- 7 5 -

- R O M A N - A N G E L O -

They told me she was never mine. That she betrayed me, left me heartbroken and only used me to get what she wanted.

Revenge.

And at one point, I actually believed them.

The cold look in her eyes, when she hunted down every last man involved in her mother's murder was something I could never forget.

I followed her all around Italy, stalking her like the creep I was and making sure she didn't get hurt.

But my angel has always been so strong, so confident. My heart melted at the sight of her the first time I saw her in Italy, thinking she came back for me.

But then I saw her kill those men and realized she wasn't here for me after all.

Maybe she had used me, I thought.

Enzo and Gabriel were optimistic to a point, always telling me she wasn't using me, and could never do such a thing.

That if she ever knew who my father really was, she never would have looked at me in the first place.

Such luck, I thought. That she didn't know. That I didn't know.

And as I watched her aim at the Italian with his bodyguards from on top of the building and then take a deep breath and shoot, the corners of my lips tugged up into a smirk.

That's my girl.

And when she did come back to me, it was like everything finally made sense.

As if the world started spinning again and the timeloop I was stuck in had stopped.

She was mine, and she was back.

Then she gave me another rather shocking surprise. The fact that my supposed dead mother was alive.

Now I know how she felt when she found out her brother wasn't actually dead all that time.

And now I found out that I have a sister. I've always wanted one, I remembered.

I used to ask my mamma when I was younger to get me a little sister so I could play with her, annoy her, protect her, spoil her.

And I still remember the little girl with the blue eyes who used to stick her tongue out at me in mocking when she would run faster than me or win at a game.

I still remember, when I was eleven years old, my father had taken my mamma and I to the U.K.

He had some work there, so we decided to tag along. That was the summer I met my soulmate.

Heather.

Beautiful brown hair cascaded down her back, big and bright blue eyes stared back at me, tears streaming down her pink cheeks and her pink lips in an adorable pout as she sat by the small pond.

"Why are you crying?" I had asked her to which she shook her head softly and sniffled.

"I lost my mommy."She mumbled and looked into my eyes, freezing me in my place.

What felt like forever was only a few seconds when she whimpered again and that's when I noticed her scraped knee.

"How did you get hurt?" I asked her.

"I fell running." She spoke in a small voice, my heart melting at the sight.

She looked like a small, lost angel.

My angel.

"What's your name?" I asked as I sat down next to her while she wiped at her tears with the back of her hand.

"Heather." She whispered and I smiled at her a bit.

"Heather. It's a pretty name. You're pretty too." The child inside me blurted out the most stupid thing on my mind, but it wasn't a lie.

She was ethereal.

Her cheeks turned even redder if possible as she bit back a smile.

"Thanks. What's your name?" She asked as I looked at the pond.

"Roman." I said and saw her nod thoughtfully.

"I like your eyes." She spoke after a few moments when I smiled.

"I like yours too. They're very beautiful. Like you." I grinned at her, causing her to giggle at me as I stood up and held my hand out to her.

"Come on, I live near. I can take you there and get you bandaged. My mamma will help look for your mommy." I offered and saw her think for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly.

"Okay." She mumbled, taking my hand, her small hand fitting perfectly into mine as I slowly and carefully led her to the cottage where mamma and I were staying.

Papa had decided to stay in a hotel but mamma wanted to have some peace. She had always loved nature.

"Mamma!" I shouted as I entered the small yet cosy cottage and heard the unmistakable humming of my mother coming from the kitchen.

"In here, tesoro!" Her voice came and I led little Heather towards the kitchen and cleared my throat.

Upon entering, my mother looked back and smiled widely at me, her green eyes glimmering before they shifted to the girl next to me and widened slightly.

"Dio mio, who is this pretty girl Roman?" She asked cleaning her hands on a spare towel before coming over to us.

"Mamma, this is Heather. I found her by the pond, crying. She's hurt and can't find her mother." I explained and saw my mother nod thoughtfully.

"Oh my, let me help you sweetheart." She helped Heather onto a stool and helped bandage her knee, all of through which I stood by Heather's side, holding onto her soft and tiny hand.

"There, you should feel better now. Can I have your full name so we can look for your mother, dear?" She asked and Heather nodded.

"Heather Elias." She said and for a moment, I thought I saw my mother's eyes widen in realisation before she regained composure.

"Are you by any chance Isabella and Zavid Elias' daughter?" Mamma asked carefully and I wondered how she knew these people.

"Yes! They're my parents!" Heather exclaimed happily while my mother smiled so wide I thought her face would break.

"Isabella was a dear friend of mine. You look so much like her." She carressed Heather's face and stood up to her height.

"I'll contact them. Why don't you play with Roman until then?" She guestured to me and I nodded, taking the little girl away with me.

I remember that day as if it was yesterday.

Holding the girl's hand, playing with her in the woods, having snacks in a pillow fort and finally, stargazing at night from my room before she fell asleep next to me, holding onto my hand.

That day was by far the best day of my life. Because that day, I had found the one for me.

But when morning came and I woke up, she was no longer lying next to me and I hurried downstairs, looking everywhere for her but she was nowhere to be found.

"Mamma, where's Heather?" I had asked my mother.

"Her parents came in the early morning, so she left with them." She explained with a sad smile on her face as my own expression fell.

