I wake up with a beautiful smile on my face because of the good night's sleep I had. With my due date close and my stomach so big, it's getting hard to get any good sleep these days, but I was lucky last night.
I feel Stefano's hands go around my waist. He pulls me closer to him. He does not open his eyes and buries his nose in my neck.
"Morning," I say.
"Good morning, luce del sole. How was your night?" Stefano asks, removing his head from my neck.
"Not bad"
"That's good to hear, and what time are you leaving?" He asks, using his left hand to rub my stomach, which has his wedding ring on it.
It's been two months since Stefano and I got married, yes got married. Stefano and I got married a month after our trip to his family's private island. He actually planned to propose during the trip, but my custom-made engagement ring was not ready until we returned. My ring is a rose gold marquise diamond ring. He proposed a week after we got back, and we got married two months later. We had a small wedding with family and close friends. It was safer if people did not know I was pregnant, and even if I was not pregnant, I would still have had a small wedding.
"I will be leaving in an hour. Aurora would be here to pick me up soon," I say, standing up from the bed.
Aurora has started preparing for her wedding that is coming up in a few months. We are going to look at a few wedding dresses today.
"Alright, do you want to shower with me?" Stefano asks because my mood these days is not the best. I know he wants a little morning sex with me.
"I woke up horny today," I say, smiling. I woke up horny today, and I know it's because of the good night's sleep I had. Sometimes I wake up very angry and treat Stefano horribly the whole day. I always feel bad for the way I treat him once I cool down.
"Good because I am ready to please you till you can't scream my name anymore," Stefano says with lust-filled in his eyes. I can't believe with the way my belly is so big, he is still attracted to me.
They were times my mood would shift to me being over conscious of my body. Stefano always made me feel like I was still beautiful even though I was pregnant and probably twice my average size.
After a well-pleasing shower with Stefano, we eat breakfast before Aurora arrives. She drives us to the wedding dress shop.
We walk inside once we arrive and join her mom and Emily, who are already waiting inside. I don't think Aurora is coming from the house since she and her mom came separately.
"I can't believe you are getting married soon," I say, as Aurora comes out of the changing room with a wedding gown on.
"Me too, my baby girl is all grown up," Katherine says, smiling as she admires Aurora in the wedding dress.
"Even I can't believe it," Aurora says, and she does not sound like a bride who is excited to be getting married soon, and I know why.
Aurora does not love her husband to be, and as much as I wish I could do something to stop the wedding, I can't. Aurora has already signed the contract, so she has to marry that monster.
"You look beautiful, Aurora," Emily says
"Thank you," Aurora replies with a fake smile but quickly tries to make it look natural. She does not want her mom to see it and wonder what's wrong.
"Emily, how are things back home and at the office," I ask.
I moved to Italy once I got married. I wish I didn't have to, but Stefano is Don of his family's mafia, and it would be unfair of me to ask him to move to the states instead. I am enjoying my life in Sicily, and even though I had to quit my job back home, I am not jobless. I became a full-time writer, and I love it more than working in an office. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job, but writing and knowing people love your work is an amazing feeling. I miss my family, but I still see them once in a while.
Emily is here to get fitted into her bridesmaid dress and came with Santiago. They are going strong, and I have my fingers crossed about them getting married in a few years.
"Turn arrrrrrrrrrrrrr………" I scream as a shooting pain suddenly hits me.
"What's wrong, Andrea? Did something happen to the baby?" Katherine asks, rushing to my side
"I think my water broke," I say as I feel liquid pouring down my leg.
"Oh my God, we need to get you to the hospital," Aurora says, panicking
"I will call Stefano to let him know," Emily says and quickly starts dialing his number on her phone.
Stefano was in his torture room beating the hell out of one of the idiots that thought they could mess with the Costanzo mafia and get away with it when his brother bursts into the room.
"What happened to Andrea," He asks the second he sees the worried look on his brother's face. He left his phone with his brother so he wouldn't be disturbed while he tortured the life out of the fool in front of him. His brother must have received a call from Andrea.
"Her water just broke; they are already on their way to the hospital."
"Oh my God, is she fine? How is the baby?" Stefano asks, panicking. Her due date is next two weeks. He hopes nothing is wrong that her water broke two weeks earlier.
"The person on the phone said they are both doing fine."
"How far apart are her contractions," Stefano asks as he walks over to the sink in the room to wash his bloody hands. Since Andrea got pregnant, he started reading books about babies when he had the time. He also listened when the doctors talked to her about the pregnancy. He was deeply involved with everything related to his child, his first one to top it off.
