The Blossom of Rose

48 • Resilient

Today is Thursday. And every Thursday I spend the day at my old house with Dante and Calla. I also need to tell them what I discovered yesterday that our dad is calling me.

Luca pulls up outside the house and turns to me, "Rosa, we've spoken about this. Say the word and I can have him dead by the evening."

"I don't want him dead, Luca. He may be an evil person but..." I trail off playing with the braid he plaited in my hair.

"He's still the man who raised you and you don't want to bear that type of guilt, I know," he finishes off what I couldn't say.

"It's messed up but...as his daughter I still love him. Despite all that he's done, I can't find it in me to end his life," I hold a hand to my heart at the clogged feeling and look at Luca, tentatively, "sort of like how you couldn't blame your dad."

"I get it. Honestly, I do. Make sure you tell your siblings about it," he reminds me and leans in for a parting kiss.

"I'll pick you up at 8," he mumbles against my lips and I nod, grasping the last taste of him before I go. Then, I grab my shoulder bag and ruffle my dress over my bump so it's not uncomfortable. I decided to wear a sage midi dress with little daisies printed on it and thin straps which can be tied into bows.

Luca's gaze leaves burning trails of fire over every bit of skin that they roam and I see that they've become a darker shade of grey. He rolls his lips into his mouth and I try so hard not to clench my legs together but fail.

"You have a dirty mind," I shudder, trying to stop myself from becoming aroused. Luca rolls his eyes, not even denying it, and leans forward untying the bows of my dress. He hikes it up more so there's no chance you can see my cleavage and ties the bows there instead.

Curse you, big boobs. The dress would've been fine there if I was still a C cup.

"No, I was sitting there thinking how is it fucking possible for someone to become even more beautiful each day," he says softly, roaming his eyes around my face.

My breath catches as the butterflies overtake my body. I smile at him softly and he returns it making my heart flutter even more.

"Protect those pretty eyes," he takes my sunglasses off my head putting them on me. After I took them from him that day, he bought me my own pair that match his.

"Need help up the stairs?" Luca asks.

"I'm not that incompetent," I roll my eyes at him and open the door. I inhale a breath before placing one leg out the car, holding my belly as I move. Then, slowly, I manage to move the other one out too.

That's always the easy bit, now here comes the hard bit; lifting myself up. I'm not even going to try to attempt it because I know I won't be able to do it.

Luca's hand comes into view and he's wearing a gorgeous smirk on his face that I want to wipe off. He helps me out of the car, slowly, and my dress falls down past my knees as I stand. Before I can even say anything, I shriek as he scoops me up into his arms and starts to carry me up the stairs.

"You've gone heavy," he comments and relief flows through me. All throughout my pregnancy, I've been very conscious of my weight because I always thought I was underweight and unhealthy. And he knew this.

"Really?" I perk up, excited.

He nods, "yeah. I remember I picked you up last week and you weren't like this."

"Do you think I'll leave my midwife appointment with gold stars this week?" I ask, hopeful, and then add when he opens his mouth to speak, "and please don't threaten to kill her. She's been very nice to me."