Antonio loosened up his tie and opened up the door. His mouth opened to shout out his usual greeting to his wife when he remembered that she was dead and that no one was home. Sighing, he walked over to his couch and sat down on it.

He buried his head into his hands and rubbed his face tiredly. It has been a tough day.

Tougher than usual.

Looking up, he stared at the fireplace mantel where a picture of him and Isabella lies. Walking up to it, Antonio let loose of his tears once again.

He picked it up, his thumb caressing her face softly. "I miss you, mi amor. You have no idea how much I need you right now. Why did you have to leave me so soon?" he whispered. He hugged the picture closely to his chest.

His knees wobbled and he collapsed on the ground. Sobs wrecked his body and he did nothing to stop them.

It's been two months but the feeling was still fresh.

If anything, the feeling only got worse as time drone on. The feeling of the heart getting stabbed so many times but miraculously it still beats.

He would pray to God everyday to take the pain away from him. He didn't want to live this life alone without her. It held no value to him if he didn't have her in this world with him.

She was the love of his life and to have her taken away from him so soon? It's impossible for him to love anyone as much as he loved her.

She was his whole life.

He heard the front door creak open and a voice said softly. "Come on baby. Let's get you into bed shall we? You had such a tiring day today."

Antonio got up from the ground. He kissed the frame and placed it back on the mantel. Only this time, he placed the frame face down, hiding the picture from view. Wiping his tears, he walked towards the voice.

A small tired smile made it's way to his face. "Hello Elena."

Elena smiled sadly back at him and adjusted the sleeping baby in her arms. "Hello Antonio. How was work today?"

"Normal as always." he muttered under his breath but he knew Elena had heard. His eyes zoomed in on the baby. She squirmed slightly and opened up her eyes. Antonio quickly diverted his. "I hope she was no trouble." he muttered.

"Trouble? Little Ashley here? Oh no Antonio. She was such a good girl. Like she always is." Elena said lovingly. She placed a kiss on the baby's head and smiled.

Ashley cooed and tilted her lips into a smile. Her small hands reached out and tugged lightly on Elena's hair.

"Would you like to hold her? She misses her father dearly." Elena muttered softly. She slowly reached Ashley out to Antonio but retreated when she saw the step that Antonio took back. "Antonio," she muttered quickly.

"You should put her to bed, Elena. And head to bed yourself." he said quickly. As quickly as he said that, he made his way into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. He heard Elena coming up from behind him but made no move.

"Antonio, you can't continue like this." Elena whispered. "You have to hold her one day. She already lost her mother, don't make her lose her father also."

"I'm not—" Antonio stopped. He sighed and looked at the baby sleeping in Elena's arms and looked away. "I can't. She reminds me too much of Isabella and what she had to go through." he whispered quickly.

"Antonio, I know it must be so hard for you to lose Isabella but it's even harder for Ashley. She's just a small baby Antonio. She's innocent in all this. Her is still pure and everyday that you spend ignoring her, that purity is just going to keep on fading." Elena turned Antonio's face towards her using her hands and stared into his eyes. "You have to be stronger than this, Antonio."

Antonio pushed her hand away and ignored the hurt look that crossed in her eyes. "You will never understand Elena! You didn't lose the love of your life! I did!" he shouted at her.

A loud cry came out of Ashley's lips as soon as she heard the loudness of his voice. Her eyes instantly filled with tears and her grip on Elena's hair became even stronger. It was to the point of hurting Elena.

Elena didn't pay no mind to the pain. She rocked Ashley slowly. "Sh. It's okay baby. I'm here. I got you." she whispered softly. Her eyes shined brightly with love at Ashley as she started to calm down. "There you go. Who's my good little girl?"

Antonio turned away from the scene and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle her." he whispered with regret.

Elena turned away from him, not being able to bear the pain that she felt from looking at him. "You may have lost your wife but that's no excuse for your behavior. Grow up. Not everything is about you anymore. You now have an innocent baby relying on you for her every single need."

"I don't appreciate the tone you're using with me Elena." Antonio said harshly. "Remember that you are still my employee and I still have the power to fire you."

"Then why don't you?" Elena hissed out as she turned around. She glared at him and bounced Ashley softly. "Tell me Antonio, why don't you just go ahead and fire me right now?"

Antonio stayed silent. He just stared at her, not knowing what to say. He has never seen Elena so angry before. She was always so calm and always kept her anger at bay. Never has he seen her display such strong anger before.

"Do you know why you won't or can't?" She looked into his eyes and showed him all of the emotions that she felt. Hurt, anger, and disappointment. "You need me Antonio, more than you'll ever know. Without me, you're a lost cause. I'm your only chance at survival."

With that being said Elena walked away, leaving Antonio to deal with his thoughts difficulties on his own.

.

.

.

Antonio woke up the next morning to loud screams, cries, and shouts.

Letting out a groan, he pushed his blanket aside, got up, and walked downstairs to see what all the commotion was all about. Never in the past two months, has he ever heard Ashley cry as much as she was right now.

He sought to find out the cause of her disturbance.

