Unedited
• • •
Sophia awoke moments later to the feel of soft feather-light kisses and caresses running along her skin.
Sleep tugged on her eyes but even then, she still forced her heavy lids to open, focusing on the hazy sight that greeted her.
Elijah was kissing her skin. Softly.
He kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her tear stained eyes, lingered on her lips, jaw, and just about every inch of her face before moving on, down her neck, her chest, her hands and even up to her finger tips.
He did not shy away from kissing and exploring every inch of her body and just by watching him, Sophia felt as if her already hot temperature was slowly rising. Her entire heart was filled with a warmth like no other, it thudded loudly against her chest.
Her body was tired and her limbs were weak and limp. Elijah moved down her abdomen with his soft wet lips and lifted her legs, sucking in an audible breath as his eyes spotted her opening that was still dripping and wet with the fluids of their earlier activities.
It took a good minute for him to tear his eyes away and continue kissing down her skin, her inner thighs, down to her knees and toes. His eyes then locked with hers after he finally completed his task. A small satisfied smile on his lips.
His gaze was indecipherable yet Sophia could vaguely glimpse the bit of restrained lust in them. He stared down at her body with a gaze so hot and tempting that Sophia had to look away, immediately.
Elijah looked as if he itched to touch her even more, as if he couldn't get enough. After a while, he finally leaned down and kissed her swollen lips, a kiss that was not as fleeting as the one before. It was a deep kiss that had Sophia's toes curling. A miracle really..because she couldn't remember feeling her legs moments ago.
His hands ran down her waist, over her ass and gripped her thigh. It didn't hurt but it felt tight and possessive, as if God himself would need to get down and pry his fingers off. Doing even more to get him to stop touching her completely. His hand began sliding upwards seconds later, simply feeling the softness of her skin.
Sophia's eyes that had slipped shut snapped open and she quickly caught his hand before he could go further.
She shook her head weakly.
This man...he was impossible.
There was no way she could go another round with the stamina filled monster that called himself Osoro. She was so sensitive and sore down there, if he touched her again tonight she'd probably melt into liquid, her skin falling right off the bone.
Elijah chuckled, the sound made the tiny hairs on her neck rise. Her chest suddenly felt tight.
"I know..." he spoke softly, pressing his lips onto her cheeks before getting up, taking her barely moving body in his arms.
Sophia smiled a tired smile, resting her head on his bare chest. She never had sex like this before. She struggled to stay awake as he took her off the bed that was damp in a lot of areas and carried her bridal style in his arms.
Sophia never had sex like this that had her completely immobilized after all was done. To put it in a better term...it would be more proper to say she had been fucked. Fucked until her entire body went limp with satisfaction.
It was...amazing.
Sophia hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep again until she felt warmth envelop her body. Her eyes slowly opened to see a huge tub still being filled with steaming water. Elijah had already gotten in with her in his arms, sitting in a position that was comfortable for both of them before he began cleaning her, pressing a few soft comforting kisses along her neck and shoulders as he went along.
Sophia felt as if her chest was seizing up once more.
This man...
He fucked her to sleep minutes ago yet now it seemed as if he was...loving her. His care was one of a kind, Sophia never would've thought there existed a man who was caring to this extent.
And not only that, Elijah seemed as if he enjoyed himself while doing so.
Sophia knew it was much to soon to think of the other dangerous 'L' word yet...right now she felt loved.
Her eyes misted up with steam from the heated water and from her own emotions going all over the place.
Elijah said nothing and continued in comfortable silence as he cleaned her skin with a scrubbing sponge that felt so soft and amazing. Sophia was thankful he didn't speak, mostly because she didn't think she'd be able to hold a proper conversation.
She was so tired she fell asleep soon after, to the soothing sounds of their heartbeats, the water droplets and Elijah's movements.
The night mostly consisted of this, Sophia floating in and out of awareness and awakeness, watching Elijah pamper and taking care of her through the haze before she slowly fell asleep again.
