“Will he be okay?” Nora asks, a flicker of concern glimmering in her eyes. Mateo turned his head as he looked at her with curiosity. He was wondering why it mattered to her. Marcos was a complete stranger, what did it matter if he lived or died? He always hated fake generosity and it didn’t help that this time he knew that it wasn’t really fake.
“Gun shot wounds don’t take that long to heal as long as the stitches stay in. He’ll be alright by next week since no internal organs were damaged.” Nora nods, not really understanding the explanation but getting the part that he would be alright. It was enough for her.
Much to her dismay, they had gone back to sleep in their own rooms. Mateo was tempted more than once to go back to join her in her room but he had some thinking to do and knew that doing so would not be possible if she was entangled in his arms. He needed to think. And a part of him had already fi
The next morning, breakfast was more quiet than usual. The expected rustling and bustling had died down and instead there were windy whispers as people gathered to choose their meals and even as they sat at the tables. The whispers never stopped. It wasn't a strange ordeal, it was common for little things to get inflated and spread through the institute.Apparently, there was a rumor of Mateo cackling like a mad man as he broke a few of the king's fingers. It was what the word had gotten out as but.. in reality it was just a few chuckles and the king only had a sprain or two in his fingers. Mateo wasn't bothered in the least. After all, a showdown between the Mafia Prince and the King is no everyday phenomena.It isn't common for them to have much gossip to talk about, so when they get the opportunity, they enjoy the events unfolding before them. Mateo knew though, in an hour or two they would get bored and return to their original selves."You can't
30 The blood slowly trickled down his cheek, giving it a red tint. After reaching his chin, it drops to the ground, covering the glass and making it reflect red light. Seconds passed and Mateo still did not notice the presence of another person. ‘Maybe I should leave.’ Nora thinks to herself as she takes in the scenario unfolding before her. He was clearly not in a good mood and agitating him further seemed like a bad idea. She had come here because she wanted to ask if she could go to the hospital for a while. Even though Nova was still in a coma, she wanted to at least be near her. Maybe somehow being next to her will remind her over and over again that she wasn’t really gone, though of course she wasn’t really prepared to see the lifeless face on a ventilator. Thinking that something was at least better than nothing, she had gathered courage to come here and ask Mateo. She knew that the mafia members weren’t allowed to meet their old family and friends for
Nora had a slight vague idea of what it meant and the thought made her blush furiously which only seemed to incite Mateo further. Nora wasn’t the type to overly express her emotions just like Mateo, so to get some reactions out of her really felt like an accomplishment to him. “Then why did you stop.” She whispered curiously. It was not as if she knew what to do from here on out. She knew she was inexperienced but if Mateo showed her then she would try her best. For some reason, she found herself seeking his approval instead of thinking for herself and if she was ready or not. That was something Mateo had noticed. “Because I need a shower.” He teased, referring to the situation he was put in because of her. He didn’t lie but he also did not tell her the exact answer to her question. He simply evaded it which was something that was not ignored by Nora. “Am I dirty?” She found herself asking but then lightly bit her lip to stop herself from sp
Nora didn’t know where she had gotten such strength from to say these things. A part of her wanted to blame the drowsiness of the cigarettes so she wouldn’t have to take the blame. She thought she was being pathetic and needy when they weren’t even together. He did not owe her anything. He did not owe her comfort or anything to fill in the big gaping hole left in her heart. She was afraid that if it wasn’t for him, the hole would swallow her up until there was nothing left. She would be nothing.While she was in the middle of her thoughts, Mateo placed his hand on her cheek. Though he could not feel it, he knew it would be every bit as soft as he remembered.“Nora..” He began hesitantly. “I don’t think you know me very well. I’m a cruel man.”Nora had no doubt that he was being honest about it but the truth was, she had not witnessed him doing a single thing out of order. Nothing he ha
