If you saw the update 'care for goodbye' I accidentally uploaded it lmao. Here is the chapter but just with a new name because I didn't realize that I already titled a chapter 'care for goodbye'

AVELINA GOT OUT of her bed. She could just feel the extra puff of her eyes from crying all night. It had already been two days, and her nights were still spent with more tears than sleep.

Her stomach began to growl, alerting her of the loss of food she was currently sporting. Trudging to her kitchen, she pulled open her refrigerator only to see that all of her food was expired. A sour smell hit her nose leaving her to quickly shut it.

Avelina decided to just make some coffee since food wasn't an option. She would have headed off to the grocery store to get some food, but her body wasn't allowing it. All she wanted to do was lay down, and drown in her own tears. Hopelessness and despair were becoming her friends.

A notification popped up on her phone. She quickly reached for it before realizing that it was just some spam email. The small boost of happiness she received had been replaced with major disappointment.

She was beginning to walk back to her bed when she heard knocking on the door. Avelina walked over to it while the cat sauntered right along with her. Pulling open the door, Avelina was faced with no one other than Vincent.

"Can we talk now?" Vincent questioned.

Avelina moved out of the way so he could enter. She was still very cautious of him and made sure to be on the lookout for his every movement. The moment he was inside, she shut the door behind him.

The cat paraded over to him where she rubbed her body up against him.

"You have a cat?" Vincent asked, reaching down and picking up the little creature who purred within his arms.

"Kind of."

"I wanted to explain everything to you. It feels like you've already formed a dislike for me which is understandable. I haven't always been around, but there is a reason behind that," he began. Avelina sat down on her couch and awaited his words. She was ready to be handed a bunch of lies, never knowing who or what to believe.

"I want to hear the whole story. Starting from the beginning with no lies are secrets. You have no idea how tired I am of being left out in the dark," she told him, her voice cracking as she thought about Adrik. Avelina had to shake away her thoughts just to keep from crying.

"Okay," he agreed. "I first decided to leave home when you turned two. I had just turned sixteen, and I was introduced to some things back in the favela's that I shouldn't have been introduced to."

Avelina began to think back to the Favelas. Life was hard there. It was so full of negativity that the cops stopped caring. She used to wish that she lived on the better side of Brazil where beauty took its form.

"The people I hung around had really close ties to the Russian mafia. When they swore their loyalty to me if I stole weapons from the Russians, I couldn't resist. I wasn't thinking about my family and how that might jeopardize you. I just always wanted to form my own organization. So, I did it. I also got away with it for a year, but then they found me."

Letting out a shaky breath, he rubbed his hands together. Avelina could tell he was nervous, but she didn't bother to say a word. She wanted to hear his side of the story with no interruptions.

"I got a call from the man I stole the weapons from. He held his phone up to papa as he killed him. I heard the sounds of his screams just before the line went dead. When I drove over to the house, papa was dead on the floor. I tried to help him, but nothing I did worked. It was then that I realized I had to protect you, mama, and grandma from them because I knew the Russians would return. They weren't done. Papa was just a message to me from them," he explained.

"I remember you. I walked out of my room to see you in a corner with a mask over your face. Mama was pleading with you to leave me alone. You grabbed me and threw me in the back of a car. I then saw you speaking to grandma before she came up to me and hugged me dearly with tears in her eyes. After that day, I never saw you or mama ever again. Tell me what happened," Avelina demanded.

"The mask was for my own protection. The Russians have technology out of this world. I hadn't shown my face in public until Zolotov took over the Russians little organization," he seethed out angrily before continuing, "After I arrived at the house, I tried to help papa. He made me promise to look after you and mama. He said that I was now the protector, and I listened to him. Mama walked in at an unfortunate time. She believed I was the one who responded to papa's death. Then, you walked in-"

"What happened to mom?"

"I didn't kill her if that's what you're assuming. I would never hurt my family," he stated with clenched fists as if the very thought of harming his mother was angering him.

