Stella (Book One of Dark Souls Series)

Florentine

*~*
teatro- a place where plays or performances are given
*~*

"You don't have to pretend so much, mamma."

I stared at the stars a moment longer before looking at her. "I do not pretend."

"I know you are disappointed in daddy because he couldn't make it."

I averted my eyes back towards the sky.

I was not disappointed in Daniel. Although the invitation was open, I knew he would not show up. Tonight, I reserved a seat for him at the Teatro Alla Scala. Jilian Trulani was dancing tonight, and I was aware that she was in the process of starting up a new dance team. I missed her grand opening, but after chatting her up about Eva in the middle of a grocery store, she wanted to meet her.

It was no secret that Jilian was one of Italy's best dancers. I knew her school was going to cost a fortune, but I wanted the best for my daughter. I wanted to be the one to give it to her.

The excitement on her face as we watched Jilian's performance made my heart lose control.

"Voglio essere lei," Eva whispered halfway through the show. I smiled as we continued to watch her awe the audience.

By the end of the show, Eva was losing her mind. "Voglio incontrarla, mamma," she shouted as people started to leave.

"Venga." Her eyes widened as she looked at my outstretched hand. "We can't meet famous people," she said with a small pout.

I grinned. "Well, you can meet this one."

She readily grabbed my hand, and we headed to the stage where the crew was fixing the set.

I knew I'd made her birthday a success when I brought her here. Now, I was sure I'd won her over when she found out she would be dancing under Jilian Trulani. She talked the entire ride to our next destination. Since she did not want to go straight home, I decided to pull over. I had a feeling she wanted to do more than watch ballet tonight. Now we were laying under the stars.

"I am not disappointed," I finally responded.

"Why do you look sad? Like you're not even here right now?"

"Because he should have been here for you. You have not seen him in a month."

"I don't miss him, mamma."

I looked at her. "Do not be foolish, Eva. He is your father."

She sat up and crossed her legs. When she looked down at me, I saw myself in her. "I don't miss him. I have Adonis now."

I scoffed. "Adonis will not be here forever so you cannot-"

"Why do you keep pushing away the one person that makes you happy?" my daughter screamed at me.

I sat up in surprise, and I was certain it was on my face. "You make me happy, Eva."

She shook her head. "He does. I keep seeing you screaming and crying when daddy took me away from you. That is the only reason I remember what you look like. The first day I see you, you are screaming and crying again. And every time you see Adonis, you don't scream or cry."

If only she knew.

"I do not scream and cry because you are here with me," I said softly. "From the day you were taken, I worked long and hard to come up with the funds to get you back. Not only did I want you back, but I wanted to prove I could take care of you forever. I was blinded by money which is why it took so long to get you back. My only focus was proving to your grandparents that I was better than them. I love you, Eva. I am so sorry for any damage your father and I caused you, but I love you. You will never forget that."

"You can't pretend like you don't love Adonis too."

I grabbed her small hands. "Tonight is not about him. Tonight is about you, and everything I do is and will always be for you."

"Can you fall in love with Adonis for me?"

Her questions caused my thoughts to jumble together. It took me several seconds to form a sentence that would make sense. "I love him, Eva, I do."

"So, why won't you let yourself be happy?" her tone was exasperated. It made me wonder how much she knew about Adonis and me.

"I am happy, I promise." I kissed her knuckles and pouted at her unconvinced face. "I promise," I insisted.

We laid back down and sighed as we stared at the dark sky.

"I'm glad you found me, mamma," Eva said after several minutes of silence.

I smiled at her words. "I am glad I found you too."

"Are you gonna marry him?"

I frowned and looked over at my daughter. She was already looking at me.

"Who? Your father?"

My frown deepened when she laughed. "No! Adonis, mamma!"

I smiled at her and shook my head at her silliness. The truth was, I would marry Adonis in a heartbeat. It was one thing for him to tell me I deserved to be happy. It was different when someone shared the same experiences as I did. The fact that Eva had been through so much and still felt that I deserved love was touching. It made me secure my feelings for Adonis. Another reason why I was still cautious about everything was the fear of my daughter not approving the man I was interested in.

"If he ever proposed such a ridiculous-"

"Why does it seem ridiculous?"

"I don't know I just don't want to get serious with you at risk."

"You don't know if something bad will happen if-"

"This is adult business, Eva. Leave it with the adults."

The conversation ended with that. The only thing I was scared of was being alone again. I don't know why I had a constant image of Adonis throwing us out. I guess a good side of that would be the fact that I had enough money to support us until I found something more permanent. This was the money I was using to pay for Eva's ballet school. I'd already put a sum of it into an account for her. The rest was for me when I completed college. I wanted my own real estate business, and the amount I'd saved up was enough to get me started.

I repeatedly told myself not to blindly trust Adonis, but a part of me was tired of always being cautious of everything and everyone.

"Can we go back to Nonna's?" my daughter asked me after several minutes of silence.

I sat up and looked down at her. "Of course."

Author's Note:

I wanted a lengthy chapter without Adonis in it. I don't really care for it because I feel like Eva and Estella are not progressing in their relationship. So I won't have any second thoughts about it, I will do my best to fix this throughout the rest of the book.

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(Prewritten February 15, 2022)

The next update is coming soon!

~NICOLEGARDNER