By lunchtime the following morning, Sophia's head was still aching from a faint hangover. She was certainly dressed the part, in matching sweats, trainers and oversized sunglasses to hide the dark circles under her eyes, layered with a long coat and purse at her side. She hadn't slept very well last night at all, not with the days events constantly running circles in her mind. Even now, with a near empty coffee in her hands, she still felt exhausted.

She certainly hadn't planned to leave her apartment at all this morning, but Liliana's call had roused her from her den of self pity amongst her copious amount of pillows and blankets.

Now she was holding open the heavy door to a small birthing class for her extremely pregnant friend. It was safe to assume Sophia had never imagined herself at such an appointment before, but she had been weak against Liliana's begging for her attend. So here she was, mentally preparing herself for an hour of complete and utter boredom, all for her best friend.

When they were inside the small building - the centre of the room clear of furniture with only various yoga mats and cushions to sit on, and most of the class attendees that were already here stood by the far wall where there seemed to be an array of refreshments - Sophia was surprised to see Liliana's expression instantly harden, a scowl directed fiercely across the room towards a gaggle of giggling women.

"If that bitch doesn't keep her comments to herself today, I'm going to slap her so hard my palm will be permanently imprinted on her face."

Sophia felt a bubble of laughter build up at the abrupt statement as she shot Liliana an incredulous stare. Her friend was throwing a fierce glare across the room at a petite, auburn haired woman, one of the women giggling with a bunch of other heavily pregnant women.

"These baby hormones are making you awfully violent," Sophia teased. "What has the bitch done to earn our hatred?"

"She's always making sly comments about me coming to these classes by myself. Plus, she always has such a haughty look about her, like she thinks she's so much better than me. I have visions of smacking that smug expression off her face every time I come here."

Sophia's eyes narrowed, matching Liliana's glare across the room at the offending woman. She nodded firmly, uttering, "What a bitch."

Liliana hummed in agreement, a sour smile on her face as their presence was suddenly noticed by the other ladies of the class. Sophia watched as her friend painfully greeted them all with false politeness.

"Liliana what a pleasant surprise!" the bitch greeted cheerfully as she waddled over to them both. Sophia's glare didn't lift, even if Liliana was attempting to be civil.

"I come every week Julia, I'm not sure why it's a surprise," Liliana bit back, the same sour smile still on her lips, though there was definitely a challenge in her friend's eyes.

Bitchy Julia paused for only a second before dragging her eyes over to Sophia, as if only just noticing Liliana had company.

"And who is this? Your partner? Why we were beginning to think Liliana was lying about being married."

The sight of Liliana pulsing with fury as she stared daggers at Julia was all too funny, but Sophia schooled her expression, her glare only deepening.

"No, I'm not the husband I'm afraid," Sophia drawled, allowing her eyes to scan Julia distastefully. She could play the bitch just as well as the best of them, and if this was the game Julia had decided to play with Liliana, she was more than happy to join in. "My cousins a very important, powerful man you see. Lot's of responsibilities."

"Oh, I don't know how I'd cope if I wasn't a priority to my husband. My Ken comes to all the classes and all the appointments," the woman gestured behind her to where a cluster of men stood chatting. Sophia assumed one of them had to be Ken though but from the looks of them all she was not impressed.

Sophia suddenly understood Liliana's desire to hit this woman, she was about two seconds away from attacking her herself, especially when she noticed Liliana's suddenly less than confident stance and her damp eyes.

It was all bullshit of course, whatever nonsense bitchy Julia uttered to her every class; Sophia had never seen a man more in love with his wife than Mercello, and the fact that Julia was implying Liliana wasn't a priority in her husband's life was laughable. But with her body pumped full of crazy pregnancy hormones, Liliana was more than a little sensitive to most things, and it seemed Julia's words had gotten to her.

"Well I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you Julia, but it's not, and I'm bored of this conversation, so if you wouldn't mind..." pissing off you wretched bitch.

Julia wasn't at all fazed by Sophia's words, seeming rather pleased with herself that she had managed to upset Liliana. Without a goodbye, she smugly joined her friends once again.

"Don't let her get you Lil'," Sophia huffed. "She's clearly one of those women that gets off on putting other's down and I have her feeling her whole life is centred around the fact that she has a husband to rub in other people's faces."

Still her friend looked so dejected, like a sad little puppy, and Sophia didn't know what else to say to cheer her up. Thankfully Liliana's mood seemed to brighten up somewhat throughout the class, especially when they were doing the birthing exercises and Sophia had decided to fully commit to her role as Mercello, declaring her love for Liliana in increasingly soppy ways in a deep voice, and in Italian of course. Soon she had her friend giggling like mad.