All in all... it felt like a dream. A dream Sophia never thought would've been actual reality.
♤♡♤
With heavy steps and a gaze filled to the brim with conflict and restlessness. A man, dressed in a well fitted suit, very suitable for his frame and made of the finest fabric of it's kind, walked silently.
His shoulders, although forced to stay upright, showed obvious signs of being pulled down by his own somber mood, as if the world were on both of them, a heavy burden he had to carry.
Upon walking through the corridor with high ceilings and paintings that would've worth a fortune if auctioned, he paused. His light brown, almost hazel eyes, looked around equally as somber as his mood, unable to hide the feeling that gnawed at his insides.
With a sigh, he ducked his head and entered through the tall exquisite doors, they were already opened. He cleared his throat to make the only other occupant sitting inside the huge room aware of his presence.
The woman who half sat-half laid down, looked up with her eyes alone, her head barely moved and the glass filled to the brim with dark red wine barely rippled.
"Marcelo?" She raised a brow, acknowledging him in one breath.
Marcelo didn't respond, he simply walked over, grabbed the woman's robe that was thrown over another chair and threw it at her legs, said legs that were barely covered by the skimpy silk dress she wore.
He then stood silently as she moved to place her glass down and drew on her robe, he contemplated on his words before he spoke.
Unlike what was there before, Marcelo's easy going nature had completely dissapeared. What remained was a hardened face and tired eyes threatening to go dim at the world.
"I envy your lack of ambition," he finally spoke, a pinch of disdain leaking into his tone.
Olivia, the one who now sat upright, only shrugged with a scoff then took her full glass into her hands once more.
"Say what you need and leave, Marcel," She took a long sip then sighed, "Am I not allowed to enjoy this much before everything I own wither into dust before my eyes?"
Marcelo laughed, the sound was a little bit mocking, "And I don't have the same problem? I just choose not to sit and laze about all day while watching as it gets worse."
Olivia rolled her eyes, running a finger along a soft plush cushion by her side. "I was having a fine day, please don't ruin it...for my sake."
"Those days are few, Olivia, I don't know if you realized it but we're running a bit short on time..."
A flash of annoyance shot through her eyes, her lips curled up in distaste, "You don't have to remind me," she paused before asking, "Elijah?"
"Give up, Olivia... That'll never happen, you should already know this."
"But I can-!"
Marcelo laughed again, the sound dry as a chip from a shrivelled husk, "You're a woman in your prime, Sister. you could've found your way out of this mess already yet you're here, if father hears this..."
"Shut up! Marcelo," Olivia exhaled sharply, "It has to be him!"
"He didn't look at you not even once when all was still well for our family, what makes you think he'll change his mind out of the blue and accept you now? That is...I bet the moment our family's inevitable bankruptcy airs in the media, you even getting to say a word to him will be something in itself!"
Olivia's expression was twisting, as if she tasted something sour. It got worse the more she listened.
"That's it," Marcelo smiled, walking up to his sister and patting her head, removing the glass that almost spilled and stained the clear white carpet from her hand afterwards.
"-Listen," Marcelo continued, "You have to hurry and marry one of those fellows...doesn't your prospective list stretch as long as the eyes can see? Marry quickly and you can at least keep your estate and left over assets...before they're ceased by whichever comes to collect first, the bank or those debtors."
Marcelo took her hand, smiling softly as she frowned.
"But..." Olivia protested, "-it has to be him...imagine...if its him...all our worries could evaporate into dust..."
"I know, Vi, but that's precisely why it cannot be him," Marcelo sighed.
Olivia perked up, her gaze sliding to him in question. "What do you mean?"
"I'm trying my best...I can't say much for now but...try not to do anything rash for the time being. The last thing we need is for Father or Mother to find out that the situation already got this bad for us."
"But...! Marcelo, its not our fault is it?" Her hopeful eyes slid to him. Marcelo shook his head, somberly.
"Its not but...we should've been capable enough to stabilize...if father found out that his early retirement would spell the end for our family..."
