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"You have to execute him! He is a disgrace to our clan's name!"
"Do you really want a heir who is disgusting and dirty as that?!"
"Julien? Julien wake up", someone suddenly calls out while his warm hands touched my arm.
I gasped and immediately sat up from the bed.
My vision became clear, and I saw Romeo Valentino directly staring at me with a confused expression.
"Babe, are you okay?" he quickly asked, reaching out for my cheeks to wipe away the tears that was actually coming out of my eyes.
I took a deep breath and realized I was sweating hard too, "I-I'm...fine. It was just a stupid bad dream."
Romeo looked like he was still worried, but he nods his head anyway, like he forced himself to just understand so he wouldn't keep on asking questions anymore.
He brushed my hair with his fingers and gently kissed my lips, "Well breakfast is ready."
"You go ahead", I tell him as I stood up and walked towards the mirror to check how swollen my eyes actually were.
"You're not going to eat?" Romeo asked me as he sits on the bed and looks at me through my reflection in the mirror.
I wiped my eyes with a tissue and fixed my hair, "Your family will be there. And I don't like how they stare at me whenever I'm at the dining room or any room in this freakin' enormous household to be exact", I answered him, making Romeo sigh and walk towards me.
He stands behind me and hugs my slender body.
"Then should I propose a rule that anyone who stares at you will be punished by death?" Romeo suddenly says before kissing my neck.
I gripped on his arm as I felt his warm lips on my tattooed covered neck.
Romeo then slides his hands on my groin area, making a quick moan escape my mouth.
"Rome", I whispered.
Romeo was about to put his hands inside my pants when someone suddenly knocks on the door, completely ruining the moment.
"Boss! They're already waiting for you at the dining room!" Mat suddenly shouted from outside the room.
"Mat you fucking..." Romeo stops midsentence and just let it go.
He quickly bites my ear and goes to the door to open it.
"I told you to fucking WAIT, didn't I?" Romeo asked as he glares at Mat.
Mat flinched and actually took a step back from fear, making me chuckle.
I walked towards them and gently held Romeo's shoulder to calm him down, "Tell them to start eating. He'll be joining them soon. Am I right Romeo?"
Romeo wanted to say something else, but he massages his temple instead and looks at me, "Right."
Mat looks at me and gives me a quick smile, like he was thanking me for helping him out with Romeo. He then gives a quick bow and leaves.
"Go ahead now Mr. Ego. Your family...is waiting", I say with a grin, emphasizing the word family. Romeo looks at me and gently touches my cheeks, "You're the only family I need. And the only reason why I'm here, is because-"
I quickly lifted my hand to cover his mouth with my finger.
"I told you. Don't make me your reason. Be a strong man, not just for me, but for yourself too", I honestly say with a genuine smile.
Romeo looked like he wanted to argue, but he nods his head and leans forward, giving me another quick kiss on the lips, "Then I'll be waiting for you downstairs. I won't start eating until you come."
Romeo lets go of me. And without waiting for my answer, he leaves the room.
When the door closed, I sighed and walked back to bed. I lay down and stared at the chandelier of this fancy-looking room in this fancy-looking house, rewinding the past events so I'd remember how I actually got here in the first place.
By the way, my name is Julien Choi. A 28-year-old prostitute in an exclusive club called Club Luxuria. People there call me Number 24, but actually, I prefer people calling me Black Angel, the next head of one of the most famous gang in the world, the Dark Saints.
I've killed hundreds, no, maybe even thousands of men. They feared me, and I loved the feeling of how they'd look away whenever I arrive.
But now, all I get are stares. Disgusting stares in the club, and even in this household.
No one fears me; they all laugh and think I'm just a slut who seduced Romeo to get out of my miserable life.
But they're all wrong.
I'm here because I love that man.
I don't need his wealth, because I already have plenty under my name. I can go back home and claim all my riches if I have to if all they're concerned about is money. I don't need his protection either, because I can protect myself better than anyone. All I need from Romeo is for him to stay by my side, and I will do the same for him for the rest of my life.
I've been treated like dirt even when I was young, and Romeo was the only person who held me like I was his most precious diamond.
Romeo wants nothing more than revenge, and I will do everything I can to help him achieve it, especially after what they've done to Johnson.
I know he's trying his best not to show his anger towards the Dark Saints because he's afraid he'd end up disrespecting me in some way, because even if I deny it, they're my family too. But little does he know, even before him, all I wanted was to destroy them as well.
Romeo is now one of the most feared men in the world. He was officially declared the Godfather of the Valentino Family five days ago, and two days ago we had Johnson's funeral. And ever since that day, Romeo somehow became...empty.