Elena was the first thing he saw he got near.

Then Ashley.

Instead of carrying Ashley like she normally did, Elena stood in the middle of the living room shouting at something or more specifically someone. She glared at the person and walked over to Ashley, who was crying hysterically in her crib.

Picking her up, she instantly started calming the small girl down with hush whispers.

"That girl does not belong here!" an all familiar voice shouted.

A voice that can bring any man to the point of wanting to cut off their ears.

Antonio was so distracted by Ashley that he didn't see her standing there.

Alessandra.

The adopted sister of Isabella.

"This girl has more right to be here more than you ever do." Elena hissed angrily. Up until last night, he had thought that he would only be the only person to be on the receiving end of Elena's anger but currently, he seems to be proven wrong.

Alessandra laughed humorlessly. "That girl is a monster. She killed her own mother." Alessandra glared at Ashley and pointed at her. "She will never belong here. Not when she's a killer."

"She's a baby!" Elena shouted loudly.

Her voice startled Ashley again making Ashley erupt into new cries.

"I'm so sorry baby." she whispered softly into Ashley's ear, gently rocking her. She hugged Ashley closer to her chest and glared at Alessandra. "She is not a monster or is she a killer."

The two ladies seemed to not notice Antonio and that provided a perfect chance for him to sneak away but for some reason, he felt compelled to stay behind. He felt the urge to speak up and protect Ashley and Elena but kept silent.

"How can you say that when the only reason Isabella died was because of that?" Alessandra glared harshly at Ashley. Her hate seemed to never end by the look in her eyes and Antonio instantly feared for what Alessandra can do to Ashley.

"Isabella's death was an accident!" Elena shouted.

"Just like her." The words came out of her mouth and pierced through Antonio's heart painfully. But Alessandra didn't stop there. "She is the result of Isabella's---"

"Enough." Antonio said sharply.

The two women snapped their heads towards him. Alessandra instantly paled while Elena only glanced at him for a second before returning her glare at Alessandra. Clearly, Elena was still mad at him for last night.

"That is enough." his voice was steel cold. He walked over to Elena and took Ashley into his arms, ignoring the shock look on Elena's face as he did so. On instinct, he started to rock her. "You have said enough Alessandra."

"Antonio." she stuttered out.

"I will not tolerate how you treat Elena and Ashley in my house. My daughter," he emphasized, "is no killer and she is definitely not a monster. She might not have been the most expected thing in my life but I love her."

"You can't really be serious right now." her voice held shock and strong repulsion, all directed towards Antonio. "That thing---"

"Her name is Ashley!" he turned towards her and glared harshly. "She is not an object. She is a human being and she is my daughter! And no one will ever disrespect my daughter right in front of me. Ever."

Gasps fell out of Elena's and Alessandra's mouth.

Alessandra because she never would have thought Antonio would have chosen Ashley's side through everything that has happened while Elena because of how proud and happy she was to see Antonio holding his daughter for the first time ever since the girl was born.

"You're making a mistake." Alessandra said coldly once she composed herself. "You are making a huge mistake right now Antonio."

Antonio turned away from her and looked down at Ashley. Somehow, she has managed to fall asleep right in her father's arms.

Antonio smiled softly and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "No, Alessandra. I don't think I am. In fact, I think this has been the best decision that I have ever made."

He started to walk away but paused for a second.

He turned around and gave her a fake smile. "I would say that it was nice you see you again but I would be lying. You know where the door is. You may show yourself out."

He then turned to Elena and gave her a true and genuine smile. "Can you make me a bottle for Ashley?"

Elena nodded her head astonishingly. She then snapped out of her daze and smiled at him.

"Of course. I had it already made but didn't have time to give it to her yet. I'll go heat it up right now." She gave him a proud smile and walked off.

Both of them ignored the loud huff coming from Alessandra and the loud slamming of the door only seconds later.

Antonio continued smiling down at Ashley. "Hello Ashley. If you don't remember who I am, I'm your father. I love you so much. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to figure it out. I was lost and confused once your mother passed away. Before she did, we went through so many rough patches that we were able to overcome. But once she did, I felt my strength leave my whole body. I couldn't look at you clearly without seeing the result of what had happened that day."

Antonio closed his eyes and held back his tears. He opened them again and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry baby girl. I'm so sorry for being such a bad father these past two months. I missed two precious months with you. I promise you now that I will never miss another single part of your life. I promise you this." he kissed the top of her head and sighed deeply.

"I love you babygirl."

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.

.

Elena walked up to the front door and smoothed out all the wrinkles on her dress. She took the keys out of her pocket and inserted into the lock. She opened the door nervously and poked her head in.

"Hello? I'm here." she opened the door fully and walked inside the house, closing the door behind her.

She saw Ashley at the top of the stairs. Placing her hand over her mouth, Elena felt tears rushing down her eyes when she saw how full grown Ashley looked. "Ashley." she whispered softly. She started walking towards the stairs while tears fell down her face.

"Aunt Elena." she heard Ashley muttering softly.

