One month later

Amethyst was lying on her bed under her soft blanket listening to her brother talking about his school day. It was a typical evening. It had been almost one month ever since she had woken up from her coma. She wasn't as confused as she was before. Slowly everything was making sense and she was learning what had happened. When she had first woken up she was in too much shock and all she knew was the need to give her mother a hug who was crying. It was her instinct. They had missed her and she could feel they were sad. Then they had brought her home. Nurses and doctors had taken care of her non stop explaining her situation slowly and introducing her to food as well as helping her to get used to walking. Ice cream and soup was all she ate mostly at first because her stomach wasn't used to food and she didn't feel very hungry either since they gave her nutrition through injections and serums.

Now Amethyst was slowly getting back to the habit of having light food and going for short walks. She still ate in her bed and rested in bed spending her time reading and greeting visitors. Her mother and brother alongside her grand parents dropped by in her room alot... Her father also came to see her frequently every night with a gift. Every single night he bought her something new for her to add to her collection in her room that hardly had space for anything else now. Her father had ordered new furniture, new clothing, new equipment and anything she used to have for her. According to Andreas, all her old belongings which was the reminder of her coma was all burnt down at the site of the hospital where she had spent one year. Her father had burnt the place down and had interrogated and tortured every single doctor and nurse. He had in the end reluctantly let go of the doctors he had captured. Her uncle Francesco had done a lot of interfering to save her uncle Pietro and all Rosario guards. She was happy everything was going back to normal. She also was glad her twin still told her everything and trusted her. Andreas wasn't meant to tell her half the things he said. But they had no secrets. Amethyst was aware of everything around her and her mother had raised her to be observant and accepting of who she was and who her family were.

Andreas picked up one of her books from her library " Have you finished reading this? Can I borrow it? I need it for a school project..."

Amethyst smiled "Sure. Since when do you ask?"

Andreas shrugged as he flipped through the pages " Since dad comes and checks your room every night. He will kill me if you complain to him I take your stuff...."

Amethyst sighed " I am sorry... I hope I can recover in the next few weeks so I can come to school and ... go to the prom,., How can I catch up for one year of absence?"

Andreas sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed as he held the book in his hand " Come on. You are ahead of the class because of last year's private tuition. Mother is recruiting the best tutors to help you complete content of two years so you won't have to repeat the year. I will help you... School should be least of your worries..."

Amethyst nodded and whispered " I know... I am sorry. I shouldn't worry about that... I should worry about mum and dad... What if they get a divorce? What are we going to do?"

Andreas assured her " They won't separate amethyst... What makes you think that?"

Amethyst sounded sad " They never have come to see me together. Mum and dad can't be in the same room for so long. You only see them together st dinner time. Right? They never even go out.., Dad is mad at mum and it's ... all my fault...."

Andreas shook his head vigorously " Don't... don't ever say that.... Father would forgive mom one day. It takes time..."

Amethyst asked " Do you see them together except at dinner time?"

Andreas shrugged " I can't know. I am grounded. Remember. I am only allowed in my room and yours of course. Then at meal times I see our parents. That's about it. Unless dad takes me to his business meetings I can't see anyone or anything else except the walls in my room and yours...."

Amethyst spoke " At least you go to school so only weekends are hell. Right? How long are you grounded for?"

Andreas stated " Indefinitely. I have no idea and I don't dare ask. Father would add to its length if I ask... Mother said it's until Christmas... But I am not that optimistic,.."

Amethyst gasped " What? ... Father can't ground you for that long..."

Andreas stated " Its longer than that I am sure. But don't worry. At least the other guys are not going out much either. Scorpius told me his uncle Ambrogio is destroying him every day. He has to wake up early and he is also grounded like I am. Vitale also can't go out because his father is worried he may get himself into some kind of trouble maybe on Agostini territory that he likes to trespass into and no one wants dad to be further annoyed with Rosarios."

Amethyst asked " I wish everything was normal."

