Cece's POV
"Jessa? Hello mi hija." I responded.
{my daughter}
In the two months since she'd returned, she'd never reached out to me so this was a pleasant surprise.

If I don't send for her, she wouldn't come to me.

"Hola mama. How are you?" She asked, concern and worry evident in her voice. I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see.

"I'm not dying yet mi hija. Stop worrying, you'll get frown lines or whatever they're called."

"I can't stop worrying about you mama, my heart won't let me. I promised myself that I'd take care of you to make up for all those years."

"I know and I understand...but I don't want my 26 year old daughter to end up looking like she's sixty." Listening to her giggle made my chest warm with content.

It was almost as if nothing had happened. Almost.

"Mama? I actually called because I want your advice on something."

"Anything mi pequeña niña. Talk to mama."
{my little girl}

I listened to her rant. Unsurprisingly it was about Alec, that rascal. I'd watched those two grow up and develop a bond I'd never seen before. The love they shared was pure...it was rare.

When you've lived as long as I had, you know somethings happen once in a lifetime. My hope was that they wouldn't let their stubbornness ruin what could end up being something beautiful.

"We'll have you tried asking Damien? He might know why Alec is avoiding you."

"Damien either doesn't know or is on his best friend's side. I need to get a job mama....Alec hates my guts and I have to leave his house...I can't keep living there."

"Why not move in with me? You can take Jenna'a room."

The line went quiet for a moment. I understood why. I wasn't trying to be insensitive about how she felt, I simply wanted her to know that she had to move on. She hadn't quite processed Jenna's death. My daughter was a troubled soul.

"No thanks mama...:I wanna get a place of my own...and I wanna work for it."

"Well...what kind of work are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

"Any! Anything that's decent and pays. I can't really afford to be picky at this point."

"Well...I have a friend who runs a café a couple block away..she's looking for a baker?"

"A baker? I love baking..oh mama could you-"

"Say no more..I'll give her a call."

"Oh thank you so much mama...this means so much to me..I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd worry yourself to death. Who knows? You'd probably end up dying before me."

"Mama..don't joke about dying..if you die I-"

"Relax mi hija. Ay you worry too much."

"It's my job to worry about you mama."

"Your job is to sneak me ice cream. Millie just won't budge." Jessa laughed, snorting a little. She always did have a weird laugh.

"That's cause ice cream is bad for you mama...you do realize her job is keep you healthy right?"

"Who said? A little ice cream never hurt anyone."

"You are a whole large sized tub of cookie dough ice cram with Damien last time. That was NOT little mama."

"Oh hush! I'm your mother. I do the scolding not the other way round." Jessa said. She seemed to think she was older now and hence had the right to act like my mother.

It reminded me of the day the twins turned 15. Jessa believed she was a full adult and had the right to live her life how she saw fit. Of course I shut her down.

A few years ago...
I stood next to the counter making tamales. Jessa walked into the kitchen, a piece of paper in her hand. I had a feeling it was about her upcoming birthday.

"Mama are you approachable?"

"Go ahead." Jessa being Jessa dramatically unfolded the paper and cleared her throat noisily.

"As you know I'll be turning 15 next week and there will be some changes in this house." At that time the legal age was 15.

"My curfew is no longer 8pm, it's 12am. I will no longer ask you to go places, I will just be telling you. If you have an issue with me , you can no longer put your hands on me because it will be considered assault."

"Is that all?"

"Yep."

"Well then I too will be making some changes. Since you will be an adult you are now responsible for getting yourself to and from school..no soy paseos a adultos."
{I don't give rides to adults}

I watched her mouth fall open before I continued.

"Also, I cook for children's not adults. You will need to get a job, I'll need rent and light bill money. As for your curfew you will not be able to access my home after 8pm, me and mi hija will be sleeping.

As for me putting my hands on you...as an adult I will now through jade with you and y porque soya una madre mezquina, I'll call the cops and tell them a grown ass woman just put her hands on me. Deal?"

Present day....
I couldn't stop myself from smirking every time my eyes landed on my daughter. Si, I was a very petty woman.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Bueno....you are okay now si?"

"Yes mama... thank you."

"Alright now stop bugging me.. You interrupted my telenovela."

"Sorry mama....I'll call you later."

