45 | Oops, Busted!
The ornate front door swung open and Vittoria entered the house with her brother by her side, my sight startling her.
"Oh, hi Rafael." She quickly pulled her full sleeves further down and brushed her bandaged hand over her blonde dyed hair, letting them fall over her forehead.
I could feel the twins' worried stares on me, begging me to not lash out on her.
I took a step forward but a set of hasty footsteps inching closer to us caught my attention. I shifted my eyes behind them and Oliver's form became visible but he wasn't alone. Allegra was with him.
In his arms, unconscious.
"Alli?" Mason gasped, his terrified eyes silently questioning Oliver about what happened to her.
"Is she okay?"
"How did this happen?"
"Please tell me she isn't hurt."
"Who did this?"
Questions were bombarded at Oliver who quite surprisingly, tossed us an annoyed look. "These Esztar women, I tell you!"
"Excuse me?" I did a double take.
"They take stubbornness to altogether a different level." He continued moving towards their stairs. "Sometimes you just gotta deal with them the Rafael way."
The Rafael way?
What the fuck is that?
"You drugged her?" Toby exclaimed, clutching his hair.
He threw him an exasperated glare. "How else was I supposed to get her here? First she has to blow her cover and walk herself into Luca's den, well aware of the fact that he wants her dead. And then, she wants to stay alone at that house so that Nikolai or Luca can go there and conveniently kill her as easily as sucking a fucking lollipop. Jeez!"
"Breaatthheee, grandpaaaa!!!" Liam inhaled and exhaled loudly, guiding Oliver to follow his actions.
He disregarded poor Liam's caring gesture and carried her upstairs to her room which he had already prepared.
But he isn't in love with her.
And we aren't humans with brains.
"Hah! Tit for tat! She helped a certain bastard drug my sister. Serves her well." Mason clapped excitedly.
"I'm going to tell her that." Liam pouted. Mason then glared at him and he hid behind Vittoria begging her to save his life.
Oliver strolled back down almost immediately. "That house blew up to pieces exactly two minutes after we left." He flumped down on there couch.
"What!" We all yelled, more than shocked.
"Yes." He sighed. "We could call it luck. Two more minutes I'd have wasted in convincing her stubborn ass and we'd be dead."
"Oh my god!" Vittoria ran to her brother, enveloping him into a hug, the thought of losing him scaring the life out of her.
Now she'd realize how I must fee because of all the crazy things she has to do.
"Okay, okay." I pulled her away from him, turning her to face me. "Now let's talk about this amusing person I've learned about."
She stilled. So she knew that too. Good.
Mason and Vittoria exchanged nervous looks as if being caught. They were.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She played with her fingers, not looking up at me.
"I see." I clasped my hand behind my back, strolling to Mason.
"What are you talking about, Rafael." Oliver got up, his eyes narrowing at me.
"So after you left for Allegra' house, your sister over here left for her therapy sessions. I got a few men following her and found out something rather fascinating."
"Rafael-"
My hands trapped her between myself and the couch, causing her to flinch. A smirk creeped up my face as I bent down to level my eyes. "Should I tell your brother about your reckless behavior or shall I allow you to do the favor, Leia Skywalker?"
"Can you all stop fucking around? This day has already been very tiring." Oliver bellowed.
"Go ahead, Vittoria. Tell him where have you been going all these days with the excuse of your therapy sessions."
She remained silent with her head hung low.
"Vittoria." Oliver growled.
"The fight club." She mumbled timidly.
"What?" Oliver scowled.
"The Big Bang fight club." She repeated.
Honestly, I didn't know what to do to her. Who the fuck gave her the right to do that to herself.
"Take your hoodie off." I commanded and for the first time, she obeyed without saying a word.
My hands drawn behind my back formed into a fist seeing the bruises on her body. Whoever did this to her was going to fucking pay for it.
"You allowed this, Mason?" Oliver interejected, disbelieved.
"I wasn't okay with it either." He shook his head. "But try to understand, Oliver. There's a lot of anger inside her. If I didn't chanel it here, it would get worse."
"Worse? Look at her Mason. Her shoulder has turned blue, her wrists has marks on them and her forehead has a wound over it." I yelled.
These might just appear as normal bruises to them but when I see a single mark on her body, that image of her entire body covered with bruises and wounds flashes in my mind. It reminded me of my failure to protect her.
I wasn't so strong to endure it.
"At least it's better than her sitting in the bathroom cutting herself." Liam voiced, earning a warm look from Mason.
"Are you really serious right now, Liam?" Oliver stressed. "The kind of people going to that place are dangerous. You have any idea how much she's threatening her life?"
"You won't go there again, you get that?" I warned.
A subtle fear swarmed her eyes. "No, please. Don't do that."
"Why? What keeps you wanting to visit that place over and over again?"
"Rafael can I please have a word you in person? And you too Oliver." Mason requested.
The horror in her eyes stemming from uncertainty only intensified as if silently asking him to not do whatever he was going to.
"I'm not fucked up." She remarked all of a sudden, making all of us snap our heads at her.
"Vittoria." Toby sighed. "No one said you're fucked up. Where are you getting all these ideas from? It's okay to feel anger especially today after reading all that about you. We just don't want you to get hurt, that's it."
"Guess who's going to say goodbye to this world!" A loud enraged voice boomed from upstairs, running down the stairs with a determination to kill a certain someone.
"You look gorgeous in this dress, Alli." Toby siad dreamily.
Her funnily grumpy expressions morphed into an awwwww face as she thanked him and flirted with him.
"She looks like a Smurf." Mason snorted.
Now there were two people on the getting killed list.
"No, don't give me that attitude, Allegra." Oliver scolded and began with his rant, telling her what happened after they left and poor Alli listened like a frightened kid.
