ALANA

107

ALANA

I stand in the middle of the ballroom, staring at my husband.

The Don.

Ares and I have just been named Don and Donna of the Mafia, officially, and he has never looked more in place and content. I watch as he confidently talks to some men standing next to Papa, a picture of unwavering strength.

"Momma?" I hear my son tug at my hand that is holding his, and I finally snap out of my staring reverie.

"Sí, sorry honey was I not answering?" I ask quickly, looking him over.

"No you just did." he makes a funny face making me snicker. "Im hungry momma." he tells me. Oh.

Ares left us standing here 15 minutes ago, asking us not move because he would be back soon. I know he's busy but our almost 3 year old has the attention span of, well of a kid his age and Im surprised he has lasted even the past fifteen minutes.

The ball today is less, friendly, as our usual balls that we attend. The entire Mafia is here and Ares just wants me to be where he is at all times, he gave explicit instructions to always remain in his line of sight.

"Okay baby, I have a snack in my purse for you, is it okay if you eat that till daddy can come back and we can go get you something to eat?" I ask him. He nods, taking the chocolate cookies from me.

I fed him a well balanced dinner before we came which was two hours ago. At dinner time, he didn't love anything on the menu for tonight so he just ate some dessert. I feel bad that he's hungry and has to stand. Another 5 minutes later, I sigh in relief when I see Ares finally walking toward us.

"Im sorry that took so long baby." He sighs, slipping an arm around me, his posture still very much in control. "Are you okay?" His eyes questioning. I quickly nod.

"Yes, I am. Ofcourse." I reply with a smile.

The truth is, the last 4 months after our anniversary were hectic. The public announcement of naming Ares Don meant alot of preperation and strategizing. No matter how suitable and effective a new Don is, it always leaves the Mafia vulnerable after and during the initial phase.

So while Ares has tried and succeeded at giving me and Ace as much time as possible while also keeping up with his duties, I have managed to keep some stuff from him. Stuff that would mean more on his plate, more for him to process.

I just hope everything that happens, happens in our best interest.

"Where'd you go kitten?" Ares gives me a worried look and I shake my head.

"Im right here, um Ace is hungry is it okay if I go get him something to eat?" I ask my husband. He doesn't look totally convinced but drops it for now.

"Sí, ofcourse, I will come with you, I am getting tired of this." He says exasperatedly.

"Already Don Moretti? You have only just begun." I wink playfully making him laugh.

"On the contrary I have been training for this my entire life." he says, an edge to his voice.

"You are truly the best person for the job babe. You've already done the job for years, the title being yours now doesn't make a difference." I squeeze his arm. I don't think kissing him infront of all these prying eyes is appropriate. Even though I really want to. "I would kiss you but I don't want to be inappropriate-"

I am cut off by Ares's soft lips on mine, kissing me deeply. I smile into the kiss.

"Nothing inappropriate about making out with my wife." he winks as my cheeks burn hot. We take Ace toward the back of the room, where the doors to the big kitchen are. Some of our everyday cooks and kitchen staff are here on duty today which makes it easier for me to spot a familiar face and ask for some food for my baby.

          
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I rub my sweaty palms onto my thighs as I sit on the crinkly paper, staring at the pictures on the wall. My stomach twists with nerves as I wait for her to back.

The ball to name Ares Don was last night and now that that's out of the way, I cannot put this off longer.

It's been 4 months since mine and Ares's anniversary. Ares has recently gotten Ace a horse and it actually stays in the estates. Apparently we already had stables, he just got Ace a horse just for him. It's a smaller horse that is still pretty young. They went out after breakfast today to spend some time doing that and I took that as my window. I informed mama.

My period has been consistently missed for the past 3 months. I had initially thought that it would come eventually, like it has in the past but I am going on the 4th month and there was no sign of it. So I made an appointment and came a clinic in the city. I could've gone to the estates med wing but my Ob/gyn is off today and I don't love the other one there.

However, I donot know how it can be possible. I have an implant that is not due to be changed for several more months, our doctor told me and Ares that it has a 99 percent success rate. So I don't know how I could be pregnant. There could also be something else wrong, they've just taken blood to run tests and I am waiting in the doctors office to hear back.

I didn't tell Ares. After our conversation about this a few months ago, we never brought it up again, it kind of got lost in the whole, Mafia stuff. I didn't want to overwhelm him. And I figured that if I am, we both already know we're open to having another child, it can be a nice surprise for him.

I just hope he's happy. It's all I want.