I stayed on the floor like a crumbled tissue paper; he stood a few steps away from me. Even in his injured condition, he looked like a beast reading to take on whoever would dare to oppose him. His face was flushed, his tanned skin had crimson red shining due to deep cuts and those bruises must be from the few punches of his enemy. He was lucky, I thought. At least his enemies came forward, mine just lied and lied and put me in different kind of miseries time to time.

"What happened?" his voice boomed in his almost empty room, for an injured man, his voice certainly did not quiver.

His question made me look away towards the file that defined my life as a lie just few moments ago. He understood as he picked up those and put it inside the cupboard. "Get up!" he ordered.

I shook my head. Not that I wanted to stay in his room, it is just...my legs were famished, I could not think straight. I felt my head was spinning and I could not feel my legs so I did not possess any strength to stand and walk away as if what I read was nothing. For me, the floor I was sitting on was a lie and as I was sitting on it and I was unable to get out of its clutches. He tried to actuate me to gain my composure, "Come on," he crouched down near me and whispered.

"He told me she died of some incurable illness; we did have a funeral then why..." I said to him, looking up. His eyes were drooping; he must have been feeling dizzy as well.

"You need sleep!" he said. His hardened and bruised hand grasped my hand and applied force to pick me up; second later I was up; standing on my feet, mostly leaning on to him.

"Do not tell me...what I need, you all are just liars, hiding things, about my family-" his hand snaked around my waist; tightened as I called him out on lying, and I saw his dark gaze bore into me in disagreement.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"You too!" I pushed him away; both of hands had strength to throw him two steps backward.

"I did not know it before!" he yelled. His tone was harsh, the voice echoed in his room. I took a few steps backward to lean on wall to have its support because mentally, physically and emotionally – I was drained, "I have had a tough day today, so maybe stop blaming me for something your pathetic excuse of a father did!" he continued and I acceded because before being kidnapped, it was not Romeo who made my life a hell. It was him – my freaking father.

He turned around and started to pace around in the room, fuming. He was gritting his teeth, mouthing curses at the world and just banging the wall. His wounds were bleeding and he did not seem to flinch at all. I wanted to ask him about the file and the information of my mother's empty grave and no record of her death; but I could see, he was unaware. He did not know my father and that must have been pissing him off, but I did not leave the room. I stayed to ask about something that he knew very well – the shooting. "What happened?"

He stopped near his window, absorbing the cold breeze. His head turned towards me, he looked at me as if he was wondering what I was doing there despite his shouting, he felt defied. He graced me with his infamous silence; and with his hand, signaled me to get the hell out of his room. I did not of course.

I moved towards him instead. He heaved a sigh in annoyance. I stood beside him, "I live here due to your kindness, my life is already a lie but it is not gone, could have been gone if I was shot instead of whoever was shot – so I believe I deserve to know!" before I could end my pitch, I tightly held his arm and yanked him towards me to face me. I am tired of his silence, his unresponsive attitude.

"This is your cage, not your house so I am not liable to tell you anything." There he was; prevaricating as always. He jerked my hand off his arm and pushed me on the wall beside the window. "Do not touch me ever again!" he emphasized each word, it felt like every word was laced with venom. Was I scared of him? I mean, anyone would be if they end up being an inch closer to some Mafia ruler who has such eyes that know only hatred. But at that moment, I was not angry. My anger was deflected towards my father and his lies about my mother, so with Romeo, I just wanted some answers as always.

"You do not want me to interfere then let me leave this cage! Because I am just rotting here! Otherwise end my misery and kill me and then feed me to your dogs." I spoke up, he kept on looking at me like he hated me the most in his life but his eyes squinted, he looked at me from up to down, every part of me, he never looked at me like that. Well, he just never looked at me before, like that or otherwise.

"Why did he love you?" he asked. He did not yell and my lips parted open, trying to form any answer but I was just puzzled there. His question caught me off guard, not scared but just, I did not know at that moment what did I feel. His question was equivocal and I could not get my head around it.

"You do not know what I am talking about?" he questioned again and snickered to mock me. "How innocent of you!" he whispered to my ear leaning to my side, his warm breath tickled my skin and I distanced myself from him with a slight push, which he did not take and held my forearms to push me against the wall again, "Luciano – I am talking about Luciano Marcel." And that was where I felt my heart skip a beat. He noticed the color of my face drain in a second.

"He loves no one but himself and power, then why you? A bartender with a messy past? Why, I cannot figure out," he spoke up again, yes, his words felt insulting. But I got scared because how did he know him.

"I swear If you touch him-" I protested.

"Huh, what will you do?" he raised his eyebrow, over his eyebrow I noticed a slight cut too. It looked painful yet the beast was busy making my life more painful instead of tending his wounds.

"I will kill you." I threw a threat at him, I knew...I knew it was an empty threat because I could not do shit to him until I got myself out first.

"How?" He inquired, he did not yell again. I wondered why.

"I will burn you alive." There it went, my fantasy to burn him alive.

His smile grew bigger; It was a toothy grin. He was playing me. He was having his best time by making me feel insulted, little, useless and powerless. "What if I say I am already burning?" he wiggled his eyebrows at me. His smirk was constant.

