WARNING: LONG ASS CHAPTER. 8000+ words 👀

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You will probably see errors because I didn't revise the chapter as I usually do. So do point out the errors.

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(Arie's POV)

At the realization that his grandmother was in the hospital, Leo's irritation was almost palpable. Hell, even my own body heated up with exasperation. That woman was undeniably wicked, and I knew she had plans for my children.

We both walked down the pediatric hall and saw numerous suited men standing in a neat manner outside the room Verona was resting in. "Cazzo (Fuck)," Leo cussed under his breath and spared me a quick glance. "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you."

"Okay." As soon as Leo opened the door, my eyes locked with Marsilia whose gaze was fiercely firm and indisputably menacing before Leo swung the door shut behind him. The brief eye contact with the woman was enough to send a chill up my spine, but no matter what happened, I knew not to let her near the kids.

Walking further down the hall, I turned around the corner and saw more men swarming the place like a block party. "Did you guys mistake this for one of your fancy balls?" I quipped, drawing everyone's attention to me. "If you're not needed here, go wait in your cars for your bosses to get done here. This is a hospital with sick people, not a dorm room party. Get moving!"

The numerous men who had recently arrived did not move an inch until Federigo gave them the signal. When the place cleared up a bit, I finally saw Athena and Eros talking to Soph and Gus. Athena's almond-shaped eyes turned to me after a second, unamused as ever. She excused herself from the bunch and made her way toward me.

          "A word in private, Arie?" The question sounded more like an order, but I complied by walking into a medium-sized conference room nearby and shutting the door behind us. "Sorry to hear you didn't get the chance to tell Leo about all this yourself."

          I rolled my eyes and sauntered further in. "Could've given me a heads up about that."

          "Well, the thing is..." The long nail of her index finger scraped against the round, wooden conference table. "Mike found out from me and then he personally went to New York to deliver the news."

          I scoffed incredulously. "After you told me to tell Leo myself, you did that?"

          "Listen before you make assumptions," she chided, resting her arm over one of the rolling chairs. "After I spoke with you at the cemetery, Mike asked me if I noticed the blue-eyed boy whose resemblance to Leo was quite bizarre. I can fool anyone brilliantly, but unfortunately, my tactics do not work as well on Mike, Leo, or Federigo. He knew I was hiding some information when it came to you, so it didn't take him long to figure it out."

          "Wait." My brows scrunched together. "You knew about Lucian?"

          Athena sighed as if the question exhausted her itself. "Where do you think Mike got the DNA tests from so quickly?"

          "And you acted oblivious even at the cemetery regardless?"

          "As I said, I'm good at deceiving people." A smug smirk pulled on her full lips. "When I looked into you, I was shown the pictures taken by my spies and Lucian surprised me. His age matched perfectly to the time Verona would've gotten pregnant, so I got Verona's and Leo's DNA samples and then I attained Lucian's somehow. As expected, they matched perfectly."

          A sigh of utter frustration blew past my lips as I pulled myself a chair to sit on. "I honestly can't understand why you didn't tell Leo the moment you found out since you claim you're loyal to him."

          "It was about the safety of the children, not loyalty. I knew the moment I opened my mouth about Leo's heirs, rats would come crawling out of their holes to take them and that is exactly what happened today." Crossing her arms below her breasts, she leaned her weight on one foot and raised her chin firmly. "You kept your kids under wraps for their safety and I kept my mouth shut for the exact same reason. We both know they were bound to find out one day, but I wasn't going to be the one to rush the information, so I let it play out and slowly gave you a nudge as planned, but unfortunately, things went a bit south and caught the attention of the wrong people."

          I facepalmed and winced when I pressed too hard on the bruise that my cheek ached from. "And they won't stop until they have them. Either of them."

          "They will be under complete protection. Whatever happened today will never be repeated again." She walked closer and rested both her arms on the top of the chair next to me. "However, I'm quite surprised Verona didn't tell me about giving birth."

"Even Leo didn't know anything about it," I informed her, concealing the lines of stress effortlessly forming on my forehead. It felt as though I aged five years in the past hour itself.

"Of course, he didn't," she scoffed. "He stopped her from talking after only hearing the tamer parts of what happened. Leo has been through enough to stomach anything, but no one can ever hear about the atrocities forced on someone they care about."

          "And you can?"

"Oh, sweetheart," she chuckled. "I've seen, done, and suffered enough to swim in an ocean of tragedies now. This world is abundant with men like Astor, so anything they do doesn't faze me anymore." Her hazel green eyes met mine with an acute sense of perception. "Arie, you'll get to a point in your life after having dealt with so much that such abhorrent acts won't make you shed a tear anymore. It kills you inside, but you grow a thicker skin and bigger balls than some of the men here in this world of criminals and mobsters to digest it. You're stuck here now, and I suggest you better start working on that thick skin right away. You'll lose people closest to you or you will have to kill the people closest to you. It's the way it is and there's no escaping it. However, I do hope you don't reach that level of impassivity as I have."

