Everything felt like a dream. It felt like one of her numerous hallucinations, maybe she was missing her kids so much that she imagined them being with her - those were Adriana's thoughts.
But when they rushed to the bed and threw themselves into her arms, she realized it wasn't a hallucination, nor a dream. They were right here. In her arms.
"My… My babies," she whispered, her hands moving around their bodies to hold them tightly in her arms.
"My babies. My…" Her voice quivered as her emotions took the best of her. She cried silently as she held them dearly to herself.
"Thank God you're fine, Mommy. We miss you," Emiliano uttered in a crack voice.
Riccardo watched them from where he sat. How long he had wished for this moment. The Mother and sons bond was worth watching and it felt fulfilling.
The bonding took longer than he expected. When they finally pulled away, he watched as Emelio raised his hand and cleaned all the traces of tears in her eyes.
"Don't cry, Mommy. I'll cry too," he whispered. Adriana instantly cleaned her face with the back of her palm before releasing a light smile.
"Mommy is not crying, I'm just happy," she muttered. Her eyes went to Riccardo whose eyes were on them, watching the whole scene.
"Did you…?" She couldn't complete her sentence. She just didn't know how to. The truth was glaring right in front of her. Riccardo had found out about his boys and he brought them to the clan. But how?
"It's been a week, you should freshen up and have your meal," Riccardo uttered, ignoring her curious stares.
"Rick is right. You need to eat, you've been sleeping for days," Emiliano pouted beside her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder lovingly.
"Rick?" Adriana whispered. Her eyes darted between the twins and Riccardo. What happened while she was unconscious?
Alvaro entered the room at that moment. He smiled when he saw her awake. "You're up," he said with a smile.
Adriana raised a brow and stared at Riccardo. "He's the Doctor who treated you," Riccardo said as though he knew what was on her mind.
"Oh…" she mouthed before taking her eyes back to Alvaro.
"Do you feel any pain in your body? Can you move your arms? What about your leg? You were in a coma for a week, I'm afraid it'll be a little hard for you to get back in place," Alvaro said.
Come to think of it, she never bothered about her health. The only thing who came to her mind when she woke up was Riccardo. She wanted to make him reason that she wasn't their Mother's killer. And strangely, she couldn't bring herself to hate his brothers even after everything they had done to her.
"My legs feel numb, I can't move them," she said after trying to move her legs. Her hand mistakenly touched her stomach and she groaned out.
Riccardo immediately reached out to her, staring at her with huge concern on his face. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"The scars on your body would take a long time to heal, but don't worry, I got you covered" Alvaro spoke out.
"Is there anything else?" Riccardo faced Alvaro who shook his head.
"For now, there's nothing. All she needs right now is to rest, and do ensure she doesn't skip her meals. Once all these are done, then there shouldn't be any problem," Alvaro replied.
"Alright. I'll see you later," Riccardo said. Hearing that, Alvaro smiled widely. Riccardo seeing him later means one thing. Huge cash.
"Thanks, Boss. I'll take my leave now," He bowed his head and left the room.
"You need to have your bath," Riccardo spoke out. Adriana's attention went to him.
"Oh, yeah. Can you direct Rebecca here please? I think I might need her help," She bit her lips.
"Why would you need her help when I'm here for you? Silly," Riccardo shook his head. He turned to the kids who were busy playing with the hem of Adriana's gown.
"Can you excuse your Mommy for a moment? She needs to clean up," he said. Emelio and Emiliano stood up without any objections.
"You can go to your room," they nodded and walked to the door. Once Emiliano opened the door, Emelio turned and frowned when he saw Riccardo still sitting beside his Mom.
"Aren't you coming along?" He asked.
"Huh?" Riccardo glanced at him. He heard Adriana stifling a laugh beside her and he let out a silent growl.
"I'll be with you in a short moment," he said. Emelio didn't buy that.
"If he tries anything with you, Mommy, just tell me. I'll bite his ass off!" Riccardo was taken aback at his possessive tone.
"Emelio!" Adriana yelled but rather, he smiled and went after Emiliano who was already out of the room.
"Is… is he really a seven years old boy?" Riccardo asked in incredulity. His actions were just like a man in his thirties.
They were finally alone. Adriana didn't know what to say so she kept quiet. She watched as Riccardo stood up before lifting her up in his arms.
