Vincent appeared in the dining room in his full might; no longer sweaty or as distracted as he was on the field.Right behind him was Sienna who looked as elegant as always but with all on her mind lately, she seems to have aged a little."Good morning, Lord Vincent.""Good morning brother."Mateo and Felicity greeted Vincent respectively with obvious sparks and their eyes. They had not quite gotten used to Vincent trying to eat despite his condition.Vincent takes his seat at the head of the table before saying, "You may all sit."His eyes wandered about while Imelda and Lucy came in and out of the kitchen in turns, setting the last variety of dishes on the table."Why isn't Flavia here, yet?"He asks no one in particular but his tone was enough to set off the stress in all who heard.One person in particular looked the most guilty as she placed a tray of a small batch of muffins on Vincent's side of the table."I'm sure she will be here soon." Imelda tries to answer without stutterin
Isadora steps out of the kitchen, a bit exhausted, finally done with the dishes. She begins her journey back to the servants' quarters for a quick rest.The passages are quiet at this time of the day because everyone is out working; this makes it all stranger as there is a black figure at the far end of the passage when natural light fails to reach.Isadora moves forward fearlessly but cautiously, when she became near enough to tell who it was, she almost cursed out loud.She ignored the person and attempted to walk right past before she hears a voice akin to scratching on a chalkboard."Stop right there maid Isadora," Sienna commands haughtily.To her surprise, Isadora obeys without fuss. The bitch is finally learning to know her place. She crosses her arms under her bust and wears an ugly frown."Did you not see me standing here or were you going to pass without acknowledging my presence?"Isadora smirks and maintains eye contact with Sienna, the type that makes one uncomfortable."
"Let me in." The command of a woman echo's from outside."Yes."It's silent for a second before the iron door squeaks open, introducing Sienna into the white room.She closes the door behind her, and stands in front of it, without effort to move even an inch further into the room.This was one of the numerous rooms in the Mafia's main treatment center, like a hospital. Asides from the scent of disinfectants, the atmosphere is saturated by the aura of a man, deep in the filth of shame and regrets.Dante layed on the bed, looking like a mummy with all the bandages he was covered in from head to toe. He is completely still and looks lifeless from afar.Sienna's nose scrunches up slightly to the pathetic sight. She really doesn't want to deal with this crap, but Isadora has forced her hands this time.She expertly replaces that look with one of concern and sympathy and saunters to the side of the man lying in pain on the treatment bed."Dante," She whispers, "Are you awake?"Dante's eyes
Sienna's voice drops to a whisper. "What do you mean?" Lucy covers her mouth with both palms, instantly regretting what she had just done. She made a promise to Imelda but Sienna is far too scary and forced it out of her. "Out with it, I am not a very patient lady." Sienna's death glare frightens her even more. She has once witnessed one of Sienna's bouts of anger; what she can commit at those times, her mouth is too heavy to speak. This stupid secret isn't worth angering Sienna. Lucy takes a deep breath and gathers her words. In the next second her mouth opens and explains everything that is happening in great detail. From her mistake of burning Imelda's cupcakes, to Isadora saving the day and the huge smile of victory Imelda held after Isadora's first time on the table. She clarifies why there had been a steady splurge of muffins to Vincent men for some days and Imelda's tireless research to copy Isadora's methods. But so far only Isadora's hand-made muffins work. "That's al
Barefooted, Isadora followed the guard past the silent hallways to the top floor, like a lamb to the slaughter. He was walking so fast, it took conscious effort to keep up.At that moment, Isadora had a lot racing through her thoughts and a haunting feeling of uncertainty overwhelmed her very being. Only seconds ago this guard had barged into her room without warning and practically dragged her out in a haste, only muttering these few words."The Master wants you immediately."Isadora's heart pounds irregularly and an uneasy feeling creeps up her chest.Why does Vincent suddenly summon her so late at night? Her mind deters to the nearest possibility and she jams her eyes shut, suppressing such ugly thoughts. It couldn't be… it just couldn't.The guard halts and that's when she realizes they have already reached Vincent's chambers. He opens the doors without prior permission and pushes Isadora in, immediately closing it behind her with a hard jam.Isadora breathes in and out through h
The golden sun risen just above the clouds had one of its fingers stretched over Isadora's eyelids,haven strayed in from a near window. She murmurs incoherently and flips her body to the opposite side of the bed. She hits something hard and unmoving but goes right back to sleep.It takes exactly five seconds and her eyes shoot open in panic as the thought registers that her bed frame was never close to a wall. Her eyes shut just as suddenly as she opened them from the harsh brightness of the room. Slowly, she opens them up, gradually adjusting to the light. The first thing she sees permanently displaces any form of sleepiness left in her body.Isadora nervously sits up.Vincent was staring at her with so much seriousness in his eyes and under his pressuring gaze, she feels so small. Memories of the previous night flood in.After Vincent had instantly fallen asleep with her in his arms, it took Isadora a minute or two to regain her bearings. Haven calmed down to the nth percent she tr
