The Thistles of Rose

25 • Complete

♚ Luca ♚

For the world to know I was having two babies would've been catastrophic. My enemies would not just have one bullet with my name carved on it, but two. And they would've come swarming like wasps.

I stand by what I did. Because if everyone knew we were having twins, Ricardo would've shot two bullets into her stomach and not one. I sacrificed one baby so we could have the other.

And now that my little girl is back, I need to get things back in check. When word of how I made Ricardo pay spreads, no one should come after my family ever again.

Fear will be rewritten in my name. I have to make sure of that. I'm not a risk-taker, especially when it comes to my family — the people I love most.

Rosa picks up our little girl in her arms and presses multiple kisses all over her while her own tears stream onto Aurelia's cheeks. That's the first genuine smile I've seen on her face in a long time. And it's my lifeline.

It warms my heart to see her like this. I kneel on the floor next to them and pull both my girls into a hug.

My girls. My beautiful girls. The life to my soul. The summers to my winter.

"I kept it on her," Brielle pulls out Rosa's necklace from a bag and places it in her palm.

Because she planted a tracker in it months ago. She gave that to her the day Aurelia was born. That way she was able to track them wherever they were.

"Did anyone see her?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "I did exactly what you said. Only me and Dante knew she was your daughter. It was just us in the house."

"How can I show my gratitude for all this?"

"You make my daughter happy. That's gratitude enough," she smiles, flitting her eyes to Rosa. I nod at her and she leaves the room, giving us some privacy.

Seconds of silence roll into minutes as we bask in the glory and reality of our daughter. Here. Alive. In our arms.

"She's so perfect, Luca," Rosa sniffles, laughing as Aurelia latches onto her dazzling diamond necklace.

Her eyes are an unclear colour between grey and green. But I can tell they're going to be green. The emerald-green that Rosa's are.

I nuzzle my nose into Aurelia's soft neck which causes her to giggle, charmingly and melodiously. My heart grins as bright as the sun at her pure sound. Her baby smell sends me floating and has my heart grinning wider.

"She's ethereal," I compliment, glancing up at her, "just like you."

Aurelia babbles excitedly in Rosa's arms. She rests her baby hands on my face, feeling the texture of my jaw. I knew she was coming back today so I made sure I had a clean shave because I didn't want her to be uncomfortable by the prickles of my beard.

My fingers itch to hold our little girl. I want to feel her little weight in my arms and her little body snuggling into mine again after these gruelling five months. It amazed me how my soul is so dirty but a pure one like my daughter's found so much solace in me.

But I don't want to take that right away from Rosa. Between the two of us, she has more of an obligation to hold our daughter and never let her go.

I'm just a nobody to her. A shadow in the corner of this nursery. You weren't the first priority then and you're not one now.

Fuck, I really need a drink.

I hadn't realised I pulled away from Aurelia, staring distantly at her, until Rosa rests her soft hand on the side of my face. My eyes dart to hers and I lay bare for her. The glazed look in her eyes tells me she already knows what I was thinking. Or something of it.