Both of them shared a look, then looked away. Under all their layers of complicated emotions, the ones that tried to hide the most was their shame.
After a moment of silence, Olivia finally spoke again.
"Is he well...?"
"Father?"
Olivia froze then slowly shook her head, pursing her lips, "I already spoke with father."
Marcelo's brows went tight in question, one partially raised, "Then who..?"
"Elijah," she reluctantly answered.
Marcelo paused, then his eyes snapped to hers, "You still like him don't you...after all this time?"
Olivia looked away.
It was too obvious. A blind man could see it.
From young she always had an eye for that older boy who hardly spend any time playing with their group. With parents who were that close, their young days were spent together on many occasions and events.
Olivia always found herself looking for the boy who always stuck close to his father, as if childish games were of no interest to him. As they grew, her interested gaze quickly transformed into plain admiration and a small crush on said boy who was always included in adult business conversations while her and the other younglings had to run along and play.
Later, he developed into a young man who Olivia was sure none could match, raised into being a financial mogul from birth, of course one would expect a short moment of rebel in him when his fathers lessons and tests got hard and frustrating. Olivia only liked that new side of him more.
That rough patch eventually passed and Olivia, sitting at the sidelines had to watch as the man first started displaying interest in women, still it nothing past a simple night of pleasure. What's worse...even as she developed into a splendid, educated and beautiful woman on her own, his eyes still looked her over as if she was nothing, she remained an afterthought to him while most men stumbled at her feet.
To him, Olivia realized she was simply an annoying younger sister of his friend, one he didn't even want to go through the trouble of dealing with.
Olivia could curse at their family ties that dropped her in a place where he would never venture but it also gave her the chance to have certain privileges some would never dream of, like showing up where he resided unannounced and having meaningless conversations that consisted of him working while she spoke of whatever crossed her mind.
Ha... Olivia chuckled internally. That was what their conversations mostly consisted of but she didn't even have it in her to be disappointed.
He wouldn't tell her to leave directly, nor would he throw her out but he would never welcome her either.
In this weird stage of limbo, Olivia floated.
And now there came their sudden family crisis, Olivia knew and felt she had to hurry and marry before she lost everything but it had to be him.
Only sad thing was that Elijah did not agree...yet.
Marcelo also wasn't on the same wavelength nor did he agree. Olivia could only be glad he at least passed on her message to Elijah on his unorthodox visit.
Marcelo sighed, "He seems well, Olivia. I guess you'll have a chance to see him properly in the upcoming annual event just...don't do anything stupid."
"-Were only a foot into bankruptcy," he continued, "Be glad Elijah finds it too bothersome to check up on our affairs because if he does so... it'll only be a while before our father finds out too. If news got out, we might as well run off to the mountains."
Olivia shared another look with him then reached forward for her wine. "Oh, the annual event? It's that time already?"
Marcelo nodded, "Elijah's been gone for so long yes, but I don't think he'd miss that event in particular. He never has."
Olivia nodded.
That much was true. That was a day she always took full advantage of. It was truly unfortunate that she never once got to be the one hanging off his arm that day, as his date.
Olivia didn't feel bad because in truth, he always showed up alone...in all his years after stepping up to his current position. He'd never once brought a date but people had long since grown used to it.
If...by some miracle Olivia could get to be his date for that night...she'd do whatever it take.
However, with her big brother's eyes on her, and mindful of his earlier statements, she kept her thoughts to herself.
Marcelo reached into his jacket and took out a letter, the crisp and crumpled white envelope made her eyebrows raise.
"I came by to give you this...it'll help you stay afloat for the time being."
Olivia's eyes widened as her eyes connected with the envelop. "Where..." her voice trailed off as he shook his head.
"Don't worry about it...use it sparingly -oh and for the love of god, at least try not to look like you've breathed your last, neck deep in suffering...what if father shows up unannounced, he'd notice something immediately!"
