XV

CHAPTER 15

The next day when every test is done and the results went great, Samantha and the little angel are discharged. The two mothers picked her up, Gretta and Marcellina.

"Hello there my little angel" Marcellina greeted her grandchild, while Samantha and Gretta were picking up the things they needed to pack.

"You picked a lovely name for her, but I wonder what her name means?"Gretta asked Samantha.

"Amalie means Hope in Arabic, and Rae means Light. My little Amalie Rae" she explained then picked her daughter from her mom who is now crying, she needs to feed her.

The little one stopped crying when her mother carried her, making the older woman awed. She just misses her mothers touch.

They are now heading to Alexis' parents house, she wants to stay there, she still needs to help prepare for her friend's wedding. In the next two weeks Donna is going to be a Leone.

"You're all here" Samantha surprisingly said upon seeing her friends waiting for her in the living room.

"Of course, auntie misses her baby niece," Dina said, trying to sound cute while touching the baby's hand.

"Yeah, Dina's right. The best aunt misses the little angel" Donna spoked making Rose and Dina raise their brows.

"I am the best one" Dina argued, and there the quarreling started once again.

The older women only laughed at the twins, they are used to it by now. Rose carried the baby with care, in awe of how this little creature looks so angelic and so cute. She took her phone and snapped different photos of them together, when the twins saw that they complained.

"That's not fair, I should've carried her first," Dina complained while stomping her feet.

"No it's supposed to be me" Donna complained too.

Samantha shakes her head to her unbelievable friends. She told them to be careful of her baby, they just need to wait for their turn to carry her or else she wouldn't let them. The twins agreed while Rose giggled at her childish friends.

Wedding day finally came, the wedding was held in the North Shore Hotel in Santa Monica. Donna and Julia agreed to hold it in the hall of the hotel. It is located near the shore and has a pool and its calming ambiance.

The wedding ended and they are now gathered to enjoy the reception, the couple dances in the middle of the hall enjoying the special day of their lives. Samantha stares at her couple friends, seeing how lovely they are. She wonders if Alexis is here and they are getting married. Will they hold it by the beach or a beautiful flower garden?

"Sam" a voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked at the person who called her out.

"Stefano" she greeted with a smile, the man sat down on the empty chair next to her.

"Where's your baby?" the man asked curiously.

Samantha pointed out to who is holding her little angel which is her granddad, Maximus.

"Would you like to have a dance?" Stefano asked her, she doubted at first but one of her friends, Dina nodded and mouthed to have fun.

She agreed to the man, Stefano now felt lots of joy when the blonde agreed. They dance next to the newlyweds and other pairs dancing with them. People are enjoying themselves, drinking and having the fun of their life. Stefano staring closely at the blonde who is spacing out once again thinking about her lover.

"You miss her," Stefano said, making the blonde look at him and nod.

"I know how much you love her, but your daughter needs a father to take care of her. I would be a great father to her if you only let me" Stefano spoked which made the blonde frown.

She stopped dancing and pushed the man. Her friends on the table saw it. Donna, who is enjoying a dance with her lovely wife, saw what happened. She leaned and whispered to her wife Julia to excuse herself.

The trio followed the path where Samantha went. Samantha is at the balcony staring at the shore where the sun is setting. Her friends approach her and stare at the sunset as well.

"Did he do something?" Dina asked her, she nodded no.

"Then what happened?" Rose followed another question to ask.

"You should go back inside Donna. It's your wedding you shouldn't be here" Samantha uttered, eyeing her friend in her wedding dress.

"I'll go back as soon as I know what happened. I am your friend Sammy, if you need me I will always be there" Donna said which made the blonde's eyes water.

She is touched by her words, she is touched by how much her friends love her. They have always been there since the day Alexis went missing, when she got pregnant and now with her baby born.

"I love you three," she said, making the trio hug her.

"Now tell us what happened there" Rose said, waiting for her to tell.

