AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"There's one of you, me and Sergi, one of Victoria and Sofia when she was about six, and one of you and Sofia from when she was twelve and you were sixteen, and you were both at the beach. She's on your back, and you’re both smiling into the camera. Sergi is in the background jumping into a star jump."
I let out a laugh. It started raining five minutes after the photo was taken, and we ended up back at our holiday home in the Hamptons, having a mini campout in the living room.
Alexandr reminds me of the joyful memory.
"She named all of us using perfect Russian and Italian; Sofia has ensured she knows her heritage. You would be so proud." He stops to gather himself.
Emotionally raw, we all get up and sit on the sofa, Stefano staying on the floor, his arms resting on his bent knees.
Alexandr puts two pictures on the table. I look at them, and tears fall down my cheeks rapidly. One of them is Sofia on a beach, heavily pregnant, in a flowy, white maxi dress, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head, smiling happily into the camera. The second is a little girl with dark hair and bright blue eyes, the spitting image of me. I hear the others gasp, looking at the pictures, while I rub a finger over them.
"Once she let me read her daughter a story in Russian at that beautiful little girl's request, I ask Sofia ‘why?’ Why did she tell her all about us and teach her our languages if she wasn't planning on contacting us? I swear, I had to hold back my emotions before I sobbed like a baby with her next words, brother." He looks me in the eyes. "She said, ‘She will always know who she is, her background, her heritage, but more importantly, her family, and when she is older, she can decide what she wants to do.’ If she wants contact, she was not going to stop her from finding her family; she is only going to protect her from the fate she had to endure, only to feel heartbroken and lost when the truth is revealed. She was never going to keep her from us; she was willing to leave it up to her daughter, your daughter, but was hoping she would have had a life first. She wants your daughter to fall in love naturally or have a career, so she wouldn't have had to endure her mother's fate, too."
I hang my head.
"What's her name?" my mother whispers.
I squeeze my eyes tight, waiting to hear Alexandr's reply.
"Mila Maria."
I shoot my eyes open just as my father's emotions give out, and he lets out a sob just as my mother cries harder. Mila, after our babushka. Sofia was close to her. Her grandmother and ours were best friends and had the same names; her grandmother had Mila as a middle name while my grandmother was a first name. Sofia's grandmother died when she was eighteen. My babushka is still strong and will be honored to have her great-granddaughter named after her.
My mother is emotionally drained; you can see it in her eyes, and not only finding out she has a granddaughter but one that's named after her mother-in-law and herself proves too much. She kisses all our cheeks, including Stefano’s, who has silent tears running down his cheeks, and then walks into her suite without a word.
My father walks over to me and grabs me into a hug. "It's going to be okay; we'll get them both back."
I just nod.
Stefano asks, speaking for the first time, "What happens now? I want to see my daughter. I know she feels betrayed, but I need to see her, and I want to meet my granddaughter."
Alexandr lets out a heavy sigh. "She's agreed to meet with Damian tomorrow at a restaurant, The Tavern, at 11 AM, while Mila is at daycare."
I twist my head in his direction, thinking I didn't hear him right, but how he looks at me proves I did. Fuck yes, I hear Stefano sigh, and I know he's not happy, but tough shit.
"She's not ready to see anyone else yet; she knows once you all realize Mila is hers and Damian's, everyone would want to meet her, but she wants to get this one meeting done first." He looks at me. "You have a lot of work to do now, brother; she's quite adamant that there is no future for you two, and getting her back would have probably been easier than trying to convince a mama bear." He smirks at me, the fucker.
I nod, bend down, grab the two photos off the table, and head toward my room to take a shower and plan.
It's time to win my family back!
fifteen
Sofia
I'm lying in bed, looking at the ceiling, while Mila is beside me. I feel emotionally drained. Sighing, I turn my head to look at her princess clock: 5:30 a.m. Great. Mila won't be up for at least another hour and a half; I barely slept a wink last night.
Our evening after the park yesterday comes to mind.
"Dyadya Al, dinner with us?" Mila asks after spending another half an hour playing with her uncle. She looks at him, then me, pouting her bottom lip and widening her eyes, knowing that at three years old, no one can say no to that look.
When Alexandr looks at her, then decides to look at me with the same exact expression— geez, I shake my head a little, letting out a small chuckle.
"It's mac and cheese night."
He playfully cheers with Mila, copying her movements. It only takes five minutes to get to our apartment. We go to the second floor via the stairs, then turn left at our door, and I let them both inside. I look at April's door across the way, wishing she didn't have her date tonight, then go inside. Mila's already dragged her uncle toward her coloring table; she's speaking Russian and Italian to him, and he looks at me with pride, making a lump form in my throat. I smile, then go into the kitchen to cook dinner. While cooking, I check on them several times. She seems to adore him, which is good, right?
I walk back into the living room once I have just dished up and placed the food on our small dining table to see them both cuddled up on the couch, watching Frozen. I chuckle silently, reaching for my phone out of my back pocket to take several pictures without them knowing.
