(Trigger Warning) Sneaking out of Xon was easier than Faith anticipated. She drained all the alcohol and stayed in her room for a while. She wanted someone to come to check on her, and that’s what exactly happened. She was pretending to be sleeping when someone walked into the room. By the sweet scent of their fragrance, Faith could tell it was a woman. Faith kept on pretending to be knocked out while this woman checked around the room. Faith is smart enough to leave a half-empty wine bottle and empty glasses on the floor. She doesn’t want them to think she overdrank, therefore she didn’t completely drain the wine into the toilet. She also messed up the room a little. The sheets of the bed were entirely crumpled. She threw a pillow on the floor while the blanket dangles from the edge of the bed. The woman walked around the room for a few minutes, before she walked out. That’s when Faith got up and called Ethan again, asking him to meet him a few blocks away from the club. She waited
Faith woke up to complete silence. Her eyes were easy to adjust in the room with little to no light. She sighed as she looked at the ceiling. Her head was throbbing. She clicked her tongue and brought her hand to her forehead – trying to remember what happened when it all came rushing back. Faith’s running away, her meeting Ethan, they both went to his sister’s café where Ethan was hit on the back of the head by a scary man while was almost raped and kidnapped. She recalled Mateo killing those three men before she passed out. Faith gasped and sat up as her eyes widened and glossed with tears. The fear she felt then returned. She frantically looked around the room to realize that she is back in the room in Mateo’s club. “Relax, you are safe now.” Faith snatched her head from where the voice came.She didn’t even realize Mateo was in the room. He was standing against the wall in the corner. It wasn’t completely dark in the room, so she could see him standing tall there. She gulped as s
“When is Ethan getting discharged?” Faith asked Mateo as she followed him to his office. She has been feeling better after she ate some fruits someone got her, slept a little more, and showered. She changed into a plain white tee, and a pair of ripped jeans. She had her hair tied in a ponytail. Her face is bare of any makeup, making the dark circles and swollen eyes more obvious. She asked Mateo to let her see Ethan, but Mateo suggested waiting for him to discharge – since her presence might bring more danger to the poor guy. She agreed. She has already brought enough trouble to him. She will not be surprised if he cuts all ties with her from now on. Who would want to be with a girl, who is on people’s hit list? Ethan could have died earlier. He might be alive and recovering, but Faith knows that undesirably she has already pulled Ethan into this infelicitous mess. He was seen with her. Also, his sister’s café is now known by those who are following her as well. Mateo might have kil
It has been a week since Faith has been transferred to the safe house, and she would be lying if she would say she hates it here. When she first heard about a safe house, she thought it would be a place somewhere underground or in a bunker. She will have to live in a one-room place with a tiny bathroom and no windows. She didn’t expect the safe house to be on an island in the South, and she didn’t expect it to be a resort. When Mateo was taking her to the safe house, she didn’t think they would be taking a speedboat to reach the place. It didn’t feel like she was going to hide, it felt more like a vacation. She hasn’t been on one for ages. It took them more than an hour to reach there, the people who lived there spoke a different language, but they all were very welcoming towards Mateo. They all welcomed him with flowers, fireworks, and sweets. Faith remembers walking behind Mateo while he was being celebrated. She wondered why they all were treating him like this. She saw him talkin
The tour of the school was pleasant. It would have gone better if Faith was not so lost in her thoughts. As promised, Kami introduced her to his teachers. Everyone seemed to be happy to meet her. Mateo didn’t tag along, he told Faith that he was going to resort. Before he left, he asked Kami to not tell everyone that Faith belongs to the Bianchi family yet. He just made things easy for Faith, she was already confused. She would have gotten overwhelmed if everyone knew. Once the tour was over, she thanked Kami for bringing her to his old school and promised to treat him with lunch tomorrow, to which Kami got very excited. He promised that he will not tell anyone about her belonging to the Bianchi family before he escort her to the jeep waiting for her to take her back to the resort. Kami’s house is closer to the school, so he didn’t tag along with her. After saying farewell to the boy, Faith was driven to the resort. All her way back, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Kami said ea
Mateo has immensely respected Aldo all his life, but right now if he was around, Mateo might have lost his cool. The way Faith is reacting is the exact reason why Mate didn’t want to do this. He didn’t mind putting bullets in those men’s heads to protect her. He will not mind doing it again. That is not a difficult task for a man like Mateo, but dealing with Faith’s outburst is. He doesn’t know how to console, how to break a news to someone, or how to lay a piece of news gently. This is why he wanted to take her to Aldo, but that bastard went missing before he could take her to him – leaving Mateo to deal with her. Mateo has never been hit by a person in a very long time. Since he has been in control of his businesses, no one has ever dared to even glare at him, let alone hit him. But since Faith stepped into his life, he has been slapped by this woman three times. If it was anyone else, Mateo would have broken their wrists for even raising their hands at him, but his hands are tied
