Falling Under ✅

24

Bella's POV

The doctor places some gel on my back to help it heal, and I cringe at the pain that rushes through my body. I breathe in and try to ignore it.

"I'm sorry about the pain but I promise you it will ease by the end of the week." She reassures me kindly and I nod with a smile, breathing through the pain.

"Thank you doc. I'm going to go." I give her one final smile before I leave the hospital wing. I yawn as I walk down the hallway, hoping that I will bump into Gale and ask what was up with him earlier.

"Guess what!" Lily startles me, appearing from nowhere. She loops her arm with mine and guides us done the hallway. "Jack asked me on a date. I know I usually wouldn't act like a school girl but I've waited years for this."

"Ahhh finally." I scream loudly with a wide grin. We begin jumping up and down, and in that moment, I really do feel like a school girl. "I'm so proud of my baby."

We both giggle before taking a minute to calm ourselves down, but Lily's face suddenly turns into sadness. "I'm going to miss you Bella. It was nice to have a girlfriend for a change."

"I'm going to miss you too." I say with a sad smile. I immediately feel like crying so I'm thankful that she wraps her arms around me so that my face is covered. Lily was one of my first friends here and I will forever be grateful. In one month, I trust her more than I do with people I have known my entire life. I know she is going to be someone I will truly miss.

"Oh, I completely forgot." Lily suddenly says, wiping away her tears and faces me. "Stefano wanted to speak to you."

"Okay. I will catch you later." I tell her with a smile before walking in the direction of Stefano's office.

I admire the family photos on the wall that I hadn't noticed before. It is bizarre to see Gale with cute ringlets instead of his usual soft waves, and Leon with lighter hair rather than his dark hair. I would not be surprised if he admitted to dying his hair.

I take a deep breath before knocking on the door, confused as to why he is asking for me. I heard Stefano yell for me to come in and I wearily step into the office. He gestures for me to sit, so I awkwardly sit in the big arm chair, surprised that no one else is here.

"I wanted to thank you for accepting to go into that building and risk your life for not only your gang but mine too." Stefano speaks honestly, and for once I see a genuine person behind the fake cold exterior. Now that I take a look closer, he is more like my father than I thought. Hiding his true emotions with a stone wall.

"I would do it all again if I had to." I state, lifting up my chin as I begin tapping my finger on the arm chair. We stare at each other for a moment, as if we are trying so hard to read each other. Stefano is such a difficult man to figure out, considering he has so many different personalities.

"That isn't all." He claims and I raise my eyebrow as he stares behind me. My eyebrows furrow together as I turn my head. A gasp escapes from my lips. A wide smile spreads across my face and I feel like crying for the second time today.

"Daddy?" I cry out, before jumping up and run over to him. I wrap my arms around him. He half lifts me up from the floor and chuckles softly at me, which makes me smile wider. I missed his laugh.

"I've missed you so much sweetheart." He whispers to me, very aware of the other person in the room. I can't seem to keep a straight face as a smile is still plastered to my face. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

He leads me out of the room without saying anything else to Stefano. I loop my arm with his as we walk up in a comfortable silence. He orders Gabriel, Mark and his second, Andrew, to walk behind us for safety as he is always one for caution.