But it was when the class had ended and all the mother's to be were gathering their things and chatting to one another that Liliana really brightened up. The bell on the door rang and the room was rendered rather quiet as Mercello's large form entered the room. Liliana wasted no time in rushing towards her husband, a beaming smile gracing her lips – though when eight months pregnant, rushing meant walking at a usual pace with a heavy waddle.

"Amore mio," he greeted, welcoming her into his arms with a kiss that definitely cemented his affections for her.

"What are you doing here?" Liliana asked, cheeks flushed.

"Sophia texted me." Mercello met her gaze above his wife's head and nodded in her direction. Sophia couldn't help but shoot a smug smirk over at Julia, who was watching the exchange between Liliana and Mercello with a scowl. "She said you were having a difficult time. Who do I need to talk to?"

"Mer, no. Thank you, but no," Liliana muttered back quickly, still smiling up at her husband with that ridiculous grin of hers. "Thank you for coming, but I'd very much like to leave now."

Sophia didn't feel an ounce of shame as she firmly presented her middle finger towards the gaping gaggle of pregnant women, staring right at Julia, and following the doting couple out of the birthing class.

***

The couple quickly left the building, stepping onto the busy New York street without so much as a glance back at the gaping women staring after them. Sophia was hot on their heels, ready to bid her goodbyes so she could return home and crawl back into the warmth of her bed, only to stop short when - beneath the dark visors of her sunglasses - she caught the eye of Giovanni.

A groan was quick to pull from her lips, and the towering man didn't bother to hide his smirk, clearly enjoying her frustration. She was infinitely thankful that he couldn't see her eyes as, behind the shades, they scoured every available inch of him.

He looked delicious.

His thick, dark hair had been combed back, his face clean shaven as usual to highlight his ridiculously strong jaw, and his suit... The dark pinstripe material fitted every angle of his body to perfection. She tried to drag her eyes away, she really did, but it was so impossibly hard to even remember her own name when he looked that good.

"Sophia?" The soft voice of Liliana cut through the dangerous fog that had clouded Sophia thoughts. "You coming?" She asked, a frown pulling at her brows, as she eyed her friend, no doubt concerned for her considering Giovanni's presence. Liliana knew too well of the difficulties that plagued Sophia's past with Giovanni, and she knew just how much trying it could be for her to be in his presence at times.

Except today she seemed to be having the exact opposite reaction to him.

"I'm going to head back home, I think," Sophia rejected instead, watching as Liliana's eyes darted hesitantly towards Giovanni.

"You sure you don't want to join us for lunch?" The younger woman asked, though there was clear understanding in her gaze. She wouldn't fight it if Sophia insisted on departing.

"I-" Sophia's stomach growled quietly to itself, enough so that no one else would have heard. She hadn't eaten anything all day, perfectly content to have wallowed to herself all day without the reprieve of food or drink - as if to punish herself. She knew if she returned home now she would only resort once again to such depressing actions.

Sophia was strong; she was over Giovanni and determined to prove such. She could survive one lunch with him, especially if his presence was diluted with that of Mercello and Liliana. She wouldn't be so weak to admit just how much he effected her. His ego certainly needed no feeding.

"Okay. Sure. Where are we going?" She conceded, distinctly aware of the heavy feeling settling in her stomach that assured her the decision she had just made was bound to be a mistake.

***

Giovanni hadn't for a single second considered turning down Mercello's invitation to join him in meeting Liliana and Sophia for lunch.

He didn't speak to Mercello about personal matters - he wasn't sure anyone ever spoke to Mercello about personal matters, except perhaps his wife - so he couldn't be sure whether the invitation he extended was merely because Giovanni had been working beside him all morning, or because he knew of Giovanni's desire to reconcile with Sophia.

Even yesterday, after all that had transpired in Mercello's office, his older brother hadn't once asked about the fraught relationship between Sophia and himself. Whatever Mercello knew of the situation would be down to however much Liliana had deigned to inform him. His older brother was a very private man, and as such he offered others just as much privacy

Regardless of Mercello's possible intentions, any gratitude he felt towards his eldest brother was immensely deserved, especially as he laid eyes on Sophia that day. Half her face seemed to be hidden behind a large pair of sunglasses, her body hidden beneath thick layers of clothes and yet he still felt that tinge of elation at the sight of her.

Utterly gorgeous, as she was every time he saw her. Even in her matching designer sweats, and trainers she still managed to appear stylish and sophisticated. Hell, she could wear anything and still he would be proud to be seen with her.

Giovanni knew he dressed well, took care of his figure and cared more than his other brothers about his public appearance, he always had. How could he not, when from his late teenage years he was dating a Goddess such as Sophia? As he was proud to be seen with her, he wanted her to be proud to be seen with him. He wanted to be a man that deserved to be with her without question.

As such he was confident in himself - in his appearance, his personality, his mind. He was comfortable with himself and who he was to know that he needn't be self conscious or feel unworthy of her love.

Just as she was enough for him, he could be enough for her.

He just needed to convince her of such.