Her words of wisdom impaled right through my chest with the amount of truth they held. I had turned my back after what happened with Aunt Wendy and isolated myself from the previous life to hide from the cruel memories and people it entailed, but there wasn't any escape from it. Only a few years of peace before I had to come face to face with my demons once again. But this time, I knew I could survive and fight them, or maybe just live among them.

Suddenly, the door flew open and hit the steel door stopper with a loud clank. "Am I interrupting?" Mike seethed, glaring at the both of us. With my heart rate shooting for the sky, I braced myself for his wrath while Athena casually rolled her eyes and stood up straight as I did.

"Not at all," Athena answered, nonchalantly waving a hand in my direction. "Arie was just zoned out in her own la-la-land."

I narrowed my eyes at her, but she kept her gaze intact on the fuming man who slammed the door shut and made his way toward her like a predator. "Did you know about Wendy?"

Athena crossed her arms and shrugged leisurely. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know when you lie, so don't fuck with me right now!" His voice blared, his fists shaking with rage. "You looked into Arie and found out about the kids, and you're not one to half-ass a search, so you would have looked into the girl she adopted and gotten to the bottom of it, including finding out about the biological mother and father."

Athena remained expressionless, not a shred of emotion lurking on her face. "And what confession do you desire to extract from me?"

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me that Wendy was still breathing?"

"As you said, she's breathing, not living," Athena turned his own words on him in a burst of frustration. "After I had gotten the DNA results of the boy Arie adopted, only then I decided to trace back the girl's parents and found out about the comatose mother who had no name. Once I received the picture of the woman, I realized who it was, but you had just gotten married and I wasn't going to pull you back into misery when you were finally moving on with this nice girl that you love. You may not have as strong feelings as you did for Wendy, but you still love Valentina and she loves you." Athena grimaced at the word 'love' but continued. "You were a pathetic mess after losing Wendy, and knowing she was in a coma, you'd drop everything and be at her side. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but you'd stop living your own life which I can't stand seeing you do again. I didn't want to watch you waste your life sitting at the feet of a woman who may never wake up."

          "And you can say all this with complete certainty?" Mike hissed, his face gaining a brighter shade of red with each passing second. "That this is the only way things will go?"

          "Mikey, this isn't a bloody Disney movie where you can just kiss the girl and wake her up from a slumber like a creep. Be realistic." Athena's tone was laced with annoyance that competed with Mike's anger. "She has been in that state for over four years that may turn into ten or twenty years. Or maybe she never wakes up."

          "That's your excuse for hiding it from me?" Mike's brows pulled together painfully and paved clear ridges across his forehead. "I don't know Arie as well as I know you. She hid her aunt, but why did you hide this information from me? You and I have grown up together. You're my fucking sister. This is how you repay us for everything Leo and I have done for you?"

          With jaw firmly clenched, Athena stared at the man stoically. "You're very well aware of the fact that I never regret anything I do. If you're looking for an apology from me, I'm not giving out any today." She crossed her arms further across her chest like a barrier. "As for the child, it was Arie's job to tell you because it is her burden to bear, not mine. And now that you know, don't be too drowned in sorrow and let bygones be bygones. Your daughter is a sassy little thing. Get to know her."

"Let bygones be bygones?" Mike scoffed in disbelief while my heart sank deeper with the roar of his voice. "Are you fucking listening to yourself?"

The door was thrown open once again, and at this rate, I expected it to break with another hard swing. However, this time, it was Ashton who did the honors. I was glad to see him, but also feared what he had to say. "What the hell is going on here?" His tone carried hostility, his body language a bit on the edge as he inched closer to me whilst keeping an eye on Athena and Mike.

Athena groaned audibly and rolled her eyes while Mike turned his agitated gaze to my brother. "You fucker," Mike spat viciously. "I'm surprised your big mouth could keep all this in your stomach."

"Listen, I know I had plenty of opportunities to tell you, but I kept shut because Arie had her hopes to see Alon and Aunt Wendy get better before she reached out to you and that other ass," Ashton yapped, standing like a shield in front of me.

"You had no right to keep this from me!" Mike released the words with great resentment.

"The fuck you mean 'no right'?" Ashton snorted while my heart palpated faster, the rising tension seeping in through my pores. "Wendy is our fucking aunt and we have every right. We are her family, not you."

"The girl she birthed gives me the right to know about her and the child." Mike's features dripped with anger and disappointment as he turned his fierce gaze toward me. "You didn't run because you were scared. You ran because of the secrets you kept. You were fucking selfish to keep my own daughter a secret from me."