The scene was adorable, honestly.
"Why is she so quiet?" Alli pointed to Vittoria.
She moved her eyes up and down her body, slowly realizing what must've happened.
"You got busted?"
Vittoria nodded oh so innocently, pouting like a three years old. No, miss! That's not going to get you out of the trouble.
"So you knew. Why am I not surprised." Oliver frowned at his girl.
"Mason, you wanted to talk to us." I changed the topic before grandpa gave poor Alli a new round of scolding. He gave a brisk nod and followed us to a nearby room, well aware of Vittoria's anxious stares but however choosing to avoid it at the moment.
"Yes, Mason. I'm listening. Begin with your excuse for what you two did." I closed the door, settling down on an armchair. Oliver sat on the one next to me while Mason leaned against the wall beside the window.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled.
Oliver and I exchanged baffled glances. Did we just hear Mason own up to his mistake and apologize?
"Look I don't like seeing her hurt either." He gulped, fiddling with his single earring. "Until today even I didn't quite understand why she wanted to go there and fight."
He paused, looking out at the poolside area from there window. "She does it to push away the insecurity she feels about herself. She feels confident after winning a fight and she needs it. Now more than ever. You should see her fight. It's almost magical how she defeats men twice her size with such ease."
Yes, Mason. I've seen her fight. She gets ten times hotter.
Oliver rubbed his tired eyes, too exhausted with the crappy day that it was. "Yeah well, let's forget about it. Make sure she doesn't go back to that place."
"Don't worry, I'm here for that." I cast Mason a smug look hoping he gets the clear message.
"Where's Camila, by the way?" Oliver asked, noticing her absence.
"She's having a mild headache so she sleeping in her room."
"I'll go check on her." Oliver left the room, leaving me alone in here with Mason who was awkwardly staring at me.
"What is it? Say it."
"Do you think Camila really loves you?"
Okay that was unexpected. I didn't know the answer myself. I never bothered thinking about it.
He sensed my discomfort and waved a hand dismissively. "Forget I ever asked. I was just curious." He shrugged. "Who was that guy Oliver executed earlier?"
About that...
"He was Daniel." I spat his name in a disgusted whisper.
"The one from your workplace?" He whisper yelled.
"Yes. Vittoria doesn't know about it and it'll stay that way. I don't want her to guilt trip herself."
"Is this the same Daniel who's party she attended in December?"
"Yes, that same fucking disgusting maggot." I explained how he betted with his colleagues to sleep with Vittoria. Oliver lost it there. Just firing him like the other two employees didn't satisfy him.
I've never supported any of his decisions with such faith and excitement as this one. How I enjoyed every second of seeing him bleed to death. That's how anyone thinking about my Vittoria inappropriately will end.
She's my queen and I demand respect for her.
"Luca paid us a visit today." He said out of the blue.
It didn't surprise me. I knew he'd make a move. Mason narrated the entire incident and how Luca annoyed him by holding him back when he was hungry.
I hope he isn't hungry right now. I wouldn't even want to imagine the consequences of a hangry Mason around me.
He again had that awkward face on, shifting from side to side like a kid does when he's caught red handed stealing candies.
"What is it now, Mason? Just say it. Don't make that funny face."
"You found my face funny?" He asked in all sincerity. "I was just trying to have a civilized conversation with you."
Exactly! The very fact that the two of us were having a civilized conversation was funny.
"One of my friends is in dire need of money. Is it possible for you to offer him a job of one of your Scaven- I'm sorry Soldiers?"
So the term Scavenger was banned by Vittoria, changing it to Soldiers because the former sounded very disrespectful for those people who risked their lives to protect us.
When the queen orders, that's final.
I'm the Leader, but...whatever.
"This job is dangerous. Does he know how to fight? And is he reliable enough to trust with Esztar's secrecy?"
"His fighting skills are amazing and yes, he can keep the secret. But it's upto you. I haven't told him anything yet, just in case."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks."
"No problem." I smiled. "Now I want that person's name who hurt Vittoria." I demanded.
"Come on, Rafael! It's a sport. You can't go killing people like that."
I can. If anyone hurts her, they'll have to pay for it.
"What exactly are you doing, Rafael?" His tone this time, unlike everytime was rather pitiful than accusing. "I think she's moving on and you should too. Doing all this won't do any of you any good."
"Save your breath, Mason. We've had this conversation a million times before." I dismissed it.
"Look Rafael, I'm not trying to separate you two because I don't like you. You and I both know how toxic this relationship is. You say you won't hurt her but you do it again and even hurt yourself in the process."
Was his manipulation working?
Or was it simply the truth?
"You both have a chance to live a better life. Camila love's you too. Maybe not as much as Vittoria, but she does and you know that. Hell, you two are engaged for heaven's sake!"
I have to admit things just got more complicated after the media flashing my fiancée to the entire world. But that won't change my feelings for Vittoria.
"She wants to forget everything and move ahead. Please don't hold her back, Rafael. She's had enough of struggles and pain."
There's no way anyone will ever be able to convince me that she's trying to move on. I trust her love. She loves me. She loves me knowing and accepting my mistakes. I had promised her I'll never give up on her and I haven't forgotten that promise.
But what if she really was trying to forget me. I can't disregard the distance formed between us. What if she's found someone else? These days I don't seem to know anything happening in her life. I feel like a stranger with her.
No, no! What was I thinking! I don't need to be insecure. I believe in us. I won't let anyone get between us.
Vittoria was just mine. I trust her.
Vittoria: So I won't be able to go there again.... and see Harri ever again.
Mason: But comments can make it possible, right author?
Author: *ignores all*
Mason: Come on now! I secretly ship Harri and Vittoria. You can't end them like this.
Author: I can actually.
Mason: *smirks* I can even tell everyone your secret.