Andreas smiled " We will get there. Don't worry. Just try to recover. You are doing well. You can walk longer distances and you are eating better. You are getting there. When you recover then dad won't be so mad...."

Andreas then stood up " I should go. I have some writing to do..."

Amethyst asked " You haven't finished your homework yet?"

Andreas chuckled " I do my homework at the school library at lunch times and break times... This is for dad... I have been given some apology letters to write as part of my punishments..."

Amethyst frowned " Didn't you write apology letters before?"

Andreas nodded " I am writing one every night. Dad rips them up after reading them the next morning every time I hand one to him. They are not good enough and apology is not accepted. I wrote ten pages last night. when I gave it to him this morning, dad ripped it up. He then forced me to sit down and stick the pieces together. He then threw the ten page letter in the fire place after I spent ages sticking the tiny pieces together. He told me when I waste his time he likes to waste my time too. I keep apologising for my crimes and he hasn't forgiven me but he might one day if you get better..."

Amethyst felt saddened and muttered "I am sorry Andreas... I hope dad forgives you soon...". She didnt like to see her brother in trouble. She knew he had disobeyed their father a few times in the past few weeks to be treated so harshly. She had never been grounded in her life. She never gave her father a reason to ground her. She never got into trouble.

Andreas smiled " See you later..." He then walked away

Just then, Amethyst spoke "Can I see mum?"

Andreas turned and shook his head " It's one of the orders by doctors not to overwhelm you with people in this room... Its better if we leave you in peace to rest as often as we can so we come see you once a day unless its totally necessary to see you more often..."

Amethyst sighed " But I want to tell mum good night. Its not enough I only see her in the mornings... She doesnt even come with me to go for a walk... The nurses take me..."

Andreas spoke " If you fall ill while she is here, then you will get mum into trouble... Your body is still recovering. The day the doctors let you go to school then it goes back to normal.. You need o rest and take it easy.. You are in shock and need time and space... But to tell you the truth, mum is lucky she is even allowed to see you. Dad is mad at her. I know she is not forgiven yet..."

Amethyst's lips trembled "What is dad hurts mum because of me?... What if they divorce and dad doesnt let us see her??? It would be my fault..."

Andreas walked to his sister "Shh... Dont talk like that... Nothing is your fault... Dad is mad at mum and he has his reasons... Mum shouldnt have given consent to your operation when you could die... Dad was looking for alternative treatments at the time that didnt risk your life.. Mum just couldnt take it anymore so she consented... She thought she was going to lose you anyways so what was the point of not consenting... Dad is mad at mum but when you recover he may forget or rather I hope..."

Amethysts whispered " I hope they make up... I wish I hadnt fallen off the balcony...What was I thinking?... I am lucky I am in one piece..."

Andreas smiled "Exactly... You are lucky you are in one piece... By the way you have some cards from the kids in school... I forgot to bring them... "

Amethyst shook her ehad "Don't bring the cards if they are from boys... Dad would kill them..."

Andreas smiled " Sure... I will be back with the cards..." He then walked out

As Andreas walked towards his room, his heart broke at seeing his mother sitting alone n the kitchen having coffee... His father avoided his mother... They were having meals at the table but that wall the only contact and they didnt talk much... He hoped his father forgave their mother one day..."

Anna looked at her son who gave her a polite nod as he walked past the kitchen. She was so proud of her son and also of her daughter. They were so mature for their age... They had handled everything so well.. She had played god with her daughter's life and she welcomed any punishment for that. She didnt regret it. She would have done it again in aheart beat. She just couldnt watch helplessly how her little girl's life was numbered. She couldnt watch her on life support. She trusted O'Connor when he said his treatment was the only treatment that had a chance. She went wth his words at a huge cost. O'Connor was still in hospital recovering. He only lived because of Francesco. He was well known to Arturo as the man who loved Adele one day. Arturo may have been too furious and would have wanted nothing more than to kill O'Connor for daring to touch his daughter with his operation knife without his consent but Arturo had saved his rage. Francesco as an enemy could endanger their children. Francesco loved his wife more than he loved anything and anyone else. Francesco had allowed Michael to live because he didnt want Adele to mourn him so Arturo had managed to let it go when his daughter had survived. if she hadnt he would have executed the team of doctors starting with their leader, O'Connor.

