[VERY VERY LONG CHAPTER AND VERY VERY NOT EDITED]

Finally, this chapter is done. I know I am late but happy reading anyways xD
IT IS 20K WORDS!

BTW, the gif above is so accurate!

Also, there is a lot of switching between POVs but it's necessary.

I am gonna hit publish now and run for my life *starts running*
And believe me when I say, it was so hard on me to write the last part.

See you in the epilogue! (It's gonna be really long and really important and really heartbreaking)

*******

"Life hurts a lot, more than death."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

*******

Alex's POV

"Can I ask something?"

Oh, it speaks.

I didn't answer right away, I can feel her eyes on me as I drove us to our destination. Without turning, I nodded my head, ushering her to carry on, although, I would've preferred this drive to be silent.

"Would you...Would you really do what you said on the phone?" The amount of fear in her voice almost made my chest tighten, "Would you hand me over to your father like that?"

I turned to look at her, my brow arched as I asked, "Do you want the truth?" She immediately nodded her head, eager to hear the answer.

I looked back at the road ahead of us, "Yeah, I would." I honestly said, "If it wasn't for Nikolas, who I am pretty sure will literally kill me if I did it, but if it wasn't for him, I would've just handed you to him in exchange for my daughter."

I felt her shift in her seat uncomfortably, her voice shook a little, "Are you going to do that now?"

I turned to her, to see the lone tear streaming down her cheek and I shook my head, "No."

"The only purpose of taking you there is so he knows that you are alive," I explained so she can stop being so damn frightened.

"Okay." She weakly said and stayed silent after and to that I was thankful.

I felt the phone vibrate in my pocket, so I pulled it out. My eyes drifted between the road and the screen, it was a message from that bitch, I opened it and read the few words written in it. I had to go through it twice just to make sure I actually understood those words. Anger clenched my jaw and my fingers tightened over the phone.

Few seconds ticked by, I drew in a calming breath trying to think rationally. I blinked through that burn that fills my chest whenever I imagine them together.

I freaking told him to stay away from her but to him that probably meant, take her out of the house, drive her to the cemetery and stay by her side. If I killed him now, who can blame me?

I locked the phone and placed it away. The thought alone couldn't let me concentrate on the task at hand. I can't get this done with my mind busy thinking about them.

My eyes drifted to the side mirror. Noticing the clear road, I took a stop at the side. I placed the car in gear, pulled back and turned it around, going into the opposite direction to what was originally planned.

"Why are we going back?" She exclaimed beside me and I kept my mouth shut. I didn't wanna open it and let my anger on her now.

The cemetery wasn't far away from here but it wasn't close either. A feeling of anxiety and dread steadily built up in my gut, only worsening this fucked up situation.

When we arrived, I pulled the car to a stop and turned the engine off, "Stay here, I'll be back." I said before I immediately went down. I recognized the car parked just beside mine as Nikolas's. I tried my best to catch my breath and clear my head. My reaction to this might be a little bit exaggerated but I just can't help it. I am okay with everything but not this, not them, not her and him in the same place, alone. It's not by my hand. I am okay with working by his side, taking his help, even okay with that woman in my car but just...not this. It's not like they gonna be here doing anything, it's not like there is something of that sort between them, it's just the thought of him close her, makes something wild in me lose control.

I walked inside the cemetery, my eyes fell on them, over a distance, standing face to face. Agitation curled through me and I curled my hand into a fist, trying to control my anger in the best way I can. I just don't wanna lose it on her like I did in the morning. Lilly is not here and we are all not okay so I can try to deal with this in a more rational way...I think I can.

Or maybe not...

I stopped dead in my track.

What just...what just happened?

At first, my brain shut down, unable to make sense of what my eyes just witnessed. I halted in my steps, few inches away from them, still trying to digest the fact that she..she just pulled him closer and...and kissed him.

I blinked, a fog clouding my brain as the scene pressed and pushed at my consciousness, vying for a way in, a way to digest it somehow. It all happened so fast, it didn't feel that fast in my head. Seconds only and he was the one to push her away from him, he edged backward, "What the hell is the matter with you?" He snapped, bewildered by her sudden action, just like I am.

I didn't understand.

She turned her head and her eyes fell on me. I didn't see regret in them, I didn't see the shock my presence would make her feel, there was something else I couldn't understand, like something in her has shut off. The anger from before came back with full force, it clouded my vision. I didn't feel the hurt, no, I didn't. I am too shocked to process this. Too shocked to understand why would she ever do it.

Only anger. So much anger lived inside me, day after day convicting me of this unbearable pain.

"Alex," Nikolas said, ever so carefully but still my eyes didn't leave her.

I edged forward, each step was calculated contention, anger and something like feels so much like hate. I felt like I could hurt her at the moment, that warmth building up my chest made me want to hurt her. If I only can make her feel what I feel, would she handle it? If I only can break her heart like she keeps toying with mine.

Pressure built up in the stifling air.

Suffocating.

Something in me made me stop, just stop. I found myself thinking, not letting the anger control me anymore. I knew if I lowered the anger's level, I am gonna feel something else. Something more brutal. More real. But it felt like I had to. I can't always use this anger as an escape.