Olivia nodded, taking and opening the envelope without much care. Upon seeing what was stated on the clear rectangular sheet of paper, her eyes widened.
How...
♡♤♡
After getting that over with, Marcelo left in a contented mood. His good mood after seeing his sister in an acceptable condition soon faded into nothing short of stomach eating anxiety after realizing that his day wasn't quite over with yet.
He boarded his car and drove himself to the other destination with his hands gripping the steering wheel. More than once he had to pause to take a breather before focusing on the smooth road before him once more.
A feeling of complication rose inside his chest.
He really had gotten himself into something that was far out of his league.
It was an accident, honest to God an accident. A misstep, an unavoidable bump in the road that ome thought they could dodge only to underestimate it's size.
But what could he do...? He was desperate and the 'help' came like a glass of fogged up cool water in a smouldering desert on a hot sunny day. So tempting and refreshing.
So much so that people failed to realize that the glass could only quench their thirst momentarily and the sun would be there always. Day by fucking day. And the sand and hot winds blowing it into their lungs wouldn't dissapear either.
His fingers dug into the steering as he continued to drive.
An ' accident' it was but he couldn't think anything about that now. Marcelo could only hope for the best and hope to every God in existence he wasn't found out.
The sum he just generously gave to his sister to keep her afloat until she saddled herself with a rich lucky spouse certainly did not come from no where and how he got it wasn't in the best interest of a select few.
...His father would actually murder him if this got out. And this was nothing short of the truth because their father's pride was nothing to scoff at.
His pride was so horribly huge that instead of simply asking the family they were close to for a bit of help...both their mother and father sat on their lips. As if it would've killed them to admit that because of a illness that was kept secret from the world, their funds were depleted down to nearly the last dollar and they were going broke. To put it in the most blunt terms.
Of course there was other factors that contributed to this. Greedy family members with sticky fingers, shark-like debtors, investments that went to shit, etc. But the main culprit that started this domino effect of mismanagement was their fathers illness that took millions per month to treat, being only a few of it's kind.
All of this was a situation that Marcelo waltzed right into because of his position as sole heir to the business and 'fortune'. His sister also got a sizable portion of the inheritance for herself which also meant the problem found it's way onto her doorsteps.
Though at first it wasn't this bad. They were expected to stabilize thd finances so they stopped operating fully at a loss and bring the company back to where it was before the hit but... Unfortunately Marcelo's skill was inadequate.
Instead of admitting that to his father the few years ago. They put up a front and now their parents were living with bliss in retirement thinking that all was well. Marcelo trudged on in the cold and stormy weather of his life and managed. Holding up the front with an iron grip and disguising the few slip ups that recently began making it's way through as an unfortunate business deal going bad and bringing him momentary loss.
Knowing that their father refused to even let the Osoros know of their initial crisis when it first happened, he didn't dare try and seek help from them now. As close as their 'families' were.
It was only that he ended up getting 'help' in a different way... From a small group of three very mysterious yet successful individuals.
This way of help that was proving to be so much worse and would cause a lot more damage than just his fathers damaged pride.
Only if his involvement was found out that is.
Marcelo finally got to where he was goung almost half an hour later and was now sitting in a tall building that was bare and stripped of all life and decorations. It resembled a structure one would find in those dystopian cities and looked as if it served no more purpose than being a warehouse of some sorts.
The interior was different at least, on the inside it looked like any company building. People moving about in the lobby, guests, workers above the ground floor and up.
As usual, Marcelo was met the moment he exited his vehicle and once again directed to a private elevator, went upwards to the topmost floor and left alone inside a lifeless meeting room that only contained a long round table and chairs.
It felt cold, both physically and mentally and Marcelo had to steel himself to remain emotionless and guarded. Using his years of training to hide the fact that cold sweat had already began running down his back.
If he couldn't do this much with his training, he might as well go and find a bridge to jump off of.
Don't be mistaken. The three mysterious ones from the bunch were hardly the thing that made Marcelo nervous.