"Then what happened?" Avelina found herself repeating.

"Honestly, I don't know. She ran out before I could catch her. I've assumed that the Russians probably got to her," Vincent let out sadly.

Avelina inspected his face. From the scar above his eyebrow to the emotion in his eyes. She tried to detect even a bit of dishonesty but failed to find any. He really didn't know.

"Continue with your story please," she whispered, her gaze falling to the ground.

"I shouldn't have been so cruel to you. I was angry, you know?" He asked with an incomprehensible expression on his face, "I did this to our family. I ruined everything."

She almost wanted to break down at the heartbreak in his words. Avelina wanted to tell him that it was okay, and he couldn't have predicted what happened to their family, but her brother was nothing but a stranger to her.

"Luckily for me, I still had you and grandma, do so I thought. I swore on my life that I would do everything I could to make sure you both were okay. That meant staying away so the Russians wouldn't detect you. I should've known better than to trust that f*cking son of a b*tch!" He shouted angrily, leaving Avelina to flinch.

She looked at him in shock, confusion suddenly settling on her features. "Who?"

"Doesn't matter. She's ancient history after doing what she did to our avo."
[ translation : grandma ]

Natasha.

So, there was more to the story that Avelina didn't know. Hurt flashed in her brother's eyes. As much as she wanted to press on the subject more, she let it go.

"What have you been doing all this time?" Avelina asked him, her brows pulling together in confusion.

"Aside from looking after you, I've been building my own army to take down Zolotov's," he answered, a look of confidence in his eyes.

Avelina's eyes gleamed down the blackbird tattoo he was sporting. It was the same tattoo that was on the man who stabbed Adrik. She diverted her eyes away from him and over to the cat who jumped on Avelina's lap.

"Were you responsible for the man who stabbed Adrik?" Avelina asked him. The thought of Vincent hurting Adrik didn't fail to pain her. She felt guilty for the way she felt, but she knew that couldn't help it. It was a nagging feeling that she wished would go away, but it wouldn't.

"Yes. I'm looking for someo-"

"His sister?" Avelina cut off questionably.

He nodded his head slowly as a sigh surpassed his lips. "Yeah, her."

"As I was saying, I'm looking for her. Zolotov is the only person that she cares about," he stated. Avelina's brows pulled together as she processed his words.

"So, your plan was to stab him and scare him into submission?"

"No. My plan was to kill him," Vincent stated as if the words meant absolutely nothing. To Avelina, those words meant everything. Of course, it hurt her that Adrik's sister had done something so gruesome. However, Adrik was only guilty of protecting his sister.

"What?" Avelina asked.

"I know how you feel about him, but trust me whenI say that their whole family is shady. You may think he cares about you, but I swear he doesn't. All they do is use people," he said behind a clenched jaw.

She thought about his words and couldn't help but wonder what happened between him and Natasha. Was it possible that Natasha used Vincent just as Adrik used Avelina?

"I'll let them live with that, but I don't want to like with the fact that my brother killed my- my-"

"Your, what?" He asked with a raised brow. She watched him cross his arms over his chest while a disappointed expression settled on his features.

"Doesn't matter," she spoke. Avelina stood up from her seat, walking right past him.

The truth was that she didn't even know what she was about to say. It was a word vomit that spit out of her. As she glanced over at Vincent, she began to wonder much he knew about her and Adrik.

"I already know, Avelina," Vincent signed.

Avelina didn't how to respond, so she settled with silence.

"I know our relationship isn't great, Avelina. I just hope you realize that he's not the man for you. You need to leave him alone. Do you understand?" He asked, attempting to sound nicely but she could hear the echo of authority in his words.

She thought back to Adrik. Her heart wanted to break even further as she slowly nodded her head with a tear in her eyes.

"Fine. It's not like he cares anyways."

-
Instagram: amarieauthor
Twitter: amarieauthor

This book is sadly coming to an end soon. Don't let the small amount of chapters fool you, this book is already 300 pages long.

Thank you for reading. Please vote!