It's okay, you can do this. A voice in my head whispered. Turn around and leave, now. Don't say anything, don't hurt her, be the bigger person and just get out of here. The words kept on repeating, pushing at my limbs to turn around and just leave.

I finally answered to the order my brain issued, I shook myself out of it and sucked into a deep breath. Without a word, I turned my body and walked back to where I came from, leaving them behind. The anger was long gone but another feeling bore down my chest.

Something heavy broke free inside of me.

I heard him calling my name, trying to stop me but I blocked it out. I reached the car, opened the door and got in.

***********

Leya's POV

Confusion tumbled through me as I stared out of the window at the place he went off to. It looks like a cemetery but I just don't understand why we came here.

Night seemed ready to take over, the sun hanging by the edge and the air around me kept getting chillier. I crossed my arms across my chest to block out the cold. A low breath parted my lips before I turned my head and looked at the other side, my eyes searching, maybe I can spot him somewhere.

My gaze drifted from the cemetery's main gate and fell on...

My heart dropped into my stomach, my arms loosened around me and suddenly, it all became so real. My eyes grew wide, the oxygen seemed to vanish from the car leaving me gasping for one normal breath. That's...It, it has to be him. The rock sitting heavily in the pit of my stomach assured me that it's him.

He was at a distance, not too close but not too far. He is standing by his car, his gaze on the ground and a phone in his hand as he talked through it. My hand held into the seatbelt, my finger wrapped tighter and tighter. It has to be him. He looks different, older. It's been years, many years but I am sure...I am sure it's him.

Fear tightened my throat and I couldn't come up with one logical thought, with a way to get out of here and not let him notice me...Oh but how late I was. His head lifted up, his gaze drifted from the ground and fell on...me. He seemed to freeze in his spot, the hand holding the phone lowered, slowly dropped down, and the phone slipped out of his hold as he tried to process this.

Nerves jackhammered my heart into a frenzy. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I wanted to get out of here and run for my life but it felt like I am too shocked to react, just like him, each trying to make sense of the other. As if I am standing in front of a speeding car, unable to move, just waiting for it to hit me.

The color drained from his face, he knows it's me, of course, he does, just like I knew it's him. I felt the wetness over my cheek as my mind seemed to replay everything, every moment. The pain, was too much. The fear was more, much more.

I wanted to reach the phone my pocket, to call...to call him and scream for help.

He took one step forward and I gasped, scared he is gonna come for me but at that same moment, he turned his head to the right, he seemed to notice something, he seemed to get back to his right senses. He looked back at me, one look only before he got into his car and took off.

My eyes widened at the scene that played ahead of me. He didn't come for me. He saw me, he saw me but he didn't...Relief rushed in my veins but that didn't last for too long, when the car's door opened, I almost screamed in fear but held myself back when Alex got in.

He didn't look at my side, he only started the engine, he looked calmer than before, I think. "We can go now." He said, his voice low.

I shook my head, still trying to process it, "I don't think we have to."

That made him look at me, his brows pulled together, "What?" He asked, confused before his gaze went to my hand, I looked down and saw how it's shaking. I curled it into a fist and tried to breathe again, "He.." I swallowed hard, dragging the words out of my throat as I looked at him, "He saw me, he was..he was here." I managed to say.

His eyes grew wide, he looked around, "What do you mean he was here?"

"He took off." I said, breath, come on, breath; "He...he saw me."

He cursed something under his breath and roughed a palm over his face. Harsh breaths ragged from his chest as he assessed the whole situation while I tried to calm myself down. Alex rubbed at his eyes tiredly then looked at me, "Okay, did he, did he come to you? Did he talk to you? Did he say anything?" He asked.

I shook my head, "He was a little bit far." I said, "He was walking closer but I think he saw you so he left right away."

The muscles of his jaw worked, "Okay, maybe this will work out too." He said, "We wanted him to know that you're alive and well, he does now, " He sighed tiredly, "We'll see how it'll work out later."

With that, he turned his attention to the road, backed into the street and when he took off, I could swear I saw a glimpse of Nikolas and Cara leaving that cemetery as well.

********

Nikolas's POV

"What the hell was that?" I asked, my voice took on a higher tone because I am beyond frustrated at her. She only ignored my question, her eyes following Alex as he walked away.

"You knew he was here, that's why you did it," I remarked trying to understand her motives.

I pulled into a deep breath before I ran my hand through my hair, "Is that what you meant this morning, huh?" I asked, "If I can't have him then neither can you." I recalled what she said earlier, "Is that why you kissed me?"

Her gaze drifted to me, her jaw tightened, her eyes glaring at me, "Sure as hell I didn't do it because of your pretty face." She mockingly said before she turned around and started to walk away.

What the fuck is wrong with her?

My hand went to her arm, stopping her. She immediately snatched her arm away, "Don't touch me!" She snapped.

See, that's her.

Not the girl who pulled me from my collar and kissed me.

"I am gonna figure out what you're trying to do," I said as I followed her, "And whatever it is, it's not gonna work, I assure you." That only made her throw me a hard glare before she got into the car.

I only looked at the sky and asked for patience. God, It was much easier when I just killed whoever stood in my way or just annoyed me. I sighed and got into the car as well. Those good old days.