Once Ashley has reached the bottom of the stairs, Elena engulfed her into a tight hug, being wary of the bump that she saw Ashley carrying on her way down. She pulled away and grabbed Ashley's face into her hands. "Oh you're so grown-up. You look beautiful."

Ashley laughed lightly. Her hand rested on the top of Elena's. "I missed you so much." she whispered, pulling Elena back into a huge. She basked in the sweet and homey smell that Elena seemed to carry constantly with her.

Elena smiled and closed her eyes.

"I missed you too baby." She pulled away again and kissed Ashley's forehead. "It seems just like yesterday you were just in my arms, a newborn, with no experience in the world that surrounds her. Now look at you. All grown up and about to start your own family."

Elena didn't miss the pained look in Ashley's eyes and she didn't miss the fake smile on her face either. She could fool anyone but never will she be able to fool the woman who raised her for her whole childhood. "Something is wrong isn't it?"

Ashley nodded her head and looked at the ground. "I got divorced a few weeks ago." she whispered. "He thought I had cheated on him and that these babies aren't his. He even called them bastard children."

Elena wiped away a lone tear that fell down Ashley's face. She smiled sadly at Ashley. "He doesn't know what he's missing out on. Bella, you're an amazing girl. There will be other guys out there."

Ashley laughed and shook her head. "No man would want a divorce mother of two. There are so many other women out there for them."

Elena scowled at her and smacked Ashley's arm softly. "Don't you dare say that Ashley! Any man will be lucky to have you. Now I heard the word two. Twins?"

Ashley nodded her head and smiled. Her eyes fell down to her stomach and she placed her hand on it. "I'm going to find the genders next month."

Elena smiled and held Ashley's hand. "I'm very happy for you. These babies will be very lucky to have you as their mother. You will make a wonderful mother Ashley. That much I know."

Ashley smiled and hugged her again. "Thank you Elena." she whispered softly.

With Elena there with her, Ashley knew that she could overcome any obstacle that was to be thrown her way. And with the life that she's leading so far, those obstacles will never stop coming.

.

.

.

Ashley looked at Elena and her father and smiled to herself. They seemed to be so comfortable with each other. The way that her father smiled so softly and so freely around Elena just shows how much he is smitten by her.

The way that Elena would stare at her father from time to time with a distant look in her eye shows just how much she yearned to be with him.

Ashley cleared her throat and smiled to herself when she saw the disappointed look in their eyes.

"I'm going to head to my room now. These babies are taking the energy out of their mother." she chuckled and stood up with a smile on her face. "Thank you for coming today Elena. I hope to see you around more often."

Elena nodded her head at Ashley, smiling widely. "Of course. I'm going to be around more than you think I am."

Ashley opened her mouth to speak up but shut it when she heard the doorbell go off. She excused herself and walked towards the front door. She grabbed a napkin off the side table and wiped her hands.

Opening the door there was a smile on her face but it dropped as soon as it came face to face with the last person she wanted to see.

"Alessandra." she whispered.

Alessandra gave her a smirk and walked in the house, purposely bumping into Ashley's shoulder. "Oh excuse me. Ashley dear you mustn't stand in the way like that."

Ashley closed the door and looked at her. "What are you doing here?" she asked. She placed her hand on her stomach protectively. "Papa told me you didn't live here anymore."

Alessandra laughed and flipped her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder. No matter how old Alessandra got, she seemed to be looking ten years younger than her actual age.

A trait that made Alessandra more confident than she should be.

"Ashley, figlia, who's at the---Alessandra." her father spat out the name like it was venom to his vocal cords.

"Oh! Antonio how good to see you again darling!" Alessandra said cheerfully.

"I wish I can say to same to you."

Ashley turned her head and saw Elena standing next to Antonio with her arms crossed over her chest. The fun and peaceful atmosphere that was there only minutes ago instantly disappeared with tension and foreboding replacing it.

"My my my. Seems to be an endless amount of reunions today." Alessandra smiled fakely. "Elena how good to see you again. Oh is that a gray hair on your head dear?" she tsked. "You stress too much. It's not good you know? Makes you look older than you actually are."

"I don't want small talks Alessandra. What do you want?" Elena demanded instantly shutting down Alessandra's comment.

"I just wanted to see my husband—"

"Ex-husband." Antonio corrected her.

Alessandra waved her hand as if swatting away his comment like she was a fly. "Labels labels labels. Don't like them. Never did."

"I won't ask again Alessandra. What do you want?" Elena glared at her. "If you don't have an answer then leave and don't come back. Ever."

Alessandra finally let go of her fake cheery. Now a dark woman replaced her. "I want Samuel to be able to move back into this house. He has done nothing wrong."

Elena instantly shook her head and glared even harder at her. "Are you crazy? Your pathetic excuse of a son is not going anywhere near Antonio or Ashley."

"He will move back in here!" Alessandra shouted as her hands started making crazy motions around her.

Ashley instantly moved back from her and covered her stomach with her arm. She looked at her father and saw him staring at her in worry at the close proximity of Alessandra to her. She moved to the side and started to walk backwards to her father.

Once she felt his hand on her arm, she sighed in relief.