50. A Secret
Diego, Stellina, Pedro and Patrizia agreed to go to a restaurant for lunch. It was already noon. Patrizia, who wanted to know Diego's closeness, enthusiastically accompanied them to find a lunch menu.
Arianna had finished playing with Camilla and Fabian. The little girl screamed when she saw Stellina and Diego in the hospital lobby.
"Papa... mama, I'm done playing with Camilla. I want to come with you."
"All right, darling. We'll have lunch now. Mama was just about to call Camilla and ask her to bring you to join us."
Finally, after Arianna joined them, they all left the hospital to go to a nearby restaurant. Camilla couldn't come along as she had to go back to the hospital to look after Enrico and keep Laura company.
They immediately headed to the restaurant. When they arrived at the restaurant, Diego, Patty, Stellina and Arianna sat at one table, while Febian and Pedro were at a separate table not far from them.
Patrizia felt like a breath of fresh air, now she had to ask about Stellina and Diego's relationship. Although many times Stellina gave codes for Patrizia not to talk much. But how could Patrizia already want to know everything that her older sister was experiencing.
"Arianna, do you love your mama very much?" Patrizia began to provoke conversation. "Of course I love her, because she loves me too."
"Oh yeah? It's nice to hear that. So have mommy and daddy hugged so far?"
Stellina immediately shut up, while Arianna answered Patrizia.
"Mama and Papa did cuddle a lot in the room, that's right." Arianna's innocent eyes made Stellina unable to reprimand her.
"Wow, that's amazing, so you guys have kissed too?"
Diego instantly choked while Stellina was holding back her embarrassment. Her cheeks took on a reddish tinge. Stellina felt her pores warming up.
"Why do you ask that Patty? Of course, mom and dad kissed a lot." This spontaneous answer from Arianna again made Stellina blush.
Arianna only remembered the time when Vellina still had no problems with Diego. In Arianna's mind, Vellina and Stellina were the same person.
"Wow that's amazing, Stellina you didn't waste the opportunity," he whispered to Stellina.
"Do you guys do it often?" Patty made a gesture like someone riding a horse. Arianna, who had just learned to ride a horse a few days ago, certainly remembered the experience.
"Yes, that's right, a few days ago I saw Papa and Mama doing it very excitingly. They even competed to see who could arrive first." Arianna guiltily recounted the incident when Stellina and Diego went horseback riding.
Diego was spraying water from his mouth, while Stellina was coughing. This time Stellina needed to warn Patrizia with her eyes. The conversation became more and more incongruous and could have been misunderstood.
"Arianna dear, you'd better finish eating soon, the spaghetti will get cold."
"Yes, Mama." Arianna obediently nodded her head. Her legs swung under the table. The little girl looked very happy to be enjoying the company of her mommy and daddy and now she had a new friend, the talkative Patty.
After lunch, Arianna asks Diego to accompany her for a walk.
"I think we should part ways here, Patty," Stellina said to her younger sister. She didn't want the misunderstanding to continue between them, but Stellina was more uncomfortable with the questions her sister was asking.
"Oh no you can't, I already told Mama that I will accompany you. So you can't kick me out here." Stellina shook her head.
They then walked to the Colosseum which was located not far from the restaurant where they ate earlier.
It's not Patrizia if she doesn't act like an FBI agent. Along the way, Patrizia continued to praise Diego.
"Stellina, you're so lucky to know Diego up close and you're already this close. Look, he's the man I've always wanted to be with. Diego is handsome, gentlemanly, rich, caring, affectionate. The look in his eyes at you is so intense, as if he really wants you. Don't you feel that?" Patrizia spoke her sentence with passion.
Patrizia had always had a fantasy of dating red flag guys like Diego.
"Come on, stop interrogating me, Patty. It's not what you think. Diego and I are just playing the roles of Arianna's papa and mama. There's no relationship between us and you know very well why I'm doing this, don't you? I'm doing it to save our family. You know that very well so don't make fun of me."
"Stellina, listen to what I say and don't let her get away." Patty continued to say.
"What do you mean?"
"Anyway, Diego is a special package, don't let him go. A man like Diego should always be teased and conquered. Ultimately you have to be able to own him."
Like a love consultant, Patty continued to advise her sister.
"I hope you don't forget what Mama taught you about sex after marriage. Until now I still uphold the values that Mama taught us Patty, so don't mess with me," Stellina threatened, furious with her sister's behavior.
