Scandal

by Grace Kagni

  Alessia barely made it into her bathroom as she felt breakfast come up. Her head pounded like a jackhammer as she emptied her stomach while she thought of Alessandro alone with that woman. She needed to calm down because the stress was making her headache worse and she needed to be strong for Alessandro so after she flushed the toilet, she washed her face and brushed her teeth. She felt better afterwards and realized her nerves must have triggered the headache, which in turn triggered the nausea.

  She went back downstairs quietly to speak to the housekeeper who was in the kitchen preparing lunch.

  "I'm sorry for earlier. There was no reason for Emilia to treat you that way and I apologize for Alessandro because I know how much he cares how you are treated in his house."

  The housekeeper nodded, not saying more and went about her business, preparing lunch. Alessia saw that she'd prepared the soup as she'd instructed and found a slight grin forming on the side of her mouth as she left the kitchen. She walked into the library, wanting to have a moment of peace and knowing that Emilia would most probably not put her nose into that room, she shut the door quietly and sat in a large leather chair to think about what her next steps would be. She realized that Emilia was a hand full and she understood why Valentina was opposed to Emilia being back in Alessandro's life. She couldn't blame Valentina but at the same time, she knew that she needed to give the little girl and her father a chance at a normal life together.

  She sat back thinking about what she could do to help Emilia gain Alessandro's trust. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was a difficult task. Deciding she needed more time to think about it, she was about to leave the library when she heard her phone chime.

  Please come rescue me!

  She smiled thinking of Alessandro needing to be rescued and decided to go see what was going on so she left the library and went up the stairs to his bedroom. When she walked into his room, she found him in bed holding a pillow over his chest while Emilia sat on the other side of the bed, trying to undress him.

  "What's going on?" Alessia asked.

  "I'm trying to change his pyjama because he's all wet from perspiration but he won't let me!" Emilia said as she moved her hands closer to him but he moved away from her gripping the pillow closely as he growled.

  Emilia threw her hands up in the air and then got up, storming out of the room.

  "Well, you seem to have ruffled her feathers!" Alessia said as she went closer to Alessandro. She took the pillow away and placed it on the other side of the bed before unbuttoning his pyjama top. "You should have let her help you change into dry pyjamas. It wouldn't have killed you!"

  "That's what you think! I don't want that woman anywhere near me," he said as he let Alessia slip his pyjama top off, and wipe his chest and back with a wet cloth before helping him to change his pyjama bottom.

  "You sound like a child so stop whining!" Alessia said, grinning as she watched him frown.

  "I'm not whining - I just don't want her touching me!"

  "Well, you should have thought of that before having a child with her!" Alessia said before regret filled her heart. It wasn't fair to blame him for this situation because he didn't know he had a child.

  "Valentina is arranging for DNA testing to make sure she really is my child because I don't trust that woman."

  "Fair enough but believe me, there's no doubt she's your daughter. She's exactly like you."

  "I still want proof before I accept or make any arrangements about a child," he said still grumpy.

  Alessia looked at him a moment, holding his wet pyjamas. "You'll make a wonderful father." Then she turned and walked toward his bathroom to put the pyjamas in the washing basket. When she came back out, he was standing by the bathroom door.

  "Should you be out of bed?" she asked.

  "Alessia, I need you to understand that I need you with me if I'm to take care of a child. I don't know anything about children," he said as his eyes stared into hers.

  "I don't know anything about children either but I'm sure you'll do just fine," she said as she walked him back to bed and made sure he got in. "I'll be back soon with some lunch for you so relax in the meantime."

  He put his head back on the pillows and closed his eyes. He suddenly felt faint, probably from getting up from the bed quickly and as he heard the door close softly, he opened his eyes and looked at the door. How was he going to cope if Alessia left? He didn't know the first thing about children and just the thought of Emilia made his stomach knot. He needed to convince Alessia to stay - at least until Emilia left and then he'd concentrate on gaining Alessia's trust back. He could sense awkwardness when she was with him and he truly wished he knew how to make things right but right now, he needed to focus on getting rid of Emilia.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next few days passed quickly as Alessandro, slowly gained his strength back, allowing him to wander downstairs when he wasn't resting.

  Alessia had gone to the shop to buy a few things that Alessandro needed and when she came back, she heard voices in the sitting room. As she approached, she heard a child's voice and stopped in her tracks. The voice was of a little girl and she sounded sweet. Walking the last few steps towards the sitting room, she noticed the door was left slightly ajar and so she peeped in and saw Emilia holding the little girl, smiling and hugging her while Alessandro sat across from them. The little girl chatted non-stop and a moment later, she got up and went to get her Cicciobello doll that rested on the coffee table.

  Just then, Alessandro spoke to her. "Who's this?" he asked as he pointed toward the doll.

