“No!” Melina says, pushing out of Thomas’ arm. “I still don’t agree” Melina couldn’t find it in her heart to agree to this. She refuses to accept that she must lose Thomas to get her sister.
“Principessa,” Thomas says softly, reaching for her, but she moves away from him.
“I forbid you!” Melina says, surprising even herself. Melina couldn’t believe she’d just said that, but she was glad she did.
“You forbid me?” Thomas, surprised, inquires.
“Yes, I forbid you to sacrifice yourself for my sister. You rescued me, so I believe you can rescue her.”
“Melina, it’s been almost a month since she was taken, and we still haven’t found a single clue as to where he could be keeping her.”
“It doesn’t matter; we will find her. I know you can, Thomas; I believe you can” Melina is desperate for Thomas to change his mind. She needs him to change his mind and rethink his decision. Melina doesn’t want to lose him.
“Rafael will kill her before we find her. I can’t take the risk. I’ve already caused you enough grief. I’m not going to change my mind on this.”
“What about me, Thomas? How do you want me to live without you? Don’t you care about my feelings? Melina is getting annoyed that Thomas isn’t considering how she will live with his blood on her hands.
“Of course your feelings matter, mi amore,” Thomas says, taking her face into his palms. “Nobody else matters in this world but you, and that’s why I’m doing this.”
“I still don’t agree, Thomas,” Melina says, shaking her head. Thomas’ hands around her cheeks drop. He closes his eyes and massages the bridge of his nose. Melina can tell he’s frustrated by her refusal to agree. That’s good, maybe it’ll persuade him to reconsider.
“I’m doing it regardless because I love you,” Thomas declares, leaving no room for further argument.
Melina stares at Thomas as she starts feeling annoyed with him. His obstinacy is making her angry. She believes they can find her sister and avoid him walking into the death trap that will be the trade-in, but Thomas refuses to listen to her.
“Kat, did you drive?” Melina suddenly inquires.
“Yes, dear.”
“Take me home, please. I don’t want to spend another second in the same room with someone who wants to torture me for the rest of my life.” She walks to the door, after picking up her purse from the coffee table.
“Melina,” Thomas says as she turns the knob on the door. She ignores him and slams the door shut.
THOMAS
“Fuck!” Thomas shouts, kicking the edge of the couch.
“Give her a few days. She will come around. Take care of yourself, dear,” his mother says, kissing him on the cheeks before she walking out.
“This is all your fault,” Thomas says to Stefano.
“She needed to know. You could die during the exchange.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” “That’s why I didn’t want her to fucking know,” Thomas yells.
“I’m not sorry for telling her. You will thank me later for this.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever fucking thank you. She’s fucking angry with me right now, and I need to spend every waking moment with her before it’s time.”
“As mama said, she will come around. Just take it slow with her.”
“When are you leaving?” Thomas has had enough of his brother’s advice for one day.
He walks over to his mini-fridge and pulls out a bottle of vodka. He needs something strong right now. He doesn’t know how to persuade Melina to agree to his decision; the whole thing is frustrating him. That’s why Thomas didn’t want her to find out. He knows Melina will never agree, but Thomas feels compelled to do it anyway.
Thomas feels this is nothing after everything he has done and caused. He even wishes he could do more to make amends for his mistakes and the pain he has caused her.
Thomas takes a sip of his drink and looks out the window. Staring at the skyscrapers opposite him, Thomas recalls he has a month before the exchange. He also realizes he must persuade Melina to agree to the swap before then so he can spend the time he may have left in this world with her. Melina needs to understand I’m doing this because I love her.
***
Thomas returns home after work and Melina is nowhere to be found in the mafia mansion. As it is late at night, he quickly calls his mother to ask if they are still together.
“She desires to spend the night over,” Kat says over the phone.
“No problem, I’ll come for her in the morning.”
“Alright. How is your arm?” Kat asks, sounding concerned over the phone.
“It’s fine, mama.”
“That’s good to hear. Take of yourself, dear,” Kat says and hangs up.
Thomas enters his room to shower and go to bed. When he steps out of the bathroom, he sees Melina standing in the middle of their room.
“Melina,” he says, quickly walking toward her.
“I came to check on your wound. I’m still spending the night at the family mansion,” she says, lifting her finger and halting him.
“Oh,” Thomas says, smiling. His heart had clenched earlier, thinking he’d go to bed without seeing her beautiful face. Now he’s glad he got shot today.
“Does it hurt?” she asks, moving closer to him.
“Yes,” he replies, feigning a groan. He’s lying as this wasn’t his first redo, so his body was immune to the pain by now.
“Sorry, do you want me to call the doctor?” Melina inquires, concerned. She reaches for his arm and examines his wound. Thomas looks at her, admiring how beautiful she is with her gorgeous blonde hair flowing down her back. He admires her stunning green eyes as they focus on his arm. Fuck, I could gaze at her all day and not get tired.
