Arianna’s POV
I couldn’t believe I was finally going to see my grandparents. My relationship with Gabriele was nothing I thought it would become. He was the love of my life.
But I never thought he would let me go back to America to see my grandparents.
I still had an escort of guards following after me from strategic locations but the freedom was overwhelming.
I had tears in my eyes by the time the cars hit the road and I was asked to input my address. My hands shook as I typed the words on the pad.
I was finally going to see my nonna.
My heart raced and my stomach did several backflips as my eyes remained glued to the window. I thought my life was ruined when Gabriele bought me from those horrible men.
When I even discovered that my parents were the ones who sold me, I thought I would pass out. Little did I know that I was getting closer to my prince charming. My Gabriele.
When I told Brett to stay out of my life, a little part of me, missed the fact that I would never see my grandparents anymore because I thought Gabriele would never let me travel away from him.
But here it was. It was happening and I was on my way to see my grandparents.
I closed my eyes to control my excitement as I thought of different scenarios in my head. What if they died?
I sat up immediately and shook my head. No, they couldn’t die. They were just fine.
“Ma’am, we are here,” The driver announced and I jumped out of the car before any of them could get it.
I ran to the front porch of our beautiful mansion with my heart in my throat. I feared I would find the worst of my thoughts in front of me.
The door opened before I even pressed the doorbell. It was my grandfather!
“Grandfather!” I yelled running into his arms.
He was shocked to see me and as I embraced him, he froze for a few seconds before his body restarted and he started coughing.
“Grandfather, are you okay?” I asked pulling away from him as fear captured my heart.
As he coughed trying to get a hold of himself, I saw the tears in his eyes before I heard the small shuffling of feet by his side.
“Arianna? Is that really you?”
“Nonna!” I cried running to her.
“My Arianna!” She cried hugging me so tight, I could hardly breathe but I didn’t complain. I have missed them so much.
God, I thought I would never see them again.
“Come inside my child,” my grandfather said with a glass of water in his hands.
“Where have you been?! We were so worried, I thought your parents have stolen you away from us,” My nonna cried as she held me in her arms.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand and pulled both of them close. “Oh Grandfather,” I cried again.
I was so emotional I couldn’t bring myself to speak. This was so much I couldn’t handle it.
I was happy, sad, and angry, all at once. To think that all of these were caused by my supposed parents.
“It’s cold out here. Come with me. Walter will handle your friends,” My grandfather said motioning to the three cars that had come with me.
I nodded unable to make out words as I felt a large lump sit in my throat.
We walked inside and my nonna made sure I sat with her. She didn’t want to let me go for even a second.
“Tell me, dear child. What happened?” My grandfather asked me as he took his glasses out of his pockets and placed them on his nose.
“Where can I start…” I whispered with a small smile.
“From the very beginning my child,” My nonna said beside me.
“My parents got me kidnapped,” I cried out and my grandfather’s eyes narrowed.
I went on to tell them everything that happened down to my relationship with Gabriele.
“Hmmm, I am happy all of these is ending with the hope of seeing my great-grandchildren,” My nonna said and we all burst into a pearl of laughter and tears of joy.
The next few days that followed I spent it going to different functions with them and just catching up with everything I have missed in the last couple of months.
**
“Nita lost her footing in life the moment she met Owen. We knew that our daughter was no more the moment she got married to that criminal man, and that was why we took you as soon as we could. Please do not consider them your parents,” Nonna said as we sat in the garden enjoying the evening breeze on my sixth day with them.
I was sitting between the both of them with their hands in mine.
“They were never your parents,” My grandfather said from his end.
I smiled at both of them. I was grateful to them for taking me away from my parents when they did.
“Thank you. Both of you, for saving me,” I whispered kissing their hands.
My phone rang out before I could say anything and I checked who it was. It was Basilio. He had been calling for days just to check on me as Gabriele was busy with work.
“Please excuse me,” I said as I got up to answer Basilio’s call.
I walked a few feet away from my grandparents and picked up the call.
“Hey, Basilio, where is my boyfriend?” I asked squinting my eyes at the surrounding flowers like they were miniature versions of Basilio.
“Arianna,” he breathed. “We have gone through this already. He barely even comes home these days. We have serious issues with our foreign investors. He has been worried sick…”
“Sure you will defend him. If he is worried sick about his business. What about me? What if something happened to me?” I wasn’t being jealous, I was just pulling his legs.
Gabriele texted me every night. And I completely understood how stressful losing so much money meant for him.
This was me only trying to rile Basilio up.
“Nothing will happen to you Arianna, Jeez!” He cried out and I sniffled a laugh at his frustration.
“Well, you better ask him to come to pick me up at the airport. I will be returning in three days,” I said on the phone.
“Arianna, he is in Russia right now. How can he pick you-” he started to say but I stopped him.
“I don’t care. Make it happen for your Fratello Basilio, or you won’t like what I will do to the both of you!” I threatened and then ended the call.
I was putting the phone back into my pocket when I heard it ding. I smiled as I figured, Basilio must have told Gabriele about my threat.
I brought the phone to my eyes and the smile on my face got replaced with a frown at what greeted my eyes.
“What?” I whispered as my heart flipped over.
It was a picture of Gabriele with Eleana?
I shook my head as I refused to accept it. This was someone trying to rile me up and break us apart. I spoke to Gabriele the night before, he was so tired, I could feel it from my end of the phone and he texted me every day.
He had nothing to do with Eleana.
Besides, if there was anyone I should be concerned with it might have been Nadia and not Eleana. She was an attention-seeking bitch.
I looked at the picture closely and shook my head this was made up. I sent the picture to Basilio and dialed his number again and it didn’t for more than two seconds before he picked it up.
“Arianna, where did you get these?!” He whispered. “I can assure you these are old pictures. Look at the walls properly. This is the old mansion! Gabriele has nothing to do with any other woman in this world but you!”
I was silent and I knew my silence was killing him.
He was right. This was a made-up picture or an old picture. Gabriele wasn’t an angel but he wasn’t a chronic cheat either.
“Arianna!” He called when my silence went on for longer than anticipated.
“I am here Basilio-”
“Do not believe anything anyone tells you-” he started to say desperately trying to make me understand but I didn’t need it.
“I know Basilio. Someone is trying to cause problems between us. I want you to keep this away from him okay?”
“Okay,” he stuttered in shock.
“I’ll come home as soon as I can and we will figure out who this bastard is. Gabriele has too much on his hands already.”
“You are right Arianna. I will contact Mike and Niko so along. We will begin the investigation before you come, so we have something to work with,” He said.
“That’s great. I have to go now,” I said before I ended the call.
Whoever thought they could walk into my life and mess things up was mistaken. I wasn’t one of those heroines in movies. I trusted Gabriele with the whole of me.
He wouldn’t cheat on me no matter what!