.

Real Life

Chapter 13 - Sorry If I Don't Feel Sorry

"There are three reasons why I don't slap you now with all my strength, Mr. Salvatore. First, it would ruin the education my late parents gave me, two, I'm a pregnant woman and three you're an elder. But feel slapped because that's the most genuine feeling in my heart right now," Elena said and she knew it sounded childish but she tried to stop her hormonal roller coaster behavior briefly after she found out she was pregnant. It was a lost battle.

"I'm happy to feel slapped, Elena, actually I give you authorization to just do it because that's the least I deserve," the man offered and Elena's walls fell immediately seeing how the man sounded genuinely guilty.

"Why are you here?"

"Because at some point I need to start fixing what I broke," the old man said apologetically.

"So you're well aware you almost destroyed that amazing man's life?" Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Unfortunately, yes," Giuseppe looked down, releasing a heavy sigh. The man in front of her looked anything but completely defeated.

"And how do you plan to fix it?"

"I need him to know the truth, the real reasons why I did what I did," the elder offered still not looking directly at Elena.

"Do you honestly think that there are any good reasons that could have justified your behavior? I don't think you can make any progress here, Giuseppe, so maybe it's for the best if you just leave," Elena barely refrained the desire of shaking him and make him notice that he figured everything out incorrectly.

"My reasons won't make what I did look better, Elena, but they'll hopefully be enough for Damon to see that nothing I ever did was his fault. It wasn't him who was the failure, but me and he needs to know it. He deserves to know it and I think we're both well aware that he still thinks he failed me, not the other way around," he explained with a tortured expression on his face. Elena didn't think the man in front of her didn't regret any of his actions towards his oldest son until then.

"Only someone as damaged as him would think something so ridiculous. The man I met six months ago had no self-esteem what so ever. He didn't care for anything that really mattered. He played this Don Juan role that gave women the most precious and hid present on earth when in reality he couldn't think any less of himself. He never really tried to be in a relationship because he never thought he was decent enough to even have a girlfriend," she knew it would only torture Giuseppe more but he needed to know how he damaged his own son.

"You're probably right," he agreed with a defeated tone.

"No, I know I am," the brunette added with no lack of doubts in her voice.

"If I tell you that I didn't want to take amends with my son, or my whole family for that matter, I'd be lying Elena. I want us to be a family and I've wanted it for a while now. Your wedding presented as a chance for me to finally step up and show that I want to be a part of this family. And if you allow me to be around Damon, then I want to at least let him know my reason for why I treated him that way. That way he can move on and finally realize I was the jerk that wasn't able to love his son when he involuntarily caused his mother's death. I have to tell him the whole story and to apologize. What happens from there is on all of you and I can only hope for the best," he talked about Cecilia for the first time in so many years, decades even. He never talked about his late wife with his sons, let alone his new wife because it was too painful, but he now needed to face his demons and make up for the boy he broke. He needed to offer him a chance to go on with his life feeling slightly better about himself.

"What do you mean by involuntarily caused his mother's death?" Elena asked curious. That was a new piece of information and she wondered if Damon felt even worse thinking that Giuseppe had all reasons to hate Stefan for Cecilia's death but still hated him instead.

"Cecilia died because she developed eclampsia while she was pregnant with Damon. It wasn't recommended for her to get pregnant again, especially over twenty years ago. But Cecilia wanted to have a big family and I know it may sound ridiculous for you now, but I felt like Damon took away her biggest dream. But when she got pregnant with Stefan she was the happiest woman in the world. She wanted it so much but she had a peak on her blood pressure, a seizure and died. Stefan was lucky to survive," for the first time since their conversation started the man in front of her seemed close to tears and she didn't need her groom's estranged father to cry in front of her on her wedding day while she was pregnant. She already ruined her make-up once and it wasn't even when it was supposed to happen, when Damon said his vows.

"And he doesn't know it?" Elena asked but she knew the answer already, she was speaking out of shock more than out of curiosity.

"He has no idea. I resented him. Cecilia loved Stefan so much before he was born. I've never seen my wife so happy like she was during Stefan's pregnancy and it was solely because of him. He was the reminder of how happy he made her, so I resented Damon. I loved my wife in a way I can't explain, Elena. Losing her made me lose my common sense. I was a shell of a man for so long. So I drowned myself in work, got married again and tried to punish Damon the best I could but nothing closed the hole in my soul caused by Cecilia's death, it never made the pain pass," Giuseppe offered and by how hard he fought his tears, Elena knew he wasn't someone how allowed himself to cry, let alone in front of others. He was tough and she could see some resemblance with Damon, though the younger Salvatore mixed his toughness with humanity.

