THE CEO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE

5.HOME SWEET HOME

5. HOME SWEET HOME

"Please fasten your seat belts as we prepare for landing!" The sound of the speaker blaring saved Rosa from having to process the question her children were asking. Rosa was not ready in any way to answer her children's questions, so she took advantage of the conversation quickly.

"Alright kids, we are about to land; let's fasten our seatbelts." It was an eight-hour-long flight, and the kids had slept through it. Rosa was quite lucky for that to happen, but it was probably because they stayed awake all through the night, asking her several questions about the trip.

Then again, it seemed like the kids woke up before her and Matteo was entertaining them. Rosa was just so exhausted with everything going on, and she needed the sleep she got. Rosa figured though that her brother was the reason why the kids were asking for Sebastian. What kind of conversation were they having that Sebastian was suddenly a part of? Did he randomly mention the name, and the kids caught on? Rosa wouldn't be surprised if that happened because Damien was very good with retaining information, especially information that Rosa didn't want him to retain.

"I can't wait to meet Grandma and Grandpa," Daphne said as the plane landed. She was smiling and kicking her legs out of excitement.

The storm was over for now. From the corner of her eye, she could see Matteo looking at her intently. He already told her the previous day, when he came to Oslo and found out about the kids, that she had to tell Sebastian unless he would do it himself. Well, he didn't say anything about telling the twins. Rosa knew that she would have to tell them soon. Her children deserved the truth at least. She didn't just say when she would tell them. She wanted the calm before the storm.

"I am sure Grandma and Grandpa can't wait to see you too," she replied, her baby girl.

"What's the plan from here? We go home, freshen up, and then go see Papa at the hospital." Rosa asked her brother. They were now unboarding the plane.

"We may not have to go that far," Matteo replied. Rosa didn't understand and wanted him to clarify, but the number of people trying to move two toddlers in the midst of the crowd was enough for that moment.

She understood what Matteo said a few moments later, though, when she saw her papa, her mama, and her sister waving at them from the front of the airport. The same Papa who was supposed to be terribly ill. The reason she was in New York in the first place. When she first saw him, she was a little worried; she thought that her sick father had come to the airport from the hospital just to see her, but as she moved closer and closer, she noticed that her papa didn't look sick at all. Apart from the head full of white hair that Matteo had mentioned, he looked just the same way I left him five years ago.

"What is Papa doing here? Isn't he supposed to be sick?" Rosa asked her brother, who just shrugged.

"Just hug him and be happy, Rosa. Enjoy the family reunion." Rosa could not be angry. Even if they had tricked her into coming home, she was the one who had left home for five years and refused to come back home, making her parents so desperate as to result in trickery to lead her back home. Over the years, her parents had begged and pleaded with her to come back home, but she had refused over and over again; it was never the right time. She never felt like it was best to tell them about the children, not yet, and that was how she managed to stay away for five years.

If she felt any annoyance for the trick her parents played, it was covered by the guilt she felt for pushing them so far. So Rosa smiled and waved back at her parents. It had been too long.

"Is that Grandma and Grandpa?" Daphne asked in a little shout, waving as I did.

"And Aunt Lily," Matteo said, replying to her.

"Yay!" Daphne said and began to increase her steps. Damien by her side was still studying the entire situation.

"My Rosa," her mother said as she hugged her tight. Isabella was just forty-four. She shouldn't really be having Grandma cravings at this point; she could even have another child of her own. Her mother had almost always been like her sister, especially when she was a teenager. Isabella had her when she was twenty, and Rosa had Daphne and Damien at twenty-one. Would Daphne look at her like a big sister one day? Rosa had no idea, but she would like that.

"Mama," Rosa said, melting in the arms of her mother. They had been so close growing up. Rosa had missed her mother terribly during the time she was in Oslo alone. There were times that she wanted to run to her mother because she knew she would understand; she was Isabella, yet she knew that she had already thrown that chance away.

"I missed you so much, Rosa," her mother said, and Rosa sniffled in her embrace.

"I missed you so much, Mama, so much." Finally, after a while, she left her mother and turned to hug her father.

"You lied, Papa; you said you were sick," Rosa sniffled.

"I was sick, very sick. I haven't seen my baby girl in years." Rosa hugged him harder. He was a bit softer around the edges. Now that she was hugging him, it was apparent that her father had grown old.

"When is my turn coming? I need to hug my big sister," Lily said, and Rosa hugged her tight. Lily and Rosa were close in age, and even if they had their disagreements once in a while, they were still sisters, and they loved each other.

