CRISTIANO
It’s in the early hours of the morning and I’m awake again smoking. This time I’m outside the cottage, sitting on the veranda. I watched the sunrise and the day come to life.
It’s still quite early and I could probably catch up on the sleep I never got last night, but I’m going to sit out here for a little longer.
We’re heading back to the States in a few hours and I don’t know when I’ll see this side of the world again.
Once we get home, I’ll have a lot of decisions to make and a lot of changes to get used to. I already spoke to my mother and told her the truth.
I wanted her to hear what was happening from me instead of my grandfather. It was my responsibility to tell her the truth anyway.
When I told her, I was glad she didn’t judge me. One of the things I love about my mother is she’s always been supportive no matter how bad a situation is.
Of course, she was furious about what I did, but she calmed when I told her I loved Megan and was still marrying her. It helped to hear that because she knew all the parts of my relationship I showed the world was real.
I started this journey out not wanting to get married. Now, look at me.
I know being the one to marry Megan gives me extra claim to her than Knox and Levi, but it won’t be like that. We spoke at length and decided that we wanted to marry her. Since only one of us can do that, we agreed to stick to the original plan of me being her husband. Levi and Knox have always considered themselves as my right-hand men and that won’t change even though clearly, we’ll have to leave the company.
We haven’t talked about that part yet other than agreeing to stick together. The world is an oyster for guys like us, so we’ll have to create our own legacy.
The door opens and Megan comes out wearing her dressing gown.
I put out my cigar when she floats over to me and pull her into my lap.
“Morning. You’re up early.” I brush my nose over hers.
“I missed you. Are you okay?” Remorse fills her eyes. She knows we gave up the empire to be with her.
“I’m okay.” I have her. If she is my everything, then I’m okay. “I don’t want you to worry about anything.”
“I wanted you to get the business.”
“I know, but it’ll be fine. Everything will be okay, baby. Don’t worry about me. “I pick up a lock of her hair. “We didn’t get to talk about Paige. We were busy making up.”
She blushes. “It was amazing seeing her. Thanks for encouraging me to go.”
“You are most welcome, wife-to-be. I love you.”
She tweaks my nose playfully. “I love you too.”
Our lips meet for a hungry kiss and I don’t want to stop. We don’t until footsteps sound on the gravel path ahead of us. When we pull apart, I’m surprised to see my grandfather standing paces away.
Megan goes rigid at the sight of him. I hope he’s not going to argue with me or disrespect her. I just wanted to leave quietly and get away from here.
“Morning, sorry to interrupt you two. Can we talk, son?” His voice is much calmer than yesterday.
He also called me son. He only does that during special moments. Hearing it reminds me that I never wanted to be at war with him.
I can’t be at peace either if he treats me like a child. Being the don of the family means being free from the restraints of others and having the ability to make crucial decisions on your own. He never gave me that opportunity. But out of respect, I’ll hear him out.
“Sure.” I look at Megan. “Baby, why don’t you go inside and wait for me.”
“Of course.” She gets off my lap and avoids looking at my grandfather.
I stand and set my shoulders back.
“Did I hear you call her wife-to-be?” he asks.