Chapter 42 

Holding the left side of his ribs, Daniel stepped off the elevator and held the door for Gia. she followed him silently as they walked down the empty hotel hallways towards their room. Armani had insisted upon the new couple getting some alone time on the night of their wedding. He said to disagree would be to reject his wedding gift to the pair. He was the owner of the hotel and for Daniel and Gia, the top suite was reserved for the rest of the week.

When Gia began to realize she wasn't going back home with Carla, her insides twisted horribly as if she was on a roller coaster with no destination. She knew there was no point in fighting or saying anything to protest. The men will have their way and she will just end up regretting her words. So after a tearful goodbye to her aunt, Gia climbed into Daniel's car and followed him to the hotel.

"There's only one bed," Daniel said as they stood in the middle of the lavish suite staring at the king size bed.

"I can see that," Gia said quietly.

"There's a sofa over there," Daniel appointed to the sofa by the window. "I'll take that."

Gia didn't argue. She didn't care where she slept or where he slept. Slipping off her heels, Gia reached back and undid the zipper of her dress. She headed straight into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

The marble floors were cold beneath her feet as she stood by the mirror with her hands gripping the edge of the sink and her shoulders slouched with tension. Even though her chest swelled up with a cry, Gia's eyes were too dry to shed any tears. She looked up at herself and winched from what she saw. Her eyes were red and swollen, her lips dry and chapped. She looked as pale as a ghost, especially against the maroon of the dress she wore and the white interior of the bathroom.

After several minutes, Gia slipped the dress off and stepped into the shower. She let the steam fill the room until she couldn't see. Her skin burned from the scolding water. Her scalp began to hurt from the water pressure. But anything was better than nothing.

The physical discomfort of being under the hot water reminded Gia that she could feel something. Placing her hand on the wall, Gia slowly slid down to the floor and wrapped her arms around her legs. She sat like a rock under the waterfall as the steam began to seep out from underneath the door.

On the other side, Daniel watched the white smoke from where he sat on the edge if the bed. He was exhausted to the bones but is heart was restless. Daniel wanted to pull Gia into his arm and hold her until she forgave him. He wanted to tell her his world started and ended at her. She meant so much to him and he blew it all. With a heavy sigh, Daniel rose from the bed and walked over to the bathroom door.

"Gia?" He tapped lightly against the door and listened to the sounds of the water running and Gia's soft sobs.

Daniel pressed his forehead against the door and shut his eyes. His life was spirling out of control and he could not do anything about it but blame himself. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would be married to the girl he had been in love with since they were kids. But it happened and because the universe was cruel, Daniel's dreams had turned into nightmares. His wife had locked herself in the bathroom and was crying over the heart ache he had caused her.

How could he hurt her so bad? How could he do that to the only girl he had ever wanted since he knew how to want something?

Falling in love with Gia didn't happen in a day or over the course of a foolish summer. It happened between having her sit beside him at the beach and seeing her for the first time at some charity event. It happened when Daniel didn't want to fall in love with her but couldn't stop himself from thinking about her every chance that he had. She was his obsession and she didn't even know it. She was unaware of just how much her existence fueled Daniel's life.

"Gia?" Daniel called to her again.

There was another pause and then the water shut off. Daniel stepped back as the knob turned and the door opened.

"Are you okay?"

Gia looked up with a deep scowl on her face. Her hands tightly clutched the towel around her as she stood in the doorway.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Gia asked, no anger in her voice.

"I...I don't know what else to ask," Daniel said.

Gia let her eyes drift away before she stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed one of the robes from the closet. She tossed her hair up into the towel and pulled on the white robe before turning towards the bed.

"My family wants us at the house tomorrow for breakfast," Daniel said from the doorway.

"I heard," Gia muttered, fluffing up the pillow. "I was there."

"Gia....." Daniel took a small step forward.

"If you're going to apologize then I suggest you save your breath," Gia stopped him. "It's not going to work."

"Then what will work?"

"Nothing."

"That can't be true," Daniel frowned. "I know you have feelings for me. Just tell me what you want me to d-"

"What?" Gia looked up in confusion. "I have what for you?"

Daniel lowered his hand that he had raised in hopes of being able to touch her, "You have feelings for me."

"How did you figure that?" Gia laughed bitterly. "I shot you."

"In the arm," Daniel said. "You could have aimed for my head. Or my heart."