          My insides clenched due to his overt display of heartbreaking emotions, but I didn't blame him, nor did I expect anything less.

          "Mike, I-"

          "Selfish?" Ashton cut me off curtly, glaring at the man who stood sternly before him. "I admit it wasn't the best decision to keep Ana from you, but if Arie was selfish, she would've stayed with Leo instead of uprooting our lives from Queens and dragging us across the country to a place we didn't know. She did that so no one else got hurt. She still blames herself for the state Aunt Wendy is in, and hell, even I pinned the blame on her for an ignorant minute." Ashton took a step forward in a spur of anger and continued seething, pointing a menacing finger at the man. "You don't get to call my sister selfish. I'm the one who listened to her cry her ass to sleep for months on end. Not only because of Aunt Wendy, but because of Leo too. I thought he had dumped her, but now I know she was the one who broke his heart and she hated herself for it. I'm surprised that her depression didn't cause the miscarriage."

          "Ashton, please," I tried to stop my brother's ramblings in a hushed tone with a hand around his bicep and a distressed frown on my face. "Don't do this."

          With his scowl growing deeper, Ashton removed my hand and stepped closer to Mike. "All she wanted to do was end the continuous cycle of pain she was in and run into the arms of the love of her fucking life, but she held back because of me and the lives growing inside of her and Aunt Wendy. If she was selfish, she would've never sacrificed her happiness for us by leaving the man she still fucking loves. She wouldn't have risked her life and lost one of her babies in attempts to save me. She wouldn't have told the kids about you and him in hopes of reuniting them with their fathers when things got better, but it's all going to shit, and you cunts are making everything worse."

         Mike's jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring as he closed the distance between himself and my brother. "Call it 'blinded by emotions', but I don't give a fuck right now. You're going to see the worst of me, and I'll start by taking the girl from you two."

          "The fuck you will!" Ashton's bellow was quickly stifled by the thundering punch he landed on Mike's face who retaliated by immediately ramming his fist to my brother's jaw.

          "¡Puta madre (Motherfucker)!" Mike spat, grappling my brother's raised arm and twisting it before forcing his knuckles to brutally meet Ashton's face once again.

          "Stop!" My heart lurched up my throat as I leaped forward to save my brother from getting killed by the angry man, but all of a sudden, Leo emerged and ripped Mike away first and pinned him against the wall.

          Ashton grimaced as he felt for the blood running down his chin. "Fucking asshole!" He turned his attention back to Mike and decided to charge forward to get another punch in like a lunatic, but Leo shoved him back with a force that knocked him off his feet. "Stay the fuck back," Leo seethed then whipped his head back to his best friend before dragging him out of the room immediately past the multiple people who witnessed the entire ordeal unfold through the door that Ashton hadn't closed behind himself. Among the witnesses was Valentina who stood awestruck with her eyes searching for the answers to explain what had just happened.

"Noelle, do you have a death wish?" Athena barked at my brother as I frustratingly helped him up to his feet.

Ashton traced a ragged line of blood on the back of his hand as he wiped his bloody nose. "All of you need to fuck out of our lives. You've done nothing but ruin it."

Athena stepped closer to Ashton and gritted her teeth. "I'd play nice if I were you. Your entire career can be crushed in a matter of seconds right now. Mike will kick you off the team and make sure no one signs you. Do you want to risk that and the custody of the kids?"

"I don't need you to tell me what the fuck to do," Ashton hissed furiously. "You're the one who brought Freddie to Italy, and look where he is now."

Athena's eyes contorted with anger before she grabbed Ashton by his jaw and slammed him against the wall forcefully. "Listen up, you dim-witted imbecile. Your sister is the one who messed with the wrong man who got Guzman killed. If you want to talk about blame, there's plenty to go around, but pin it on the person who actually committed the crime, not anyone else."

"Athena, let him go," I warned, but my words seemed to fall on deaf ears just like Eros who sauntered into the room casually.

"Ms. Estle, easy," Eros said.

Athena squeezed her fingers further around Ashton's jaw and dug her long nails deeper into his flesh. Surprisingly, Ashton didn't try to fight her off. "You don't want me as an enemy because I will make sure you never hear from the kids ever again, and we don't want that now, do we?"

Eros came forward and placed a gentle hand on the small of Athena's back. "I think he gets the point."

"Instead of talking, you and Mike tried asserting your dominance with the power of your cocks. Stupid men!" Athena let go of Ashton with force and took a step back to stand beside Eros who chuckled at her words. "You're not a little boy, so stop throwing hands like you're in high school. Grow up and learn to keep your hands and thoughts to yourself if you want to survive. And if you decide to raise a hand on Mike again, I'll break your arm like a twig."

          Ashton spat blood on the floor and didn't back down. "Fuck you, bitch."