"She left? Without saying goodbye?" I whispered, somewhat hurt.

"She wanted to stay but her parents were in a hurry, dear. I wish things could have been different. Did you like her?" She asked, a warm smile on her face when I nodded.

"She was nice. And really pretty." I said, my cheeks heating up with the thought while my mother chuckled.

"Look at that, my eleven year son is already in love!" She exclaimed, taking my hands and dancing around the kitchen with me while I laughed.

"I'm not in love mamma!" I yelled, laughing afterwards but she was adamant on it.

I had fallen in love.

The second time I saw my angel was at a party, two years ago.

I saw her, and I froze in place, not believing my eyes when I saw her bright blue eyes, beautiful face and gorgeous smile.

She laughed along with a man I recognized as Anton Elias and wondered why she was with him.

Too bad I had forgotten her last name.

She looked the same. Like an ethereal angel. But unfortunately, she didn't see me.

And it wasn't long before she had joined hands with someone else. Wore a sparkly engagement ring on her finger, kissed the other man while I seethed silently.

I didn't know who the man was, all I knew was that he had what was mine. He had my girl, my love, my life.

And I would get her back.

I remember leaving the party in a fury, only realizing later whose and what party it was.

It was her engagement party to a man that wasn't me.

Enzo and Gabriel didn't know what was wrong with me for the next two years.

I snapped at the smallest of things, lost my temper far quicker than I would've liked and killed men upon men.

But all of that was never enough to sate my thirst, my anger.

And it stayed that way until I finally saw her again two years later, at the college my family owned.

And once my eyes met hers, that was it. It had been decided and the move had been made once I saw her vacant ring finger.

She was mine.

"Can you help me, please?" My beautiful girl looked at me with an adorable pout on her face, one which I was quick to kiss away.

I could die a happy man just kissing her.

"Of course, baby. What do you need?" I asked, letting her lead me into the kitchen and point to a bunch of vegetables.

"Can you cut those? I'll make the sauce and boil the pasta and-"

"Why don't I cook tonight, and you can watch, hmm?" I suggested, not liking the idea of her tiring herself when she fronwed.

"But I wanted to make something for your family." She said and I smiled a bit at her concern.

"That's okay baby, I can manage."

"But I want to do something!" She whined like a child and I huffed.

"Fine. You can make dessert, okay?" I suggested and saw her nod happily and wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her.

"Sounds good to me Romy. I love you." She whispered, and it felt like I had fallen for her all over again.

"Love you more, angel." I whispered, pecking her temple while she scrunched her face up.

"Why do you call me that?" She asked as I put her on the counter and started to gather ingredients for the pasta.

"Call you what, angel?"

"Angel." She repeated when I stopped short.

"Because the first time I met you, you looked like an ethereal little angel." I told her, wishing desperately she would remember me.

"When you gave that speech? God, Roman. I looked anything but an angel. Maybe like a raccoon or a panda with all the dark circles from working overnight." She said, making me chuckle a bit at her.

"Not that time, angel. That was the third time we met. Don't you remember?" I asked, going to stand between her legs and put my hands on her bare thighs, squeezing them lightly.

"Third time? What do you mean?" Her expression showed confusion and I knew I had to tell her as a small sigh escaped my lips.

"I was eleven years old when I first visited the U.K with my mother and father." I started and saw her surpirsed expression.

"My mother and I stayed in a small cottage in a forest, of sorts, while my father stayed in a hotel because of work."

"I rememeber walking aimlessly one day, thinking, wondering about useless things when I heard soft crying." I said and saw her brows shoot up.

"I followed the voice, curious, and came upon a little girl sitting by the edge of a small pond there."

"She had beautiful brown hair, bright and big, blue teary eyes, pink lips, an adorable pout, and a scraped knee. She had lost her mother." I said and saw her brows scrunch.

"I rememeber all of it, angel. I remember the day I met the love of my life. Why don't you?" I asked softly, one of my hands cupping her face while the other softly stroked her thigh while she looked at me utterly speechless.

"I-... T-That was... you?" She spoke, absolutely shocked when I nodded slowly and her eyes widened.

"Oh my god. I can't believe it." She muttered, her hand covering mine.

"The second time I saw her, I couldn't believe my luck. I was hurt when she left without saying goodbye, but I found her again." I said.

"When?" She whispered, her eyes glossing over.

"Two and a half years ago, at a party. Not just any party, an engagement party, for you. You got engaged to-"

"Igor." She murmured, a tear making its way down and I swiftly wiped it away with my thumb.

"I was hurt. Devastated. Thought I'd lost the woman I loved forever. Until I saw you once again at that college fair two years later, with no ring on your finger." I whispered as another tear fell down her face.

"Why are you crying, baby?" I frowned, not liking her crying like this when she shook her head and released a breathy chuckle.

"I just-... I can't believe that was you, Roman. That boy I thought of all those years, whom I longed for. Whose warmth I missed so much. That was you." She murmured, our foreheads touching each other.

"That was me, love. It was me. The fist time I saw you, I thought you were an angel. An utterly lost angel." I whispered to her.

"I'm no angel." She said with a small smile and shook her head softly when I chuckled, placing a kiss on the corner of her lips.

"You are my angel, Heather. My lost angel." I murmured before connecting my lips with hers and just like that, I knew nothing in this world could separate us.

Not with me around.