*******

We arrived at the house almost at the same time as Alex. When I parked the car, he was getting out of his along with my...with our mother. Wait, didn't he take her to Frank's house?

I have to know what happened but I gotta admit after what just happened, I am kind of scared to talk with him. That's exactly what I didn't want to do, meddle into their relationship again, that what I was so careful about from the moment I stepped into this house and decided to stand by his side. I only wanted to help get Lilly back not...not ruin this.

Cara went down and into the house, not even bothering to look at him. I clenched my jaw, I have to fix this. I ruined this and I have to fix it, but how the fuck am I supposed to do that?

Hesitantly, I walked toward him. My gaze went to my mother and she looked pretty shaken up. Concerned, I took her hand in mine and asked, "Are you okay?"

She pulled her hand back and I tried to not think about that. She only nodded her head in return. I turned to Alex and he shook his head, "We didn't go there." He said, calmly, as if he is not mad at me, is he not?

I don't understand.

Why do I care about his opinion that much?

God, I hate this person I am becoming.

"Why didn't you?" I asked.

He sighed, "Let's go inside, we'll talk about it."

We went inside, Liam, Roman, and Ashton were already waiting for us. Alex explained what happened, we discussed the whole thing again and managed a few things for the big day tomorrow. I called few of the guys I know back in London and asked them to come as soon as they can, tomorrow we gonna need as much back up as we can.

"Oh by the way," Liam said, "Did you hear about Marcel's house?" He asked and I shook my head, "It was bombed, the whole place was on fire. I heard that he barely made it alive and a lot of his men died in there."

Alex's head immediately turned to me. I shrugged, "I swear it wasn't me," I defended myself, "I was here all day."

He rolled his eyes, "I know." He said, "Who do you think did it?"

"It could be Frank, you know, after what happened yesterday," Liam said and I immediately shook my head, recalling the conversation I heard earlier today. "It's not," I said, pretty sure about it.

"Then who could it be?" Roman asked.

"I wish I know." It has to be whoever Frank was so scared of, the same person who went yesterday before us. This person, he seems to be always one step ahead of us. Who could it be?

I know most of Frank's enemy's but this one, he is a mystery. Someone working behind a curtain, someone good I might say.

I tried to kick these thoughts away, there is one thing to be done now. I turned to Roman, "Go and talk with your guy about the tracking chips for tomorrow." My gaze drifted to Liam, "Also you, take some of my men with you when you go check the weapons and the...other things." I said and he nodded, understanding what I meant, "The other guys will arrive here tomorrow morning for more back up." A weird feeling tightened my stomach as I said, "We have to make sure, that none of them comes out alive tomorrow."

It feels almost surreal, to put an end on my dear uncle's life.

As much as I have waited for this, something just doesn't feel right.

I ignored that as they all went to get the job done. Alex placed his elbows over the table, his head in his hands, he looked beyond exhausted... Why do I even care? I shook my head and my gaze went to my mother, I still have to talk to her about this, I don't like the idea of Frank taking her along. She walked and sat on the near couch, her eyes only on Alex, like it's always been, only on him.

She looked away and her eyes fell on something beside her, "Oh my god!" She gasped lowly, I looked closer to see her take the teddy bear from over the couch, the one that was with Lilly, the one that was Cara's, the one that was originally mine...Oh shit.

"Doesn't it look like the same one I got you when you were so little?" She said as she ran her hand over the bear's head. Alex's eyes went to her and she carried on, awed by the fact that it looks the same, "It's exactly the same." She turned it around, "I remember it was ripped from behind and-" Her brows pulled together, confused she said, "And I placed this button over here." She said the last part with a low voice as she saw the button exactly in the same place. She held it up, showing me, "Is it the same one?"

"That's for Lilly," Alex said.

Her frown grew deeper and she looked at me, "Did you give it to her?" She asked then looked at it again and smiled, "I didn't know it survived that long."

"What? No, that was for Cara." Alex said and walked to her and took it from her hand, "But I am sure it is the same one, it's exactly the same, right Nikolas?"

I shook my head, "I don't know what you are talking about." I mumbled.

"Don't you remember it? Even the ripped part is the same, it's so weird, I-"

"I said I don't know!" My voice came a bit louder, interrupting her. She looked taken aback by my tone while Alex eyed me suspiciously. I tried to breathe in and act cool about it, "I forgot to tell Roman something." I said before I left the room. That has to be the worst excuse ever used.

But I actually found Roman in the kitchen, talking on his phone. I went inside and he was hanging up, he looked at me, "I called the guy, he is gonna come here." He said before he took a bite of the apple in his hand.

I nodded my head, "Okay", I mumbled, "Uh, can you...can you help me in something?"

He chewed on his apple and nodded, ushering me to carry on, "It's about your sister and Alex." I said and he suddenly started coughing, most probably choking on his apple. My eyebrows pulled together as I eyed him, "Are you okay?"

He cleared his throat, and then chuckled, "Are you still playing the matchmaker?" He playfully said. I shot him a glare, "I am serious."

He shrugged, "They're fighting, it's their problem, what can we do?"

"It's bigger than that." It's no normal fight, not after what happened at the cemetery, "Look, they should talk, I just don't know how to...make them."

