Chapter 68 - 67

After the family learned about what happened, Dimitri had instructed Gabriel to come to the hospital often to check on Aurora, in case she had other stalkers, or people just creating trouble for her. 

They had gotten rid of the doctor, and nobody said anything. But as news traveled around the hospital about Aurora's real identity, people had mixed feelings. Some people gave her special treatment, they let her cut in line at lunch or let her get on the elevator first, and some even greeted her like royalty. Then there was the other group that was rude to her and talked behind her back. 

People kept on apologizing to her a lot even when she bumped into them, or it was her mistake, which baffled her a lot. Why are they treating her extra special when her husband was just another rich businessman? True he owned the hospital, but that was not a reason to single her out. 

Now, she was more confused about who was really friendly and who was not.  Were they just doing it to please her and gain favor with her husband? This was the reason why she did not want everybody to know who she was connected to, but it was inevitable. 

"Hello, sister-in-law!' Gabe said as he entered her office.

"Hey Gabe, are you sick? Did you come to get checked?" she asked.

"Nah! Nobody's at home, so I thought I'd check on you," he said as he sat in one of the chairs.

'It's boring at home without Enzo. Sometimes he talks too much, but when he's gone, I miss him,' he says, trying to check out stuff on the other people's tables. 

"Well, I'm just typing up some reports, if you really want to hang out with me then feel free and make yourself comfortable. There's a bed in here too if you get sleepy,' Gabriel was not hard to like, he was very charismatic and friendly, and he flirted with all the women, all the time.

Gabriel sat there playing with his phone when one of the nurses came in to ask Aurora a question. She took one look at Gabriel, and suddenly Aurora had a steady stream of nurses who kept coming in to look for Aurora so they could get a glimpse of Gabe. 

The nurses blushed when Gabriel winked or smiled at them. Giggling in the hallways and gossiping with each other about how cute he was. 

Gabe just ignored them even though he could hear them clearly talking about him. He was there to guard Aurora, and that is what he was going to do. 

-=-

In school, Enzo was blending in well with his environment. He was a quick learner, and his EQ was way more advanced than his peers. He had been more friendly than when he started, he was not shy around the adults anymore, and kids would usually flock to where he was when it was time for playtime. 

He was more outspoken with his needs as well. Amusing all the teachers and staff because here was this small kid ordering them about like a little boss. 

There were a lot of extracurricular activities offered in the school after classes, and his parents had encouraged him to try each one until he found something that he wanted to stick with. One day he tried painting, which he was good at but got bored of it right away. He had tried singing and dancing, but both skills seemed to have escaped him. He also tried basketball, baseball, and soccer, but he was not really interested in running after the ball. 

Karate became his favorite activity. When he came home he would show his dad and uncle what he was learned at school. They were amused that at a young age, he wanted to learn self-defense. 

To entice him into learning more about it, his grandpa had told him the origin of Karate and its uses. But when he learned that all the men in the family knew self-defense he loved it even more.

From then on, he would copy what his Dad and Uncle Gabe ate for breakfast and dinner, surprising everybody because he gladly ate his fruits and vegetables. 

He had stopped playing with his stuffed toys and started playing with the engineering sets and robots that his Dad and Uncle had bought him.

Now that he was used to living in the Santoris household, he was picking up the men's mannerisms, as well. Before he used to be soft-spoken and mild-mannered when he lived with his mother, now he was more assertive and outspoken. He had also started walking more confidently with his back straight, imitating the way his dad walked when he wasn't looking. 

It was like subconsciously, he was absorbing the aura of the Alpha males in the house the more he spent time with them. He saw how his father talked to his subordinates, and that was how Enzo would talk to his playmates 

His speech patterns were less babyish as well. He was forming sentences better, still missing a word or two, but he now says them more confidently.

-=- 

After the incident, Dimitri made it a point to pick Aurora up every single day. Even if he still had a lot to do, he would pick her up and drop her off at home, then just go back to work if he needed to, and if he really couldn't then, he had Gabriel pick her up with the driver. 

Enzo came out of school with a broad smile on his face when he saw his parents waiting for him. He felt very happy because most days he would only see the driver at the gate to pick him up. His mom said that she was very busy at the hospital, that was why she couldn't come and get him.

He ran to where Aurora and Dimitri stood, squealing, "Mama! Dada!"

Aurora walked towards him, stopping him from running. 'Don't run, baby, be careful!'

"Mama!" he said while he hugged her legs. "Carry Enzo," he said as he stretched out his arms to her. How could she resist, he was so cute, so she carried her in his arms. "I missed you so much, baby!" she said as she kissed his little cheek. After what happened, she feared that she would never get to see him again. 

He surprised her by giving her more than one kiss, peppering her face with kisses as he held her neck very tightly. "Love you, mama!"

"No kisses for dada?" Dimitri asked.

"Come dada, carry Enzo!" he gestured with his outstretched little arms, and Dimitri gave in. And he peppered his father with kisses as well.

Enzo was so happy, this had always been his wish. To have a dad that would pick him up from school together with his mom.