Chapter 114

Marabella’s POV

Morning came quickly. I rolled over in bed with a groan. The hell that I have been putting my body through for a few weeks now, is finally all catching up with me. I’m still sore, but weak and tired. I stood up and stretched my arms up high, trying to relieve some of the stiffness in my muscles.

“Baby girl”, Luca uttered, sitting up in bed and looking at me, through the mirror on the wall. “Good morning”, I smiled softly. “Are you okay?”, he asked, tilting his head to the side. “I am just sore”, I answered. Luca sat up and leaned against the headboard to watch me. I stretched from side to side, and back and forth. “I think you should go speak with my father today. Without me”, I said, looking through the mirror at him.

Luca scrunched his eyebrows together, as he studied me. “Are you sure about that, piccola?”, he asked. “Yeah, it’s best I am not there. You would do better speaking to him and getting information out of him than I”, I answered, with a nod. Luca didn’t seem to agree with me on that. He ran his hands through his hair as he contemplated what to do.

I sat on the bed, facing towards him. “I will try to, but the person he really wants to talk to is you”, Luca said, running his hand down my arm. Please visit * .net and search the book title to read the entire book for free. “I am not ready”, I said, looking down. “I know, piccola”, he whispered, taking my hand. “That’s why I said that I would try, because I am not going to push you to do something you are uncomfortable with”, he uttered. “Thank you”, I murmured. He nodded, “Let’s get breakfast together first”, he said, getting up and placing a kiss on my forehead.

We quietly got dressed and walked downstairs to the kitchen together. Ma had a large breakfast prepared, like always. “Good morning, you two”, she said cheerily. “Good morning, ma”, Luca and I said, in unison. “I hope you two youngins are hungry”, she chirped. “Indeed”, Luca answered, taking my hand and leading me to the table.

“What are the big plans today?”, Ma asked. “Sergio and I are going to take care of some business. Marabella is going to relax around the house today”, Luca said, looking down at me with a stern look. I nodded and started making Luca’s plate. He was already making mine by the time I got the meat on his plate. He is always quicker than me about that.

“Marvelous. I have some work to do in the garden. Maybe you can help me, Bella”, Ma said. “Ma, I want her to relax, not work”, Luca said, with a groan. I placed my hand on his leg and grinned. “I would love to help you”, I answered, with an upbeat tone. I love being outside, and doing things such as gardening. I mean, that is why one of my degrees is for agriculture.

A day out in the garden will do a great deal for my mindset. It’ll allow me time to properly clear my mind, and think my problems through. Luca’s hand covered mine, as he gently squeezed. “Are you sure?”, he whispered, only for me to hear. I nodded, flashing a soft grin at him. Luca shook his head and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

He’s worried about me, I can tell. I understand where he is coming from, as well. He loves me and cares deeply for me, so knowing that I may be dealing with something mentally that he can’t control, has to be killing him. The table chatted enthusiastically as we ate our food. Sergio and Luca kept passing daunting looks between one another. Most likely, Serg is trying to figure out what Luca needs his help with today.

After breakfast, Luca gave me a hug and kiss farewell, and I helped ma clean up the kitchen and nook. We put any leftovers away, washed dishes and cleaned the counters, before we both headed outside to the garden. Ma took me to the green leaf section of the garden first. “Okay, the weeds among these three rows need to be pulled. Be careful not to pull the wrong thing”, she warned. “Yes ma’am”, I nodded, getting to work on the first row.

Ma started on one end, while I started on the other, and we worked our way to the middle. Once we were close enough to hear each other, I spoke. “Hey ma, what was your father like?”, I asked gingerly. I don’t want to offend her or anything if her father was mean. Ma huffed as she shook her head. “He was an evil man, a lot like your father”, she answered.

This caught my attention and made my ears perk up. “How so?”, I asked, daring to learn more. “My father was a hateful drunk. He would get drunk every day and beat us children. There were ten of us. Five boys and five girls, he hated us all equally”, she began. “My pa would line us up and throw knives at our heads just to instill fear into us. And it worked quite well. I lost two brothers and a sister that way”, she sighed. I gasped, my god, why did no one ever do anything about that?

I stayed quiet to fully listen to her story. “When that happened, I thought for sure he would go to jail. He did not, though. In fact, he was good friends with the sheriff and paid him off to make it look as if the boys had a tiff and had done that to one another. The report said my sister tried to break it up and that’s how she was killed as well”, Ma’s voice was stiff.

“I hated my father. After that happened, my mother intervened and told him that he must stop. That only caused him to take his anger out on her. His drinking habits got worse, and he began to gamble. He ended up getting twisted up with the mafia and owing them money. That’s how I got here, actually. Much like you”, she whispered, looking up at me with a tear in her eye.

“My father sold me to my husband. It was a blessing, truly. My husband was an amazing man. And when he found out my story, and that the police never did anything about it, he killed my father and set my siblings free”, she smiled. I grinned with her. That’s a beautiful ending to a story.

I didn’t realize how much Ma and I had in common. My husband set me free as well. He helped save my mother. And now his reaction to my abduction as a child makes sense. He wanted to know if the perpetrators got what they deserved. And that’s also why he brought it up yesterday. He wants to know who was behind it, because he plans to go after them.

I mean, I would also like to know who was behind it. I would like to have closure for that incident, it obviously still sits with me. I walked up to Ma and hugged her close to me. “Thank you for sharing that with me. It really helps me understand myself and your son. I understand where he gets his outstanding morals from, and his hero complex”, I joked, slightly, making the air around us lighter. Ma sniffled, and chuckled, “He is a good boy”, she whispered.

“He’s an amazing man, ma. You and papa did an absolutely wonderful job at raising all of your boys. Thank you for feeding him an endless supply of love and compassion. You raised all of them right”, I assured her. “Thank you, Bella”, she muttered. “You’re welcome”, I whispered, still hugging her.