/Eliana's POV/
It's a noisy morning today. The kids are rushing to school, although they were not late. Mom is packing their lunch box, Paula is packing their books, and I'm doing Bella's hair. Marco is eating his breakfast while feeding Bella. She wasn't complaining since he was taking one bite for himself and one for her. I was smiling the whole time seeing the love they had for each other.
"And done," I said, kissing her head.
"Thanks, Mom," she gave me a peck on my cheeks.
"Can you do my hair too?" Marco stood in front of me.
"Of course, sweetie," I took the brush and fixed his already done hair. "here," I said before kissing his head.
"Thank you, Mom," he giggled as he wrapped his hands around my neck.
"Alright, guys. Here you go," Paula said after handing them their bags and lunch boxes.
"Thank you, Mama!" They said in unison.
"I swear having two moms is tiring, especially for me," Mom said, sitting on the chair she got near her.
"Sorry, Granny!"
"Are you in the same mode?" I asked, seeing how they are saying things together.
"You got a problem with that?" Bella rose a brow. I shook my head not to cause any argument.
"Bella, stop talking to your mom like that!" Paula scolded her.
"Sorry," she lowered her head.
"Can we just go?!" Marco whined, making us laugh.
"Ok, let's go," I held their hand, running outside.
"BECAREFUL!" Mom and Paula shouted. I simply nodded, waving them goodbye. I opened the passenger seat for them, and they went inside. After checking their seat belt was on, I went to my seat and started the engine. I was focusing on the road, searching for an ice cream parlor when I heard them whispering something.
"Tell her," was the loudest thing I heard from their whisper.
"Tell me what?" I asked, making them shift their attention to me.
"Nothing—"
"The principal told Bella to bring her parents," Marco said in one go.
"What did you do this time?" I ask tiredly.
"Someone didn't know how to take a joke," she crossed her arms looking out the window.
"Or you didn't know how to make one," I looked at her through the rare mirror.
"Can you not tell Mama?" Marco held my seat, pouting.
"I won't," I smiled. "And, Bella, you should stop bullying people. This is the fourth time I'm going,"
"You were like that too,"
"Hey, you can't use that on me!"
"I mean, I have your blood," she almost whispered.
"That doesn't give you the right to bully anyone," I sighed. "Plus, I never bullied anyone,"
"I wasn't bullying him, I just wanted to be his friend," she lowered her head.
"That's true, Mom. She even scolded those who laughed at him," Marco gave his witness.
"We will talk about that later. Now let's buy the ice creams," I said after I pulled over to the drive-through. "One vanilla and one chocolate flavor," I spoke to the machine and it told me to go to the window. I lastly took the ice cream and paid before giving it to them.
"Thank you, Mom!" I smiled at them and we went to their school.
When we reached there, Marco went to his class while Bella and I went to the principal's office. I convinced her to say sorry after a long argument and the principal told me to wait for the other student's parents in the other room. 'I hope this won't take long,' I thought seeing my watch. Just then the door cracked open.
"Sorry for—" the voice stopped as I turned around. 'You have got to be kidding me,' I said inside my head. And I'm sure he is thinking that too because he is rubbing his temple.
"Is it your son?" I asked when it was obvious.
"Yeah," he paused for a second. "Why are you here?" I went silent.
"They called me,"
"That explains it," he scoffed.
"Explains what?"
"Where she got her bullying genes from,"
"Excuse me?"
"Anyways, tell her to stop harassing my son," he made a disgusting face.
"And teach your son how to stand for himself. Oh wait, he got the genes from you," I pointed at him with a bitter smile.
"God, are you trying to blame it on my son?"
"He is the one who didn't know how to take a joke!"
"Did they seriously call you as a parent?"
"Why? Are you called as a child?"
"Can you try to talk as a grown adult?"
"I will when you grow up," I looked dead into his eyes. He wanted to say something but sucked his breath and closed his eyes.
"You know what? I don't want to waste my time talking to someone who doesn't care about others," he stormed off. But I held his arm.
"Are you calling me selfish?"
"Isn't that your name?" he yanked his arm. I pulled him again and grabbed his collar.
"How dare you?!" I could feel my eyes getting watery. "How dare you call me selfish when—" I stopped and just stared at him.
