Page 72 of Twisted Ambitions

Luca looks at me, seemingly able to read my soul, lightly holds my chin, and brings his lips to mine. I feel his soft lips against mine and close my eyes, feeling butterflies fly happily through my stomach. Luca deepens the kiss by pulling me closer to him, almost like making us one. I smile between kisses, feeling an unimaginable amount of happiness and love. Luca pulls away from my lips a little, but I don’t allow it, wrapping my arms around his neck and taking his lips for my own again, kissing him as if it were the first and last time because it will never be enough, when it comes to Luca I always want more, I always need more.

“Ti amo così tanto che a volte penso che questa vita non sia abbastanza! (I love you so much that sometimes I think this life isn’t enough!)” My voice is low and husky, our lips are practically glued together, and Luca looks at me as if I were the only important person in the world, his eyes shining with a mixture of possessiveness and love.

“Sarai mia in questa vida e in tutte le altre! Ti amo amore mio, più di quanto avrei mai creduto possibile! (You’ll be mine in this life and in all the others! I love you my love, more than I ever imagined possible!)”

The music fills the room, and a giant smile takes over my face. My body is whirled around the garden, pulling me closer tothe man I love. We dance for hoursbecause Luca knows I love doing it, so he does it for me, that and much more; he shows me every day that he loves me, never letting me doubt his feelings for me, not letting our pasts haunt us or define our lives.

***

I wake up being rattled and hear Vittoria’s laughter as she jumps on our bed. I open my eyes to see Matteo smiling at me, sitting on the end of the bed, letting his sister make all the noise. Luca picks Vittoria up and sits her on the bed. He tickles her belly, and she giggles, squirming on his legs. I call Matteo with my hand, and he crawls toward me, sitting on my lap between my arms; his pretty face has a smile drawn on it, and I kiss his chubby cheek, making him laugh. Luca reaches out his arm, pulling our son to the lap, and tickles the twins, making them both laugh incessantly.

“Daddy, stop!” Vittoria’s voice is loud and unsteady because of the laughter she lets out. Luca takes them both in his arms, and I lift them downstairs.I look around to see him and the kids playing and smiling while they eat their breakfast.

I never thought that happiness was something constant; I always imagined that it was a feeling that comes and goes; sometimes you feel happy, and sometimes not. But despite the ups and downs of life, the difficulties we’ve been through over the years, and the difficult and painful moments, looking back on my life now, I feel that it was all worth it, every tear, every difficulty. I would do it all over again if I were sure that, in the end, I would find myself at this moment because happiness may not be a constant, but my family makes me happy, happier than I ever imagined I would be.

The kind of happiness that I thought I didn’t deservethat I wouldn’t have; never in a million years would I have imagined that a decision made purely out of ambition would lead me towhat I had always dreamed of and never dared to say out loud. I never thought that cold man would be my soul mate.

There is a legend calledAkai-ito, the red thread of fate, which symbolizes true love and the union of two people who were destined for each other, who are soul mates. Legend has it that those who are bound by the gods with this thread are destined to be together, regardless of the time, place or circumstances. An invisible connection, the thread can tangle, it can stretch, but it will never break. It is the unbreakable bond between two people.

I always thought it was just a nice story for children to give them hope in true love. But now, after meeting Luca, I know that something like that is possible. Our thread has stretched and tangled, but even if we didn’t know why it never broke, even before we loved each other, we were already fighting for each other, even without noticing.

Luca is everything I dreamed of: my black prince, my soul mate. “I love you!”

His gaze rises to meet mine, and he smiles in that way that only happens when he’s alone with me and our children, a real smile, covered in love, none of the cold façade I’ve known, this Luca, my Luca, he has warmth and love.

“I love you, Chiara. You and our children are my light, the peace I’ve always needed!” I kiss her lips, watch our children smiling at each other while they play, and know that this is the closest to perfection I will ever get.

The End!