“You know that you now have a say in this, right? With Aldo gone, the power is now transferred to you and Kai – and, well, Dario – but since he refused to be a part of it – we are all assuming that it is just you and Kai.” Felix said to Faith as he placed the cup of coffee on the table. Faith, Kai, and Felix were in Kai’s office. Even when Faith had already shown no interest in it, Felix asked her to join the meeting – so, here she is. “I already told you, Felix. I don’t want to be a part of it either.” She heaved a sigh. She glanced at Kai, who didn’t seem like he was a part of this conversation. He was completely zoned out. She looked back at Felix, “Look, I was pushed into this situation. I don’t even know how everything works here – and if I am being completely honest with you – it is all perilous for me.” Felix hunched and placed his elbows on his knees, “Do you really believe that sitting out of this business, you will be safe? No. You are Aldo Bianchi’s daughter. He might be
Mateo returned home after meeting Kai. He walked into the living room to see Faith sitting on his couch with Rex curled up on her lap. She was petting the purring cat. She didn’t even lift her gaze to look at him. He also wasn’t startled to find her there. Even before he walked into the living room, he knew she was there. As soon as he unlocked the door, he smelt her sweet scent. What surprises him was how did she get in. He doesn’t remember giving her the code to access and how did the security didn’t stop her?Mateo walked closer to her. She finally exhaled and looked at him. She didn’t smile. She didn’t frown. She just looked at him impassively – just like he does. She truly was catching on with him. Mateo put his hands in his pockets, “How did you get me?” She scratched Rex’s head and shrugged, “I have my way.” She replied and tilted her head, “How did the meeting with Kai go? What plan did you and my brother come up with for you to get rid of me?”Mateo’s lip barely tugged. He w
“Can I move in with you?” Faith didn’t think twice before she blurted the question out. She and Mateo were sitting in his home office. He was going through some of the work documents and she was just wandering around – looking through his book collection. She was just wondering what it would be like if she decided to live with him – just how different her life was going to be. She pictured herself around him when he came back home or when they had dinner together. She was imagining everything normal and boring she craved to feel with him. She didn’t mean to blurt out the question. They haven’t even agreed to properly date each other yet. Her face was facing her – even when she couldn’t see him. She could feel him freeze. Her eyes widened and she swiftly turned around. She covered her mouth and shook her head, “No. No. I didn’t mean we should move in together – no,” She chuckled nervously while Mateo just blankly stared at her. His glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. His hands
It was raining when Piper knocked on Levi’s door. She had already called him before she came here. She told him that she needed his help, and, without even asking her questions, he agreed. So, here she was – at his door – waiting for it to open. She knows Benji is scared of the thunderstorm, but she had to leave him alone at home. She couldn’t delay it any longer. The sooner she gets a new place and a job, the better. She wants to leave Kai and everything related to him behind and move on. When Levi opened the door, he was worried to see her drenched. He quickly asked her to come in and offered her a towel to dry her hair, “My clothes will be too big for you. Let me grab Ethan’s clothes for you. They will fit.” Levi said and swiftly fetched Ethan’s sweatpants and t-shirt. Piper didn’t question him, she was too cold to do so. She grabbed the clothes that were offered to her, put them on, and went out to see that Levi had made coffee for her. She thanked him. “Let me check up on Benji
“Are you jealous?” Faith asked and smirked. She dived her hand into the cereal jar and took out a fist full of chocolate-flavored cereal. She was sitting on the kitchen counter with her legs dangling down. Mateo silently walked into the kitchen after taking a shower. He uncapped the water bottle he had just fetched out of the fridge. He hadn’t talked to Faith after receiving a call for Faith from Elijah. When she walked out of the washroom, he told her that her ex had called – he didn’t say his name. He just bluntly said, “Your ex called,” and walked out of his own office. Faith was confused by his reaction, but by the time it came to her that Mateo might be jealous – he had gone to take a shower. She waited for him. She was getting hungry, so she went to the kitchen and saw a big jar of cereal on the counter. She hopped on and munched on it when he walked out. Although they were expecting Levi, he wasn’t there yet – so she had the time to address the elephant in the room. Mateo loo
“We should get a cat,” Benji suggested to Piper as he sat on the couch with Rex on his lap. Piper heaved a sigh and ignored her brother’s suggestion, not like he expected any response from her anyway. He just kept his head lowered and petted Rex, who was purring in his lap. While Benji was busy with Rex, Piper was leaning against the wall with her arms folded on her chest. Faith looked at her and shook her head. Since Piper didn’t seem like she was in the mood to respond, Faith sat beside Benji. “You like cats?” She asked. “Hmm,” Benji replied, “Cats are calm. I like that. Dogs are in your face all the time. I like how empathetic cats are.” He added, making Faith and Levi chuckle. Piper again only heaved a sigh. Anyone could tell she was at Mateo’s penthouse against her own will. Faith and Levi exchanged glances. He nodded his head as Faith bobbed her head towards Piper and walked towards her. Levi took Faith’s place and talked to Benji, while Faith took Piper with her to have a co
(Six Months Later) Six months passed and a lot changed. Faith. She still lives with Kai. Mateo and she aren’t in a traditional relationship, but they do have each other. For the past six months, she has been training hard. She doesn’t have an aim in mind. She is not fighting anyone soon. She is not doing it on a mission. She is just working hard on her strength because she needs it. She is breathing the same air as before. She is in the same body as before, but her circumstances have changed and those circumstances are asking her to change. She needs to have a little control over each situation and to get that control, she needs strength. Mateo has been helping her train. He also hired Mika, a personal trainer. If Faith thought Blaire was brutal, it was because she never met Mika. For the first few weeks, Faith would cry after training. Mika isn’t just challenged by her physically, but mentally as well. After six long months, Faith was getting accustomed to her. Mika is like a femal
Even after six months, business for Mateo was going slow. After Aldo’s downfall, there was hurdle after hurdle for him. After the Xon club was rumored to be a front for criminal proceedings, fewer and fewer people showed up. Many of the big names canceled their membership. There were thousands of conspiracy theories going on about him and his club on the internet, which he doesn’t care about because the basis of all those theories is true. Mateo didn’t mind, but the fact that he was now looked at differently was bothersome. In the Mafia world, he was looked at as a traitor – which he was, and in the outer world, everyone saw him as a criminal, which he also is. A lot of news that has been circulating about him is true, but he can’t afford to have it out. Is he being investigated? He was, but the system is broken because a lot of people like him are a part of the system that is supposed to clean the society of people like Mateo. It was easy for him to rig the investigation and he did