"When what?!" he glared at me, breathing heavily. I didn't know what to say, so I slowly removed my hands from his collar. However, before my hands fully slipped, he grabbed my elbows and pulled me closer.
"Answer my fucking question. When what?!" his eyes were piercing into my soul. For some moments, I forgot how to speak.
"I . . ." At that moment, there was a knock on the door. I gathered all my energy and pushed him away, fixing myself. I then opened it, revealing Bella with the principal and a boy.
"Did you guys talk?" The principal looked at me and Riccardo.
"Ye—"
"Is she your mom?" he asked Bella. She looked at me before answering.
"Why? Is it because we have the same eye color?"
"You're half right. I mean, Gray is a rare eye color," he then looked at me. "Along with the attitude,"
"We have it as a family," I smiled at him.
"Is she—" Bella didn't let him finish.
"She isn't. She is like my mom, though," she replied, which hurt me a bit, but I chose to ignore it.
"Good," he said in a tone that had some relief.
"Why? Is being my child a crime?"
"It's a curse," he said, shifting his attention to the principal. "I want to talk to her real mother," he sounded firm.
"There is no need for that. You just talked to my Mom. And I will never 'bully' him," Bella said, forming a quote sign with her hand. "I'm sorry to bother you, Luca. I will never talk to you again. And if it makes you comfortable, I will not breathe the same air as you," her voice cracked as she said that.
"That was all. Can I go to my class?" She raised her head, asking permission from the principal. He gave her a nod, and she came towards me. I kneeled as she approached, and she kissed me on my cheek. "It's not a curse to be her child," she looked at Riccardo.
"I'm sorry," he almost whispered.
"Don't talk bad about people in front of children," she said before walking out. This whole time, the kid was just looking at her, afraid of saying anything.
"I'll be leaving," I went out without even glancing at Riccardo.
On my way outside, I passed by Marco's class. He waved at me through the window when he saw me. I waved back, blowing him a kiss. He dramatically caught it and blew me another kiss. I returned the drama and left. I finally reached my car and left from there.
When I arrived at my office, Anna welcomed me with a bunch of documents as usual. She was explaining what each document had, and I was acting interested. I lastly opened my door and got rid of her. She was just doing her job, but I was annoyed.
My office was decorated with red roses, which surprised me a bit. As long as I know, today is neither valentines nor my birthday, and Edoardo is in Milan. So who. . .
"Surprise!" he came out of the other room of my office.
"Love, what a pleasant surprise," I said as he pulled me into his chest.
"I missed you," he buried his face inside my neck.
"I missed you too," I pulled out from the hug. "I thought you went for a whole week,"
"Your Papà called this morning," I sighed loudly. "And why didn't you call me?" he raised a brow.
"That was hot,"
"That's not gonna work,"
"It wasn't a big deal. And I didn't want to disturb you," I said instead of, 'Your secretary was a bitch,'
"Hey," he cupped my cheeks with his big hands. I never failed to notice how big his hands actually are whenever he puts them on my cheeks. "You never disturb me," he finished it with a kiss on my forehead.
"Did your secretary come with you?"
"No, I let her off yesterday."
"Why?"
"I don't know. She asked me for a day off, and I gave it to her," he removed a strand of hair from my face.
"Good," I said with a slight smirk on my face. He then slowly leaned in and pecked my lips. When he was about to remove himself, I grabbed his collar and smashed my lips on his. The kiss started slowly, and things started getting hotter as he dropped everything on my table to put me on it. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my hands on his shoulder. Our tongues fought for dominance, and I won, tasting every inch of his mouth. He untucked my shirt from my pants, and his cold hands started roaming all over my back, making me moan inside his mouth. He then moved his hands to the front, squeezing my boobs without removing my bra. He broke the kiss, trying to catch a breath.
"Do you want me to take you right here?" he asked with his hands still inside my shirt.
"I'd love to, but I have to sign the documents you dropped on the floor, and I have to meet someone tonight," he nodded and took his hands out of my shirt. I tucked the shirt back, and he fixed my hair and lipstick.
"How about I make you dinner at home?" he wiped the corner of my lips.
"Dessert on me," I rested my arms on his shoulders.
"Sounds good," he pecked my lips.