Hi readers, here's another chapter for you revolving around Antonio and his new girlfriend Emily; but first, how about you let me know in the comments what you think of the new character that I've just introduced into our story? I'd love to hear what you guys think about her, and where you want me to take this story; thanks again for reading, and I can't wait to see what you guys think. Enjoy guys.

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Nine
Revelations

When Emily said that she didn't believe Antonio (when he told her that this is just the third relationship that he's ever been in), she truly meant it; because that's crazy, at his age? I mean, he can't be serious; is he? Well, that most certainly is the question that's (still) on the attorney's mind as she made her way downstairs from her bedroom to see Antonio making some breakfast for the both of them; heck, she can barely believe that it's already 10:45. Where has the time gone? Then again, it may also be due to the fact that she spent a bit of time upstairs in the bedroom; where she spent a bit of time getting ready, while also trying to stretch it out so that she could take some time to think about what Antonio told her…and just how she doesn't believe him. And she hates that, she hates that she can't believe him right now; but it's just who she is, because that's what she's been trained to do as an attorney. She's trained her mind to be skeptical about everything, even your own clients when they come in and try spin her onto their side.

And while she does try and represent everybody (as she believes that everybody has the right to have equal legal representations), she doesn't take a client if their lawsuit is meritless; because that's something that she refuses to do as a consumer protection lawyer, even though she has done a few major ones. In fact, she recently did one where she represented a bunch of injured beach goers; whom were all hurt by defective umbrellas that the city got for a discounted rate in Indonesia, rather than get them from the state of Hawaii. Well, they used to be from there; now, they're back from Hawaii and things are much better. It was also the biggest settlement that she's ever gotten for clients: $125.5 million (with each client receiving about $11.4 million each). And that was something that she was proud to do because she wants to help people; but that's not all she wants to do right now, because she also wants to believe her boyfriend. But as much as she wants to do that, she just can't believe what he said; only his third relationship? Impossible.

That statement just doesn't smell right, and Emily just knows in her gut that's not the truth; after all, lawyers do have pretty good BS meters…and let's just say that hers is off the charts, because that just sounds unbelievable. As much as she wants to believe Antonio, she can't help but be skeptical; especially since that's something that she will not tolerate in her relationship, lying. And that's even more for her, because she's lied to all the time in her work; and that makes her really frustrated at times, because it makes her life (and some of her cases) a hell of a lot harder to win if she's lied to. And if her boyfriend is going to lie to her about the truth, well he's just not going to be her boyfriend anymore; and he can leave, and never come back. So, she's going to confront him; and he's going to have to tell him the truth, that he's been in more relationships than he's said. Or at least give her a real good explanation than she got in the shower, because she does want to believe him; but she needs to have a reason to believe him, and that's an explanation.

Taking a breath as she walked into her kitchen, Emily sighed as she looked at Antonio (who was in the midst of making some eggs for breakfast) before going to walk over to her fridge so that she can grab her water bottle; and while she did think about saying something right then and there, she wasn't able to get the first word out. Rather, Antonio got the first word out; and those were words of concern, especially since she took longer than he expected to come downstairs. "Hey, you took a while." Emily sighed and agreed with Antonio as he said that, before seeing him turn around and make his way over to her; after which, he wrapped his arm around her and smiled as he bent down to kiss her softly. "I had fun in the shower." Emily laughed as she heard Antonio say that because she felt the same way. "Me too, it was fun." Antonio agreed with Emily as she said that, before walking away to go back to making breakfast; at the same time, Emily made her way over to the bar so that she can sit down and talk to her boyfriend right now.

She just wants to hear the truth, and she doesn't want to hear lies about what's going on; she doesn't want him to lie about how she's only his third girlfriend if he's just saying that to make her feel special, she wants the whole truth. She wants him to be completely honest with her because she can take the truth; and she actually wouldn't be hurt if she's more than his third relationship, because of his age. It's normal for him to have been in a lot of relationship based on their ages, so it's not something he has to lie about…and she wants to tell Antonio that it's not something that he needs to be ashamed about, if that's why he's lying to her; if he's lying to her about how many relationships he's been in, just because he's trying to make her feel better. But just how can she start this conversation? It's so damn awkward, and she doesn't want to hurt him. "Do you want some coffee this morning?" Hearing Toni ask her whether she wants some coffee, Emily decided to take this as her chance to start the conversation. "If you're honest with me."