"I'm not a killer."

"You stopped Giovani tonight."

"Because I didn't think he was going to beat the shit out of you in front of your mother!" Gia argued. "I thought they would cut off your business for a while or some other form of financial damage."

"You married me."

"What is wrong with you?" Gia's eyes widened. "You're insane if you think I married you because of my feelings for you."

"I know you care about me," Daniel smiled.

"You know nothing," Gia shook her head and turned away.

"You have every right to be mad at me," Daniel took a step forward and then another. "But just know that everything between us was real in New York."

"How can you say that?" Gia asked. She could feel him growing closer and closer until he stopped right behind her. "You lied to me the whole time."

"Not about falling in love with you," Daniel said. "Not about wanting to run away with you."

"And where did all that lead us?" As Gia took in a deep breath, her chest ached. She slowly turned to find Daniel gazing down at her with his eyes roaming around her face like they always did.

"I'll make it all bette-"

"Why didn't we run away?" Gia's voice shook. Her green eyes watered as she held Daniel's gaze. "Why did you leave me there in that house?"

Daniel's eyes lowered. He felt the air in his lungs turn toxic as he stood still under Gia's broken eyes.

"Do you know what it's like to see death?" Gia's question made Daniel flinch. Her voice was so low, the words fading in and out as if she struggled to gather up the energy to speak. "You don't love me, Daniel. You hate my brother. And that was more important to you."

"I'm s-"

"Can you please leave me alone?" Gia turned towards the bed and switched off the beside lamp. She pulled the covers back and climbed in without gigging Daniel any more of her attention. After a few long seconds that made both of their hearts bleed, Daniel turned towards the bathroom. Gia shut her eyes as he turned out the lights and gave her what she wanted.

In the dark, Gia curled up on the bed as her tears soaked the pillow. She felt so alone as she listened to the water running in the bathroom and then Daniel's footsteps. He sat down on the sofa across the room and stared at her in the darkness. Gia could feel his gaze longing for her but she could not bring herself to look at him or even accept his feelings towards her. She felt nothing and it was worse then feeling a hurricane of emotions.

As the night grew old, Daniel and Gia laid awake in their parts of the room listening to each other breath. The sky outside showed no sign of change as the pair tossed and turned restlessly, burdened by their life choices and mistakes. Several hours later when Daniel could no longer stand the ache in his chest, he sat up and leaned his head back against the sofa. After a few seconds, the sheets rustled and Gia picked up her head.

"Are you having trouble breathing?" She asked. Her voice was wide awake as if she too hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Yeah," Daniel groaned. "My ribs are sore. It's hard to breathe when I lay down."

Gia stared at his silhouette, "You can come sleep on this side of the bed."

Daniel picked up his head, "Are you sure?"

"If you die on that sofa, I'm sure everyone will think I killed you," Gia moved her pillow to the farthest corner of the bed.

"You're okay with me being on that bed?"

"If you touch me, I will scream bloody murder," Gia warned.

"I'm not going to touch you without your permission."

"Never," Gia said.

Daniel rose from the sofa and grabbed his pillow. He made his way over to the bed and hesitated for just a second before he caught Gia's eyes. She quickly looked away and turned her back towards him. In the process, she managed to steal the sheets, leaving Daniel with nothing.

"Thank you," Daniel smiled as he laid back against his pillow. Inside his empty chest, his heart dared to beat once and then twice. His smile widened as Gia turned around and laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling like him. "Does this remind you of Connecticut?"

"No."

"It reminds me of Connecticut," Daniel said.

"It's not raining, we're not in a two start motel, and I'm not afraid of you anymore," Gia pointed out. "This is nothing like Connecticut."

"I beg to differ," Daniel chuckled. "We're in a hotel room, you're sleeping in your towel, and I can't stop thinking about you because I'm just as obsessed with you as I was back then. Maybe more so now."

"Did you mess with Carla's car that night?" Gia suddenly asked.

"What?" Daniel turned his head towards her. "No."

"Someone did," Gia sighed. "That's why I crashed."

"You think it was me?"

"Why wouldn't I think it was you?" Gia asked. "And don't say because you love me and can never hurt me."

"I didn't even know you were supposed to be at that party," Daniel said in his defense.

"Did Dante know?" Gia asked.

Daniel's heart stilled, "Maybe..."