"They knew you were going to ask that and told me to tell you 8 minutes apart."
"Oh my God, I am having a baby, Thomas," Stefano says with joy-filled in his eyes. He cleans his wet hands on the towel Thomas provides him with, and while he is about to walk out, his brother stops him when he speaks.
"Yes, you are going to be a father soon, and I know this is not the right time, but what should I do with him," Thomas asks about the man looking almost dead in the chair.
"I am going to be a father today, so give him good food and enough water. Today is the birth of my first child and not a day for someone to die," Stefano says, smiling as he walks out of the room.
"You are one lucky bastard," Thomas says to the man on the chair.
"Where the hell is Stefano" Andrea screams as another excruciating pain passes through her womb.
"I am here, my love," Stefano says, walking over to stand beside her.
"What took you so long?" Andrea asks as she tries to hold back her tears from falling. The pain is so much that she does not even understand how they are billions of people in this world if this is what almost every woman goes through to bring someone into the world.
"I am so sorry I am just arriving, mi amore," Stefano says, cleaning the sweat on Andrea's forehead with his handkerchief. He takes her hand in his. "How far apart are they now?" He asks
"Two minutes apart," Katherine says and continues to help her daughter-in-law with her breathing exercise.
"We are getting closer" Stefano is feeling excited as the time to hold his first child is getting closer.
"Thank you for staying with me, Katherine" Andrea is grateful Katherine is here to help her through this difficult process. She wishes her mom was here too. "And why do you look happy Stefano, is my pain bringing you joy" Andrea snaps at Stefano
"No, I am just happy our baby would be here soon" Stefano knows his wife did not mean to snap at him. The pain she is going through makes her cranky.
"Better because you are the reason I am in this situation right now."
"Me?" Stefano asks, confused with how it is his fault.
"You are the one who got me knocked up," Andrea says angrily
Stefano did not know how to respond to that. He got his wife pregnant by mistake, but he knows very well she is excited to have his baby. He is sure it's the pain that makes her sound like she is not happy to have the baby.
"I love you, and everything is going to be over soon," Stefano says, trying to calm his raging wife down.
After screaming and cursing at Stefano for a few more minutes, the doctor finally comes in and says the words Andrea wished to hear the minute she felt the first contraction.
"You are fully dilated. We can begin," The doctor says,
"Finally," Andrea says and grabs Stefano's hand in the tightest grip he had ever felt from a woman.
"Push, Mrs. Costanzo," Doctor Angelina encourages.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh," Andrea screams as she tries to push the baby out.
"You can do it, amore, just a little more," Stefano encourages
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Andrea screams for what feels like the 100th time today, but the baby still won't come out. "I can't do this anymore. I give up," She says, throwing her head back in exhaustion.
"You can do it mi amore, just one more time, right doc," Stefano says,
"Yes, Mrs. Costanzo, I can already see the head."
Andrea takes in a deep breath and pushes with all her might. The minute she stops, a baby cry is heard.
"Did I do it?" Andrea asks, surprised with what she heard
"Yes, you did it, mi amore, you gave birth to our first baby," Stefano says, kissing Andrea's forehead
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Costanzo. Here is your beautiful, healthy baby girl," Doctor Angelina says as she hands Stefano the baby wrapped in a little blanket.
The second doctor, Angelina places the baby in Stefano's hands; a tear drops from his eyes. The smile on his face could be seen from a mile away. He could not believe he and the love of his life created such a beautiful human being.
"Can I see her?" Andrea asks eagerly to see her baby. She forgot that she was screaming and almost on the verge of giving up a few minutes ago.
"She is beautiful, my love," Stefano says as he hands the baby to Andrea.
"Yes, she is," Andrea says, releasing tears of joy once her eyes set on her baby girl. She was the most beautiful baby girl to Andrea in the world right now.
"What is her name going to be?" Doctor Angelina asks.
"Elda," Stefano and I say at the same time. It is the name we picked if the baby was going to be a girl. We did not check the gender of the baby the whole time I was pregnant. We wanted to find out after I gave birth, but we had settled on names regardless of if it was a boy or girl.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful baby," Doctor Angelina says, smiling
Elda means warrior in Italian, and that is who her baby is, a warrior because her baby fought with her through all the pain and suffering she faced because of Ivan.
Andrea stares at her baby and finds herself awed that such a wonderful human being came from her. She thought about how she ended up with the lovely soul in her arms, and as bumpy and painful the ride was, she would do it again as far as she would end up with the love of her life and the most beautiful baby in the world. The road to here was not easy, but the happiness, in the end, was worth everything.
THE END