Alena

I had woken up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, being chased and ran after. The trauma from last night was still very vivid as it came haunting back in my dreams. I could remember my struggle and my pain when she pushed me back, tried to choke me before managed to hurt me. Then, tears began to stream down my cheeks as I blinked them away.

"Shh... baby, what's wrong?" Matteo came walking from the sofa, wiping away the fallen tears.

My heart broke at the sight of him. He looked exhausted as he had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. After what happened last night, I was sure he tried to be more alert of any noises-even when one of the nurses walked in to check my blood pressure, he was already sitting down to watch.

He kissed my forehead for a few times, making me cry even harder.

"Alena... tell me, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

The pain was there but it didn't bother me much. I took painkillers before I went to bed earlier. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep because the last thing I remembered was talking to my husband.

I shook my crying?ng. Nothing's wrong,"

"Why are you

"It was just a dream. I didn't like it,"

"Mm, do you want to tell me about it?"

In all my life, I never thought I'd found someone as caring as him. He knew when something was wrong, and he insisted on fixing it. I always wanted a straight-forward man in my life. Matteo had all the traits of a perfect man I had envisioned. He continued to caress my face, looking down at me.

"Can you come and sleep with me in bed?" I asked, moving to the side, and giving him enough space to lay.

"Do you think we'll fit?"Belonging to .

"I think so." Then,

he didn't waste any time. He climbed up the bed beside me to snuggle me close. He was careful not to pull on the wires or cause me any discomfort. My lips curved into a smile as soon as I felt his warm body next to mine-I had missed. the heat. I immediately placed my head on his chest, loving to hear his steady heartbeat.

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's fine. I was worried if you

it's line.

were in

any pain,"

"Do you

think I'm a burden to you?"

There it was. It was in the middle of the night, possibly two or three in the morning and the random question managed to slip out of my mouth.

I had never heard it coming from him. There wasn't a single complaint about how I was acting around him. He took care of

me in good ways so, there wasn't any reason for me to ask that question.

I didn't need to look at his face to know he was frowning.

"Why would you say that?"

"I just want to know if-"

Hei cut me off, "I got you into this situation, Alena. Sofia was supposed to be my problem and not yours. I should've taken better care of you so you wouldn't get hurt. A burden, you said, You're my wife. If things were much worse than this and I had to take care of you, I'd never think of you as a burden." I kept quiet, focusing on the way his hand was caressing me.

"I just needed to hear that. Thank you."

"I love you, Alena. I don't know how it happened, but I love you and I can't think of living my life without you. If there's anything, please let me take care of you. If there's something wrong, please let me know. I want to be there for you all the time."

"You're going to make me cry again," I began to sob.

Instead of asking further questions, he pulled me closer and let me rest on his chest. He rubbed my back softly as I cried out, feeling touched by his words.

I didn't understand why I was becoming more sensitive. I realized it now.

We had fallen asleep in each other's arms, snuggling close. I didn't wake up for another nightmare and my husband seemed to be sleeping soundly, too. I loved the warmth of his body and how it managed to make me feel safe.

The next morning, one of the nurses walked in on us sleeping together. She tried her hardest not to wake us up because she only wanted to check on my blood pressure, but Matteo had already woken up, monitoring every single action.

When my breakfast arrived, he didn't let me eat on my own. He insisted on feeding me even though I didn't have any trouble to feed myself. So, here he was, sitting on the bed with me and feeding me porridge.

In fact, it started to taste better because he was feeding me.

"If you keep doing everything for me, I can't do anything without you once I discharge." I said, looking straight into his eyes.

He smiled, "Good. You'll need me for everything,"

s a plain porridge with a few chicken slices, but it was good enough to fill my tummy.

It was a

"Are you not hungry?"

I asked.

"I'll eat later. You need to finish your food first,"

"I might cry again...

Matteo sighed, leaning closer to me before tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear. "I don't mind if you want to cry, baby. But I hate to see you cry."

"Because I don't look pretty when I cry?"

He chuckled, "No... because I'll feel as if I can't make you happy

"I'm only crying because you're being too sweet. I don't know how I got so lucky,"

"I'm the lucky one, beautiful Now, come on, you need to eat your porridge."

As he continued to feed me, I went ahead to keep staring at him I was taking my sweet time to eye his every features. My eyes wandered up from his dark brown hair, seeing how they were soft and healthy. Then, I looked into his eyes, loving how they were the lightest shade of brown I had ever encountered. Maybe, I was just being bias because he was my husband, but he was too attractive.

I noticed the nurses throwing glances at him. Well, instead of being jealous and all possessive, I took pride-he was handsome, and people could stare all day if they wanted to. for me.