Zeta walked briskly with several shopping bags in her arms on her way to Sienna’s room. From the corner of her eyes, she catches two maids conversing in hushed voices in the adjacent turn.She frowns deeply. These girls only know to slack off and gossip when she is away and have no one monitoring them. Now, she has caught them red-handed they will surely get a lecture from her.Zeta sneaks up behind the two maids but they don’t notice her, too engrossed in their discussion. One that also catches her attention when she was close enough to make sense of their words.“I saw Master Mateo come down to the servants' quarters today, he looks so handsome up close.” One said to the other dreamily, “You don’t get to see him all the time ‘cause he is always at Miss Felicity’s private quarters in his free time, right up her ass!”“You did? Why do you always get to be the lucky one? He rarely ever visits our part of the mansion. It must have been important.” Her partner replies.The first maid sco
"To be frank, that's all that happened," Isadora says to Felicity as they both sit under the shed built near her quarters. Lucas is on Isadora's lap and he tugs and plays with her hair. She doesn't seem to feel it though, her mind has been so preoccupied in the last hour. Earlier, she had been escorted by one of Vincent's men to her new room in the mansion on Vincent's command. Their little squabble in his chambers from last night was already strange enough, and the new development was quite the surprise. Felicity nods as she listens to Isadora's recount of the whole situation, hanging off every word with rapt attention. She breaks into a knowing smile as soon as Isadora is done. "I always knew there was something special about you. It's like the entire mansion has been blown with a different wind since you came here." Her face blooms, sunny yellow. Isadora is tempted to roll her eyes, but to her surprise, she rolls with Felicity's energy. Her positivity is very infectious. "You
On the hospital bed, Sienna’s eyes weakly fluttered open and her blurry vision took a moment to clear up. Her mind felt heavy and foggy, and it took a while to get her bearings.She emitted a deep, weary moan as she attempted sitting up, overcome by the fatigue that washed over her.“I wouldn’t move too much if I were you,” Mateo advised.Sienna’s gaze snapped to the source of his voice. Mateo was sitting on a chair right beside the edge of the bed with an unwavering gaze on her. She hadn’t noticed him before.“W-what’s going on?” She struggled to form words, still feeling groggy.“You fainted yesterday. You are in the infirmary now.”“Why would I be –“ Sienna’s mind recovered its sharpness in an instant. She finally remembered.“Oh no…. I need… I need to see lord Vincent now….I need…” Ignoring her deathly aching body, Sienna hastily hurried onto her feet, almost tripping in the process.“Sit the fuck down, now, Sienna!” Mateo commanded with striking authority, yet his voice remained
At the entrance of the Green Viper’s Mansion, a number of maids carefully but quickly stowed Sienna’s suitcases into her ride. They didn’t want to be present when she showed up, the past week plus had already put them through enough hell.The signature click-clack of Sienna’s heels could be heard as she walked towards the entrance from within. She moved with urgency in her steps and an impatient look on her face as she checked for the time on her smartphone.“Ugh, it’s almost noon and these imbeciles aren’t done loading up yet. Just like the system here, its people are also slow. How I miss Zeta!’ she groused under her breath.“Don’t tell me you’re going back to the Black Saints after you were clearly banned. It’s barely been two weeks already, do you have a death wish?” Neomi scoffed.Her voice scraped Sienna’s nerves like nails on a chalkboard, forcing her to stop in her tracks.Turning just her torso, Sienna glared at Neomi who met her gaze from the staircase landing. “Unlike you,
"Woah," Gianna sat up and cupped Isadora's face in her hands, "Is there anything wrong?" She asked worriedly, unused to Isadora being so affectionate.Isadora let out a small giggle, "No, I've just missed you.""Hmm" Gianna examined her body, "Are you sure? You've lost a bit of weight. Where have you been all these while? Your friend said you went on vacation. Is that true?""Slow down mom, one question at a time."Isadora shook her head."Yes, I'm fine and it's true, the stress was getting to me and I thought I should take advantage of the break and relax properly before school resumed." She lied.Only after her explanation did Gianna finally calm down, sighing in relief.Isadora dragged a chair and sat by her mother's bedside, smiling.Vincent really kept his word to keep Gianna out of their affairs if she complied. That, she was thankful for. She couldn't put Gianna through the stress of worrying about her, in her condition… she couldn't drag her back to that life.Gianna noticed th