          Before Athena could get a word in, Eros interjected and said, "Man, we're on your side here and you want it that way. Talking shit on impulse will get your ass whooped. And if you speak to Athena like that again, I'll forget that we're friends and rip your tongue out. I really wouldn't want to do that."

          "Man, fuck you too," Ashton blurted. "You think I give a fuck about you people?"

          I facepalmed internally before gripping my brother's arm. "Ashton, stop. You're the one making it worse now."

          He shot me a glare and jerked my hold off defensively. "Arie, shut up!"

          "And you." Athena ignored my brother and called on me. "Cry and put on a sob show for Mike if you want him to melt and not take the girl from you. Find him and talk to him after you fix your idiot of a brother up."

The couple turned and headed for the door hand in hand and stopped in front of Valentina who shook her head in utter confusion. "What girl? And what's going on?"

"Walk with me," Athena ordered and strutted away.

***

(Leo's POV)

          Dragging Mike into the first empty room I could locate, I slammed the door shut behind us and rammed him to the wall. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

          Mike pushed away my hand that held him still and glared viciously. "She fucking lied."

          "She lied about my son too, and?"

          "And I just got married!"

          "I'm married too, and?"

          Mike's green eyes grew narrower with anger before he shoved me back. "Man, fuck off!" Plopping down on the hospital bed helplessly, he brushed his fingers over his busted lip and grumbled like an animal.

          After releasing a sigh, I sat beside him and glanced at the window that looked out into the hallway. "You were biting my ears off with all the talk about giving Arie a chance to explain herself, to act rationally, and to put myself in her position before I took a drastic step in a fit of rage. And now you're the one losing your shit."

          "It's not the same thing," Mike spat, looking up at me. "Arie left you on her own accord, whereas Wendy was taken from me, presumed dead. She faked a fucking funeral."

          "Wendy has been in a coma ever since. What would you have done?"

          "Take care of her and my fucking child, that's what!" He whipped his head away and exhaled loudly. "I have lost years of her life."

          "So have I, and that too of both of my sons." I was still angry about being in the dark when it came to my kids, but they had been in good hands. I always knew Arie would make a great mother and she didn't disappoint. For that, I had to give her props.

          "You scared the girl when you yelled. Before it's too late, I suggest you better mend that. You don't want her to think of you as a monster as you did with your father."

          Mike shook his head, wiping the angry tear that swept down his cheek. "I can't do that right now. I'm too fucked in the head to talk to her. Seeing Wen alive and in that position feels too fucking surreal for me to even stomach. I don't even know how I'm gonna explain all this to Val."

          "Valentina is a good woman for you and has adapted well to our lifestyle, but I won't tell you what to do. All I'm gonna say is, don't fuck up your life over this," I advised as a friend then tried to relieve some stress off my shoulders with a long sigh. "Besides, I have my own shit to deal with."

          "Nonna?" he guessed.

          I nodded somberly. "The only good thing that came out of the confrontation with her is that I won't have to marry Rosalia as per her previous ultimatum. But it turns out, neither of my kids is legitimate to claim the title of the crown prince."

          "How's that possible?" Mike wondered. "Your kid from Verona should be legitimate."

          "The problem is that Verona was never crowned, so according to Nonna, the boy doesn't qualify."

          "But she was pushing for an heir when you married Verona?"

          "She was trying to use reverse psychology, and even if Verona wasn't kidnapped and gave birth in the hospital, Nonna would've made sure I was off the throne because of the child."

          My teeth gritted with vexation, thinking about all that Nonna was scheming. I grew up under her wing when Federigo became distant after losing Leona. When I came of age, she forced Federigo off the throne in hopes of having a king she could control—unlike my father—and rule the way she wanted, and that's exactly what I did. I didn't realize it then, but I was basically her puppet. The moment I fell for Verona, Nonna turned bitter and had it out for me when I decided to marry the woman against her strict orders. I was rapidly slipping out of her hand which didn't sit well with her.

          Now I knew she was looking for any reason to rip the crown off my head and place it on Gabriele who would honor her wishes like a dog. It would also revert the throne back to the Drago name from the Bonferroni which was something she always expressed openly. I didn't care about that, however, the entire situation with the kids left me vulnerable and in a position for her to manipulate.

"She showed Verona pictures of me in compromising positions with Rosalia from when she drugged me," I revealed a piece of what happened a few minutes ago as my fists tightened around the bed linen. "Verona was quiet the entire time and just listened to Nonna talk shit as usual. And the way she acted today..." I huffed. "There's a reason she was so scared to the extent of getting a panic attack after years. I have a gut feeling she knows something that I don't."

Mike snorted mockingly. "I wouldn't be surprised considering she didn't tell you about having the boy."

"I just need to get it out of her very soon because I have to crown her in the next few days to make the boy the crown prince, and I need everything on the table before that."

"And what about the other kid?"

