Delusional Love (2nd Edition) (16 page)

“Then
it appears your problems have just grown tenfold because mom is now involved.
She left several messages for you and had me on the phone almost an hour
wanting to get more information about the pregnancy and why you hadn’t told
her.”

“Fuck.”
Ivan could not believe this was happening.

“It
gets worse. Mom has summoned us to Italy and she wants you to bring Ashley with
us.”

Ivan
immediately looked over at Stephanie who was now sitting back on the sofa
visibly upset and confused. Ivan sat down on the sofa next to Stephanie and
pulled her onto his lap. “I can’t do that, Adam.” Ivan said while looking into
Stephanie’s eyes and tried to gauge how she was feeling.

“I
don’t think you have a choice big brother. Mom is expecting a call today with
the date of our arrival.” Adam stood and walked towards the door.

“Look,
I have to go but call me after you talk to mom.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It
was interesting to see the type of hold the matriarch of Ivan’s family had over
Ivan and his brother. After speaking with his mom, Ivan rearranged his plans for
the following weekend so that he could fly to Italy.

Stephanie
lay on the bed exhausted from another intense love making session with Ivan. He
pulled her body into a spooning position as they lay in darkness.

“I
want you to come with me to Italy.” He whispered in her ear. “I want my Mom to
meet you. She needs to meet the woman I’m in love with.”

“I
can’t go Ivan, your mom is expecting Ashley.”

“Ashley
is not going and I need to explain this situation in person. My parents need to
understand that you are my lady and if Ashley is having my baby then I will
take care of my responsibility.”

Ivan
looked at Stephanie and could see fear in her eyes.
 
He sat up and pulled her into his lap,
and kissed her gently. She melted into his embrace and tried to relax.

“Yes
baby. I will go with you.” She said not totally sure of how she felt about this
situation.

Friday
August 26st

Ivan,
Stephanie, and Adam boarded Ivan’s private jet and flew to Italy.
 
True to Ivan’s word, Ashley did not
come. There was a six-hour time difference so when

 
they
arrived in
Abruzzo
it was almost 11 p.m. and Ivan had a car waiting
when they arrived. The ride to his parent’s home took an hour. Although it was
late there were several family members there to greet them when they arrived including
his parents. When the trio walked into the house, Ivan’s parents immediately
greeted their sons with hugs. Ivan grabbed Stephanie’s hand and pulled her
close to him. His mother gave Stephanie a strange look and asked who she was in
Italian. Adam spoke up first and said she was Ivan’s assistant at work and Ivan
interrupted him by saying that this was the woman in his life. Stephanie did
not understand what was being said but she knew it was not good because his
mother put her hand over her mouth and started yelling in Italian.

“Ivan
come
hai
osato
portare
un'altra
donna
in casa
mia
quando
la
gravidanza
fidanzata
è
addormentato
su
per le scale.” (Ivan how dare you bring another woman
into my house when your pregnant fiancée is asleep upstairs.)

Ivan’s
body stiffened and he pulled Stephanie closer to him.

He
shouted. “
Perché
lei
sente
?
Essa
non è la
mia
fidanzata
. Stephanie è la
donna
della
mia
vita e se
nonè
possibile
accettare
che
lasceremo
.”
(Why is she here? She is not my fiancée. Stephanie is the woman in my life and
if you cannot accept that we will leave.) Ivan’s mom turned her back to Ivan
and Stephanie. Ivan pulled Stephanie’s arm practically dragging her out of the
room towards the door.

Adam
ran after them. “Bro don’t do this, you need to stay and clear this mess up.”

“I
will be back tomorrow.” He walked up to Adam and said barely above a
whisper.“Non
tornerò
qui se
Stephanie non
viene
accolto
”
(I will not stay here if Stephanie is not welcome.) His intention was for her
not to understand what he said but she knew it concerned her. They walked out
the house into a waiting car.

“
Portarci
in hotel
Vicoria
.” Ivan
said to the driver.

“What
the hell was that about? Are you just getting around to telling your mom your dating
a black woman, if so that was pretty shitty.” Stephanie said believing that his
mom was reacting to the fact that she was black.

“I
am not having this conversation with you right now. We will talk at the hotel.”

“The
hell we will. We are discussing this now.”

“Enough
Stephanie.” He yelled and startled her. “We will discuss this at the hotel.”

She
looked at him ready to explode but could see the pain in his face as he looked
straight ahead, avoiding her stare. They arrived at the hotel twenty minutes
later but Ivan’s phone continued to buzz the entire ride and he refused to
answer it. Once inside the suite Ivan immediately made himself a drink.

“Do
you want one because I’m going to have several?” He said with a faint smile.
She shook her head.

“Do you
now want to explain to me what the hell just happened at your parent’s home?”

Ivan
took another gulp of his drink. “Let me first say that my parents are not
prejudice they have taught my brother and I to treat everyone equally. So you
being black
was
not the cause of my mother’s blowup.”
He took another sip of his drink.

“Me
bringing a mistress into her home while my fiancée with child lay upstairs in
her home sleeping, now that’s the problem. He said sarcastically. You see babe,
it’s appears that Ashley has been a busy little bitch and she has been at my
parent’s home for the last few days waiting for our arrival. I did not inform
my parents that I was bringing my girlfriend because I thought we could clear
up this situation with Ashley, introduce the love of my life to my parents and
show you where I grew up. Needless to say that plan has been shot to hell.”

Stephanie
looked puzzled. “Why is she here? I don’t understand.”

“It
seems she contacted my mother a few days before the gala to give her the good
news about the baby.” He said sarcastically. “She also asked my mother not to
say anything to me about her visit because she wanted to surprise me. Oh and
the best part is that she has my entire family duped into thinking that we are
getting engaged.” He said with a huff and drained the rest of his drink.

