Chapter 68.
Angel POV.
Momma smiles at me. Dad, however, he is in shock. I look at Ryder and he is chuckling. He knows my dad will snap out of this. I think the timing was probably wrong to tell him with everything that is happening. "Dad, say something. Anything." I say and he blinks a few times before he places Rebel on her feet and he stands to his full height. He walks to me. I can see the tears shining in his eyes. He pulls me into a bear hug. "Oh Principessa. I am so happy for you both. I'm going to have another little bambino to dote on. Thank you." he kisses my head and I hug him tight. I don't know why I was worried my dad is a big softy at heart. "Sit down, you need to rest and..."
"Antonio, stop stressing. Angel knows what she is doing. Come on, my love. Give your daughter room to breathe." My momma says with a chuckle as dad looks at her.
"No, we missed out on Rebel. We are not missing out on this one. So you better be at her beck and call Ryder, or you will have me to answer to. I don't want her standing for too long. She needs to eat little and often and nothing is too much trouble. If she is craving fast food at three in the morning, you get your ass up and out that door to make sure she has what she wants. Or you will answer to me. My Principessa deserves the best." He says, pointing a finger at Ryder. I fight the chuckle that is building up my throat.
I look at momma, and she sighs, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. I plead with my eyes to tell her to rein him in. I can see it now. He is going to be worse than he was with momma when she was pregnant with Nico.
"My love, leave them alone. I'm sure Ryder knows what he has to do. Come on. We won't be missing anything, but please Antonio, let them do this," my momma says and I mouth thank you and she winks at me. My dad huffs and walks away, almost sulking, like a kid that has been told he can't have ice cream for breakfast.
I chuckle at him as he scoops up Rebel and kisses her before he moves to momma and kisses her.
"How you feeling, momma?" I ask as I move closer to her bed and sit beside her. She looks at me and smiles again.
"Better now that I have seen you all. Your dad told me about Matteo and Cassandria." I look down because it was me who made the call. I couldn't stand back and watch my dad take the blame for something he didn't do or know anything about.
"Yeah, I'm sorry momma, I couldn't just stand back and let our fate be decided by people who don't really know us. So I made the call, and I told them both straight that we had nothing to do with this mess and I may have sort of put them both straight." I say, as Ryder laughs as he talks to my dad. She takes my hand in hers.
"I'm proud of you, Angel. You stood up for this family. Enough talk of this nonsense. How do you feel?" I shake my head as I look at her. She is the one laying in a hospital bed and is asking me how I feel. Shouldn't it be the other way round?
"Momma, you are the one in here. How are you feeling? Really feeling." I say as I squeeze her hand and she raises an eyebrow at me. I know her game. She deflects and she won't get past me with that.
"I won't lie. I'm tender and sore. But nothing that won't heal in time. Everything will work out, Angel. You just wait and see. So do you have a scan picture of the latest addition to this mad family?" she asks and I rummage through the pregnancy folder and pull out the scan pictures and hand them to her.
She looks at them and has tears in her eyes.
"Bellissimo. Antonio, here look at your future grand baby." She says as she wipes her tears away.
"Ohhh, look at that," he says and Rebel is telling him what he is looking at. Pointing out the head, legs, and arms. She is going to be a great big sister. I place a hand on my lower abdomen. The shock has worn off and I smile. A large hand engulfs mine, and I look up to see Ryder smiling down at me.
"We will do this, Angel. Everything will be perfect." He says when he moves to his knees in front of me and kisses my stomach.
"Hey, little one. You be good for your
mommy. We can't wait to meet you. You are so loved already. I will
Tet
always protect you, your mommy and big sister. We all will. Rest my little bean." He says my fingers move through his hair as he rubs his nose against me. Rebel comes
closer and looks at what her daddy
is doing.
"I love you, baby bean." She says and places her small hand on me and I just burst with love and happiness for my growing little family.
After a while, momma starts to feel tired and we leave to head back to the mansion. As we are leaving, my dad calls me. I stop and turn as he walks towards us.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
"I will be dealing with Gianni in a few
days. Angel, I don't want you involved in this. You have enough to deal with. So understand, I want you to rest and not worry about any of this. You did the right thing getting in touch with Cassandria. You saved all ours asses. For that, this family owes their lives to you. I love you, Príncipessa." He kisses my cheeks and hugs me. I melt into him. My dad may be ruthless and is rightfully feared right after Matteo, but he would die for his family. Thankfully, he doesn't need to do that.
"I did what I had to. I wasn't going to stand around and let you or anyone else take the fall for this. Gianni needs to pay for this and he is already promise you dad, I won't be anywhere near when you do what is needed to protect us. I love you, dad. Just don't let your heart rule your decision." I say to him so only he can hear it.
"How did I get so lucky with a daughter like you? Always putting others first. You are a rare gem in this world, Angel. Never lose your light. I love you." he kisses my cheek again before we break apart and he wipes his eye. "Now, go and rest and lay off the candy." He says, and I chuckle slightly.
"Can't make that promise. See you later on, dad. If you or momma need anything, let me know. Don't worry about a thing. We have it all sorted." I tell him as I walk back to Ryder and Rebel.
"Bye nonno, take care of nonna." Rebel waves as we walk away. This will all come to an end soon enough and then our family can put this chapter of deceit and betrayal behind us.
It's just a shame it will come at the cost of my uncle's life. But he made his bed, and he has to lie in it. Even if it is under a tonne of dirt.