𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐓- 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐖𝐎 - 𝟏𝟖+

CHAPTER SEVEN

A N D R E A

It had been a few weeks since we'd come back home. It was the same penthouse Lorenzo and I lived in before, except one of the rooms had been redecorated for the twins, and the rest of the place had been childproofed. I couldn't say I was unhappy about that because despite what had happened in this place, I also loved this penthouse. The only thing that bothered me was that Lorenzo and I had fallen into some sort of routine. He would avoid me, and while all of his clothes and things were still in my room, he never slept there. At least not when I was awake.

He wasn't an absent father though, he helped me feed the twins in the morning, which was becoming a challenge to do on my own now that they had started eating soft foods. Tori liked to make a mess of things, and it was a miracle if there wasn't food flying around when feeding her, Rick was an angel, and gave me little to no trouble most of the time. Lorenzo had learned the hard way that he couldn't feed Tori after getting dressed for the day since she would either spit it back out on him or simply throw it on him, so now he took his shower after breakfast, but it was hardly the time to make conversation when you were feeding your children.

I also hadn't been able to sleep a full night since being back, and it wasn't for the lack of trying on my part, or the twins' fault since they only woke up once during the night now. One nightmare or the other always woke me up, covered in sweat and barely able to breathe. I'd gotten good at hiding it from Lorenzo, but it wasn't hard to hide my nightmares from my husband when he barely looked at me most days and chose to sleep in the guest room. He was just too good at acting like I didn't exist, and that he adored me when his family was around. A nightmare was why I was standing on the balcony of our room, my arms wrapped around myself since the wind was picking up, pushing my hair in my face.

It was impossible not to feel lonely, especially on nights like these when all I wanted was just someone who'd hug me. I shivered as the wind picked up, and staring at the glittering reflection of the buildings in the Hudson began to hurt my eyes. However, it wasn't the bite of cold wind against my skin that had me rushing inside, but the muffled cries coming from the baby monitor. I pulled my hair up into a bun, and rushed back inside, closing the glass door behind me as the warmth inside the room embraced me, yet not quite reaching my heart.

Riccardo was fussy, even after being fed, and I couldn't put Tori to sleep if he started crying anytime I even lowered him to his crib. I sighed, knowing I would have to get Lorenzo.

It wasn't like I didn't know where he was right now, it was just that I hadn't asked him for help with the twins at night before this. But now I knew he wasn't asleep, he was probably in the gym on the floor below us, so even though I'd have to hold both Tori and Riccardo, it wouldn't be a long way.

Shifting Riccardo to my hip, I picked up Tori on my other hip and walked out of their room towards the elevator. Standing in front of the elevator, I realized I hadn't thought it over as well as I should've. Both of my hands were busy holding the babies, so I went as close to the buttons as I could, and turned to the side, brushing my elbow against it, nearly sagging in relief when the doors slid open and I stepped inside. I pressed the button for the floor the same way, thankful I didn't have to enter the code since it was a private elevator, and waited.

So far both Riccardo and Tori had been good inside an elevator, but since he was already in a mood today, he started crying the moment we started moving down, and his cries made Tori start wailing too. My heart dropped inside my stomach and I could feel sweat rolling down my spine. It was impossible to calm them down, and they wouldn't stop, not even when the elevator stopped and I stepped out. Lorenzo probably heard their wailing because he was already walking towards us, his t-shirt in his hand.