The semester is over!!! I'm literally over the moon. This year has been full of shit and it's been absolutely crazy, but it's almost over and I'm thrilled. Time to take a ride down to Fuckville! Who's down?! 😂

You all have waited long so this chapter is a bit long like the previous one. Point out my errors. Read, vote, share, comment, and ENJOY!!!

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(Eros' POV)

          I bury my head under the pillow to block out the whines that play persistent ping pong in my ears. But the whimpers only grow louder by the passing second. I toss from side to side on the uncomfortable couch with my eyes scrunched shut. Although the cries are soft, they still manage to penetrate through the pillow and poke my eardrums like sharp spears.

          "What the fuck!" Groaning in frustration, I discard the pillow to the floor and sit up to see Ms. Estle's body viciously shaking, her front facing away from me. I pace to her side in sheer panic immediately. Everything is clearly visible under the moonlight penetrating through the large windows. For some reason my heart races to see her perspiring profusely and softly crying in her sleep. The shirt that I leant her earlier is drenched in sweat against her heavenly body. She continues to quiver as I bend over and remove the damp caramel strands from her burning forehead.

"Hey," I whisper softly and brush my knuckle up and down her flushed cheek.

          Her lids shoot open to reveal her hazel eyes that are doused in pure agony, ridiculously red and teary from the nightmare she was having. Agonized hysteria engulfs her whole as she grabs my throat and throws me to the bed like the very first time I entered her room and saw her in a similar state. Her nails tighten around my neck fiercely with the intent to kill as she climbs on top and straddles my lap.

Fuck! Here we go again.

Her name leaves my mouth in a strangled groan due to the pressure her hands exert. "You started all this!" She screams at me, crying and hallucinating. "You were my dad. How could you do this to me?"

I wrap my fingers around her wrists and begin loosening her hold. I have to admit, she's very strong even when partially conscious, but I'm stronger. I push her trembling hands away, but she reciprocates by forcing them down to grab my throat again. "It's just me, sweetheart," I speak in a soft tone, grunting a bit to keep her hands from strangling me. "It's just me."

"How could you do this to me?" She sobs, anger flaring in her eyes. "You ruined me. You ruined everything."

"Baby, listen to me." I pin her hands to the small of her back and slowly lift my back off the mattress whilst keeping my eyes intact on hers. "It's just me. Eros."

"Let me go!" She cries in fear, violently struggling against my hold. "You bastard!"

"Hey, hey, hey," I whisper and pull her into my chest tightly after releasing her wrists. "Calm down. It's just me." Her nails mercilessly dive into the naked flesh of my back muscles and begin clawing. She bites my shoulder ruthlessly in attempts to get away from me. "Peaches," I grunt and swallow my insatiable pain. My body senses warm liquid trickling down and I bet she ruined the skull tattooed on my back. "Sweetheart, focus on my voice."

"Please, let me go." Another sob viciously breaks past the barrier of her lips as she trembles. "I beg you. Please!"

The pleading tone she emits from her mouth definitely isn't one I've ever heard from her. It's heavy with emotions, certainly not the good ones. Distress. Sadness. Pain. It's all there deep within, and it's crawling out her pores. The strongest woman I know is breaking in my arms and I can't seem to stop it. However, I still decide to hold her close.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I promise, my hand raking through her long strands while her tears fall on my shoulder and cascade down. "Not today, not tomorrow, not ever, sweetheart." Her heaving chest slowly begins to settle, her nails retracting from my muscles. "You'll probably kill me before I even think about it," I chuckle in order to ease her, and by the sounds of her cries simmering down, I believe it worked.

Almost immediately, the door busts open to let Leo Bonferroni in who switches the lights on. An evident scowl is plastered on his face as Ms. Estle quickly slithers out of my arms and slips under the covers to hide her naked legs. She haphazardly wipes away her tears.

"What the hell is going on?" Leo yells, rushing in our direction and compelling me to get off the bed in intimidation. "Athena?" The pad of his thumb wipes away the remaining tears as her eyes stare into her lap, completely refusing to meet his gaze. "What happened?"

Another man storms in, rubbing his weary eyes. "What happened?" Mike walks to the other side of the bed and climbs in next to Ms. Estle who's still silent with no intention to breathe a word. His green eyes glance over to mine in pure rage as if he's about to blow up any second.