  "He's Cicciobello silly!" she said smiling as she put the toy pacifier into the doll's mouth.

  "Oh, of course and is he a good baby?" Alessandro asked, smiling while his eyes sparkled as he looked at his daughter.

  "He cries when I don't hold him but he's good most of the time. Do you want to hold him?" she asked as she held out Cicciobello toward Alessandro.

  "Oh, I don't know how to hold a baby," he said as he pulled away.

  The child stood up and went to Alessandro, putting the Cicciobello doll in his lap. Then she took his hand and placed it behind the doll's neck. "You have to hold the baby's neck because it's important."

  He smiled down at his daughter and as the child turned to climb back up onto her mother's lap, Alessia saw her smile that warmed her heart. It was a family - a real family! Alessia put her hand to her mouth to steady her lips as they trembled and then turned to leave. She didn't want to interfere and walked up the stairs quietly to her bedroom where she laid down on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

  * * * * * *

  Alessia slept soundly until she felt something brush her cheek. Turning over, she was startled to see Alessandro by her bed.

  "Hey, I haven't seen you all morning. Are you ok?" he asked. His eyes looked tired and strained. Obviously the situation was taking its toll on him.

  "Oh, what time is it?"

  "It's time for lunch."

  Alessia sat up in bed and rubbed her hands over one of her arms since it'd fallen asleep. "I went out to the shop this morning and when I came back, I saw you were with Emilia and your daughter so I came up to my bedroom to lie down. I must have fallen asleep."

  "I wish you'd joined us."

  "She's really lovely," Alessia smiled genuinely.

  "Yes she is. I still can't believe she's my daughter. The DNA testing came back positive and now that I've met her, reality is finally hitting me," he said, gently taking her hand in his. "I want you to meet her too."

  "I will - give her time to get to know you first before you introduce me to her," Alessia said as she got up to go to wash her face. "I'll be right down for lunch."

  "Ok, don't be long," Alessandro said, as he turned to walk out the door.

  Alessia watched as he walked slowly, almost dragging his feet before leaving the room.

  She went into the bathroom to use the facility and wash her face before going down to lunch.
Moments later, she entered the formal dining room where lunch was being served. Emilia stood by Alessandro off to one side chatting and as Alessia walked in, Alessandro stepped away from Emilia to approach her but Emilia caught his arm. He looked down at her hand as it held his arm and growled. "Let go of me Emilia."

  "Why don't you sit down? Lunch will be served as soon as we sit down," she said as she looked into his steely blue eyes. She removed her hand and raised her eyebrows.

  He growled again and took his seat at the head of the table. Emilia sat to his right, leaving the seat to his left empty so Alessia stepped forward and pulled the chair out to sit down. "Will your daughter be joining us for lunch?" Alessia asked politely as she looked at Emilia.

  "Good heavens no! She had lunch earlier so we can sit and enjoy our lunch in peace," she said as she stroked Alessandro's right arm. He removed his right hand from the table and put it on his lap while he stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.

  Lunch was served and they ate in silence mostly, apart from a few comments made by Emilia about the food and some questions Alessia asked about Emilia's daughter.

  "So how old is your daughter?"

  "She's 2 years old. She's a bright girl for her age," Emilia said, smiling as any proud mother would when talking about her own daughter.

  "She's a beautiful child," Alessia said.

  "Have you seen her?" Emilia asked, raising her eyebrows.

  "I saw a picture on the television and then I saw a glimpse of her when she was here before."

  Emilia didn't comment and looked down at her plate to continue eating.

  "What is her name?" Alessia asked.

  "Isabella."

  "It's a beautiful name," Alessia said as she lowered her eyes to her own plate feeling like she was suddenly intruding. Then she suddenly felt Alessandro's hand squeeze her knee and as she looked up, he winked at her. Emilia saw his glance and took her glass of wine, brought it to her lips and drank the contents quickly, clearly not happy with what little progress she'd made.

  They finished their meal and as the room was filled with tension, Emilia looked to Alessandro and said, "Alessandro, let me help you upstairs so you can lie down a little. You've had a busy morning. I'm sure you're tired."

  Alessandro looked at Alessia and then at Emilia before saying, "I can go upstairs on my own, thank you!" Then he got up and walked out the room.

  Emilia glanced at Alessia before getting up and walking out too. Alessia was left on her own at the table and as the housekeeper came in to get the dishes, she decided to help remove the food and dishes from the table before going outside for a walk.

