A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Chapter 28

Alena

Matteo and I were walking hand in hand down the hallway, straight to the hotel room where Sofia was staying. Angelo was already inside waiting for us with Luca-Matteo's best friend.

He had recently returned from Singapore, so he wasn't present ever since I met Matteo. It was going to be my first time seeing him, hopefully he wasn't as bossy or arrogant as I heard people said about him. Angelo opened the door, standing aside to let us in.

Sofia was standing near the

As soon as she saw Matten ass window, looking better than yesterday. Her hair was tied into a low ponytail, her face fresh and clean. She wasn't wearing the same clothes as yesterday either. Maybe, Angelo had went out to grab new clothing.

entered the room, her eyes sparkled, and her smile widened.

She went straight to him, wrapping her arms around his neck before pulling him in for a hug. I was standing awkwardly beside them as I watched it unfold.

It felt weird to watch my husband hugging with his wife when I was standing there, clearly as his wife, too. I wondered if our marriage was valid because Sofia wasn't dead, but I only thought about that to myself-we had important things to settle. It was Sofia who embraced him while he stayed still, not touching her. "You came," she leaned back, her smile never fading.

"To settle things between you. I need to know what happened for the past five years."

Matteo came with nothing but business in his head. He wasn't about to sit and chat for hours. He just wanted to settle things so he could get it all over with. Besides, like he said, he had better things to do but he knew he wasn't going to be at peace until he found out about Sofia.

He felt as if she had other motives, but he wasn't going to accuse her until he had the evidence.

"Can we at least have lunch first? I'm starving," she responded before walking to the nearest sofa, taking a seat.

"I'll order room service." Angelo replied, which earned him a nod from Matteo.

Sofia didn't take long to order what she wanted to eat, and the room service was quick enough. While Matteo and I were sitting on the sofa opposite from her, she was eating and taking her sweet time.

Luca, on the other hand, had his arms crossed as he leaned against the window.

"Tell me, what happened to you for the past five years?" Matteo started asking, ignoring whether she had finished eating or not. "Why didn't you try to reach out to me?"

She shook her head, "I was trying to protect you, Matteo. There wasn't any way for me to get to you."

"Did they hurt you? Why would they keep you captive for five years if you didn't provide them with any information?"

"They thought you were going to crash and burn. They didn't expect you to thrive instead."

"What do you mean?"

"Your business. The mafia. They thought that if you lose me, you wouldn't be able to live on your life. They wanted to see you fail after you've lost your wife but instead, they saw you thriving. You got colder, meaner, and more ruthless. You showed too much anger to back down." She spoke, looking straight into his eyes. 08:27 Thu, Oct 17

08:27

Chapter 28

Then, she turned to look at me. "And you remarried."

"That's not the case here, Sofia."

77%

17%

45

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She smiled, "Of course not. I don't blame you for falling in love with someone else, I left you alone when you most but trust me, my intentions were good. I wanted to keep you safe, and I did what I had to do."

"Why can't you tell me who they are?"

"I don't know them, Matteo."

He leaned back, sighing heavily. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Why not?"

"You were with them for five years. It's not possible for you to not know them." needed me

Suddenly, her eyes were filled with tears as she stopped eating. She grabbed a tissue and wiped away the fallen tears before. trying to fake a smile. Angelo, Luca, and Matteo were watching her like a hawk, and she was probably feeling overwhelmed. "You're scaring her..." I whispered to Matteo, but he didn't care. He continued to interrogate her.

You

like you're hiding something, and I want you to tell me the truth. Who are they and what did they want with you? Cut the crap about wanting to keep me safe. I

Sofia. For five years." He stood up, pacing back and forth before turning to look at her again. "I kept blaming myself because I wasn't there for you. When I was

grabbing his arm before slowly calming

were needed but a

hand on mine, caressing

"It

replied sarcastically, causing both Matteo and I to turn

me for moving

you

expect me to stay depressed? I was drowning and no

cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention before he

somehow asking permission from Matteo-he saw how uncomfortable I was, and he

he nodded, gesturing for me

for

the room to leave him with Angelo and Sofia.

followed behind him

about me,"

"He did."

де

"Congratulations on the wedding."

"We eloped."

the elevator,

see you in person because I was excited to meet the

throat, "Did

hasn't been like that for years

Once

decided to go there. As we sat down, I started to notice more

long have you known Matteo?" I

We were friends since

"That's a long time.

been through a lot. So, I can really tell when he's genuinely

warm on the inside. I knew he was saying Matteo

It was good to know Matteo was happy and his feelings

really love

I began to realize it when it

She was

course... he married her. It would be insane

continued

Luca con

"I'm not

before you, things would be different. Now, he has you and you're his priority. There's no need

I'm just scared

what? "Going back

focused on wanting to know how she's still alive if she was kidnapped than wanting to

trust the things she

but we can't do anything

Chapter 28

Luca was away for months because he started a business in Singapore. He used to be with Matteo whenever they were dealing with any issues regarding the mafia. Despite knowing how to

oddly similar to Angelo, always looking around to check

"I know

you are, Alena

coffee before looking at him, "Who am

You

You

to the

Mikhail Orlov's daughter,"

I figured out."

Hou got me

He smirked,

did your background checks. It's shocking to know a Russian tying a knot

Papa and I aren't

weren't his s daughter and things were different,

turned around to find Matteo making his way towards us before leaning in to kiss the top of my head, making me

my brows,