Ailee was waiting for the elevator, humming along to some songs with a soft smile and suddenly thought of wearing a shrug when she felt the cold gust of wind from the balcony prick her skin. So she went back while talking to Xavier on the phone.
She hung up and opened the door to her room once again and while she was shutting it, a force was applied from outside causing her to stumble back. Her body wasn't prepared for the unexpected pressure as she was holding it gently when someone forced their way inside.
"You're with Romano?" He yelled.
Her eyes widened when her brain processed the man standing before her with his face red in anger and his eyes cold and hard, pinning her to where she was. Her heart palpitated against her ribs and she could feel the room closing in on her.
" I asked you something. ANSWER ME!" He looked dangerous, like he could do anything if she disobeys him.
She covered her face with her hands and her body shook with uncontrollable sobs. Her mind was hazy. There was no way to escape apart from the door which he was guarding himself. She frantically looked around the room in hopes of finding anything that could serve as a weapon for her defense but her mind wasn't cooperating well.
"L-leave..... please" she said in between her sobs and took baby steps towards the back, so discreetly, it was barely noticeable.
"So you are." He scoffed and took her ignorance to the question as a yes.
"Well I thought I'll take you out and might even date you but you've been whoring around already. For someone who appears to be so shy and reserved you're quite a slut, I'm surprised" he seethed and took predatory steps towards her. He felt his ego shatter because all this time he was under the impression that she was single and he would stake a claim on her before anyone else.
She shook her head hysterically and coughed when her lungs failed to fill in sufficient oxygen. She could see him doing bad things to her soon and her mind kept imagining the worst scenarios. No matter how hard she tried to calm down and think rationally, she couldn't.
"I found you so different and that fucking shyness you display, I fucking loved that but I guess I'm not the only one who had the same thought" he said with a crazy look in his eyes like he was in great pain and was straining himself.
"The first time I saw you wasn't at the dinner, babygirl" he tried to touch her cheek but she flinched and moved back.
She tried to think hard for when he could've seen her, she barely goes out for God's sake.
"I know what's running through your pretty little head but don't stress my love I'll tell you. Remember a year ago when you bumped into me while running to your brother?" He laughed.
She shook her head when nothing came to her mind. How could she know what he's talking about with just that much of a hint.
Her hands checked for her phone in her gown pocket and a tiny wave of relief passed her heart knowing there's some hope when she felt the cool device against her skin. She just needs to buy some time and a perfect moment to fool him.
"It was his birthday and you were in the Love is Love Restro, downtown, wearing a pastel pink dress and sneakers, walking happily to him unaware of how I was looking at you so shamelessly when in your haste you bumped into me but kept running with an apology. I remember it like it was yesterday" he said with a smile that was genuine but it still creeped her out.
They were near the bathroom and when he looked down to run a hand through his hair, she ran to the bathroom to lock herself in. Her hands shook uncontrollably while fumbling with the door lock and though it was just a few seconds, she heard his raging footsteps and yells in a slow motion, that felt longer than a movie and started turning the door knob aggressively and she could hear the squeaks coming from it before he finally threw open the door and glared at her.
"Ooh I love hide and seek babygirl but I'm in a little hurry here"
She was having a full blown panic attack now and gasped trying to breathe but to no avail. He was saying something but she could only see his lips moving. As another attempt she ran to the multiple drawers and pulled them open with as much hurry as her shaky hands could manage.
He came from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to drag her back which caused the whole thing to come out of its place and fall down on the floor.
"I'm trying to not hurt you despite the fact that you're seeing my enemy but you're not helping me Ailee" he said in her ear before pushing her on the ground.
She screamed and hastily looked for anything that could buy her enough time to call someone but he pulled her back and pinned her hands above her head.
He nibbled on her neck while she thrashed around, elbowing him in the ribs, hitting him with her head but nothing worked on him. He, reluctantly, slapped her hard which shook her soul badly.
