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Choosing to wash her hair was a spontaneous decision. Adriano spotting her and choosing to help just happened to work in her favor.
With her body in the tub and her head resting over the side, she releases a sigh of relief as he uses his fingers to massage her scalp. The past couple of weeks has been stressful, what with the looming danger of Dean Kory and his paused actions. The fact that it has been quiet on his side is enough to make her nervous and fight the urge to throw up every five minutes.
Having Adriano keep her calm was greatly appreciated and enough for Adalena to fall even deeper in love with him.
That was another development in her ever so pregnant life: her belly bump along with her feelings for her baby daddy have been growing day by day until it became noticeable in her daily life.
She's often caught up in longing stares, a hand on her belly at all times of the day. The times she hung out with Farrah and Remi, it didn't take them long to start teasing her about the fact that she's trying to hide what she feels for her best friend. Despite the constant teasing, there was just something about the three of them hanging out together that made everything a bit easier.
She left Henry as her proxy in Vegas and luckily, Kory still hasn't made an appearance. That caused more stress for her best friend because, obviously, he wanted to get that man out of the way so she doesn't have this to stress about during her pregnancy, but she feels content with the time they spend together now, her mind often rid of Kory in his presence.
"Did you eat today?" He asks, his voice soft as he scans her relaxed face. He massages the shampoo into her scalp, savoring in the smell of coconuts.
She nods, "Antonio made me a pizza."
"Let me guess," Adriano chuckles, "You ate it all."
The woman kisses her teeth, "What else was I supposed to do? Starve?"
"I guess not."
Silence lingers in the space between them. Adriano felt it too - an inkling of whatever Adalena felt for him. How she'd stare at him, not knowing that he was trained to feel eyes on him. How she'd whisper to herself every once in a while after he did something she found sweet. How she'd been extra touchy throughout the nights and somehow finds a way to touch him when they are in public settings. If she wasn't holding his forearm, she has a finger wrapped in his belt loop or a hand tucked into his front or back pocket.
Don't get him wrong, he was used to it from before she was even pregnant but there was something about the way her skin on his ignited a fire within his chest. It feels like a sign. And he'd be a fool to ignore it.
Adalena's eyes are closed, her naked body tingling with anxiety as the man she loves comforts her entire being.
"Adri." She says, her volume lower than either of them expected.
His fingers steady, "Sì tesoro?"
Her eyes flutter open, chest heaving in anticipation as she meets his eyes. She couldn't think of a better time to say it. To confess. To tell him everything on her chest, especially the part that makes her the most scared.
But, she does. Or she tries to.
"I love you."
Adriano's breath hitches. He knows she loves him, but in a different way than what he wants. "I know, amore. You tell me all the time."
"That's not -" As she sits up to turn and face him, Adriano furrows his brows and stares deeply at her, thrown off by her words, "That's not what I mean. I mean, it is but it isn't." With how flustered she felt, she was surprised she even sounded coherent. Does she even hear herself?
"Adalena..."
"I love you, Adri. I am in love with you." She pauses, tucking her knees into her chest, "At least, I think I am." At the sight of the confusion that spreads across his face, she backtracks, "You know I hate this stuff, Adri. The whole confession of my feelings, telling people how I feel unless they literally push me into a situation where I have to. You didn't do that with me so obviously, it's the pregnancy hormones making me this vocal about it." She's talking more to herself at this point, avoiding his gaze as she tries to figure out what she's talking about. "I just know what I've been feeling recently has been so amplified by just being around you and being here and I don't know if that's a good thing or if I'm just making this some big deal when it's not and -"
"Adalena, per favore, stai zitto." Following his quick words, he cradles her face and pulls her into a passionate kiss that knocks the woman from her thoughts. Instead, she melts into the man that holds her. He leans into her, one hand leaving her to hold himself up on the edge of the tub behind her. He mumbles into her mouth, "Sono così innamorato di te che il mio cuore batte quando ti vedo, la mia mente perde i suoi pensieri e ogni respiro che mi lascia è per tua misericordia. Ti amo, Adalena, ti amo. (I am so in love with you that my heart races when I see you, my mind loses its thoughts, and every breath that leaves me is by your mercy. I love you, Adalena, I love you.)"
Adalena knew it wasn't going to be easy. Even she, being the person she is, will find some way to ruin what they now have. She knows the obstacles that face them, she knows the deadly ones, the ones she, herself, could be... she knows that this is a temporary joy in the life they share.
And she'll be damned if she doesn't get to enjoy it while it lasts.
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not to be like... why do i kinda hate this chapter but... cause it's just a lot of exposition
