A N D R E A

The reports of the DNA test had only confirmed that Riccardo and Vittoria were Lorenzo's, not that I needed the reassurance, but I knew Lorenzo did. I didn't blame him for asking for the test; however, it was heartbreaking that it'd come to that. Alex was playing with the twins in the room now that I'd bathed and dressed them while I took a shower because there was no way showering two babies came without a whole lot of mess. Alex had told me that she'd take us to see Lorenzo once we were ready. And the thought of seeing him after all these months had a shiver passing through my spine.

I sighed, looking at my healing bruises in the mirror as I splashed cold water on my face to calm my fraying nerves. Removing the hair tie from my hair, I watched as they fell over my shoulder and ran my fingers through them to brush them before I had to leave. It was calming to know that Carlo couldn't hunt me down anymore. However , whenever I thought of him, I remembered how I'd killed him. All that blood–Carlo's blood–had been a constant presence in my nightmares, and while his ghost always found me in my sleep, so far, I'd been successful at ignoring the tormenting memories when awake.

Shaking the thoughts away, I turned the doorknob and stepped out, thankful for the reprieve the twins' baby gurgles offered me. Alex cooed at them, making funny faces, and both of them giggled, their tiny front teeth showing; and if I had a phone on me, I would have caught it on camera because they looked so adorable.

Riccardo fell back while laughing, and his laughter stopped for a minute as his eyes widened before his lips turned down, and I feared he might be about to cry. Tori stopped giggling and focused on Riccardo, chewing on her fist. Alex eyed them cautiously, her fingers caressing Tori's head, who was now looking at Alex, cooing again. Apparently, Riccardo had enough of not getting any attention, so when he squeezed his eyes shut, his face twisting like he was about to cry so I rushed to him and took him in my arms, pressing my lips against his chubby cheeks, smiling at Tori. He finally opened his eyes, and smiled, the tiny little dimple on one of his cheeks making its appearance. It was almost like his little smile had put all my nerves to rest as I focused on my babies, finally happy without a sword hanging over their heads.

"I know I've said it before, but it's freaky how much they both look like Renzo," Alex marveled, caressing Tori's cheek, and I felt a phantom seize my heart as I whispered,

"I know,"

I ran my tongue over my lips, "Do you think he'll hate them?"

Alexandra looked at me from the corner of her eye before sighing, "I shouldn't tell you what I think," I dropped her gaze, focusing on Riccardo in my arms, "but I don't want you to worry. I don't know how he'll treat you, but he will treat the twins with the love they deserve. It may take him some time to get comfortable with the idea of being a father, though."

I nodded, understanding what she meant, and leaned down to pick up my bag for the twins.

"Can I hold her?" Alex asked, and I nodded as she reached for Tori and picked her up in her arms. "Are you ready to go?"

"No," I answered honestly, "But it's been a long time coming,"

Alex turned around to leave, and she had almost opened the door again before she turned around to face me, "No one knows you shot him, well, except Renzo and me. And he wants to keep it that way, so if anyone asks, you say one of them was Carlo, and you didn't see the other one."

So many questions ran rampant in my mind after that; however, I knew Alex wasn't the one I should be asking them from, so I bit my tongue and nodded as she led me out of the hotel into her car waiting by the curb.

My ballet flats clicked against the white tiles of the hospital as I followed Alex, holding Riccardo in my arms, who was busy poking the neckline of my dress, a curious gleam in his eyes. Except even that wasn't enough to center the mosaic that was my scattered thoughts as I became aware of my sharp breaths and the pounding inside my chest. It was becoming too easy to lose myself in this endless spiral of what ifs. I'd gone through countless scenarios, trying to imagine Lorenzo's reaction, but that was the thing about imagination. It could create phantoms massive enough to consume, and so far, I'd been going a marvelous job of drowning.

A hand nudged my arm, and I blinked, shaking my head as I turned towards Alex,

"You were saying something?"

"You look pale, Andrea." Alex's voice softened, "When's the last time you ate something?"

My brows furrowed at her question, unable to remember when I'd last had a full meal without throwing it up right after. Maybe it was before I'd killed Carlo.

Understanding washed over Alex's face, and she smiled softly, "I'll get you something to eat once you've talked to Renzo."

Unable to form words, I nodded and followed her out of the elevator. It didn't take long to notice the men in black suits with their hands clasped in front of them. I looked at Alex and arched a brow,

"We couldn't risk anything. They don't stay here all day long. Renzo doesn't want his men to see him weak." My heart clenched inside my chest, and I swallowed, stopping beside Alex outside the door to what I was sure was Lorenzo's room.

I took a step forward, but Alex stopped me with her hand on my arm, "I think you should go alone right now. Also, Zia might be inside with him, so don't say too much." I nodded, looking around for people who could hold Riccardo. Alex sat at one of the chairs at the other end of the corridor, holding Tori in her lap.

"You can leave him with me," she patted her other thigh, and I nodded, leaving Riccardo with Alex, who got fussy the moment he realized I wasn't holding him anymore. I hesitated, and Alex faced me again, "Don't worry, I'll handle it. Go now."

Closing my eyes as I tried to focus on her encouraging smile, I exhaled, opened my eyes again, and took a step forward, my nails digging into my palm. My fingers closed around the cold metal doorknob, and with all the might inside me, I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, peering inside.

Almost like gravity had beckoned me to him, my eyes sought out his, and the ice in them shouldn't have startled me or pushed me. I didn't realize I'd practically dashed to his bedside and crashed my lips against his.