"Listen girl. I'm a very bad man but I can be the worst if you continue this. Initially, I only wanted you because I liked you but now it will be to hurt Romano. He will burn when he sees you like this" he said, choking her. It was his revenge that was making him do it but he still couldn't help but feel the guilt that was rising because of the hurt and fear he was witnessing in her eyes, the girl he wanted for the longest time.
"I'm not going to rape you. I just want to know how it feels like to touch you a bit" he screamed and kissed her roughly. She violently moved her head side to side to get him off of her face but she failed.
The tears flowed down her face endlessly, she couldn't trust his words. While probing around with her hands, she suddenly caught something heavy and she wasted no time in hitting his head with as much force as her frail hands could gather at the moment.
A string of curses left his mouth and he held his head where blood was starting to trickle down.
She gasped and jumped to her feet clumsily and scurried away from him, running outside the room and dialling the most recent number on her logs; Zai♡
"Where-"
"Z-ai help-help... .. me" she cried into the phone and hid behind the pillar when she saw him coming out of the room, screaming profanities.
"Coco?"
"Yes-yes I-"
Suddenly the phone was snatched from her hand and she was pushed to the ground once again. She didn't even get the time to blink when a knife was being placed on her neck and she paled. Why was this happening to her?
"It pains me to do it to you but you can't be anyone else's if not mine" he mumbled and was about to slash her skin when he heard him coming closer and closer.
Knowing there won't be enough time to escape if he reached here and saw him, he withdrew the knife hastily but it cut her collarbone in the process and he stopped for a second to look at her helpless state, a look of hurt passed through his face but he ran away in the opposite direction.
Ailee was confused to see him act like that. He didn't want to hurt her but he did.
___
Seeing Ailee's name on the screen he immediately picked up the phone,
"Where-"
"Z-ai help-help... .. me" as soon as he heard those words, his blood ran cold and he jumped to his feet. It wasn't just the words but the panic and fear in her voice like she was running away from a ghost.
"Coco?"
Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked at him. They've never seen him getting worked up this way.
"Mr Romano" Alex started but Xavier blocked out every other sound except her ragged breathing.
He walked around the sofas to go up where she was,
"Coco? Ailee? I'm coming darling hold on"
When he mentioned their youngest everyone exchanged worried glances and followed him quickly.
"Romano, what about my daughter?" Mr Laurent asked him anxiously but he didn't stop, instead, started taking four steps at a time leaving behind her family.
When he turned around the corner to the hallway he found her on the ground.
For the first time in his life he felt fear gripping his heart but when she turned around hearing his voice is when he stopped breathing. He was feeling an array of emotions. He was furious, he was hurt, he was scared and he was guilty for not being there when she was fighting for her life all alone.
She was crying hysterically, a hand was imprinted on her face and neck, her hair was disheveled, but the thing that stood out the most was the blood oozing out from her upper chest.
He dropped to his knees immediately and lifted her up on his lap.
"What happened?" He whispered softly despite the anger he was feeling. His hands shook when he gently wiped her tears and removed the hairs falling on her face but the tears never stopped, they kept flowing down like a river. He was afraid of hurting her further.
That exact moment her entire family came running and joined them on the ground.
Ailee's mother screamed and started crying, holding onto her hand and her brother and father looked at Xavier.
She mumbled incoherent words that made them all worried.
"What happened?" Alex asked angrily.
"Who did it baby, tell me" he asked, trying his best to not lash out on anyone in his rage.
He wasn't the best at controlling it.
"Al-alvaro" she said in the quietest whisper that no one understood but one person. He nervously looked around but couldn't find his cousin, his suspicion was confirmed. He already knew what was coming but he didn't want to be selfish.
"Who?" Her father asked, his own hands shook seeing his precious little baby in that condition.
"She said Alvaro," he said from the very back.
Emma, who was wrapped in his arms until now backed away from him and looked at him with a tear stricken face.
He looked down in shame already accepting what was on their faces.
Rejection. Betrayal. Hurt. Anger.
"HOW DARE HE?" Alex roared, holding him by his collar.
Emma gasped and put a hand on her mouth but she didn't stop him.
"I d-did not know Alex," he said in a weak voice.
