My Blind Fiancée

Ava blushed at the nanny’s surprised look. She was a conservative woman and didn’t quite understand the liberties that young people took these days.

“It’s okay, my dear. We’ll arrange your things in the same room,” Nana said.

“Tomorrow, we’ll leave at dawn,” Mateo told Ava.

“What are we going to do?” she asked, curious.

“I told you it’s a surprise, my little curious one,” Mateo said, planting a kiss on the tip of her nose, making her smile.

“Alright, Mr. Licciardi, I’ll have to wait then,” she said, saluting humorously by putting her hand to her forehead, which elicited a hearty laugh from Mateo.

Even though she felt good being with Mateo, she missed her son, which made her sad.

After arranging their luggage, they went downstairs to have a meal in the company of Nana. The afternoon passed with anecdotes about Mateo’s childhood. When his maternal grandparents passed away, his mother ensured that he stayed in touch with Nana and the villa to preserve memories of his family.

They were having tea in the living room when Nana’s niece arrived, a girl with brown hair and big green eyes.

“Mateo!” she exclaimed upon seeing him, then rushed into his arms.

“Alondra! Little troublemaker, you’ve grown so much,” Mateo greeted her warmly.

Ava felt a pang of jealousy. The excessive effusiveness bothered her, especially given how beautiful the girl was.

“Look, let me introduce you to the woman I love, the owner of my life and my heart.”

“Did I hear correctly? The feared Mateo Licciardi has finally fallen in love,” Alondra exclaimed as she let go of Mateo and hugged Ava with the same enthusiasm. “Nice to meet you. Mateo and I have loved each other like siblings.”

“This girl used to get herself into trouble, telling everyone that I was her big brother,” Mateo added.

“Mateo always protected me.”

“You were a little troublemaker,” Ava relaxed when she heard what Mateo said.

Everyone laughed, and they spent the entire afternoon together. Ava noticed that the girl was looking at her strangely and smiling, which made her somewhat uncomfortable. Was she flirting with her? She convinced herself that she was seeing things where there were none.

At night, they retired to their room. Ava filled the bathtub with warm water, undressed, and got in, closing her eyes. Tears began to flow, and she didn’t want it to be this way, but her mind refused to forget.

Mateo entered the bathtub, positioning himself behind her. Ava was leaning against his chest with her head resting on him. He held her tightly and planted tender kisses on her head. They remained like this for a long time in silence.

When Mateo felt that Ava had stopped crying, he left the bathtub, put on a bathrobe, and used a towel to help her dry off. They lay on the bed, facing each other, gazing into each other’s eyes. There were no words. Through their gaze, they conveyed all the emotions they felt about the loss of their baby and the love they had for each other.

Before sunrise, Mateo hurriedly woke her up.

“Amore, get up, or we’ll miss the entire show. Put on something warm and let’s go.”

“Uhmmm, I’m coming,” she said sleepily.

In just a few minutes, they were leaving the villa. Max was already waiting for them in the truck. They got in and headed to a nearby valley.

“Where are we?” – Ava observed with attention, everything seemed wonderful to her, every detail of the landscape, simply because for many years she hadn’t been able to appreciate it.

“It’s the area of San Colombano al Lambro.”

They were only 45 kilometers from Milan, and as they approached the valley, Ava could see several hot air balloons anchored to the ground.

When they got out of the truck, Mateo took her hand, and they walked towards the first balloon. As they climbed in, he noticed she was very nervous.

“Relax, my beauty, you’ll see it’s worth it.”

She smiled, still nervous. The balloon’s basket was very spacious, there was a small table with a basket of snacks, two glasses, and a bottle of champagne on it. She wondered who would be riding in the other two balloons since it was just the two of them.

The balloon slowly began to rise, increasing Ava’s nervousness. Mateo took her hands in his and squeezed them tightly. On the horizon, the first rays of the sun became visible, illuminating the landscape. The valley and vineyards took on a reddish hue, and in the distance, they could see a wonderful view of the Alps and the Apennines. Milan appeared in the distance.

The other two balloons also began to rise until they were in front of them. Mateo released her hands, and Ava noticed a large banner stretched between the two balloons. What she read on it deeply moved her.

