Saturday, September 8th, 2017

Val's POV

The plane landed safely in Naples. I sent a mass text to everyone to let them know we made it safely.

"Val, before we step off this plane, you need to calm down. You almost broke the handle off your seat."

"Sorry, Dominic but hearing that name and that I have a daughter still makes me angry. I remember the day Rosaria stabbed me in the heart. I took her to my favorite park in Tuscany. The sun was shining bright and I prepared myself to propose."

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Flashback

"It is a beautiful sunset Rosa. And, there is a reason I brought you here. Rosa, will you........"

"Let me stop you right there. See Valentino, I came up here to break up with you."

"You what?!"

"I said I am breaking up with you. And, no, I am not dating anyone else. I'm just tired of being in a relationship with you. Goodbye, Valentino. Have a nice life!"

End of flashback

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"There I stood defeated, crushed, hurt, broken, etc. Every word that described hurt, I felt it. I just stood there in the thunder and rain thinking: 'What did I do?' I would joke around a lot, but not when it came to Rosaria. About an hour later, I left to go home."

"I absolutely did not care that I was soaking wet. I moped for several months. I tried to contact her almost every day, but no answer. After 4 months, I gave up and moved on with my life. Rosaria is going to tell me today why she did what she did. Hearing Guila say Rosaria telling her I was dead hurts just as much. I am alive and well, Dominic."

"Listen, Val, anyone would be hurt after hearing they had a child they didn't know about. But, you have Guila now. Guila now has you, and you have her. Focus on the now relationship that you have. And, you have your relationship with Alyshea, along with Cocoa, Leilani, and Lalita."

"You're right. But I still want answers. Let's get off this plane and to our hotel."

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"At least she provided a nice house for Guila."

"Valentino, remember to think of Guila, Alyshea, Cocoa, Leilani, and Lalita. Ricardo, has Val always been hotheaded?"

"Hey, Dominic, I heard that!"

Ricardo had the nerve to answer, "Since birth."

I just rolled my eyes at both of them as I banged on the door, hard.

"I'm coming, for goodness sake!" I heard Rosaria say. When she opened the door, her mouth was wide open.

I sure did march right in the house. "Long time no see Rosaria. Now start talking!!! I had an upset 18-year-old Guila knocking on my door in the United States, crying because you lied and told her I was dead! Well, Rosaria D'Amato, as you can see I am alive and well!!"

"How do I break it to you? Hmm, let me put it this way, It was a bet."

Dominic, Ricardo, and I stared at each other. "It was a what?!"

"That's right, I said it. Did I stutter?"

I am about 2 seconds from choking the life out of her. "Ricardo, let's switch places before this is a murder scene."

"Well, it started out as a bet. My friend Simona and I wanted to see which one of us could seduce you or Ricardo. The goal was to find information that we could use to close your winery. It all started back in January 1999, the night that your father received the Winery of the Year award for 1998. The owners of all of the big wineries were there. Emiliano Calabro was there too. Mario Alesini was also there."

"That's right. I remember that night. Eliana and I could not make it. Cam and Tosca was 5 at the time and in school," Dominic chimes in.

(Flashback will be in Rosaria's POV. The first part of each sentence is in Italian.)

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"Look at Valentino and Ricardo Toscano. They are two hot brothers," Simona suggests.

"Ho visto meglio. (I have seen better.)"

Simona - "Sei pazzo. (You're crazy.) Sono due dei scapoli pi ammissibili in Italia. (They are two of the most eligible bachelors in Italy.)"

"Allora perch non cerchi di datarli? (Then why don't you try to date them?) Uno, sono i miei concorrenti della cantina con la mia famiglia. (One, they are winery rivals with my family.) E due, non mi importa niente. (And two, I don't care for them at all.)"

Simona - "Non mi importa niente, ma scommetto che sono in camera da letto. (I don't care for them either, but I bet they are great in the bedroom.) Facciamo una scommessa. Primo per farli vincere nella camera da letto. (Let's make a bet. First one to get them in the bedroom wins.)

"E qual il premio? (And what is the prize?)"

Simona - "Vediamo, che cosa la cosa che le nostre famiglie desiderano di pi? (Let's see, what is the one thing our families want the most?)"

"Vogliamo chiudere la cantina Toscano e riprenderla. (We want to close down the Toscano winery and take it over.) Ma come chiuderebbe la loro cantina? (But how would that close down their winery?) E la mia famiglia mi avrebbe negato se avessero scoperto di essere in rapporto con un Toscano. (And my family would disown me if they found out I was in a relationship with a Toscano.)

Simona - "Basta pensare, facendo questo, le nostre famiglie possono finalmente essere al top nell'industria del vino. (Just think, by doing this, our families can finally be on top in the wine industry.)

"Inizio partita. (Game on.)"

(End of flashback)

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Valentino's POV

Rosaria - "So that night, we put our plan in motion. Neither one of you knew what our last names were, but we knew yours. Simona chose Ricardo and I chose Valentino. We had to properly introduce ourselves first before we could seduce you. Over the next few months, Simona and Ricardo started dating. And Valentino and I started dating."

My mother taught me to never raise a hand to a woman. Too bad she is not here to smack the mess out of Rosaria. Every word she continues to say makes me angrier than I was before.

Rosaria - "Simona tried so many times to seduce Ricardo. But it didn't work."

"No wonder she would ask me all of those questions. You're right, it didn't work," Ricardo says.

