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For the next two days, my entire energy has been directed to the project. Once I came home from the first location, I started a portfolio for each location. I wanted to show all potential to the client. The project also kept me distracted from Dominic. We called each other every night before bed. It was nice to hear his voice after a long day of work.

"How is your project going?" Dominic wondered. He called me around nine right as I climbed into bed.

"It's good. I went to Tuscany and Bologna to scope out the location.

"That's a 4-5 hour drive." He stated, annoyed.

"Rossi has helicopters. Marco was able to book them for us to use."

"I don't like this Marco Bastardo taking my wife around on a helicopter."

"Relax, we are working. Besides, if you need to worry about anyone whisking me off, it's our 55-year-old pilot. He's quite the romantic." I giggled softly.

"Play with me, and the pilot and Marco will be found in the bottom of the ocean."

"How is work?" I changed the subject.

"Stressful. My parents managed to get inside the house today."

"Really? You haven't spoken to your parents since you left?"

"I haven't spoken to them since our engagement party, to be honest. My father is easier to manage, but my mother is another story."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. She got her reassurance. I've made some business moves, so people know I'm back and ready. Things are falling back into place."

"So your back being the mafia monster."

"Only during business hours." Dominic laughed.

"I miss you."

"I miss you."

Dominic let me go to sleep after a few more minutes of talking. I was able to sleep peacefully after hearing Dominic's voice.

I spent the rest of the week back at the office. I saw the Tuscany and Bologna properties, took notes and pictures, and categorized everything into the binders. I gave my final draft of the locations to Mr. Gabbana for final approval. He seemed pleasantly surprised at the extensive work I've done. He told me after handing in the binder to consider a career in real estate.

I didn't receive an answer from Mr. Gabbana until Friday afternoon. He placed the binder back on my desk before I left for lunch. There were a bunch of comments and questions written throughout my binder. The major note the clients had for me was that they wanted a Tuscany location. Mr. Gabbana also left the name of the couple requesting our help; The Romano's. Before scanning through the extensive notes left for me, I went on the computer to google anything I can on the Romano's. I found one couple who was successful enough to afford Mr. Gabbana's services; Rosanna and Luca Romero. They are fairly young, mid thirties; married doctors who own private practices all over Europe. Their wedding made headlines and since then they've lived very private lives. Only pictures of them online are at gala's or across the world working in third world countries. What a beautiful family!

I scanned through all the notes and made sure to jot down anything of importance. The Romero's requested the location of Tuscany. There were empty lands and they're meeting with an architect in a few weeks to start drawing out plans. All they wanted now is for me to go scope out more locations to see which one is the best for their lifestyle. Mrs. Romero wants something that isn't to far from town so she can drive in, a large space for future family, open fields for their kids, enough structural space for a large 3 bedroom guest house and another 4 bedroom guest house for their staff. Mr. Romero requested more seclusion, even if it means buying more land around the property. He wants no neighbors around for miles. The first location I sent is definitely possible for them but I decided to go back to Tuscany to scope out more locations.

Marco accompanied me to Tuscany with the help of his company's helicopter. He showed me to the more exclusive areas of Tuscany. I was in awe the entire ride. The view is simply amazing! All the luminous trees and open fields. I saw beautiful gardens in people's backyards, children running trying to chase the helicopter in the sky...this is a beautiful place to raise a family. I wonder...will Dominic be open to relocating? Once he retires; or should I say if he retires, this would be a peaceful place. It's away from his business, families are around... and its away from the outside world. It would be just us; how I like it.

We found more locations before the sun began to set. Marco flew us back home and I made it home just in time to receive a call from Dominic. It's been close to a week since Dominic left and because of work, it's been bearable. Yet every text and phone call brings me back to the disheartening fact that he's gone.

----

Two weeks have gone by and I'm still in Milan. My project at work has come to a halt and so has my life. After I sent the photos to Mr. Gabbana, he contacted the clients and they said they'll get back to us. As for my love life, I talk to Dominic every single night. We stay on the phone until I fall asleep. The days have gotten longer and my heart grows heavy with sadness. It got the point where my mother told me to go back to Genoa. She came over dinner last night to cook and ultimately yell at me for my constant sad demeanor. Even though I ignore her complaints, there was something she said to me that really stuck.

"If you love him and he loves you, you're miserable and he's miserable. Why do you want to prolong your sadness if your happiness is a few hours away?"

Her words played like an instant replay constantly since last night. The project from Mr. Gabbana was a fluke to keep me distracted. Now that my part is done, there is nothing else keeping me here. I love my friends and my famiglia dearly but without Dominic, I feel lost. A year ago, this would have been a dream to be free, Now all I want is my king.

I had my mind made up when I headed to work today. I will give Mr. Gabbana my final notice, pack my stuff and fly out tomorrow. My girls are coming over tonight to help me pack the rest of my belongings and thanks to Damon, he will pick me up from the airport so I don't have to ruin my surprise to Dominic. I pray that everything goes according to plan.

There was a lot of commotion when I arrived at work this morning. For the past two weeks, the agents and Gabbana have been coming early to sit in meetings all day long. I never knew what was happening; I managed the office while they were busy. Today, the parking lot was filled with cars it was hard to find parking!

The office was jammed packed with people. There were people carrying boxes in and out of the office, people installing cabinets and closet spaces around the office. The agents were shouting out orders to people and Mr. Gabbana was locked away in his office. Of course something major is happening when I want to quit.

Knocking lightly on the door, I waited for a "come in" from Mr. Gabbana.

"Come in!" I entered swiftly. He was on the phone and held his finger up at me. I waited for five minutes then he hung up his phone.

"Sorry about that, this merger has been so chaotic."

"Merger?"

"Oh yes, we weren't supposed to merging until next month but we couldn't wait any longer. We are expanding. We are opening up two more locations in Italy, two in France, and one major location in central London!" Mr. Gabbana announced.

"WOW, really? This is amazing!"

"Isn't it? We went into a binding partnership with the Rossi company. Without them, we wouldn't be able to expand and they need more clients so it makes perfect sense."

"What's going to happen to this place?"

"We'll keep it for now but we will conduct our business at the main headquarters office that we found yesterday. It's more in central Milan which is perfect for business. We are also doubling the amount of agents we have and some employees from Rossi might want a change in scenery so they'll be able to use these offices. You can decide if you want to stay here or move down to headquarters."

"About that...I'm actually here to give you my final notice. I'm moving back to Genoa."

"ALREADY! I thought you would stay for longer!"

"I thought so too but turns out my heart is in Genoa."

"What about the project? The Romero's love you! They want you to keep helping."

"I thought my part is over."

"Oh no, your work just began. They have some mock ups of what the house should look like and they want your input. They also want you to keep an eye on the renovations from time to time because of their hectic work schedule. Mrs. Romero wants to meet you in a week to finalize your decision."

"Really? I would love to meet her!"

"Is there any way you stay on; just for this last project. You can commute from Genoa, it's only a two hour drive and you wouldn't have to come in every day just when you have an appointment with the Romero's."

Dominic and I discussed me working and he absolutely hates the idea of me working for someone but this is a commitment I already made. We can fight about this at a later date but I don't want to leave my assignment unfinished.

"Okay, I'll stay on. You can direct the Romero's to me." I agreed.

"Perfect thank you so much!"

----

My day was spent packing up the main files into storage boxes. There was a lot of paper work that needed to be shipped to the new location and many files that came from the Rossi company. I had to work through lunch, that's how busy it was!

I didn't leave the office until 5pm. My girls were at my home when I arrived. I found them in my bedroom packing my clothes and drinking my wine.

"Grazie al Dio! I thought we were gonna pack everything ourselves." Bambina yelled as I entered the room. There was only one suitcase unpacked on my bed with 3 bras packed.

"Oh yeah, you guys got soo much done! Now, let's really get to work." I said sarcastically.

We spent two hours packing up all my clothes and necessities. Everything else could stay here. I'm sure Roberto has been eyeing this house as an escape from mama. We finished at a decent hour so we ate the left over Lasagna mama made me. We gathered around the fireplace in the living room, eating and drinking the remainder of the wine.