You'd feel like his body is in the room but his actual self is gone, drifting away somewhere no one can find. At times I see him spacing out too; drinking all night outside the balcony until he passes out.
It pains me to see the man I love act that way, especially when I know that most of it was because of me. At times I wished I didn't meet him, but I know both of us would immediately disagree. And if we were given a chance to go back in time, I'm pretty sure Romeo and I would do it all over again.
Our love story is complicated, but we're not finishing it like how Romeo & Juliet stupidly did. We're only beginning, and we'll definitely make sure we have our well-deserved happy ending.
*****
"Our drug trades begun again just yesterday. We're definitely back in business", I heard someone say as I was slowly walking down the halls towards the dining room.
"I assigned my uncle to handle all the inside business. I still have a company I'm also handling, so it's best you tell everything that happens to him, and he'll inform me about it after. But if there are problems that you cannot handle, you can tell them to me directly", I heard Romeo answer, somehow making me proud of how he was maturely acting. Not like he wasn't mature when he was a CEO of the Valentino Empire but...you know what I mean.
I continued to walk through this very long hallway, staring at the pictures hanging on the wall. They were mostly old, and I haven't even seen a single photo of Romeo yet. He might have had a few in the past, but maybe this family took it away when Romeo left. Who knows.
"Don Romeo, what about Mr. Julien Choi?" someone suddenly asked, making me stop walking. I was inches away from the dining room, but I quickly had to take a step back the moment I heard them mention my name.
"What about Mr. Julien Choi?" Romeo asked back, and I could immediately feel the tension inside the room when Romeo asked him that question back.
The room became quiet, and no one dared say anything.
"Julien Choi stays here as long as I'm here. And you should not concern yourself with him and just focus on the significant things I asked you to do. Is that clear?"
"Yes Don Romeo", everyone answered in unison.
I took a deep breath and slowly walked my way towards the dining room.
The moment I went inside, everyone immediately faced me.
"Julien", Romeo calls out as he quickly stands up from him seat.
I glanced down on his plate. This idiot actually didn't eat yet.
"Come on, let's eat", he says as he goes to me to hold my hand.
Everyone continued to stare at me as Romeo pulls the chair out for me like a gentleman that he is. Romeo sits in the middle of this very long table since he's the head of the family now. I sit on his right beside Mat while his uncle sits on the other end of the table since he's the second head of the family.
"G-Good morning", I awkwardly say as I did a quick bow before sitting down on my seat.
Everyone continued to stare at me as Romeo pushed the chair back. Then he sits back down on his seat without saying a word.
The whole room was quiet, and everyone still stared at me like an animal in a zoo. So to avoid their stares, I slowly picked up my spoon to take a sip of the soup in front of me. But, I immediately let go of it when Romeo suddenly slammed his hand on the table.
Everyone in the room was startled, even me. But thankfully, because of what Romeo did, everyone stopped staring at me.
"Why are you staring at him?" Romeo angrily asked.
"Romeo it's oka-" I was about to finish, but Mat quickly held my arm to stop me.
Romeo glares at everyone in the room and continued, "Why are you staring at a head of a very powerful gang like he is an outsider? Do you not have any respect?!"
I slowly put my head down as everyone is the room avoided Romeo's gaze.
I didn't want Romeo to act like this in front of his family, especially when it's all because of me.
"What are you all doing?! Stand up and apologize to the boss!" Romeo's uncle – Antonio – suddenly shouted as he stood up from his seat, automatically making everyone stand up from their seats as well.
"We do not deserve your forgiveness Don Romeo!" everyone shouted, even Mat, who didn't really do anything wrong.
Romeo stood up, and then he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me upward so I could stand as well. He then looked at Mat and said, "Bring our food at my bedroom. I don't feel like eating in front of these people today."
"Yes boss", Mat quickly answered back. Then Romeo pulled my hand and dragged me out of the dining room.
"R-Romeo...was that really necessary?" I asked as Romeo continued to pull me upstairs.
"They won't stop if I don't do that. And you know I hate it when other men stare at you", Romeo answered as he continued to pull me until we arrived back at the room.
"If you hate it so much then why don't we just go back home?" I quickly say as Romeo lets go of me.
"Home", he repeats, surprising me since those words just slipped out of my mouth.
He then walks towards me and presses his forehead on mine, "You're my home."
"Romeo..."
Romeo walks away and walks towards the balcony. I took a deep breath and followed him there.
"This is the only place left. We're not safe anywhere anymore, and I am not risking going anywhere that might harm you", Romeo says, looking at the scenery in front of us.