          Fear strikes me instantly. "I didn't do anything," I blurt out to save my ass from getting shot or worse, killed.

          "If you did something, your severed head would be hanging from the ceiling in here, your limbs would be baseball bats, and torso, a bloody boat," Leo casually shows me a glimpse of my future as his eyes study the disoriented woman in front of him. "Considering you're standing in one piece, you haven't done anything." His weird accent spits out the last part. It was definitely a mix of American and British. Yup, definitely weird.

          "Who was it this time?" Mike queries in a low, cautious tone as if she could break like a fragile glass any moment.

          "Fabian." Nothing but solemnity is showcased on her face. Her fingers brush through her sweaty hair before she puts it in a quick bun so effortlessly that I can't help but be smitten by that little gesture. Fuck! I'm definitely a goner.

"I'm fine." She finally looks between the two men sitting around her on the bed. "You two can leave."

          "Did you take your medicine?" Leo asks her firmly unlike Mike who had a soft edge to his question earlier. "Answer me, Athena." He nods to Mike who saunters out of the room without a fuss as I step further back until the calves of my legs touch the sofa I was sleeping on.

          "Jackson carries my medicine, but he's in the hospital right now, and I don't live here, so I don't have any medicine here," she counters, her voice edgy in defense and fear. "I just need some pain meds for my feet and I'll be as good as new in a couple hours."

Leo ignores her demand and touches her forehead. "You're running a fever." Noting that I'm seeing his side profile, his jaw twitches every so slightly. "You're extremely reckless, Athena."

"I'm not," she retorts curtly and pulls the sheets to her chest.

"Oh really?" Leo snorts. "You miss out on your meds. You act irrationally and absolutely recklessly sometimes. I can go on forever and honestly, Addy is doing better than you."

Ms. Estle laughs incredulously. "I saw her a couple weeks ago and she still thinks a boy can make her better."

"And I visited her yesterday. She's doing much better than you are and now she's perfectly alright."

"That's impossible." Ms. Estle looks at him in utter disbelief. "She was still in the same condition as before."

"She has been looked after under careful supervision and has finally recovered," Leo lifts Ms. Estle's chin up slowly. "I can promise you that she's the old Addy. She can finally come home now, Athena."

Ms. Estle shook her head again, her fingers fiddling with one another. "But she told me to look for that boy."

"And why would she tie her health to the emergence of a boy?" Leo forces her eyes to his with his deep voice. "She never depended on a man like you."

"Maybe she was in love with him."

"Well, did you find that boy?" Leo cocks a brow.

"No."

"Exactly," Leo sighs and squeezes her shaky hand. "You know how she loved playing games. What else do you need to know that she's okay and you're not?"

"What are you implying?" She shifts a bit uncomfortably and eyes the man warily before scoffing incredulously. "You can't do this. You can't just institutionalize me because of a slip up and a bad day."

He lets out a deep breath and spares me a glance. "Leave the room." My eyes lock with Ms. Estle as I slowly begin to back out of the room. As if her world is beginning to crash, a tear willingly topples over her lid. I stand there frozen at the aura of pain surrounding her as she helplessly lets her head fall into Leo's chest who pulls her close. "Don't make me say it again," he warns me, but I didn't want to leave.

          "Leo, please don't do this to me," she begs the man as Mike drags Ray in who barely has his eyes open.

          "Step outside," Mike orders me and starts closing the door on my face as his eyes fan over my shoulder. "That's a pretty nasty bite. Clean yourself up."

          My bare feet are glued to the cold marble floor. Although my mind is giving the signal to move, my heart can't allow it. So, here I am facing the large white door like a complete dumbass worried about a woman who was nothing to me almost a month ago. My fondness for her has immensely grown to new heights unlike any other. A woman that has made me kneel to her orders, literally beat me up, and wanted me to sleep with a girl for a damn article isn't a woman I ever thought myself to like, but I can't deny it, there's more than liking her on my part.