"You're asking me as if I know how."

My lips curled up annoyance and I looked away, "You're literally good for nothing."

"I might be able to help." The new voice that joined the conversation made me turn around to see Ashton's wife standing by the kitchen's door. She walked inside, her eyes on me, "First of all, yeah I was eavesdropping," She said, glaring at me, "And second, this won't make me hate you any less."

"What did I do to you?" I asked, confused.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, "Oh, it's not like I ended up in the hospital because of you or anything."

I sighed and said, "I wasn't even there when it happened, so technically, it wasn't my fault."

She shot me a hard glare, "How about the fact that you kidnapped me and my son?"

She is right. I nodded, "Okay, I can take responsibility for that."

She kept glaring at me, "Anyways," She said, "You're right, they should talk but both of them are so damn stubborn so..we should force them to talk."

"How?" I questioned.

"Well, they are in the same house." She said, ever so simply, "Just give me a room and a key."

Roman scoffed, "You gonna lock them in a room?"

"Well, do you have a better idea?" She challenged.

He sighed and shook his head, "Great, then go and get me the key." She said. He nodded his head and left the room.

I turned to her and she was still glaring at me, "I don't like you." She ever so seriously said.

I stared back at her confused, "Did I ask you to like me?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, rolled her eyes at me and looked away.

Few seconds of silence weren't enough for her I guess, "Are you gonna hurt Alex?"

What the...

I looked back at her, a little flustered at the question, I shook my head, "No."

"Well, you better not, because you'll have to face me then." She said, seriously.

I couldn't help the low chuckle that escaped my throat, "What are you laughing at?" She said, offended.

I smiled and shook my head, "Nothing."

She still glared at me, hostility radiating from her.

"You really care about him." I found myself still talking. She nodded, "Of course I do."

"When Cara left, you were always there for him." Why am I still talking?

Her brows pulled together, "How...how do you know that?"

I shrugged, "Emma." She used to fill me in on everything.

She understood that and nodded, "Yeah, well, he is my best friend, even more than that, so what type of person I would be if I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most." She said, "I would do anything for him."

Her words, they hit a place in me.

I looked away, afraid the look in my eyes would give me away.

"What?" She asked, noticing the sudden shift in the air.

I drew into a long breath and lifted my head up, "Nothing. It's just," My eyebrows pulled together, and I mumbled to myself, "I never had that."

Her eyebrows creased together as she assessed my words. The confused expression fell off and she shrugged, "I still don't like you."

I smiled, "If I only had a dollar for every time I heard that."

********

Few hours later...

Alex's POV

I went outside for a while, trying to breathe some fresh air and clear my mind. The night deepened and wind gusted in. It was freezing cold but that didn't matter, it's better than staying inside that house.

I still didn't process what happened today, I don't want to, at least, not now.

I only want Lilly back, I need her back. Her absence is messing with my mind and I can't think clearly about this but one thing for sure, whatever was between Cara and me, it's gone. It's over. I can feel it slowly slipping away; the hope of ever retrieving our past, it's slowly fading away.

My thoughts took a pause when I saw Roman and Liam making their way toward the porch, they were outside, making sure everything is ready for tomorrow.

"Roman," I called his name, grabbing his attention to me. His eyes fell on me, "Yeah?" He said as they both made their way toward me.

"Look," I started, "Remember when you told me that my father and yours worked together once to put Isaac down." I said and he nodded, "I know why my father had issues with Isaac, but what was your father's problem with him?" I asked, testing a theory.

"Well, from the beginning, my father and Isaac never liked each other." He said, "They were supposed to rule together but they never agreed on anything, you know that's why the whole marriage deal fiasco happened." He added, "Dad always stood in his way, so Isaac kidnapped Cara when she was little to threaten him and that's what made him snap and help your father."

"So, Isaac is the one who kidnapped Cara," I mumbled to myself, proving my previous thoughts.

My eyebrows creased together, "How old was she when that happened?"

"Around five or six, I suppose." Liam was the one to answer that. My gaze drifted to him, "How do you know?" I asked, confused. I mean he was working with my dad back then not with Maxwell. He only shrugged in return and then a small smile came to his lips. "What are you smiling at?" I asked.

"I just realized something." He said. I still gave him the weirded-out look so he shook his head in return and said, "Nevermind."

They both walked back inside the house after, while I stayed outside. I cocked my head up. Darkness held heavy over the moonless sky. I let my eyelids drop down for a second. I tried to swallow, to breathe through something so overwhelming. I didn't know how to make sense of everything I felt.

When it became too much, when the tightness over my chest intensified, I opened my eyes and my head dropped down. I sucked into a deep gulp of air to saturate my lungs before I tucked my hands in my front pocket and started walking from the side of the house into the backyard.

"What's wrong with you?" The voice I heard made me stop right away. I turned my head to the left and saw as Nikolas and his dear mother went outside, arguing about something. I didn't know if I should keep walking or just stay here and listen to more of this.

"Just drop the stupid teddy bear's subject, that's what's wrong with me." He said. Both deep into their conversation and oblivious to my presence. I was a bit far, not too far, I could still hear everything clearly and the darkness made it almost impossible for them to notice me. The light illuminating from inside the house, not enough.