Xavier adjusted her dress and carried her in her room which was the closest and wide open. A million thoughts were running through his head. Some theories formed on their own accord and what needs to be done now, everything was serializing in his mind.
He looked down at her in his arms. She was so brave and put up a great fight if she didn't get any serious physical injuries.
But he knew it would be a great mental trauma for her especially because she sees good in everyone and has close to zero bad experience with men. Ailee passed out in his arms and he gently laid her on the bed. He removed her sneakers and went to the bathroom.
But he stopped at the doorstep which alerted everyone as they were following closely and watching his every move intently. The bathroom looked like there was a storm inside. His mafia mind already started creating scenarios of what could have happened here from what was in front of him and how much she must have been struggling on the very floor he was standing with blood stains. He walked inside slowly with a clenched jaw and brought out the first aid box from one of the cabinets.
He handed it over to Mila.
"Clean her wounds, I'm calling the doctor." He said and walked out dialing Enzo. He would've called Luka but that idiot wasn't in the country.
"Send my doctor here and find Alvaro Russo before morning, he wouldn't be far"
He ordered and ended the call.
Walking ahead he roughly pushed Alex to the side who was interrogating Damien and hit him square in the face.
"What the fuck were you both planning?"
"I- Mr Romano I-I swear I didn't know. He's just my cousin, the only family I have left alive" he said coughing blood.
" Exactly. You're his only family, you must be aware of his intentions. In fact you must be a part of it" he said, choking him so hard that his face was turning purplish from the lack of oxygen.
"I-I don't-" he wheezed out.
" How did he get her number?" Xavier asked, his bloodshot eyes scared the shit out of him. He knew it was Alvaro who was bothering Ailee by calling her with different numbers but he didn't know that he was connected to her family.
And the name that Dino gave a couple of weeks ago was Alvaro Russo.
" I didn't know about his intention, I promise Sir" he cried out in frustration and fear for his life.
" Answer me" he said, already sensing he had something to do with it.
Mr Laurent came and stood behind him also eager to know the answer to that.
"I-I did but-"
"I'll kill you" he roared and pummeled his face like he had gone crazy.
Mr Laurent and Alex struggled to push him off of him.
"Leave me" he spat while trying to shrug them both roughly.
"No Romano. You should go inside to Lily" he stopped dead in his tracks when the image of her hurt body flashed in his mind.
He wordlessly walked away but not before throwing a death glare at Damien.
All the girls surrounded the bed and cried silently looking at her innocent features.
Mila was done dressing her wound and cleaned the ruined makeup from her face.
His footsteps caused all of them to make way for him on impulse.
He sat down at the edge of the bed and held her hand, rubbing them softly with his thumbs.
"Sir" Enzo came running and knocked on the open door with a middle aged man behind her.
With a nod from his head, they entered inside and he stood up so that the doctor could check on her.
Enzo and him walked out to talk in private.
"My baby. Doctor, will she be okay?" Her mother asked.
"She will be, don't worry ma'am" he said and got started with his work.
Outside Enzo informed him that a team had been deployed to search the area and his number was being tracked down.
Xavier went back inside and stood far from her.
" She will be needing a lot of rest. Luckily the wound was not deep but it should be dealt with great care and don't let it get wet for sometime. Don't pressurize her to talk about it either, it can cause great stress to her mind and she can have panic attacks. I suggest you distract her for the time being till she is stable enough to think about it properly without having harmful thoughts. I will send the medicines over, you don't have to worry about that" he said and stopped in front of Xavier.
Xavier nodded and thanked him.
When he came to sit next to her, Alex and her father entered the room and he could feel all of them looking at him but not daring to ask him anything in his state.
"Yes we are together" he answered their unasked question while wiping her hand with a wipe where dust stained her porcelain skin.
"The bracelets" Iris said slowly but all of them heard it clearly in the silent room and noticed they both were wearing the exact same ones.
"Why?" Her father asked and he knew what he meant.
"She wasn't ready and she will tell you about it herself." He said and stood up when his phone rang.