“You should go rest now. You seem tired.” Nora nodded. It had been a harsh day of training for her so she planned to rest a bit before going to the hospital to visit her sister. She would go at night time as to avoid being spotted by anyone.“Yeah the training was especially hard today. Jack said I might need it for later.” She sighed as she remembered the countless kick punch strategies that were introduced to her throughout the day. At one point she thought she would throw up after working so hard and she wouldn’t mind if it would happen on Jack. That man was a ruthless trainer.Mateo pondered on her words for longer than usual. He simply ended with a nod as she took her leave. He wore his gloves once again and drummed his fingers in a rhythmic pattern against the desk. Not being able to resist himself, he presses the go to call button on the office telephone.“I know you’re recovering but I’ll be bothering
“I’ll help with the training today as well.” Marcos says with a bright smile on his face while Jack puts on his wrist bands and stares at him in confusion. He spreads out his arms questioningly.“I thought only I was assigned this job?”“Hmm. Interesting theory but no.” His dark brown eyes glimmered with a certain mischief that escaped Jack’s attention though not Nora’s. She could immediately tell that he was up to something and whatever it was, the outcome would not be good considering the expression on his face.“If you say so.” They practiced the techniques and once they were done with the basics of self defense, they moved on to attacking methods. Today they happened to focus on a lot of taekwando offensive strategies.Before developing a competition strategy, each competitor must consider the following elements essential to taekwondo competition:1) Technical struc
Meanwhile Mateo was enjoying his steak in his living office as he watches the CCTV camers recordings on repeat. He wasn't impatient and nor was he doubtful. He knew that if he was right, it was only a matter of time. He clicked on the remote and changed it to a different mission, confirming that nothing was wrong with how the cases were carried out. It was important that no one was seen or caught during the mission for the safety of the entire institute. Hence, he was always watching the surveillance like a hawk , seeing if any abnormality was present.
The phone rings. Mateo watches it, letting it ring for some time before picking it up. Even before looking at the caller ID, he knew exactly who it was. A few seconds pass and then he casually picks it up, pressing the call icon and then lazily puts it against his ear."Yes?" He asked calmly."Mateo. We have a meeting tomorrow in the headquarters. I hope you can join us." It was none other than Lucian - the Mafia King. He shook his head lightly as if he was not surprised and things were going exactly how he had expected them to go.
This book is now complete. In the future if some of you want some extra side stories or more fluff, I would be willing to write them. For now, I'll be focusing on my exams (which is why I didn't write any extra side story chapters about their kid and married life.) Thank you to all of those who left positive reviews. Every single one of them made my day. Even though I felt like this book did not reach the potential it had because of some academic issues in my life, I hope it still appealed to you in some way. I am grateful to those of you that enjoyed it. Thank you for reading ☆
*a few years later*Some people aren’t lucky enough to get a happy ending. No matter how much they hope for something to happen, it doesn’t. That’s how life is.That didn’t stop Nora from praying in her sister’s room everyday. Every birthday, she would bring cookies into her private room, asking her to wake up so they could eat it together. It continued like that for a while, not receiving any response.Nora let out a sigh.“It’s too early for that.” Mateo mumbled, still half asleep. His arm was draped over Nora’s waist, his head muffled in her pillow next to her head. He could feel every breath she took. Even though he left his old ways behind, he was still cautious of running into old enemies.Of course, the organization itself didn&
After spending a whole day at the university in frustration, she learned one more thing. Early morning she had already received the lesson of people not repenting their mistakes even after completely uprooting an entire life. Clearly, she was referring to her mother.She learned something new at the university she enrolled in.“I am… so.. stupid.”She took the necessary subjects required to attend medical school. Mateo had explained the basic things he knew about it to her, though he hadn’t attended college himself so he wasn’t aware of everything.Nora was barely at a good reading level in English let alone study subjects like math and science. Though she was alright with history, owing it to the hours of television she had consumed when she had nothing else to do. This proved to be more di