"Also, I am still not okay with what's going to happen tomorrow." He said, changing the subject, "We can think of a different plan. You don't have to go with Frank, he'll hurt you, I am sure." Frustration and genuine worry tumbled from him in a flood of words, "I just...I can't handle the thought of you alone with him, not now, not after everything. So, we will figure out a different way."

"No, I said I am going to do it, so-"

He shook his head, silencing her, "No, you're not going to do anything, okay, it's my fault actually, bringing you into all of this." He said, "I am not going to let you do it."

"That's not something you can control. I am not asking for your permission Nikolas." She said, strictly, "I am going to do it and that's it. End of story."

He huffed a loud breath and turned around, he ran his hand through his hair, trying to gather some patience and process all of this. Few seconds only and he faced her again, he shook his head, his voice lowered and something else simmered in his words, "You look at him like...like he has given you the whole world." He said, "And you look at me like..like that." He pointed at her face.

"Not just now, not just after what I did recently. No, you always looked at me like that." She only kept silent in return, "Like I am a mistake, a disappointment...an abnormality you couldn't shake off."

"But the thing is mother," He shook his head, "He gave you nothing." He added and to be honest, he is right, and I am not even planning on giving her anything, "But I did," He placed his hand over his chest, "I gave you everything, I did everything for you, everything was for you only and you still, you still look at me like that." His voice raised, frustrated and pained, "For god's sake, I killed him for you!"

"I killed my father for you, I killed him so he can never hurt you again and you still look at me like that!" Pain twisted his face, "You still see me like that...that mentally unstable little kid, the kid that everyone called him crazy."

"For you, I will always be that kid." He said over a pained whisper.

My hand fisted at the side and I swallowed hard, "For once, only for once, I wish you would look at me like you look at him." He shook his head, "But no, no, that's not gonna happen."

His voice thickened, "He thinks that he is the mistake when you all made me feel that I am the mistake over here, that everything ever happened to me was my fault, that it's my fault I couldn't handle what I went through...That it's my fault I was hurt, it's my fault I wasn't stable.." Emotions so over-bearing flashed in his eyes as he hoarsely whispered, "It was all my fault.."

Why is she so silent? I can't hate her more, can I?

He edged backward, "But look at you now, you are ready to risk your life for him." He said, "Don't say you're doing this for Lilly, you don't know her, you don't even care, you're only doing it for him." His voice was low, but his words weren't, "For him, you are ready to go back to Frank himself." His voice took a higher tone again, "But when I was just a kid, stuck in that hell hole for five freaking years, being tortured everyday, you couldn't risk your life then, you couldn't save me then, you couldn't at least let me know that you were alive and save me some of the pain, but no, because for me, you would never risk it!"

The way he said the last sentence made something in my chest ache. I didn't understand why.

"You know, Frank used to always tell me that there is no one out there searching for me, that no one cared but I never believed him," He scoffed, "But I guess he was right after all, for five years, no one cared enough to find me."

I wanted to go there and snap at her, shake her, make her say something. Why is she not even denying what he is saying?

"Even, even when I was at that asylum, trying to recover, trying to be okay," He said, "Even then, when I needed you the most, you weren't there," Hurt poured from his words making the same kind of hurt lance through my veins, "At night, I would only see you holding his picture and crying over him."

"I would always go back to my bed and cry silently, I would feel so alone when you are just there by my side. I was free from my uncle but it felt like I was still with him." His voice shook a little, "That fact that Alex wasn't there blinded you from noticing what was actually there, it blinded you from me." Every word that left his lips was pained, choked...it felt like this is the first time he ever faced her about this, the first time to ever throw the facts in her face, maybe that's why she is silent. She knows it's all true.

"When you told him that you hated him because he was only the result of rape, I thought it was the worst thing you ever said...but no, no, I remember what you once told me, how you said that...that I made you lose a son." And when I thought I can't hate her more, " I was young but I always remembered it, you can never forget such words."

Awareness constricted my chest as he carried on, "My father made you choose, me or him, you chose me and then after it, you blamed me."

"Nikolas, I-"

"But even then," He stopped her from talking, "Even after everything, I still stayed by your side, you were the only person I didn't give up on, you were all I had." He confessed, "And you still are and I am still ready to look past everything, I just...I just want to know, that tomorrow, when this is over, are you going to be by my side? Are you going to be there when I need you? Are you going to help me?"

She better say yes or I am going to kill her.

"When this is over, Frank will be dead," She said, "There would be no need for me to hide anymore, no need to stay here." What the hell? "I am gonna go back to Italy-" she sighed, "I..I need time, I can't Nikolas, not after what you've done, I can't."

The bitch.

"But you're all I have, if you gave up on me too, then what...what am I gonna do." He is desperately begging her to stay and look at her, not even bothering to give it a chance, "Please, don't do this now, I know what I did, I know I screwed up, I know that, just please don't...don't leave right away, just help me get through this, tell me how am I supposed to get through this-"

She backed away, "You should've thought about that before you did what you did." She said, "I can't help you, not in this." With that, she turned around and walked into the house, leaving him alone, something she is used to do.