"As per the rules, he has to be sent far away to a place he won't ever hear of me. Even I won't know what that place would be. A metropolitan city or a tiny village in a conflicted country, I don't know." I blew out a restless breath and straightened out my spine. "Arie won't ever let it happen. She'll fight tooth and nail and I'll be there right beside her. He's my blood and he won't be going anywhere without my knowledge."

Mike let out a scoff.

"What?"

"And Nonna won't kick you off the throne then?"

"Surprisingly, she is willing to let Verona be crowned if I send the younger kid away. She's playing a bigger game here and I'm going to humor her with the idea that I'm on board. Once Verona is crowned, Nonna's authority will be lessened so she won't have as much power anymore. I will be using that to my advantage. Then we'll see who wins this game."

A sudden knock sounded at the door followed by Arie's voice. "Can I come in?"

Anger erupted on Mike's face once again as he rose from the bed with the intention to hurt, but I pulled him back and called out, "Yes."

Arie opened the door and walked in timidly, her eyes set on Mike. "I know you're very angry with me."

"You have no idea," Mike retorted.

"It's justified, but just give me a chance to explain properly. I'll lay out everything for you."

Mike clicked his tongue whilst shaking his head. "Too late, Arie. You're too damn late."

Holding in a breath, Arie pursed her lips and lowered her gaze shamefully. "And my apology may never soothe what you're feeling, but I want you to know I told Ana everything about you and she has been dying to meet you."

"Maybe if you never hid this from me, I would've been in the girl's life from the beginning."

Arie peered up at the man through glossy eyes. "I promised to give Ana her mom and dad together, talking and walking, but..." Her voice broke in sadness which clenched my own heart, but she cleared her throat just enough to continue. "I'm pursuing neurology so that I can conduct research and do something for her. Anything at all."

"That doesn't fucking change anything, Arie!" Mike fumed, taking a domineering step in her direction. "I can never forgive you for keeping Wendy and the girl from me. If it was anyone else, I would've carved that person up myself and enjoyed every second of it."

Arie exhaled a defeated sigh, her eyes drowning in a pool of helplessness. "Fair enough." Her fingers brushed away the wretched tears that stained her cheeks before she pushed her shoulders back and rid her face of any emotions. "By the way, her name is not girl. It's Mariana. That's what Aunt Wendy wanted to name her, and if she likes you, she'll let you call her Ana."

With a tight-lipped smile of despair, she turned on her heel and exited the room without another word before I turned to the man beside me. "Well, you're more than welcome to curl up into a ball and cry like a little bitch while I go meet my kids and your little one."

After a glare my way, Mike took a few steps in the opposite direction with his hands running through his hair while I decided to leave the man alone and headed for the door where I was met with Valentina.

"Mr. Bonferroni," she gave me a brief smile then looked over my shoulder at her husband. "Can I have a word with him in private, please?"

"He's all yours." I stepped aside to let her into the room and closed the door for them before making my way down in the direction Arie went. I located her talking to a doctor by the nurses' station, a look of pure misery tackling her features.

"As his mother, I don't want to give you false hope especially after your recent loss. You should be prepared, Arie." The doctor took Arie's hands into his own sympathetically. "With his failing medication, his body is going through stress that his weak heart won't be able to handle. He's a rare case, as you know, and my team and I are doing everything we can."

"Are you sure you're doing everything?" I interrupted their conversation, coming up behind Arie and giving her back a brief rub to soothe her clearly frenzy nerves.

"Pardon?" The doctor cocked his brow and dropped Arie's hands, offended by my words.

Arie spared me a stern look then turned back to the man in the white lab coat. "Dr. Stanis, this is Alon's father, Leo."

Stanis extended a hand, but I gave it nothing but a conceited look. "I should thank you for all that you've done, but your incompetence is no longer required for my son's case. Have a good night."

Dismissing the man, I ushered Arie away with a hand on the small of her back. "What the fuck was that?" Arie muttered in a subdued tone to contain her frustration and not cause a scene as we continued walking down the hall.

"I have better doctors on the way as we speak. Their opinion is a must."

Arie abruptly stopped, forcing my attention to her with a tight hold on my wrist. "Dr. Stanis is the best in the field and has handled many cases like Alon's, so you can't come here and get new doctors who know nothing about Alon's case when I have reached out to the best doctors out there."

Removing her hold, I placed her hand back to her side and said, "You may have exhausted your limited resources, but not mine. Get the opinion of the doctors that are coming, and maybe, they can work with your doctor here. Sounds good?"

Arie gave me a hard look to stem her authority, but she complied. "Fine."

"Good." We resumed walking in the direction of my son's room. "How is his case rare?"

"Barth syndrome is rare in itself. It's an X-linked disorder which means it's passed down from the mother, but, as it turns out, I'm not a carrier of the condition, so the mutation occurred on its own which classifies it as much more rare." Her shoulders slumped a little as she let out a sigh. "I think it's why his meds aren't working as well."

