Nora paused for a second.
It didn't seem like a big deal to her, after all she had changed in front of him before. She simply nodded in compliance. She was too naive for her own good.Mateo had half expected her to tell him to leave so her sudden acquiescence partly shocked him.
He told himself he wouldn't look as he took off the oversized baggy shirt of his. Secretly he really liked how it looked on her and was a bit disappointed that she wouldn't wear it again.As he took it off, his gaze was focused on the interesting tile pattern of the bathroom wall until there was an obstruction in the shirt's path. The corner of his mouth fought hard to stay solemn as he looked down at her.
"I can't take it off like this." He tells her, seeing as her arms were at her side and not raised above her head. Mindlessly, Nora wasn't even paying attention. Despite sleeping for such a long time, she felt exhausted from the constant sharp pain shooting up her body with e
Chapter 14"It seems to be a case of internal bleeding." The doctor uses the MRI present in the underground facility. There was a specific room denoted to first aid, anything that could possibly be needed was present here- from ventilators to CT scans. One of the reasons was, it wasn't convenient for them to go to hospitals with every injury and nor would it be advisable since depending on the wound types, the cops could be alerted like in gun shot wounds or stab wounds.If the condition was serious, however, a few trusted doctors with affiliates to criminal organisations were asked to come in and help with the treatment. In severe surgical cases, they even agree to perform the surgery in their own clinic without alerting any authorities or having it show up on medical records."Is it severe?" Mateo asked with a clenched jaw."Mild to moderate. Lot's of bed rest for a few days and a strict liquid diet should do the trick. I'll also give her some painkille
He was selfish. In his whole life there was no one who would spoil him with the things he wanted so as a result he took it upon himself to do the same. He decided to take what he wanted, whenever he wanted.He decided to be selfish.He was.Yet in this moment when he looked at the peaceful face that sleeping so calmly. A certain tightness in his chest told otherwise. Because he was selfish enough to keep her here, she had gotten hurt. And though Mateo told himself over and over again that he did not care, at the end of the day he was still a human.He leaves her sight.‘Us meeting again was just a coincidence. This is for the best.’ He assures himself.…“I can just leave? What about the debt?” A look of confusion drawls over her face.The amount he had paid to save her sister wasn’t a small one. It was almost 2 million and he was willing to let it go just like that? Even if he was, Nora didn&rs
The room practically had an air quality index of 150 as rings upon rings of smoke were blown out. Adding on to it were a few bottles of bourbon carefully splayed on the working desk.There was a sudden interruption attributed to a few knocks and the opening of a door.“Seriously? You’re drinking now too? Talk about responsibility.” Marcos stifled his mocking scoff before noticing that Mateo was too drunk to lash out at him.“What the fuck do you want?”“That’s one of the rare times I’ve heard you swear.” Marcos didn’t bother holding back his amusing grin.“Tell me.” His legs were unusually placed on the ground in a man spread as he rested his elbow on the arm rest of the chair. He moved his glass in a circular manner to mix the alcohol well with the soda as he took a puff with his other hand.“I wanted Brian kicked off from my mission.”“I won&rs
“Holy fuck. What’s wrong with you. Get up.” He pokes her arm a few more times. Nora takes a deep breath and ignores the sudden pressure on her upper limb as she continues gazing at the stars intriguingly. She wondered what they were made of and why some flickered while others didn’t.“Oi Oi.” This time he light smacks her forehead.“Are you dead?” He mutters to himself as his fingers pull on her upper eyelid in hopes for a response. As expected, she instinctively shuts her eye. After realizing that she is indeed awake and not dead, he ponders on his words.“Coma doesn’t mean dead, you know.” He wouldn’t be surprised if she had misinterpreted the doctor’s words.“They said she might never wake up.” She whispered as she counted the number of bright lights in the sky. Marcos cursed inwardly. He knew that. He also knew that the chance was so slim that it was close to non
Chapter 18 The scent filled her airway and took her aback. Her fingertips lingered on the doorknob for a few seconds, afraid to move even an inch further. She knew how it would end. Nothing good could ever come out of this. She was aware more than most how drastically a person could change when they become drunk or high. Despite the trembling in her hand and the strong anticipation of a beating, she didn’t know where else to go; edging her to push on the door. It opens slowly as a result of weak application, showing just enough to the viewer’s eye. Mateo sat on the ground at the foot of the bed, his elbows on his folded kneecaps and his head looming into the dark abyss formed by them. The sight alone was enough to urge her to back her steps slowly, tracing them in an attempt to turn back time. Her nervousness, as usual, made her more clumsy than she was accustomed to as she almost slipped – using the support of the wall as a save.
"Aspirin?" Marcos suppressed his grin as he offered the bottle, glancing at Mateo's drooping head. Leather hands gripped at his hair in response to the headache."What was she doing here?" He knew that she couldn't have gotten here herself, not without a reason. It didn't make sense to him, he couldn't fathom why someone would want to return to a place that only brought them misery. Furthermore he knew that it was best for her to stay as far away from him as possible.After his recent discovery, he was completely sure of it; nothing good could come out of her staying with him."Cutting right to the chase, I see." He was debating with himself, not knowing whether to reveal that Nora had just been on a suicide mission and the only reason she was alive here now is because he happened to find her before she got mauled by a vehicle. Moreover one simply doesn't know the kind of people they could encounter in the middle of the night, it wasn't safe to act i
She chewed on her lip as more than a hundred men seated at various tables containing numerous plates of food stared at her figure standing nervously at the door way. A buffet was laid at one end of the room."Can't I eat in my room?" She whispers to Marcos."It's against the rules."A particular circular table was empty except for Mateo. He motioned towards the seat with his eyes to Marcos who immediately caught it."Over there" He assures her as they head to the buffet to grab their plates and fill it with a variety of foods. Seeing so many options, Nora seemed confused about what to get. She took her time looking for bread on the table. Seeing her hesitance and feeling his head being shot with Mateo's impatient gaze, he hands out her plate to her which was filled with various cooked meats, bread and some vegetables."You can go join Mateo"Following his line of gaze, she walks to the table the plat
Chapter 21At first Mateo had assumed that she was cold. He had increased the temperature of the room but it made no significant difference. He settled on realizing that it was not a response to maintain temperature but actually a result of nightmares or terrors. He knew it well.Though Mateo wouldn’t shake, he would turn to stone as his fears came to light, dancing around him as if to mock him, proving their strength and the dominance that they were asserting over him. It was Mateo’s greatest and most rewarding mission, when he asserted dominance over them instead and won the game.He leaves the door open slightly to let some light in which would help with illumination for what he needed to do. Taking out a little box of ointment from his pockets, he stepped slowly to crouch down at the side of the bed. After removing the blanket carefully, he applies at the visible wounds on her legs which were mainly bruises from being kicked by Master
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,