Page 218 of Falling for the Wife

Not wanting to dwell on such dampening matters, I resorted to another subject we both could relate to. “Are you guys having a boy or a girl?” I asked, scanning the room.

Trista was on the other end, speaking to another blond man, whom I assumed was her boyfriend Taylor. There were a few other people who had arrived, but so far, none I knew.

Well, as it turned out, Jacques and Andrés couldn’t make it. The same went with Callum. Hell, everyone was becoming too busy to make time for old friends. It just went to show how life was moving on and that we weren’t that young and carefree any longer.

When Dimitris arrived with Lindsey at his side, it was enlightening to see him so happy. After what he had gone through to fight for his wife back, I could only admire. I couldn’t fathom how one could divorce if one were still so in love. Even after all of that heartache, he soldiered on and didn’t let up in his fight for her. When love struck, it really struck a man’s heart like no other, like it had with mine.

For most of the night, I enjoyed Bass and Taylor’s company. I even told my secret that I was a newly minted father, though I didn’t want to announce it beyond present company just yet. I wanted more time for Kimberly to get used to her position in my world: the media, the frenzy, the lunacy of my family. So, after confiding to Bass, he and I ended up having a discussion about babies and everything else about them.

“Changing diapers isn’t that horrifying, is it?” Bass asked, his brow furrowed.

The last thing I thought about changing nappies was horrifying. Since Kim and I had such an unconventional way of getting back together, I was grateful for every moment I had with them.

“You know, it isn’t all that bad. I guess all I can tell you is that it gets better—the stench, the look, and the whole process. You’ll be a pro in a month.”

He pressed his lips together before taking a swig of his beer, as if he couldn’t comprehend how one could get used to the stench and all that. “Hell, if you could do it, then it isn’t so bad.”

It was endearing to see a soon-to-be father antsy.

Maybe someday soon, Kimberly and I would have our second child. It was awful to let my mind get away with such a notion, but my heart was quite confident this was fated for us.

Life was finally beginning. I expected a lot could go wrong, but we would get through it all together.

I didn’t have reception and was too drunk to hunt down for a phone to call home. Therefore, I didn’t expect what greeted me when I got home. As it turned out, it wasn’t fine. Far from it.

Sei

The news of Kimberly’s brother passing came the moment I landed back in Rome and was greeted by Gino, the message bearer. Apparently, it had happened around two in the morning while I was practically passed out cold, oblivious to the fact that she was going through the toughest experience she’d had to endure.

“Where is she?” I asked just as we got into the backseat of the car.

“She was with her father this morning, but I believe she went back to the villa an hour ago. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, not even to see the baby.”

The weight of Gino’s last words revealed so much about where her current state of mind was. Kimberly would never neglect Gian Luca. She was anal about everything in regards to him.

I was an only child and could never fathom how difficult it must be to lose a sibling. She had doted on him. He had been a bright kid, but had always been sickly from the bits of information I had gathered from her.

She had needed me, and I had let her down by not being present after I’d had an inkling that something terrible would happen. Little had I known that hunch would result in someone dying.

The villa was not in the lively atmosphere that it had been in since Gian Luca had arrived from the hospital. You could feel the sadness permeate the very air, weighing on your chest with each breath you took. It was stifling. It was unmistakable.

Carefully taking steps, I slowly made my way towards her room. My mind was consumed with thoughts of how I could possibly console her. How I wished I had the balm that could heal her heart and take the pain away. I wasn’t sure how to be there and not have her reject me. This situation was unfamiliar territory.

“Cara?”I whispered upon opening the door.

The shutters were drawn, so no light filtered through the blackout curtains. It took a few seconds before my eyes adjusted. Then they immediately flickered towards the made bed, still unruffled.

All right, she wasn’t in bed, so where could she be?I thought as I strode towards the bathroom, but before I managed to reach the door, I saw a small, shadowy figure leaning against the side of the bed with her knees against her chin and her arms tightly wrapped around her legs, rocking slowly as she silently cried.

My heart cracked broke at the very sight of her. No words formed on my lips as I immediately knelt next to her and pulled her against my chest. She welcomed my warmth, and I felt her quake and shiver as she continued ceaselessly crying.

My heart reached out to hers, but I didn’t have anything that could numb the pain. I simply held her as she wept into my chest. It took a while before the tight clasp around her legs loosened, and the moment it did, she clutched at my shirt, beyond inconsolable.

“This is all my fault,” she muttered. “That heart was bad luck. I shouldn’t have encouraged that operation after what happened. How can God be this cruel? He gave me my son, but in exchange, he took my brother. How am I going to look at my father in the eye ever again? It was my selfishness. This is my punishment for wanting too much.”

Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths, coaching myself to be very careful with the words I chose. The only way I could be useful was to encourage good thoughts and positivity.

Kissing her forehead, I lifted her chin towards me. “This is not your fault. This is not Karma, and it surely isn’t about you being punished because you were being selfish. This was your brother’s fate. I know it’s not fair, but there was nothing we could do to prevent it. If it’s our time, nothing will stop death from getting to us.