The Return of My First Love novel Chapter 84

Emily

I woke up the next morning, with Pilar still asleep beside me. Careful not to disturb her, I managed to slip out of bed and headed to my room.

As expected, Alessio had already left for the day. Nothing new.

After a quick shower, it was time to get the children ready for school. I sat with thEmily at the kitchen table as they ate their breakfast.

"Good morning, guys!" Pilar joined us, walking into the kitchen. The girls immediately greeted her back, and she gave thEmily a back hug. Then she took a seat beside me.

"Morning. What are our plans for today?" Pilar asked, stealing some food off my plate.

"I have to get these two to school."

Pilar leaned closer. "Even with everything going on?" she whispered.

"They have security at the school," I whispered back.

Pilar shrugged. "I guess you're right. It's not like anyone from the West is stupid enough to enter this territory right now."

Her acknowledgment that no one dared to enter this territory put me at ease. I was indeed nervous about letting Naty go back to school and the idea of getting back to our lives as if nothing had happened.

Especially with Jason doing whatever he was doing.

"What are we going to do later?"

I responded with a light chuckle. "Probably shopping since that's what you do all day."

Pilar looked up. "Yes, probably."

~

Since Pilar insisted on driving the girls to school ourselves, we had done just that. We then drove to the city, visiting shop after shop, and now we were debating which mall to visit next. There was a time in life where I absolutely hated shopping, mostly because I didn't have enough money to actually buy something—but nowadays, I had changed my mind.

It actually wasn't that bad, and especially not when you weren't the one paying for it.

"Now where in this city can I buy the best diamond earrings to match with the cute handbag?"

"Don't worry," I cracked a laugh. "I know a few places."

While driving, I noticed a familiar car zoom past us. My heart skipped a beat when I realized it was Alessio.

Pilar and I exchanged looks. She had seen him too.

"Small world, isn't it?" she said, smiling.

I rEmilyained silent, my head spinning. There was something I wanted to do, something I knew I probably shouldn't. I was even too Emilybarrassed to voice it out loud. But one could not blame me for wondering what exactly Alessio was up to.

Pilar sighed, "Oh no, why are you looking like that?"

I hesitated a second, but then I decided to speak up. "Do you think I should follow him?"

Pilar raised her hands defensively. "I'm staying out of this," she said. "But do what you gotta do, girl."

Both sentences were enough to make me change lanes. I drove behind Alessio, but made sure to keep a cautious distance. The Fanuccis had too many cars to count, so I doubted he would recognize me—but I wasn't taking any chances.

"Do you know where they are, with the revenge and all?" I asked, trying to figure out where he could've been going.

"They're still discussing. Last I heard, they're planning to go berserk at that wedding," Pilar revealed, imitating gun motions with her fingers, and then the sounds with a chortle.

"Yes, really!" Pilar chuckled back, "I'm not sure I've ever seen a Capo that doesn't cheat at one point." Her laughter died down as she caught my gaze, perhaps realizing the impact of her words.

"I'm not worried about him cheating on me, if that's what you're thinking," I quickly added, trying to convince myself to shift the focus away to the true issue at hand. "I just want him to tell me what he's planning so I can mentally prepare myself."

I didn't suddenly want to wake up in heaven one day, not knowing we had been hit and had all died. All I was asking was to be prepared for what was to come so I could protect my daughter. It wasn't even that much of a request.

"I've never questioned his love for me, and I know he got a past but—" My words trailed off as the car stopped in front of a building that made my heart sink. I also stopped the car. The small icon on the logo of the led board of the building was a silhouette of a bent-down woman.

My heart sank as I reached for my phone, in frantic search of the name. Somewhere along the way, Pilar tried to snatch my phone from my hand, but I succeeded in stopping her.

‘High Class Escort Service'

Those were the words flashing across my phone screen after looking up the name. The world around me became a blur as I watched Alessio step out of the car and disappear into the building.

I felt confused, in disbelief, hurt, and everything else as I struggled to make sense of the situation. Still, a part of me clung desperately to the hope that there was a logical explanation for all of this.

"Let's just go shopping," I covered my insecurities with a simple suggestion. "There's nothing to see here anyway."

"It might be for work, you don't know that." Pilar rubbed my shoulder, working hard to console me. "Maybe he's different—"

"I know. I know he's different. Let's just go," I stopped her, not liking the word ‘maybe.'

Only I was allowed to doubt him, and nobody else.

As we drove away, I began to feel the consequences of my decision almost instantly.

My only worries were Alessio hiding his plans from me, and now I set myself up to worry about whether he was cheating on me or not.