Isadora had her back to Victor while he left. She gazed at the crumpled piece of paper in her hand and tossed it into the trash in an instant.Federigo saw this and sighed, "Don't be too upset Isadora, this is for your own good.""And who are you to tell me how to feel?" Isadora said hotly."I'm just following your father's wishes." He explained.Isadora scoffed, "If you haven't noticed, following that low life's commands isn't exactly my forte, is it?"Federigo didn't know what to say. He could see hatred blaze in the child's eyes each time his master, Lance was mentioned. If Lance could see this right now, he would be destroyed within.He couldn't tell her the truth now. He couldn't possibly explain how much her father loved her and never wished for things to play out like this. No… that would be too much to hear after all these years of pain.He could only say bitterly, "This isn't the way Lance wanted it to end.""Of course, it isn't." Isadora agreed sarcastically.Federigo led her
Isadora smoothly settled down at the new dorm. For dinner, she ordered takeout for all and left Echo and Nirvana in each other's company before retiring to her room. She spent the rest of the night researching and filling up updates on what she's missed in the past few months and her class schedule.The next morning, Isadora rose quite early with an ominous inkling for the day and boarded a cab out of the University's premises. It was a silent ride downtown.She had mixed feelings, willingly coming back to the one place she detested the most, somewhere that was supposed to be her home. Despite knowing that the sole cause of her hatred was dead, it didn't give her much peace.She's never really got to think about Lance's death and what it meant to her. He was gone, but it didn't feel like it. Even when she strove so much to be completely dissociated from him, his bloody legacy still found ways to influence her life, in some way or another.Somehow he's managed to make himself a major ch
"Great, you are here already!" Nirvana opened the door to the dorm, ushering Isadora in."You own quite the apartment, don't you?" Isadora commented, looking around the beautiful living space.Consisting of multiple private rooms sharing one living room, It was a place located in one of the most well-off housing areas in the school. She didn't expect to be placed in the same dorm as Nirvana. It seems she had become Nirvana's official bodyguard.Nirvana chuckled, "Just as much as the insufferable problems, there are perks that come with being born in a wealthy Famiglia," She hopped over to the mini bar at the corner and poured Isadora a glass of chilled water."Thanks," Isadora took a sip from the glass. The feel of the cold liquid in her mouth instantly melted all the tension that built up in her mind while coming here. Back to a place that she'd lost all hope on.After she received Vincent's orders yesterday, she proceeded to inform Felicity and Imelda about her pending departure. Th
After two days of rest, Vincent summoned Isadora to his side quite early in the morning.He made her stand beside his desk, which exposed a clear view of his confidential work while he penned down some words.Isadora took liberty to peer over his shoulders while he worked. She subconsciously thought he was very attractive in his serious working state.There was a soft knock at the door."Come in." Vincent permitted, routinely.The door opened, revealing Imelda's gentle figure."Good morning Lord Vincent. I want to know if you are in the mood to try anything today." She said with a tone of anticipation."No need." Came Vincent's firm voice. Not once did he take his eyes off his desk."Alright." Imelda released a sigh of defeat and proceeded to leave the room.One day he was alright and the next he wasn't. Vincent hadn't tasted a thing since the last time he ate. She was starting to get worried."Wait." Vincent's casual word made Imelda halt immediately.For the first time since she arr
Felicity looked crestfallen, facing Isadora's rejection. Her tone considerably lowered, "I thought you also felt it. Did I read it wrong? I'm sorry I shouldn't have -" "No! It's not you." Isadora grabbed Felicity's hands in hers, preventing her from saying anything else. She spoke, raw from her heart, "You are the most wonderful person I've ever met, Felicity." She glanced at Felicity's body, feeling a rush of desire, "Just… Wonderful." She looked Felicity in the eye, "And I do feel something for you - something I don't understand. I'm just not ready for all of this yet." Isadora explained, a bit overwhelmed. Felicity's doleful expression softened into a small smile. She looked very relieved, her eyes glued to the floor in embarrassment, "I was going crazy not acting on my feelings for a long time. I thought it would ruin our friendship." "Hey," Isadora held up Felicity's chin to meet her gaze. "Nothing can ever come between us. I won't let that happen." Felicity's heart raced at
"Mateo doesn't mind if you hang out with me in broad daylight?" Isadora was much more patient with Felicity now that she understood their dynamic.Felicity's smile instantly fell flat with a frown. Isadora perceived she had said something wrong. Did the two get into a fight?"He's too busy to notice." She replied curtly.Felicity brought Isadora down to her quarters, where Milia sat in the living room, holding an adorable toddler.She stood up to acknowledge them, "Mistress Felicity… Mi-miss Isadora?..."Milia looked very surprised. She never expected the maids' hot gossip this morning, that Isadora had survived the monster was indeed true."Can I have him?" Isadora reached for Lucas with a smile."Sure." Milia passed him to her.Lucas, who was usually very picky about who held him, readily bent his torso towards her.Once he settled in Isadora's arms, Milia stepped aside.Isadora sat beside Felicity on the couch and sat Lucas on her thighs.His bright blue eyes stared at Isadora with