He stared at her retreating back, looking so damn lost, like a little kid, who needs someone to hold his hand and lead him in the right away. His gaze dropped to the ground, his hand went to his cheek and he wiped it before he gathered himself and walked away.

I took that as my chance, I immediately went to the front door and walked inside. I hurried my steps to reach her. Once I was close, I grabbed her arm from behind, stopping her. She turned around, flustered by my action.

"Would it kill you for once, only for once, to act like a real mother?!" I snapped, my fingers tightened around her arm, the anger pouring from my touch. Her eyes grew wide, "I know he fucked up, believe me I know, he did it to me and to the people around me but you..you are his freaking mother, you are the only person who is supposed to be there for him no matter what, to help him," Anger twisted through my heart, "No wonder he became like this, when he had a mother like you, of course."

I shook my head, "But that's who you are, who you will always be." I said, "Selfish. You are so damn selfish, you care about no one but yourself."

I harshly let go of her arm before I went back outside and searched for him.

His car is still here, which means he didn't go so far. I reached the street and looked around till I found him on one of the benches placed by the side of the street's lantern. He was sitting there, his elbows pressed against his knees, his head in his hands. I walked closer and sat by his side. He didn't seem to notice my presence, probably too lost in his mind.

I brought my hand up to place it over his shoulder but it stopped midway. I curled it into a fist before I backed it away from him. I pressed my eyes shut, shaking myself out of it before I lifted it up again and hesitantly it went toward him, I almost backed it away again but I sucked it up and rested it over his shoulder and squeezed a little. His head shot up and he looked at me, he blinked through his confusion, "What," He cleared his throat, "What are you doing here?"

I removed my hand away, "I got bored inside." I said casually, "I came to walk outside and well, you are here."

He nodded his head, buying the lie before he straightened himself in his seat and looked away.

I looked at him and I couldn't hold myself, "Why do you give her that much importance?"

His brows creased, "Who?"

"You know who."

His jaw tightened and he scratched the side of his neck, "She is my mother, you know." He said, "Unlike you, I don't refuse to acknowledge that fact."

"If that's what you think a mother is, then you know nothing." I said, looking ahead of me at nothing in specific, "Just open your eyes and actually see her truth."

"She is selfish." I said, "She doesn't care about me, she doesn't care about you, she only cares about herself." I was only stating facts, "One day, you'll see that too."

I turned to him when I felt his eyes on me, he only shook his head, "Let's not talk about this."

A long moment of silence settled between us. I remembered what I asked Roman about and decided to break it, "You remember it, don't you?"

"Remember what?"

Air pushed in and out of my nose before I managed to say, "When your father kidnapped Cara." His eyes grew wide for a second, surprised by the fact that I actually knew that, he tried to recover from that, "Uh, kind of." He mumbled lowly.

"You gave her that teddy bear," I said, I was sure. I saw how his hand fisted over his thigh, "Why did you deny it when your mother asked?"

He didn't answer that, so I carried on, "You met when you were kids, your parents literally planned your wedding before you were born...I mean it seems like you two were meant to be and I just got in the way."

"Can you not say that?" He said, stopping me.

A cool breeze rushed over me. Nerves rocked through me and a rush of air left me on a heavy exhale, "What happened today?" I asked, ever so calmly.

When he didn't answer, I turned to him, his eyes on me as he only shook his head and confusion radiated from his eyes, "Why are you so calm about this?"

My brow raised, "Well, do you want me to break your jaw instead?" I questioned, "Because I wouldn't mind that."

A small smile pulled at his lips and he shook his head.

I turned my head and looked up at the sky. I wasn't expecting the next words that came out of him, "Everything she did was for you, don't forget that, she was always just trying to protect you." I lowered my gaze but I didn't look at him, "Everything I made her go through, she...she accepted it only because I threatened her with you.."

My hand fisted over my thigh and he carried on, "Yesterday, she jumped in front of the gun that was aimed at you, ready to take a bullet for you." He said, "So whatever happened today, there must be an explanation behind it."

"It doesn't matter anymore," I mumbled.

"It does." He said, "The kiss you got so worked up about before, it wasn't...it wasn't her fault." A frown creased my forehead and I turned to him, "It was mine. It was all my fault. I...I forced it on her." He hesitantly added.

My nails dug into my thigh to stop myself, "You can break my jaw now if you want." He added, carefully.

"Why are you lying?" I asked. Cara already said that she did it to get something out of him, so either she was lying or he is now.

"I am not." He said, seriously, "Ask her, she'll tell you."

My jaw tightened, "Stop talking about this." I stressed at each word, there was no stopping the storm building inside of me. A flicker of rage. A flash of fear, that he is always gonna be the person he is.

"I know you are not comfortable talking about this, especially not with me." He got to his feet, "Just...just don't blame her for my mistakes." He added, "Don't ruin your relationship because of me, believe me, I am not worth it."

He sighed and his gaze went to the phone in his hand, "Roman and Liam want to talk to us about something," He said. Changing the subject right away was a smart move, "They are waiting for us inside." He said before he started to walk away, "Are you coming?" He asked. Without muttering a single word, I just got up and followed him.

When we reached the hallway, he paused in his steps and said, "They're in the living room."

