Quick question:

Why does almost everybody want my girl to be pregnant?🧐🧐🧐

I'm not a big fan of unexpected pregnancy trope.

But anyway, thanks for the support babes!!! 💗💗

Ewww I used too many emoji's. Byeeeee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My bag was made. I don't know who did it but it was already placed in the foyer, ready to be taken to the airport. Theo told me that I'd stay with Nicolas for a while.

I didn't really care that much.

"I made your favourite: pasta bolognese." Greta placed a hot plate in front of me.

It was my favourite dish. I loved the meaty sauce and Greta's plates were always amazing but I couldn't eat. I felt sick to my stomach.

Alexander was going to be fine, I kept telling myself. Theo promised me that he'd help him get medical attention. I made him promise on Fabio's life.

There was no trust left between us.

"I'm very handy with my wooden spoon," Greta whispered in my ear.

I laid my arms around her and hugged her tightly. She's always been so sweet and nice to me. She often helped me when I got in trouble with my brothers. One time she punched Silas in his stomach because he kept teasing me.

She wanted to help me but I didn't want to bring her any trouble.

"I'll keep fighting for you, bambina. Out of all people that I know, you deserve happiness and love the most." She whispered in my ear.

I thought that my eyes had gone dry from all the crying that I'd been doing, but new ones appeared. They stained her apron and I felt her tears fall down on my shoulder.

"Don't cry. Please." I asked her.

I pulled back slightly as she wiped her tears away. She gave me a warm smile before kissing my forehead.

"One day, you'll be able to eat my dishes with contentment again. Good days always come."

Good days always come.

I wonder when?

The door to the kitchen opened. Victor smiled sadly and mentioned for me to follow. I kissed Greta on her cheek before following him out. We walked towards the foyer in silence. Most of my family had gathered there except for Theo, Leonardo and Dahlia who was upstairs with Ezra.

I felt extremely uncomfortable being surrounded by them. Most of them were responsible for taking away my happiness. I didn't even want to breathe the same air as them right now.

Amelia jumped in my arms and I held onto her. She was crying. I don't know how long I'll be staying with Nicolas but Amelia and I haven't been separated for longer than a week before. We became dependent on each other.

"We'll find a way. I promise that we'll find a way." She whispered in my ear.

Though I felt hopeless right now, I was grateful for her support. She continued to support me throughout my relationship with Alexander and helped me go behind our brothers' backs.

"I love you," I whispered to her.

She tightened her grip on me and I didn't want to let go. I wanted to stay where my friends were, where Amelia was. Why did they have to send me away? They already ruined everything. What does it matter if I'm depressed here or in Las Vegas?

"The plane leaves in thirty minutes," Hector spoke.

To my pleasure, he was driving me towards the airport. I didn't look forward to the car ride with him after what had just happened. I couldn't even look him in the eye.

"Come back soon, auntie!" Fabio waved at me with a cute smile.

I bit back tears and nodded at him. I kissed his cute little cheek and then went to grab my bag. Hector beat me to it. He placed his hand on my shoulder but I shrugged him off.

He got what he wanted but he'll soon realise that he had to pay a price. We walked outside towards his car. I was planning on sitting in the back but he only opened the door to the passenger's seat.

What a petty bitch.

I rolled my eyes and sat down. He threw my bag in the back before sitting down in the driver's seat. I placed my head against the window and closed my eyes. I didn't want to see New York City right now. I've lived here for the past six years and I made so many memories here.

"Be good to Nicolas. He's Capo which means that he may not have enough time to hang out with you." Hector spoke up.

I kept quiet. I wasn't going to bother Nicolas. I'd probably lock myself up in my room because I didn't even have enough energy to do anything else.

"If you act like a little child, then I'll treat you as one."

He already does. No matter how 'mature' I act, he'll always see me as a child. And he wasn't going to change and I was tired of trying.

"When you come back, I don't want you to be like this."

As if I chose that. I don't want to feel this down and sad. Yesterday I was on top of the world but now I was at the bottom of rock bottom. It fucking sucked.

The car suddenly stopped and I opened my eyes. We had arrived at the airport. A few guards let us in and Hector drove straight towards the jet. An entire crew was already waiting for me with bright smiles.

