10 Congratulations

"You are a horrible friend," Daisy accused. Stella had returned home a week back. However, it was only today that Fred and Stefan had allowed her to receive visitors. "I was supposed to be your best maid. How could you do this? And Tom, he had been looking forward to being the best man since when the two were in college. Now we found out that you two are married when we overhear your uncle talking to your husband and that also in whispers as if it is a big secret!" she huffed.

Stella smiled sweetly. "It was safer if the least number of people knew about this marriage," she claimed.

"And why is that?" Daisy asked with irritation.

"There are several reasons. Firstly, Fred doesn't really love me. I arm-twisted him into marrying me by promising that no one other than him, I and the uncle who married us would know about it. Secondly, I married him under a lie. Thirdly, being his wife makes any woman the number one target for the Mafia. Even though he destroyed the Bartoli gang and turned all their business legit he is seen as a legend in some Mafia circles, mostly because of what he did. They see him as taking over the mafia but cleansing it in the process. Also, he is the heir apparent of the Mariposa gang. Their rival in the Italian mafia, Regnantes would do anything to find a weakness in his armour," Stella elaborated.

"But that means you are in danger now," Daisy deduced.

"I have been living under the same roof as him for years. Do you really think that the mafia believes that I am only his tenant? Reagan Adams threatened to seduce Bartoli to gain BLIC. She was a very dirty woman. I needed to protect Fred from her schemes. Being legally married was the exact shield that he needed," she explained.

"If this Adams didn't come into the picture would you have married Fred?" Daisy asked.

"No, I wouldn't have," Stella admitted.

Daisy came forward to give her a tight hug. No one paid attention to the soft footsteps outside as Frederick Bartoli retreated with the bowl of soup he was bringing to his wife. The last thing he heard as he walked down the steps were the muffled sobs of two women he cared for extremely.

"Why don't you ask Fred for a divorce, now that this Adams is gone? I believe he won't want to trap you in an unwanted marriage either," Daisy assured her after drying both their tears. Stella gave her a sad smile. "That is just it, Daisy. It is not unwanted to me and I would rather enjoy it while it lasts. I very well know that it won't be forever. But I AM MRS BARTOLI NOW. It's more than I have dreamed of in the last so many years. I won't let it go for anything unless Fred falls in love and asks me to free him. That is essentially what my nightmares are made of. That is what got me into the accident," Stella admitted the last part feebly.

"What got you into the accident? What nightmares do you have?" It was not Daisy who asked the question. Fred had returned with three bowls of soup instead of one.

"I didn't know you were home. Don't you have a company to run?" Daisy admitted.

"I have been working from home and I was in the kitchen making my wife's favourite soup. I brought you a bowl if you want," Fred stated curtly and then turned to Stella again. "What gives you nightmares Stella? What caused the accident?"

Fred noticed the colour fade from Stella's face. "Daisy, please take the soup and have it downstairs. I need to talk to my wife," Fred instructed. Daisy was startled at the tone he used because he was never this intense. She nodded, picked up a bowl from the tray and left. Then Fred sat down facing Stella.

"You are not to keep any secrets from me," he commanded. "Do you understand?" Stella nodded silently. Why was Fred talking this way? She wondered but she couldn't voice out her thought.

"Also, I am not going to force you into being married to me. But you have to understand one thing. If you choose to leave me we can't be friends anymore. So before you ask for divorce make sure you have someone to lean back on," he warned.

"What do you mean by 'lean back on'? Do you think I can't be on my own?" Stella asked with a spark Fred had grown to love.

"I meant emotionally. I did not mean socially or financially. Everyone needs someone. I have the guys and everything. But you have never truly opened up to anyone ever. I guess Daisy knows what, maybe one per cent of who you really are. I believe I know at least a quarter or more of the real you. I am privileged that you chose to be candid with me about your emotions. But all I am asking is that do not move away from me before you find your own Tom like Daisy found hers. I don't want to see you alone and lonely and I won't be able to see you once you have left me." Fred paused.

"Wait, why would I leave you?" Stella asked perplexed.

"I heard you talking to Daisy. I initially didn't notice her come and brought one bowl of soup for you. When I overheard you talking I went down to get the other two bowls. I know that you married me to save me from Adams' schemes and I can't thank you enough. But it wasn't necessary. I wouldn't have fallen for her. But I do not want to trap you in a marriage that you don't want. At the same time, letting you go is extremely difficult."

The last statement brought a smile to Stella's lips. "What if I told you that I don't want you to let go?" Fred looked up, his blue eyes sparkling with a joy he had not experienced before.

"I would be a very happy man," Fred said slowly, not believing his own ears.

"The nightmares I have, they are all about you," Stella continued, sobering him up.

"I understand. But I won't let anything happen to you. I am not leaving your side ever, till death do us apart," Fred insisted.

Stella smiled wider. "My security is not what my nightmares are about. I am scared because I may have fallen for my husband and every woman has her eyes on him," Stella said with a shy smile on her lips.

At her words, Fred's heart thudded loudly in his chest. He did not know what to reply to that. A poignant silence hung in the room until he finally brought his lips crashing down on his shocked wife.

When they separated they were both panting for breath. "Daisy is downstairs. We should wait for her to leave before consummating the marriage," Fred whispered to which Stella's already flushed face betrayed a crimson blush. She nodded silently with closed eyes before their ears picked up more voices downstairs.

"Can I come down? I am tired of being cooped up in this bed?" Stella asked Fred.

"Sure, and I will be moving your stuff back to my room by tomorrow," he promised with a peck on her swollen lips.

"Stop, Daisy will notice something." she insisted. Fred didn't find it in his heart to reveal how swollen her lips were and how flushed her face was from the kiss. He didn't mind anyone else noticed either. But as they descended the stairs the voices grew excited and then it became deathly quiet as Tom, Daisy, Andrew, Julia all gawked at them. That is when he noticed that the front of his shirt was mostly undone. He turned to his wife who was blushing from the same realization.

"CONGRATULATIONS," They all said excitedly at once. "It's about time," came a disinterested voice from the doorway. It was Rupert holding a bouquet of roses.