I started to make my way there but stopped when he didn't follow, "I am gonna take this phone call then follow you." He explained before he walked to the other room. I ignored that, placed my hands in my jacket's pocket and went inside.

My eyes first fell on Cara, sitting on one of the couches, her arms crossed over her chest. I looked around, neither Roman nor Liam were in the room.

At the sound of my steps, Cara's head lifted up and her eyes met mine. Something about my presence made her shift uncomfortably in her seat.

Where the hell is Roman and Liam?

She seemed to not like my presence that much, or maybe she sensed that I didn't like hers. She got to her feet and was about to walk away but the door that led us both in, suddenly closed. Both of our heads snapped to its direction, a clicking sound echoed making my eyes widen, "Fuck, no..." I cursed under my breath before I placed my hand over the knob and tried to open it but with no use.

"Katherine!" Once I get out of here, I am gonna kill her. I slammed my hand over the door, "Open the damn door!"

"Please don't hate me." I heard mutter on the other side of the door.

A hot breath pushed from my lungs, I roughed a palm over my face before I pulled my phone and dialed Ronald's number. Cara on the other side, again tried to open the door, she knocked on it, "Katherine, open the door, it's not funny." She said.

"Yeah, it's not supposed to be funny," Katherine said.

I am so going to kill her.

"Yeah," Ronald answered, "Look, I kind of got myself stuck in the living room, get down and open it for me." I said, "And if Katherine tries to stop you, I give you the permission to kill her." He chuckled in return and said, "Okay, I am coming."

I hung up after and waited by the door. He better get me out of here.

A few minutes later, I heard distant voices coming from outside the room, "Uh, Alex-" Ronald said, his voice loud so I can hear, "I am sorry but I can't, they are not letting me."

I rolled my eyes and frustration left me in a sigh. I walked away and slumped over the couch. As if I needed this right now. Cara sat down as well, both of us tried not to look at the other and no words were muttered after.

Half an hour later and we are still the same, odd silence settled between us, and both sitting on opposite sides of the couch. I was growing impatient of this, of her presence, of her silence, of the many questions nagging at my mind.

She scooted toward the other end of the couch, further away from me, she rested her head over the arm-rest and hugged herself. My eyes drifted around before they fell on the alcohol bar table at the other end of the room. Oh, thank god, at least something to pass time with, something to make me ignore the other human present in this room.

I got to my feet and went toward it, my eyes scanned through the different types of bottles placed over the table. I took a glass and poured some in it. Placing it to my lips, I gulped the whole thing through. When I lowered the glass, my eyes went to Cara, her back was to me now. I noticed how she rubbed at her arm and wrapped them tight around herself, her body almost shaking.

It was cold indeed in this room, I am still wearing my jacket and I can feel it and she only has a shirt on. I walked toward the door and looked at the heater's control panel, I pressed the button, trying to increase the temperature but it didn't work, I pressed the other buttons, trying to figure this stupid thing out but it didn't work either. Angrily, I slammed my hand over it, probably making it even worse.

I cursed my luck and my life, my jaw tightened and I took my jacket off, I threw it on the couch, "Put that on you." I blankly said. God, I hate her. She looked at it and shook her head, "I don't want it." She said.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Whatever suits you."

I filled my glass again and sat on the couch facing hers. I took a sip before I placed it in front of me on the small glass table positioned between us.

The alcohol seemed to let loose of some of my nerves, it seemed to give me the courage to finally talk.

A frown creased my forehead, "Hold on a second, I'm mad at you because I have my reasons, but you got nothing on me, so why are you like this?" I asked, referring to the way she is trying to ignore me, "Can I know why you're mad?"

She shook her head, "I don't want to talk." She simply said before she looked away, at nothing in specific.

My eyes stayed on her, on purpose. She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable under my gaze. The muscles in her jaw worked and her eyes fell back on me, "Can you please not look at me?"

I shrugged lightly, "It's kind of hard to do that when you are the only person in the room."

She decided to keep silent after, but I wasn't letting it go that easily, "So when are you going to apologize and you know, explain what happened?" Mockery flared in my tone and I took another sip of my drink, "I am impatiently waiting to hear your reasons this time, because they just keep getting more creative."

She shook her head, "I did nothing wrong to apologize for." She said, confidently, "There is nothing to explain this time."

My fingers tightened over the glass and my heartbeats took off a sprint. I bit on the inside of my cheek, trying to keep myself calm.

"So you're saying that," My eyes narrowed, "That you don't regret it?"

She shrugged, "No, of course not."

Breathe Alex. Breathe.

"Just out of curiosity," I said, my blood was literally boiling but I tried to pull a cool act, "Why did you do it?"

She blinked, she didn't seem to even think about it, "Because I wanted to."

Breathe in, breathe out.

"So, you're saying that," My eyes narrowed, poison dripped within my words, "That you wanted to...to kiss him?"

She immediately nodded, "Yes."

The exact moment the word left her mouth is the moment I slammed the glass in my hand over the table and I got my feet, every nerve in my body fired as I snapped, "What the hell are you trying to do?"

She shook her head, totally unfazed, "I am not trying to do anything."

"Then answer me, why did you do it?" I asked, stressing on each word, "I need an explanation, you owe me that much at least."