I was going to ruin everybody's mood with my frown.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Cassano! The flight will last approximately two hours and we will arrive in Las Vegas at ten pm local time." The pilot informed me after shaking my hand.

"Thank you." I managed to get out.

Before I could climb on board, Hector held me back. He mentioned for the crew to already get on the plane which left me alone with him.

Hector cupped my face and I brought my hands up to his. I didn't want him to touch me right now. I tried to pull but he kept a firm hold. He was only doing this to make himself feel better.

"I love you, little one. I know that you're upset, but you'll get over it."

Did he truly think that I'll just get over it? Did he not listen to any word that I said?

"Let go of me." I snapped.

He didn't have the privilege to call me little one anymore, nor was he allowed to touch me. We've crossed our breaking point and I wasn't going to try to make things right. I tried to earlier but that just blew up in my face. He chose to ignore my feelings because he was too stubborn and unwilling to change.

I don't even know if we can ever move on from this?

"You can be angry with me, but I won't let you ruin everything we worked hard on." He sounded almost desperate.

Maybe he finally noticed how serious this was or he could see his grip on me slipping away.

"The only thing we share now is our blood."

I pushed him, so hard that he stumbled a bit. I didn't want to see his face. My words had hurt him but now I didn't deliberately hurt him. These were my honest and true feelings. He didn't even realise what he's done to me, so I shouldn't care either.

/////////////

Nicolas was leaning against a matte grey Aston Martin. I took him in as I step down the stairs of the plane. He hadn't changed. He still had the same buzzcut and his muscles hadn't disappeared. For a moment he wore his cold expression until his brown eyes fell on me. A warm smile crossed his face and he walked towards me. Before I knew it, he'd embraced me in a tight bear hug that made me want to cry.

We haven't had a hug like that in a very long time.

I don't know what Hector told him about my reason for visiting him, but Nicolas acted as if nothing was wrong. He took my bag from one of the stewards and helped me sit down in his car. We drove off quickly and he even turned on the radio because he knows I always want it on during rides.

"I missed you, kid." he grabbed my hand tightly.

"I missed you, too. You didn't come to the Christmas Party."

Normally he visits us for the holidays but this year he didn't come. I'd looked forward to seeing him again.

"Yeah, some things came up. Did I miss out on a lot?" He asked casually.

I tensed. Either Nicolas was informed about what had happened or he wasn't. I didn't know what was the case. Was he simply asking because he didn't know or was he trying to build up to a lecture? I really didn't want him to scold me, I already got enough of that from my other brothers.

"What's wrong? You look pale. Are you sick?" He furrowed his brows with worry.

I turned to him as he glanced at me.

"Do you know why I'm here?" I asked him.

He frowned but shook his head.

"No, Hector just told me that you would stay with me for a while. No one wanted to tell me why. What happened? Are you in any danger?"

Why wouldn't they tell Nicolas? He's our brother too, didn't they expect him to react the same as them?

I didn't want Nicolas to be worried about me. I can't live with him while trying to act like I was alright. I wasn't and I can't hide it. So I told him the truth. I told him my truth. I told him what I'd been wanting to tell my brothers. About how good Alexander made me feel and how I finally felt like I was free from Ronan.

When I finished my story, we'd arrived at his place. It was a big villa that shone brightly in the sun. I liked the white touches and the minimalistic style. I spotted a few other cars on the driveway and was reminded by the fact that Nicolas didn't leave alone. His closest friends lived with him.

"Listen to me, Elena." He spoke after a while.

He turned to me and grabbed both my hands. I was expecting a lecture because Nicolas really didn't differ much from my brothers. After what happened with Daniel, Nicolas didn't want me to ever date again. What if he hadn't changed his opinion?

"What our brothers did was not alright. I don't know why they send you to me thinking that I'd agree with them, because I don't."

My jaw dropped.

"You're twenty-one years old. You're not a teenage girl anymore. From what I hear, Alexander seems to be a good boyfriend. I don't understand why they'd want to break you up." He added.

Honestly, this was all that I wanted to hear from my family. I wanted them to acknowledge that I was old enough to date and support me throughout my relationship. I wanted them to realise how much I needed this. I need someone by my side, I need Alexander.