          Girls have always fallen for my charm and my looks. The ink definitely attracts many, but other than flirting or kissing, I didn't take any to bed unless they were a client. Cornelia was the only one I gave the title of being my girlfriend, and look how that turned out. I hurt her and put myself under the impression that concealing my profession and sleeping with other women wasn't cheating. Ms. Estle, being the biggest bitch that she is, tattled on me and humiliated Cornelia. Heartless was my first thought of her, but slowly I saw little snippets of the real her, the one she tries to mask away under that strong exterior that she brilliantly holds up.

Seeing her cry and tremble in my arms broke my heart, even more so gave me an insight into her hidden truth. Her dad is a factor in all the pain she's experiencing and so is Maddox, but I still need to figure out how. I desperately want to help her, though I don't know how.

I sit down against the wall opposite her door and listen to the muffled arguing for a long time, occasionally getting lost in the thoughts of her. It's almost six in the morning and now that I'm thinking about it, we all barely had an hour of sleep. Jesus!

"Lover boy is still sitting here," Ray laughs, stumbling out of the room with a briefcase that he had taken inside during one of the many trips he made down the hall in the past hour. "You're so pathetic. Get a life, Romeo."

          "I need to sleep," Mike yawns and stretches, following Ray down the hall as I slowly rise to my feet.

          A couple minutes later, Leo finally comes out and closes the door behind him. He looks at me before rubbing his eyes and stepping closer. "What's your name again?"

          "Eros."

          "Athena seems to like you considering she let you sleep in the same room as her," he confesses and exhales a long stretch of air.

          "We didn't..." A lift of his finger stops my mouth from saying anything else.

          "Athena is like my little sister. She's family, and I don't need to know whatever transpires between you two in a room." He slides his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and stands firmly. I'd be lying if I say I'm not intimidated by this man because he literally screams power. "You know how to fight, right?"

"How do you know that?" I ask without thinking and literally facepalm right after.

"All my employees are trained to fight," he says without any hint of emotion in his tone.

"Yeah, sorry. I've barely had any sleep."

"You're not the only one." Nonchalantly, he turns and starts walking down the hall, silently asking me to follow him. "Although you're probably not as good of an assassin as Jackson, you'll do fine while he's away." He stops in front of a large window and stares at the first ray of sunlight peeking behind the hill. "I can see that you care about her, so I want you to look after her for me. You answer to me now, not her. You make sure that she takes her medication twice a day. You make sure that she eats. Don't let her work too hard. I know she tries to read through all the articles herself and stays up late. I've placed incredible editors at her feet, and you make sure that they do their job and lift the burden off her shoulders. If she defies any of this, which I know she will, you let me know immediately. Are we clear?"

          "Yes."

          "I'm giving you an upper hand here, and she'll most likely hate you for it. But I assure you, she won't kill you." He brushes his fingers through his black hair and turns to face me. "You take care of her like she's your family and protect her with your life. Don't take advantage of this position though. If I hear that you hurt her in any way, I'll make sure that your druggie mother has a fatal accident at the rehab."

          "My mom?" I stare at him dumbfounded.

          "It took me less than five minutes to learn everything about you, which is why I came to this decision." He cracks his neck and rolls his shoulders back leisurely. "If you cross me, I'll make your life so miserable that you'll wish death upon yourself, and me being the nice guy that I am, I won't let you die. So, don't make me regret my decision. Capisci?"

          I gulp hard and nod. "Yes, sir."

          "Good," he smiles in approval, rather mockingly as his eyes scan over the ink. "Do you have an addiction for tattoos?"

          "I'm addicted to pussy," Rome slurs as his drunk ass stumbles into the hallway with his eyes barely open. "I can't find the bathroom. I'm about to pee myself. And I think there's going to be a lot to release. A miniature Niagara Falls." He laughs at his own pathetic joke.

          Leo rolls his eyes at my brother and walks away after telling me to clean the blood off my shoulder. I saunter over to Rome who has his hands over his crotch before I turn him to the door right beside him. "This is the bathroom."

          "Oh, sorry. I can't see anything. I think I'm blind." He gasps and starts freaking out. "Oh my God! I drank so much and now I can't see. Oh my fucking God!"

          "Bitch!" I slap the back of his head and shake him by his collar. "Open your fucking eyes."

