[GIOSEFFO]
I continued to run my fingers through her hair. Eventually, I couldn’t resist any longer and kissed the top of her head.
“I missed you, Gio. I dreamt of you while I was fighting for my life,” she said in a low, almost hushed voice. “You’re the reason I fought, even when I thought I might not make it back to your side.”
I remembered my mother’s words, that my dad and I were the reasons Millie fought to hold on to life when it was almost taken from her. I smiled when I heard Millie say those words.
“And I have no regrets, especially now, I found out I’m pregnant,” she said, raising her gaze. Her eyes were slightly puffy, as if she had been crying earlier. “Were you waiting for me? Did I make you wait too long?”
I shook my head. “It’s okay, I will never get tired of waiting for you, Millie. It’s always worth it.”
Her smile widened at my words, and I pondered what we would need to do when she left the hospital. Apart from her condition, she was also pregnant. We would need to be even more cautious, not just double, but triple careful.
We sat together in silence for a while until I mustered the courage to speak again.
“Do you regret anything you’ve done?” I asked her.
“No, I don’t regret anything, Gio. From the moment we met, from letting you into my life, from becoming your wife I don’t regret a single thing.”
“If you hadn’t shielded me from that bullet, you wouldn’t be in this situation, Millie. Don’t do that again.”
“If what you’re referring to is regretting protecting you, Gio, then I have no regrets. If it happens again, I’ll do it all over. If you can risk your life to protect me, I can do the same for you. I will protect you, Gio. Our love isn’t one-sided; it means there’s no turning back for us, and it will never be one-sided.” She looked up at me. “We’re partners, right? You protect me, and I will protect you, too.”
Such a stubborn wife, but that’s one of the reasons why I love her.
“I wonder what the gender of our first baby will be. Hmm, what do you want, Gio? A girl or a boy?” She looked at me again, her eyes filled with happiness and excitement, and it was contagious.
“Either,” I replied to her with a smile.
Millie sniffed, behaving as if she had never been shot. What a brave girl.
“I hope it’s a boy? So, you can have an heir? Will he take over your position-oh, wait! Tobias and Lucian. Will they compete to be the next boss? What if you have a son?” She bombarded me with questions about succession, although it’s too early to determine. I already had an idea of what might happen.
“A girl is fine with me,” I told her. “And I want her to look just like you, act like you. Hopefully, she won’t inherit my personality. I don’t want another Gianna in my life. They’re hard to deal with.”
She playfully hit my chest, and a chuckle escaped my lips. “Oh, come on! Gia is a badass,” she said to me. “Speaking of Gianna, where is she? She hasn’t visited me yet. Is she busy?”
The smile faded from my lips when I heard my twin sister’s name. We hadn’t spoken yet, and I knew we needed to have a conversation, just the two of us.
“She’s not showing up because of me,” I told Millie.
“Huh? Why?”
“I was mad at her and blamed her for what happened to you.”
“Wha-ouch!” I was alarmed when I heard her groan and she clutched her chest.
“I’ll call the doctor,” I started to leave, but she stopped me.
“No need. I’m okay.” She calmed herself. “Why would you blame her? It’s not Gianna’s fault.”
“If she hadn’t let you go, none of this would have happened.”
“That’s so wrong! I insisted; it’s not her fault. Plus, we didn’t expect Rory to show up.” She sighed heavily. “You should apologize.”
“Even if you hadn’t told me, I would apologize. I know I was wrong there. I was just waiting for the situation to calm down before we talk.”
Millie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. “At least you learned something.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Like what?”
“Like admitting your mistakes. You used to act high and mighty, as if you never made a mistake. Now you can acknowledge your mistakes. That’s great.”
I hadn’t actually noticed that about myself. I knew many things had changed in me since Millie entered my life. She brought light into my dark world, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it. Now that she pointed it out, I realized that might indeed be who I’ve become. I never admitted my mistakes because I often blamed others, but now, I understand that it’s my fault, and I need to do something to correct it. That’s a significant step for me, I suppose.
“Gio…” I just looked at her without speaking, waiting for what she would say next. “I love you.”
A warm feeling settled in my chest, and I was acutely aware that my heart was pounding and functioning. She was the only one who had this effect on me. Only Millie.
“Love is not enough to describe my feelings for you, Millie. It’s more than that.” I kissed her forehead and let her head rest on my chest.
This is the life I had always desired. A life with Millie.
~*~
“I thought you wouldn’t come.” I saw Gianna sitting on a wooden bench in the hospital courtyard. There were a few people in the distance, but we could still talk freely.
I turned to look at my twin. Her eyes were initially icy, but they conveyed something else, something I didn’t often see in her.
I took a seat next to her, and she allowed me. I offered her favorite drink, fruit tea. She gazed at it for a moment before accepting it. “It’s a miracle you still remember anything about me. I thought Amelie had taken over your entire mind, and you had forgotten everything else.”
I smiled, though it was somewhat strained. I knew there was an underlying message in her words. I could taste the bitterness in every word she spoke.
“I still remember a lot about you, Gia,” I replied, taking a deep breath. “I wanted to apologize for what happened the other day. I was just consumed by my-”
“Emotions, right,” she interrupted, taking a sip of her fruit tea through the straw. “Emotions that you shouldn’t feel, yet you let them rule you.”
I remained silent, gazing into the distance as I sipped my coffee.
“I thought after what happened to us during our childhood, we would have disregarded the concept of emotions. You were so good at doing that until you met that certain girl. She changed everything about you, to the point where I hardly recognize you anymore.” She shrugged. “She changed you beyond recognition, Gio. Sometimes, I wonder if you’re still my brother.”
“I am still your brother, Gia.”
“She took you away from me,” my sister said in a soft voice. “You were the only one I had, and you’re always there for me. But you left me to be by her side. I actually wanted to ruin both of you.”
I sighed in response to Gianna’s words. A sad smile played on her lips.
“But I didn’t. I had the choice to let her drown and die that night with her father, but I chose to save her. I could sabotage your life with her, but I didn’t. Maybe deep down, I know you’d hate me for it, and I don’t want that. You’re all I have left.” Gianna chuckled, but it was devoid of humor. “So when Amelie wants to do something, I let her. I want to see her worth. I want to know what you saw in her that made you leave me alone in the darkness, even though we promised as children that we’d never part ways, Gioseffo. I want to see what you saw in her. Maybe if I see it, I’ll understand.”
I moved closer to my sister and hugged her. She rested her head on my shoulder as I patted her back.
“I am always here, Gia. Even though I have a family now or when Millie entered my life, I’m still here for you. You don’t have to think that I left you.”
Perhaps we got too used to our childhood days, where it was just the two of us in a world where no one else could intrude. In that world, it was just the two of us, siblings who understood each other, who felt each other’s pain, and who shared a bond that no one else could penetrate. So when Millie came into my life and my attention shifted to her, my sister felt abandoned.
I suppose that was my fault. I neglected her because I focused too much on Millie, without realizing that I was leaving Gianna behind. Everything made sense now, why she was so against Millie.