the bathroom when I was finished.

It definitely was a much needed bath after having to manage my crazy children while being so heavily pregnant. I was actually due any time soon, which was exciting but scary at the same time.

Having two children was extremely hard, but I knew that having a third was going to be a whole new experience.

"You need help?" I rolled my eyes at Matteo as he stared at me sitting in the now cool bath water while I nodded my head. All he did was lean against the wall for a moment with a smirk on his face while I just had to wait for him to stop being annoying.

Unfortunately I had to call him to help me get out of the bath and he was loving every second of it.

Finally he came over to me and held my towel in his arms before helping me to stand up. Surprisingly he didn't stare at my body as he wrapped the towel around me and then placed a kiss on my lips.

"I love you."

"Just help me out the bath Matteo." He let out a chuckle at my irritation before he nodded his head and helped me out.

He helped me to get changed the whole time refusing to tell me what he was doing downstairs while I was taking a bath. I really didn't like surprises, I just liked to know what was going on.

"Come on my beautiful." He took my head gesturing for me to close my eyes which I begrudgingly did before we went downstairs to the kitchen.

"Ready?" I nodded my head as Matteo opened the kitchen door and I instantly covered my mouth when I saw what he had done. He'd laid out food on the table in the kitchen but it was what he'd done outside in the garden that caught my eye.

He'd set up a garden projector outside and a fire pit by the outdoor couch we had in the garden. On the table he had drinks and snacks laid out ready for when we watched the movie.

"This is perfect Matteo." I turned to look at him giving him a bright smile.

"You like it?" He rose an eyebrow at me as he scratched the back of his neck. I nodded my head as I stepped closer to him, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I love it baby. I'm sorry we couldn't go out or doing anything-"

Matteo cut me off with a laugh while shaking his head.

"Why are you saying sorry? You don't need to baby, I'd take a peaceful night in with you over going out any day. Now come on the food is going to get cold and I haven't eaten all day."

I let out a laugh as he walked over to the table and started putting the food in our plates. We spent the next half an hour eating the amazing food that he cooked and for the first time in ages without having to deal with a young child and a toddler refusing to go sleep.

"Is she kicking?" I nodded my head as I took another bite of the food, rubbing my bump with my spare hand.

"She is, she likes your cooking." I gave Matteo a smile causing him to nod his head as if he already knew his food was amazing.

"I can't wait to meet her."

I nodded my head in agreement as I thought about finally being able to hold our baby girl.

"Are you nervous? Your due date is so close already, it feels like just yesterday when we found out you were pregnant."

"I am, but not as much as the first two. I guess I know what to expect now, I just hope it doesn't last as long. I don't think I could do another long labour."

Matteo nodded his head before giving me one of his dazzling smiles.

"Don't worry, I'll be right there with you the whole time."

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

"My gift for you is upstairs."

"Is it?" Matteo wiggled his eyebrows at me causing me to let out a laugh while I shook my head.

"No, I don't mean that, I got you a gift but it's upstairs in our room."

All he did was laugh before he handed me the box in his hand.

"Well you can open mine first then." He gestured for me to open the box as a light breeze whipped around us since we were now sitting outside.

Untying the bow on top of the box, I took the lid off before taking out the smaller box inside. I opened the box, taking in the silver bracelet inside.

On the bracelet there were four charms, one engraved with the name Georgio, one with Fabian and one with Camila for our baby girl who would be arriving soon. Each of the charms had a small birthstone for each child and their date of birth on the other side of the charm, apart from Camila's. The last charm was engraved with the words 'I love you' and on the other side of was the date of our wedding.

I looked up at Matteo who was watching my reaction carefully with a small frown on his face.

"You don't like it do you? Is it too much? I didn't know if you would want the birthstones but I thought the colour would make it look-"

"Matteo, I love it." A smile stretched across my face as I took the bracelet out of the box, holding the cool silver in my hands.

"It's beautiful. Thank you." I leaned closer to him, placing a kiss on his lips.

"When she finally makes an appearance we can get her date of birth engraved on her charm." I nodded my head as I looked at the bracelet for a little while longer before I looked at Matteo again.

"This has made my gift look awful."

"What did you get me?" I could tell he was just amused by this, he never really did care about gifts even though I was always trying to surprise him with nice gifts.