He put the device on his ear and his eyes darkened hearing the one sentence Enzo said. He immediately ended the call and looked at her family.
"Call me when she wakes up" he said and stormed out.
"Calvin, our baby is so grown up now" she said and sat where Xavier did.
"Hmm, our big girl, found a partner for herself" he said, side-hugging her.
" Where is that asshole who did it to my baby sister?" Alex said, staring at her pale face.
" Xavier said they will find him," her father replied.
" And us? We are her family, shouldn't we do something as well?" He asked angrily, pushing himself off the wall.
" Do you think we can do anything better than what he can do?" Mila asked, crossing her arms.
" Yeah he looked like he would search even outer space if he had to," Gigi said.
" Where is Damien?" Her mother asked, looking between him and Alex.
Emma's eyes snapped to them as well for an answer.
"Enzo took him," he said and looked at Emma worriedly.
She sighed with a sob and looked down. Her sister needed her more than anyone at the moment. Gigi wrapped her arms around her from the side, comforting her.
"I want to kill that asshole. How dare he hurt someone as harmless and innocent as my baby sister" Mila said, focusing on her bandaged neck.
"I'm glad she is safe now" Iris said and got in the duvet with her to cuddle.
"You're disturbing her Iris" her mother scolded.
"I'm not. She loves my cuddles, see I'm not even touching where she is hurt" she argued.
"But I was thinking how we never noticed her and Mr Romano like Gosh Lily, wake up. I'm dying to know everything" she said and shook her shoulders out of habit.
Ailee winced and stirred in her unconscious state. Iris gasped and moved away while everyone glared at her.
Very slowly her eyes opened and she looked around the room. Her head was buzzing. She was having a hard time recalling what happened.
"Lils, hey, are you okay?" Iris asked from beside her.
She slowly sat up with the assistance from Iris and touched her wound on her neck which stinged.
The memories from earlier flooded back in one by one and she felt her head getting heavier by every minute.
Her entering the room, him forcing his way inside, yelling at her, kissing her, hitting her, choking her and trying to kill her.
She started crying and shaking from the trauma and everyone panicked looking at her unstable state. It pained all of them to see her usually smiling face in so much distress.
"Baby hush, it's okay, you're safe" her mother cooed.
" We are here Lils" Alex came and sat down next to her and she immediately hugged him.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm such a bad brother" he rubbed her back.
She shook her head from his chest and fisted his shirt.
"I'll kill him for you, okay?" He said with resolve.
She shook her head again.
"No baby, he needs to be punished for what he has done."
" Where- where is Xavier?" She asked after some time.
Mr Laurent slapped his forehead and immediately dialed his number when he realized he forgot to inform him sooner.
"Uh-She is up" he said and stopped to hear his reply.
Ailee stretched out her hand gesturing to him to handover the phone to her.
He hesitantly passed it to her, still finding it hard to believe that she was dating the most feared man in all of the America, and she immediately grasped it in her hands.
"H-hello Zai? Where are you?" She asked.
" I'm sorry darling, I'll be there soon"
He spoke sweet nothings to her to get her to forget the events from earlier for sometime while everyone watched the scene unfold with stunned faces.
She talked for a couple of minutes with him in a hushed voice, albeit it was mostly him who spoke and hung up the phone.
"It was Xavier," she whispered.
"Uh we know," Mila said awkwardly.
"He is my boyfriend"
"We know," Alex groaned, unable to digest this particular piece of information.
"I was about to tell you in a few days," she said, playing with her little fingers. Honestly she chose this topic because of two reasons; first, because she didn't want to think about what happened earlier and second, because it needed to be disclosed properly.
"How long have you been together for?" Gigi asked.
"Almost nine months" everybody's eyes widened.
Her parents looked at each other with shock. No matter how many times they hear it, it sounded absurd nevertheless.
"Papa, Mama are you mad at me?"
"No honey, absolutely not," her mother said, patting her hand lovingly.
"Did he force you into this? Does he treat you well? You're happy with him, right?" Her father couldn't hold himself anymore and blurted out the questions that were gnawing at him.