"Even better, it means your soul is burning- I will burn the body and then you will end up in my mother's empty grave. At least, there will be an actual dead person there." A tear slipped down my cheek. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and I closed my eyes, suppressing more tears that were about to fall because he already found me weak, I did not want to show him more of my vulnerabilities.

"You did not ask how I knew your boyfriend." He stepped away and walked towards his bed, and sat down, folding his sleeves, taking off his shoes.

I breathed. Intimacy with him always made it hard for me to breath, I felt secure when he distanced from me. "You would not have answered, and I am not surprised as you can find me so it is possible that you could see him with me," I replied looking at how he just fell back on his bed, without tending to his wounds.

His wounds were bothering me, why wasn't he feeling the pain? What was he made of! I thought.

"You are learning," he said while his eyes were close. I waited for more words to come but it was just silence. And I was there standing beside window looking at a beast who was physically weak but yet still looked so dangerous otherwise, I could have just stabbed him or something. I lacked that courage. I wished for Luciano's presence, he would have killed him. I do not have the bone in my body to kill anyone, if I had, I would have killed my father a long time ago.

He was not saying anything, I was being unanswered again so I moved towards the door. "I want your opinion," and at that statement of his, I snickered mocking the situation.

"What the fuck!" I blurted out.

"No, really." He opened his eyes and got off the bed, he strode towards me. That time, he left a good space between us. "If someone lies to you for his personal gain even the first moment he meets you, gets in your pants, exploits you, endangers you, and then say it is love – would you say it is love?" I knew it was not a general question; it was targeted to my personal life again! Luciano.

"Shut up! Do not accuse my relationship of something that is more common in your world!" I chastised him.

"Wow!" he lightly clapped. "You are so fucking naïve, delusional or just brainwashed. Probably because of daddy issues." I raised my hand to slap him, he caught my hand in the air and his smug smirk was erased from his face and his jaw clenched, eyes hardened and his grip tightened on my palm. But what could I do, he brought something in the conversation about which he had no clues - my issues with dad were not something this beast could make fun of.

"Your relationship is accused of all the right fucking things! Maybe you should have listened to your raven head friend." He left my hand and pushed me, I stumbled. His grip left a pale red mark on my wrist; I winced as I rubbed the area and looked at him dumbfounded.

He could find Luciano. He could find Mary. But how the hell did he know she opposed the relationship of Luciano and mine. How! I wanted to ask but he again grabbed my arm and threw me outside his room. "No more talk!" He shut the door on my face.

"How did you know, you bastard," I punched on his door, "You are the worst man after Elijah!" I yelled, "In fact, you both are same. I hate you so much." Son of a bitch shut the door when he knew he threw a bomb at me and did not want to clarify anything, yet again. Surprisingly I felt a wave of anger instead of despair and I was not crying, I wanted to kill him. For real! I was tired of my miseries, I wanted an out. Killing him seemed like a very irrational but the only available option.

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"He has her!" Mary announced to Nate.

Nate sighed not looking at her, "Please say you are lying."

"I confronted him," she entered the house and Nate saw the bruises on her and rushed to her towards the door.

"Did that motherfucker do this to you?" he yelled at her.

"No," He held her and dragged her to the sofa and then rushed to get the first aid. "Someone followed me, they were after Luciano but Rome's men took care of them, Rome himself intervened. He saved me, again!" she looked up him while he was tending to her bruises on cheek.

"These two men are our doom, Mary," He mumbled.

"Rome is not!" Mary disagreed. "But he is definitely Clarissa's doom, he has her and he is full of hatred towards Luciano, he cannot think straight in his hatred, his mention explodes him...just image, Clarissa is a living breathing reminder of Luciano's life for him." Her eyes turned moisty.

Nate shook his head, "It is not her fault she fell for him, Luciano is persistent!" He threw the first aid box on the table in front of them.

Mary lay her head back, spoke up, "You know what he said when I presented the same bloody argument to him," Nate asked, "what?"

"He said that it was not her fault that she fell for him, it was his fault that he fell for her." Mary revisited the past memories in her head. Of Luciano's betrayals, Of Clarissa, of Romeo.; of everything.

"It was bound to happen! It is Luciano's karma but Clarissa is paying the price first." Nate added.

Mary insisted, "Luciano said that Alfred had taken away the task of Clarissa from him so he must have assigned some other dogs, the only benefit of this situation is that Rome has Clarissa not Alfred."

Nate laughed slightly, "What? Why do you think that it is better? Are you out of your mind. I get it you admired Rome before but now he is a totally different person."

Mary straightened up and looked confused, "I do not know, but the torturous cycle of Alfred's side is worse!" Mary looked down on her entwined fingers, fidgeting with each other, she did not know if she was right. "But Rome, he is changed...I do not know, but you know what I mean, Nate." She looked speechless.

Nate disagreed, "I do not know, Mary. I really do not."

Mary said it out loud, for the first time in many years, "Rome will not molest or rape her, he has some values, he always had. Alfred, his men, they do not. They never had. I remember, I remember everything, Nate. They ruined me, but Clarissa would be dead in first night in Alfred's world."

Nate leaned on to hug Mary who sobbed, "but she must still be suffering, because in anger, Rome would torture her emotionally, that I know." Nate agreed.

"What if Luciano finds out?" Nate posed a question.

The question reminded both of them of many unpleasant memories. Mary whispered, "War."

A/N

Hello everyone, thank you for supporting despite late updates.

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