“Mateo, I am so sorry. Benji – uh – he – I,” Piper’s apprehensive voice was the first thing Faith heard when she woke up, following Mateo’s detached, “It is fine. You should go and see how he is doing now. It is still raining. I am here with Faith,” He added. Faith was fully awake, but she didn’t open her eyes. She was feeling immensely guilty and embarrassed for the troubles she has been making for Mateo and Piper. She remembers everything that she did. Her stomach twist into knots as she realized she could have died. She was so easily ready to give up on her life, if it wasn’t for Mateo – her lifeless body would have been floating in the pool by now. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. “Mateo, again, I am so sorry. I should not have brought him here with me, I am sorry.” The more Piper apologize, the more remorseful Faith feels. She heard Mateo sighing, “It is fine, Piper. You should go now. I will talk to you later,” He said, leaving no room for Piper to argue. Faith was
“Why is there a bar in every place you go? You have one in your office. I am sure you must have one at your house as well. Also, every time I see you, you have a drink in your hand.” Faith commented as she look through the small collection of alcohol behind the bar. Her finger traced along the marble counter. She heaved a sigh and turned around to look at Mateo, who still stood by the door, but unlike before the door was closed now. “Not to forget you own a club. Are you sure you don’t have a drinking problem?” She asked – tilting her head. Mateo couldn't understand how she is the same woman who was trembling under his gun just a couple of hours ago, and now she stood in his room – uninvited – lecturing him about her perspective on his drinking problem. “Are you Captain Jack Sparrow of the mafia world?” She mocked him. Mateo has never used the words mafia when he talked about Aldo or himself, but Faith picked on him. She knows what organized criminals are usually called. If Mateo does
A good day came months after. The people of the village finally got their freedom. When that happened, week-long celebrations were held at the village, and all of them were invited, especially, Faith, Mateo, and Kai. It was a joyous occasion. Even when everyone was dreading back where they all spend the worst days of their lives, of course, they went anyway. Hesitant at first, everyone had a great time. Faith had never seen the people of the village have such a festive spirit. It was truly a beautiful week. Faith spends most of her time with her grandmother, Kami, and his family. Benji didn’t want to go with them, but when Kami asked – he couldn’t say no. Lora (Kami’s sister) was there to welcome everyone. Everyone could see how excited Benji got when he saw her. Piper and Kai exchanged a knowing glance. Benji has a crush on Lora. He had it since he came here for the first time. After he returned to the city, he kept in contact with her in one way or another. Faith was happy to see
(One Year Later)Even today when Faith closes her eyes and thinks about her recent past, she can’t truly process it. She can’t believe that so much changed in the past couple of years. From losing her entire family to almost getting killed to find a new family – a new purpose – everything in her life was nothing less than a lesson – a brutal and painful lesson. Currently, she was sitting in a meeting along with Kai and Mateo – but they weren’t the only ones there. The three of them were hosts, while the other distant members of the Ricci and Bianchi clan, a few mafia leaders, and a couple of correspondents from the village were in the room. The debate was on – whether the village/island should be given its independence or not.Faith was sitting in between Kai and Mateo. She averted her gaze to the other side of the room where Kami sat along with a few young faces representing the village. Faith could tell that the young boy was nervous. She shoots him an assuring smile. Kami smiled ba
Kai didn’t say anything in return. He just impassively stared at Mateo before they were interrupted by Faith and Piper’s loud laughter. Both looked at the girls to find that Ethan had managed to pull Levi into the pool. He grabbed Levi’s ankle and pulled him in, making the water splash around and the girls laugh. Mateo heaved a sigh and shook his head as he watched his friend emerge from under the water, not looking much impressed. Noel was standing behind Levi when Ethan pulled him in, he was now watching them two. Ethan laughed and splashed some water towards him with his hand, “What are you doing up there loser? Get in!” Noel shook his head, “No, and you need to come out too.” He looks at all of them, “You all do. It is chilly and the water is cold,” he added. “It is not that cold,” Piper replied. It was because Kai switch on the heater to warm up the water, but that’s mean it was okay to be in a pool on a chilly night under the sky. Just at that moment, Piper sneezed. That was i