"Ahh, now Mama's teachings no longer relate to the situation, Stellina. The times are different, it's really old-fashioned to still think like that. In this era, if women don't dare to take action, men can be stolen by other women."
Patty's words made Stellina uneasy, but she wanted to deflect them.
"That won't happen. Diego has never been close to any woman. He's busy going out with his work."
"Seriously?" Patty couldn't believe it. "Usually a guy likes to pretend he's not close to girls, but you don't know where he goes when he's alone?" Patty was still getting heated.
"Diego always tells me where he's going and when he leaves the house he'll be with Fabian. Diego wouldn't have time to stop by because he's a busy man with his job." Stellina seemed to be defending Diego.
"Oh my God, or is he gay!" Patrizia suddenly screamed. Of course that startled Stelina.
"What do you mean, you just startled me." Stellina sent a death glare at Patrizia.
"I think Diego is gay, so you should really check him out. Can he get on when he's close to you?"
"Patty shut your mouth! Diego is not gay!" This time Patty glared at her younger sister.
"Hahaha how did you know that?" Patty laughed very loudly.
"I know anyway, but I don't want to tell you, keep your voice down."
Stellina remembered the moment where they kissed. Diego kissed her and they hugged. She could even feel something hard down there. At the memory of that Stellina's cheeks flushed again.
"Well, from your reaction of defending Diego so much, I'm sure you've already done that." Patty wiggled her eyebrows. Her gaze was accusing. She was indirectly saying that Stelina had already had sex with Diego.
"What are you, anyway? I don't believe you, but I congratulate Stellina that you are now a grown woman." Stellina became even more upset.
"Patty, stop teasing me, it's not what you think."
Stellina was still trying to convince Patty who this time she felt was very annoying. Accusing and drawing her own conclusions without listening to what she had to say.
Indeed, Stellina also knew that Patty was a very annoying sister.
Not long after, they arrived at the Colosseum. At that time Patty then joined Arianna, Pedro, and Fabian.
Patty can also quickly establish a close relationship with Arianna.
They both chased around annoying and teasing each other. Patty and Arianna also took photos at statues standing in historical buildings. Arianna's favorite thing to do is to buy cotton candy, a snack sold around the area.
They happily strolled through the ancient buildings. A warm intimacy was suddenly established between Arianna and Patrizia. Although annoying, Patty had the sincerity to approach a child and Arianna could also feel that Patty was like a pleasant sister.
Meanwhile, Diego and Stellina sat together in the courtyard of the Colosseum. They were chatting casually. Diego was no longer angry with Stellina because she had ignored the rules they had agreed upon. Diego was not worried because the situation was very much under control.
"So how did you feel after meeting your family?" Diego asked.
Stellina just looked down at her face. She looked both sad and relieved to see that her family was okay.
Stellina was also relieved that Diego didn't scold her for it.
"Diego, I'm sorry. I was just going to see them from afar, but when I saw Mama struggling to help Papa transfer to the wheelchair, while Camilla was going to the toilet.
"I couldn't ignore them. There I was helping Mama lift Papa's body."
Stellina was still trying to explain what had happened. She didn't want to lie to Diego. "Never mind, I won't scold you for that."
"Really?" Now a smile appeared on Stellina's lips. She knew Diego was a good person. She basically didn't want to upset him or make him angry, especially when it came to a daughter's longing for her family.
"I'm happy to see them, after months of not being able to see my parents' faces. Now I'm relieved that Papa has started to improve, Mama's condition is also healthy. Moreover, the cute Patrizia is now increasingly uncontrollable." Stellina paused her sentence for a moment.
"Thank you Diego for giving me the opportunity to see my family." Diego let out a long sigh. He knew Stellina's statement was sincere. She wanted nothing more than to please her family. Even with the role she was now playing, it was all for her family. Had Enrico been fine, Diego could be sure Stellina would not have agreed to their ridiculous arrangement.
"We won't have much time as we have to return to Vomero soon, so it's best that when you do see them, you use the time for quality time. I think that meeting was enough to cure your longing, wasn't it?"
Stellina nodded her head.
"Yes, you're right. My longing has been cured seeing that my family is fine and I'm also ready to return to Vomero. Don't worry about me, thanks to you, they are fine."
