The Reverence of a Man on Fire (BOOK II)

BONUS CHAPTER #1

--Giovanni POV--

"Theodore Romano, get your little ass back here this instance," I ordered the 7-month-old child who was currently having the time of his life in refusing to change his nappy. He's recently learned how to crawl, and that was the first step towards disaster since he can't sit still.

"I don't think anyone needs to ask to know where you get your personality from, honestly, why are you like this?" I grumbled to myself, leaning forward on the bed as I grabbed his leg before pulling him back towards me, but just as he was about to turn around again, I handed him one of his mother's hair bows.

"Here, play with this for a bit," I sighed, continuing in my task as he giggled himself away to oblivion, something I couldn't bother doing anything against.

I was supposed to be at work, but here I am wrestling with my son instead. And thankfully, having learnt from past mistakes, I made sure to take my suit jacket off this time, rolling the sleeves of my white shirt up to my elbows and tucking my tie into my waistcoat. I was, without a doubt, unprepared for father-life, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it.

This child, Theodore Romano, is my son. A mix of both me and my beloved wife, who, might I mention, took every opportunity she could to avoid nappy duty, now being one of those many instances.

"Say, what do you think your dear mama is up to right now, Theo?" I asked, finally finishing with the job as I went to pull his trousers back on.

He gurgled his reply as I hummed in response, nodding my head before picking him up in my arms as he reached out for my face, something he seemed to like messing around with, and this is one of the main reasons on why I refuse to grow a beard.

As he played around in my arms for a bit, my eyes glanced over the pictures that sat on the cabinet on the side of our room, pictures of my precious family; My son, and my wife, these two people who make me complete, she made me a husband, and he made me a father, and I swore that I will wear those titles with pride.

From the simple sight of our family pictures, a smile was able to crawl onto my face. 

And to think that there was once a time where I thought smiling was a waste of time, those days seem so far away now, and not just far away, but rather, impossible. Because smiling was automatic now, I had no control.

"You know what, I'm sure my secretary can keep control of things at work for a while. In the meantime, shall we go see what your mother is up to?" He clearly had no idea what I said, but nevertheless, I took his giggling as a sign of agreement, and without further ado, changed him into a more fitting outerwear.

Strapping him into his baby carrier at my front, I made sure he was secure before heading down to my waiting car.

"Sir, you're taking Mr. Theodore with you to work?" Our head butler, Eduardo, who liked to go by Ed, asked as he caught me about to leave the house, looking like he just exited the kitchen.

"Why are you assuming that I'm going to work?" I asked.

"Am I wrong?"

"Yes,"

"Ah, then you are going to the flower shop?" He worked to hide a smile off his wrinkled face, and I smirked at him, not needing to say anything for him to get his answer.

"We'll be back by dinner," Was all I said as I left the mansion, and he came to stand by the front door, watching me head off as I strapped Theo into the car seat, going to sit at the driver's seat a moment later, and didn't forget to nod goodbye to the butler before I drove off.

After moving to Italy, Aurora handed her flower business over to her best friend, Petra, and started a new branch here in Rome where she spent a lot of her time, and thanks to her love for flowers, our conservatory at home looked more like a jungle than anything else.