I came downstairs to find Maddie, Nina, and Evaline in the living room. Nina was bouncing her knees with Princess sitting on her lap, trying to keep her entertained.
A smile crept its way to my face at the sight. Who would have thought?
Aunt Nina.
It was hard to believe, but Nina was a doting aunt. She didn’t always show it, but it was clear as day that she cared for Maila.
She wasn’t sweet and gentle like Evaline or Maddie. No, her face was always cold. Her stares emotionless. Her smiles empty and dark.
But there were a few times when I noticed a slip in her hard character. A small genuine smile on her face when she played with Maila. A soft look in her eyes. It wasn’t always there…but I noticed. I saw, and I knew Maila was loved by Nina too.
To top it off, Nina spoiled her rotten.
Evaline enveloped me in a hug as I stopped beside her. “Welcome back home. When did you get here?” I asked, after pulling away.
“A few minutes ago. We’ve got the wedding to plan. I’m here just for a few days though. My boss is being an asshole. We have a project to sign with another company, so I have to go. But I’ll be back a day before the wedding,” she explained with a sad pout.
Smiling, I hugged her again. “Okay. That’s good enough. As long as you’re here for the wedding. After all, you are my bridesmaid.”
Maila’s cooing snapped me away from Evaline. When I saw her chin covered with spit, I took a step forward. But Nina already got it.
Taking a small baby towel in her hand, she wiped Maila’s chin clean. “I got her,” she muttered.
“Who dressed her up this morning? The dress is so cute!” Evaline crooned, waving her finger in front of Maila.
“Alessio did,” I replied, trying to hide my own laughter.
Maddie laughed. “Oh Lord. She has them all wrapped around her fingers. It’s too cute!”
I nodded because of how true it was. Viktor, Nikolay, and Phoenix were her godfathers. It was hard to choose between them. And they threatened each other too. A big fight broke out on who was the godfather. In the end, I decided on all three. The more the better, right?
After all, they all loved her the same.
My eyes went to Maddie. I saw her gazing at Maila, smiling at her. My own smile widened. From the very beginning, there was no second thought that she would be the godmother.
My heart still ached for her loss. But every time she smiled at Maila, her love pure, I would slowly forget about the past. I knew she was still hurting, her loss still fresh, but her wounds were healing, slowly but surely.
We sat down and discussed the wedding. It must have been hours when we finally came to a decision. Maddie and Evaline eventually left to call the designers and take care of everything else.
My gaze went to Nina. She was strangely quiet. Over the months, we became close. Not as close as I was with Maddie or Evaline, but I could say we were friends.
Nina wasn’t who I thought she was.
Yes, she was rude, mean, and sometimes outright cold.
But after putting our differences away, we got along. Against her wishes, Maddie and Evaline pulled her into the group. She had no choice but to accept us.
“I can hold her, if you want,” I said, pointing at the sleeping Maila in her arms.
Nina shook her head. “It’s okay. I got her.”
We were silent for a few seconds before I cleared my throat. I moved beside Nina and softly rubbed my fingers over Maila’s head. She loved it when I did that.
“I want you to be my bridesmaid, with Evaline.”
Nina froze beside me, and then there was utter silence. I licked my lips nervously before finally facing her.
“You want me to be your bridesmaid?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes, we’re friends. I want you to be part of this wedding,” I replied quietly.
Nina gave me a dry laugh. She was careful not to jolt Maila. “Ayla, I fucked your husband and you want me to be your bridesmaid. You know that makes no sense, right? We might be friends, but we aren’t that close.”
I steeled my features against her words.
Shrugging, I gave her a smile. “You’re right, but I care for you. Don’t try to act cold with me, Nina. I can see past that fake excuse. You care, and you want to be friends, although you try to hide it. We all need friends, Nina. You mean a lot to me. Like Maddie and Evaline. So you need to accept this and stop fighting it.”
The words were true, and for weeks, I had been desperate to say them.
Nina looked at me silently before taking a deep breath. She smiled, and for the first time, her genuine smile was directed toward me. “I remember a time when you used to hate me.”
I smiled too. “You hated me too,” I replied drily.
Nina shook her head, looking down at Maila on her lap. “Hate is a strong word, Ayla. I didn’t hate you. Maybe the word you’re looking for is jealous.”
My eyes widened at her choice of word. “Jealous? Of me? Why?”
Nina lost her smile and shrugged. “You came and everything changed. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how all of a sudden Alessio went from being this cold person to loving you, while I had been with him for ten years.”
Before I could say anything, she continued in the same monotone voice. “I was fifteen when I met Alessio. Fifteen when he found me in that dark alley, beaten up and bleeding. He saved me. I looked up to him. You know what happened two weeks later? He brought me to the basement, pushed me forward, and handed me a knife. I realized the man strapped to the chair in front of me was the same man who tortured me. I didn’t ask Alessio any questions. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the man in front of me. I was fifteen when I was introduced to this life and realized this was what I needed. What I wanted.”
Her cold stare pierced mine, and I almost shivered. “I took my revenge that night. I killed him in cold blood while Alessio stood behind me. He was proud of me. For killing a man. Alessio is the devil in disguise, Ayla. He is heartless and ruthless. You have absolutely no idea. And I was his equal.”
My heart stuttered, and I looked down. My mind tried to wrap about the story she was telling me. I knew who Alessio was…but Nina, that was a whole other story.
“I still am and always will be,” she continued. I looked up to see a small smirk on her face.
“But only on the field.” Her words were left hanging as she brought her hand up and touched a finger to my chest.
“Because you have his heart. I won’t ever have that. Thing is, I don’t want it either. I don’t feel. I don’t care about anything. I like it this way. Heartless and cold. But then you came along and boom, everyone started feeling. Alessio cared. Maybe I was jealous. I was with him for so long and he never cared, but you…you came and wrapped yourself around him.”
I swallowed hard against the ball of emotion. “He cares. You are part of this family. He cares for everyone, Nina. Including you.”
Nina nodded and gave me another smile. “I know. So no, I didn’t hate you. I just didn’t understand why everything was changing so fast. But now I do. We don’t know the definition of love, Ayla. We were not bred to love and be loved. You changed that.”
“You don’t hold any hard feelings against me?” I asked quietly.
Nina chuckled. “No. You were right. Alessio and I only had sex. That’s it. We don’t have any feelings for each other. Never did.”
I didn’t say anything. My mind was still reeling from everything Nina had told me. Was I jealous that Nina had him before me? Yes, I was, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Alessio chose me.
“I’ll be your bridesmaid.” Nina’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You will?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
She nodded, her gaze going to Maila, who was slowly waking up. Nina handed my daughter to me, and I curled her small body against my chest.
“I don’t really have a choice now, do I? You already decided we were friends,” she muttered.
Small steps. Baby steps. But we were all slowly finally coming together.