"What's his problem?" Gia felt a shiver crawl up her spine. "He makes me very uncomfortable."

"He's my father's cousin. Dante takes care of most of the business in New York," Daniel explained. "When I was younger I lived with Dante and his ex wife Elena while attending school in England. He pretty much raised me."

"So that's why you're so fucked up," Gia said.

"Dante has a different way of seeing the world..." Daniel felt his chest tighten uncomfortably. He knew his anger towards Luca mostly stemmed from how much Dante loathed him. Daniel was swapped away with the grief of losing Stella and Dante never let him forget who was responsible for it all.

"Lying, cheating, breaking hearts, killing," Gia said. "What an interesting point of view."

"He took Stella's death pretty hard," Daniel said. "They were close."

"Luca is not responsible for your sister," Gia's hands balled into fists. "He loved her so much. He would never hurt her. He could never t-"

"I know," Daniel spoke up.

"What?"

"I know Luca is innocent," Daniel repeated. "The last time I said that, you shot me."

"If you knew he was innocent, then why did you...." Gia turned her head to look at Daniel. Her insides warmed as if she was getting ready to breathe fire.

"I didn't know what happened between them when we were in New York," Daniel explained. "If I had known, Gia, we wouldn't be here today. Things would have been different."

"What happened between them?" Gia's heartbeat began to pick up.

"Luca didn't tell you?"

"No!" Gia said. "He never told anyone anything!"

"Stella was seeing someone else."

Gia pushed herself up to her elbows. She looked down at Daniel in the darkness with her eyes wide open and her heart in her throat. "What? Who?"

"I don't know yet," Daniel said. "But Luca knew she was seeing someone else. The baby wasn't his. My sister forced him to propose to her and say the baby was his."

"Oh my god..." Gia's hand began to tremble. She sat up and clutched the sheets to her chest. Her head was spinning and her empty stomach churned.

Daniel reached out and switched on the bedside lamp. He then sat up and leaned back against the headboard.

"After the engagement party, Stella changed her mind and wanted to go back to the baby's father," Daniel continued as Gia started at him in shock. "She made Luca call off the wedding."

"And then..." Gia feared she didn't want to know how the story ended.

"No one knows the rest," Daniel looked down at his hands. "Luca called off the wedding. Stella went to go see the baby's father, she came home and then drove her car off the cliff that evening."

"Why....." Gia pushed a hand into her damp hair. "Why wouldn't Luca tell anyone?"

Daniel looked up at Gia. Her eyes were watery and her cheeks were flushed. She looked so delicate sitting on the bed in the dim hue of the lamp.

"Why would he keep all this a secret?" Gia asked. "And how do you know all this?"

"He told me," Daniel said. "When you were in the hospital in New York, I was there. Luca told me if the video of us got out, he would tell everyone about Stella."

Gia's hand flew to her mouth as she muffled a gasp. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her ears would never stop ringing.

"He kept all this to himself for years because he was protecting Stella's reputation," Daniel said. "He didn't want everyone to know she cheated on him and then left him for someone else."

"And what did you do to him?" Gia couldn't stop the tears anymore. "What did you do to me?"

"I fucked up," Daniel said. "I admit it. I fucked up. I let Dante get in my head."

"But was it Dante's idea?" Gia asked. "Was the whole plan to make me fall in love with you his plan?"

"No," Daniel shook his head. "It was mine."

"And that's why I could never forgive you," Gia said. "I can't even understand how you could think of something like that."

"I'm sorry," Daniel's face twisted in pain.

Gia shook her head, "It's a little too late for all this. Luca's in the hospital, we're married against our will, everything is in shambles...It's too late."

"You said make you fall in love with me," Daniel stared at Gia.

"What?" Gia asked in confusion.

"You asked who's plan it was to make you fall in love with me," Daniel repeated. "Did you fall in love with me?"

"It was all a lie," Gia said.

"Did you fall in love with me?"

"I don't even know who you are," Gia shook her head. "You lied the whole time."

"Not about who I am," Daniel said. "Every second we spent together was real."

"I don't believe you."

"You're in love with me," Daniel looked as if he was on the verge of crumbling with regret. He stared at Gia knowing he broke the best thing in his life with his own hands.

"No," Gia said, furiously shaking her head.

"I love you," With little to no air in his lungs, Daniel chose to say the only words that mattered to him. "Please believe me. I love you with every ounce of my being. And I will take any punishment you give me."