I guess it was because he was so rich that he had everything he ever wanted.

"Come on, I'll show you." I gestured for him to stand up and then he helped me up before we went upstairs together.

"You get to see my last surprise now too." I nodded my head, smiling as I watched him open the bedroom door going inside no doubt to light the candles.

Moments later he came out again and let me inside, revealing the same thing he did for me a few times a year.

He made a big deal of hiding it from me but for my birthday, Valentine's Day and our anniversary every year he always put rose petals and candles out in our room.

I let out a laugh as I looked at our bed before I turned to give him a quick kiss.

"You know I love this." He nodded his head as he snaked his hands around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"It's my favourite surprise too."

That was because it meant sex.

"I know." I rolled my eyes as I kissed him before I eventually pulled away from him, remembering that I had to give him my gift.

I pushed him down onto the bed before I went into the closet and got the box out before I went back to give it to him. He gave me a smile as he opened the box revealing the huge picture frame.

It was a plain white canvas which I had framed, but there were four hand prints on it. One was Matteo's which I recruited Georgio to get for me. It was actually the cutest thing, he just went up to Matteo and started painting his hand while he was busy on the phone to Adrian. Matteo didn't even realise until his hand was green and then Georgio took his hand and pressed it to place on the canvas that I told him to.

My husband was so busy arguing with his brother that he didn't even process what was going on.

Then we all had put our own hand prints which we did in different colours, leaving a space for any children that Matteo and I would have in the future.

We definitely wanted four - possibly five.

"I wrote their names so that you would know which is which. It's for your office."

"You want me to put this in my office?" I nodded my head, letting out a laugh when he looked at the multi-coloured canvas with a frown.

"I have a reputation to uphold Gabby-"

"If you put it in your office I'll let you do the thing you like."

As soon as I said this his eyes snapped to mine and he rose an eyebrow at me.

"You will?" I nodded my head, letting out a laugh when I saw his eyes darken at the mention of the thing.

"Come here." My laughter increased when he put the frame on the floor and pushed the box off the bed before pulling me into his arms and crashing his lips to mine. The kiss was quick and heated and soon we ended up having to break for air.

"I forgot to tell you, I love the gift by the way. I would have put it in my office regardless." He sent me a wink causing me to narrow my eyes but before I could argue with him about the thing he kissed me again with a smirk on his face.

He was good.

"You know you like it too."

You don't need to know that.

When I didn't reply he let out another laugh.

"I love you baby." I rolled my eyes at his amused tone as he took off his shirt, revealing his tattoos. He'd also had our children's names tattooed on him, right next to my name which I thought was so beautiful.

"I love you too." He laughed when the words came out in a grumble before he gently lay me down on the bed next to him.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

"And we'll spend Sunday's alone, just me and you. We can make it a father daughter day, maybe you'll finally give me some peace from your brothers."

I cracked one eye open when I felt Matteo rub a hand over my stomach, causing Camila to kick in response.

"I love you my little princess. I would say I'll be your bestfriend forever but I have one so you can be my second best friend forever. I promise, for the rest of my life, that I'll be right here to protect you and guide you, from the moment you finally decide to come out. I can't wait to meet you and finally hold you baby. You can come out now, I promise it's not as scary as it might seem. Although I can understand why would want to stay with your mama for a bit longer. She is pretty amazing."

I lifted my head to look at Matteo who was resting his head on a pillow right by my bump while he spoke, rubbing it gently.

"Matteo?" At the sound of my voice he turned around to face me and instantly a guilty expression took over his face.

"Sorry did I wake you up?" I shook my head as I sat up, giving him a smile. "It's okay. You were talking to her?"

He nodded his head as he moved up on the bed so that he was now next to me.

"I've been trying to talk to her every night. I'm determined to make her a daddy's girl."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh as I kissed his cheek.

"She will be, I can always feel it. She kicks whenever she hears your voice or when you touch my bump." Matteo laughed as he rubbed my bump causing Camila to kick twice again in response as expected.

"Don't worry, you don't need to be jealous, she won't replace you Gabby." I nodded my head as I rested my head on his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his hand on my bump.

"Good, because I'm your bestfriend and I love you."

He laughed at the possessive tone I used as I held onto him a little tighter and he pressed a kiss to my forehead while stroking my hair.

