Saying goodbye to dad, Jess, and Calum was hard, but looking around the private jet makes the pain dissipate a fair amount.
"Wow, this is new," I laugh breathily.
"Just got it, it's an upgrade," Alexi smirks. I roll my eyes at his obvious boasting, but I am quite impressed at the luxurious plane. It's big, with large tan leather seating, and a full-sized bedroom in the back. A full bathroom accompanies the bedroom, including a shower, which I don't understand the logistics of considering the lack of pipes and water source. Christian is buckled in on the large couch that sits opposite the chairs, still asleep.
"When do you want to tell him?" Alexi asks.
"What?"
"When do you want to tell him that I'm his father?"
"Woah, who said we're telling him?" I stumble backward slightly, putting distance between Alexi and me.
"We have to tell him. I want to be involved in his life, and yours. I want to be there as a dad, Bella, please."
"Alexi," I pause, chewing my bottom lip. Am I ready for this? Is he? Hell, is Christian ready to have his dad around? "I don't know," I say honestly. We sit down, buckling our seatbelts and preparing for take-off.
After a couple of hours, Christian wakes up, "mom?"
"I'm here sweetheart," I smile, walking to him and unclipping his seatbelt, so he can sit up easier.
"Are we almost there?"
"No, baby, we still have almost ten hours. But we can eat or watch movies if you want!"
"Who's that?" Christian asks, pointing at Alexi.
"That's Alexi," I say, as he stands and walks to my side at the couch.
"Hi Christian, we met, but there was a lot of crazy stuff going on, and you were very tired," he says.
"Where are we going?" Christian asks.
"We're going back to his house in Italy," I say.
"Do we have to change our names again, momma?" he asks, and my heart breaks at the sad look on his face. "Am I gonna have no friends again?"
"No, sweetheart," I cry as I throw my arms around him in a warm hug. "No, we're going somewhere safe where we can settle down for a long time."
"Is it our forever home? Like you said we would find with my dad when we are back with him?" he questions and my cheeks burn red as I remember telling him about his father.
"Remember how I told you that your dad was a very busy man, and that we had to hide because there were some mean men after me because of my love for dad?" I release Christian from the hug.
"Yeah, and you said one day we would find dad again and go home!" he smiles cheerily.
"Well, Alexi is your dad."
"So that means you love him and we're going home?" Christian's eyes widen in excitement. "Does this mean we don't have to hide anymore?"
"We still need to be careful, sweetpea, but we don't need to change our names or go into undercover hiding anymore. Daddy is going to protect us." I sneak a look at Alexi when I say those last words, and he's beaming.
"I'm so happy to meet you Christian," Alexi gets down on one knee to be at Christian's level, and the sight warms my heart.
"Hi dad! I'm happy to meet you, too," Christian exclaims.
For a moment, everything feels calm. It's nice, but I know not to get used to it. I've survived by keeping my guard up, and I will continue to do so. Maybe, I'll let it down for Alexi, but I can't succumb to the calm now, not when there's so much battle left for us to win.
~~~
After a few movies, some food, and a couple coloring books, Christian falls back asleep. Alexi gets down on his knee once again to cover him in a blanket and buckle his seatbelt into place on the large couch.
"Let's go back to the bedroom," Alexi whispers to me, and I nod in response.
"I never thought I would see the great Alexi Romano brought to his knees by a five-year-old," I smirk once we're both in the bedroom with the door closed behind us. Alexi's eyes turn deadly serious as he pulls me closer by my waist.
"There are two people in this world who could bring me to my knees, amore. That adorable little boy out there, and you."
"Oh? I thought you preferred me on your knees, not the other way around," I tease.
"As pretty as you are on your knees for me, I would gladly bow to you any day. You are my queen, Bella. A king always bows to his queen—she's more powerful than he could ever be. Remember that."
With those words, he kisses me deeply, letting his love speak for itself through the passionate dance of our lips and tongues.
We fall asleep, tucked under covers, cuddling close, and for the first time in a while, I feel at peace.
YOU ARE READING
Finding Isabella
Teen FictionIsabella's life was never easy. But how could it be when your father is head of the American mafia? At seven years old, she watched as her mother almost died from the first assassination attempt. At ten years old, she was injured in the same car "ac...
