CARMELO
My heart had overflowed.
My plan was to bring her to meet my family, but her initiating it herself was unexpected, and it's much too soon. I couldn't describe what I felt back then, but one thing was clear: it was beyond this world. I'd move heaven and earth for this woman.
The Church with family was a culture that has been passed down from generation to generation. There was no exception or excuse when it came to our familial cultures and norms, except for my rebellious little brother. That punk had been having it with our mother since forever about it. And no matter how many times he got punished for it, his behavior of skipping the mass some days never changed. So even our mother had nothing to do about it now, and she was aware of it.
I haven't been to work for about a week. How could I when I had the woman I'd been dying to have, living right under my roof? Breathing the same air as me, eating meals with me, walking on the same ground as me, hell, she even allowed me to touch her now! What else could a man ever wish for? It was more than what you could describe with words like joy or peace. It was solid and real. I could feel it running deep inside me, and I never wanted it to stop.
But my work had a way of ruining things for me. As the weekend came to an end, my assistant couldn't leave me in peace and sought me out. I wanted to spend every moment with her, observing everything that she did or said and never miss a thing. However, phone calls rang, and I wished I could fire him, but the poor man was only doing his work as well. I couldn't blame him when he was managing the schedules of a man who was the CEO of two different companies.
Strada MagicaGo (Magical Road Go!), which was my company, a thriving travelling agency I'd built from scratch, as they said. As well as Conti Casa Reale (Conti House of Royal), which was a family heritage empire, dealing with construction projects, real estate, fashion, and art investments. An empire that I had to prove myself worthy and capable of running before it was passed down to me.
Strada Magica happened to need my attention. Since Alex's death, which was caused by me, happened, it was undergoing a very tough phase as the party was held on my cruise. The killer was not found yet, and the feds should've given up a long time ago, since I had a knack for not leaving any evidence after taking out trash. It was needed, and I felt no remorse toward it. I'd do it for any other woman. Except he touched the wrong person, which ended up worse for him.
My assistant called to inform me that the case had been lifted from our shoulders. I had to release a statement first thing in the morning, as the murderer hasn't been found and my company cannot stop operating because of it. I was losing money with each passing second.
I had just hung up the call and was returning inside when I bumped into her, eyes red and soaked with tears. Blood boiled under my skin as I held her by her shoulders. I wanted to end whoever made her cry, I was sure of it.
"What happened to you? Why are you crying?" I asked, trying my best not to lose my mind before I knew what happened to her. She pushed me off, "I'm okay," and ran off, just like that day. She didn't respond even when I called her over and over again, she sprinted to the garden instead. Okay, in that state?
My eyebrows furrowed, and I stormed back inside with long strides, rage filled my system. "Can anybody tell me what's wrong with her? Who made her cry?" I said, my hand pointing at the exit. "Whoa, chill bro," Junior said, frowning at my accusing tone. "We don't know what happened to her, she just—she just started to cry out of the blue and dashed out. Is she good?" Celia jumped in, walking over to where I was standing.
"Oh dear, did I say anything wrong?" Mother asked, pure concern painted her face. "I wouldn't be surprised. You should go aft—" before Papa could finish, I turned on my heels, running after her.
I found her sobbing and on her knees. The sound that I dread to hear more than anything. Her cries traveled through my skin and crushed my heart, like that day on the cruise. What would it take for her to stop
Without thinking any further, I went to my knees and pulled her to my arms. I thought she was going to reject me, but she didn't; her body relaxed in my arms instead. Her heartbreaking voice muffled on my chest, and her shoulder shook vehemently. Please, stop! I pleaded inside my mind. I rubbed her back instead since she showed no signs of wanting to stop. I knew that, this time too, her cries would live in my mind just as they had before.
After a moment, she stopped, finally putting my mind to rest. I was nearly freaking out thinking of what made her cry in the first place since my family showed no sign of playing a part in it. "Do you want us to go back home?" I asked her as I stood up, then helped her too. "Yes," she sniffled, her eyes were red, and so were her nose and cheeks. I wasted no time. "Alright, wait here, I'll go and get the car." If she didn't want to go back in there, then we were not going.
Storm was already there, waiting. I asked her to stay behind for the day, and drove the car myself to her. She opened the door and sat in, beating me to it again. We needed to have a serious conversation about this issue, but clearly, now was not the time.
I moved the car. My breath got caught when I felt the heat of her body near me, and then her head resting on my shoulder. This woman had her own ways of making me lose my mind. My heart raced with unexplainable excitement. She didn't say a word, and neither did I. We didn't have to, the moment spoke for itself.
The dream wasn't easy to achieve, but I had a strong feeling that we would get there someday, baby steps. I let out a silent breath, grinning as I sped up.