The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

Third-person POV.

Antonio’s lips pressed against the softness of Rosalinda’s cheek, his eyes filled with adoration as he gazed at her.

“Good morning.” He whispered sensing her stirring. When she didn’t respond, he murmured playfully, a lazy smile spreading across his lips. “I know you are awake.”

“I didn’t want you to stop staring at me.” Rosalinda admitted with a smile, her eyes still closed. “I like it when you stare at me; I wanted to keep feeling your eyes on me.”

“It doesn’t matter if your eyes were opened or closed. I could stare at you anyhow, anywhere, anytime.” He said, tracing her nose and lips with his finger. “But do you know when I love staring at you the most?”

She shook her head, a smile still on her lips.

“When you are naked in the shower.”

Her eyes shot open immediately, and she playfully smacked his arm.

He chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming with delight. “Good morning, Pretty.”

“Good morning, handsome.” She replied, her voice still laced with sleep.

Placing his hand on her belly, he leaned in and kissed it. “Good morning, princess.”

“Oh my!” He suddenly exclaimed excitedly before flicking his gaze at his wife. “She just kicked.”

“I guess she really heard you.”

Rosalinda quipped with a smile.

“She did.” He murmured proudly before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. “How was your night?”

“It was fine.” She said, caressing his cheeks. “How was yours?”

“With you by my side? With my wife by my side.” His lips sought hers, and he engaged her in a sweet, gentle kiss. “It was great.”

A radiant smile saturated her lips. “I love you.”

“I love you more, woman.”

Glancing at his attire, she asked. “Going somewhere?”

He nodded. “Business to attend to.”Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Carlo burst into the room.

“Good morning, mommy, good morning, daddy,” he beamed as he ran into their embrace, his enthusiasm contagious.

“Good morning, my boy.” Antonio tousled his hair affectionately.

Rosalinda planted multiple kisses in his face as they both giggled uncontrollably. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.”

He nodded vigorously, his eyes wide with excitement. “Yes!” His smile suddenly faltered a bit. “I’m hungry.”

“What do you want to eat?” Antonio immediately tugged out his phone to call the family chef. “I’ll get Dorcas to prepare something for you right away.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“No?” Antonio’s brow drew together in confusion.

“I want pancakes, and I want mommy’s.”

Antonio, not wanting his wife to undergo any form of stress, placed his palm on Carlo’s shoulder and stared at him persuasively. “Mommy is heavily pregnant with your little sister, and…”

“It’s fine.” Rosalinda quickly interjected. “I’ll make it. I don’t want to sit around doing nothing anyway. I’ll be bored.”

“Baby, you-”

She cut him off again. “For real, it’s fine. It’s just pancakes, Antonio.”

He sighed. “Okay. But be careful, please.” He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I need to get going now.”

“Are you going to work?” Carlo asked curiously, and he nodded.

“I’ll miss you.” He went ahead to say.

Antonio playfully pulled his cheeks. “I’ll miss you too, buddy.”

Returning his attention to Rosalinda, he said. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything or if anything happens. I’ll-”

“The due date is not for another two weeks.” Rosalinda cut him in, a wide smile spreading on her lips. “You worry too much.”

He placed another kiss on her cheek. “How won’t I worry about my wife?” His gaze met hers, and he whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She whispered back.

And so, he jumped out of bed and whisked out of the room. He hated to leave her, but he had something important to attend to. Slipping through the front door, he sighted Marco and Camilla kissing in the front porch, and his face immediately twisted in disgust.

“Granting you permission to be together doesn’t mean you are allowed to do filthy things in my presence.” He groaned, his disgust evident in his tone.

“The same filthy thing you do with your wife every day.” Camilla teased.

The frown on his face deepened as he glared at her with murderous intent. “If you weren’t my sister, a bullet would have gone right through your head.”

She chuckled. “You can’t do that. You love me too much.”

“Unfortunately.” He sighed, and she laughed uncontrollably.

He strode to the car afterwards, and Marco followed.

“Good morning, Boss.” Marco greeted once they were inside the car.

“Have you made the confirmation I asked you to?” Antonio asked, not bothering to respond to his greeting.

“Yes. They are all waiting at the warehouse. No one is missing.”