"I see."

          Once we made it to Alon's hallway, we noticed Nonna reaching for the door handle to the boy's room. "Stop!" Arie immediately paced forward, placing herself between Nonna and the door. "You cannot go in there."

Nearing her eighties, Nonna was tall for her age and matched Arie's height. With the heels she wore, she easily towered over her, but Arie wasn't intimidated. "And why is that?"

"Because I said so."

"You heard her," Arie's idiotic brother chimed in to stand beside his sister. "You may be the president of Italy, but you ain't shit here. I'll throw you out of my hospital just like that if you overstep your boundaries which means you ain't going near my nephews or my niece. Imagine the headlines if someone takes a photo of you being kicked out of here. It won't be good for your royal reputation."

When I imagined Nonna to have her goons break Ashton's neck, she surprised me by letting her lips curl up into a menacing smile. "I admire your courage to talk to me like that. Not many have it." She patted his bruised cheek with a bit of force to inflict some pain. "You may be the one smiling right now, but I will be the one laughing very soon."

With a hard look at the Noelle twins, she walked toward me with her guards right behind her. "Sai cosa fare (You know what to do)." She tipped her head subtly before heading out.

"What did she say?" Arie asked immediately.

"She said that she sees a deadly accident in your brother's near future if he keeps running his mouth like that, and I happen to agree with her." Ashton narrowed his eyes at me but didn't say a word. "Can I meet my son now?"

Arie tried to keep her agitation intact and hissed, "Sanitize your hands first."

After using the hand sanitizer, Arie slowly opened the door and masked her pain behind a bright smile. "Hey, baby," she beamed and held the door open for me. "Someone is here to meet you."

"Who?" The little boy set down the TV remote beside him and finally let his big brown eyes fan over me. "Hello."

Numbness had my hands tingling and bursting into a sweat at the same time. My stomach suddenly felt empty but churning at the same time. Not out of disgust, but... I couldn't explain the feeling overpowering every organ in my body. It had me restless and beyond nervous which was unlike me. This feeling was something I hadn't dealt with before.

Arie cleared her throat, nudging me with her elbow to bring me back to the present. "Don't leave him hanging now."

"Yeah, I'm sorry." I swallowed down the unwanted lump and looked at the smiling boy once again. "Hi," was all I could muster up.

Arie scoffed audibly then turned to the lady in the room. "Tasha, take a break. I will call you when it's time to administer his medicine."

"Sure thing, Arie. He keeps picking at his IV again just so you know." The lady flashed the boy a smile before giving us all some privacy.

"Mamma, she lie," the boy pouted. "I don't do that."

"Auntie Tasha doesn't lie." Arie grabbed two rolling stools and kicked one in my direction. "You do."

I stopped the stool with my foot, unable to help the smirk that pulled on the corner of my mouth. "He takes after his mom on that one, doesn't he?"

Arie shot me a quick glare and spoke, "Baby, you remember the picture I showed you of your daddy? This is him. He just looks like an old man now."

I chuckled at her petty jab at me and sat on the stool, rolling closer to her and the bed.

"Old man? No," the boy answered meekly, keeping his curious gaze fixated on me.

"Ah! He's on my side already!"

Arie narrowed her eyes at me before rolling over to the other side of the bed, keeping her distance from me. "We'll see about that."

          "I am Alon," the boy eagerly introduced himself to me which put a smile on my face.

          "That's a great name. You know your mom named you after your grandfather?"

          Arie looked at me, not expecting to hear that. "You remember?"

          "I remember everything, and your dad's name is an easy one."

          Her attempt to hide a smile was a weak one as she looked back at our son. "Well, he has your name too. Alon Leonardo Noelle. Gave both boys your name, but I never imagined Lucian to be yours too."

          "And I never imagined becoming a father to two boys in one day either, but here we are." I released a sigh of tranquility that managed to soothe my nerves just a bit. "And I don't mind one bit."

          My gaze turned back to the boy whose smile didn't simmer one bit. He possessed Arie's radiant eyes that watched me with immense curiosity. In all honesty, I was overwhelmed and didn't know what to say to him. Dealing with the most dangerous criminals and assassins was a piece of cake for me, but it was quite hilarious how meek I was in front of a child. My child.

          "Can I ask you something?" Alon laid out the question timidly, turning his head a little more on the pillow to look at me properly.

          "Anything you want."

          "Why do you sound funny?"

          Arie and I couldn't help but laugh at his question. "That is because I spent a lot of my early years in this place called England where people sound a bit different."

          "Ohhhhhhhhhh," he dragged the word with a hint of fascination.

          I scooted closer to him on the stool and adjusted my tone to a gentle one. "Have you ever been out of California?"