"Thank you." My voice cracked.

I wrapped my arms around Nicolas and hugged him tightly. He caressed my hair softly and held me while I cried. These weren't sad tears but tears of relief and gratitude. At least I had someone who supported me.

"All I want is for you to be happy, Elena." Nicolas whispered in my ear.

"I want the same for you." I whispered back.

Nicolas deserved happiness. A whole bucket of it. I was ecstatic to hear that he'd already found his in the format of a cute, 5'10, artistic guy.

////////////////////

Nestor was a hugger. If we had met under different circumstances, I would've been over the moon to meet him. I was still sad so my reaction wasn't the best but I hugged him back when he jumped in my arms.

I had no idea who he was but he was cute.

"Nico told me so much about you!" He grinned.

"Baby, calm down." Nicolas chuckled while putting his hand on my back to steady me.

Nestor was adorable but a lot stronger than I.

"Baby?" I questioned.

Nicolas gave me a shy smile and it didn't take a lot for me to connect the dots. Was I surprised? Yes. Was I happy for him? Also, yes. Was I going to hug him so tightly with all my love? Double yes.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? How long have you been dating? How did you meet?" I demanded excitedly.

"Almost five months. I didn't tell you earlier because I wanted you to meet Nestor first." He replied.

Nestor had curly brown hair and wore a pair of jeans with paint splatters on. I liked his t-shirt a lot because it had a quote on it that I liked.

'Hugs are the best medicine!'

"It's nice to finally meet you! You are as cute as Nico described." Nestor grinned.

Nicolas squeezed my cheek in agreement. I blushed slightly and I managed to put on a genuine smile. Nicolas was happy and has found love. I don't want to ruin that with my depressed mood.

But I didn't have my emotions in control. That smile seemed to drain all my energy and I wanted to lay down for a while.

"It's already late. I'll show you your room so that you can sleep." Nicolas noticed my fatigue.

I nodded because I wanted nothing else. I'd doubt that I'll be able to sleep but I want to lay down.

////////////////

Two weeks passed. I didn't think that I'd stay here that long and the person who packed my bag didn't either. Amy, who was Nicolas' enforcer's girlfriend, helped me wash my dirty clothes and even offered to go out shopping together.

She was super sweet and I would've happily agreed to go with her, if I was able to get myself out of bed.

I felt like this before. My first few weeks with my family were horrible. I didn't feel safe and my entire world has crashed down. I knew that this was depression but I've never had it this bad.

Nothing excited me and I didn't have anything to get out of bed for. I wanted to be social and spend time with my brother but I couldn't get myself to do that. Every effort I made cost me so much energy that I needed days of rest afterwards.

I was headed in a bad direction and I simply didn't care.

My life isn't even my own, so why try to live it?

Nicolas didn't share the same opinion as me though. No, he walked into my room this afternoon with a determined expression on his face. Nestor followed right behind him with a wide grin.

"We're getting out of here!" Nicolas announced.

I stopped the show I was watching. I don't know why I decided to watch 'Hi, Bye, Mama!' because it was a sad kdrama. It put me in an even more depressing mood.

"Nico-" he cut me off.

"Pick a destination!"

Was he even able to stop his work and go on a trip with me? I didn't want to bother him more than I already did.

"We're going on a trip together! It'll be so much fun, Elena!" Nestor insisted.

Nicolas nodded in agreement and helped me sit up in bed. I've been wearing the same sweatpants and sweater for the past two days without showering, so I probably smelled.

"Where do you want to go? We can go anywhere you like." He held my hands tightly.

Anywhere I like?

"Did you ask Hector? He controls everything I do." I muttered.

"Fuck him! I'm your older brother and you're under my care now. I get to decide if I take you on a trip."

Try to tell Hector that. I could already see him finding out about our trip and scolding me for going. It'd have to ask his permission first for it. That all made me feel angry.

Nicolas was right.

Fuck him.

"London." I said after a while.

Nicolas nodded and reached for his phone to make the arrangements. I've been thinking about the city that I grew up in for a long while. Maybe it's time that I return and see what it does to me.