When The Wrong One Loves You Right 3: Forever And Always

Chapter 1: Ana

Vince's POV

'Goodbye Vincenzo.'
Those are the last words that Ana said to me as she pulled away and ran from the room. I could feel my heart being sucked into a blackhole and imploding. I felt myself break. I wanted to die as soon as she was out of sight. If I killed myself or I wasn't careful when I was working, I felt like it'd be easier for her in the long run. She'd be able to let me go.
Since the wedding I've been filling my time with things that you could say are less than legal. Drugs, sex, money, women. Lots of women. None of them have ever been comparable to my Ana though. I can fuck them the same way and it's still so different.
I'd slipped down this dark path more than once before. The first time was when I left Ana when she was eight. The next when she told me she hated me when she was thirteen. Then when we'd almost lost her when she was fifteen. Again when she was seventeen and she ran away from her life.
She has always been the only one who could tear me apart. The only one who could ever bring down my walls. As soon as I look in her deep blue eyes, I'm a goner."
"How long has it been now Mr. Benedetti?" Dr. Lisa Capps asked. "How long has it been since you last saw Ana."
I looked at my therapist for a moment as my mind wondered. Did I really want to tell his doctor's wife all of his secrets?
No. It was Vance and Victor that had forced me to come see her today. I didn't say anything to her in the beginning. For the first twenty minutes I was almost silent. As soon as she'd asked about Ana and I started talking about her, I couldn't stop. Maybe this would be a good thing. Sharing his hurt over Ana with this woman that his mother had always trusted with her own secrets. I counted the years it had been since I last saw his sweet Ana. Too long I thought, it's been far to long.
"If you don't want to answer the question it's okay." Dr. Lisa said. "We can move..."
"It's been seven years." I interrupted. "It's been seven years since she said goodbye to me."
"So it's been a fairly long time ago. You said that Ana was pregnant? Did you ever learn if the baby was yours?" The doctor asked crossing her ankles.
"They were."
"They?" Lisa asked raising an eyebrow.
"Your son and your husband both missed that Ana was carrying twins." I smiled.
"What are their names, your children?"
"Matteo and Alisha. Ana calls them Matt and Ali." I smiled.
"Have you spoken to Ana since you last saw her?"
"She texted a few times after she said goodbye. Most of it was about the babies and it was a group text between her, Dante, Sandro, and I. The last time she texted was right before she was in labor. I haven't heard directly from her since. Sandro acts as a messenger. He tells me what she said and tells her what I said. It was difficult in the beginning having a middle man but we've made it work."
"What kinds of things do you discuss with Sandro and Ana?" Dr. Lisa asked.
"We only talk about the kids. Sandro brings them to me and picks them up. He will tell me what happened with them at his home or in school that week. I do the same. I got a call from the principal today. It seems Luca got in a fight with some other kid that was being an asshole to the girl he likes today."
"Luca? Is that your oldest son?" Dr. Lisa asked
"Yes."
"How old is he?"
"He is thirteen." I answer.
"How did you co-parent the fight?"
"I haven't told them yet." I shrug.
"Have you thought about reaching out to Ana directly to see how she'd like you to handle this?" Lisa asked.
"Yes, but she ignored me when I call and text her in the past so I'd stopped trying.
"I would suggest arranging a sit down with Ana and Sandro to discuss this. Then I would bring Luca in to discuss your decision. Don't ask Ana. Ask Sandro." The doctor smiled at him again.
"Do you think he would go for that?" I asked.
"If it's about your child I think they would see you. Why don't you send Sandro a text and ask to sit down with him and Ana today."
Lisa smirked at me as she said this. She brushed her grey hair back behind her ear and she fucking smiled again. What the hell did she know that I didn't. It couldn't be so simple to see Ana. There was no way this would work but I was willing to entertain the idea. I pulled my phone from my pocket and unlocked the screen. I typed the message to Sandro. The response came quickly.
'We can sit down with you if you can meet us at Luis's dinner in thirty minutes. We will only have about thirty minutes to talk. We won't have time for the next few days if you can't make it.' -S.
"Looks like I have to leave." I said aloud. "How did you know he would agree?"
"It was just a suggestion. It could have gone either way." She smirked again.
"No you knew something. Tell me." I command.
"All I can say is your not my only patient." She answers.
"Do you talk to Ana or Sandro?" I ask.
"I speak with most of the Montorini family. I can not tell you who specifically." Lisa smiles again. "You'd better get going Vince. You wouldn't want to miss your meeting."
I lingered for a moment staring at the doctor suspiciously before I stood and left the room. I walked right past my brothers and went straight to my car without a word. I was nervous, scared, anxious, but mostly excited by the idea that I'd get to see my Ana again.
In the car I thought the worst. What if Ana didn't show up and it was just Sandro? What then? Would I have to get Sandro to call Ana on FaceTime? What if he wouldn't call her? What if she refused to see me still? Would I be able to reach an agreement between myself and Sandro?
I got to the diner a little early. I chose a table toward the back and sat with my back to the wall so I could see the door. I inventoried the patrons and decide which ones I'd need to keep an eye on, a few wannabe thugs, everyone else I knew was scared of me. This was my neighborhood after all. Everyone here knew who I was. I watched the clock as five minutes turned in to fifteen. Fifteen to twenty. Where were they. They should have been here by now. I pulled my phone from my pocket and was texting Sandro when the door chimed. I didn't believe his eyes.
Ana. My sweet girl.
No Sandro. Just Ana and a few guards. Was it possible that she'd gotten more beautiful in the last seven years? Her ivory skin looked like porcelain. Her lips were soft and pink. She looked down to smooth the material of her lavender dress and then she caught sight of my in the crowed dinner as she looked up. She seem happy. The way the sun came through the windows behind her made her glow and look angelic. Time had slowed just for me to watch her float toward me. I could die a happy man with this image of my angel burned in my mind forever.
I stood up as she approached me. I felt clumsy and awkward. Did I hug her when she got to me? Did I shake her hand? It was a strange feeling not knowing what to do. I always knew how to respond, this was new for me. I'd really never thought I'd see her again.
"Vinny!" Ana said smiling. "How are you?"
She wrapped me in a tight hug before I could decide what to do. I softly hugged her back almost believing if I hugged her too tightly she'd explode in to a cloud of smoke and be gone like she had in my dreams. I couldn't believe it was her in my arms. This women looked like Ana, she sounded like Ana, she even smelled like Ana. Could it really be her?
"Is it really you Piccola?" I asked.
"Yes it's me, who else would I be silly?" She giggled.
I sank to the bench behind me still holding Ana and did something I normally wouldn't do, and hadn't since she'd left, I started to cry. I melted in to Ana's arms as she held me. I broke down quietly crying against Ana's middle and let out all the pain I kept inside over the years. My baby was in his arms again.
"No Vincenzo, don't cry." Ana whispered to him tipping her head down against mine. "Your going to make this hard for both of us."
"I'm sorry Piccola. I missed you so much. I didn't think I'd ever see you again." I said.
"Me too. I've missed you Vinny."
"Where is Sandro?" I asked, composing myself after several minutes but refusing to let her go.
"He had an emergency meeting at the office. So it's just us." She answered.
"Are you sure this is okay?" I asked. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I don't know yet. Only time will tell. I'm taking a chance being here and I don't know if I'm ready yet but I'm willing to try to end this, separation. I want us to be friends again."
That's all I wanted, to be friends with Ana at the very least. Sure I wanted more than that, but if friendship was all she would offer, that would have to be enough. I looked up at Ana. Her eyes sparkled as she brushed my hair back.
"Your getting old Vinny." She smiled.
"So are you Ana. You're not a child anymore. I don't know if I can be friends with an old woman." I smiled back.
Ana laughed and pulled away. Then she sat across from me.
"I may be getting old but my hair isn't turning grey yet." She smiled. "Also, I'd like to point out you're older than me."
"Men and women age differently. The difference between me and you is I can only get hotter." I smirk. "Do you make Sandro dye his hair? I've noticed that he isn't graying yet."
"Sandro makes his own styling choices. He's been dying his hair for years. I think he's scared to get old."
"Why would he be scared of that?"
"He thinks he will die before me and he is scared to leave me alone."
"I'm never dying my hair. I earned every fucking bit of grey in my hair."
"I like it, it's a very distinguishing feature." Ana smiled at me and brushed her own hair behind her ear. "You said we need to talk about Luca."
"Yes. I had to pull Luca out of school today after I got a call from the principal." I said with a sigh.
"What happened? Is he okay?" Ana asked worried.
"Luca is fine. The other boy, not so much." I sighed. "Luca got in a fight with a boy that was harassing this girl he likes."
"The girl he's always rambling about?" Ana asks.
"I think her name is Jennifer Bellini. Does that sound right?" I asked.
"Yes, Jennifer. I know who you're talking about." She said nodding.
"From what he's told me this kid, Nicolas Petrovich is a fucking bully."
"Oh I hate that kid." Ana crinkled her nose.
"Well from what Luca explained to me after I got off the phone with the principal is Nicholas kept pulling on Jennifer's clothes. He was snapping her bra straps and pushing her shirt down. When he tried to reach under her skirt Luca twisted his wrist and hit him hard enough to break his nose."
"He deserves more than a broken nose." Ana said seriously.
"He would have had more than that if the principal hadn't come around the corner." I answered in the same tone.
"And he saw our child standing over another that was covered in blood." Ana said.
"Yes. It didn't look good for Luca."
"Did you speak to Jennifer's parents? Or Nick's?" She asked.
"No. I wanted to discuss this with you and Sandro before I spoke to them. I wanted us all to sit down with both of their families and discuss what happened." I answered. "The Petrovich family has been doing business with us for years. I'm not a fan of Nicolas's father, Roman, but he's made Sandro and I both millions over the past five years. How would you like to handle Luca?"
"I don't feel he deserves to be punished for doing what was right." Ana said.
"I agree. I would have done the same thing he did, but I would've finished it."
"Let's discuss what happened with Jenny's parents and see where they would like to go with this. If Jennifer doesn't want to confront Nicolas then I don't know that we can make sure it doesn't happen again. What does your schedule look like for the rest of the day?" Ana asked.
"I cleared my schedule when I had to leave the office to get Luca." I answered. "I left him with Maliki."
"I can call Jenny's mother, Beatrice and see if she and Bill would bring her to come talk to us."
"When? Now?" I asked.
"Yes. I want the whole story before the details start to change Vince. Can you get Luca here?"
"Yes. That's a text message to Maliki and they'd be on their way."
"Okay give me a minute. I'm going to call Jenny's parents. I'll be back, don't go anywhere."
"There's no chance of that babe." I smile.
Ana smiled at me as she stood and left the table to walk outside. Ryder was the only one who followed. He was the one who'd report back to Sandro. He was the head of Ana's security. He was responsible for her safety. If anything happened to her, it was on him. Sandro trusted him though. Ryder had been Sandro's best friend since they were children.
I began to wonder if Ryder had come just to be intimidating. I mean, I could take Ryder if I wanted to. Sure Ryder was twice my size but I had fought hand to hand with bigger men and walked away. I could just take Ana and disappear. That's what my own father would have done. Hell he had. When Lucia refused to choose who she wanted to be with, Matteo decided for her. He took her from her father's home and disappeared for a few years. Built a castle in the mountains a thousand miles away where Vince sister María was conceived. She'd been stillborn. A year after that my brothers and I had been born. I couldn't do that to Ana though. She'd never leave with me if she had to leave her children behind.
I sighed as I watched her through the window. She smiled and laughed. She was pacing with an arm wrapped around her waist. A few minutes later she came inside still on the phone and sat at the table.
"Ok, see you in ten minutes then. Bye." Ana said and looked up at me. "They are on their way."
"Luca should be here any minute." I answered.
Fifteen minutes later the Bellinis were sitting across from us.
"I'm sorry if I got you in trouble." Jenny said quietly looking at the floor.
"It's okay Jen. The principal doesn't know what happened. They can't punish me until they review the tapes." Luca answered.
"Has Jenny told you what happened at school today?" Ana asked.
"No. She hasn't said much since we left the school." Bill answered.
"Luca tell them what happened." I said to my son.
"Yes sir." Luca answered and proceeded to tell them the story of the days events.
"Is that what happened honey?" Beatrice asked her daughter.
Jenny nodded and continued to look at the floor.
"I'm sure this wasn't an isolated incident." I said.
"What are you implying." Bill asks.
"What Vince is saying is it's probably happened before. If this kid was comfortable enough to reach under your daughter's skirt, then he has tried something like this before with another girl." Ana said backing me up. "We would prefer to keep our child and yours out of the principal's office. Our kids have been friends since they started school. We have given him the okay to continue to defend her, but they don't have every class together. Next time Nicolas touches your daughter, Luca may not be there to help out."
"We want to talk to Nicolas's parents and correct the behavior before it escalates." I said. "Like it or not, this kid has sexually harassed your daughter and it's not okay. It needs to stop before he decides he's done trying and actually hurts her. If this had happened to my daughter the kid would be in the hospital I promise you that."
"You are no better than this kid Mr. Benedetti." Beatrice said coldly. "Your family stands for violence. The things you do are far worse than what this child has done to mine. I'm not defending him. He deserves to be punished and taught that it's not okay. But harming a child is not the answer. If we were talking about a man doing this I would want him dead, but this is just a boy."
"He won't be just a boy in three years when he tries to rape her and we can do nothing because we failed to act when something could be changed." I said to her coldly.
"Like you would know what the boy is going to do." Beatrice said.
"I do know. I've dealt with that family for two thirds of my life. They are all the same. My family may not be saints but paying a woman for sex and beating her until she can't fight back are two completely separate things."
"Sex with a child is never okay, but you seem to think differently." Beatrice glances at Ana the back to me.
"Ana was emancipated when she was seventeen. She made her own decisions. I never forced her into anything."
"You were a man that slept with a child." She said defensively.
"We were married when we slept together. My relationship with my ex-wife is none of your business. The only thing that concerns you is the fact that the product of that marriage saved YOUR daughter from being molested by a little Russian twerp that believes there are no consequences for his actions because of who his father is." I said angrily. "If you don't want our help that's your decision. My son and your daughter don't need to be friends if you feel so strongly about my personal life that you can't see past it to help your child. If you change your mind you know where to find us."
I stood from the table and buttoned my suit jacket. "Say goodbye. It's time to go Luca."
"Bye Jenny." Luca understood that it was time to go and arguing with his father was pointless.
Ana stood and followed me as I walked away. I could hear Jenny as she started crying behind us as we left the diner.