The Devoted Gentleman (EDITING)

Chapter 41

Eight months had passed since the calm after the storm. While not all wounds had healed just yet. It was only a week before Valentino and Valeria's wedding. During this time they rarely visited each other because they needed to settle all works they had before their wedding because after that they did not want to be disturbed by works and planned to take two weeks break from work for honeymoon. That was why both of them had missed each other so much. Therefore, that Friday night they had decided to meet up somewhere and went on a date at a fine dining restaurant. Valentino picked her up from the house and since he had not seen her in over a week, he was extremely delighted to see her.

Valeria was dressed in a stunning sapphire blue gown, she had a rather simple but impactful presentation, she did not wear much jewelries, the only jewelry she had put on that day was a small pearl earring on her ears and a nude 7 cm heels on her feet. Oh, and an Audemars Piguet watch he had given her for her birthday that year. On her hand was a customized designer bag that she had purchased from a local Italian brand. She was always that sort of woman, preferring to support local economy in comparison to buying large name designer brands which quality of their craftsmanship had decreased in the recent year. Valentino walked out from the car and pulled her into a hug which she gladly accepted, he planted a small kiss on her lips and cheek before pulling away, touching her shoulder gently and admired her from top to bottom.

"You look stunning" he complimented. She thanked him and returned the compliment by telling him how properly dressed he was. Valentino stated that he had always been properly dressed, even when he's naked. Both of them laughed at the statement before he walked to the car and opened the seat door for her. She went inside the car and he went to the driver's seat.

Soon enough both of them were driving off to the fine dining restaurant where he had to make reservation one month in advance. They were led to their seat and the waiter politely asked them for their order. Both of them had agreed that they wanted to be a bit experimental that night, beside none of them had checked the menu list on the internet prior to arrival like they usually did and they did not really want to spend too much time flipping the menu pages. they had ordered the menu from the chef's recommendation that night and paired it with the sommelier's recommendation, a classic Cabernet Sauvignon, a full bodied wine that was perfect for their equally aromatic dishes. Although usually Valeria would settle better with a light bodied wine such as Pinot Noir, she was completely fine with having something stronger once in a while

"I cannot believe that we are getting married next week. It has been an insane year, hasn't it? I am glad we can at least close the year with something good" she stated as she took a sip of her wine. There was sparkle and enthusiasm in her eyes, something that she had learned to develop again in the past few months after the whole mess that had happened. Valentino could not agree more, he himself was also quite excited by the idea that soon they would actually seal their relationship once and for all. While some people in the west believe that you don't need marriage, marriage is actually quite important elsewhere around the world, the idea of living with someone without having any kind of secure relationship ties such as engagement or marriage would often lead to the lack of commitment and respect between the two of them. People who don't want to get the government involved in their relationships must have their reasons, but still, it's a different feeling with living together as merely boyfriend and girlfriend who could easily break up at any time the moment something struck their relationship and marriage where it's more difficult to separate which lead people to put in more effort in the relationship.

"Tell me, what do you want our relationship to be like? I want to hear everything from your pretty lips. What are your expectations and dreams for our family?" that was a question he had long wished to hear from her, because throughout their relationship they did not really talk much about their future plan together because each of them were busy with their own plan.

She put down her utensils for a moment to think. Valeria had a lot of hopes and expectation but there were a few she thought were more important than others.

"Well, first of all, I want us to always be open and honest to each other. We communicate our thoughts and feelings and I want us to always be there to support each other no matter what. That is the first. I also want us to remain living in Rome but I also want to have a second house in the States. Because I want to expand my family's business over there. European market is great but I think we would find plenty of opportunity over there" Ever since she became the PR member of her parents' company. She had started to learn a lot more about how the whole thing actually worked and she became really good at analyzing the market opportunity and relations within such short period of time. Of course at first some people were quite skeptical of her because they thought she was all face no talents when it came down to business but within a year they had managed to prove them wrong, one thing Valentino was incredibly proud of was the recent success she had with the company, she managed to seal a deal in the middle east that allowed her company to start distributing their products there, which was an overachievement on her part considering she was a newbie, it was something not even he had managed to do, but plan to do in a short period of time later on during the new year.

"And what about our family? You know the other day my mother was telling me that she wants a grandchild soon, maybe we can work on that during our honeymoon?" he asked in a teasing tonality which made both of them laugh lowly.

"It will be nice to have little feets running around at our new home soon but I think we should not rush it just yet. Why don't we enjoy our first year as a married couple first. I think that would be much better, wouldn't you agree?" she stated as she took another sip of her wine. Valentino could not argue her on that, it did sound pleasant to have a year for themselves and they were not exactly in a rush.

"What about you, Valentino? What's your hope and expectation for our family?" Valentino thought of it for a second and then a smile appeared on his face.

"My wishes are quite simple, really, I just want to wake up every morning to meet my wife's beautiful face. We can make love all night after a romantic dinner. We could cook together and serve a nice dinner in the evening paired with wine or champagne or we could travel the world together in between work. Then I want us to raise our future daughter and son to be proper and valuable individuals with strong family bond. We will create a legacy. We will cut all the negative traits from our family and start fresh" Valeria liked the sound of that. She had never thought her life would turn out that way. Everything was just quite different from her original plan but at the end of the day she believed everything was for the best. Had she married Alessio she was sure her life would not be as fulfilled and they would certainly had lots of quarrels but with Valentino, she felt at ease, she just knew she could trust him and she knew he would make a great husband and father.

Once they were done with their little date, he paid the bills and invited her out for a walk around the area. It was starting to get a little bit chilly outside. She was not exactly dressed for the weather, but like the perfect gentleman he was, He took of his coat and gently placed it on her. It fitted her perfectly somehow. She thanked him and planted a small kiss on his cheek in return. During the walk was the time when they bonded and talked about all sorts of things. Just two individuals, a couple, without a care in the world. They did attract a bit of attention since both were equally beautiful but at that point they did not really care about what other people were thinking. They just walked pass buildings and shop and talked to each other despite people's gazes.

The pleasant evening was one none of them would ever forget, it would be their last date before they became a pair of husband and wife. Soon, no one could get in the way of their love anymore. Both made sure of that.

***

One more chapter before the story ends. Look forward to it soon. Don't forget to vote and comment, loves.