31. MY WORLD

"Bambi, where are you taking me?" He asks as I drag him towards the car.

"Don't you trust me?" I ask, looking at him over my shoulder with a pout.

"Of course, I do. But it's Sunday today and you woke me up at eight in the morning." He nearly whines.

I sigh and open the passenger side door for him, "Sit, your highness." I say, gesturing towards the seat.

He stares at me for a while and eventually sits in the car and I close the door after him. I round the car and settle in the driver's seat.

"Liza, baby, I'd die for you. But whatever you have planned, it better be good." He says and rests his head against the headrest.

"I hope it is." I mutter under my breath.

For the next thirty minutes, we sit in silence with only the light hum of the car serving as background music. I briefly glance at Nick to see him asleep with his mouth slightly agape.

After a few more minutes, I park my car outside a deserted park and place my hand on Nick's shoulder. He shrugs my hand off and I take off my seatbelt before leaning into him, "Nick." I whisper in his eyes.

He cracks one eye open, looks at me and then goes back to sleep. I sigh and get out of the car to open the passenger side door.

"Nick, you wake up this instant." I say shaking his shoulders.

He finally peels his eyes open and sits up, "Liza, come here. Let's cuddle."

"You'll get all the cuddles you want." I reply.

"Really?" He asks with a lazy smile.

"Really. But only if you get out of the car right now."

He groans and eventually steps out of the car to look around, "Where have you brought me, woman?"

I giggle softly, "Somewhere I can murder you and dump your body without anyone finding out."

"Is that so?" He smirks, closing the door behind him.

I shrug my shoulders innocently, "Everyone will believe my story because this face is too innocent." I say pointing at my face.

His smirk deepens, "I will haunt you for the rest of your life."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." I say and he leans down to peck my lips.

"Now, where are we?"

"It's a park I found last year. It's usually deserted since it's at the outskirts of the town so I find it really peaceful." I tell him, grabbing his hand.

He nods his head and we make our way inside, "I just noticed." Nick says all of a sudden.

"That you look absolutely beautiful even at nine in the morning." He comments looking down at my extra fancy dress, making me blush.

"Stop." I whine, placing a hand on my flaming cheek.

He chuckles and pulls me closer by the waist, "What have you planned?"

"Oh! I forgot." I say remembering the basket in the trunk of the car.

"What?" he looks down at me.

"You wait here." I wag my finger in his face and rush towards my car.

Opening the trunk of the car, I take out the basket and the blanket and shut it before making my way back to where Nick was.

He's still standing in the same spot with a confused expression, "Where did you g-" he begins to ask but pauses once he sees the stuff in my hand.

Slowly, a smile stretches across his lips as he looks back into my eyes, "You planned a Sunday picnic, bambi?

I nod my head in excitement and he takes the basket from my hand. We walk to a big tree and I spread out the red and white classic checkered blanket. I take off my shoes and Nick follows after placing the basket on the blanket.

The park is not very huge but it was quiet and beautiful. There is a small pond at the end and the grass is always green and fresh. Just being here brings a sense of relief and comfort and I wanted to share this place with my favorite human.

Of course, Elijah knows about it and we have come here twice but bringing Nick is going to be a whole new different experience.

"What are you thinking?" He asks as we sit down beside me.

I rest my back against the tree, "Nothing. I hope you like this place."

"I do. It's...calm and beautiful."

"That, it is."

"Why the sudden plan?"

"I'll have you know that I have planned this trip in my head for the past few weeks."

"Really? May I ask why?"

"You'll know."

He playfully rolls his eyes at me and lies down before resting his head in my lap, "I love you, Nick."

"I love you, Eliza."

"It's Liza." I whine.

"I'll call you whatever I want."

"Okay, Nicholas."

"Oh, for fuck's sake." He groans causing me to giggle.

We sit in silence for a few minutes and I run my fingers through his hair. Nick and I had come a long way. From not talking for years to going back to exactly like how we were before, I have experienced the most beautiful moments of my life with him.

He is my driving force, my one motivation to be a better person and believe in myself.

He has the kind of control over my life that no one else could ever possess, not even my family. I have lived eighteen years of my life in the way he wanted me to and I don't regret it because it does not suffocate me. If anything, he helps me see the bigger picture.

Ever since childhood, he has been my guardian angel, my guiding light. Even then he knew what was best for me. I often feel like mom and dad trust him around me more than they trust themselves.

Maybe this is why I am attached to him the way I am and I love every single second of it.

The loud growling of my stomach breaks my train of thoughts and I cover my face with my hands in embarrassment.

A loud laugh fills the air and I pout moving my hands away, "Hey, don't be mean. I've been up from six to prepare all this and I haven't even eaten."

He continues to chuckle slightly and gets up to place a kiss on my cheek.

"I am hungry, too. We should eat." He says and I immediately nod my head in consent.

He takes the lid off of the basket and a surprised look crosses his face, "You made all of that in two hours?"