"Are you ready to go back?" Bambina wondered.

"Beyond ready. I feel so weird here without him." I answered honestly.

"When is your flight?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. Damon is picking me up to keep it a surprise."

"Ew, that beast. I can't believe you're friends." Juliana gags.

"Remember that a year from now when you're pregnant by him." Bambina smirked.

"Me?! Truthfully, I would rather drink acid." Juliana laughed.

"Wait, once you go back, your gonna be mafia wife again?"

"I guess. I'm not sure what my job entails and Dominic's mother isn't the greatest fan of me."

"Oh yeah because it's your fault that her son was such a demon." Juliana barked.

"Whatever happened is left in the past...at least for us. I was considering having another engagement party or something small to make up for the fiasco of our last engagement. From what I remember, the wives mingle together and the husbands would talk business so I hope I can make some friendships with the wives."

"When are you planning your wedding?" Juliana asked.

"I hope you know, you can always come back. If you feel a moment of regret...call us and we're right there." Bambina reminded.

"Thank you guys."

We decided to have a sleep over since this is the last time I'm going to see my girls for a long time. We woke up a few hours before I needed to head to the airport. When I woke, I saw I had 6 missed calls from Dominic; I forgot to call him for our bedtime talks. I sent him a text and continued to get ready for the airport. My girls ordered a car to take them home. Our goodbyes were filled with snot and tears; I'm going to miss having them by my side.

There was a car waiting outside two hours before my flight. The driver said he was sent by Damon. He took me to the private tarmac of the airport. Damon was waiting on the strip by his private jet. It was smaller than Dominic's but I know it's just as flashy.

"BELLA! You're here!" Damon shouted across the tarmac. I exited out the car and waited for the driver to retrieve my bags from the suitcase. I followed him to the stairs where Damon stood. Damon crushed me into a tight hug before guiding me up the stairs.

Like I expected his plane was just as fancy as Dominic's. His interior was black Italian leather with modern touches.

"I had my own flight book, Damon. You were just meant to pick me up in Genoa."

"Do you think Dominic would let me live if he knew you flew economy with no ounce of protection?"

"Hm, I forgot about that."

"Remember for next time sweetheart, you're number 1 target in Europe right now."

"So how did Dominic let me go off?"

"Oh I'm quite positive he hired someone to watch you. He would never leave you 100% unprotected."

The flight was smooth and quick. I quickly refreshed myself before the plane landed in Genoa. I want to look fresh and beautiful for Dominic.

There was a car waiting for us on the tarmac. Damon held my hand as we got off the plane and walked me over to the car. Once my luggage was placed in the car, we were on the move to Dominic's estate.

"So how is Juliana?" Damon wondered, his eyes never looking away from his phone.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"She's already blocked two of my numbers." Damon smirked.

"How many more numbers do you have?"

"Too many for her to block."

"I would never understand you men. Why don't you approach her like a normal decent man?"

"Because I'm not a normal decent man."

That he isn't.

We arrived at Dominic's estate in an hour. It was quite busy on the estate when we arrived. There was double the amount of cars in the driveway and more guards than I remember wandering the grounds. The guards at the front gate told alerted Dominic that Damon was here to see him and that it was urgent. Once the driver got to the main doors, I saw Dominic burst through the doors in huff. He wasn't smiling, he barely smiles. He stood on his front steps and waited for Damon to get out the car.

"Wait here love." Damon said. He got out the car and walked towards Dominic. They hug and exchanged words before they both turned to look at the car.

I guess that's my cue.

I exited out my side and walked around the car. Dominic eyes popped for a moment before rushing over to me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as he pulled me into a tight hug. I gave him a chaste kiss before answering him.

"I'm coming home."

"Today-- now, are you sure? Why didn't you talk to me, I would've come down to help you."

"I wanted to surprise you and honestly, I didn't know I was coming back until two days ago."

"Are you sure you're ready? I can't handle you leaving again, so I need to know you're 100% ready for this lifestyle and for all the crap that comes with it."

"Will you be by my side?"

"Yes..."

"Than I'm ready for anything."