A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Matteo

My lips curved up into a smile at the text I received from my wife even though it was short and simple. It simply said: Be hungry because I'm making dinner. It was making me excited to go home because I couldn't wait to see the meal she was making for me. I kept glancing at my wristwatch every few minutes to see if the time was moving any faster. My mind wasn't focused on the meeting. All I could think about was going home. Alena had become an important part of my life while I had expected something different.

She managed to steal my heart from the moment her eyes met mine. Maybe, it was her intoxicating kiss, but I stopped thinking about it when my heart began to beat fast whenever I saw her.

I knew instantly about my feelings and there was no use in denying it any longer.

Angelo was sitting in the meeting room, occasionally glancing at my direction as if wanting to check on me. He knew whenever I was losing my focus, something I was doing more often now because my mind was always on Alena. Alena.

Besides, today was my birthday and I was excited to celebrate it with her.

managed to

I to give my presentation as accurately as I could after going through the details, and I didn't realize Alena had called me a couple of times. My phone was on silent, and I didn't think it was anything important, she maybe wanted me to come home quick. She was as excited as I was. When work was done, I drove home as fast as I could.

When I saw her car parked outside, I knew she was already home as well. I pressed my thumb on the scanner before pushing the door open and stepping inside, seeing Alena standing still in her spot as she stared at something.

I smiled as soon as I saw her, grabbing her arm before leaning in to kiss her lips.

"I missed you, baby."

Alena didn't say anything else as her eyes watered. She wasn't being her usual self again and it confused me-her hands were trembling, and her skin was slightly cold.

....

"Mas wrong? Are you in pain?"

"What's

She shook her head, turning to look at something behind me.

eyes weren't any different

I followed her gaze with a frown, seeing someone sitting on the sofa. The exact same light blue than they were five years ago. The same blue eyes that had me fallen in love all over again when we were married.

It was Sofia.

It was my dead wife. I couldn't let go of Alena's hand because I wanted to get a grip of reality. There was no way in hell Sofia was standing in front of me when we had buried her five years ago. All of the pain, all of the tears and the heartbreaks, Lwent through it all and 08:26 Thu, Oct

they were too clear to forget.

How

could I she be standing here, alive?

Her hair was slightly messy and there were a few smudges of dust on her face, but I could recognize her immediately. She was once the love of my life-she was still the love of my life until I fell in love with Alena.

NOW, I

I was stuck. I was feeling the same heartbreak all over again

"Matteo, it's me." Sofia said, her lips slightly curved up into a smile.

Just

as I

I was about to say something, she didn't give me the time to react as she ran to wrap her arms around my body. My eyes widened at her sudden gesture, but I couldn't simply push her away. I left my hands hanging until she finally pulled herself away. "Are you not happy to see me?" She asked, frowning.

I blinked a few times, trying to control my breathing.

"How

s possible? You were dead."

how

is this

"Well, I'm not. I'm here."

"I need to call Angelo. Can you please wait in the living room?" Sofia's eyes were looking at Alena after looking at me and she began to realize there was another woman in my life. I didn't understand how any of this was possible; how she was standing in front of me when it was clear five years ago, she was gone. Even if she was alive before, why now?

She glanced down at my fingers as I reached out to call for Angelo. I wanted him here to take care of Alena as I was settling things with Sofia-there was a lot of investigations needed to solve this.

"Did you remarry?" She asked, continuing to look at my wedding band.

"Can you

please wait in the living room, Sofia?"

She kept quiet for a few seconds as she hesitated, but she walked away, heading to sit back on the sofa in the living room.

Alena, on the other hand, stayed still beside me. Her eyes were red and teary as I cupped onto her face, grabbing her hand until we were in the kitchen. She started to cry, and the tears were streaming down her cheeks as she pulled me in for a hug. She was in shock.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. Did she do anything to you?"

"No. I got home, and I heard noises. Then I saw her in your room."

"What was she doing in our room?"

"I don't know. I didn't see anything, but she came out as soon as she heard me calling for you. I thought it was you, Matteo."

"I'm going to call Angelo."

I quickly called Angelo, asking him to come over with a couple of men.

had

Had

Alena was starting to trust me again and when this happened, it was becoming hard for her, but this was a shock for me, too. Sofia was dead. She was dead and I was aching for her. It was not possible for her to be here and alive unless something happened, and she wasn't really dead.

I continued to hug Alerra, rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry, baby."Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

She shook her head before sniffing, "I thought she was dead."

"I thought the same thing. I'm going to investigate things further, okay? You don't have to worry about anything."

I leaned in to kiss her on the lips, trying to give her my strength. Once she was feeling slightly better, we walked back to the living room, hand in hand. She was staying close to me because wanted her by my side, needing her to know I wanted her here. Sofia was sitting quietly on the sofa as she watched us, her eyes glancing down at our hands, but she didn't say a single word.