The real reason why he was moments away from biting on his fingernails was because the condition of this 'help' involved scheming...-no, too strong of a word.... it involved going against the interest of a particular person Marcelo was more than familiar with.
He rubbed his palms together and did not even dare to think of that man's name...just incase by some miracle, said man gained telepathic abilities and heard it.
I really shouldn't be doing this but...
Marcelo blew out a heavy breath to calm his rising anxiety just as the door opened and a small man walked in.
The small man with mousey features and graying hair on his head were followed by two others, a tall lanky man with hardened sharp features and slinky yet experienced eyes and finally a woman who looked soft and innocent in every sense, a small smile on her face as she tugged her off the shoulder coat upwards.
All carried smiles as they sat in each respective chairs not too far yet not two close from Marcelo.
Marcelo smiled softly in return but his eyes were calculating. He knew better than to trust these people but...he didnt quite have all the choices in the world.
Either it was this or he had to face his father's disappointment and his family's rage. They were already getting restless at the thought of following his small under the table advices to cull their spending and focus on their maintaining their income and profits without relying on the main (nonexistent) wealth of the family he now controlled as the family head.
Finally, after everyone settled down into a comfortable position, The ring leader began to speak. The tall lanky man who went by the name Isaac, he intertwined his bony fingers and his cold, calculating eyes met Marcelo's.
"Pleasure to have you with us again, Mr Richarson, I trust you have something that can interest us?"
Marcelo contemplated for a moment. Truthfully the answer was a no and he'd much rather not be sitting in this seat right now.
"He's a man of very few words, to get him to speak without reason, you'd need a gun and maybe a soldier trained in interrogation, oh and even then...I doubt he'd start chatting merrily."
The woman, who preferred to go by the name Sienna, snapped her fingers. Not impressed by his dry attempt at humor. "You finally get to see him and you have nothing to show...at all?"
Marcelo was about to shake his head, then he remembered, "He might've been in an accident of some sorts...my sister told me about it but by the time I went, the medical cast was already off."
The small old man's eyebrows went upwards. With an illegible sound, Mr Jonas pinched the bridge of his nose in distaste."How unfortunate...if he healed up so quickly, it must've been minor."
"Unfortunate indeed," Isaac mumbled, "He should've broken a few bones, I bet that would be significant enough to shake the minds of some noteworthy people."
Marcelo bit down on his tongue, saying nothing in retort.
The man's words, although harsh was true. It wasn't that Osoro.co depended on the money of investors to stay afloat, Mr Osoro was far too wealthy for that, turning a million dollar enterprise into a multibillion venture in only a few short years of his reign. It was just that most investors and shareholders preferred the face of the operation and the holder of so much wealth, both his and their own along with their accumulating profits, to be in tip top shape.
If Mr Osoro was to ever present himself to the world with a visible injury, the expected reaction of shock and pause would cause a domino effect of mass selling and buyouts causing stock prices to fall and even other areas would be affected causing a drop in his profits plus unrecoverable losses, all for Osoro.co alone.
If that actually happened, it would prove to be an exploitable feat that all three who sat before him today wouldn't be so inclined to miss.
Marcelo had to swallow thickly and move on...before any of them began getting obscene ideas.
"I'm doing all that I can but it doesn't seem as if anything has changed. Has the information that I provided before been used?" Although what Marcelo provided before was an insignificant batch of information that probably no longer carried any weight, it had to count for something in the hands of these people who had nothing.
"We estimate theres still a uneven tilt...all the odds are in his favor plus unlike you...there's very few with the balls to join a group going up against him."
Marcelo nodded slowly. Of course there's an uneven tilt in Mr Osoro's favor. Marcelo sighed heavily.
Mr Osoro had a lot of money. It'd take a miracle of more recruiting an even more planning for their goal to succeed.
Marcelo knew their goal in itself was impressionable at most. Still he joined and the reason was influenced by his situation...not that he wanted to oppose Osoro.co personally.