"What are you doing?" She blinked her eyes when his hand went under her ass.
"What else?" He winked and made his way to the bathroom. When they got inside, he gently placed her on her feet. Her legs wobbled and he instantly wrapped her hands around his neck so she could regain her balance.
"Can you endure this for a moment?" He asked in a soft voice. Adriana nodded, balancing herself in his arms.
She felt his hands on the strap of the nightgown, he gently tugged at him and pulled it down her shoulders. Just before the gown could fall off her chest, Adriana released a hand and held the cloth to herself, preventing it from slipping to the ground.
"No," she shook her head. Her body by now was full of scars and she probably felt ugly. Riccardo would be disgusted by that and she couldn't risk it.
"What's wrong?" His voice made her gaze up at him. She shook her head as her eyes got filled with tears.
"You can't see me this way, Riccardo. You'll be disgusted," her voice came out as a whisper. To her surprise, he held her hand and let it down from her chest. The dress immediately fell freely from her body, pooling down at her feet.
Adriana shut her eyes tight as she felt embarrassed. Her body was filled with deep scars, it wasn't a pleasant sight. The thought of Riccardo getting disgusted by her, turning his back and leaving her alone in the bathroom overwhelmed her and she felt her tears trickling down her cheeks.
The next thing she felt was his lips on her neck, placing soft kisses on it. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life, Anna." His lips trailed down to her chest as he said those words.
"You're strong," he licked the deep scar just above her breast, kissing it deeply.
"You're gorgeous," he continued licking the scars on her body, his tongue trailing the line between her breasts till he got to her stomach. He placed a loving kiss on her tummy, caressing it softly.
"And you're the best gift nature has ever granted to me," when he murmured those words, Adriana opened her eyes.
"Thanks for giving me those jewels and raising them all alone, I'm forever grateful,"
"Rick," her voice shook from the excess tears spilling from her eyes. He stood straight and pulled her to his arms.
"Don't ever feel insecure, Anna. Not when I'm right beside you," he stroked her hair gently, taking all her insecurities away.
"Rick," Adriana clung to him tightly, not minding if she was naked. She cried in his arms, her tears dampening his shirt.
•••••••
Haunter had just spoken to Alvaro who informed her of Adriana's health. She was relieved to hear that. She had been restless ever since she discovered Adriana was in a coma. But now, she could finally breathe well.
She was on her way to her room when she came across Theodore. She rolled her eyes and walked past him. That was how it had been between them. She hadn't spoken a single word to him ever since the day he had tortured Adriana with his brothers.
"Hey," Theodore called out but she ignored him. He went after her and stopped her by holding her hand.
"Can you at least just say something?" Theodore asked in a strained voice. Haunter ignored that. She was still mad at him to care.
"What do I have to say to a monster except to stay away from me?" Her voice was cold which shocked Theodore to the bone. Slowly, his hand left hers and she walked away without turning back for once.
"You like that girl, don't you?" Theodore heard Antonio's voice behind him.
"What are you talking about?" He frowned. Antonio shrugged.
"Well, I like her," he uttered, a smile playing on his lips.
"What?" Theodore faced him immediately.
"I said I like her, do you have anything to do with that?" Antonio asked. Theodore was mute so Antonio took that as a yes.
"Once all this shit is finally over, I'll make a move. It's time to end this single life of mine," he muttered.
••••••••
Riccardo watched as Adriana ate her meal slowly. She had requested for another bowl and it was brought to her. He had offered to feed her but she blatantly refused.
"Quit the stare," Adriana said with her mouthful of beef. Riccardo was about to say a word when he felt his phone beeped on the drawer. He picked it up and the message he received put him on the edge.
[Turn back now. The path you're on leads to ruin,] the message reads.
The message he had just received implied someone is keeping a close eye on his every move. But who? The number who sent the message wasn't visible so he couldn't figure out where it came from.
The door opened and his attention was drawn from the message. He stared at the entrance just to find his brothers entering the room.
"It's time for us to settle this whole thing," Vincenzo spoke out. Adriana's hand froze in the air when she heard his voice. She raised her head from the meal and her heart seized up with fear when she saw them. Were they here to capture her again?
"I didn't kill Mother, I'm sincere," she immediately spoke out, reaching out to Riccardo for protection and comfort.