She smiled and nodded.
"He treats me the best, papa. He is always making sure that I'm resting well and eating well. He always puts me before himself and has never ever tried to force me for anything" although the words didn't quite match Xavier's picture in his mind, he nodded, trusting his daughter's judgment.
" That's good but you should've told us sooner." He said with a sigh.
" I just couldn't. Everytime I tried to tell you my mind didn't co-operate and so I kept postponing it."
" I'm very happy for you, my precious little daughter," her mother said with glossy eyes.
" I saw the pain and love in his eyes for you. He was heartbroken while carrying your hurt body in his arms. I never knew he was this soft, right Calvin?" She asked looking up to her husband.
" Yes, that's right. I liked him for his loyalty to his principles but now that he is my daughter's boyfriend, I have to judge him harder."
" Papaaa, don't give him a hard time. He is already trying hard to be able to adjust himself in our family. You must've noticed how he is not that aggressive now."
" Yeah as if I just didn't see him punching the shit out of someone" Alex murmured.
" Hmm?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
"Nothing, you're right he's been a great person ever since he met you. He is literally giving competition to mom in spreading warmth" he said sarcastically which she didn't fail to register but didn't mind.
"I know right. He is such a sweetheart, he even got me a pet dog" she gushed happily and in that moment they all realized that he was indeed her happiness. He wasn't even here yet he managed to bring the shine back in her eyes despite what she went through not too long ago.
"Now mama and papa stop interrogating her about your son-in-law to be and let us have our moment with her. And you too Alex, leave." Mila said.
" Okay okay but Lily we're not done yet" he said with fake strictness and she smiled, nodding her head.
The three of them walked out together in a dilemma.
"I can't believe but I somewhere do," Alex said.
"What do you mean?" His mother asked.
"I mean our sweet little Ailee chose a big brooding man to be her boyfriend like I expected her to bring home a smiley man with a cute job and a cozy house but damn mama"
" Stop talking about him like that Alex, he is a good boy" she hit him on his shoulder.
" A BOY?" He asked with widened eyes and put a hand on his heart in fake hurt.
" Mhmm he is family now"
" I'm an infant compared to him"
" But you're the same age," she said, confused.
" Mother, that was sarcasm." He rolled his eyes.
Suddenly her father smiled and the duo looked at him.
"Sorry I just remembered how we met him at the beach and I thought I saw them holding hands but shrugged it off because that was Romano DeVinci. Come to think of it, the hints were always there"
" Oh really, tell me Calvin," her mother asked excitedly.
" Yes mother, that day at the party his friend, Luka called Lily sunshine, and we found them together in a room alone. I always wondered how she was so comfortable around him" he explained.
" Hmm right," she said thoughtfully.
"Calvin?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we are bad parents? She didn't even feel comfortable in informing us about such an important change in her life"
"No darling, dating is a foreign concept for her so she was just hesitating. She said that she was about to tell us, hmm?" She nodded.
" Aren't we avoiding a certain topic here guys?" Alex asked the both of them.
" I know Alex, wait till morning. Xavier asked us to not leave Ailee's side. He will take care of it and he insisted on doing it personally." His father said, reaching the door to their room.
"Oh okay but you will not stop me from doing what I can in this matter" he put forth his condition.
Calvin nodded.
" Oh Alex, take some food for her after some time and don't forget some chocolates too" her father said before disappearing inside their room.
"Okay"
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Fi-fudging-nally! Her family knows.
I know A LOT of you were waiting for this and I'm really nervous about meeting your expectations so please tell me how was it?
My poor baby cried sooo much like stay the fudge away from her you butthole but we'll take care of him soon.
And God was this chapter long like over 4300 words☠️
I already teased you enough in the previous chapter so I decided to be angelic this time and let you have the pleasure of all the drama in one chap only.
So I need your thoughts on this. I had zero idea of what I was writing and where this was going but I think I do now.
I think hints will ruin the mood now so let's skip that (again cuz maybe I'm just lazy)
Happy 283k+!!!!!
I love y'all so damn much🥺❤️