He was simply an unfortunate broke soul caught in the silent fight between financial giants. All because an old man decided to auction off his land, a land that said old man knew would be beneficial but had no time, no capable offsprings with a mind of business, few ties with the right people for owed favors and a lot less to form a profit ratio partnership.
Instead of battling it out, the old man decided to throw it to the ground, collect his lump sum for his non confrontational children's inheritance and allow for someone else to develop it.
Fifteen prospective bidders with enough money to enter the race but every single one knew the moment this little thing caught the eyes of Mr Osoro, their loss were pretty much decided.
Not only would Mr Osoro obtain it...he wasn't so charitable to share slices of his well earned pie with others as well. He had no reason to, literally no one on that list could offer him anything for him to budge. It was this ethic of his that carried his company that far. Either you beat him in the war of bids or offer something to get a slice. Simple enough.
This group was formed to do the former. A quickly formed group with three of those bidders on the list, putting their wealth together in a partnership to give themselves a fighting chance.
Marcelo had no interest in taking a bite off something that was too hard for his teeth and too big for his sewn shut mouth and didn't even give it a time of his day at first. That was until these few approached him.
His closeness with the Osoro family was well known and it was on that pretense he was roped in...along with money for any and every information and a promise that he'd even get a piece of land for himself to develop on.. should the land be obtained by them in the near future.
It was too good to refuse.
How did they know of his family's dilemma? These few certainly had enough power and connections to find out. Something that Mr Osoro or anyone from the Osoro family never did, either because they respected the Richardson's privacy...or maybe they just didn't care to check at all.
Marcelo knew it was wrong but...his hands were tied, his efforts over the years got him nowhere, stuck at square one. Hell, even his woman snapped at him and left.
It was truly a pitiful situation.
Marcelo snapped out of his train of thought by the woman's voice, "I'm still working on finding others...ever since the site viewing, most got cold feet and didn't bother showing..." She sighed, "such a headache."
"I agree, he's just one man," Isaac grumbled.
"One very powerful man." Someone echoed beside him.
"Soon the numbers will thin out...others tend to not waste their time on needless pathetic struggles, I'm thinking most would rather try their luck on visiting him to secure a section to develop for themselves."
"I heard one already tried, but maybe that's only a rumor."
"Even if they did and it's true...I bet they were shot down cold." The three chuckled together but the sound was dry and humorless.
Isaac nodded, frowning deeply. "The extent of Elijah Osoro's greed is something that should go down in history books."
"You can say that again," The other man grumbled, "To him, it's just another piece of land but to us," his eyes opened, narrowing in on Marcelo, "-It would be life changing to obtain."
Marcelo could already guess what was coming up next, he sighed just as the man continued.
"There must be something you can do Marcelo...something you can find out." After the old mousey man spoke, all eyes zeroed in on him.
"Yeaa," the woman followed, neat eyebrows pulling together, "There must be, we need something to distract him, something that'll allow us to swoop in an win the race, the moment he finds out...it should already be too late."
"A scandal, either that or something along those lines," Isaac mused, tapping his bony fingers on the table rhythmically, "He's always been so closed off from the media...the one time he allows it is on the day of the Annual Event of Osoro.co. If only..."
"You're attending?" Sienna turned to Isaac in surprise.
"I might as well," he sighed, "who knows what might happen? Isn't the auction some days after then?"
Sienna nodded, then added, "Well if you are...I might as well also."
"Its the only time that man steps into the public eye, it'd be a shame to not attend."
Sienna nodded in all focusness, "A shame it would be indeed."
"Marcelo?" Isasc called out, "I don't know how you'll manage but we'll need something...anything. Or our efforts will all be for naught."
Marcelo nodded, holding back the urge to wince.
He had the most to lose and the smallest to gain from this whole fiasco...yet he was the one tasked with contributing the most.
Such is life...
"I'll do what I can," he spoke before adding on as an afterthought, "nothing that is out of my means though." He made sure to add this on. He'd done nothing to truly betray the Osoro family until now. He still had his basic respect and morals...even though they were tinting gray as time flew by.
