A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera novel Chapter 16

ena They room went quiet, and I thought they were going to throw looks at me. What happened next surprised me because they were smiling and began speaking in Italian. Most of them came to hug me and cup my cheeks but I didn’t know how or what to respond because I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

“Don’t scare the poor woman, Barbara!” Maria said, shaking her head.

“Oh, I’ve heard a lot about you. Your pictures didn’t do you justice. You’re prettier than in those pictures. Where did you meet your wife. Matteo?” She continued to speak, eyeing my features and my body.

Well. I heard about Italians, but I didn’t expect to surprise myself when I came to meet them. Matteo wasn’t like them but maybe because he was a man, and these were women. They were in their late forties or early fifties, and they surely had their fair share of gossip.

“Come on, give her some space. Maria added.

Matteo was still beside me and his hand hadn’t left my waist. He was keeping me close and secure which I appreciated as I leaned in deeper towards him.

“Mm, is this a new perfume?” He whispered, taking another sniff as he kissed my temple. It was a surprise, and my cheeks immediately heat up because we were in front of his family. They didn’t seem to mind by the intimate act, but I felt as if they were staring.

“I never used it before.”

“Use it more often. I like it,”

Maria was standing in the middle of the crowd as she smiled, “I think I want to blow my birthday cake now because my son and my daughter–in–law is here. Let’s go to the kitchen.” She was excited when she began to walk to the kitchen, the rest following behind her while Matteo and I were the last to follow.

There were around ten to fifteen people in the kitchen as we all sang Maria a ‘happy birthday‘ song. At first, they were singing in English before they started to sing in Italian. The whole time, Matteo was holding me close, as if he could lose me if he loosened the grip.

They clapped and cheered as Maria blew the candles.

“Happy birthday, Mama.” Matteo went to kiss his mother on the cheek before whispering something in her ear. It made her smile wider as she thanked her son

It was beautiful to witness, and I never expected to see Matteo being close with his mother. They had a good relationship–1 could tell. The rest of the family were smiling, too as they gave the chance for Maria and her son to enjoy the moment.

I missed mine. If only Papa and I were still in good terms.

It was bound to get awkward if I met Mama and bumped into Papa or Alexei.

“I’d like to say thank you to everyone. I’ve had my fair share of birthdays, but this year is different. My son, Matteo, surprised me with a daughter–in–law and I couldn’t be more happier. You’re always welcome in this family, Alena thank you.” She smiled, her eyes were filling with tears before she carefully wiped them away. “I don’t want to get all sad because I might ruin my makeup so let’s enjoy!”

Everyone laughed as they raised their glass.

Matteo came to stand beside me, pulling me by the waist.

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“Everything okay, Alena?”

“Yes. I just didn’t expect your mother to accept me that quickly.

“Why?”

“She’s too sweet, Matteo and we’re lying at her face.”

“Alena-

I cut him off. “I hate that I brought you into this.”

Just as he was about to say something, we were cut off by one of his relatives. She was standing beside us with a smile as she handed us a slice of cake in a plate.

Matteo smiled back, taking the plate. “Thank you, Cara.”

“I heard you two eloped in Sicily. I think it’s really romantic,” she spoke as she took a sip of her champagne. “Don’t tell Maria but she wished she was there. I told her, you couldn’t wait to marry someone you love. I mean, why would you elope unless you two are madly in love with each other?”

“We can always have a reception here,” he replied.

“A reception?” Maria came to stand beside Cara, her eyes widening as she tried to hide her excitement. “Are you two going to have a reception, Matteo?”

“We could think about it, Mama. Alena and I are very busy and if we can find the right time to have a reception, we might but don’t get your hopes too high.” He responded with a safe answer, and he wasn’t lying either.

The two of us were always busy. We couldn’t easily free our time for a reception.

“Honestly, I just want to see you two tie the knot again, but I understand if you’re both busy. I’m already happy.” She grabbed both of our hands.

“We’ll think about it, okay?”

She nodded, “Oh Alena, we should sit down, and I can show you Matteo’s baby pictures.”

“Mama, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Matteo rubbed the back of his neck, trying to hide away the embarrassment but this was too good to be true.

The Italian mafia boss was all tough and ruthless but now I had the chance to see his chubby cheeks when he was smaller. Was I going to miss the opportunity of a lifetime? Of course, not Besides, Matteo adored his mother, and he went really soft for her.

“I’m showing your wife your baby pictures, Matteo. She needs to see how chubby you were when you were liule. Oh, and when you tried on those dresses you were too cute, she replied as she pulled my hand to follow her.

Matteo, who was still holding the plate, followed us.

It was only the three of us in the other side of the living room and for a moment, I appreciated the silence. The other * relatives were talking and mingling in the kitchen as they ate–I felt better knowing they didn’t try to pry or ask questions.

even though they could whenever they got the chance.

Maria and I sat on the sofa as Matteo sat on the opposite side, taking a bite of the cake. He knew he wasn’t able going to stop his mother from showing his baby pictures, so he decided it was better to let it be..

“We have different albums, but this is the one we keep downstairs.” she placed it on my lap.

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The moment I flipped it open. I saw a young Matteo smiling.

“He was ten.”

“He was really cute.”

“Mm, I don’t know how he got so ruthless growing up.

“I’m not ruthless, Mama. He denied, cutting in.

I turned over the next page, seeing more pictures. There was a newborn Matteo and as I turned the pages, he kept growing up. I didn’t realize I was smiling as I ran my fingers across the pictures, seeing a huge difference between the adult and grumpy Matteo.

“Oh, he got really chubby when he was twelve.” Maria pointed at the picture, both of us laughing.

That chubby boy ended up buff and muscular when he got older Puberty really did him justice. He outgrew the chubby cheeks and everything, gained a sharp jawline and even grew taller. It was as if he was a different person.

“When he wore those cute pink dresses,” she continued to point

It took me awhile to realize Matteo was staring at us. He didn’t exactly have an expression, but he was just looking. something playing in his head. When I caught him staring, he didn’t bother to hide it or look away, he just smiled.

“Can I bring this home with me?” asked Maria.

“Of course, it’s yours.

“She might end up looking at those pictures every night,” Matted responded.

-You were t

too cute, Matteo. Did you see those cheeks?”

“I had those cheeks, baby.”

Maria laughed, “We should head outside and eat. I’m sure you two are starving. Besides, the family wants to get to know you -better, Alena.”

“We’ll be out in a minute,

She nodded before standing up and walking out, leaving Matteo and me.

Matteo took a seat beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as he leaned closer. “Do you really want to bring the albuin home?”

“Yes, I think you were too cute to resist. Your big brown eyes, ugh, to die for.” I joked.

The side of his lips curved up into a smile as he continued to stare at me. I was beginning to feel my cheeks heating up and there was no use in hiding the fact that they were probably red. Despite feeling shy suddenly, I didn’t bother to look away and break eye contact.

I kept remembering what happened last night

The way he moved when we were drowning in pleasure.

Honestly, I couldn’t get enough of him being inside me, but I had to ignore and resist the temptation. We were bound to get hurt if we continue–I was going to. Even if we agreed on no strings attached, it was going to get messy.

Then again, how could we resist each other in this marriage? We couldn’t sleep with anyone else.

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Chapter 16