Matteo only had eyes for

His eyelashes were thick and long, making me wonder why men were always blessed with those kinds of lashes. Then, his full lips. They were pink and soft to the touch; I could almost feel him kissing me all the time. That was why I couldn't get enough. After he was finished feeding me, my doctor came in to check on me.

She was checking on my wound, making sure everything was clean. She also checked if I had any fever because she was afraid of an infection. However, I was feeling fine apart from the slight pain coming from the wound.

She convinced me it was norm normal, and I only needed to let it heal.

When it was time for visitors, Mama and Ana came in the door.

They were smiling as they brought balloons as well as flowers. My eyes widened before becoming excited-I had never needed to be admitted to a hospital before and this kind of treatment were only something I saw with other patients. It was a nice feeling to be experiencing it on my own.

"Balloons and flowers?" I laughed, "You two are too sweet.".

"We wanted to cheer you up more even though we know your husband is doing a very good job at that." Ana replied, smiling before playfully pinching my arm.

other hand, smiled as he took the balloons and the flowers before placing them near the desk.

Matteo, on the other han

"How are you feeling today, my sweetheart?" Mama asked, sitting beside me as she caressed the back of my hand.

Apart from feeling my husband's touch, my Mama's touch was just as good. She knew how to comfort me and to soothe my worries away. I always wanted to be around her when I was younger. She understood me more than Papa ever did. "I'm feeling better, Mama. It's good to have you and Ana here,"

"We thought we could keep you company while Matteo leaves to get a few things settled with work," she replied.

My eyes wandered to my husband, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you going to work today?"

"I just need to settle a few things with Sofia, and I'll be back before you know it,"

He didn't tell me he was going to get it done today but I had assumed because he didn't want me to worry too much. He knew her name was probably going to trigger me-I even had nightmares about her last night.

Besides, he needed to settle things with her in order to move forward.

I knew he was holding back his anger with me because he wanted me to stay calm as well. He had a lot going in his head and

L.

he was probably even plotting ways on how to get back on Sofia,

I never understood about men in the mafia.

Yet, I knew they were always overprotective of their wives.

Papa

was like that

t too with Mama. Mama was always his priority whenever and wherever. He knew to prioritize Mama's safety above all else. That was why he assigned us a family bodyguard whenever he wasn't around. He wanted us to be safe. Mama was a lucky woman, too.

Papa

"Okay,

I understand." "I nodded.

"I'm going to take a quick shower. Will you girls be fine?"

Mama and Ana nodded, throwing him a thumbs up.

Then, he walked towards me before kissing the top of my head. With one hand holding onto his duffel bag, he walked to the bathroom, leaving my sister and mother to tease me.

"I'm actually jealous of you." Ana joked, laughing.

"Why would you be? I'm sure your boyfriend is just as sweet."

"Oh, him. We decided to take a break."

Mama frowned, "Why? Did something happen, honey?"

Ana shook her head as she shrugged, "I think we're both just too busy to commit at the moment. Besides, he can get a little bit needy at times. I kind of want my own freedom,"

"If you're doing it for you and your happiness, go for it." I responded.

"Yeah, exactly. My friends were like judging my choices, but I guess I don't have to care about what other people think."

I've become a very intelligent woman."

"You've "I know."

The three of us continued to talk about life as we watched the television, a funny reality show was being played. It was good to have them around because at least, I wasn't going to feel lonely-Matteo needed to settle things as well, he didn't have to feel as if he needed to put everything on hold for me.

Ana was scrolling on her phone to get food delivered. She was feeling hungry and because they were staying here for the next few hours, she wanted to eat something.

While Mama was slowly massaging my feet, saying I needed to keep my blood flowing. She said I was in bed rest and couldn't walk as often, at least a foot massage was going to keep with my blood circulation.

I let her be, as long as she was happy because the moment, I tried to say no, she was already sulking.

Matteo stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed in a different outfit. He was wearing a black shirt with black jeans-I assumed he chose the color because he didn't want them to get dirty. His hair was a bit wet from the shower, but he! it air dry.

As usual, my husband was mouth-watering.

He made his way towards me before kissing my cheek and softly on my lips, "If there's anything just call me, okay? I won't be long."

10:08

Sun,

Oct 20

I nodded my head, "Okay. Please be safe,"

Then, he went to look at Ana and Mama. "Call me if there's anything,"

The two women nodded their heads and Matteo took it that everything was going to be fine here. He placed the duffel bag

on the sofa before walking out after grabbing a few things that he needed.

There he went and I was silently praying for him to be safe.