Achilles’ Point of View:As the days went by, the weight of Carlos's absence hung over us like a dark cloud. The funeral had been a blur of tears, hugs, and condolences from well-wishers who couldn't possibly understand the depth of our grief. Isabelle and Josephine stood by my side, their presence a small comfort in the midst of the overwhelming pain.After the funeral, Josephine withdrew into herself, her grief a palpable force that seemed to consume her. She spoke less, smiled less, and the light in her eyes had dimmed. It hurt to see her like this, knowing that she was carrying her own burden of sorrow while trying to make sense of what had happened to Carlos. She was strong, but even the strongest of us had their breaking point.Isabelle and I did our best to be there for her, to offer support and love, but there was a wall she had built around herself that we couldn't seem to breach. We respected her space while silently hoping that she would open up to us when she was ready. I
Isabella’s Point of View:I was making coffee when I heard Achilles enter the house. Turning around, I took the cup and walked up to him. He looked really tired, so I offered it to him.“No, uh…” He looked at me, his eyes containing atleast a couple of emotions I hadn’t seen in a little while. “I need to tell you something.”“What’s up?” I asked worried as I gestured to him to sit down at the couch, and took a seat myself.He exhaled after taking a moment. “Josephine found something.”“What?” I asked, confused and curious.He took out a letter from his pocket and handed it over to me. I opened it and my eyes hovered over the written letters. As soon as I completed reading it, my breath became shaky from his memories.“Achilles…” I whispered and looked up.He took it back and kept it in his back pocket. “He wants us to move on so that’s what we’ll do.”“Achilles, you—uh, you can’t… deal with this like this.”“Like how?” He looked back and scoffed, “You don’t think I should move on?”“Y
Isabella’s Point of View:I tried to steady my breathing as I looked at the caller ID “Mr. Roman”. I knew I probably should pick it up, but I kept it down and decided to ignore it. My voice wouldn’t even come out at this moment as my throat was constricted with tears.As it rang again after a couple of minutes, I had no choice but to answer. I knew better than to do anything which would potentially anger him.After gathering myself together, I picked it up and wiped my tears.“Hello, Isabelle,” His voice rang in my ears like a nightmare came to life.I closed my eyes and took a breath. “What do you want?” My voice was slightly hoarse, but mostly cold.“Oh, you don’t seem to be in the best mood.”I scoffed softly but didn’t reply. After a moment, he continued.“Well, I would like you to tell me where Achilles is. I’ve been trying to look for him since last week but with no luck.”“Even if I knew where he was, I wouldn’t tell you,” I whispered, slightly frustrated. “It was rather naive
Isabelle’s Point of View:“I’m sorry, Bella. I know it’s fucked up what I did, and honestly, I think it’s best if I don’t live here. If by chance you’re worrying, don’t. I’ll be okay. I need you to move on and do whatever you want. This is not the first time I’ve hurt you so I’ll get what I deserve. You be safe. And even if you don’t believe me, I love you.– A.”As I read the letter, I felt a sharp breath leave my mouth. I didn’t bother about the entire letter, but the part where he mentioned he’d get what he deserves somehow scared me. It was not very long ago since he tried to… kill himself, I mean… it’s not even been six months, and oh, I needed to find him…I picked up my phone and immediately tried him twice, but obviously it was not picked up. The ring still went through, so it was deliberate. I ignored that and called Josephine.“Isabelle?” She picked it up at the second ring.“Josie!” I said as I was confused how she picked up. She hadn’t been answering any of our calls since
Achilles’ Point of View:“I’ll accept whatever he has in mind,” He kept a hand on my cheek and heat rushed to my cheeks, as I felt a wave of emotions run through me. “And I’ll make this right one way or the other.”She looked at me with the eyes that told a thousand stories but she didn’t utter a word. Her expressions were sad, rightfully so—but her eyes were still full of hope that maybe everything will be fine. It hurt me everytime I knew I was the reason she was hurt, but still I wasn’t strong enough to change for her.She stepped back and nodded. “I hope so.”I gazed over her for a little moment before looking over at Josephine. “Thank you for coming.”“Yeah, you should thank me,” She replied. “I was doing some pretty important things.”“Really? Like what?” I was genuinely interested.“I’ll let you know when I do,” She exhaled. “I need to go back.”“Wait!” Isabella stopped her, “Where you going? And what about your—your health?”“I checked in with a doctor just yesterday,” She sho
Achilles’ Point of View:“So? Should we start the paperwork?” His voice rang in my ears as I looked over the file and then at him again.My mind wandered off to all the options I had at the moment. On one hand, I had to accept entering this new world of illegal people in exchange of my entire life being handed back to me on a silver platter or I could continue being the homeless son who betrayed everyone he ever came across.Sure, I was exaggerating each of the choices, but that was because I had already made one.“Sure,” I replied with a smile, taking a moment but not too much, “After all, Roman Industries deserves an heir.”He smiled back notoriously before pulling out several documents and continuing the process. The next few minutes witnessed me signing on multiple pages, and then he asked me to follow him to a certain location which was probably the base. I wondered why he was in such a hurry.When we reached the location far off from his place, I was shocked to find that the “man
Isabelle’s Point of View:“Three cappuccinos to the sixth seat, Bell. Keep up!” Heather said to me in a rush as she went over to the second seat in the shop with their order.I hurried and poured the coffee in the cup before serving and pouring another as soon as I came back. The Brew Haven was busy at this time of the day and I wasn’t used to working that fast or that much—but I had to try if I wanted to keep this job since I already got fired from my last workplace for being ‘lethargic’.After a couple of hours the crowd died down and Heather decided to go back, leaving me in charge of closing up later. We usually took rounds taking night shifts and obviously, today when I was so tired, it had to be mine.I let out a sigh as I sat behind the counter with only a couple in the shop whose order was already served. I took out my phone and mindlessly scrolled, as I finally got time to think about the past three months.A lot changed in these months—it had been exactly ninety days since I
Isabelle’s Point of View:“Achilles?” My voice came out confused, yet somehow hopeful.In reply I heard a sigh before the same voice came out again. “Why don’t you all go back to the base and wait for me?”“Yes, boss.” The two other men replied before I felt them receding to the other end of the alley.After I stood up slowly as they left, I could see the dead victim on the ground at a distance and the man, who had to be Achilles, standing a little distant from me. We stayed quiet as I wasn’t sure if it was really him, and I didn’t know if I wanted it to be.He finally spoke when we were alone.“Isabelle.” He said with a cold voice, almost lacking any emotions although confirming my doubts. “Why do you keep getting involved with sick things?”“Why do you keep doing sick things?” I whispered back as an instinct. “Achilles, what’s going on?” I was both worried and shocked. Is this what he had been upto since he left?He came closer and I could finally see his face in the dim light. He h