When Lorenzo had kissed me in the past, he'd been teetering on the edge of his control, hanging onto it by a thin thread, but now, the hand he'd moved to rest on my cheek almost seemed mechanical, and he never kissed me back. I remembered his kisses to be filled with primal desire and passion that lit up my insides, and while my insides still tingled, it became awfully clear he was merely letting me press my lips against his. It was in that moment that it truly dawned on me how much he had truly lowered his fences for me, and now because of my mistakes, his armor was back up and impenetrable.

It didn't take me long to realize that Lorenzo was a man whose attention was like a drop of rain in a never-ending desert. And I knew it like the back of my hand that he'd make me crave the attention he'd let me have so quickly in the past. His callousness could kill, and I feared that now I wasn't up against just Lorenzo. I was up against Lorenzo Santini, and he was a cold bastard.

The door clicked shut as Lorenzo's mother left us alone, and the moment we were alone, he turned his lips away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as if he couldn't get rid of my taste soon enough.

I blinked away my tears and tried pulling back when Lorenzo's hand shot out, and he wrapped his fingers around my wrist, forcing me to sit at the edge of his bed. I swallowed as the silence stretched between us. I looked at my wrist, where his fingers were still wrapped around my wrist, and faced him again. His hair was longer and no longer perfectly styled. The curls were more apparent now that his hair had outgrown. A beard darkened his jaw, and my core clenched as his handsomeness hit me the way it hard when I'd first seen him waiting for me across the altar, and it sank into the marrow of my bones.

"Loren–"

I began, but he cut me off, "Talk." Lorenzo said, his voice so low that it had goosebumps rising on my skin, and I blinked the haze of desire away.

His voice was heavy from disuse, and I turned my gaze away, the burden of my mistakes becoming too heavy now that they were looking me in the eye.

"Will you believe anything I'll say?"

"I don't believe you've earned the right to ask questions, Andrea." He rubbed his beard with his free hand, "now talk. And don't make me ask again."

The abrasiveness in his tone had the hairs at the back of my neck standing, and I swallowed, preparing myself to tell him everything. Too shaken up to look at him while I narrated everything that had happened with Carlo from the very first time he'd found me when we'd gone to the gala. Once I finished, I looked at him from underneath my eyelashes, surprised to find there was not a sign of any emotion on his face.

"So, you've been distracting me with your cunt to protect him."

I cringed, and his eyes narrowed before something dark crossed his face for a fraction of a second, and then there was nothing.

"That is not what I was doing. I–"

It was almost on the tip of my tongue to confess what I really felt for him; however, I wasn't sure he wouldn't throw my feelings in my face, so I bit my tongue and looked away.

"Finish that sentence."

"I meant to tell you about Carlo, but he knew about your allergy and my pregnancy, and I panicked. I–"

"You never thought to ask me if I truly was allergic to it?"

My eyes widened, "Are you not?"

He shook his head, his lips turning into a scowl, "He played you like a fucking fool, and you let him near my children."

It was the first time he'd brought up the twins, and despite the harsh nature of the conversation, my heart swelled with happiness.

"I killed Carlo, so he should be irrelevant."

"So you've said before."

"You don't believe me." This time it wasn't even a question. I knew he doubted me like he did everyone else.

"I have a scar on my chest as a reminder of your deceit."

"I hadn't meant to betray you."

"Irrevlant." He gritted out just as the doorknob moved, and before I could look over my shoulder to check, Lorenzo had his hand at the back of my neck, bringing our faces closer together. Vittoria's voice made me realize my husband was putting on a show for his family. He was way too good at pretending he gave a flying fuck about me, and if I didn't know this was all a part of his masterfully crafted game, I would've genuinely thought he cared for me.

"I didn't mean to disturb you kids, but Riccardo was getting restless," Vittoria came in with an apologetic smile, a crying Riccardo in her arms, who quietened the moment his eyes landed on me and stretched his arms for me.

I chanced a glance at Lorenzo, who was studying our son, as I went to take him for Vittoria and kissed his cheeks before wiping away his tears with my fingers. Vittoria went out and came back with Tori, who she left on Lorenzo's arm before leaving the room.

"They're yours," I found myself saying the moment the door was closed.

He looked at me, a strand of hair falling over his brow, "I know."

He looked back at Tori, a tiny smile on his face when she cooed, holding one of his fingers between her tiny fist. I brought Riccardo closer to him and set him in Lorenzo's lap as well. Riccardo looked at Lorenzo curiously but took his other finger when he extended his hand towards him. It was the first time I'd glimpsed something besides the ice in his gaze, and while I was ecstatic he was taking the twins well, there was also a pang inside my chest as my heart made its misery known.

Lorenzo let the twins play with his fingers and faced me again, "Because you are the mother of my children and my wife," He said the last bit with venom, "you are safe from me and my family, though they don't know the extent of your betrayal. That is all there is to it. Don't entertain any delusions; I haven't left you alive for no other reason, and the twins are the only reason I'll pretend."

"Pretend?"

"I'll pretend I care for you, but behind closed doors. All bets are off."

* * *

And  I can't tell you how much giddy I was writing this chapter!

I know this is vastly different from the previous version, but as I told you this time, I'm listening to Lorenzo and Andrea and they're leading me through their story. I still hope that you all liked it though!

Sooo any theories? Thoughts?

Thank you for reading! I genuinely appreciate every one of you! Please don't forget to vote and comment!