(NFTMB)Chapter 108
Alessandro
(You’re Not To Be Blamed)
“She’s so beautiful and tiny, Alessandro”. Bianca said in excitement.
“She looks so much like Alessandro”
“Shut up, Nic. She’s only a day old. How are you gonna know who she looks like?”
“Damn you, Valentino. Of course she’s gonna look like somebody.”
“Alright, that’s enough the both of you. Give her to me”. Mother said.
“Ugh okay. This is all your fault, Nic.”
“Just shut up and give her the baby”
“Fine”
“I’ve missed you soo much”. Victoria cooed to Matteo with a wide smile on her face as she held him close to her chest.
The bond that they share is beautiful. She loves him like he was her own.
I’m sure that whore Roberta never could make him this way.
I had called Bianca and informed her to come over to the hospital with Matteo immediately after Amara was born.
Amara.
She has returned. She’s back.
Athena even has her features as early as now. Her beautiful and lustrous hair was as dark as Amara’s.
She’s so beautiful.
Now I have a daughter. Matteo has a sister. Victoria has a daughter.
Wow. Bianca has been calling me a girl dad and strangely, it felt cool.
I liked it. Scratch that.
I loved it.
A part of me wished that she would agree to come home with me.
Back to New York. I wish she would agree to raise our daughter there. But if she refuses and insists on raising her here in Paris then I won’t force her.
She’s the mother so it’s her decision. I’ll respect any decision she makes.
I would only try to visit her as much as possible.
She was still looking tired and weak as she held Matteo while laying on the bed.
There were three females beside her. The girl who Valentino employed to keep her company. Her friend Grace who she said is the godmother of Athena.
Well I don’t mind. The Grace girl was here with her sister, Megan who Victoria said lives here in Paris as well.
The hospital room is crowded. Everyone was here and I don’t know how okay that is. Even for a private ward.
I feel like very soon a staff member is going to burst in here and demand that everybody leaves to avoid suffocating the new mother and not to mention that Matteo was making a whole lot of noise.
He’s growing up way too quickly and becoming a handful. He can walk now and is actually quite steady on his feet.
He gives Niccolo a headache anytime he sprints off in any direction of the mansion expecting Niccolo to chase after him.
It’s exhausting even for me.
I hate the sport of running after him just to try and catch him. But then again it seems like his favorite thing to do. So, I have no choice but to follow.
He really has a weird sense and idea of play. His play is not fun to me or Nic. It’s tiring.
Now here with Victoria, he wasn’t running around, he was just yelling out words and phrases that nobody could understand.
He’s not being fussy or naughty because it’s Victoria but once it’s me or Niccolo, then the trouble begins.
He loves her. Right from the very first time she held him. He’s always been comfortable around her.
Even when she was pregnant. He was always beside her and with her. Most times he even talks to the baby.
Right from the moment she left, I felt empty just like the house. Nothing made sense anymore and nothing made me happy.
It was quite difficult to concentrate on something, even work.
A new CEO had emerged from Castleford Enterprises.
His sister, Vera Castleford had taken over the business and is actually doing a great job.
It had been all over the news how Margaret Castleford and her new boyfriend, Leonard had made a plot to torture and kill Bernard for his money.
They had strapped him to a chair and beat him up till he was bruised and bleeding and then they had wanted to shoot him before the boyfriend shot Margaret in the chest and all because he planned to take the money all for himself.
He had released Bernard Castleford so he could show him the deeds and documents to the company and the house, every damn thing that he owned and worked hard for.
Bernard had successfully shot him in the leg before the boyfriend shot him dead and took the documents.
He had snuck into my property in hopes of stealing from me too and killing me for my wealth.
Had it not been for the ambulance that came in when the mess was still there, we wouldn’t have had a need to twist the story. It would have simply been a mafia affair. Nothing involving the press.
The police had gotten involved.
A gun wielding Leonard had walked into my home and shot my uncle, my right hand man and my maid down because they had refused to tell him where my documents were.
He killed them because they refused to lead him to my study.
It was even said that he tried to assault my pregnant wife and that’s when I shot him in the head.
He would have shot my mother and my sister or maybe even my son had it been for the fact that they went out on a trip that day.
I was seen as the hero now.
And even Victoria’s exit to Paris further fueled the claim.
Too much had happened in the house for her to still be there and give birth there.
She wanted space. She wanted fresh air. She wanted a new scenery.
She left for Paris because the trauma was too much for her to bear.
I was even given an award and a title. Actually, titles.
Vera Castleford and the entire Castleford family had come to apologize to me for the ruckus that Bernard had brought into my home and for the people I lost.
Amara was known everywhere as a hero who jumped in front of a gun to save her boss. They sang praises of her and even write articles about her now.
Lots of articles describing her beauty and analyzing her gorgeousness.
The aftereffect on my company and my businesses were totally out of this world. I made hundreds of millions in profits off of the company alone.
