A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Alena

The sliding door was slightly ajar and I knew both of us had locked it whenever we went inside. We never left any of the doors unlocked especially after what happened with his ex-wife, we didn't want to risk anything. A little mishap could put both of us in danger. I stayed still at my spot as I held tightly onto my phone, making my way towards the sliding door.

My heart was beating faster with every step I took, afraid if something or someone had entered the house while we were gone. I slowly closed the sliding door before locking it and immediately turned to look around the living room, trying to see if there was anything different.

I went to press onto Matteo's name on my phone, trying to ring him.

The line did ring for a few seconds before it went straight to voicemail.

I felt as if someone was watching me but I couldn't tell where it came from. I went ahead to check the front door and the other doors as well, incase they were unlocked but they perfectly locked. I also checked the windows and they were fine.

I was probably paranoid about what happened today during lunch and I couldn't stop thinking as if he followed me home. If that was the cause or maybe he had already came to our house when it was empty.

I sent a quick text message

to my

husband:

'Come home please. I'm scared.'

The text message was simple but it was enough to rush him home if he could check his phone. He had told me about having a meeting and I knew he was probably busy but if he was able to see the notification, he was going to rush home. I never wanted to make him worry when it came to my safety but it wasn't the right time to be selfish for now-I was pregnant and this wasn't just about me anymore, it involved the safety of our unborn baby.

Without further ado, I ran up the stairs and straight into our bedroom. I locked the door behind me and went to the bed, staying still as I stared at the door. I was paying attention to my surroundings if I could hear something but everything was quiet, not even a single strange noise could be heard.

I didn't realise how long I had been staring at the door or how long I had stayed in the same position but I wasn't bothered to think about anything else. As long as I was alone and safe, I only needed to wait for Matteo to come home. My phone had beeped a few times and I went to look at the screen.

There were a few missed calls from Matteo which didn't went through because it didn't ring earlier. I stared at the screen for a few seconds before I went to press onto his name, ringing him back-he was probably driving on the way home. My eyes widened as soon as I heard his phone ringing from the hallway.

"Alena?" He called out, "Where are you?"

I immediately jumped down from the bed and went to the door unlocking it before pulling it open. Matteo was standing by the stairs with his phone in his hand. Then, he ran towards me, wrapping his arms around my body in a hug.

Tears began to fall down my cheeks as I realised my body was trembling. I was shaking in fear for the past few minutes until he came home and I didn't even notice that. I felt like I could finally breathe again after being in his embrace; he made me feel safe. "Shh, it's okay, I'm right here, he whispered.

ww.

I snuggled closer, inhaling his cologne.

After a few minutes, he pulled apart and went to cup my face. Both of his eyes were staring into mine for a little while, trying to get a better look at me-he was worried if something had happened and he was a little bit too late. Luckily for the both of us, nothing had happened and we had survived another day.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, frowning.

I nodded, "I'm okay."

"I came home as fast as I could. I'm really sorry,"

"Don't be. You're here now,"

"What's wrong, baby? Why are you scared?"

"The sliding door in the living room was unlocked."

"What?"

I nodded a few times, grabbing onto his hand. "I just got home and I saw that it was unlocked. I was really scared because I was alone and you weren't here with me. I had imagined the worst,"

He pulled me in again, this time resting his chin on my head. "I'm sorry, baby."

"But Matteo, the door was unlocked."

""I'll call Luca now,"

Matteo had went to call Luca, asking him to come over immediately. Afterwards they began to speak in Italian and I went ahead to sit on the bed, wanting to relax after what happened. The phone call didn't take him long and after a few minutes, he was joining me on the bed. We were sitting next to each other as he grabbed onto my hand.

"I'll have him to check the cameras. He has access to them," he added.

"Great. Is he on his way?"

