If Loving You is Wrong

17: Worry

Dear God!

Liana looked at him expectantly, no idea what trauma he was going through in his head but with a calm that he didn't feel; Antonio put Bella back down on the floor.

"Don't be rude Bella, this is my friend Liana. She has come to visit me for a few days...say hello."

"Its nice to meet you Bella," Liana said gently but didn't try to touch her again. Bella looked up at Antonio with her big brown eyes and straight dark hair then back at Liana.

"Your hair is dark like mine,"

"Yes it is," Liana said, once again with a hesitant smile. "I tuoi capelli sono belli, Bella" Your hair is beautiful Bella

Bella's eyes lit up at Liana's use of Italian as she blushed and said,

"Grazie," she turned back to Antonio then and said, "Will you bring Olivia back again?"

Antonio tried not to let it show that the little girl kept bringing Olivia up so he smiled instead and said,

"Soon, where's your papa. Go and get him for me."

Bella ran off into what he knew was the kitchen and he slowly turned to Liana who had taken her seat again.

"Well, she was delightful." Liana said pouring herself some water. "You must have been with your last girlfriend a long time for a child to remember her."

"Excuse me?"

"Olivia, I assume she's an ex girlfriend of yours?"

What could he really say to that?

Antonio went through the options in his head and the only one that seemed feasible was...

"Yes...we were together a few years. We spent a lot of our time here."

"She must have been pretty special for Bella to remember her."

"In her own way."

The truth was that Antonio had brought his wife to Sicily more than once in order to get her out of her funk at home. He had brought her to his childhood home and brought her to see the people that had meant so much to him in his younger years. Bella had taken a shine to her when Olivia explained that she could walk any more and Olivia had practically fallen in love with the little girl.

Antonio remembered the fight they'd had that same night over how beautiful the little girl was...

"You know I can never give you that... don't you?"

"What?" he said as he'd helped her out of her chair and onto the bed so he could undress and dress her for bed.

"Bella...a child." Antonio sighed as he continued to undress her. He had her clothes off before he replied,

"We talked about this remember...there are ways."

"Not natural ones,"

"Should that matter!" he didn't mean to snap but he knew where this was going.

Yes, he and Olivia had wanted children; he still did but the way she spoke about it was as though it was impossible. They had money; all options were open to them. They could get IVF; a surrogate or even adopt but Olivia wasn't hearing any of it.

"Don't yell at me."

"I'm sorry Liv but we've spoken about this; if you really wanted to have a baby; we could. Theres nothing stopping us but you."

"Don't you think I know that, that stupid chair reminds me every day!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it! Why does everything have to be a fight with you? Do you want a baby or not?"

"Of course, I want a baby but I can't have one!" she yelled at him even as he pulled a night dress over her head.

"No Olivia, you can have one just not the way you want it but life isn't like that anymore!" this time he meant to yell at her and she went silent.

"Its terrible that this has happened to you, but you need to start dealing with it and seeing what is possible rather than what isn't!"

With that, Antonio placed her under the covers and stormed out of the bedroom.

"Why did you break up?" Liana was asking as Bella skipped out of the kitchen with her hand in that of her father Carlo Jr,

"We wanted different things," he said, before rising from his chair to greet his childhood friend.

---

Liana lay in bed later that night and Antonio was fast asleep. They had had an epic session and despite being completely exhausted she couldn't get to sleep.

Bella's reaction to her had shaken her up and now she couldn't get Olivia out of her head.