"He is pushy. I've told him we will only be friends, but there? He told me my baby needed a father and he could be that person" when the trio heard it, they understood what their friend was feeling at how insensitive Stefano was.

Samantha doesn't need a man, she needs Alexis and that's it. She still believes she is still alive, she won't stop hoping until she sees her alive or if they find her corpse. The four spent a few more minutes out there, before they came back inside.

Julia came to their side asking her wife if everything is okay now. She nodded while Julia sighs in relief. Stefano approaches Samantha when he sees her come back in the hall, he reaches for her arm but the blonde wiggles her arm not wanting to be touched. Julia noticed it and sent a glare to her cousin.

She excused herself from the girls and pulled her cousin somewhere where there was nobody to have a private talk. She doesn't want to cause a scene, it is her special day and whatever happened to her cousin and her friend, she needs to know.

"What did you do?" Julia asked while holding him by his collar.

"I did nothing wrong," Stefano answered.

"I don't believe you." Julia spat, she knew Samantha doesn't act that way with anyone unless she is uncomfortable.

"She is uncomfortable around you. What the hell did you do? You better tell me the truth or else?" Julia threatened, which made Stefano sighed.

He told him everything, what they talk in the middle while dancing. After hearing it, Julia punches him on his cheek, making him fall on the floor, good thing they are not in the reception hall or everyone will see the scene.

"You're an insensitive moron" she yelled at him, "...no wonder why women couldn't stay longer with you. You are too pushy of what you wanted but discredit what the women wanted. I am keeping an eye on you, one wrong move and you know what will happen" Julia voiced her rage to her cousin and left him on the ground, wiping the blood on his cheeks.

He knew how dangerous Julia's threat was. He didn't want to be on her bad side so he decided to be low-key for the time being. He left the place and went back home to his family house in L.A.

Julia approaches the blonde as soon as she comes back. She apologized for her cousin's deeds. She told her that she already talked him out and to be considerate, the blonde appreciated what Julia did for her, and told her that she doesn't want to see Stefano for a while.

Suddenly a brunette came beside Julia holding a big silver box with red ribbon on it. "Congratulations Jules and your wife" the brunette congratulates her and Donna.

When Rose saw the brunette her fist closed, trying to calm herself. Samantha is also surprised to see her there, and why does this girl know Julia. Dina and Donna only wonder why Rose looks so angry when she sees the girl. But Donna being polite thanked the brunette for the gift she gave. She took it and held it out to one of the servers and told him to place it where the gifts are.

"What are you doing here?" Julia asked with hatred in her voice.

"It's your wedding day, I had to congratulate my bestie" the brunette said, making Rose and Samantha surprised to hear that the brunette is Julia's best friend.

"Ex-bestie" Julia stated, her wife reached for her hand and gave it a soft squeeze to calm her down. "If you're here to ruin my day, please leave. I didn't invite you in the first place" Julia added, making the brunette pretend she's hurt by her words.

"We're business partners in two businesses of course I'm always invited to the important events of my business partner, you know we're binded" the brunette explained making Julia sighed.

She is right but she still hates her. She is a manipulating bitch and a great pretender.

"I thought I would see Max here as well" the brunette said with a sound of longingness.

"Uncle Max is there, if you want to see him" Donna replied and pointed at Alexis' father who's still holding the baby and is smiling with his wife Gretta.

"She is not talking about my uncle. It's Alex" Julia said and everyone with her stares at the brunette.

"Hi! Olivia Rothenburg, Alexis ex-fiancee" she introduced herself to the girls who's mouth agape in shock.

They didn't know Alexis had an ex-fiance, after all they only knew her for a few months so they knew nothing..

"Fancy seeing you two again" Olivia said to Samantha and Rose, the twins confused how they met them. Rose leaned close to whisper that she's the girl in Italy which made the twins pissed off.