  * * * * * *

  Alessia stepped outside and walked toward the back where she knew there was a path leading away from the estate so she started to walk and after a short distance, she turned to look back at the house. She saw a figure at a window on the second floor, which she was almost sure it was a woman. Emilia was watching her and in that precise moment, Alessia felt like an intruder looking in. She turned back to the path and continued to walk until she reached a huge boulder where she stopped to sit. The weather was growing colder and as she looked up to the sky, dark clouds were forming and so she turned back before a storm hit. She reached the house just in time as the rain started to hit but as she approached the door to open it, it was locked so she ran to the back to try the other door but strangely enough, that door was locked too so she banged on the door, hoping someone would hear but after a few short moments, she ran back to the front to ring the doorbell.

  She rang the bell more than once, wondering why nobody was responding until finally the door flung open. Standing before her was Alessandro, bewildered by her appearance.

  "Where've you been?" he said as he pulled her inside.

  "I went out for a walk and noticed black clouds forming so I turned back but by the time I got back to the house, the rain came down and for some reason, the doors were all locked."

  She stood in the entranceway shivering from the cold rain. Alessandro told her to stay put and went to his library to come back seconds later with a blanket. "Now strip!"

  "What?" Alessia said, not hearing him properly.

  "Take off your wet clothing before you get sick!"

  "I'll change upstairs!" she said, staring into his eyes.

  "You'll take your clothes off now," he growled.

  "Fine!" she said as she unbuttoned her jeans and took them off before pulling her sweater off above her head. "Happy now?"

  He wrapped her in the warm blanket and kissed her softly on the head. "Go have a warm bath now."

  She took her wet clothes and went up the stairs to her bedroom where she shut the door and leaned against it while she closed her eyes a moment. Then she let out a deep breath and went into the bathroom to have a bath.

  She threw scented oils into the water and lit a few candles she found on the counter, which she didn't remember seeing before. Slipping into the hot water, she closed her eyes and let her body relax as the warmth soothed her chilled body. She stayed in the water long enough for her fingers to look like dried prunes and then decided to get out. Wrapping herself in a plush bathrobe she found hanging in the corner by the heater, she went to lay down on the bed for a few moments. The warmth of the bath relaxed her body to a point that she drifted off to sleep shortly after.

  * * * * * *

  As Alessia awoke, she felt all the muscles in her body aching, probably from the cold rain but was sure that she would feel better once she got up and started to move around.

  She got dressed in jeans and a warm sweater and then went downstairs to see what the rest of the house was doing. She heard voices in Alessandro's study and as she passed the closed door while walking to the kitchen, she heard him talking. Stopping a moment by the door, she heard part of his conversation and realized he must have been on the telephone with someone because she heard his voice. Realizing it wasn't nice to be eavesdropping, she continued on to the kitchen where she found Emilia and her daughter Isabella sitting at the table.

  Alessia stopped by the door a moment, not knowing whether she was intruding or not and as soon as she was about to turn back, Emilia saw her.

  "Alessia, this would be a good chance to meet Alessandro's daughter, Isabella." She said it in a way that meant she was marking her territory - or at least this was the impression Alessia received.

  "It's nice to meet you, Isabella," Alessia said as she walked into the kitchen.

  The little girl looked at Alessia and smiled before turning back to what she was doing. She had paper and colouring pencils on the table. As Alessia walked closer to the table, she could see the little girl's drawing and smiled. "It's a beautiful drawing."

  "Thanks," Isabella said.

  She had drawn a picture of a family with a mother, a father and a little girl that looked exactly like her. It was her family and the more Alessia looked at the drawing, the more she was determined she was right in backing away. She owed the little girl her dream and there was no reason for her to stand in the way of the little girl's dream.

  Alessia noticed how Emilia's eyes bore into her, almost like she could see her soul and she quickly got a glass of water and left the two to go back upstairs to her room.

  As she climbed the stairs, she realized it was time to leave so she walked into her room, pulled out her bag and started to pack. She hadn't brought very much so it didn't take her long to be ready and as soon as her bag was packed, she grabbed her handbag, her phone and walked out. She shut the front door quietly and walked through the gates before calling a taxi.

  The taxi arrived within minutes and while she sat in the back on her way home, she sent a text message to Alessandro.

  Sorry, something came up and I have to leave. You can call me any time if you need to talk.

  Love Alessia

  Moments after she sent the text, her phone rang. She took a deep breath and responded.

  "Alessia, where are you going?"

  "I need to t
ake care of some things for my father. You're in good hands now and you can call me anytime you need to talk," she said as her heart beat so quickly and loud that she heard it ringing in her ears.

  "Please don't do this. I need you," he barely whispered.

  She closed her eyes a moment, feeling a single tear run down her face and as she opened her eyes to look out the window, she wiped the tear away. "You'll be just fine. I have to go now." She disconnected the call and felt a wave of regret wash over her. She needed to be strong and she knew that it would get better with time.

  Stay tuned by signing up to receive a notification from Grace Kagni when the continuation of Alessia's story is published in Breakup. http://gracekagnibooks.weebly.com/sign-up.html - /.