Phantom Hotels on its own is always trending on social media and always packed, day in day out.
The rooms weren’t even enough to accommodate the guests. More people would always be trooping in everyday.
It’s been ranked number one on every reputable business site and platform.
Pyramid Heights blew up in popularity before it was even launched and fully opened for business.
I trashed Bernard’s garbage idea of having a launch party in another place instead of the place being launched. Screw him and his stupid plan.
I had the party thrown in Pyramid Heights and it was a smash.
It was a huge success. Strictly by invitation and security was as tight as the word tight.
I’ve been in Paris for more than a month now.
Ever since Valentino called me up in the middle of the night and told me how much Victoria has been crying and the reason for her tears.
I haven’t been at peace.
I landed in France the next day and I’ve been watching her secretly everyday.
Most times when she was asleep, Valentino would let me into the house so I could see her.
Even though she was asleep. Each and every time I was with her, she would bear tear streaks on her face. It was a constant.
She would cuddle with the giant teddy bear toy that originally belonged to Matteo but she took it with her to Paris. Possibly as something to remember him by.
I hadn’t known what to make of her actions before she said those words.
I Love You.
She had said it and just like a statue, I froze. I couldn’t believe it.
She had said it so casually and so genuinely.
Victoria loves me. I didn’t respond to her because I didn’t know what to say to her.
I love you too?
That would be lying because I don’t love her. I don’t actually know if I love her.
I can’t tell if what I feel for her is love or if it’s just a sense of responsibility and maybe a little bit of guilty conscience.
I’m still trying to atone for my sins against her.
She says she has forgiven me and doesn’t hold a grudge against me but that still doesn’t change the fact that I hurt her.
Countless times I hurt her.
I did bad things to her. I made her miserable and sad.
I took away her freedom and even her life.
I did some things that I am not proud of and I still feel guilty about.
One of them is causing her friend’s death. It was my fault.
I caused it.
I never should have gotten him fired from his job. I never should have done that.
That was actually the day he died even if it technically was not the day he crashed. I killed him that day and sealed his fate with what I did.
And I plan to apologize to her for that.
Niccolo suggested not to tell her and move onward, forgetting about the past.
He says she might get angry and would never forgive me for it. I’ll take that.
I’ll take all that. It doesn’t matter.
I’ll take anything she does to me or says to me.
It’s not like my conscience is going to be weighing on me and keeping me up at night and stuff like that.
No.
I don’t have a conscience. I can still sleep comfortably at night even with the knowledge of everything I’ve done and that is never going to change.
When I heard that Sofia killed herself by bitting her own tongue, I was shocked.
I was very shocked and very surprised but that lasted only for a short while as I went back to whatever I was doing then and later went to sleep.
It’s not my problem and it’s definitely not my fault. I told her to leave and she didn’t listen. Besides, she bit her tongue herself. I didn’t force her to do it and neither did I do it for her.
She’s out of my hands now. Meanwhile her family is still searching for Roberta.
I plan to tell Victoria about Simon because of her own conscience.
She believes it’s her fault. She blames herself and accuses herself of being the one at fault for their strained relationship and the fact that they drifted apart prior to his death.
Not knowing that it was all me. My actions had plunged him into depression and a state of confusion.
He was angry and sad and Victoria deserves to know that it was never her fault.
She shouldn’t blame herself.
The nurse walks in and is shocked to see the number of people in the room.
I told you so.
At the end of the day, they were all asked to leave the room and only a certain number of people were allowed in even if it was a private room.
There were a lot of them though.
We were more than ten inside the room. Victoria begged the nurse to let Matteo stay and she agreed.
The boy had even fallen asleep now.
It was quiet as it was just us now. Me, Victoria, Matteo who was in a deep slumber and Athena who I was holding.
It was kind of awkward but not really awkward.
Let’s just call it a comfortable silence.
She was awake and was holding Matteo while I sat in a chair in the room with Athena.
“How have you been?”. She suddenly said, completely snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Good. I’m doing good.”
“Okay. That’s actually great to know”
“You? What about you?”. I asked her
“I’m trying. I’m trying really hard. I’ll be fine”
“I’m sorry. I know most of that is all my fault.”
“No it’s not. Stop apologizing, Alessandro”. She said with a smile.
“No, it is. It’s my fault.”
“It’s not. If it’s about the past, you can stop talking about it now. It’s not your fault. Nobody’s supposed to be blamed except your father. He made you that way. He was a horrible person. A despicable adult and downright worthless father.
He forced you to do those things. You were just a child”.
Was I? Was I forced? Was I just a brainless child? Is that true?
“You think so?”
“I know so. Look at Matteo. He’s growing up just right because he has you. You’re not like your sick father else Matteo would have become twisted and corrupted even at this age. You’re not to be blamed”. She gently said
“Really? I’m not to be blamed? What if I tell you that what happened with your late friend, Simon was all my fault. Would you still think I’m not to be blamed?”