Faith and Piper were wasted. If having one drink after another wasn’t enough, they were now drinking straight out of the bottle. “We should go swimming,” Faith slurred a suggestion to which Piper enthusiastically nodded her head, agreeing to it. Before anyone could stop them, an equally drunk Ethan got on his feet and threw his fist in the air, “Hell yeah! Let’s go!!” he yelled out and hooted. Everyone else was so concerned about Faith and Piper that they didn’t even notice just how much Ethan was drinking. These three were completely wasted. Noel was slightly tipsy. Where else, Levi, Mateo, and Kai only had a single drink so they weren’t drunk at all. They decided to stay sober to keep an eye on girls, and well – now Ethan as well. “Excellent,” Levi muttered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He moved to Ethan, who was swinging from one side to another with a bottle of one of the most expensive whiskeys in his hand. Kai glanced at the bottle in his hand. He didn’t
Faith was in her room, changing with there was a knock on her door. Her room was now filled with done and undone boxes. She will be moving out tomorrow and there is so much left to do. But currently, she wasn’t focused on it. She is certain that she will be able to pack before the movers arrive. She was concerned about the dinner party they were having tonight. Faith had already invited everyone and now she was changing for the night. By the knock on the door, she was certain that Mateo has arrived. She quickly picked up the clothes she threw on the floor and put them on the bed before she spoke, “Yes?” The door opened and indeed it was Mateo. He looked good. Fresh and well-rested. It took everyone over a month to get over what happened on the island. The exhaustion and trauma (for some) didn’t leave for days. Mateo was looking like he did when Faith first met him. The difference between then and now is that then he had a hard scowl on his face, and now he was smiling. Then he threw
“Are you all packed up?” Piper asked Faith who came to her room to visit. Faith looked at Piper and smiled. “Yes, almost. Just a few things are remaining to be packed,” she replied. In two days, Faith is moving in with Mateo. For the past week, she has been very busy. She didn’t realize how comfortable she has gotten at Kai’s place, that now that she was winding everything up here, she feels sad to be leaving. When she started packing, she was excited. For her, moving in with Mateo is like a new chapter of her life, but as she proceeded, she realized how uncomfortable yet relieving it is to end this brief, daunting, and challenging chapter of her life. Piper was sitting on the bed, reading, when Faith knocked on her door. She exhaled and smiled broadly at her, “So, are you excited?” She asked. Faith chuckled and sat on the bed beside her, “I am.” She nodded her head, “But I am also nervous. There are so many ifs and buts in my head that I can hardly sleep at night,” she replied hon
“Thank you,” Piper hugged and thanked Faith, before she looked at Mateo, “Thank you both of you. I don’t know what would have happened if it wasn’t for you two. I would have been living on the streets,” she added. “Hey!” “What the hell?” Levi and Kai spoke at the same time. Piper pulled her eyebrows together and looked at both of them. Kai was frowning while Levi stepped forward, “What do you mean you would have been on the streets? Are you kidding me? I would have never let you be on street. Damn, I thought you thought of me as a friend, but boy was I wrong.” Levi scoffed. Where Kai just watched her dumbfounded. She softly chuckled at Levi. “Oh, I would have never bothered you. You already got your hands full,” she told him bobbing her head towards Benji’s room. The door of Benji’s room was open and inside everyone can see Benji and Ethan playing video games. They were so engrossed by what they were playing that they didn’t even notice the people outside looking at them. Ethan and
Kai squinted his eyes. When he was coming out of Piper’s room, he did not expect Faith, Mateo, and Benji right outside – watching him walk out of the room. Their curious gazes made him feel like he was sneaking out of her room after a one-night stand. Mateo was shamelessly smirking at him. Faith was curiously watching him, and Benji had his eyes narrowed at him. Kai cleared his throat and ignored Mateo’s comment and Faith’s question. He was about to tell them that they shouldn’t be so nosy when the doorbell rang. Faith and Mateo pulled their eyebrows together and looked at each other, “Who is here so early in the morning?” She muttered and watched as one of the helpers opened the door. It was Levi and Ethan. “What are you two doing here so early?” Mateo asked with his eyebrows knitted together. Levi didn’t look good. He looked like he didn’t sleep all night. Ethan looked tired as well, but not as exhausted as Levi. Levi glared at Ethan at Mateo’s question. Levi heaved a sigh. His sh
Kai has been inside Piper’s room for an hour. He was now sitting on the floor while she was sitting on the floor as well but she sat by the window. She was watching outside the window while her knees pressed to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. While her eyes were fixed outside, Kai’s eyes were fixed on her. They have been talking for the last hour. No yelling or name was calling. There were no accusations, nor did they completely patch up – they were just talking, which was due for some time now. They fight. They have had sex. They have done everything, but they never get the chance to sit and just talk about themselves. About their insecurities, about their feelings, about everything they bring to each other. Piper last put forward a very interesting point, “Aren’t we toxic for each other? There is just too much we don’t agree on.” She had muttered. Her point was quite simple. She told him that even if Jeremy hadn’t attacked her or anyone else, and even if he was just try