1| Surprises

Chapter One

Alice

Happiness, I never knew what that truly was until now. The warm embrace of Alessio's strong arms surrounded by pillows gives me complete bliss in this cold New York weather. Snow blankets the streets outside, and the twinkling lights of Christmas fill the trees, illuminating the room in the dark of the night. While during the day, it adds that Christmas feel that makes you feel like you're living your Hallmark fantasy.

But with the aesthetically pleasing view, the cold is a bitch.

The forecast said it was twenty degrees today. You would have to be a mad man to want to leave the comforts of your bed today.

Days like this only solidify my preference for warmer weather. The feeling of the sun beaming on your face with a cool drink in your hands is unbeatable.

But, this comfort of Alessio's warm solid body against my own is slowly changing that. I will admit in passing. I've suggested for us to move to Los Angeles or Miami for the easy access beaches and guaranteed warm weather. All of which he gladly said yes to, but I quickly retracted when I saw him actually look for houses.

New York may be cold in the Winter and a bit too loud at times, but it's home. It's where I met him. It is where we fell in love, and I rebuilt myself into who I am now.

I am a survivor who has lived through one too many one-in-a-lifetime tragedies and made it out alive.

Alessio tightens his hold on my waist, sending a jolt of warmth into my very being.

It seems like such a short time, but it's been two years now. It has been two years since the beginning of Alessio, and I's indescribable romance. It has been officially six months now, with us moving together in his apartment well... now our apartment he would correct me.

I never lived with a guy, except on the island. Well, to rephrase it, I've never willingly lived with a man. But I don't think it could get any better than this. We wake up together, entangled with one another with the occasional morning delight followed by breakfast. On the weekends, we walk Charlie, and during the week, we take turns.

We kiss, go to our respective jobs or his respective job while I do whatever strikes my fancy that month. Then at night, we eat dinner, sometimes in front of the television, sometimes at the table, make love, take a shower, and have the most comfortable sleep possible.

Our curtains are drawn, blocking out the sun I know has risen hours ago by the constant ringing of his phone. It must be around eight now, and he's usually in the office by now. But, because of my increased libido as of late. I needed a morning quickie which he gladly agreed to.

Another ring of his phone goes off, and Alessio merely snuggles more into the crook of my neck, completely ignoring it.

"You know you have to answer that," I mutter. I inhale his scent. He must have showered before I woke up.

"No, I don't. It's nobody important," Alessio responds at a low murmur. His voice still sends chills down my spine and rattles my brain of everything. I lay naked next to him. My shoulder-length hair that I have kept colored blonde is tossed in the bed-mixing in with his own. I run a finger along his eyebrow.

It's a new scar cut that he got from work hidden behind a bandage. He called it while in the breakroom by opening the cabinet a tad too quickly while on the phone. I only kiss it praying it gets better.

"I'm sure it is very important, babe. Your phone has been going off non-stop. And besides, it's probably Damien."

He pulls me into his chest. "If it's Damien, I'm definitely not answering it. He probably forgot how to use a toaster and needs my help," he jokes. "Or worse, he's calling about Odette ignoring him again. Or Tara punching him."

If I had to compare his relationship to Damien. It would be a love-hate relationship with more so hate sprinkled in on Alessio's side. I, for one love, Damien. He appreciated my crude comedy, and I, for one, love his constant flirting with Odette that is always shot down. And the pranks we pulled on an unsuspecting Alessio.

My favorite was us filling his office with balloons.

"When will you stop hating him? He like your best friend other than Leo." Leo, my childhood friend. The older brother of the Morte brothers, and the one I actually like. I never imagined out of the billion people on the planet. He would be the boss to Alessio.

You could imagine Alessio's surprise when I hugged Leo in front of him. Which, of course, only made Leo laugh, who I knew already knew from the start. I hope that's not why he hired Alessio because I knew him. Alessio is more than capable of running a company. According to Leo from our weekly calls.

Alessio has turned a profit so high that other paper companies have wanted to kill him for it.