“You
know that getting drunk is not going to make the problem go away.”

“I
know but it will make me forget for a little while.” She took the glass out of
his hand. “I know something else we can do to make you forget for a little
while.” She said seductively as she starting kissing him.

----------

The
next morning Ivan left the hotel early to deal with the fiasco that was
unfolding at his parent’s home. “Are you sure you will be okay for a couple of hours?”

“I
will be fine, I may take a cab to the market place.”

“No,
I will send the car back and it will be at your disposal.”

She
put her arms around his neck. “Thank you don’t worry about me just handle your business
at your parents so you can come back and handle your business with me.” She
said smiling.

“I’ve
created a sexual demon.” He said as he brushed his lips against hers.

“I’ll
be back soon.” He said and smacked her on the butt then left the room.

Stephanie
showered, ate breakfast and headed downstairs to a waiting car.

‘A girl could get use to this.’
She
smiled as she slid into the backseat of the car.

“Where
would you like to go madam?” The chauffeur asked.

“I
would like to go to the market place.”

“Very
good Madam.”

Stephanie
spent the next couple of hours buying souvenirs for everyone. The prices were
so reasonable that she used euro instead of the credit cards Ivan gave her.
After she shopped Stephanie stopped at a small café, and sat at table outside
to enjoy the weather and scenery, while she drank her coffee and ate her scone.

As
Stephanie watched the people walking by she noticed two familiar faces.
It was Ivan’s mom and Ashley
,
they were
apparently shopping
. Ashley spotted her and gave her a faint smile. She
said something to Ivan’s mother who looked in Stephanie’s direction. Ashley
pretended to be upset and Ivan’s mom comforted her while signaling her to a
waiting car. Stephanie could not believe the scene that just unfolded in front of
her.

‘What a goddamn actress.
Oh, this bitch got game, but she will not
get my man.’
 
Stephanie thought
as she finished her coffee and headed back to the hotel. Stephanie waited hours
for Ivan, she tried his cell phone but it went straight to voicemail.

“This
is bullshit, how do you leave me in a hotel in a foreign country and don’t even
call to check in.” Stephanie was fuming and finally at six o’clock she decided
to have dinner without him. She grabbed her purse and there was a knock at the
door. She swung the door open, “It’s about time do you…” She stopped mid
sentence staring at Adam and not Ivan. “What’s wrong Adam, is Ivan okay? I have
not heard from him since this morning.” He walked into the room and sat on the
sofa.

“He’s
fine Steph, calm down. He had to fly Ashley to the hospital in Rome. She came
back from the shopping trip with mom; she was visibly upset and started
developing pains in her stomach. Ivan didn’t want to take any chances so he
flew to Rome with her. I just heard from him, the doctors said she is fine but
they want to keep her overnight for observation.” “Unbelievable, he couldn’t
tell me himself.”

Adam
looked at Stephanie with compassion.

“Have
you eaten? Let me take you to dinner. I know a really great restaurant not far from
here.”

“Okay
lets go, I was going stir crazy in this room.” They went to a quaint restaurant
near the market place she visited earlier. They were seated and ordered their
meal.

“So
what’s really going on Adam? I feel like I’m an intruder in this situation.”

“Steph,
you have to understand that my parents are very old fashioned in their beliefs.
The moment my mother found out that Ashley was pregnant with Ivan’s child, she
was expecting him to do the right thing by marrying her.”

“We
don’t even know if it’s his baby.”

“I
think Ivan’s convinced. This is extremely difficult for him to go against our
mother. Never in our lives have we gone against anything our parents have
requested of us. So for him to take a stand against my parents
wishes is
a big deal, bigger than you can imagine. This is
not an easy situation.”

“So
what do you suggest Adam that I give up and go back to the states?”

“Of
course not, I want to let you know that if you and Ivan are determined to stay
together, you need to be prepared for the fallout of your decision. I really
like you and Ivan together, I know my brother loves you but sometimes when
things are set in motion there is no going back.”

“So,
you think Ivan will leave me and marry Ashley.”

“No
not at all, I think that he will stay with you and it will cause a major rift
between my parents and Ivan. Ivan is the strongest man I know but when it comes
to our parents he always felt the need to please them even if it was doing
something he felt strongly against.”

“Well
how can I really compete with that?”

Adam
was silent. Their meal was served and they ate in silence. Trying to change the
subject Stephanie asked Adam how things were going between him and Bri. He
talked about wanting more of a relationship but Brianna was against it. They
also talked about this beautiful small town and Adam promised to show Stephanie
around tomorrow if Ivan was still tied up.

---------

Ivan
and his parents were sitting in the living room having a heated discussion
about Ashley, Stephanie, and the baby. Ivan’s parents were adamant that he
marry
Ashley as to not disgrace the family by having a baby
out of wedlock.

“This
is not the 1900s, people have babies all the time without being married and
tell me mother, how is it that I’m disgracing this family. I employ most of
them and pay them handsomely. I don’t need or want their approval. I only need
you and papa to understand why I can’t marry her. I will take care of my
responsibility by providing for Ashley and the baby, but I don’t love her and I
will not marry her. I am in love with Stephanie and when I am ready to marry,
she is the one I will ask.”

His
mother left the room too upset to speak. His father looked at him disappointed
and in Italian said. “We raised you to be a good man and while your mother and
I do not agree with your decision I will respect it. Come have a drink with
your papa.”

His
father was a man of few words and the fact that he would respect his decision was
good enough for Ivan. Ashley was in another part of the house; she excused
herself to use the bathroom and stood outside the door where Ivan and his
parents were talking. She overheard the conversation and was devastated.