My Winter

♤♡4◇♧

Nicolas' pov:

I heard her crying when I left. I wanted to run to her and comfort her, but she needs space right now. And it wouldn't help much anyways since she was crying because of me.

I already sent the maids home so I made Winter her dinner. Her pleading words kept replaying in my mind.

'Please, don't keep me prisoner.'

I could never keep her locked up. She doesn't deserve that. I don't want to control her. I can tell she has a free spirit, and she began using it now, so I don't want to be the one that stops her from doing it.

I'll let her pursue her dream. I want her to be happy... not miserable. I just hope she follows my rules. Cause if she breaks them, I might just have to keep her prisoner. Not for the rest of her life but for a while. As punishment. As I would never raise my hand at her.

I grabbed the noodles, the sauce and the pans. I filled one with water and waited for it to boil, and I put the sauce in the sauce pan on low heat to warm it up for her. I know this is one of her favorite dishes.

I sat down and waited for the water to boil as I though of everything I want to do with her. I want to take her and show her the world. Especially to the sea of stars and Italy, my birthplace.

I want her to meet mom and Isabella, my sister. They would love her!

I heard the water boil so I dumped the noodles in, added light salt and oil.

Soon, dinner was done being put together. I put cheese in a tiny bowl and let her decide how much she wanted. I put a leaf of parsley on her Spaghetti, put it all on the tray. I grabbed her a glass of red wine too. Spaghetti isn't complete without that.

I smiled as I admired my work and headed upstairs.

I knocked on the door and opened it to see her sitting on the bed looking out the window.

I didn’t say anything. I just put her dinner tray in front of her on the bed. I looked to find the glass of water half empty.

Good girl.

"Thank you." She whispered.

I saw her tear stained face and my heart ached.
I reached out and wiped her nearly dried tears.

"You're welcome, amore mio. I know this is one of your favorite dishes."

She smiled and nodded.

"My mom and I used to make it from scratch." Her smile wasn't bright. It was full of pain and sorrow.

"I'm sorry for you loss," I sat down in front of her.

"Thanks." And she slowly began eating.

"Nic..." She said after some time in silence.

"Hmm?"

"Are you... just a billionaire or are you... Mafia?" She hesitated in asking. I love how smart she is.

"I'm the Mafia king." I smirked as I saw her eyes widden.

"So you don't just own the city...?"

I shook my head. "I own lots more."

"Right." She whispered.

"Do you have any family?" She asked after some more silence.

"Yes. My mother, Arianna, and my sister, Isabella. I also have a nephew, his name is Marco. And a brother-in-law, Joseph."

"How old is your sister and nephew?"

"Isa, is 23. And her son is 3 weeks."

She smiled. "Awe. So you're a new uncle. How do you like it so far?"

"I love it," I smiled for a second then remembered. "But his health isn't great. He's on life support. He can't breathe on his own right now."

"I'm sorry," she looked sad at that. Like she was about to cry again.

"Why are you crying?"

"Poor baby. Did the doctor say why?"

"Bronchopulmonary dysplasia." I say, recalling what my sister told me.

She looked more worried and sad now. "I hope little Marco fights through it."

"Doctors don't like giving my sister or straight answers right now. Do you know the survive rate?"

"I only know from what I studied. But I believe it's like a 50% chance. In BPD the lungs and the airways are damaged, causing tissue destruction in the tiny air sacs of the lung. If he survives, the treatment will focus on giving the baby good nutrition to help the lungs grow and develop. During this time, babies get breathing and oxygen help so that they can grow and thrive."

I took in her words and closed my eyes. I don't want to tell me sister about that. But I want to be there for her and prepare for the worse. He looks so much like his mama.

I opened my eyes when I felt her put her hand on my arm, trying to comfort me. I smiled at her comfort.

"Do you have pictures?"

I took my phone out of my back pocket and opened my gallery, and showed her a picture.

She gasped I awe. "He's so cute."

I smiled and put my phone away. I saw that she was finished with her meal and picked up the tray.

"It was good. Thank you."

"You're welcome my love."

I got up to take care of it when her soft voice stopped me.

"Am I sleeping with you?" She asked nervously.

I paused and thought. "Not tonight. You need your space. Tomorrow we will share bed." I turned around and looked at her worried face. "Don't worry though. I will not do anything without your consent. Consent means a lot to me. And I don't want to destroy anything that I could have with you."

She nodded slowly in understanding. I saw her bite her lip and look away. "Okay." Her voice broke.

"If you'd like to take a shower, you may. The bathroom is right behind that door," I pointed to the other side of the room. "You will find everything you need. Including clothes and menstrual products. And don't worry about your things from you apartment. They'll be over here tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"Always, My Winter."