“Will you be the light of my days, the owner of my life, and my soul in this life and for all eternity? Will you marry me?”

Ava turned to find Mateo on one knee in front of her, holding a small open box, light gray with silver accents, containing two beautiful rings.

“Will you be Mrs. Licciardi?” – He asked with a huge smile on his face.

“I accept! Of course, I accept!” – Ava said while hopping up and down and smiling, tears of happiness running down her cheeks.

Mateo stood up and placed a ring on her finger. She took the other one and placed it on his. Mateo had decided to have two rings, one for each of them, so they could proudly wear the symbol of their commitment.

“Yours forever,” – the girl replied as she received the ring.

“Yours forever, now and for all eternity,” – Mateo replied as she placed the ring on her finger.

The balloon pilot watched them with a smile. Mateo had asked him to capture the moment on video and in photographs. Afterward, they toasted with champagne and enjoyed some snacks while taking in the marvelous view.

Mateo had decided to propose, even though he had initially planned to wait until the issue with Teodoro was resolved. However, Ava’s recent ordeal and the loss of their child made him reflect on the importance of not wasting any more time. Additionally, he believed that Matt needed to grow up with both his parents.

When they landed, Max approached to congratulate them. They got into the truck and headed to San Colombano, where they had breakfast at a cozy spot in the city center. While Ava was in the bathroom, a flirty girl approached Mateo. Ava returned at that moment and saw Mateo proudly displaying his ring to the girl, who quickly walked away, embarrassed.

Ava approached him and gave him a kiss, unable to hide her deep love for him. They left the place, hand in hand, and strolled through the charming streets of the beautiful town.

“When I was a child, I used to wander these streets with my grandparents. I always asked them to take me to Frederick Barbarossa’s castle. Inside that place, I felt like royalty, ha-ha-ha.”

“Barbarossa?”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“In 1160, Barbarossa destroyed all the crops and fruit trees in this area, laying waste to the countryside to prevent supplies. Two years later, they destroyed Milan. The previous castle was completely destroyed, and Barbarossa built the current one in its place.”

“In this area, there was a girl. She was a widow, and her reputation for being very beautiful reached the ears of Sultan Suleiman, who asked Barbarossa to bring her to him. She managed to escape, and in retaliation, Barbarossa wiped out entire villages.”

“What a crazy guy! Could we visit the castle?” Ava couldn’t comprehend how a man could do all that for a mere whim.

“Of course, my beautiful,” – Mateo liked how Ava looked at everything with excitement.

They headed to the castle and had fun exploring each of its spaces.

“I’d like to build a castle just for you and my son. You’d have beautiful gardens filled with your favorite flowers, and you would be my queen, and I, your king.”

Ava smiled at each of Mateo’s whimsical ideas. They spent a pleasant day visiting various places, with Mateo recounting the history of each one. She listened attentively, genuinely interested in everything he had to say. Occasionally, he would pause to kiss her, and she would blush when he did so in front of others.

In the evening, they returned to the villa, where Nana and Alondra were waiting for them to have dinner. The girl shamelessly stared at Ava.

The next two days were devoted to sightseeing, as Mateo tried to help her momentarily forget her pain and troubles.

Back in Milan, Ava was lost in thought. With Teodoro free, she didn’t feel very secure and feared for her son’s safety. They had the mansion and the corporation under surveillance, but Teodoro hadn’t been back there since that day.

After a while, Ava remembered Alondra and the way she looked at her. She hesitated to ask Mateo about her but curiosity got the better of her.

“Does Alondra have a boyfriend?”

“No, Amore, she doesn’t have a boyfriend. She’s into girls. Why do you ask?” – Mateo was surprised by the question. At that moment, Ava understood everything.

“Ah, I see.” She thought it was a good thing she hadn’t known earlier; she would have felt uncomfortable with Alondra staring at her. – “It’s just that she looked at me very strangely all the time.”

“Ha-ha-ha, Alondra hasn’t changed. She was probably trying to get your attention. She told me I’m really lucky because you’re incredibly beautiful.” Ava blushed.

On another note, Camila continued to search for Tadeo, who always avoided her.

She knew he had been going to Akiro’s club, so that night she decided to look for him. She was not willing to lose him, and certainly not to let anyone else take her place.