“Good.” He groaned.

Reports reached him that products had been going missing in large quantity from one of the warehouses-products enough to begin a new business. They were going to the affected warehouse to interrogate the workers there and fish out who the hell had the guts and nerves to steal from him. Whoever that was was as good as dead.

They arrived there after an hour’s drive, and all the workers were already assembled, waiting for Antonio to arrive.

He didn’t bother exchanging pleasantries with the workers; he went straight to business.

Striding back and forth before the assembled workers, he began. “I’m giving the thief the grace to step forward now. If the thief or thieves allow me to go through the stress of fishing them out, they won’t be the only ones to suffer the consequences; their families would share in their fate.”

He paused in his tracks, his eyes searching their faces as he continued. “And believe me, I’ll find out who it is. So-”

“Boss.” Marco suddenly interrupted him. “There’s an emergency. Vito’s on the line.”

“It could wait.” He firmly replied. He wanted to be done with the matter at hand first.

“Boss it-”

He cut him off again with a groan. “I said it could wait.”

Knowing it couldn’t wait, Marco persisted. “It’s Rosa-”

He didn’t get to complete the sentence before Antonio Immediately snatched the phone from his grip. Anything else, but his wife could wait.

“What happened?” He quickly asked.

“We’ve been trying to reach you, but your line ain’t going through. It started moments after you left.” Vito spoke from the other end of the line.

He tensed. “What happened?”

“Her water broke, and we are at the hospital. She’s in labor.”

“I’m on my way.” He breathed, and without hesitation, he ran to the car with the speed of light and powered up the road, not minding that Marco wasn’t inside yet.

His stomach tightened, his chest squeezed, and his entire being tensed. He was scared and crazily worried about his wife. He hated that he wasn’t there when she started labor. Fuck, he shouldn’t have left the house. But, damn, he thought the due date was not until two weeks.

He sped to the hospital, disobeying all traffic rules. He didn’t care. All he wanted was to get to his wife and be there for her. He wasn’t there when she had their first, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t there for their second.

By the time he got to the hospital, she was already in the delivery room, with the doctor and nurses actively trying to help her deliver the baby.

Recognized as her husband, he was given a scrub to slip on before joining his wife in the delivery room. Upon entering, what looked like relief flashed across Rosalinda’s face when she saw her husband.

“Antonio.” She breathed.

He rushed to her, holding her hand in his. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here. I’m here for you.”

Her current state broke his heart. She was in excruciating pain, and he wished there was something he could do to ease that pain.

“You’ll be fine.” He assured her, slightly squeezing her hand. “You’ll be fine, baby.”

His presence changed a lot. Before he got there, she felt so lost and alone. But now that he was there by her side, she felt supported, she felt stronger, and it became easier for her to get through the intense pain.

“Push!” The doctor urged.

And with the newly found strength that engulfed her, her grip on Antonio’s hand tightened, giving one last powerful push, bringing the baby to life.

“She’s here!” The doctor rejoiced as he handed her to the nurses to clean her up.

Her cries filled the room. Antonio and Rosalinda could not take their eyes off her as she was getting cleaned up. After waiting for months, she was finally here! Their joy was immeasurable, as was the love they had for their newly born baby girl.

After cleaning her up, she was carefully laid on her mother’s chest, the nurse beaming “congratulations” as she did so.

Rosalinda’s eyes glistened with tears as she stared at her baby, her heart threatening to explode with love. Antonio had loved her even before she was born, but seeing her encapsulated a whole new dimension of love in his heart.

Their beautiful, beautiful, Isabella.

As they continued staring at her, they both knew they would do anything and everything for their little princess. They just met her, but she was their light, their peace, and their happiness, just as Carlo was.

They were complete now. Their family was complete.

“She’s so cute. As pretty as her mother.” Antonio glowed. She had her mother’s raven black hair.

“She’s prettier.” Rosalinda quipped with a tired smile, tears streaming down her face.

“Are you okay, baby?” He asked, concerned.

“I’m fine.”

She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. The smile that spread across their lips was so wide, genuine, and evergreen. They needn’t say their feelings; it shined through their eyes. The love they had for each other and for their children was out of this world, and that immaculate feeling would last forever.

For-ever.