Anna finished her coffee and made her way out of the kitchen. She walked to her bedroom and entered. She got changed into her night dress but then hesistaed to go to bed. She couldnt endure this anymore. She couldnt go on another night without Arturo. He had been sleeping on a bed in his office for the past month. He had avoided her and she had avoided him. She knew he was mad at her and she thought she deserved his cold treatment. But he had not hurt her. When they had come home, he had reprimanded her and had put the fear of god in her. If she pulled a stunt like this he was going to kill her parents not caring about what francesco was going to do and he was willing to take on the Rosarios to punish her. He had allowed her ucnle Pietro walk away but she knew this could be much worse. Arturo had shown restraint and had softened after seeing his daughter awake. The guilt of her fall from the balcony had haunted him for so long and even though it was an accident that he couldnt prevent he blamed himself. That was why he never wanted any treatment unless it was one hundred percent safe with no risks. But she didnt wait that long. She feared her little girl could die and she didnt want to just watch her death unfold. She just couldnt do it.

Anna made up her mind. After one month she had finally had enough. She collected her courage to confront Arturo. She just couldnt sleep alone for another night. He had left her shaken up by threatening her. She didnt dare speak to him fearing a Rosario versus Agostini war could erupt. But now she just couldnt endure being alone. She wanted them to move on as a family. She took a risk and she took full responsibilty. She thought didnt mind facing any consequences but being alone and being away from Arturo had taken its toll. She had risked the life of their loved one and Arturo had distanced himself from her. If she played god with their child he was choosing to let her be alone and avoided her for as long as necessary.

Anna wore her dressing gown on top of her night dress, took a deep breath and left the room. She walked to Arturo's office. If he hurt her it was better than what he did now. She couldnt sleep alone any more. She refused to. She missed his warmth and presence. How could he do this? Didnt he love her anymore? Had her husband stopped loving her based on a decision she had made? But she couldnt wait for their daughter any more. She was dying on the inside. She had been at the point of breaking and had even thought of killing herself if her daughter died.

Anna entered Arturo's office without knocking and she knew that could at least make her husband look up. It worked. As she entered she saw her husband glance up at her with a hard look. He opened his mouth to say anything but he closed his mouth and looked down at his papers "Do you need anything?"

Anna closed the door "No. I dont need anything... I want you to look at me.. I want you to talk to me... I want you to come to sleep in our bedroom..."

Artuo didnt look up "I asked you what you need.. I didnt ask you what you want? If you dont need anything then it is good night..."

Anna walked to the desk as she complained "How can you do this to me? How can you ignore me? How can you leave me alone like this? I dont care if you hurt me? Do it... Hurt me.. Punish me but not like this... Come to sleep in our room..."

Arturo looked up with narrowed eyes "Anna... You heve no idea what you are talking about.... Go back to bed... Its getting late... if you dont need anything, you dont need to be here..."

Anna walked across the desk to his chair and reached her hand to his cheek "Please .. Dont ignore me..."

Arturo sucked in his breath and got up quickly taking steps backwards "Go back to bed... you dont know what you are asking..."

Anna walked to Arturo and stood infornt of him "Please do anything to me but dont punish me by leaving me alone in our bedroom... I cant endure it..."

Arturo laughed bitterly. He put his hands on his hips and leaned closer "You think I am punishing you? Do you Anna? You actually think this is punishment? if I wanted to punish you i would have locked you in your room all day and night with no visitors.. if I wanted to punish you i would have destroyed you by banning you from seeing our daughter for the rest of your life... If I wanted to punish you I would have killed your parents right in front of you... I am capable of doing it... All I have to do is call patricia and Roberto and ask them to come see you. Then I can shoot them both dead right in front of you and Francesco couldnt do anything. Francesco cant touch me in Italy just like how I cant touch him in America. Your uncle Pietro may have done some damage with the Don but they are mostly strong in Sicily and south... Not the northern region. So you see I am fully capable of punishing you like how one might expect but I dont... Because I love you Anna..."