There was sadness in her eyes when Alena and I sat on the opposite direction from her. She expected something different. She expected me to go into her arms, but she was wrong. This was becoming a different story and I needed to take precautions. "Can you start by telling me what happened?"

"Did you remarry, Matteo?"

Our eyes met and I nodded, "Yes."

"I thought you were going to wait for me."

"You were dead, Sofia. I mourned you for five years, for god's sake. I cried and cried every single night because you weren't there. You never left my mind but if I kept waiting for you, what was I going to get? You were gone, you were dead." I shook my head. "So, you're in love with her?" wife."

"She's my

"I'm your wife,"

"No, the Sofia I knew passed away. Until I figure the hell out why you're here, I can trust you."

Sofia leaned back on her seat, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. "They did it, Matteo. They faked my death to get to you. They thought they could crush and end you,"

"Who are they?"

"I can't tell... I never knew."

"So, you're saying you were kidnapped?"

She nodded her head, "They faked the accident because they wanted me to tell them everything about you. They said they were going to let me go after five years. I could be free earlier if I told them the things, they wanted to know but I didn't. I could never hurt you," "You knew nothing about the mafia," "Exactly, I couldn't tell them anything if I wanted to."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as the headache began to kick in. We were talking about our enemies, and we couldn't even tell which one. I had a lot of enemies trailing my back and waiting for the right time to attack-it wasn't anything new.

"You didn't try to escape?" Lasked, looking down at her wrists.

They were slightly red with marks but when she saw me staring, she hid them under her sleeves.

"I was weak."

Angelo and a few of my men stepped inside, straight into the living room. Their eyes widened as soon as they saw Sofia- they couldn't believe who they were seeing either. She was alive and she was acting the same way she did years ago. She was the same person. It was starting to play tricks with my mind. "I think we should talk but not today. Angelo will take you to a hotel and one of my men will guard you. If there's anything, you go through them, and they'll reach me. You should rest and we can talk tomorrow."

"I can stay where, Matteo. I don't need I to stay

at a hotel."

"I think it's best if you stay at a hotel, Sofia."

Her smile faltered as she tried to control her emotions. She didn't try to fight as she nodded her head, walking to Angelo as they took her away. They left in the same black SUV, leaving Alena and I to ourselves. Alena immediately wrapped her arms around my neck, snuggling close.

I couldn't help but pull her closer towards me, as if there were any distance left. She was waiting patiently as she watched the whole thing-she was confused, but she knew I was as confused as her.

"Are we in

in danger, Matteo?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"No, baby. You don't have to worry about anything. I'll figure it out,"

"I'm worried

I about you. What if anything happens to you?"

"Nothing will happen to me. I promise you, Alena because I'm going to take care of you. I need to take good care of you and in order to do that, I have to be well."

I ran my fingers through her hair before cupping her face, staring straight into her green eyes before leaning in to kiss her lips. They were soft and wet as if they were waiting for mine.

I never hated Sofia. That was insane of me to hate her. In my memory, she passed away and I had mourned her while I tried to move on. When Alena came into my life, I wanted a fresh start without forgetting Sofia. Alena knew that, too.

I visited Sofia's grave many times, but it was starting to hurt me because I realized she wasn't there all along.

"I'm sorry I couldn't surprise you for your birthday," she replied softly.

Well, things did take another direction and I was surprised with something different, but I wanted to spend the rest of the night with my wife, my Alena regardless of what happened earlier.

We could think about it tomorrow.

we cou

For tonight, I was going to focus on Alena.

"Your presence is enough, Alena. Besides, I can help you cook now that I'm home. Then, we can choose a movie to watch but not until we take a shower together." I smirked, caressing her face.

"I think you're only looking forward to the showering together part."

08:27

Thu,

Oct

"You caught me."

She

both laughed and I couldn't help but kissed the back of her Hands. I was grateful for her, more than I could express. There was nothing in this world that could replace her.

was becoming my everything.

"Happy birthday, my husband."

My eyebrows raised at the word 'husband' before smiling widely "Say it again." "Say what?

"I love hearing you call me your husband,"

"Happy birthday, my dear husband. May all your dreams and wishes come true."

immediately kissed her lips passionately, wanting to taste every inch of her. She was the definition of perfection and when her lips curved up, it was enough to tease me. This woman was going to be death of me, and she didn't even know that yet. "Oh, are they?"

y're coming true, now." I muttered.

all

"Mm, because let's start by making that baby."

Alena laughed loudly as I leaned in to kiss her neck, trying to unbutton her shirt. She pretended to push me away as she was ticklish, but she gave in to my touches. Maybe, it was showering together and making love. Then, we were going to cook together and choose a

movie.

While we were going to watch a movie, maybe we were going to have another love making session. I wanted an endless session of making love to her.

Besides, I couldn't wait to see her pregnant.

It was going to take a lot of effort.