A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Chapter Matteo

30

I had been staring at the doors to the operating theater for the past three hours. My hands were trembling, and my heart hadn't stopped beating fast ever since it happened. Everything was happening too fast because the last thing I knew, we were in bed. She was supposed to stay in bed. She told me she was going to the bathroom, and that was supposed to be it.

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There were a lot playing in my mind; from her surviving her injuries or dying and leaving me forever. We were at the beginning of our highs, starting the marriage of with a lot of possibilities. There was nothing more than happiness. I knew I had a lot of enemies, and I was bound to keep them out of my life especially away from Alena. It didn't matter to me if I had to deal with them every day as long as my wife, Alena was safe and sound. I knew of her background. I knew she had the skills to fight because Mikhail had taught her when she was younger, but she hadn't encountered a dangerous situation like that, and it was impossible for her to be fully prepared. I felt like something was wrong when she was leaving the bed.

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I should've asked her to stay in.

As I began to pace back and forth, I was silently praying for a miracle. It was ironic for a sinner like me to pray but I had no other choice-I was truthful to Alena, and I needed to have more hope that she was going to survive. She was never going to leave me.

Memories of f her began to cloud my mind, from the way she smiled, the way she talked, the way she moved, and even the way she looked. Those beautiful green eyes were always going to be death of me; she had the most mesmerizing pair of eyes. Every time she looked at me with those eyes, she could bewitch me.

I sat down, my head in my hands before closing my eyes.

My body was growing restless because I couldn't wait any longer. The waiting had gotten me anxious of what was happening inside. Was she having complications? Was she going through something awful?

I needed to know.

"Matteo," someone called which caused me to look up, seeing Luca..

He was wearing a black hoodie with black sweatpants as he sat down beside me. There were dark circles under his eyes, and I was confident my dark circles were much more obvious-I had been crying ever since they took her inside the operating theater.

If it was taking any longer for me to see my wife, I was about to lose my mind.

"How long has she been inside?" He asked, breaking the silence. "Three hours."

"No

!

news?"

shook my head, sighing heavily before running my fingers through my hair. It didn't bother me anymore if I looked like a mess because that was a fact. My mind was a mess, I couldn't stop thinking @65%

about Alena or about Sofia. I was thinking about Alena's condition but when it came to Sofia, it was about torturing her. "Who is she with?" I asked, referring to my ex-wife, Sofia.

"Angelo and the others. You told to wait for you,"

"Because I want to do the killing."

Luca sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Do you think that's a good idea, Matteo? You're not thinking straight right

now."

I scoffed, "I'm thinking very straight right now. She came into my house in the middle of the night to look for God knows what and she shot my wife, Luca. She knew not to mess with me, but she decided to hurt the only person I cared most. She was asking for a death sentence," my voice low and serious.

"I know but she used to be your wife. Let someone else do the dirty work,"

"I want I

t her to feel what Alena felt. There's no one else better to hurt her than me," I spoke before running my hands across my face.

Luca kept quiet, nodding his head. He knew me well enough to understand my genuine feelings. He was there when I married Sofia, and at the time, he was also skeptical-he knew he wanted nothing more than for me to be happy. When he met Alena, he didn't question much, and he was instantly talking to her.

It took almost seven months for Luca to start talking to Sofia.

He never liked her ways.

"They broke her legs. Punched her face. She looks horrible now," he added.

she's breathing, right?"

"And conscious."

"I want you to help me, Luca."

I was looking straight into his eyes. There was no one else in the mafia that I trusted most than Luca-if one day, he was going to betray me, he could because he knew absolutely everything. He knew the details, the plans, the strategies, but he was as loyal as anyone could be.

I had no problem in trusting my best friend.

We made an oath. A blood oath.

"Anything, man. What is it?"

war.

"I need you to find out who is responsible for all of this. Look back for the data from five years ago when Sofia disappeared. I want you to give me every single information and then we can plan an attack. I don't care if it's the Americans or the Germans, they started this war." "Consider it done."

Luca patted behind my back, nodding to every word I said.

An hour had passed, and we were both still waiting here in our seats. Luca had fallen asleep sitting down with his arms Crossed while I kept praying for a miracle. I began fidgeting, something I hadn't done since I was younger, but I grew anxious at the unknown.

The doors were pushed open, revealing a doctor.

Luca turned to look, awaken from his short nap.

She was walking towards our direction, and I immediately stood up, trying to read her expression but I was left confused. I could feel as if my heart was thumping out of my chest, yet I managed to stay calm. "Are you Alena Lerclerc's husband?" She asked, removing her face mask. dded my head, "That's me."

nodded

"The operation was a success. Your wife is stable and she's currently resting."