Turning his head to look at his girlfriend, Antonio was a bit confused when she said that; especially when he's been nothing but honest with her, about everything. About how he used to be addicted to drugs, and then to alcohol; how he still goes to AA every couple week, how he's a protective man…and how their relationship will always come second to his family, which is all stuff that they agreed to. And they also agreed to be as open and as honest as they can about work as they can, even though they are in positions that require them to keep things confidential, which most definitely is not the easiest of things on a relationship, but Antonio can deal with it. But one thing that he and Emily are already on the same page about, is the fact that they don't want personal secrets in between the two of them; so, for her to accuse him of keeping one…well, he just hopes that he can tell her what she wants to know. She hopes that it's a secret that he can tell her about, as he doesn't want to create problems in their relationship; some which he just fixed.

And he also doesn't want to create new issues for them, which means that Antonio needs to take this conversation slow; and he needs to make sure that he stays calm and doesn't get mad at Emily. "I'm an open book, how about you ask me what questions you have for me Emily?" Taking a breath as she watched Antonio walk over to the Keurig that she has in her kitchen, Emily then smiled as she tried to calm down. "Can you make me French Vanilla instead of coffee today Toni?" Antonio agreed with Emily as she asked him whether he can make French Vanilla instead of coffee, which he most certainly can. "Sure thing, let me just get that started." Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, before taking a breath. "Can we also agree not to fight about what I' having trouble with." Antonio agreed with Emily as she asked him if they can agree not to fight, especially since he has a feeling that he's going to be able to talk himself out of the problems that they're having with each other right now. "I can agree to that, if you tell me what's on your mind Emily."

Taking a breath, Emily pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she was nervous; after which, she looked at her boyfriend so that she could ask him the question that was currently on her mind. "I guess, the thing that's really on my mind right now…is the thing you told me upstairs, how I'm just your third relationship." Turning his head, Antonio agreed with Emily; after all, that's probably something that's hard to really believe when he says it. "Let me guess, you struggle with it due to my age?" Emily agreed with Antonio. "Listen, I know that I always promise that I'm not going to go all lawyer on you, and that I wouldn't do all that analyzing; but, I can't help it when it's a statement like that Toni. I mean, put yourself in my shoes…if I told you that I've only been with two people, when I know that you're divorced. You wouldn't think that's a bit hard to believe?" Putting himself in her shoes, Antonio agreed with Emily as she said that, as he most definitely would have a bit of a hard time to believe her; but in this case, it's the truth…because of his previous job.

"Well, I am proud to say that I have only been in two relationships in the past; and you can thank that to my religion." Emily was confused as she heard Antonio say that. "What does religion have on that?" Antonio laughed as he went back to making some eggs for the both of them, while also taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm catholic." Emily just looked at him when he said that, laughing. "Oh god, you didn't really believe in that? The whole chastity thing before marriage?" Turning his head, Antonio agreed with Emily. "I saved myself for marriage, especially since my ex-wife's uncle was our priest." Going to take a sip of her coffee, Emily was shocked and just set her mug back down. "Wait, did you just say that your kids' great-uncle is a priest?" Antonio agreed with Emily as she said that. "He was, retired now. But still, I couldn't get away with shirt; that is, unless I wanted to get sent to the priest's office in my parish church. Where I'd be lectured on how to treat a woman based on the religious scriptures." Emily then understood where he was coming from.

"So, we got engaged and then he gave me a break; and then, we got married…and the rest is history…that was, we got divorced. After that, I dated one woman…worst mistake, you remember that girl I told you about; the one who ruined my sister's vow renewal?" Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, before going to take another sip of her coffee. "God, she really is a piece of work." Antonio laughed as he looked at his beautiful girlfriend. "Oh, and then she tried to flirt with Matt while she was gone in Puerto Rico." Emily was even more shocked as he said that. "That bitch!" Antonio agreed with Emily as she said that, as those were his exact thoughts. "My thoughts exactly when I learned that, and I promised myself that I would never be with her again. So yeah, that's my whole dating history, which is only made even more complicated by the fact that I'm an addict, and it's hard to date an addict when he's not in control." Emily looked at her boyfriend as he said that, not having known that. "You never told me that."