Lily was the one person that Rosa would have been willing to tell about the entire thing. When she was leaving, Lily was too young, but maybe later. At the end, though, she didn't tell her because she still had a lot of ties to Papa and Mama. Lily hadn't gotten married; she attended college from home, and there was no way she would have been able to keep such a huge secret.

"Mummy! Can we meet Grandma and Grandpa now?" Daphne asked Rosa after tapping on her leg to get her attention.

"Grandma and Grandpa have been waiting," Rosa's mother said. Suddenly, all the anxiety Rosa had been struggling with dissipated into thin air.

"Mama, Papa, Lily, these are my children, Daphne Sophia and Damien Leonardo. Daphne and Damien, meet Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Lily."

"Nice to meet you, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Lily. My name is Daphne, and I am 4 years old." Daphne smiled at them. Rosa was so proud of her baby girl. She was ever the social butterfly. Daphne reminded Rosa of Lily as a child. She figured her sister would love her daughter.

"This is my brother Damien; he doesn't talk much." Rosa stifled a laugh at that, and Damien looked a little grumpy.

"Nice to meet you; my name is Damien," Damien grumbled. It was unlike him to speak in undertones. He either didn't speak or spoke out. Rosa figured that the entire change was affecting her son a lot. She read somewhere that the lack of a father figure can have a strong effect on the lives of boys. It was something that Rosa thought about all the time. She thought about how her decisions might affect the lives of her children. It was too late to have regrets, but maybe it was time to make amends.

"Nice to meet you, Daphne; I love your dress and your bow." This was Rosa's mother. The said dress was covered with a parka coat, and the bow was attached to a beanie. Daphne loved her bows and wouldn't go anywhere without them. Rosa knew that she might have instilled the love in her and hoped she would never grow out of it. She loved dressing up her baby girl. She did note that the huge parka coat and beanie will have to go; it was quite warm in NYC.

"Thank you, ma'am," Daphe said with a blush.

"And you young man, you look quite dashing. I can't wait to know you very well," Isabella said to her grandson and extended a hand to each of the children. Daphne took her grandma's hand immediately. Damien hesitated, but he surprisingly took the hand.

With her parents occupied with the twins, Rosa looked at her sister Lily. Her sister looked stoic in a way, almost like she didn't want to speak with her. The communication she had with her sister was minimal; she couldn't give the secret away, but she had no idea if Lily was actually mad at her. Rosa wracked her head to wonder what she might have done to her sister, and it occurred to her that Lily might feel betrayed since she left her all alone, and she never confided with her. The day she ran away from her wedding, she confided in her friend and didn't trust her sister enough. Bianca. Rosa knew she had to reach out to her soon; she was back at home. Bianca would help her maneuver this situation like she had helped her all those years ago.

****

"You did what?" Her father shouted. It seemed like Rosa was bringing this reaction from everyone who she told this story.

When they got home, her mother and father had managed to make the twins their best friends. Even Damien was opening up. Although they had to explain why he had never met or heard of his grandparents before now. It was a long discussion, but Damien understood. Lily was just being distant, but she did interact with the children, especially with Daphne. Matteo told their parents little things about the children that he had noticed in the past two days—not much at all.

They all had dinner together, and the children were tucked in bed in her old room, and Rosa would have loved to disappear with them, but a conversation had to happen; she had to tell her parents everything, from the start to the finish, and so she did. It just happened that they were shocked.

"I was quite surprised when I saw that my grandkids were 4 years old and that they looked familiar, but I would have never guessed you were pregnant when you left," Isabella said. Rosa just shrugged. She couldn't say anything more.

"So you ran away because you felt Sebastian didn't love you, and then you found out that you were pregnant and then hid his children, twins, for four years, and you are only back because we lied that Papa was sick?" Lily asked. It was a sarcastic question, but Rosa answered anyway. "Basically."

"Way to go, Rosa."

"I don't know what to say, Rosa. I don't like this at all. There were several ways this could have gone, but it wouldn't have gone this far. You legally can't keep his children from him. Sebastian doesn't deserve to be kept out of their lives," he said. It was all true. Rosa didn't even need to be told. She knew she had messed up.

"You are right."

Her father brought out his phone and started making a call. Rosa didn't understand what he was trying to do until the last minute, and then she began to panic.

"Sebastian, good evening. How are you doing? I need you at the house first thing tomorrow morning; we have something to discuss."

"Hmm, yes, I remember that. We will see tomorrow morning." Rosa felt like she was going to faint. Tomorrow morning, she was going to face Sebastian. How would she survive?