"I shall not make my guests wait any longer, Giuseppe, if you want to stay, be my guest. I don't think today is the best day for you to talk to Damon, but you seem like a man who regretted his actions in the past and I don't think you should be punished for them anymore. I know it'll make a difference for you in the future to know you were here when Damon and I got married, whether the situation between the two of you gets better or not. We'll spend the weekend in a resort in the Caribbean but Wednesday we'll be back in New York. Maybe you should look for him then," Elena quickly dismissed the man before she couldn't hold back the tears. Giuseppe shared valuable information with her that she was positive would make wonders to Damon's guilt and low self-esteem. She was going to do everything in her power for the conversation between father and son to happen as fast as possible. She didn't know if she even wanted Damon to be reconciled with his father because she didn't know if the elder would be able to love his son as he needed. But Damon certainly needed to understand there were reasons beyond why his father was a cruel man. After all he never showed such cruelty to Stefan until Katherine happened. And for what her future sister-in-law said, even then it couldn't compare to what Giuseppe usually did to Damon.

"Thanks for understanding, Elena," he offered genuinely thankful but he was the one misunderstanding things now and she would make sure to make him understand her actions fine.

"I don't Giuseppe. I can never understand how you could blame a little boy for something that was clearly not his fault. I can't understand a father punishing a child from his tender years through his adult life. I just think it'll help Damon and as I said I don't think you should be punished even if you were the only one who actually had a fault in this story. Now could you please go and take a seat so I can marry the most amazing man I ever met?" she softened her voice and expression at the mention of getting married to Damon and Giuseppe finally offered a smile.

"I suppose life found a way to make up for his lousy father with a great wife. I'm happy he's marrying you Elena, even if I know you for only ten minutes," with one last smile Giuseppe walked out of the old office and taking a couple of minutes to collect herself, Elena finally informed Caroline the ceremony could, at last, start.

Damon groaned internally when he saw his father in the last row of seats in the backyard of their house but his annoyance was soon forgotten when he finally laid his eyes on his bride. Elena looked breathtaking and he felt like he couldn't blink, feeling he'd miss even for a millisecond her astonishing beauty in her wedding dress.

Elena had already seen him partially dressed when he went to the bedroom earlier and she had a glimpse of him when she followed him and Giuseppe inside the office but now she was also mesmerized by his dashing looks.

The ceremony started and Damon and Elena barely acknowledged the minister's words as they kept their eyes on each other as if they were under a spell. A strong and powerful love spell. Soon the time for them to share their vows came and they felt like no words would make justice to express how they felt. Elena cried copiously as she heard Damon's words. What they shared in their bedroom already felt like promises of eternal love but standing there, in front of their family and loved ones, seeing Damon look like an angel, brought tears streaming down her face freely.

They soon moved to the round tables sparsely distributed in the green lawn. The spacious backyard allowed them to have the two spaces planned, one for the ceremony, with the sea in the background and other for the party, closer to the house beautiful back porch. The few rows of chairs that surrounded the simple altar soon disappeared creating a dance floor that would be filled with people after the dinner they were now appetizing.

Giuseppe was ready to leave because he didn't really want to be part of the party. He just wanted to thank Stefan for informing him of Damon's wedding. It had been one of the most touching moments of his life and he was glad he was lucky to be part of it, even as an unwelcome party. But Katherine wouldn't allow him to leave just like that. And when the brunette woman offered to walk him out he knew he was going to face someone even more fierce and protective of his sons.

"You may have fooled Elena but you'll certainly have to do a better job with me, Giuseppe. She doesn't know you but I know all your snake moves and tricks by heart," she muttered as she smiled to the other guests they passed by on their way out.

"I'm tired and old, Katherine. I lost the only woman I ever loved and I never got over it. In exchange, I lost my two sons and my grandchildren barely know me. I've been miserable for over twenty years and I'm tired and exhausted. Isobel never loved me, just the status being married to me brought to her life and how my money promoted her from medium class to a snobby rich woman. I feel empty, but above all I feel horrible. Damon had it worse and I know I need to fix a few things before I'm finally out of this world," the elder showed his exhaustion by the way he voiced his troubled feelings but Katherine wouldn't let him off the hook that easily. Especially because there was a huge chance that he was lying through his teeth.

"Why now? Why bother to show up on his wedding day? If anything you said is true, and I can hardly believe it, I think you didn't come to this conclusion last week," she showed her suspicions.

"I was afraid of what I would find when I approached Damon again," Giuseppe confessed and Katherine took a moment appraising him.

"And what does his wedding have to do with this?" she asked trying to figure out if he was really being honest and just used the wedding day to prevent Damon from react badly or if he had a hidden agenda, as he usually did. It wouldn't surprise her if Giuseppe had planned to destroy Damon's happy day although he didn't exactly do anything bad. In addition to showing up.

"Because it relieved my conscience. If Damon was marrying it meant that no matter how awful I had been to him all those years ago, he still made it," the producer offered and before he knew anything else Katherine reacted.

"You son of bitch," the doctor didn't stop herself from doing what Elena almost did and only when her hand stung from the contact with his cheek she realized what she had done.