Anna was almost in tears "Do you still love me? You dont love me and this is punishment. You dont come to sleep in the same bed with me and dont talk to me becasue you dont love me any more. Isnt that right? You dont even look at me. Isnt this punishment that I have lost your love? I tell you that I cant endure it... I will do anything for your forgiveness.. I am sorry..... I ... beg you to forgive me... Please Arturo dont do this to me... What do you want from me? I am breaking down... You cant do this... For one year my child was in a coma.. I couldnt watch her die... You could ask me to do anything else... I am willing to burn in hell for all eternity but my child is saved. I made a decision and I am sorry... I beg you to forgive me and for that to happen I want you to punish me in a different way..."

Arturo closed his eyes "You actually think I am punishing you? Do you have any idea what you are talking about... I haven't fallen out of love with you Anna... let's be clear about that..." He then opened his eyes "I am protecting you..."

Anna was shocked "From what?... I dont understand. You are punishing me by reufusing to talk to me, to touch me, to love me..."

Arturo took a deep frustrated sigh and looked up. He then turned around and walked away "Dont....Anna... You dont know what you are talking about? You actually think I am refusing to love you? Have you lost your mind? Dont you know me?"

Anna walked to him as tears were flowing down her cheeks. She appeared in front of him blocking him as she sucked in his breath again. Arturo warned "Anna... Stop... Don't..."

Anna spoke as her voice was shaking "I am sorry.... Please punish me some other way... I die if you pretend like I dont exist like you do... Hurt me some other way. I die without you... Punish me some other way to forgive me but please dont hate me... I beg of you.. To find a way to forgive me in some other way"

Arturo roared "Damn it woman. Stop... Dont you know how much I love you? You dont. Do you..."

It was Anna's turn to walk backwards as Arturo walked towards her "I have never loved anyone or anything more than I have loved you and I wont stop just like that. Dont you know me?"

Anna found herself cornered and ended up in front of Arturo's bed as she had been walking backwards. She fell backwards in seating position on his bed as she had been retreating but didnt dare move. She was frozen as she looked up at Arturo who was now pacing in front of the bed shaking his head. His voice turned calmer but his tone was harsh "You actually think I am enjoying this? You actually think I havent been thinking about you everytime i go to sleep on that bed you are sitting on... I have been thinking of you all the time..."

Anna slowly stood up "Then why dont you come to our bedroom?..."

Arturo kept on pacing the floor avoiding Anna's gaze "I dont expect you to understand Anna. I forgive you but I am mad at you for doing what you did to our daughter without my consent. It would take a long time for me to trust you with desicisons you make. I trist you in our relationship but not with decisions and you risked our child's life without telling me. I need to make sure you wont do it again and I can only be sure of this if you prove to me your loyalty and prove to me you hav learnt your lesson.. But that comes with time.. I forgive you but wont forget what you did... Not until you prove to me you wont betray me again.... I know you did what you did on maternal instinct... And I know you are sorry. Thats why I forgive you.... But I wont put my guard down. You risked our child's life. I understand it but dont agree with it. You made a decison on emotion and not on logic... I said I wont punish you because it was your motherly instinct. I dont pretend to know how you feel as a mother. I am a man. Not a woman. I cant judge you... But I will keep an eye on you and will protect you from yourself and hope you learn with time not to make decisions based on emotion... I will help you with that... I will help you to learn how to act that way... Now that we are clear... go back to bed...."

Anna was shaking her head "It makes no sense. You cant be telling the truth... if this was the case then why do you refuse to come to bed. It cant be this simple... Why are you refusing to come to bed..."