He nodded, "Yes. He'll be here in a few more minutes,"

I layed my head on my husband's shoulder and we stayed like that for a few minutes. It didn't matter as long as I was near him. I could feel calm just by sitting beside him-it didn't matter if we weren't even speaking. We appreciated our quiet times.

Matteo and I walked down the stairs when Luca had arrived. I was waiting in the living room when Matteo went ahead to open the door for him. Luca stepped inside the house with a laptop in his hand, immediately placing it on the coffee table in the living room. He went on to type a few things on the laptop before displaying something.

"So, what is it? Did someone break in?" Matteo asked, looking at the screen.

"Is everything else still in place?"

Inodded, "Nothing moved."

"Weird. The security footage was unavailable for the past two hours."

2 2.

"What? So, you can't check what happened?"

Luca shook his head, "I can only the security footage after you got home."

"That's impossible. We never had this problem before,"

"Did we have a power shortage or something?" Matteo asked, frowning.

"There was something wrong with the cameras but I don't think it was related to any power shortage. I'm guessing the cameras were hacked temporarily," he replied.

"Then, he must've got into the system." My husband muttered under his breath before he went to pace back and forth. He was beginning to worry as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to take a deeper breath.

"Fuck, he's really good." Luca added.

"How can he enter the system,

Luca?"

"I-I don't know. That wasn't supposed to be possible," he replied.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

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I kept quiet as I stayed still, trying to calm myself down. After the first encounter at the café, we hadn't been safe. He was showing up in front of me more frequently and he was doing it all on purpose, to scare me off. He was probably watching us right now as we spoke. "Do you think he can watch us now?" I asked, looking at the camera.

Luca and Matteo turned to look at me. It didn't take Luca long to disable the security footages and shut them down as a safety measure. If he had hacked the system, he could always watch us from the security cameras, it was safer to disable them. This way, he wasn't able to see what we were doing.

"Now they can't see us and we can't see what happens when we're not home," Matteo said.

"We don't have a choice. It's better if they can't see us," Luca replied.

"I have something to say," I interrupted.

Both Matteo and Luca began to look at me, waiting for me to continue. I blinked a few times as I took a deeper breath, trying to be ready for the words to come out of my mouth.

Matteo made his way towards me before grabbing onto my hand after he saw how much I was struggling. He had sat beside me for support, waiting for me as I took my time. Luca, on the other hand, looked at the both of us.

"It's okay, you can tell us." Matteo whispered, rubbing onto the back of my hand.

"I saw him today,"

"What? Where?"

"It was during lunch and I saw him there. He was just staring at me,"

"Did he come near you?"

"No, no, he just stood there for a little while before he disappeared. I don't know where he went but I didn't see him again after that." I continued to speak, "The way he stared at me was to show how much he wanted to scare me. He did it on purpose. I could tell," "He's getting braver to show up in front of you," Luca muttered.

"But he keeps showing up when Alena is alone. He knows when she's alone," Matteo said.

ww.

I shook my head as I turned to look at my husband, "What do I do? I'm really scared."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier, baby? It happened during lunch

"I wanted to tell you but something happened at work and I got really busy. It had slipped my mind until I got home and I saw the door was unlocked. Then, it all came to me about what happened and how terrified I was," I replied.

Matteo continued to rub onto my back as he went to kiss my temple, trying his best to calm me down. It was going to take a few more hours for me to be completely calm but he was being very helpful-I knew he was probably going to run a warm bath after Luca left. One of the things he loved doing to calm me down.

"It's okay. You're safe now," he replied.

"But for how long? He knows where I work."

"You wouldn't like what I have to say, Alena."

I frowned, "I know what you want to say."

"I don't have the heart to say it to you,"

I stood up before taking a few steps back.

Matteo was going to forbid me from going to work after what happened. He was going to make sure I stayed at home with supervision or I had to follow him around. If I didn't agree to any of that, he was probably going to stay home and keep me safe. "It's for your own good, Alena."

I kept quiet as I looked at them.

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