Samantha doesn't know what to feel. She now understands why this woman despised her so much. She is Alexis' ex-fiance and is probably still into Alexis.

"Olivia" Alejandra, Julia's grandmother approaches them when she sees the lady she is fond of when Alexis and her are still dating.

"Abuela" she greeted and gave the old woman a hug and kiss on her cheeks. "You look stunning as always" she made the old woman flattered.

Alejandra excused them and left to talk about perfumes. The old woman loves to collect perfumes, Olivia is the one who introduced her all about the collectible fragrances. The old woman didn't know the reason why the two broke up so she is clueless and still treats the brunette well.

"When did you meet Olivia?" Julia asked the two.

"In Italy, in one of the auctions, she was competing to get the painting," Rose answered.

She left the part in which the brunette harmed her friend, and she knew Samantha doesn't want her to tell it to Julia, so she gave a hint to the twins to zip it up and not comment.

Alexis' parents came by her side and handed the hungry baby who was looking for her mother. She could see some eyes staring at her, and looked around to catch someone's gaze.

Olivia who is taking a sip of her white wine and with some people who were invited is looking at her. She is staring closely at the mother and daughter in envy. She really despised the woman Alexis impregnated. She couldn't believe she fell for her so soon, she always enjoyed women and then forgot about them. That only meant Alexis still had feelings for her but when she knew Alexis had fallen for someone else she was pissed.

"Olivia" someone called her attention, a guy.

"Glenndale" she smiled at the guy she hadn't seen for so long.

"You're still as beautiful as ever" he complimented her, who only cheers her glass of wine to the man .

"Stop with the flattery, you are still a flirt Glenn" she pointed out which made the guy chuckle.

They knew each other for years of her being friends with his sister and for dating Alexis. He has been a flirt ever since, and tried hitting her as well.

"You invited me here to make me jealous of what your cousin had chosen after me?" Olivia asked, facing the man whose eyes are busy lingering to different females.

"Of course, I like teasing you" Glenn didn't deny it.

"Hmmm... She is pretty, but what a bad thing to only date Max for a few months, while I dated her for four years" she said, giving a pity to the blonde who got pregnant and the person who made her pregnant is missing.

"Well at least Alex left her with a cute child, what about you? Nothing" Glenn laughed at her which made her pissed off and pinched the guy on his side, making him yelp in pain.

She then left and came to the newly weds with their friends and congratulated them once again. She did that just to approach the blonde who is holding a little baby girl in her arms. She steal glances to the baby and see the resemblance of Alexis and how the bluish eyes she misses matches her Alexis. The baby turned to her side and she saw it smiling with no tooth. She can't deny the baby is cute but felt pity for herself that Alexis never made her pregnant while they were together.

The couple left in the next two days after their wedding and went to their honeymoon in Bora-Bora, they will be staying there for a week, which means whatever job Julia had will be handed over to her brother Glenn and the simplest task to Rachel who is now starting to learn the family business. Since Alexis was gone, her work was shouldered by Julia, but one of Julia's cousins is helping her which is Gianna.

"This is the only time you're going to call me brother" Julia said, a little frustrated to her brother who is now facetiming her.

She and Donna are making out and are now heated but needed to stop because of his calls. She groaned before answering and her wife only giggled at her.

"What do you need?" She asked grumpily at him, and he noticed the moodiness of his sister.

"I interrupted something, did I?" Glenn asked with a mocking grin. Julia was groaning on the screen with furrowed brows and sent him a dirty finger.

"No thanks" he smirked, "I needed those folders and Gianna isn't answering, when will she be here?" He finally asked what was important.

"She will be there in the afternoon, what else? Bring it on so that you don't have to interrupt our honeymoon" Julia said while her wife is changing in front of her, trying to tease her, Glenn staring at his younger sister's eyes who isn't looking at him.

"That's all, you seem busy I gotta go" he bid goodbye with a smirk. He knows those kinds of looks.