          He shook his head vigorously. "I have only been home and here. Mamma says, when I get better, she will take me to Disneyland like Ana and Luci."

          "How about this..." I placed my arm on his bed and slouched over a bit. "I have my own castle in Italy where I was born. I will take you there soon."

          "A real castle?" Alon beamed. "Like a king?"

          "Exactly like a king."

          The big smile on my face felt unbelievably foreign considering the turmoil my brain and soul had been in for the past few weeks. This innocent, pure boy made me forget all the pain I was in and the fire consuming the world around me. His presence blocked out all the bad looming over us.

          "You're the prince of the castle, and when you grow up, you will rule with your brother and become the greatest kings together. Better than the ones at Disneyland."

          "Yay!" His chirpy voice and toothy smile spoke of his excitement. "Can we go there soon? I don't wanna stay here anymore."

          "I promise I will get you out of here very soon."

          Lifting his little finger, he looked at me as if he was talking business. "Pinky promise?"

          Reluctant for a second, I looked at Arie for the approval to touch him. I didn't want to worsen his condition. His sickness was clear. He was small compared to Mike's girl considering they were the same age. Despite all that, he was still a beautiful kid.

          After receiving a nod from Arie, I went ahead and wrapped my pinky around his tiny one. "I always keep my promises."

          "Same!" He grinned. "Do you promise to stay too?"

          "I will always be by your side," I vowed with all my heart and with every intention to maintain that promise as his father. "Forever."

          "Till my last beth?" he asked, taking me by a surprise with that sentence.

          My eyes found Arie's misty ones instantly who let a soft smile linger on her face. "I had to teach him our thing."

          "Our thing," I repeated with a hint of sadness, knowing that I could never fulfill that promise with her. Turning back to my son, I grasped his hand properly and gave it a quick peck. "Till my last breath."

          Arie reached over and hesitantly placed her shaky hand over ours, whispering, "Till my last breath." A tear slipped down her cheek as she watched our happy son. "I love you more than anything, you know that, right?"

          "I'm your favorite?" Alon smiled cheekily, forcing a chuckle out of us.

          Our attention was quickly pulled to the door that opened and let in the other kids with Wendy's doctor friend. Arie immediately wiped her tear away before giving the kids a smile.

          The kids immediately took shelter behind the doctor when they saw me, but the boy peeked at Arie and frowned. "Why are you crying, mamma?"

          "I'm not, baby." She held her hands out, asking the kids to come out of their "not-so-discrete" hiding.

          The boy narrowed his tiny blue eyes at me, and without fear, he paced in my direction to kick me in the shin. "You made my mamma cry!"

          I tried to stifle my laughter at his bravery before Arie jumped off her stool and dragged him away. "That's not nice, Lucian. Say sorry."

          The boy stuck his tongue out at me, refusing to apologize as Mike's girl ran over to Arie and gripped the hem of her shirt. Arie seated herself back on the stool and propped the girl on her lap while the boy stood in front of her, staring me down.

          "I will let you all have your moment. I have a surgery to prepare for." The doctor excused herself and waved at the kids before leaving.

          "Is he always this violent?" I couldn't help but ask as I studied his features. His nose resembled Verona's, but the anger scrunching it matched mine.

          "No. He's a mamma's boy like you. He's just very protective of us," Arie chuckled as I spared her a glower. "Ashton has been on the end of that kick far too many times."

          "He probably deserved it," I blurted.

          "Oh, he did," Arie giggled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Luci, you know who that is?"

          "Big bad wolf!" the boy quipped.

          "I thought that label died after your therapy sessions with Ray."

          Arie snorted. "Never. These kids became my personal therapists. Ana gives the best advice like Aunt Wendy."

          "Yes!" Mariana chirped then nestled her face back into Arie's chest.

          "Anyway, that is the big bad wolf, but he is someone else too."

          "He's our daddy!" Alon declared excitedly.

"No!" The boy shook his head, refusing to acknowledge the truth. He looked up at Arie and stated, "You're my mamma and dadda. That's what you said."

"I am," Arie reassured him, turning him to face me again. "But he's your dadda too."

"And he has a castle too," Alon wiggled his brows and caught the girl's attention.

"Really? Can I be the princess?" Mariana jumped up in Arie's lap, thrilled with the idea before she glanced at me and whispered in Arie's ear.

"It's okay. I don't like him either," Arie smirked.

I rolled my eyes at the girls in return. "That's fine. I have my boy on my side." I gave Alon a quick high-five and rubbed it in their faces like a child.

Ana wasn't a fan of the arrangement and it was evident in the adorable little scowl she awarded me. "Fucky bitch!" The profanity that left her mouth had me in hysterics while the others gasped.

"Ana, no!" Arie shrieked.