As much as Nora hoped, it wasn’t the case that her sister was miraculously healed by the time she came to visit. Her condition was the same. She was glad that at least she was not worse and as long as she was kept on the ventilator, there was a chance that she could wake up.Dr. Miller had asked Nora how long she wanted Nova to be on the ventilator. She told her about organ donation and what it could mean for other people. Nova would be able to improve the quality of life of at least 20 people. It was the first time Nora had gotten so angry at anything. Usually the shy and feeble type, she was not used to feeling such rage. She wondered if somehow along the way, Mateo had some influence on her behavior.“There’s no way.” She grit her teeth.She straight up refused and let her know, she would keep Nova on the ventilator for as long
As she left, Mateo’s gaze was piercing, as if he was giving her a warning.“You’re not as calm as you pretend to be.” Marcos pointed out.“I’d say the same but I’m afraid you’re not pretending to be dumb.”“Inherited it from my brother.”“That’s not how it works.” Mateo couldn’t help but cringe. Despite everything, he had to suppress a smile. He couldn’t deny that he liked being called brother. He felt like he had a real family. Soon enough, Nora would be family as well, was his intention.“What do you think of this?” Mateo showed him a little black ring box.“Ew. Incest.” He immediately received a flick to his forehead.
“What? I thought you two made up, which surprised me.” Marcos’s face contorted in an expression of confusion at the end of his sentence. He had expected Nora to storm out of the place immediately after finding out what Mateo had done. Surprisingly, she had stuck around and even came to forgive him for what he did, though she needed some alone time to process everything that had happened.“It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know and besides, my father was a criminal.” She mumbled.“Nora, we are criminals too, if you’re considering the law.” He made a good point.“That’s true, but you don’t traffic children.” Her hand went up to her hair and pulled at it in frustration. Her head felt like it was about to burst from all these strange thoughts and emotions. “I’m not normal.
He paced around outside her room for a while, unsure of what to do. Should he go inside and ask for her forgiveness or should he give her some space first? If he gave her space and she took off, never to be found again. What would he do? Mateo knew that he was being ridiculous, over thinking about it just because he was scared of what her reaction would be. He did not like the feeling. It was something he wasn’t used to.With Nora, it always seemed like he was experiencing new emotions, things he hadn’t encountered ever since he was a kid.Mustering up his will, he knocked on the door a few times. He called out her name when he didn’t receive a response.“I’m coming in.” He turned the knob slowly with a hasty breath, as if he himself was afraid of what was behind it. The expression she would make.
“So.. did you chop his balls off like Nora said you were going to do?” Marcos grinned as he watched Mateo suffer with his meal. His right eye was swollen and black and the lashes over his body burned.“She shouldn’t have had to see that. Why did you let her in?” He grit his teeth.“I tried but she’s tiny. She snuck in there before I could stop her.” He shrugged, feeling all the stares accumulating. The dining hall was more silent than usual. That could be owed to the fact that the main topic of gossip was none other than their boss who was sitting right in front of them.“What’s up with them?” Marcos asked in a muffling voice as he chewed on his food. He received a look of contempt from Mateo and immediately chose to close his mouth while he ate. Mateo’s disappointment always had a way of making him change.“They’re making me the new Mafia King.&rdq
"What are you doing?" Mateo mumbled, as if trying to warn her. His eyes were swollen and slightly black, his arms and legs were tied to the chair with a rope. Blood trickled down his forehead onto his bare chest and then further down his abs.Nora thought it was alot of blood, enough to make someone pass out. Mateo drew his head back, using the top of the chair as support, to get a good look at Nora. For a second he thought he was hallucinating, but she seemed to actually be there."The celebrity has finally arrived" Lucas smirked, there was a sinister tone in the way he had said celebrity. Mateo knew it was because he was still mad about her rejecting his advances and then further insulting him. It was also because he was mad about everyone completing the mission successfuly without any setbacks. No one had died, everyone had made it out alive in one piece which happened to be against that little plan of his. He was confused until after a little bit of digging,