"Then divorce me," Gia blurted out.

"I can't do that," Daniel said. "I can't live without you."

"And I can't live with you."

"I'll make it all better."

"How?"

"I'll tell everyone about Stella," Daniel said. "Everyone can stop blaming Luca. Our families can stop hating each other."

"What about Dante?"

"I'll cut off all ties with him if you want me to," Daniel said. "My father is already removing him from the family business."

"He raised you," Gia said. "You can't just get ride of him because he made you who you are."

"I'll be better for you," Daniel said. "I won't become who he tried to make me."

"I can't...." Gia sighed, shaking her head. "I don't believe you. I don't believe any of this. You made a lot of empty promises before."

"I swear this time I mean every single one of them," Daniel said. "I won't hide anything from you. I'll bring everything to light and fix it. Both Stella and Luca deserve better. We deserve better."

"Even if you fix everything and by Christmas our families are exchanging gifts and singing together, I still can't be with you," Gia said. "I can't....It's not possible for me."

"What do you want?"

"I want a divorce," Gia said. "I want to be as far away from you as possible."

"You'll kill me."

"You already killed me."

"Gia, please," Daniel closed the distance between them on the bed in lightening speed. He moved closer to Gia and pushed his hand into her hair. His free hand laid against his cheek as he leaned in closer and touched their foreheads. Gia shut her eyes as the painful memories of his touch burned in her head. She could feel his warm breath on her face and it made her want to mourn what they had lost.

"Please don't leave me," Daniel begged. "I swear I'll make everything better. I'll mend your heart."

"No," Gia protested.

"I know you love me," Daniel pulled her closer. "And I'm crazy about you....please, baby."

"I can't breathe around you," Gia cried. "It hurts so much...."

"Give me all the pain," Daniel said. "Make me hurt. Do whatever you want to me. Whatever will help you breathe. Please, just don't leave."

"We're not good for each other," Gia raised her hands and placed them over Daniel's wrists. "We have to stop pretending this will ever work."

"We were made for each other," Daniel argued. "And I don't care what anyone says. Please....just stay with me. Help me tell everyone what happened to Stella. Do it for Luca."

"I am doing this for him," Gia said. "He's always been there for me. He did so much for me."

"Then help me prove to everyone that he's innocent," Daniel's mind ran a thousand thoughts a second. He grasped at any idea that came into his mind that would stop Gia from leaving. "Stay and help me."

"I can't really go anywhere, can I?" Gia laughed sarcastically. "Giovanni or Armani will drag me back. Or worse, they'll hurt Luca and Daisy."

Daniel held her face in between his hands. She was so warm and he was too cold.

"If you want to make me happy, then you will divorce me," Gia said. "I'll help you with Stella's past and telling everyone for Luca...but once that's done, you have to go to Giovanni and Armani and tell them you want a divorce."

"But I don't," Daniel said.

"I don't care what you want!" Gia tried to push his hands away but he wouldn't let go. "I'm telling you that's what I want! And if you really love me, you'll let me go."

"Gia, no..." Daniel began to panic as she started to push away from him on the bed. "Stop. Stop. Please."

"I can't do this for the rest of my life," Gia's tears soaked into Daniel's skin. "Luca means the world to me and I'll swallow any poison for him but just know that I won't ever be who you want me to be."

"Okay, okay...." Daniel wiped her tears. "I'll tell Giovanni and Armani....let's give it some time to show them we tried to make it work. We'll find out more about Stella and figure that whole mess out first, okay?"

"I'll need that in writing," Gia said. "With your signature."

"Law school suits you," Daniel chuckled despite the pressure in his chest. "I'll have my lawyers write it all out."

Gia nodded.

"You'll stay?" Daniel asked.

"For now..." Gia nodded. "But how....how do we find out more about Stella?"

"I have someone looking," Daniel said. "They were able to track down the private clinic she visited in Florence for her pregnancy."

"What happened?"

"They don't have her name in their records," Daniel said. "We've been trying to figure out how she was able to go there and get treatment."

"We can go to Florence," Gia said.

"I know," Daniel nodded. "It's just....things have been a little crazy around here, if you haven't noticed."

"We need to go to Florence," Gia leaned back. "And you need to take your hands off of me."  

They have a long line to recovery...if that's even possible for them.