~The Beginning of The End~

The news came at the wrong time and as a staggering shock to Nicolas. He stared at the news bearer for the longest time, refusing to believe what he heard. "I don't get it. Is this some joke? If it is, I don't find it amusing that you'll use my sister's disappearance so humorously."

Dolores sighed again, scooting closer to him. "I know where she is, Nicolas. Simeon and I--"

He barked out in laughter, tugging his hand out of hers. "There she goes again with Simeon. Simeon this and Simeon that."

"Listen to me, dammit." She snapped suddenly, exerting control over her anger when he complied. "Simeon has been nothing but supportive to us, to you especially. Even when you were acting like a jealous bimbo, he stuck his neck out for you."

He wagged a finger in her face. "Don't rub his good works here. He has done nothing but try to come between us, so has Carlos. Stop bringing him into our conversation every damn time you get the chance to."

"Nick!" She dragged his shirt, forcing him closer. "Who did you think saved your sister when she drowned at that party? Even though you kept her a secret from everyone, he saved her despite not knowing who she is. Same happened at Carlos' party. He knew she was in trouble when he heard some guys talking about her. He only remembered her as the girl from the pool party but got to learn that night that she was your sister."

Nicolas remained quiet, ruminating over her words. She continued, "He knew he had to do something before Carlos' evil intentions would happen. Luckily for Aurora, the same girl who tried to drown her was present and even wore the same bandage dress which Aurora. She then tried to cause trouble as always but Aurora gave her a healthy serving of her own medicine."

"How did you--"

"Can you let me finish?" She lolled her head to the side, a messy eyebrow slightly raised. He nodded briefly. "After Simeon saw the mini argument between them, he decided to leave the other girl to her fate, grabbing Aurora instead. He called me later that night to talk to me about a certain girl he saved from the party and how he regrets bringing her to his house instead of the police. On my demand, he described the girl he was with and that's when I knew it was her."

Diverse emotions were crawling around Nicolas, creating difficulty in expressing what he felt in the innermost part of him. Amidst all, anger was what most clouded his judgment. "You've known about the whereabouts of my sister for the longest time and instead of telling me about it, you connive with a stranger to keep it away from my knowledge. How kind of you!"

"I know you, Nick. If we had breathed a word to you, you'd have exposed your sister to more danger. We didn't know why you hid her or chose to still hide her existence even after we became really close. We were doing it for you."

He turned to look at her with a sarcastic sneer. "You keep saying 'we'. I don't get it. Were Adelina and Grayson involved in all of this too?"

"That's I and Simeon. He did good to help a stranger who at the right time turned out to be your sister. If he hadn't, the dress we found that night would have been Aurora's. How would you be able to live with yourself?"

There was silence from him. It created a tension in the room so thick that even a butcher's knife would be unable to slice through without struggle. Dolores didn't say anything to quell the silence either. She needed him to deeply think before speaking as it was a delicate matter they were about to dive into. He dragged his fingers out from within his thick hair, his face still registering puzzlement.

"All these while that we took trips to the station together, the times we went to the city's hospital to check if any new patient was her, the times we even ventured into the morgue, you knew where she was?" His eyes showed amazement but it wasn't the good type where you admired the person. It was one filled with astonishment at how she'd been lying to him.

"My father's been heartbroken since he learnt of her sudden disappearance. I've been lying in guilt for days on end, wondering why I ever let her attend that party but now I learn you've been keeping her?" He was trying his best not to raise his voice. He was losing his mind.

Dolores hastily reached for his arm before he stepped away from her. "When he informed me of the plans to have your sister raped, keeping her until she storm blew over seemed like the best option. We just didn't know it would take so much time for Carlos to be caught. I know how thoughtless you get when it comes to Aurora and keeping her safe. It wasn't our decision to make but we did it for you."

