Chapter 31

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This chapter is a little bit short so I will make sure to try and upload sooner. I really hope you enjoy! AHH!! XX, Love, Hannah <3

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CHAPTER 31:

It was here.

It was finally here.

She was getting married today.

It all seemed surreal to Natalie and even though she was excited she still felt a bundle of nerves throbbing to the fast beat of her heart in her chest. It wasn't bad to the point she would ditch, she would never do that because Giovanni was her life now and all she wanted was to be with him. It was the type of nerves every bride felt on their wedding day, though, Natalie's would be a bit different because she was marrying a mob boss rather than an accountant.

She stared at herself in the mirror, disbelief in the eyes that stared back at her as she saw what she looked like. She decided to go natural because that's just who she was. So she wore her hair in a braided twist, low-hanging on the back of her neck with small white flowers clipped in. Her makeup was natural, yet stunning and her favorite was the gown. But wasn't that all brides favorites? It was simple yet elegant. Lace with a plunging V in the back and front. She loved the stark white against the slight tan on her skin, and loved how it showed off the contours in her back. She just couldn't stop staring. Smiling softly, she ran her hand over her dress and took in a deep breath as there was a knock on the door. She turned away from the mirror, loving the feel of the diaphanous fabric against her skin.

"Come in!" she called out and a moment later Ciara, Ana-Marie, her daughter, and Rebecca were coming around the corner and stepping into the room.

She managed a small smile as they gasped. Natalie did a little twirl, the dress following her movements. Their eyes filled with tears and Natalie swallowed hard.

"Oh stop it!" she said with a watery laugh as she stepped forward to engulf her family in a hug.

"You'll make me mess up my makeup and you'll end up ruining your own!" she admonished.

They took a deep breath, making Natalie smile slightly as they gathered themselves.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say you are absolutely breathtaking. I can't even put it into words." Ana-Marie said and Natalie blushed, lowering her head.

"You look really beautiful too, girls." She said, and they did.

Ciara was her maid of honor, Ana-Marie was her bridesmaid and then Ana-Marie's daughter was going to be the flower girl.

She told Giovanni she wanted it small and he had happily agreed.

They were wearing a soft shade of blush pink, Ciara in a chiffon off-the shoulder dress while Ana-Marie wore a strapless sweetheart neck dress of the same color. Her mother wore slacks and a soft blue silk blouse that hugged her slender frame perfectly.

"Look at me! Look at me!" Louisa cried as she didn't feel the attention on her.

Natalie chuckled and bent down so that their gazes were level.

"Hello, darling. You look amazing!" she whispered and Louisa sent her a look that said 'Well-duh-of-course-i-look-amazing-what-did-you-expect?'

Natalie laughed again and Louisa reached out a small and chubby hand and let it cup Natalie's cheek as she stared at her with appreciating eyes.

"You look like a pwincess!" she said in awe and Natalie cupped the little girl's hand in her own, kissing the small fingers she held.

"Thank you, baby." She said softly and Louisa tugged at her hand, so Natalie released her.

She ran back to the small table where she had set her basket down and brought it back over to play with the soft velvety rose petals that lay in there.

"Even though I'm supposed to marry uncle Gio you can have him because you a pwincess." She said quietly and by the pout on her lips this was a pretty big deal.

Natalie bit her lip to stop a smile.

"Thank you darling." She said and kissed Louisa's cheek, earning a blush that finally made the soft giggle she was holding back to bubble from her lips.

Natalie straightened.

"Nervous?" Ciara asked as she reached out to take Natalie's hand and give it a squeeze. She squeezed back as she nodded slightly.

"A little bit." She admitted and Ciara nodded understandingly.

"It'll be okay. You're going to marry the love of your life!" she said and Natalie smiled, nodded.

"I am..." she whispered.

It was silent for a moment, everyone lost in their own thoughts when Rebecca cleared her throat.

"May we have a moment alone?" she asked. Ciara and Ana-Marie nodded, smiling as they exited the room-small little Louisa in tow.

Natalie turned to her mother and Rebecca smiled before sitting down on the old vintage couch, patting the seat next to her. Natalie sat and her mother took her hands into her own, brought them to her lips and kissed her fingers before she dropped them back to her lap.

"Oh baby." She said softly and reached out a delicate finger to trail down the side of Natalie's cheek.

"I can't believe my little girl is getting married!" she said and her eyes misted, making Natalie's throat tight as well.

"You know, I am going to tell you a cliché story, but I don't care. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. It hurt like a bitch, but it was so worth it, sweetheart. As soon as you were in my arms, you owned my heart. I know things haven't been easy, and I am so sorry that I haven't always been able to-" she cut off as her voice broke and Natalie bit her lip to stop it from quivering.

"I am so sorry I haven't been able to protect you from a lot of the world's bad things, but I just want you to know that I am beyond proud of you. You make me believe in happy endings and you make me believe in perfect human beings because to me that's what you are and always will be, no matter what you could do or what could happen. I will always love you. You're my baby. My little girl." She said as a tear trailed down her cheek and Natalie took in a shuddering breath before launching herself into her mother's embrace.

She inhaled her mother's scent, her heart warming, and her throat tight.

"Momma loves you baby, momma always loves you." Rebecca whispered and that only made the ache in her chest worst as she tried to hold back her tears.

They pulled back and Natalie sighed as her mother cupped her cheek and laughed softly.

"Enough with the tears! We're going to ruin our makeup!" she said and Natalie chuckled, nodding.

"Thanks momma. I love you too." She said as she hugged her mother once more and stood.

"Let's go get you married!" Rebecca said with a fist pump and whooped.

Natalie giggled and kissed her mother's cheek.

"You go, I'll be out in a minute." She said and Rebecca nodded, kissed her forehead and then was gone. Natalie closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath. She looked over and realized her mother had set down her bouquet for her on the bed. She smiled and walked over to pick it up. It had soft pink peonies, and white baby's breath twined with a simple burlap string. She lifted the flowers to her nose and inhaled, the soft floral scent tickling her nose.

Sighing, she set the bouquet down and walked over to the mirror and stared at herself, then smiled.

She was marrying Giovanni.

Giovanni was marrying her.

She was marrying the love of her life.

She closed her eyes and let the image of her future with Giovanni wash over her mind.

Them kissing at the altar in a few minutes, lying on the beach and soaking up the sun, making love, her belly round and swollen with Giovanni smiling as he heard their child's heartbeat, chasing their children in the gardens.

She let her eyes flutter open, excitement and all trace of nerves gone as the images she just pictured played over and over in her mind, making her moments hurried as if it would carry her to the future quicker.

With a joyful laugh she spun away from the mirror and back to the bed to pick up her bouquet. She heard the door click opened and she sighed, laughed.

"I told you I'd be just a minute!" She laughed again, then cut off short when her neck tingled and nobody replied.

Her breath hitched and she felt her heartbeat speed up as she slowly turned around. The last thing she saw as her bouquet fell to the floor, was a man standing in front of her with a gleeful and malicious grin as a fist flew and connected with her face. Then... Nothing...

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AHHH! OMG! Did you just die? I just died? I have no pulse! Ahh! I think imma die. LOLZ. JK. You'll get your new chapter soon so that I wont be responsible for any wrongful deaths. Anyways, I really hope you liked this chapter. I love you guys! Keep tuned. XX, Love, Hannah <3