"No, silly. I prepared the juice and sandwiches last night."

"And the pies and fruit salad?"

"Yes, that's what I woke up for."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Hey, what's that?" he asks reaching for the box at the end and I slap his hand.

"No. That's for later." I scold and he gives me a look before placing the cover back on.

"Okay, gattina. Stop being violent."

"I'll try." I smile and unwrap the plastic cover from the sandwich before shoving it in his mouth.

He looks at me with wide eyes and takes a bite, "It's delicious." He says once he's chewed.

"Thanks." I reply, giddily.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He questions as we continue to eat.

"I just wanted to make you feel special." I shrug.

"I already feel very special to have you in my life, Liza."

I give him a soft reply in response as a memory flashes in front of my eyes.

Flashback

"Nick! Nick! Nick!" I shout as I run around the house, looking for him.

"Slow down, baby." Antonia chuckles.

"Sorry." I reply sheepishly and she ruffles my hair before I sprint forward again.

"Don't hurt yourself." Antonia shouts over her shoulder.

When I reach the end of the hallway, I find the door of his room slightly ajar and I skip inside with a big grin.

"I brought you something!" I exclaim excitedly.

"Liza, baby." He comes to greet me with a hug.

His tall frame towers over my tiny form and I instantly feel safe.

"What did you bring?" he asks, pulling away.

"This." I say and hand him the chain that was clutched tightly in my small palm.

"What's this?"

"You're going back to Italy so I brought you my lucky charm."

"But this is your lucky charm, bambi."

"Exactly why you should have it." my nine-year-old self replies innocently.

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because it is very special to me and I want to make you feel special, too."

He takes the plain silver chain from my hand with the alphabet 'E' dangling from it and clasps it around his neck, "I already feel very special to have you, Liza."

End of flashback

I lean forward and move the collar of his grey shirt to see the chain still clasped there. He looks at me weirdly before following my gaze and a small smile forms on his lips.

"You still have it?" I ask in astonishment.

My heart swells inside my chest and my love for him grows ten folds when he answers, "You gave it to me so of course, I have it, baby."

I lean a little closer to him and capture his lips in a sweet kiss. He softly pushes my back against the tree and I sigh in contentment. One of his hands grabs my waist while the other rests on the wood beside my head.

The way his lips move against mine makes my brain become one big jumbled mess. He is trying to get a message across, he's dominating the kiss like he always does but this time seems a bit more urgent than usual.

I tug at his shirt and he instantly pulls away but only a second passes before his lips attack my jaw and then my neck. I bite my lip to stop myself from making embarrassing sounds but as soon as his tongue runs down the spot behind my ear, I can't help but moan.

I feel his lips lift up in a smirk against my skin before he places a butterfly kiss there and starts sucking on it. My eyes fly open knowing exactly what he was trying to do and I slide my hand up behind his neck to pull his head away.

"Nick." I try to scold him but it comes out sounding like a moan.

It only encourages him to continue his assault and my head falls on his shoulder, helplessly.

I am ashamed to admit that I am actually enjoying whatever this funny feeling in my stomach is.

He finally pulls away and stares at the mark he's left behind like it's a masterpiece while I blush in embarrassment and hide my face in the crook of his neck.

"Now, you have something I gave you." He chuckles.

I push my face down even harder, not wanting him to look at my fully flushed face and neck.

"Come on, let me see my favorite face." He says and grabs my nape before making me look up at him.

I blush profusely and he kisses the tip of my nose, "Il mio bambino."

(My baby)

I smile recognizing the endearment and kiss his cheek, "Okay, now." I say and pull away.

"Now that we've eaten, you can open that box you were curious about." I state, gesturing towards the picnic basket.

Immediately, he reaches towards the basket and takes the box out. It is a long vertical white box with a red ribbon wrapped around it in a knot.

After he pulls at the ribbon, he takes off the cover and freezes for a whole minute. I bite my lip in anticipation as I stare at him nervously.

"So?" I ask quietly, fiddling with my thumbs in my lap.

He scoffs in disbelief and I see another emotion flicker in his eyes, it was adoration.

"Of course, bambi. Who else would I want to go with? I had already planned to ask you." He says, still in awe.

I grin suddenly feeling ecstatic, "YES!" I fist pump the air making him laugh.

He kisses my forehead, "I was supposed to ask you to prom." He says looking down at the array of five donuts covered in chocolate with 'PROM?' written on them alphabet by alphabet with whipped cream.

"No. it's not compulsory for the guy to ask. Besides, you do so much for me and I just wanted to do this one thing for you."

"Whatever I do for you, will never be enough because you deserve the world."

"Well, good thing that you are my world."

A/N: I don't want to stop writing about Nick & Eliza but all things must come to an end. One more chapter to go before the epilogue. 😭😭😭

PS. THIS IS THE PROMISE RING. MY EXTREMELY FORGETFUL SELF FORGOT TO PUT THE PICTURE IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER.