Family of three
He was almost certain that Ava couldn’t have regained her sight. They had made sure that it wouldn’t happen so they could control her inheritance. How could he have overlooked certain details about her?
As a child, she had only seen on rare occasions. He couldn’t remember if it had been two or three times because Lola had been the one to take care of her. As she grew up, he began to realize that she was very beautiful, and that’s when he decided he would marry her. He remembered the day his cousin died as one of the happiest days of his life.
He initially thought his informant had made a mistake when sending him the information, but he had been in Verona in the same place as them and clearly heard Mateo calling the girl Ava, not Grecia. That’s why he took a close-up shot of her face and sent it to Teodoro.
Now more than ever, he needed to have her by his side and find out if they had fooled him. He would never forgive them for that. He spoke to his lawyer to arrange the necessary documents. If this girl was really his niece, he would make her hand over her entire fortune before eliminating her for what she had done. Ava would pay a high price, along with Licciardi, for their audacity. Nobody mocked Teodoro Miller.
An employee from the bank informed him about Ava’s substantial fortune. He could no longer regain control of the corporation or the properties, nor access his bank accounts in Italy, which had been frozen. The authorities had no knowledge of the money Ava had received, and she would have to give it all up.
He felt increasingly cornered by the authorities. Freezing his accounts had limited him. To escape, he needed a substantial amount of money, and he also had to keep paying his men. The last two shipments of girls hadn’t arrived; they had been intercepted along the way. He felt that he was being gradually cornered.
For now, I would have to auction off girls that I would start kidnapping in that same country, I would find a way to move forward, one way or another.
At the Licciardi corporate office, Mateo was in a meeting. Guido had secured new investors, and they would be opening a subsidiary of the company in the United States. It would be responsible for distributing their products in that country, and they wanted to do it as soon as possible to recoup their investment.
At night, Mateo arrived at the mansion, very tired. Guido had helped him a lot, but several matters had been delayed and he had to push them forward. He was thinking that when he got married to Ava, he would find a way to only go to the office in the mornings and work from home in the afternoons. He wanted to be with his son, he didn’t want to be an absent father, he wanted to enjoy every moment with him and his wife.
“Buona notte mia bella,” he greeted.
“Buona notte amore, I was waiting for you to have dinner. Your son has been calling for daddy all day,” Ava replied. Mateo smiled upon hearing this. Matt was already running around the house, sometimes clumsily, but he was doing it. Besides, he repeated “daddy” and “mommy” all day. He could speak perfectly well already, but those were his favorite words.
“I’m not hungry, bella. I just want to shower and rest,” Mateo said, approaching to give a tender kiss to his son.
“Okay, amore. You look exhausted,” Ava replied.
“I am, aside from being stressed. I want to spend time with you and my son, but several matters at the office have been delayed.”
“We also want to be with you, but I know you’re a very busy man. Let’s take things slowly so we won’t be so stressed,” Ava said understandingly.
They went up to the bedroom. When Mateo came out of the bathroom, Matt had already fallen asleep. Mateo immediately lay down, wearing only his pajama pants, and turned onto his stomach.
Ava put aromatherapy oil on her hands, approached, and started to give him a gentle massage on his neck and back, which caused him to fall asleep almost immediately.
Ava sighed; she loved that man too much to even conceive of a life without him. At this point, Lola, Guido, and Aurora, despite being quite conservative, tried not to pay too much attention to the fact that they slept together without being married.
In the morning, she woke up early, went downstairs to prepare breakfast while he showered, and they ate quickly since he had a busy day ahead.
“Bella, next week I’ll have to go to the United States. We’re opening a subsidiary, and I need to check out the place to get approval.”
“Will you be gone long?” she said, pouting. She didn’t feel comfortable being away from him.
“We’ll be there for a week.”
“That long?” Her heart sank. A day without him was too much for her, especially after everything they had been through.
“Yes, it will be quite some time,” Mateo said with a smile.
“I’ll miss you, amore.”
“Actually, I won’t miss you at all.”
“Are you serious?” His response made her even sadder.
“Very serious,” he laughed heartily.
Ava looked at him with confusion. She was on the verge of tears, and he was laughing.