          "Oh." He opens his eyes and looks at me with tremendous love shining through his blue glimmering marbles as he pats my cheek. "When did you get so smart?"

          "Dude," I swat his hand away. "Fuck off and go pee."

          "I almost forgot." He stupidly undoes his slacks and wobbles into the bathroom, almost tripping over his pants. I grab him by the back of his neck and situate him in front of the toilet, holding him still. He begins peeing, missing the toilet bowl completely.

          "Are you fucking kidding me?" I scream at him, looking at his urine splattering on the tiled floor.

          "What?" He slurs again, his natural stream of waste still painting the floor in a yellowish tint. He wasn't kidding about miniature Niagara Falls because this shit ain't stopping.

          "You're peeing on the fucking floor, you motherfucking idiot!"

          "Bitch, I told you I'm blind and sensitive. You're hurting my feelings." He starts crying whilst pulling up his fly after the longest pee of his life. "I'm going to tell mom that you hurt my feelings," he sniffles like a child. "She's going to whoop your ass."

          "She's in rehab, idiot." I haul him out of the bathroom and drag him down the hall toward an empty room.

          "When did she go to rehab?" He stares at me, absolutely stunned by the information as I open the door. "I'm calling the cops right now."

          Groaning internally, I throw him on the bed like the nastiest piece of trash and pull the covers over him. "Go ahead and call them. They'll put you in handcuffs and drag your fucking ass to the station for underage drinking."

          "Handcuffs!" He smirks and buries his head into the pillow. "Kinky, just like Cornelia."

          "What?" I stop by the door and look at him.

          "We fucked after she dumped your cheating ass, and I think I actually like her," he laughs into the pillow and dozes off a minute later while I stand there astounded.

          Well, so much for hating each other.

***

          After cleaning up behind my immature brother, I take a quick shower to get rid of the filth on me. My body and mind are still tired and I desperately need to rest my eyes, but not next to Rome's nasty ass. Laying on the couch in his room, my mind immediately thinks back to Ms. Estle and how much I want to check up on her. Maybe she's sleeping, but a little look can't hurt.

          Exiting the room, I pace in her direction and stop right outside her door, contemplating whether to go in or not. For some unknown, stupid reason, I'm nervous as hell. What the actual fuck? Rolling my eyes at my own idiocy, I slowly open the door to see her sitting on the bed with her head buried between her legs that are curled up to her chest.

          "What do you want, Mr. Azallion?" She senses my presence and lifts her head to look at me. Her shoulders are slouched in exhaustion, her eyes heavy in weariness.

          "I just came to check up on you." I step into the room and close the door behind me. "I thought you were sleeping."

"Oh yes. Come right in like you own the damn place," she sarcastically rolls her eyes and pulls the sheets over my naked legs. I laugh, shaking my head at her. "Now that you've checked on me, what are you waiting for? A talking dog?"

"Well, I'm looking at one right now," I shrug and plop down on her bed. "A female version though. So, a talking bitch."

She scowls and slams a pillow to my face. "Do you ever shut up?"

Laughing, I lay on my side and look at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She sighs jadedly and leans against the majestic headboard.

I study her for another minute before laying under the covers next to her and making myself comfortable. She looks at me, confused by my actions. "What are you doing?"

"We both have the day off today as instructed by the one and only Leo Bonferroni," I flash her a cheeky smile. "I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep here."

"Go sleep somewhere else." She pinches the bridge of her nose and scoots away from me.

"I need to make sure that you sleep."

"And who gave you this responsibility?" She glares at me.

"My new boss, Leo Bonferroni," I grin and watch annoyance spread on her face. "So, now I'm your bodyguard, caretaker, and assistant. If you don't go to sleep right now, I'll have to call him."

"The sun is up," she counters, looking down at me. "I can't sleep."

"Yes, you can. It's your day off, so put your ass to sleep." She stares ahead as her fingers twitch and play with one another anxiously. Her breathing gets a bit heavier, her brows pulled together, and lips pursed into a thin line. I sit up straight and meet her gaze before commenting, "You're scared to fall asleep."

"No," she replies with no emotion to give away her façade, but we both know it's a lie.

Putting a finger under her chin, I turn her head to face me. "Peaches, did you take your medicine?"