And just like that, I began to calm down as Luca pulled me in for a hug, patting my back for reassurance. Tears were pooling in my eyes before they began to stream down my cheeks, and I hadn't realized just how relieved I was. "When can I see her?" I asked.

"You can wait in her room. We're getting ready to bring her up," she replied. hank you so "Your wife's a Your wile

a fighter"

Then, she began to walk back into the operating theater.

I was smiling and feeling happy because I knew, my wife was safe. She was alive and well-she didn't leave me. I was never going to let her be ever again. Her life was at stake today and I knew better than to let her encounter a situation like this. When Luca and I reached her room, we kept quiet as we waited for her.

It didn't take as long as it did in the operating room because within less than an hour, the nurses were pushing the hospital bed and I was seeing a sleeping Alena.

Her soft skin looked slightly pale as she laid still, her eyes closed.

"Give her time to rest and when she wakes up, we'll check on her." One of the nurses said, making me nod before they left

the room.

I made my way towards my wife, grabbing her hand and feeling her skin was ice cold.

וויד"

I leave you two for a smoke. I'll be back," Luca said before walking out, leaving me and Alena on our own.

I knew my wife as someone with porcelain clear skin-she had the softest skin. It was heartbreaking to see her laying like this. There were bruises around her neck and on her face along with a few cut marks, but she was safe and that was all that mattered. I carefully leaned in to kiss her forehead, closing my eyes as I felt a few tears had slipped. This woman was mine to take care of and I had failed her.

I held tightly onto her hand, wanting to warm her up. Even in her sleep, she was looking peaceful, and it was one of the things I loved about her. There was nothing in her mind right now.

I kissed the back of her hand, "Thank you for coming back to me, baby."

"I can't lose you. I never want to lose you, Alena. You're everything to me and if anything, ever happens to you ever again, I swear I'll lose my mind." I added, kissing the back of her hand even longer before watching her sleep.

She was in a deep sleep, her lips slight apart as her chest moved calmly.

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It didn't take me long to fall asleep beside her, my head resting beside her hand as I held onto it tightly. I was scared of letting her go because I was afraid if I was going to lose her. The feeling of her skin against mine was soothing me a little bit but I was going to be alright as soon as she woke up. This woman was definitely the death of me..

She didn't do much to attract me, but I was head over heels over her.

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I didn't realize how long I had fallen asleep yet the touch of her hand on my face had slowly awoken me. I blinked a few times, trying to get a clearer vision of her face.

Her dark green eyes were looking straight into my brown ones, letting me sit up straight before grabbing her hand, kissing her palm.

A small smile appeared on her face, "Hi there."

I couldn't hide away the tears from falling as I cupped her face, leaning in to softly kiss her cheeks. They were as soft as I could remember and she was giggling, even though she sounded a bit tired.

"You missed me, Matteo?" She asked, caressing the side of my face.

"I was losing my mind."

And she was right here. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as they were streaming down mine and we were both crying, couldn't let go of one another. It was a relief to hear her voice, to feel her touch, to see her eyes staring back at me.

I was grateful for another day with her. Another life.

"You look really tired. Are you okay?" She asked, frowning.

"Don't ask about me. I was worried sick about you,"

"I'm fine. I told you I would be fine."

"I thought I lost you, Alena." I shook my head, not wanting to think about the pain of losing her-it was going to be unbearable.

Without wasting any time, I leaned in to kiss her lips. It was a soft kiss, but it lingered long enough to show how much I missed her. The way her lips moved against mine, it showed just how much she missed me too. We were clinging onto one another as if we were going to die if we let go. The

way

she tasted; it was like a breath of fresh air.

How could I ever live if I lost her?

"Mm, your lips are so warm." She muttered under her breath, smiling.

Then, I ran my fingers softly down her neck, hating the sight of the bruises. I knew Sofia tried to stop her from breathing and if my girl wasn't strong enough, she couldn't be here. I was always going to be blaming myself for what had happened.

I was supposed to be there..

"It doesn't hurt much if you ask me." She added, clearing her throat. "And I know that look on your face, Matteo."

My eyes went up to look at her, hating just how much she was struggling to speak as well. Sofia choked her hard enough to put a strain on her vocal cords and she needed enough rest in order to recover. Once the bruises faded and the swelling went down, she was going to be okay. 08:37/ Frí, UCI 18

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1 I didn't say a word, but had different plans in my head about the ways to kill Sofia.

The door was pushed open, revealing Alena's mother, Ana, Mikhail, and Alexei.

The women rushed over to Alena, but the two men were looking at me, with looks ready to kill.

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