Gianna later came late in the afternoon to hand him the folder, Julia asked her.

"What took you so long? And why didn't you answer my calls?" Glenn asked his younger cousin who only raised her brow and took her phone out.

"Oh it was silent, my bad" she chuckles. "It's my brother's fault, he wanted to come with me so I had to wait for him for hours before he was ready to go," Gianna explained with a groan.

"Where is he?" Glenn asked, searching for him.

"I'm here. I bought some flowers" the guy answered, showing them the flowers.

"Do you know any woman who my brother is dating? He never made an effort to buy flowers for them before" Gianna asks her cousin Glenn who is smiling.

"Well Stefano saw someone he likes a lot" he answered while staring at Stefano trying to fix his clothes to look presentable.

"What a pity for that woman. You and my brother are players" she said mocking the two of them who yelled "Hey" as a response in which she only laughed.

Stefano later left them to talk about business, he needed to go and see the blonde. He wanted to talk to her and apologize for what he said last week. He knew where she was staying so he didn't mind texting or informing the woman about him going to Alexis' place.

"Young miss, someone is looking for you" the servant came to inform her. She put the baby back on her crib who had finally fallen asleep after she fed her.

"Who?" Samantha asked, but nobody told her they were going to visit. If it's her friends they always get in, because everyone here knows them already.

"One of the young master's cousins" the servant answers which made her more confused, but still nodded in acknowledgement.

She went to the visitor's lounge where most of the visitors came unannounced. It's the waiting area for them. When she came there she saw the man's back, she approached it and revealed himself, who was holding a flower bouquet.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the man, who sighs and stood up to face the beautiful blonde.

"I came here to formally apologize for what I've said last week," Stefano said, grabbing one of Samantha's hands, still holding the flower bouquet, "Here. I picked this and thought it's a good thing to give as an apology" he added and handed the bouquet of yellow carnations.

She sighed and took it, she smiled a little which the man noticed. He thought he made her happy to get her those flowers but actually Samantha smiled because the meaning of yellow carnations are rejections and disdain.

Samantha thanked him, while the man smiled wider. He thinks the blonde had already forgiven him.

"This time I will accept your apology, but the next time you tried to be pushy with me I will never want to see you again. Friendship is all I can give you Stefano" She made sure to tell him what she wanted only from him. He nodded and understood what the blonde wanted.

He still thinks that one day he can have her when she is ready to let the memory of Alexis go and be buried. He wishes Alexis not to be found ever again. He knew it's a bad thought but he never liked any girl like Samantha. He couldn't see other women as beautiful as Samantha in his eyes, so he will try to be always there for her, and maybe one day she will love him.

"I'm glad we're okay. I will act properly around you from this moment" he said pretentiously, he knew he would still try to make a move but not in an obvious way.

"If that's it I need to go. My baby needs me now" Samantha excused herself and bid goodbye to the man who then left.

In another part of the country.

A figure who sleeps comfortably with oxygen, and an IV suddenly moved its finger, making the person next to her yelp in surprise and yell.

"Doctor!" she shouted and the doctor came beside them.

"What happened?" He asked the female.

"I saw one finger move, does that mean she's waking up?" She asked and the doctor hurriedly checked the patient.

He flashes a penlight to the patient's eyes to check and other more things to know if the patient is about to wake up.

"We will need to do more tests to find out. Sometimes it's an involuntary movement made by the brain, but we will find out after we take different tests" the doctor explained and the female agreed to let them take the tests they needed and tell her quickly.

Later they found out that it's only an involuntary movement and the female's hope vanished. She needed to wait for more time to see her wake up again.

Many months have passed, everyone is living their lives. The little girl grew charming, who is now the pride and joy of Herrera and Leone's family. The little girl is now nine months old and is practicing her steps. She grew as beautiful as her mother and was such a cute little angel.

"Come to mommy, Hope" Samantha called her little angel.