Rosaria - "So she gave up and broke up with you Ricardo. So I forged ahead with my seduction plan. I gained Valentino's trust, but like Ricardo, it was hard to get information out of him. So one day, at the beginning of June 1999, I invited Valentino over to my house for dinner.
One thing led to another. And before the night was over, I was able to lead him to my room."

Rosaria - "Valentino, I will tell you this. That was the best night of lovemaking that I ever had. You really know how to please a woman. But the fact remains that your last name is Toscano. About 4 weeks later, I went to the doctor's office. And I got the news that I feared the most - pregnancy."

Rosaria - "I was devastated because it was not supposed to go that far. My family could never know that this happened. So on that day, I decided to move away. There was no way I could tell my parents that I got myself pregnant by Valentino Toscano. Who knows what they would have done. I left Tuscany and moved here to Naples the next day after you took me to Greco Park. So I could no longer go ahead with my plans. Guila ruined what Simona and I had planned."

"Have you lost your mind?! The both of you used me and my brother for a bet to keep our winery from being number one?! To add to that you get pregnant, blame Guila for ruining your plans, and tell her I am dead!! Do you want to know the reason I took you took Greco Park?! I had an engagement ring in my pocket to propose to you!"

"I never loved you or cared for you, Valentino. The only thing we ever wanted was the power and money that your family had. I resented Guila more and more each day because she was a Toscano."

"So, why the heck didn't you just give her to me?! You never cared about her or me!"

"Because she was still my ticket to your family's money."

"But, you told her I died, and even put it on the birth certificate she showed me."

"Oh that, I had that doctored up. It's not her real birth certificate. I told you I had to hide my pregnancy from my parents."

"Did it ever occur to you that you could have told me about Guila? Do you even have any remorse?! I would have been more than happy to raise her by myself!! And she would have been surrounded by a family who loves her very much!! You ruined the first 18 years of her life!! You are nothing but a selfish, gold-digging witch!!!"

"How could you do that to her?!" Dominic added.

"If you weren't already married at the time, Dominic, you were on the list if Simona and I didn't succeed with the Toscano Brothers."

I sure did get in Rosaria's face. "From this day on, don't EVER come near Guila again or any of my family! You don't want to go to court. She will forever be surrounded by a family who adores her. Dominic, Ricardo, let's get out of here!"

"He means it Rosaria. If it is a battle you want, then it is a battle you will get."

After Ricardo spoke, we left Rosaria's house. I need to go back to America fast.

Rosaria's POV

Then the battle has begun.

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Cocoa's POV

Guila, Cam, Tosca, Lei, Lalita and I were in Val's pool, relaxing from a week of school.

"How was your first day at University, Guila?"

"Well, it definitely was an experience. I had several boys following behind me, and I'm guessing it was because of my accent. I had some girl named Bryce try to start trouble. There was a girl at university that I have seen in Italy before. I heard her talking about you Cam. She was talking about how Cocoa stole you from her."

Cam was not happy. "Guila, stay away from her. That is Giovanna. She seems to think that because we knew each other when we were kids that she should be with me, not Cocoa."

"Guila, stay away from Bryce and her crew too. If she bothers you, let us know. She wanted to be with Cam too."

"Thanks, Cam and Cocoa."

"Kids, dinner is ready! And, Val, Dominic, and Ricardo are on the plane, flying back home."

"Thanks, mom!"

We got out of the pool and made our way inside for dinner.

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Narrator's POV

The fellas made it back to the U.S. safely.

Val told everyone, word for word, what Rosaria said. The family was furious!

Guila did all she could to convince Val to have the DNA test taken. After what Rosaria told Val, he knew for sure that Guila was his daughter, but for their sanity, they agreed to have the test taken.

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Monday, September 10th, 2017

Guila's POV

"Thank you, Cocoa for the ride to the hospital. My dad is meeting me at the front door. I really hope he is my dad. All my mother did was lie to me."

"You're welcome, Guila. Don't worry yourself. Guila, I apologize for what I am about to say. But, your mother never truly cared about you. All she wanted was money. From Val, my mom, Nonno Luc, Emiliano, Nonna Donatella, Aida, Cam, myself, and everyone else, we care about you. You will always feel loved in our family. I think you and I will even be sisters soon. Lei, Lalita, Leilani and I will always have your back."

"Cocoa, you don't have to apologize because I always got that impression from my mother. That's why I searched for my father. And, thank you. I love you all too. I really do because I finally have what I always wanted - a family filled with love."

We pulled up to the front of the hospital. And, there was my dad, waiting for me. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow."

I grabbed my bag and got out of Cocoa's SUV. She waved to dad before pulling away.

"You know we don't have to do this."

"Yes, we do because I don't ever want you to have any doubt." We walked inside the hospital.

"Guila, that won't happen. I already know you are my daughter without a blood test. But, I will do it."

Once inside, we checked in at the reception desk. We were told which floor to go to, so we found the elevator and made our way to our appointment.

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"Doctor Wallace, when will we get the results back?" My dad asked.

"Our lab here at the hospital can get the results by the end of the week. Did you want to come in or should I mail them?"

"We'll come in to get them. If we can come the same time, that would be perfect," dad answered.

"That is fine. I'll have the results waiting for you in a yellow envelope. Do either of you have any questions?"

"No questions at this time. Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Dad and I left the room, then made our way to the elevator to leave the hospital.

"How about a father and daughter dinner?"

"Sounds good to me."

Now here comes the hard part - waiting until Friday.

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