“No need; I have everything I need to feel better.” He licks his lips as he gazes at her perfectly sized pink lips. He doesn’t recall the last time he kissed her. His gaze falls to her chest, and a bulge appears in his pants, imagining his hand and mouth worshiping those perfect-sized tits that were made for him. Fuck! I need to get laid. I haven’t had sex since I slept with her months ago. She’s always been the one I wanted, even when I didn’t know the story behind her betrayal.
“Are you sure?” Melina asks, her lashes fanning her face. So beautiful.
“Yes.”
“Alright, if you say so, I can be on my way then.”
“Fuck!” Thomas exclaims. He can’t believe she caught him lying.
“I’ll stay at the family mansion till you decide to take back your decision,” Melina says, walking toward their closet.
“You can’t be serious, Melina,” Thomas says, following her into the closet. He thought she was only spending a night.
“I am, Thomas.” Melina picks up a little suitcase and starts filling it with her clothes.
“Stop!” Thomas stops her by grabbing her hand.
“I understand being a mafia man makes you believe no one can tell you what to do, and that’s fine. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just letting you know what I want to do.” Melina pulls her hand out of his and continues packing her stuff.
“Melina,” Thomas growls, getting annoyed with her stubbornness.
“I guess this is why we are perfect for each other.” Melina zips her bag and grabs the handle. “Good night, Thomas,” she says, walking out of their walk-in closet.
“Melina, you will be sorry if you fucking walk out that door. You won’t like what I’ll do,” Thomas threatens.
“Don’t come to see me until you’ve changed your mind,” Melina says, walking out the door.
“Fuck!” Thomas shouts, punching the wall nearest to him. He feels so frustrated right now. Why would Melina not fucking understand me?
MELINA
The following morning, Melina walks downstairs to have breakfast with the Costanzo family. Stepping into the dining room, she finds everyone seated. Enzo is at the head of the table, flanked by Kat to his right and Melissa to his left. Aurora sits beside her, with Andrea across and a crying Elda on her lap. Elda locks her gaze on Melina and extends her hands for Melina to carry her.
“She all yours,” Andrea says as she hands Elda to Melina.
“Good morning, everyone,” Melina says as she takes Elda from Andrea. A chorus of responses floats around the table.
Melina takes a seat beside Andrea and places Elda on her lap. Andrea tries to feed her, but she refuses.
“Elda, you need to eat,” Andrea tells her infant daughter.
“How about I try?” Melina asks, putting out her hand to take the spoon from Andrea.
“Be my guest.” Andrea hands Melina the spoon in her hand and Elda’s baby food before turning back to hers.
Melina tries to feed Elda, who doesn’t object. This makes Melina smile.
“Good girl,” Melina says, feeding Elda more of the blended veggies.
“Sometimes I think you gave birth to her,” Andrea says, filling an empty plate in front of Melina with eggs and toast.
Melina chuckles at the comment and smiles softly. “Thank you,” she says to Andrea for filling her plate with food.
“It’s the least I can do for helping me feed her,” Andrea replies, returning the smile.
Melina takes a toast off her plate and takes a bite while ensuring Elda finishes the food in her mouth.
“Mel,” Melissa calls her attention away from Elda.
“Yes,” she replies before taking a sip of the coffee Andrea pours for her.
“Mama tells me you moved in because Thomas wishes to trade himself for your sister, and you are against it.”
“Yes.”
“Papa, would you do the same for mama?”
“In un batter d’occhio,” Enzo says, lovingly looking at his wife as she smiles at him. Melina could see how much they loved each other after all these years. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever have that with anyone, especially Thomas? Her heart clenches as she realizes the odds are stacked against her. I haven’t even finished working on forgiving him, for a future with him to seem possible as he has chosen to trade places with my sister.
“What does that mean?” I really need to take Italian classes.
“In a heartbeat,” Melissa translates.
“Oh,” Melina could see Thomas didn’t only get his looks from his dad but also his way of thinking. She actually thought she could use his family to convince him to change his mind. She has a feeling that won’t be happening. “Do you all support Thomas’ decision?”
“No, I don’t,” Aurora says.
“Why?”
“I don’t believe someone should sacrifice their life for their loved one.”
“So you’re saying you won’t do the same for Kirill?” Melina asks, a little surprised by her statement. Melina doesn’t support what Thomas is doing, but she will give her life for him if they were met with a life-threatening situation. Aurora sounds like she will let her boyfriend die, which is odd given that she is engaged to him.
“It depends,” Aurora says, playing with the eggs in front of her. Melina has noticed she’s often lost in thoughts. She wonders what troubles her.
“Hopefully, we find Franky before Thomas has to resort to that,” Kat says, breaking the tense mood in the room.
Everyone continues eating in silence, and afterwards leaves to carry out their activities for the day. Melina spends the day playing with Elda. She reminds Melina of her lost babies, but she isn’t as sad about them as she used to be. They will forever hold a place in Melina’s heart. She has decided to accept and heal from their deaths.