The phone stops ringing and then starts again. I curse under my breath and reach over Alessio to his phone. He takes this opportunity to lightly brush his lips over my breast, earning him a soft moan to come out of me. "Stop it," I giggle. "We already did it once this morning."

"I can go again."

He pulls me close to his chest, and I immediately answer the phone, not bothering to check who it is. Gunshots rattle on the other side of the phone. "Alessio! I need your help." I know that voice anywhere. It's Tara.

I separate from Alessio. "Tara?" I held back my terror. "Is everything alright?"

She curses under her breath. "Yes," I hear another gunshot followed by two more. "Bastards!"

"Tara, is everything alright? Why are there gunshots?"

More gunshots follow over the phone. "Shit, it's just this video game I'm playing. Sorry, it's so loud. This surround sound is really good," she laughs off. "Hey. Can you just put Les on the phone for me?"

I hand Alessio the phone. "It's Tara."

"Hello?" He says. His eyes widen then settle when they meet my own. "Okay. I'll send a few people to give you some help." He listens to a few of her words and laughs. "Okay, I'll send one person for backup. Okay, be safe, my friend." He hangs up the phone and gets up from the bed.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine. Tara was having a bit of difficulty with her work. She just needed me to send some people." Alessio begins to dress quickly. He was never one to dawdle, but now it's in so quick of a motion that if I blink, I will miss him put something on.

"Oh. Are you going into the office now?"

Alessio stops, "yeah. I need to prepare for a meeting today." He clears his throat. "When do you have to go to therapy?"

I look to my own phone. My session to see Dr.Avery isn't for another two hours. "A few hours. How long are you going to be gone today?" I will admit that I sometimes hate when he leaves for work. It's selfish of me too, but as Dr.Avery would tell me, it comes with being in a healthy relationship after such a bad one.

And after I told Alessio that I basically have a panic attack when he leaves me. He made it his mission to be back every day at five, followed by us moving in together a week later. "I'll be back home by five tonight," he assures me.

"Great. Dinner will be on by the time you get back, babe," I joke. Dinner includes tacos or spaghetti being the only thing I know how to make without a recipe book and a lot of trial and error.

"Want me to pick something up?" Alessio jests as a response.

"Pie," I immediately say. "Cherry."

He kisses my lips. "Sure thing. Are you seeing your mother today too?"

"You know it, babe. It's Tuesday. We're going to lunch." I get up from the bed and put on one of Alessio's discarded t-shirts. "Charlie!" I call out. His feet patter through the apartment. The dog with a golden hair tail wags in front of Alessio and me. Alessio gets on one knee before him and hugs him. The once small pup is so big it takes up the bottom of our bed. "I need to take him on a walk," I mutter.

"You don't have to," Alessio says in between Charlie's tyrant of kisses. "I can take him with me."

"Are you sure? Isn't Damien scared of Charlie?"

Alessio only laughs. "Well, now I have to take him."

"Will you ever stop torturing Damien? It's been what? Three years. And according to everyone, he's your second best salesman. And he's pretty funny too."

"Damien is annoying. And with Charlie there, he is guaranteed to stay six feet away." I place my hands on my hips.

"Well, I'll get his to-go bag ready. Because there is no changing of your mind about this, it seems." I walk into the living room. It's a vast difference from what it was before I moved in. Once sat only the necessities in it. There were few curtains, no rugs, or even pictures for that matter in it. There were no splashes of personality until I arrived.

A desolate place that lacked all the personality hidden behind a scowl he shows the world.

The moment he said I could move in. I called the moving company to take things out and replace them with something we both would like. The only thing that is still from his bachelor lifestyle is his couch that I couldn't bear to get rid of due to its large size and the memory of the first time I slept in his arms.

He didn't care for the changes, he said. As long as I was next to him, the home could be empty with rats surrounding us, and he would be fine.

It was a joke, but it was a reality for him once-a cold home, alone without knowing when his next meal would be. About the size of his childlike foot, a rat comforted him as he shook from the cold.

Alessio...you are a child that I wish I could save.