"I love you too mia regina." (My queen.)

After knowing him for six years and being his wife for five, I honestly couldn't imagine my life without him. He was and always will be my bestfriend, my husband and the love of my life.

Forever.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

~ Matteo's POV ~

"She would have loved this, seeing them all together."

I nodded my head as I watched the children playing in the bouncy house in Carlotta's back garden.

Adrian's four children, my two children, Carlotta's three children and Mia's daughter.

All of them laughing and playing together without a care in the world.

"She would have. But even though she's not here, it still feels complete now - our family." I turned to look at Adrian who was also staring at the scene in front of us with a soft smile on his face.

It's fair to say that his children were the best thing that had ever happened to him. They were the thing that were able to teach him how to decipher and control his emotions. Before they came he was a total mess. He clearly loved Jordan, and yet he could never figure out how to separate his anger and his hate for the world from his love for Jordan.

He just got it all wrapped up in one and she was the one who suffered. But, over time he learned to control his emotions, he put his love for his family above anything. From the moment he met Jordan, he started growing and changing as a person, it just took a lot of time for him to become the man he is today.

"I'm proud of you Adrian." My brother turned to look at me with a confused frown before he let out a chuckle. "Why?"

"Because of the man you've become. I remember that day in the coffee shop in London all those years ago when you first met her. I remember what you were like, the way you had no clue how to control your emotions, you were so angry at the world, so lost inside your own head. You were just lost. Now you have four beautiful children, and you're the best husband to Jordan."

Adrian's frown only deepened as I spoke, probably from hearing about his past but eventually he nodded his head and he turned to look at his children again. He didn't say anything in response, so Carlotta was the next to speak instead.

"You've grown too Matteo, we all have. It feels like this family has been through the craziest stuff and yet we managed to survive - most of us did."

I nodded my head as I took a sip of my drink before I spoke.

"When she died, I could never get that image out of my head, of her lying there on Dante's bed...the blood...it was always in my head. Until I met Gabby. She was the only thing that helped me to move on, not to forget but, I guess to start focusing on other things in my life."

Carlotta nodded her head as she listened.

"Sometimes it's only love that can heal a person. Angelo has been my rock throughout all of this, the same way Jordan and Gabby have been for you two."

I turned my head to look at Jordan and Gabby as they also watched the children in the bouncy house while Jordan rattled on about something to Gabby, whatever it was it was probably baby related since Gabby was due any day now with our third child.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched her talk to Jordan, with a twinkle in her eyes as she smiled, rubbing her baby bump gently. In that moment it's like she felt me staring at her and she turned her head in my direction. Her smile widened when she made eye contact with me, the love and happiness shone in her eyes before she looked away again after a moment.

She was so perfect.

"Love...it's some crazy stuff."

Adrian nodded in agreement at my words while Carlotta just let out a laugh before she left us to go over to the children and soon Adrian followed after patting my shoulder.

This family had been through ups and downs, some of which we never thought we'd ever be able to move on from. But all it took, was Gabby for me and Jordan for Adrian to come and change our lives for the better.

They brought love and light into our lives, they filled our homes with laughter and happiness, something we'd never had much of.

For the De Mancuso family there was this dark chapter in our lives, everything seemed to go wrong, we didn't know how to deal with shit or to control our emotions. We owned the mafia but really, looking back it felt like the mafia was the one controlling us. Making us into these people who we didn't necessarily want to be, but the people we had to be to survive.

We went through the death of our sister, we had enemies outside and inside our family who wanted nothing but to ruin our family, my trial and my time in prison all along side the demons in our head which we had to overcome. That's not to mention the mafia which seemed to be our biggest obstacle to happiness until we learned how to manage and balance it properly.

But that chapter was finally over and all it took was love to change it.

Because love... it's some absolutely crazy stuff.

The End ✨

I can't believe this is all finished 😢

The De Mancuso family will always be my favourite ❤️

I want to say thank you to every single one of you who read this book and also those of you who commented on every single chapter. I read every single comment and I really appreciate it so much. You make it possible for to write these stories so thank you and I hope you enjoyed it 💓

Look out for my next story, I'll be posting the description on here soon!

Don't forget to vote and comment ❤️