"I still think this is some joke. So what happens next, some camera guys shoot out from underneath your bed and say 'it's a prank?' Say something." He urged, anger crossing his features.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not... it's not a prank like you hope it'd be. I mean every word. Your sister is safe now because of Simeon. Believe it or not, you owe it to him."

Nicolas had his mind buzzing with different things but mostly, relief. If what Dolores said was true, then he would ask the police to call off their search team. His dad would also be at peace with the news, so would Christie. Before Dolores registered her next blink, he tugged her hand, pulling her towards him. It was an abrupt action and Dolores found herself catapulted into his arms. He dropped a soft kiss on her lips. After he pulled away, her eyes fluttered open.

"What was that for?" She quizzed.

"Thank you and I'm sorry for every hurt I brought you." He confessed, suddenly feeling abashed at how intently she was staring into his eyes. "I'll talk to Simeon immediately."

"You better." She threatened with both sides of her lips tugged down in a frown. It slowly turned into a warm smile and she gave his fingers a small squeeze. "I assure you that she's in safe hands for good. Especially now that Carlos has been put away. Go get your sister."

°•°•°•°•°•°•°

As he crossed the threshold of the Buena Vista Café, his palms became clammy with sweat. For the umpteenth time, he wiped them against his jean jacket. He made his order then went to the booth nearest the window so he could catch a glimpse of his sister before she entered into the café. In a few minutes, a cup of black irish coffee was seated on a coaster in front of him, warming his face and hands. His mind danced about with pure excitement and anxiety of seeing his sister once more. It seemed like another opportunity given to him to set things straight with her and never go back to his past life. For the first time in years, he finally saw a reason to be thankful.

However, his anticipation made the few minutes he'd spend there feel like some hours. He wanted to see his sister as soon as he possibly could, hold her once more and have her tease him endlessly. After what seemed like an eternity, he brought out his phone from within his pocket to dial Simeon when he heard a voice call his name.

"Nick?"

The familiar voice registered in his clouded brain. Instinctively, he raised his head to acknowledge the owner of the voice and his eyebrows shot up in shock and surprise at once. It was his sister.

"Aurora! It is you." He shot out of his seat faster than he thought possible to meet her in the middle of the café. Their display of affection earned them several looks from the other visitors. Most thought it endearing to watch while the rest couldn't care less. "Thank God you're back. I thought I'd lost you."

"You didn't think you would be able to throw me off your back that easily, did you? I'm tougher than a nail, you see." She bragged, her hold tightening around his waist. "I missed you, big brother."

He pulled away from her, dropping a kiss in the middle of her head with his hands cupping her face. "I missed you too."

Simeon who'd been watching the sibling reunion from afar, stepped up to them with his hands buried in his front pockets. "There. You have your brother back and I can have my peace. Your sister's a load of trouble." He intended the last sentence for Nicolas.

"Whatever! Go have a haircut, you still look like a girl." Aurora fired at him, tongue sticking out at him in a childish manner.

He didn't reply her. Instead, he began to retrace his steps back to the entrance of the café. The role he was playing in the life of Nicolas was now over and in it's place was the next phase of his life. It flashed at him like a neon sign. Before he placed the final foot that'll put him outside the building, he halted immediately when Nicolas called out his name. He turned his head with a cocked eyebrow. "Anything else?"

"Thank you." And indeed for the first time, he had never meant those two little words more than he did at that moment. It was as though his peace was sealed from then onwards. The feeling was liberating.

Simeon gave him a tight lipped smile in response then proceeded to walk out of there. Nicolas ushered Aurora to his booth where he was, signalling to the waiter to get her a tall glass of vanilla milkshake. She smiled warmly at him, surprised at his openness with her. If there was anything she hadn't done, was thank Dolores for what she'd done to her brother.

~~~{•}~~~

Sorry guys, didn't warn y'all that this is actually the end.
Don't worry my lovelies, there's an epilogue sitting prettily in the next chapter. Enjoy

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~~Chignature~~