Antonio nodded as he turned around, wanting to look at Emily; however, where was just something about the way that she was looking right now that was making him wonder whether she was really okay right now. "Hey, you okay Emily?" Emily sighed as Antonio asked her whether she was okay, as she wasn't…not when it brings back memories. "Remember how I told you that I had a brother named Michael?" Antonio agreed with Emily as she said that, smiling at her. "Can't wait to meet him." Emily then sighed. "Uhm, he died in March after an opioid overdose." Turning to look at his girlfriend, Antonio was shocked as he didn't know about that; and that was concerning, since he was nervous now. So, he decided to make his way over to Emily so that he can hold her. Grabbing her hand, Antonio then hugged her and moved his hand to the side of her face; getting close to her, he kissed the side of her head as they both held each other close right now. "Listen, how about you take the coffee outside? I'll be right out, and we can talk about this there?"

Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, before turning her head to look up at him. "Thanks baby." Antonio smiled as he heard Emily say that, before bending down so that he could kiss her softly. "It's my pleasure, and I want you to know that I'm here for you Emily." Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, before smiling as she proceeded to get up; at the same time, she walked away to go sit on the back porch of her home. At the same time, Antonio let out a sigh as he couldn't help but feel horrible for his girlfriend; the girlfriend he could clearly tell was still really hurt over having lost her brother the way she did, and that he can really relate to her; especially when he used to be a drug addict, and he knows what it's like to be on a high. He just hates that Emily's brother ended up dying because of his drug addiction, and he just hopes that him being a former drug addict doesn't mean that she doesn't want to be in a relationship with her; god, are they already doomed from the start? Well, let's just hope that this conversation goes well.

They decided to eat their breakfast in silence before they had the conversation that they both knew that they needed to have, that way Antonio could hold Emily; because if he knew one thing, it was that he was going to need to hold his girlfriend close to him as they talk about this topic…so, it's why he's in the midst of doing just that for her. Holding her close to him, as she sits down in his lap and cuddles up to him, which is something that he actually enjoys, because it means that she's comfortable in his arms…and that she trusts him to give her the comfort that she needs. And the feeling is perfect, even if they're in the midst of sitting in silence right now, which is completely fine with him, because he wants to do whatever Emily needs him to do right now. And if that means that he just holds her hand as she collects her thoughts (ahead of them talking about it), then he's more than okay with that. Moving her hand to Antonio's chest as she cuddles up to him some more, Emily sighed as she thought about what she wanted to say right now.

"God, I feel like an idiot for just wanting to cuddle up to you like a baby." Antonio shook his head as he heard Emily say that, before moving to rub her tear-stained cheek. "Hey, don't feel like an idiot for doing this; because I'm quite comfortable, to tell you the truth." Emily laughed a bit as she heard Antonio say that, before going to run her hand down his chest; after which, she laid her head down on his heart as they both held each other close. At the same time, Antonio wrapped his arm around her back and kissed her forehead softly as they sat on her backyard fire pit. "I can tell you this, I can understand why you're so emotional." Looking up at her boyfriend, Emily was a bit taken aback. "You can?" Antonio agreed. "Every single day, I always worry about whether I'm going to relapse; and what that's going to be for my daughter, who's just getting older. I know that she needs me, because she doesn't have her mom here; and that's why I wanted you to meet her, because I want to give her somebody else who isn't family to talk to here in Hawaii."

Emily laughed a bit as she heard Antonio say that, well aware that was the case. "Yeah, because you aren't just going to ask me for what she said to me." Antonio laughed as he looked down at Emily. "Hey, what's the benefit of having a girlfriend if she can't be your eyes and ears when it comes to your kids?" Emily smiled as she heard Antonio say that. "I swear, I feel so happy to have met you; I really feel something nice about this, and it just feels right." Antonio agreed with Emily as she said that, before kissing her forehead softly. "And that's why I've decided to start opening up to you Emily, because I trust you; trust is hard to earn with me, especially after what my ex did to my sister. So, I hope you know that it took a lot for me to tell you the truth Emily, and that I hope that you can understand what that means to me; this isn't something I tell everybody, especially not when I want to have credibility in the business world. This is something that can really backfire on me." Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, looking up at him.

