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Adrik looked tired. She had never seen him so unkempt. There were bags under his eyes and a slight paling to his skin. Avelina hadn't noticed any of that before-not until now.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him. Avelina took a step aside just so he could walk in. The second he was inside of her house, a sense of Deja Vu splurged into her.

The last time Adrik was in her house, she was falling apart because she felt so betrayed. He walked away from her and she believed it would be the last time she had ever seen him.

"You were not there," he stated. She let out a sigh. Her head once pounding once more. Avelina was beginning to feel so stressed out.

"I know," she whispered.

He looked around her house with an unreadable expression on his face. "What are the chances that I can convince you not to leave me here alone?"

"Slim," she answered. He let out a sigh.

"What are the chances that I can convince you to be with me no matter what part of the world you are residing in?" He asked her.

She thought about his words, and couldn't seem to come up with an answer. It would be way too easy to convince her, but she didn't want him to know that.

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Okay. What are the chances that you will allow me to hold you and kiss you every single day before you leave?" He asked.

Avelina couldn't help herself from walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his abdomen. "One-hundred percent."

His arms circled around her as he pulled her in closer. Adrik's head rested on the top of her head leaving her in a state of comfort.

"I am truly sorry, Avelina," he muttered.

"I don't know if I'm stupid or if there is something wrong with me, but I can't hate you. Everything in my body tells me to forgive you because I know that you didn't harm my family, and I can't hold you accountable for what your sister did. What I can hold you accountable for is using me to get to my brother. That's what hurts me emotionally," she began to tear up, "because I would never even think about using you."

"I understand," Adrik stated.

She pulled away from the hug and nodded her head.

"My intention was never to hurt you emotionally. Every possibility that I strategically planned out always ended with you leaving," he explained.

She sat down on her couch before watching Adrik sit down right beside her.

"If I told you that I would've stayed had it been you that told me the truth instead of Johnathan, would you believe me?" She asked him. Her voice cracked between almost every word. Avelina was begging her body to not cry because she was so tired of crying. She was never the kind of girl who was overly emotional, but there she was, preparing to cry once more.

"I will always believe you," he responded.

She moved over to be closer to him. Her arm wrapped around him as her cheek planted itself on his chest. His heartbeat was pounding in her ear which helped a calmness settle over her.

"I just want to forget right now. I want to forget that I'm going back to Brazil. I want to forget all of the family drama and the secrets. I just want to be right here with you even if it only lasts for a few moments. A few moments with you will always feel like forever," she murmured. His hand rubbed up and down her spine soothingly.

It didn't take long for her eyes to shut as the sensations overcame her. She allowed herself to curl up at his side. The room that was once freezing cold was now so warm. It was warm because Adrik was there, holding her.

Silence overcame them. It was such a comfortable silence that Avelina never wanted to end. The silence helped quiet the loud thoughts in her head that had been speaking since the very beginning.

"I love you, Adrik," she whispered sadly.

His hand on her back had frozen. She glanced up at his beautiful face only to see that his eyes were shut just like hers once were. He must've felt her gaze because he opened his eyes and gleamed down at her.

Before he could say anything, she leaned up and kissed his lips. Her leg immediately placed itself on either side of his, leaving her in a straddling position. His strong, muscular arm snaked around her waist before pulling her into a tighter embrace.

Her lips fought his for dominance that he easily won. She reached down for the hem of his white T-shirt before lifting it off his body. It was instinctive the way her hands reached for his skin just to feel the warmth underneath her fingertips.

"I need you so bad," Avelina let out desperately as she ground her hips against Adrik's. He let out a moan of approval as her hand came down to stroke him through his pants.

He gripped the back of her neck to deepen the kiss. Avelina pushed him down onto the couch with a hungry expression on her face. His shirtless body on full display was appetizing to her. She wanted to take her time and enjoy him.

Avelina kissed his neck all while stroking him. She loved how hard she made him and how he managed to grow even bigger in her hand. When she began to feel his hand creep down to her panties, she began to quiver right under his touch.

He pressed up against her core and began to rub up and down. The manipulations it was doing to her body were driving her insane as she began to move with his finger.

Not only was Adrik rubbing her slit, but she was also grinding against him which only added to the pleasure she was receiving.

Sadly, the moment didn't last long before her b phone began to ring. When she tried to pull away to reach for it, Adrik dragged her right back.

A giggle escaped her before he reclaimed her lips. She knotted her fingers in his hair to deepen the kiss with a smile on her face. It wasn't until her phone began to ring for the second time in a row.

Adrik finally released her so she could get her phone.

Avelina got up to locate her phone before realizing that she threw it across the room earlier. She walked over to the now cracked device and picked it up.