"I'm sorry, Giuseppe, I shouldn't have," she showed regret. Giuseppe was an elder, not matter how low of one, no one should slap an elder on the face. But she couldn't stop herself from reacting when he showed no compassion towards Damon, only a heavy conscience looking for ways to feel relieved. He was still the same selfish jerk that raised two sons that thankfully got nothing from their father.

"I deserve it, Elena said she also wanted to do it and for me to feel slapped because she was internally doing it. You just gave me a better picture," he offered a cracked smile as he rubbed his stinging skin.

"I can't believe you're here to feel better!"

"I'm not here for that, Katherine. I'm here because I want to apologize to Damon, and ask for his forgiveness, but also to relieve his own guilt about everything. Seeing he's happy only helped my cowardice but if he didn't have Elena I would have found a way to contact him sooner or later. I don't even know if what I did to him can be fixed but I had to try."

"It's too late, you know that?"

"Yeah, but the old saying fits, Katherine, better late than never. Damon needed to know there were reasons behind my behavior. They could never justify what I did, but I'm sure he'll feel better about himself once everything is said and done," his voice was somewhat soft and Katherine wondered if he really wasn't as tired and regretful as he showed.

"I hope so; otherwise you can forget even the kids' phone number," she threatened and Giuseppe only sighed in return. He knew it was going to be hard and he knew Katherine wouldn't take him easily.

"I own you and Stefan an apology as well. I hope I'll have the chance to visit you any other day and properly do it," he explained but he knew it was pointless.

"You're lucky that for some stupid reasons the older kids love their grandpa although Jayden barely knows who you are."

"I'm thankful for being allowed to visit Alyssa, Elijah and Gabriel, and to call them on holidays and birthdays."

"Stefan. He's the one that you should be thanking, not me. We had some horrible fights because of it. I never agreed to let you be a part of their lives but what's done is done," Katherine made sure to make it clear for him that she didn't want him around the kids, but she couldn't object her husband for giving his father a chance. A chance he never deserved.

"But still I thank both of you."

"You better mean every word that came out of your mouth, Giuseppe. Stefan never stopped believing that someday you would regret what you did to them, especially Damon. I'm sure it's one of his secret dreams and if you mess this up, if you let him have his hopes up and mess up, I'll make sure you never see or talk to the kids again," Katherine added fiercely, heading back inside before her father-in-law had the chance to say another word.

The atmosphere around the Salvatore family improved a lot once Giuseppe left. Damon hoped none of the guests realized it but a few of his friends that came from LA knew his father, although they didn't know the kind of relationship they had, so it was for the best that Giuseppe appeared after all. He was sure some of them would wonder why on earth he got married and his father wasn't there. Their opinion didn't bother Damon but he didn't want to risk it to be known by media and read in some tabloid that sources assured there were problems between father and son. Elena didn't deserve to have her name dragged into their mess, especially because the little coverage media gave to their wedding seemed to be thanks to her celebrity status, not his.

"Are you tired, Mrs. Salvatore?" Damon asked when he approached his wife, sat on their table. Wife, he loved how it sounded on his lips or even in his head when he thought about it.

"I am, Mr. Salvatore but I couldn't be happier," she offered a big grin that immediately brought one to his face too.

"I couldn't be either. Unless he or she was here already," Damon said sitting by her side, bringing her head to rest on his chest.

"That's going to take a few more months. But I can think of a thing or two we could do right now to make it even better," she smirked and he wondered when she started to be him. But it didn't matter now. He was very interested in what she was suggesting.

"And what would be that?"

"You, me, no clothes and our nuptial suite in Manhattan," she whispered as she caressed his chest with her hand.

"I think you're absolutely right, Mrs. Salvatore," he said bringing her face to his and kissing her, taking his time and totally ignoring that they still had guests.

"So we might leave now," she gasped when they finally broke apart, her center vibrating at the prospect of making love to him.

"At your command, my wife," he stood up, offering her his hand.

"Tell me you're not going to call me Mrs. Salvatore and wife all the time," she rolled her eyes but there was huge smile on her face as she said it.

"Until I grow tired of it, I don't see why I would stop. I love the sound of it on my lips. You, Elena Josephine Salvatore, are my wife and I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying so," his broad grin reinforced his words as he spoke.

"I love you, Damon Alessandro Salvatore and being your wife is the best thing that has ever happened to me," she replied and once again they found their lips crashing against each other's but based on the whistles and 'oohs' they heard this time they actually drew attention to their inability to keep their hands off each other. And they knew they would be happy together and no one, not even his father, would be able to spoil it. Not now or ever because all they needed was each other.

AN: Sorry for the very late update. I had this chapter written for a couple of weeks now but then I had a beta situation, then another beta situation and then a beta's computer situation. Anyway I really want to thank to TheBlackCrow23 for being the beta to this chapter.

Also special thanks to my reviewers and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and let me know your thoughts. A couple more of chapters and it'll be completely and hopefully those will come faster.

xoxo

Babi