I hung up, a huge smile on my face.

"What on earth are you grinning about?" Millie's voice startled me causing me to jump in my chair. My blanket unwrapped in the process and I turned to glare at her.

"Sorry." She said, biting her lip to hold in her laugh. My nurse seemed to find everything I did funny. I'd like to give her a good spanking.

"If it we're back in my days you'd have been so naked for laughing at the elderly. Children of this generation know nothing about respect."

"Yeesh I said I was sorry...Don't go all grandma on my ass." She responded, the lack of remorse clear in her tone. Dressed in her pajamas with her hair sticking everywhere, she didn't look much like a nurse right now.

I narrowed my eyes at her retreating figure. I'd get her for calling me a grandma. All I needed was Damien.

Scrolling through my phone, I found the number.

"Lucy! Mi amor, it's been long."

"Aunt Cece! Yes it has. I hope you're feeling better? Did you receive the cookies?"

"Si Lucy...Si me siento mucha mejor. "
{yes I'm feeling much better."

"The cookies? Ellas estaban muy deliciosas....mucho gracias."
{They were very delicious..many thanks}

"I have no idea what you said but I'm assuming you enjoyed them." She said laughing a little.

"Si...si... erm..Lucy..I was wondering if you could do me a favour?"

"Yes? I'm listening.."

Drey's POV
The minute the sun set and night came, I knew my time was up. There was this unsettling feeling in my gut, a feeling of imminent doom.

It'd been almost two months since Jessa had disappeared. I had to give it to her, she was smart. There was no trace of her. I had no idea where she went and the dingy little apartment she'd lived in had been burnt to the ground.

It was as if she'd never existed. The boss had given me a month after she'd disappeared to find her. I don't know how I know but tonight he'd come to ask about her.

And I had nothing to give him. He'd punish me...I could die. I caught a glimpse of the waning moon against the night sky.

I had no regrets. This was who I was. A cool heartless murderer...a trained assassin..a killing machine. It was all I'd ever known. The lights went out suddenly. Hands came out from the shadows and grabbed me.

The feel of cold metal around my wrists told me I'd been handcuffed. I groaned as someone landed a kick on my stomach. Pain spread all over. My instincts were telling me to fight back, I wanted to fight.

It was all I knew. I'd grown up surrounded by violence. At a young age my mother died. My father, consumed by grief and pain projected his anger on me.

Beating me up, starving me...He didn't care that I was his only son, he didn't care at all. The day I turned eighteen I killed him. Then I burnt his house to the ground with him inside it.

A year later I joined the mafia. The torture I'd endured my whole Paige made me tough. I was immune to the pain and gore, even reveled in it.

That was how fucked up I was. From then on my life was filled with darkness. I became a killing machine, a monster whose soul purpose was to end life.

It didn't matter who it was, a seven year old kid, a man, an old lady, even a ducking new born baby.
I craved their screams of pain, the feeling of helplessness, the look in their eyes before I sniffed out their lives.

A few years ago I was given a different assignment. I was used to getting targets to kill. This time I was meant to guard someone, a girl apparently.

It didn't make sense until I saw her. The minute I laid eyes on her, I knew why the boss chose me to protect her, why he was so adamant on me watching her every single move.

Jessa, was a goddess. Jessa was perfection. And I wanted her so bad, it was more than an urge, than a craving. Something inside me was clawing it's way to her. I didn't love her. Love isn't possible for people like me.

I just wanted, no...needed to have her, to have my fill of her, to bury myself insider her over and over again, for her moans to fill my ears while she writhed in pleasure beneath me.

And I did. I took her over and over again because I knew she wasn't mine to keep. There wasn't a day she wasn't in my bed. She thought she belonged to me. Little did she know she had been claimed by him, the boss, the masked demon.

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It's been a while....yeah I know...not my fault though. I have school and I have to constantly battle procrastination and laziness.

It's that bad. Sometimes I just want to kill the characters and end the book in one chapter. But then I think about the loyal readers who keep leaving not so subtle death threats.

And I'm like ugh fine, lemme just continue 🤦🏽‍♀️ but damn this book is gonna be long🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ like we ain't even halfway through. 🤦🏽‍♀️it has like 80 chapters so bear with me, aight?
Vote, comment and share. Love ya peeps😩❤️