I fill Charlie's to-go bag with his bowl, a few treats, and toys. Alessio already has a bed there for him for the days we had a mid-day pleasure in his office. Once, I arrived in nothing but lingerie and an overcoat with Charlie in toe. I shudder at the thought of that day. The way he ravaged me as if I was the first meal he received after a long day.

Maybe...no I cannot be late for another lunch with my mother. Alessio kisses my neck from behind me. I turn my attention to him with the bag ready in my hands. Charlie is behind him with a leash attached to his neck. "I love you," he says.

"I love you too."

I place a chaste kiss on his lips. One kiss followed by another. I can't stop myself when I see him. I need to kiss him, to remind me that my life with him is not a dream. Because if this is a dream, I refuse to wake up.

He's my happily ever after, the prince who saved me from the castle that was my mind.

"See you later, Alice."

"See you soon, Alessio." Alessio picks up the leash, and my two boys leave the apartment. And I hate to say that I miss them both already. I get ready for the day and leave for therapy. As some people would ask.

Why do I need therapy if I'm happy?

The answer is that no amount of good things can ever cover up the damage that I still have in my head. The year of being stranded on an island or the following year of an illicit affair might never go away. Sometimes, I close my eyes and think of the way Finn dragged me through the dirt to try to kill me. Or the feeling of complete and utter hunger the days me and Joseph couldn't find food.

And without fail, when I think of the island, I can't help but think of Joseph. I can't help but think of the way he cast me aside and made me live in the shadows. To throw out all my morals for a few hours. And I cannot bear to tell Alessio about these things in the depth that I need to.

I don't want to unload the fact that I killed a man. Or the silent thoughts I have if Joseph chose me instead and the ugly truth that I would have happily jumped for joy as fucked up as it sounds. So, with these horrid thoughts, I go to Dr. Avery's office every week without fail.

I need her. Sometimes I cry. Sometimes, I laugh or am completely silent. I take my time getting dressed, with the sounds of the ocean playing in the background from my phone. I wonder if Alessio put on his mittens or even bothered to put on anything other than a scarf that he swears is in his car. I've brought him about ten coats and matching gloves, but it's as if he refuses to wear them.

He always states he doesn't need it. That he doesn't get cold, everyone gets cold.

I finish getting dressed and head for Dr. Avery's office.

I don't bother to knock and just walk in.

"Hey, Dr.Avery. Your highest paying client is here now!" I comment as I walk in. I eye the woman who knows way too much about me. She is behind her desk typing away on her computer about the poor sap before me or writing her novel that she thinks I don't know about. No longer do I go for her window. Instead, I take a seat on her couch.

"Alice, you are early, and you again have failed to knock," she says behind the computer screen. "I don't know why my assistant does not stop you."

"Well, she knows as you do. It has been two years now, and I've done that since the beginning. Shouldn't you know my pattern by now? You are my doctor. "

"I suppose you are right. If you knocked on the door, then I would be concerned."

"Exactly," I nod. "So, doc. Would you mind if we started a bit early? I kinda wanna see my boyfriend before I go to lunch with my mother at two today. You know for a bit of hanky-panky if you know what I mean."

"So, I assume the relationship is still going strong."

"So strong. I never thought that a person like him existed. Like he's so protective and smart, and I can just do the grossest things around him and he says nothing at all. Like last night, I farted under the covers while he was under it. And instead of leaving the bed and being pissed, he laughed. Then when I was sitting on the toilet for what seemed like hours. He opened all the windows and got me some stomach medicine."

Dr.Avery couldn't hold back her chuckle at my declaration of love for Alessio.

She got up from behind her desk and took her seat across from me. "So, I will admit I was excited for our session for today. So, I'm gonna ask. Did you tell him yet?"

I cross one leg over the other. "No. I'm gonna tell him tonight."

"So, I assume it's all confirmed?"

"Yeah, I am officially five weeks pregnant," I squeal.

Hey everyone! After months of telling myself, I wasn't going to do it. I'm finally writing the sequel.

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Bye~