** REBEL SIMMONS POV **

The car ride was silent, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. I sighed as we approached the mansion, jealously still consuming me at the thought of Dante leaving me in the morning to be with Sofia. I skidded to a stop, and briskly walked out of the car, leaving all the shopping bags inside the trunk... or at least what's left of it.

"Rebel, where the fuck are you going!" Dante yelled at me and followed me like a parent chasing after his misbehaving kid.

I ignored him and started to walk faster. I just needed time to think, and to get away... I really just needed to get away from him. He was an enigma, so close one moment, then the next he's gone. Always near enough to admire, yet far enough that I know I'd never reach him. As we walked through the house, I quickly walked to the backyard.

"Don't you fucking walk away from me!" Dante's voice boomed behind me as I continued to walk through the house, and out the back door. I walked into the massive garden in the backyard, and walked within the maze of the rose garden, and got lost within the floral scents.

I closed my eyes for a moment once I was out of view from the mansion, and sat down at a bench. This was my favorite spot in the garden, right in the middle of the estate. It had roses surrounding a large fountain and trees hanging above, blocking the sky and engulfing me within the garden. It was like a lush getaway, a secret passage where I could get away from the madness I call my life.

After a few minutes I heard the sound of light footsteps coming towards me. I slightly opened my eyes to see Dante walking towards me. The orange and red hues from the sunset made him look like an angel walking among us mere mortals.

"Rebel." He said calmly through gritted teeth as he slowly walked towards me.

"What do you want?" I said, my jealousy spilling to the surface.

"You and my idiotic sisters go out after strict orders to stay inside. You almost get killed. Yet you're giving me an attitude?" He scoffed as he stood in front of me.

"At least I didn't leave you this morning to be with another man." I said raising my eyebrow and standing up, walking away from him yet again.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He said as he roughly grabbed my arm, turning me to face him and pulling me into his chest.

"Why don't you go have some more fun with Sofia?" I shrugged. "I'm sure she doesn't give you half the attitude I do." I said coldly. He looked at me for a moment, analyzing my face.

"What is this? Some kind of petty jealousy thing over something you don't even know? Are you that childish?" Dante growled as his face inched closer to mine.

"Dante, I'm tired of playing this endless back and forth with you. You're giving me mixed signals and they're giving me whiplash." I said as I attempted to pull my arm out of his fierce embrace. He held on tighter as his eyes narrowed.

"One minute, you're kind and gentle, and the next you're walking around cold and closed off. You're all over me, then ignore and push me away. It's frustrating me to no end, and I'm sick of this game you're playing with me." I said exhausted. I was tired of it. He laughed an evil laugh that seemed to send a shiver down my spine.

"What you think that just because I saved your life, that we are now exclusive or have some sort of connection?" He said as he let go of my arm and walked away.

"Sweetheart, I don't date. I don't do relationships. I don't do commitments. I don't make promises I cannot keep. If I want to go off and fuck a new girl every morning and every night, believe me I will do it. So either take me as I am, or don't. I honestly don't give a fuck." He said in a cold tone as he crossed his arms. Tears started to form at his words, I started to blink rapidly in an attempt to hold them in. How could I have been so stupid to try and see the light in such an awful, emotionless man.

I ran past him and sprinted to the house, the tears now flowing down my face. I ran into the house after I quickly took off my shoes and ran up the stairs, running into the firm, chiseled chest of Stephan.

"Shit. I'm sorry." I said as I wiped the tears streaming down my face. He looked at me for a moment with a sympathetic look before embracing me in a tight hug. His pine scent soothed me as I cried into his shoulder.

Crying was such a foreign feeling to me, I haven't cried since I was a child. Every built up emotion from the many years of suppression came boiling to the surface, and it honestly felt good. It felt so fucking good to let it all out.

"You okay, Rebel?" He asked gently as he pulled me back to examine my face. I nodded as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Who's the bastard that made you cry?" Stephan asked, his gentle features morphing into a deadly glare. The back door opened and Dante walked in, his hand running through his now messy blonde hair. He looked up at us and his face seemed distressed.

His crystal grey eyes locked onto mine, and then his gaze lowered to Stephan's arms around my waist and a scowl spread across his face.

"So you're the bastard that made her upset. Figures." Stephan said as he walked towards Dante. Stephan's long strides closed the distance between them in seconds. He shoved Dante's chest with incredible force, and Dante slightly took a step back.

"Cousin, what the fuck do you think you're doing." Dante growled in a low deadly tone as he stepped forward and got in Stephan's face.

"You think you can just treat everyone like shit and get away with it?" Stephan yelled at him. Dante had a few inches on Stephan. He was much more muscular than him, but Stephan seemed fearless and unfazed.

"I'd suggest you stop talking before I make you stop breathing." Dante said slowly and dangerously. His hands were balled into fists at his side and the vein on his forehead looked like it was going to explode any second.

"You see that, cousin?" Stephan asked as he bravely grabbed Dante's face and pointed it towards me. "See those tears, Dante? That is your effect on people. You ruin everyone around you with that fucking temper of yours. Even an amazing woman like Rebel breaks down when she's around you." Stephan said in a deadly tone. Dantes face twisted into a scowl at the last sentence and he punched Stephan square in the face, sending him falling to the tile.

I ran up the stairs, I mentally couldn't take it anymore. As I sprinted up the steps, Angelo, Florence, Giana, and Harry were running downstairs. The twins saw me at the top of the steps and followed me to my room. After the twins entered my bedroom, I slammed the door and started pulling my hair in frustration.

"Rebel, what the fuck happened between Dante and Stephan?" Natalia asked, a worried expression on her face.

I told them everything. Dante's hurtful words, Stephan comforting me and intervening, and how Dante punched him in the face.

"That fight was a long time coming, it wasn't your fault Reb." Isa said as she rolled her eyes at the boys stupidity as she leaned against my headboard.

"They've always had issues growing up." Natalia added as she rubbed my back.

"I'm just grateful to get away from Dante over Christmas, even if it's just for a few days. I feel like a moron for even liking him." I said, that was the first time I verbalized that I actually like him... well, liked.

"Rebel, he acts so different around you. We've never seen Dante so protective or obsessive over anyone before." Natalia explained as she reached for her phone.

"Yeah, in this own little twisted and fucked up way, he likes you. But he had a harder upbringing than all of us since he was the heir to the Mafia." Isa said as she sat up.

"Our dad was a ruthless man. He always prioritized family over everything, but he believed that emotions made a man weak. That was his weakness, his love for our mom, and he recognized that as his greatest blessing and greatest flaw." Natalia said, a sad expression on her face.

"He raised Dante not to love. Not to show or feel emotions, and I think around you, those emotions surface. He just doesn't know how to handle them properly, so he always fucks it up." Isa said as she chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, well I'm just going to keep my distance and regain my sanity." I groaned. "Thank you two. For everything. You're my best friends and I love you guys so much." I said as I stood up and was tackled in a hug by the twins.

Natalia found out I never had pizza before, and ordered five different kinds, each with all different kinds of toppings and dipping sauces.

After we binged pizza and movies, the twins eventually fell asleep on my bed. I laid there, staring at the ceiling, an uneasy feeling overcoming me as I recalled the turbulent day.

The lock on my door clicked open, and I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. Light footsteps made their way across the room to my side of the bed. The familiar masculine scent invalided my senses as a calloused hand stroked my hair. Dante kissed me on the forehead, his lips lingering for a few moments, before he walked out of the room.