***

A couple of hours passed. Arie had put the kids to sleep in a room together while the rest of us still roamed around the hospital. Athena kept Verona company while Arie and I sat in the conference room talking about the kids. She filled me in on the few milestones in my sons' lives. Mariana wasn't a fan of me and neither was Lucian, but he was slowly growing cozier with the idea of me being his father. However, he didn't like the fact that I copied his name... The irony!

          "Whew! Dr. God must be loaded. He's very famous in every hospital I go to," Vince remarked as he came to a halt at the door.

          I should've ripped his head off for interrupting, but he was too essential for me to kill just yet. "What do you want?"

          "Pavlov's sister tried escaping back in New York, but the men got her under control. And also, principessa is trying to reach you for a while now."

          "Tell Lina I'll get back to her tomorrow, and inform Federigo that things are being handled. He should get back to mother," I ordered the man who immediately left to get the job done.

"How's Amelia holding up?" Arie asked.

"She's a wreck," I sighed somberly. "I haven't spoken to her after that day at the hospital. I heard she barely eats and talks. She's devastated and is still mourning Wren."

"Have you mourned him?"

I shook my head. "I don't have the time to mourn."

"Leo, don't bottle it up inside as you did with Verona. It's okay to cry."

It was already bottled up and I wasn't ready to open it and let all the grief strangle me. It was a curse to be in my position where one problem after another kept coming, leaving me with no time to even breathe.

Rushed footsteps skated down the hall outside the door. Nurses and doctors paced hurriedly, alerting the both of us. We both walked out into the hall and saw the medical professionals filling Alon's room.

"Oh, no," Arie mumbled before running toward the room with me right behind her.

Nurses moved around the room quickly as they set up the machine to shock Alon who was out cold and limp. Arie's hand intertwined with mine tightly as we both watched it all unfold. The doctors shocked him again and again, but the fear on their faces didn't calm me, and the tighter Arie's grip got, the more my heart fell.

Karma wasn't kind to a man like me, but life couldn't be that cruel to take my son away from me just hours after I met him. It already snatched my brother away and now my son was the target which I couldn't allow, but what could I do when the doctors themselves lost hope and looked at Arie with pity.

Everyone fell silent, even the traffic outside didn't make a noise. All I heard was the pieces of my heart falling to the floor and the release of the breath Arie held. Her hand loosened its grip around mine as she trudged forward with feet that dragged across the floor.

"I got this. You all may leave." The pain in her voice was tangible, but she surprisingly kept her tone straight. I could feel her heart breaking with each second that wretchedly passed and it managed to crush the pieces of mine.

The hospital personnel walked out respectfully, allowing me to walk further into the room and see my dead son lying still. Just hours ago he was laughing with me, and now... he was nothing but a lifeless body.

Arie slowly removed the IVs from his arms. Her hands trembled as she finally allowed herself to fully touch him. Cradling him in her arms, she sauntered to the corner and crumbled to the floor helplessly. A sob shook her entirely as it crawled out of her throat and broke my tough exterior itself.

"My baby," she cried, squeezing him against her chest. "No..."

          My mind was in pieces along with my heart and soul. I hadn't known him for long, but the pain of losing a child still clawed at me brutally. My blood was running cold, the contents in my stomach churning as if I was being grated against a sandpaper. The pain wasn't only emotional, it was leaving physical residue in its wake and it wasn't ending soon.

          Arie peppered kisses over Alon's face, her tears soaking him. "Mamma's sorry, baby." She pinned her forehead down to his, wailing, "My baby."

          With the mere ounce of energy left in me, I walked closer and dropped to my knees in front of her. Her crimson eyes found me agonizingly as she continued hyperventilating.

          "Leo," she wept, letting her head fall on my chest.

          My arms wrapped around them as a tear dripped down my cheek and dissolved in her hair. "I-I'm so sorry, love."

          Another loss and another broken promise was all I was left with again.

———————————————————

You may hate me even more now. I get it. If you wanna stop this depressing ass story, you may do that now. Just don't post hurtful comments cuz I'm already stress with school and I don't need comments that make me feel shittier.

Characters gotta hit rock bottom before they can bounce up, and if you can't handle death, stop reading cuz not everyone can survive this world. This isn't a book about rainbows and sunshine. If you want that, there are plenty out there, but not this one.

It's late night. Almost 5 am so I basically have an exam today that I only studied an hour for cuz I wanted to complete this update for you guys. Wish me luck ❤️

Who would've thought Athena to know everything and not tell anyone?

Will Mike ever forgive Athena and Arie?

How will the interaction between sassy little Ana and her daddy go?

Why is Marsilia willing to crown Verona all of a sudden?

What's gonna happen after this major loss for Leo, but mostly Arie?

Thoughts on Verona?

Leo?

Or Arie?

Further comments and questions are always welcome ❤️

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Much love ❤️
~Reet