"That's probably something you hate about your new job, how you can be blackmailed so easily." Antonio shook his head as he heard Emily say that, as this job is much easier than his last one. "Oh, believe me, this is job is easy compared to my last one." Emily looked up at Antonio when he said that. "How's that the case?" Antonio smiled. "I used to be an Intelligence Unit Detective at the Chicago Police Department." Emily agreed with Antonio as he told her what his old job was, which explains why that used to be stressful. "Did you ever get shot?" Antonio agreed. "Twice. They got them out both times." Emily nodded as she heard Antonio say that. "Good, because I don't want you to explode in our bed." Turning his head, Antonio was a bit shocked as she heard Emily say that. "Sorry, did you just say our bed?" Emily bit her lip as Antonio said that, before nodding. "I think it's just easier, especially since you said that you don't have a place of your own; plus, I'm tired of being alone. Plus, I like the company; so might as well take advantage of you."

Antonio smirked as he heard Emily say that, before bending down so that he can kiss her softly. "I can be taken advantage of any time you want." Emily smirked as she heard Antonio say that, before getting up and going to walk away so that she can entice Antonio to come inside. "Hey, where are you going?" Turning around, Emily proceeded to undo her shirt to tease her boyfriend; wanting to give him a bit of a hint as to what she wants to do right now, and that's get back in bed with him. And let's just say that Antonio is more than interested in doing the same, so he got up too and started to make his way inside; that way, they can have each other.

There was just something about new love that turned him back into this hormonal teenager, and Antonio most definitely as not going to complain about that; and neither was Emily, not when this is the best sex that the both of them have had in years. Especially Antonio, as it's real to him; there's something about this sex that's much more real than the sex that he's previously had with Sylvie, or maybe it's because he actually feels like this is love. Something that he's been searching for, for quite a while now; and he's glad that he feels like he's finally found it with Emily, especially when she's stunning. Especially when she's in the midst of getting dressed to go take a swim in her pool. And in return, he's in the midst of walking into the bathroom behind her so that he can help her; because if he knows one thing, it's that she struggles with the strings on her swimsuit. But that's why he's here, to help her do them up. Walking up behind her, Antonio smiled as he got nice and close to her and then put his hands on her hips this morning.

Looking up at Antonio in the mirror as he walked up behind her, Emily smiled as he wrapped his arms around her; after which, she put her hands on his and just held him close. Moving close to her as he intertwined their fingers, Antonio smiled as he bent down and then proceeded to kiss her shoulder softly. "I can see that you're struggling." Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that. "Can you help me?" Antonio agreed. "First, we need to decide: beach or pool?" Emily smirked. "Let's stay around here, and let's go to the pool." Antonio agreed with Emily as she said that, before tugging her back against his chest; after which, he wrapped his arm around her and put his hand on her cheek. Smiling as Antonio turned her head, Emily then leaned in and proceeded to kiss her boyfriend softly. Taking things nice and slow with Emily, Antonio smirked as he started to do up her swimwear for her; that way, they can get downstairs into the pool. "I swear, you make me feel so young again." Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, loving the sound of that.

After which, she decided to turn around as soon as he finished doing up her swimwear; stepping close to him in the process, Emily wrapped her arms around his back and smiled at him. Meanwhile, Antonio put his hands on her hips and smiled as he leaned in and kissed his beautiful girlfriend softly. Taking things nice and slow with Emily, he just smirked due to the fact that this is exactly what he wants to do right now. He wants to take things nice and slow with his girlfriend, as they hold each other close; shortly after having just taken things nice and slow with each other. "God, you are so sexy; and I am a lucky man to have you in my life." Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, before stepping close to him again; wrapping her arms around his back afterwards, Emily smirked as he leaned in and kissed him softly. "I feel the same way, and I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you when you said that you only dated so few women." Antonio shook his head as he heard Emily apologize, as she had no reason to apologize for not believing him.

"Hey, we're past that, because you had every right to not believe me; I mean, it's a bit surprising. Heck, there are times where I don't believe that truth if we're completely honest with each other." Emily agreed with Antonio as he said that, before smiling at her handsome boyfriend; at the same time, she leaned in and kissed him again. Continuing to take things nice and slow with each other as they held each other in the washroom, Antonio smirked due to the fact that he was truly feeling nice right now; and he was also feeling like this is what he's been missing in his life, love.