The Valentino Household is very far away from the city, so it's also very hidden and secure. Not only is the mansion big, the land surrounding the house is enormous as well. It would feel like you're the luckiest person on earth if you lived here, but almost every inch of the house has armed guards so you feel like you're in prison instead.
"Nothing will happen to us if we continue to hide here", I honestly say.
Romeo still doesn't look at me as he answered, "We're not hiding. We're planning."
I was about to say something back when someone suddenly knocks on the door.
"I'll open the door. It must be Mat with the food", I say as I walk towards the door to open it. The moment I open it, Mat appears in front of me, but he didn't bring anything with him.
"I'm sorry Julien but where's Val?" he suddenly asked me, and he looked like he was panicking too.
"He's at the balcony, please come in", I say as I opened the door wider.
"Thank you", Mat says as he quickly goes inside the room to go to where Romeo is.
"Boss", Mat called out, making Romeo turn around to look at him. I quickly followed behind him to hear what the ruckus was all about.
"What is it?" Romeo asked. It looks like he sensed Mat's panic too.
"Our men who are guarding your company suddenly called. They said twenty armed men suddenly arrived outside the building. And they were all looking for you", Mat suddenly says, making me gasp.
Romeo and I looked at each other.
"It's them", I say.
"Have they hurt anyone? Have they done anything?" Romeo quickly asked. I knew he was panicking now too but he tried to look calm with the whole situation.
"No, they were just waiting outside. They said the men looked like they weren't going to hurt anyone. They were just standing outside, waiting for you", Mat explains. Romeo quickly went back inside the room, Mat and I following behind him.
"Don't tell me you're going there", I say as I walked towards him.
Romeo ignores me as he goes inside the bathroom to change his clothes, then he went back out and looked at Mat, "Tell them I need at least 50 men to come with me."
"Yes boss", Mat says as he opens the door. But he stops when he sees Antonio standing outside too.
"Uncle?" Romeo asked as Antonio walks inside the room.
"You're going to the Company?" he simply asked.
Romeo wears his four rings and looks back at his uncle, "I am. I have to go there before they do anything stupid to the rest of my people."
"If that's the case then bring him", Antonio suddenly says as he points at me.
My eyes widened from shock as Romeo quickly looked at Antonio angrily, "Are you insane?! I'm hiding him from them and you want me to bring him right to them?"
Romeo looked angry, but Antonio didn't even flinch, "Those men...they're not working with Julien's brother."
"What do you mean?" Romeo confusingly asked, but with what Antonio just said, I automatically knew who those men were.
Antonio doesn't say anything as he puts his phone out. He then looks back at us and gives his phone to Romeo. "One of our men sent me this video."
I quickly go behind him as Romeo played the video. The moment the video was played, dozens of men quickly covered the screen. Some were even familiar.
"We just need to talk to your chairman then we'll leave", a man says with a very visible Korean accent. The hair on my skin literally stood up when I heard that voice. It's like I've heard it a thousand times before.
"I'm sorry sir but we really have to ask you to leave", a guard calmly says, but the man wasn't budging.
"We're only here to take our boss. We just want to know where he is so we could safely take him back to Korea before the others get him first", the man says again, immediately making Romeo look at me.
"We told you he's not here", another guard says to him.
One of the guards was about to push him away when the man suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pushed him so hard the guard fell on the ground. Then, in a split second, everyone started fighting with each other, and the video immediately stops.
Romeo doesn't say anything and just gives the phone back to Antonio.
"I know those men. They stayed loyal by my side when I was back in Korea", I say as I looked at Romeo.
"I am not bringing you with me. And I will definitely not let them take you from me", Romeo says. Then he looks back at Mat and says, "Let's go."
Romeo was about to leave the room when I immediately grabbed his shoulder and effortlessly pulled him so he could face me.
I may be smaller than him based on built, but I'm confident that I'm just as strong as him, and maybe even stronger.
"I had enough of following you around Romeo. You are not my boss, and you are not my knight in shining armor", I honestly tell him, shocking him, and even Mat and Antonio.
I didn't mean to hurt Romeo with what I said, or even make him worried even more. All I want to say is I know these people more than him, and I'm a capable man who can help him better than anyone in this stupid family.
"I am not a toy you can hide inside your room because you don't want others to play with it. I know you want to protect me, and I know you're doing all this for my sake. But Romeo, I grew up killing people, do you seriously think a man like me is worth protecting?" I asked.
"Julien, don't-"
"I told you I'd help you, so let me be by your side. Let me serve this man who I love, and we will definitely conquer this world together."
- END -