“It’s not funny, Licciardi. Why are you laughing at me?”Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
“Hahaha,” he couldn’t contain his laughter as he watched her pout.
“Mateo Licciardi, I’m starting to get annoyed.”
“Let’s recap: you asked if I’d be gone, what did I answer?”
“That you’ll be gone for a week.”
“I didn’t say ‘I’ll be gone’; I said ‘we’ll be gone.'”
“We’ll be gone? Will Guido be going with you?”
“Ava Miller, you can be so absent-minded sometimes,” he said, smiling with tenderness this time.
“We will… Oh, I get it now! Haha!” Ava started laughing and even did a little hop.
She hugged him tightly. “I’m such a silly one, amore.”
“Haha, if you do want to come with me, I want our son and you to travel with me. Lola can join us to help if she agrees.”
“Of course, I want to go with you. And my nanny won’t refuse to come with me.”
“I’ve also thought about inviting Ima and Akiro.”
“That would be great. I’d like to invite Tadeo and Camila as well.”
“Sounds good. The new partners will have a cocktail party. First, I’ll check out the company’s location, and if it meets my approval, we’ll have the cocktail party. After that, I plan to rent a villa in Hawaii. How does that sound?”
“I love the idea.”
“Perfect. I’ll prepare everything for the trip. I want it to be unforgettable.”
“It will be, amore.”
“I love you.”
“I love you even more.”
While the lovers made plans, Teodoro Miller was making plans of his own. He intended to make them pay dearly for playing with him. Ava’s fortune would soon fall into his hands, and this time, he would do it himself to ensure there were no mistakes.
At the same time, in a clinic in Milan, Camila had gone to pick up the test results her doctor had ordered. She had continued to feel unwell, and the situation was starting to worry her. With the envelope in her hand, she headed to the doctor’s office, where Tadeo was already waiting for her.
The doctor took the envelope and opened it. After reading its contents, he looked at them intently.
“Congratulations,” the doctor congratulated them, a big smile on his face.
“?” Tadeo and Fátima turned to him, confused, not understanding why he was congratulating them.
“I don’t understand, doctor. What’s happening?”
“Congratulations are in order because very soon, you’ll be a family of three.”
The couple looked at each other again, and once they comprehended what the doctor had said, they embraced. Tadeo was overjoyed, and soon, he would hold that freckled little person he had longed for.
Now, more than ever, he would protect Camila. He wouldn’t allow her to suffer again, no matter what. He would work even harder. She was a woman who had endured too much.
With a stepfather who had abused her all the time and an alcoholic mother, once she was old enough to think clearly, she had fled home as far as possible. Years later, she had returned to look for her mother, but it was too late. Her stepfather had killed her with a beating. Tadeo had wished he could’ve taken matters into his own hands, but the man was in prison, and he couldn’t reach him.
She had beautiful memories before that life-a loving father and mother who cared for her. Her father had been in the military and, on one of his missions, he simply didn’t return. Her mother started using all the government money she received on alcohol. During one of her many benders, she had met the man who would become her stepfather, and that’s when her hell began.
Tadeo couldn’t believe everything she had gone through. His need to protect her grew. He wouldn’t allow their children to have the same life. He would ensure they were financially secure, even if he were ever absent. He knew Camila wouldn’t allow her story to repeat itself.
“What are you thinking, handsome?” the sweet voice of his girlfriend pulled him from his thoughts.
“I’m thinking that I’m the happiest man on Earth. I have a wonderful woman by my side, and soon, I’ll fulfill my greatest dream-becoming a father.”
He approached her to give her a kiss, then gently placed his hand on her abdomen. Camila felt tenderness at this gesture; she was sure he would be an excellent father.
The day to depart for the United States arrived, and Ava insisted that Máx and Morgana accompany them. Mateo gladly accepted. This time, Máx would travel with them as a friend.
The four couples, along with Matt and Lola, arrived at the hangar on time, ready to board the jet. Most of them were in high spirits. They were accompanied by several bodyguards, and everything seemed to be calm, which only increased Mateo’s mistrust.
Since the day before, he had been feeling that strange tightness in his chest again-a sensation that kept him on high alert. This time, it was mixed with a feeling of infinite sadness.