Elijah wouldnt mind...would he?
He already had so much. What was the loss of one land?
Oh who am I kidding...I'm fucked.
Marcelo closed his eyes to hide the look that flashed through them.
He was fucked ever since he took over and now he was fucked for trying to remedy the issue with these three. Accepting the first payout had to be the start of his downward spiral, a train of horrible decisions led him here.
Maybe Jiho was right...
Wait. Marcelo paused, suddenly remembering the man he decided to tease, simply to momentarily ease his internal troubles.
A fleeting memory flashed through his mind's eye. He remembered as Jiho's face went from pink to a bright shade of red in seconds, puffed up like a pufferfish. Marcelo still thought he was a fun one to tease.
Jiho...
He sat in contemplative silence and the others paused, waiting for what he'd say but not a single word left his lips.
In the end... Marcelo, for some reason, didn't bother mentioning the young free-spirited man that would certainly peak the interest of these few.
After noticing that Marcelo didn't intend to speak, Isaac spoke, "I trust you'll...also be in attendance?"
"Yes," Marcelo nodded. At a function of that scale, it'd be even stranger if he didn't show.
"I hope you'll have something useful for us by then."
Marcelo thought for a bit then nodded solemnly. Wiith that final gesture, Marcelo gladly took it as his cue to leave. He got up and no one made any movement to stop him.
Marcelo quickly left but he wasn't as brainless to do so by running. He walked with large measured steps and met the same person who led him inside. They stood by the door and followed him out.
Marcelo paused and allowed himself to be led. His mind was still a jumble of thoughts and the sinking feeling in his chest wouldn't go away.
A huge part of him wanted to blame his father for dumping him into this mess.
That illness was an unexpected feat that brought a dark cloud over their family and Marcelo could hold no negative feelings for it. The only thing he found angering was his fathers insistence on keeping his illness a secret on the pretence of not wanting to dissuade new investors. Although it was a valid reason. Marcelo knew the true reason was because the man did not want to seem weaker or appear to be struggling in the eyes of the Osoros.
Being friends with a man like Osoro had to have sparked some feelings of inferiority, that much was clear.
None of them had the right to even mention this before their father though. The man could be a ticking time bomb at times.
Very soon Marcelo had left the building and was on his way, driving on the same long stretch of road empty of traffic on a straight route to his home. He didn't even bother going back to his office because if he had to sit and go through files upon files of their company being one foot into the red zone, he swore he'd go mad.
With a heavy sigh, he chose to shove it all into the next day's long list of worries. After the hellscape of happenings today, he'd rather go home and drown himself in strong liquor.
After he finally reached his destination, he followed his everyday routine of parking in the lot, bypassing security, giving his greeting to the receptionist at the front desk and taking the usual elevator up to his appartment. Rather than visit the empty and cold place of his actual estate, he rather liked to spend his short time in a room where he could actually see where the ceiling stopped.
Marcelo got a cigarette from the half empty pack in his jacket and stuffed it into mouth after leaving the elevator, his hands dipping into his pocket as he searched for the lighter. Marcelo later looked up only to freeze in his tracks after rounding the bend.
His eyebrows shot upwards, almost disappearing into his hairline and the cigarette almost fell from his lips as he spotted the last person he thought he'd see again, for tonight at least.
The other person's eyes snapped to him upon hearing the sound of his footsteps, proving to Marcelo that indeed. He wasn't hallucinating.
A short laugh left Marcelo's lips and he continued walking after his momentous pause, fixing the cigarette in his mouth with a smile.
"What are you doing here?"
• • •
Yay! Its here!!♡♡
And I hope everyone enjoyed it. Would love to hear any thoughts you have about this chapter while we wait for the the next♡
Also thank you all so fucking much for your comments on the last chapter. I really love that y'all are still here and that y'all loved it so much.
Thanks for reading and remember to Vote, Comment and Shareee!
See y'all next chap.
~Nessa