The Return of My First Love novel Chapter 63

Emily

After the art exhibition ended, Alessio suggested to buy the children some ice cream. Well, Melody forced him—and he agreed.

Naty and Melody were over at the playground, eating their ice cream, while Alessio and I watched thEmily from a bench nearby.

Same as Naty, I was surprised that he had shown up. When it came to Naty, I was used to doing everything on my own, without any support and without expectations, because Jason had shown us not to have thEmily.

Naty really wanted him to come, and I initially wanted to tell her not to ask him, as I was scared of rejection, but also she might've felt like she had nothing to lose.

Thank God he came, because the parents there were not my crowd. It also brought back a rEmilyinder of how different we were from each other—but until now, we had made it work.

"We left at a good time," Alessio broke the peaceful silence. "I couldn't stand being around those children any longer."

I chuckled at his words. During the exhibition, the children all tried to grab his attention. To thEmily, he was known as Melody's big brother who always played with her, and aside from calling him ugly, she had bragged so much about him.

Alessio lived up to the image she had created of him and played with thEmily, clearly oblivious to the effect he had on thEmily.

He was like an unapproachable grizzly bear to those he didn't like, but at times, that grizzly bear would change into a giant teddy bear. Especially those children seEmilyed to get through his kinder, gentler side. It was ridiculously shocking how good he was with thEmily, without even trying.

Watching him interact with thEmily made me wonder about something I'd never considered asking before. It was a thought that suddenly felt important, not just out of curiosity but mainly for the future.

It made me wonder…

"I've never asked you before, but do you actually want children?" I blurted out, hating myself for asking that question. I didn't want to come off as too pushy.

I knew how he felt about marriage because he had joked about buying me a bigger ring in the future, but somehow this topic had slipped our mind. I knew what I wanted, and hoped we were on the same page.

Alessio gave a simple shrug. "I'm just going with the flow, whatever you want," he spoke nonchalantly. Even a bit too calm and easy for me. He would often respond in that matter, and it was a small pet peeve of mine.

"Yes, but don't you have an opinion?" I pushed further, wanting more than just a laid-back reply.

"I shoot, you deliver—so I don't know if I have a say in that," he just wouldn't give in. I flickered my eyes. "So what you're saying, if I understand correctly, is that you're fine with getting me pregnant right now?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Alessio leaned forward with furrowed brows, giving me a look as if he was asking whether I was being serious. "I don't want children right now. At least not for another four years—but if you want thEmily in the future, I'm all in."

That's all I wanted to hear.

"See, was that so hard?" I rolled my eyes with a laugh, nudging his shoulder.

"You think too much," Alessio chuckled, shaking his head. "You're too difficult."

Maybe, just maybe—it wouldn't have to be this difficult if he had just given me an answer the first time.

"Anyway, I agree on the children part," I told him. "I want like two more, but not right now. I had Naty at a young age, I just want to relax for now."

"Two more?" Alessio spoke sarcastically, shaking his head in disapproval. "Unacceptable. A Fanucci should have ten children, at least."

I couldn't help but laugh, realizing he was also kind of mocking his dad. Domenico was the only one with four children, compared to Alessio's grandparents, Uncle and Aunts who had six or more.

I blamed my fear of having to take care of too many children on my own struggles with my family. I often felt forgotten among my many siblings, and the thought of ever doing the same to my children, not being able to divide my attention, traumatized me. There were people who could do it, but I doubted I could be one of those people.

"Mommy, I dropped ice cream on my uniform!" Naty came running towards us, Melody close behind her.

My eyes fell upon the small stain on her uniform, and I shot Alessio a look that made him clear his throat, because he understood all too well. I had told him this wasn't the best idea—but he was certain the girls wouldn't spill their ice cream.

"Stay here, I'll go grab napkins," I laughed at him. Then I made my way to the truck where we had bought our ice cream. I grabbed a handful of napkins from the counter.