She frowns in anger and slaps my hand away. "You're not my damn father, or my brother, or anything at all. You mean nothing to me, so I don't have to tell you a damn thing. Get the hell out of my room," she screams in rage.

          "Well, I'll just go tell Leo that you're not complying with me then. He'll certainly put you to sleep." I fake a sigh and begin getting out of the bed when I feel her hand tightly grip my wrist.

          "Ray gave me the medicine, so yes, I took it," she spits through her teeth and releases my wrist.

          I smirk and sit with my legs crossed in front of her. "You're scared of him," I state.

          "I'm not scared, I respect him. There's a difference," she retorts curtly and dares me to challenge it with a glare. "I respect everyone in that family. They have given me everything. Whatever I am today is because of them, and I owe them my damn life."

          "Then sleep."

          "I'm going to kill you."

          "He said you can't kill me." I flash her my puppy dog eyes and bat my lashes at her.

She groans and looks at the lake out the window. "I hate you," she mutters.

"You didn't hate me yesterday morning when I made you orgasm two times," I smirk and watch her trying to hold back a smile. "I would have made you cum a couple more times, but that stupid dog though."

          She laughs and looks at me whilst shaking her head. "I hate you."

"But you're laughing, so you don't."

"That's because I'm tired."

"Exactly. You need to sleep."

Her face goes back to solemn as she holds my gaze. I raise my hands and silently ask for her permission to touch. She doesn't say anything and keeps looking at me sternly without falter. My hand slowly strokes her cheek and she willingly leans into the touch, closing her eyes to enjoy the soft caress. Reaching forward, I place a slow kiss on the apple of her other cheek that leaves my lips tingling and wanting more, but I draw back and gaze at the beautiful woman.

"Sweetheart, you have a fever and you're clearly exhausted," I lower my voice to a soft whisper. Placing my leg on either side of her, I run my hands up and down her back soothingly before scooting her closer. "I'll hold you until you fall asleep like we did in your office that day. You slept peacefully, and I promise I won't let any monsters get to you."

A shaky breath slips past her lips as she rests her head on the shoulder she bit earlier. I wince and add, "You know how to bite by the way." She chuckles and wraps her arms around my neck, embracing me warmly. My hand digs in her hair as I hold her close. "You're okay, peaches."

          "Thank you," she whispers, permitting me to tighten my hold on her. Breathing in her natural scent, I sigh in pleasure before she pulls away and finally lays on her back under the covers. I slide under them right next to her and pull her into my chest by her waist. Her warm hand rests on my naked chest while the other one plays with my nipple piercing as she slowly drowns in my eyes while I drown in hers. Silence and peace floods the room rather comfortably and I just want to lay here and bask in her enchanting beauty.

          "I know I have very beautiful eyes," I snicker and tuck a strand behind her ear. She smiles, lifting her head a bit to press her soft, luscious lips against mine and I feel my insides dance in giddiness. Every time I kiss her, my stomach does flips, and I never knew a kiss could do that until she came along. It's like a middle school crush that I just want to keep kissing forever and ever till the time stops.

          My hand resting on her waist moves down to her round ass and squeezes the soft flesh, pulling her further into me as I deepen the kiss. She moans into my mouth, making me smile against her lips while my hand feathers over her naked thigh.

          "You taste like booze," I laugh into her hungry mouth. "Maybe you should brush your teeth."

          She pulls back and narrows her eyes at me before punching my chest hard and turning the other way. "Idiot!"

          I laugh. "I like you a lot." I wrap my arm around her waist and nuzzle my head into her hair, inhaling the sweet scent. "I more than like you."

She giggles to my confession and wiggles her ass against my crotch like a dirty vixen. "Get in line, Mr. Azallion."

"Oh, wow!" My chest rumbles with a deep laughter. "And here I thought the bitch might have a heart." She playfully elbows my chest as I continue to laugh. "I'm kidding." Kissing the back of her head, I pull her into my chest. "Sleep, baby."

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A bit boring, but yay or nay?

Late update, I know. Instead of posting two chapters of this as I usually do, I'm going to write a chapter of Mio Re because I know Arie and Leo shippers have waited a while too.

What could have Fabian possibly done?

Who's Addy?

Much love ❤️
~Reet