Their eyes met, accidentally looking into each other's. To Diego's ears, it sounded like an expression of sincerity from a girl to a man for his great sacrifice. They looked at each other and the atmosphere became a little awkward. For a long time they looked at each other and didn't know what to do until Diego finally broke the silence.
"I see you were seriously talking to Patrizia earlier, what were you talking about?"
Stellina's face immediately turned red remembering the topic of conversation she had with her sister.
"Never mind, don't ask that, I'm sure you don't want to hear it.
"Tell me what you talked about with Patty."
"So Patty thought you were gay." Stellina refrained from laughing.
Diego's eyes widened. Sure enough, he could not believe Patty's words.
Patty's little opinion of him sounded very funny to Diego's ears. Diego's laughter broke out, and he burst out laughing.
"Oh my God of course I'm not gay. So how am I supposed to prove it?"
"I already told Patty that. That girl loves to make things up."
Diego looked at Stellina with a strange look. Soon he moved his body forward and embraced and wanted to kiss Stellina. Of course, Stellina did not expect this move and she did not have time to dodge.
They were so close that their lips were almost touching when suddenly Patrizia and Arianna arrived.
"Wow waow wow, can't be left for long it turns out."
"Papa and Mama want to kiss!" Arianna clapped her hands in excitement. Something that demanded the two to break away immediately was the look in Patrizia's eyes that seemed to say to Stellina 'you've got it'.
"Well I guess we should go back to the hotel now. Arianna seems to be sleepy. Several times earlier she said she wanted to go back to the hotel." Patrizia explained.
"Fabian you take Arianna back to the hotel first. Me, Stellina, Patty and Pedro are going back to the hospital because we have to say goodbye to Stellina's parents. You know that tomorrow we have to be back at Vomero?"
"Yes, sir. I will take Miss Arianna to the hotel now."
Diego returned to the hospital to say goodbye to Stellina's parents. This time there was an air of emotion surrounding Stellina's farewell to her mother.
Laura cried as her daughter, whom she had just met a few hours ago, was suddenly separated again.
"Diego I trust you like I trust myself. Don't ever make Stellina disappointed, angry, and hurt. Take care of her like she takes care of your daughter." Enrico was busy giving advice to Diego, while the man just nodded his head like a child getting advice from his parents. Patrizia hugged Stellina. "Congratulations to you, welcome to the adult world." Patrizia was still teasing, making Stellina's face blush again.
Patrizia also hugged Diego and then said something. "Don't ever hurt my older sister, her heart truly loves your daughter."
Diego heard those words and nodded his head. His eyes promised that he would continue to take care of Stellina just as she had taken care of her daughter.
"Honey, if I could choose, I'd like to take you home. Thank you for all that you have done for our family. I love you."
Laura gave Stellina her last warm hug. A mother's embrace for her daughter who sacrificed herself for her family. That night Diego witnessed such love in Stellina's family and he vowed never to spoil the family's happiness. On the one hand he felt guilty for separating a child from her parents, but on the other side of his ego he also felt that he also deserved this little happiness. Arianna also deserved Stellina's love.
***
After the two has made the deal, Stellina follows wherever Diego brings her with his car. Her heart raced as they started to leave the borders of Napoli.
'Where are we going? We are already beyond Napoli."
'We're going to the Portici." Said Diego as he puffs a cigarette.
'Portici? Why do you have to go so far?
Diego starts to look annoyed as Stellina who is supposedly his hostage getting a bit uppity and started asking too much questions.
'You don't understand who are we dealing with. This person has control all over Napoli. If he knew what had happened, both of us would be dead!"
Stellina gulps. She realized how deep she has fallen into this mess. All she can do is to resign her fate towards the gods above. Eventually, they arrived in Ludovicci hospital, a hospital owned by a local family. Stellina looked around sheepishly as Diego talked with the clerk of the hospital.
'Hello, May I help you?"
'Yeah, I would like to rent a single private room for myself."
'Oh, I see. What seems to be wrong? Is there someone who need urgent care?"
'That, would be none of your concern." Said Diego as he shows the inside of his coat to the clerk. The clerk looked shocked as she saw the inside of his coat. Her face suddenly turned pale and her legs starts to become weak.
'Um... Yes, of course. I would assign you to room number 201 to the left." Said the clerk as she gives the key to Diego with her trembling hands.
'Grazie, and don't tell anyone, okay?" Said Diego with a wink.
The clerk can only nod her head vigorously and sends of Diego with an awry smile.