She is now taking her steps to her mother, the trio cheering her that she can do it, but she fell on the grass and was about to cry but heard her mother's voice.

"Amalie is mommy’s here, you can do it" she encourages the little one who stood up by herself and finally arrived where her mother was waiting for her.

When she finally did it, her trio aunties cheered loudly which made the little girl giggled. Donna picked her up and tickled her sides making the little one wiggle out from the villain, "Ma-ma" the little girl tried mumbling making everyone gasped.

"Omg her first word" Dina shouted happily and clapped.

"Our little Hope," Rose said.

Samantha smiled at her child, her blue eyes twinkling while giggling. She is happy to see her child who is surrounded with the people who love and care for her. She wishes Alexis is here to witness their little girl say her first word.

"What's wrong Sammy?" Dina asked, approaching the blonde whose tears were flowing down her cheeks. She wiped them and gave her a hug.

"I miss her so much, Dina," Samantha said, sobbing at her friend's shoulder, Dina rubbing her back to comfort her friend.

The two saw it and so is the baby who stared at her mother being hugged, she again mumbles "Ma-ma" Samantha looked at her child and sent her a lovely smile.

They spent the afternoon playing with Amalie. The little one fell asleep in Rose's arms, she must be tired from all the practice walks they did and crawling. Julia came an hour after to pick up her wife and Dina.

"Babe" Dina greeted her wife and gave her a peck on the lips.

"Hi girls, I brought some pizza," Julia said, showing the boxes of pizza she had in her hand.

She brought three large boxes of pizzas with different toppings. She got four cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, and stuffed crust vegetable and meat pizza. The husband and wife aren't home, they will come back in two weeks. They left this morning and flew to Asia with her father. They are going to investigate the last continent and look for Alexis. Julia thought Dina was right all along when she guessed that the last possible area they will look for will be the right one they should have searched in the first place.

"Babe, Hope did say her first word today," Donna excitedly told her wife, who was biting her pepperoni pizza.

"Really? Is it true Sam?" Julia looked at the blonde who nodded with a smile. "Well then I need to buy her a rocking pony as a reward" Julia said, already searching on her phone which one she should buy for her niece.

"All of you are spoiling her," Samantha said, shaking her head to her unbelievable friends who always buy random things for them.

"She needs to practice riding the pony, because once she is grown we will ride a real one," Julia remarked. She wants her niece to know how to ride a real horse just like her and Alexis did when they were young.

"Fine as long as you picked the soft one and not the plastic" Samantha said, suggesting what Julia should pick.

Knowing Julia she will buy something expensive, she usually bought things that are custom made for Amalie, saying that if ever it is lost and stolen you can claim it is hers, because it is custom made and only one in the world.

When she saw something she liked she showed it to Samantha, who also liked it. The blonde could tell her daughter will love the rocking pony that her Aunt Julia will give her.

In the next three days the rocking pony came and it is custom made only for Amalie. There is an official letter inside the envelope that says, this is a unique and custom made rocking horse only made for Amalie Rae Leone.

When the little girl saw it her eyes twinkled with joy. She wiggles her way down from Rose's arms. Samantha helped her up to ride it. The little one giggles while rocking it back and forth, Rose recording a video of Samantha and Amalie together, the blonde smiling happily while the little one giggles.

Rose then posted it to her social media, where her friends and their family commented, how cute and adorable their little Hope is. Also Alexis' parents commented they miss them already, and are happy to see their grandchild.

While in another part of the world, the female saw the video posted online. She watches the video of mother and daughter being happy. Suddenly the monitor beeped flat line making her panic.

She shouted for the doctors to hurry and revive the patient. They did CPR several times until the heart rate came back, making her sigh in relief and thanked them. The doctors left the female with the patient, and suddenly someone grabbed her wrist.

Her eyes widen and stare at the patient whose eyes are open and staring at her.

"You're awake"