Her brows began to pull together at the sight of the name that popped up on her phone-Miss Paola.

"Hello?" Avelina picked up.

"I need you to get here now," Miss Paola stated.

"What? Wh-"

Before she could fully get her sentence out, the phone hung up. She glanced over at Adrik curiously only to see that he had already been looking at her.

"Uh, I have to go," she muttered, her voice coming off as confused. His brow rose as she sat her phone down on the table. She noticed the cringed expression on Adrik's face at the sight of her phone.

"Don't make that face. I was frustrated," she let out pointedly.

"Why do you have to leave?" He questioned.

"Miss Paola. She called me and it seemed urgent," she sighed. Adrik nodded his head before standing up from the couch.

"I can take you to her," he stated.

She smiled at him gently. "Perfect. Come on, let's go."

They walked out of her house and towards a beautiful black Ferrari out front. Her jaw dropped instantly. She had never seen a car so expensive before.

He opened the passenger side door, leaving the door to fly up. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at it. Even a child on the bike who was riding down the sidewalk stopped to gape at the car in shock.

"Woah. When did you get this?" Avelina asked him.

"Exactly two-hundred and thirty-two days ago. I bought two because I wanted one in the color white with red interior," he answered as if it was nothing.

"You bought two? How many cars do you have?"

"I have thirty-seven cars," he answered.

Adrik pointed towards the passenger seat impatiently. She quickly took the hint and slid into the car before watching the door slide down into its spot.

It didn't take long for him to walk around the vehicle and get into the driver's side. When they were situated, the car started up and they roared off down the road.

-

"Call me if you need me to take you home, Avelina," Adrik told her. She smiled at him before pecking his cheek softly. When she pulled away, she opened the car door and got out.

The walk into the hotel was instinctive based on the numerous times that she had gone to take care of Miss Paola. Avelina didn't need to say a word because the receptionist walked on over to the elevator.

Jones, the elevator operator, looked shocked to see her. A smile made its way onto her face as she stepped onto the elevator.

"Miss Santos, what brings you here?" Jones questioned.

"I came to check up on Miss Paola. How are Alexa and Dani doing?" Avelina asked from the moment she thought back to his children. He smiled calmly at her before clicking the level to Miss Paola's floor.

"Good. They're back in school. I miss them already," he stated.

"You must really be proud," Avelina acknowledged, cheerfully. Every time Avelina felt even the slightest bit of tension in her brow, she would ease it. She tried her best to hide her worries for Miss Paola from Jones.

"Most certainly. How have you been? I haven't seen you in about three months," he pointed out. She let out a sigh just as the elevator finally began to move.

"I'm okay. I've had a rough past few days, but I'm getting better," she answered him.

"Yeah, I get it. Keep your head up, and always remember to think about yourself. Don't think I never noticed the way you'd hand over your umbrella to someone if it was pouring down rain," Mister Jones stated.

The elevator doors slid right open.

"You can't keep buying and giving away umbrellas, Miss Santos. You're only going to ever be a small grateful thought in that person's mind for a day or two. While you have to live with the consequences of being covered in rain on every rainy day," he explained.

She tried to process his words. Confusion took over her features as she attempted to process what he was telling her. Avelina stepped out of the elevator still very puzzled about the recent events.

"Bye, Miss Santos!" He waved just as the elevator doors slid closed. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it as she stared at the elevator doors.

Walking down the hallway, she quickly knocked on Miss Paola's door.

Time was ticking by and it was taking forever for Miss Paola to just do something as simple as opening the door. Worry quickly added perspiration to the nape of her neck as she brought her fist up to pound on the door once more.

"Miss Paola!" She yelled out.

Suddenly, the door pulled open to a smiling Miss Paola. Avelina didn't the think woman ever smiled. Now, there she was, smiling as if she had just seen the best-looking guy in the world.

"I have just seen the best-looking guy in the world!" Miss Paola let out happily. She looked like she wanted to squeal out in happiness as Avelina stepped into the house.

"You called me all the way over here just to tell me that?" Avelina asked her.

"No. I called you over here because he says he knows you," Miss Paola chuckled, "you didn't think to tell me about him? If you two used to mess with each other, I'm not really sorry to tell you that I won't back off. You can have one of my ex's if you want-they're rich, and probably dead."

"Who?" Avelina asked before glancing over at the couch to see no one other than her older brother.

"Sister," Vincent let out. "What do you think you're doing messing around with that Russian again?"

"Oh, sh*t! Did he just say sister? Hold on, let me go make me some food before y'all get to the juicy part!" Miss Paola squealed.

-
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