“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
Mateo was sitting comfortably on the couch. His arms were stretched over the couch while his one ankle was resting on his other knee. Instead of wearing his typical button-up shirt and pants, he was wearing a white sweater and beige pants. Instead of wearing his typical oxford shoes, he wore slippers. Instead of holding a gun or a knife, he was holding a bowl of popcorn that Faith made him hold. He didn’t bother to neatly style his hair, instead, his natural curls bounced over his head even on the slightest movement.“Do you really have to do this?” Mateo sighed as he watched Faith select a movie she wanted him to see.Faith frowned and looked at him. She was sitting beside him with her legs crossed under her. She was wearing one of Mateo’s hoodies because she didn’t feel comfortable in her own clothes, which Mateo didn’t understand, and he asked her about it, and she answered. “You will not understand it. It is a girl’s thing.” Mateo didn’t even ask her what she meant. He just nodded
“Mateo, I am tired.” Faith moaned as Mateo thrust into her one last time. He groaned and let go of himself before he pulled out of her. Faith was out of breath as she watched him panting. He pulled the condom off, tied a knot over the top of it, and threw it into the waste bin. Faith wiped the sweat from her chest and saw Mateo lying beside her. She smiled at him and put her head over his sweaty chest as he rubbed her bare back, “You should go take a shower.” She said to him before she closed her eyes. She was extremely tired – she didn’t think she could move. Mateo looked down at her and smiled. He kissed her damp hair, “Do you want me to give you a bath?” He asked. Faith sleepily chuckled. She didn’t open her eyes – she couldn’t. She didn’t have the energy to do so. “Do you even know how to draw a bath?” She lazily asked. Mateo chuckled and shrugged, “How hard could it be? It is just filling the tub with warm water, and adding some soap to it, right?” He replied. Faith slowly op
It is not like Piper couldn’t move. Kai wasn’t restricting her. He wasn’t pinning her against the wall. If she wanted, she couldn’t have pushed me away and just left, but there was something about what he said that made her freeze in that position. She slowly blinked as she looked into his eyes. She slowly gulped. Her cheeks warmed up because what he just said about her was true. She never gives in to anyone. Giving in embarrasses her, but it doesn’t feel the same with Kai. She is fine giving in to him, and if that can be identified as submissive, then yes. She is submissive to him. But there is another part of this reality. Just because she will eventually submit in the end, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to fight before. When it comes to giving in, Piper solely means sexually. She was still a fighter for every other reason – even to Kai. “You are right,” she whispered. She saw a hint of a smile on his face, “But…” She paused and watched him squint his eyes. She held his wrist
Faith looked at Ethan. His clothes were covered in blood, but it wasn’t his blood. It wasn’t Levi’s blood either. It was the blood of the shooter that came to kill Levi. Levi was shot, but the bullet pierced through his shoulder. His injury wasn’t fatal. He was in fact completely fine. Yes, he did lose blood and yes, he is in pain – but he will be okay. Mateo was in the room with Levi while Faith, Piper, and Ethan waited outside.Ethan was completely silent. His eyes were fixed on the floor. His face hardened. Faith couldn’t tell if he was in shock, distressed, scared, or just worried. He is an incredibly complicated man. It can be very hard to read him. She shared a glance with Piper, who was looking at Ethan as well. Faith heaved a sigh and decided to break the silence, “Ethan, maybe you should go and change your clothes. You can come back later. We are all here with Levi till then,” She said, but Ethan didn’t react – he didn’t even look at her.Faith looked at Piper. Both of them h
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