“Marcos is your half brother? He never mentioned it before.”
“He doesn’t know.” Mateo hesitated before replying. He wished he didn’t trust her as much as he did.
“But.. that’s.. why didn’t you tell him?” Her voice goes soft all of a sudden. She couldn’t help but feel bad for Marcos, who had no family. She didn’t know what she would have done if she didn’t have her sister with her. To think that if something like this had been kept secret from him, it was almost cruel. Such a news would have completely shaken him up, it would have provided with th
“What are you? A dog?” He pulls back his finger reflexively.“hmph.” She flips to the side with difficulty, considering that Mateo was holding her hostage beneath him.“Hey hey, what are you sulking for? I said it was cute.” Mateo pursed his lips to try and stop himself from making any noise that resembled mocking or laughter. She was angry enough as it was. More than anything, she could feel the embarrassment creeping up on her from head to toe. It was probably a moment that would haunt her for many days ahead before she could finally get over it.‘Of course he wouldn’t want someone as inexperienced as me.’ She couldn’t help but mutter inside her own head.“Forget I said anything. Goodnight.” She closed her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep. Her breathing was a tad too irregular for her to pull it off.Mateo gently presses on her shoulder so she’s laid on her back aga
Even his stern grey eyes that were usually deep and cold seemed light and alive. It was something that might not be obvious to others but Nora could tell. From the way he looked at her when he first met her to now. It made all the difference."Pretty." It slipped out of her mouth before she could help herself. She was staring at his eyes.A mocking frown etched itself onto his face."First, that's my line. Second, I'm not pretty."Someone as rough and rugged as him would never want to be called pretty. It might be toxic masculinity but nonetheless it was prevalent in the generation."There was no other word for them." She fought back.It wasn't easy for him to compliment someone consciously. Of course if he was in a lustful haze, he would say the first thing that came to his head but in a calm headed setting, he wasn't one to shower someone with love.However, looking at her now, he knew he had to chang
"Ready?" Mateo asks her.Waves of butterflies clenched her gut. She did not have a good feeling about this at all. It was her who made the decision to go, she couldn't back out on her decision now. They would probably think she was weak and unworthy, was what Nora thought. That wouldn't let her escape her choice.It still didn't mean she was happy about it."Won't he rat us out when we leave?" Marcos points out. Mateo could tell that he was trying hard to hold back his anger at his betrayal. A few minutes alone with him would have been all that he needed to put him back in his place. He was the reason Marcos had to suffer, of course he would not be able to let it go that easily."That's why he's coming with us.""You're... kidding.. right? He could alert them on the
It was unfortunate really, that he had been doomed to this fate just because they had the same father.It made Mateo think that perhaps he should have driven the knife through his heart. Though, if that had happened he would have never met Marcos. Everything happens for a reason right?"Done"Mateo nods and they get going, entering from the hidden exit door of the hotel which was present at it's backside in the form of a rusty old iron door that usually people would take no notice of. It was there in case of emergencies like earthquakes and fires but it hadn't been used ever since it was built so maintenance was quite rare. They were in a city that seldom experienced such mishaps so that ended up working in their favor.They step quietly up the stairs, making as little noise as possible."If the cameras were cut, why
“Ah what the fuck are we paying for here.” There were sounds of aggressive stomping getting closer to the door until it opened with a loud click.Nora stood there silently, looking apologetic as if she had actually been the house-keeping and had made a dire mistake.“Well, what are you waiting for?” He scowled.It was a face all too familiar. He didn’t notice because she was wearing a hat and had her head kept down. Instead of responding to him, she simply reached in her pocket.“Just.. taking out the equipment.” Her voice shook a little as she took out a mask and began to fasten it around her mouth as Mateo and Marcos kicked open the door and dropped a few gas bombs inside of the room. Having inhaled a breath of the gas herself, she felt a bit drowsy but fortunately she had put on the
"Have you completely lost it?" Marcos hissed as she made her way towards them, backing away as if she was some sort of monster."You were supposed to keep an eye on her" Mateo turned his head towards him, gritting his teeth. Anger was rolling off of him in waves, turning his body as stiff as a stone.Nora gulped. Perhaps she had screwed up more than usually, was her thought."Isn't this why we give people the red room training before they go on missions" Marcos muttered under his breath, unable to come up with a defense of his own. It had all happened too fast, she had sprinted as fast she could and even if Marcos had ran after her, there was a chance that both of them could have gotten caught on the camera, thereby producing a situation worse than the one at present.Mateo sighs, a hand gripping at his jet black jelled up hair.They were in his office, looking around with guilty faces as Mateo's frustration grew by th
"Can I ask you something?" Nora asked as the figure in front of him took a break from the punching bag, beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face."Not to be rude, but why are you still here?" Marcos grinned in a teasing manner. He knew she was fired and that she was in the process of looking for university dorms to live in, preferably close to her university of choice.Nora planned to look for one that would also be close to the hospital so she could go and visit her sister as she pleased. This time, she would have no restrictions or limits on the number of times she was allowed to meet her. She could do as she wished.And yet she was welcome here anytime, according to Mateo, as long as she was discreet about entering the place. Apart from that, however, she would be living away from him.Currently, in her situation, there was something that bothered her more than living away from him. Something that was nagging her ever
Nora laid in her own bed, ignoring the knocks on her door meant for dinner. She had lost all of her appetite. She even thought she might throw up. The pit of her stomach was churning with discomfort with every thought that passed through her head.She couldn't believe it. She would not have believed it if she hadn't read it herself. The man who had murdered her father, the one she saw transiently from the peak in her closet.It was Mateo. The reason for all of her suffering up until now. Mateo had killed her father and ever since then, Amanda had lost her mind. She was no longer the same person. And the consequence had to be suffered by the twins.She could not help but think that if things had turned out differently. If her father was still alive, then her mother would not have behaved that way. They could have been a happy family. Even if Amanda wasn't the best person, they would have had their dad to balance things out.She want
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,