"I owe you nothing." She said, before she got to her feet, "I really don't need this right now." She started to walk away, I don't know to where, just away from me.

Her actions, her words, everything about her in this moment, played on my nerves even more, tightening my chest and letting all the anger free. I harshly grabbed her arm from behind and stopped her, "You're not going anywhere till you answer me!"

From her arm, I forced her to turn around, she tried to break free from my grip but I didn't let her that easily, my fingers wrapped tighter around her forearm, squeezing her flesh, hurting her maybe, "Answer me, why did you do it?"

She winced and tried to pull away, "Alex, you're hurting me!"

I shook my head, "You have no idea how much I really want to hurt you," I let go of her arm and asked once again, "Now, answer me."

She rubbed at her arm, her gaze drifted to me, her jaw tightened and something fierce took over her eyes, "Because I am disgusting, that's one of the things I just do, right?" Her eyebrow raised, challenging me, "From the moment I came back, you always suspected that I had feelings for him, so maybe," Her lips curled, "Maybe I actually do, who knows."

"Cara!" I grated out through clenched teeth, warning her not to take that road.

"What?" She challenged, "You said you wanted an explanation, so here it is."

My heart sped, pounding the blood that beat through my veins. She is lying, she has to be lying. She is baiting me, throwing in my face the words that slipped my mouth this morning.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, in disbelief, "Weren't you the same girl who held my hand and told me we're in this together? What happened since then? What changed?"

"Everything changed." She said, hurt bled through her words, "My daughter...Our daughter Alex, our daughter is missing, and instead of being on my side, look what you did, look what you're doing!"

I just, I can't understand the words leaving her mouth. I scoffed, I couldn't believe it, "Yeah, it's my fault now, isn't it?! It's all my fucking fault, I wasn't on your side, so you went and kissed him!" I snapped, unable to control myself, "Is that it, huh?"

She nodded, she freaking nodded her head, "Yeah because surprisingly, he was by my side."

My eyes widened, "Do you actually hear yourself? Do you hear the words leaving your mouth, do you?!" Anger and resentment settled in my chest. My fingers twitched so I curled my hand into a fist. The overwhelming urge to break something rose within me, "Shut up Cara, shut up before I do something I never thought I would do!" She better stop, she better or I wouldn't be responsible for what I might do next.

"Why? Is it that hard to hear the truth?"

Red veiled my sight, "STOP I SAID!" My voice filled the room and the next thing I heard was the sound of glass breaking, the next thing I felt was the shards of glass penetrating through the skin of my hand. It took me a second or two to realize what happened, how I slammed my fist over the glass table, breaking it...just like she broke me, shattering it like she shattered my inside.

Blood dripped down my hand into the floor, my eyes on it, trying to feel something, but nothing is all I felt. I thought this was going to push my anger out, rid my body of all this insanity. But that anger only flared, this prowling hate bounding through my spirit, filling me up and forcing everything else out.

I curled my shaking fingers into the inside of my palm and still, I felt no pain. I slammed my eyes shut, trying to sort through all the chaos tumbling inside my mind, trying to just breathe. The dead place that she hallowed out when she left once, it ached again, it ached and then all the pain broke free, spread from my chest to every other part in my body, like needles penetrating through my flesh, through my heart. That stupid heart that always kept beating for her wanted to stop, that heart finally begged me to give him a break, to free him from the spell bounding him to her.

My eyelids glided open and I lifted my head, meeting her again. Her gaze was focused on my hand, the blank look almost slipped away and emotions threatened to break free but she stopped herself and turned away, scared that if she looked for too long, she'll break down, that she'll tell me what is actually happening.

"What happened to you?" I asked, my voice the total opposite now, all the rage is gone, leaving me to deal with this on my own, "Where is the girl I fell in love with? What happened to her?"

She looked back at me, her fingers nervously played with the hem of her shirt, "That's the thing Alex, stop searching for that girl," She shook her head, her voice low, pained and broken, "Because she is gone, she is not here, I am not her and I can never be her again."

"That girl was innocent, she only cared about her family and her job, and her biggest issue was that her father left her." A tear scrolled down her cheek, "That girl...she is now a mother, that girl lost her father, she saw him die right in front of her eyes, that girl was forced to grow up...she saw things she should've not seen, felt things no girl should ever feel.." Her voice broke at the end and she shook her head, "The girl that fell in love with you right away." She added, "That girl is gone, Alex."

"Just like you're not the same man you were two years, I am not the same girl either." She is right somehow, "Maybe...maybe the old us fell in love right away, but the new us now," She shook her head, "They can't seem to do that."

I shook my head, disagreeing on the last part, "That's not it," I said, "Because after everything, I still love you, Cara, but," I shook my head, "But I just don't like you anymore."

My words may be contradictive and not make much sense but they do, they're the only words that actually makes sense. It's to love someone, to get attached to but then time and situations force him to remove that mask he hid behind, and you finally see the truth, the one you blinded yourself from. You can't seem to handle him anymore even though your heart is attached to him like nothing else. You can't seem to stay and you can't let go either, but you know that it's finally time...it's time to agree with your mind and block the stupid things your heart keeps whispering.

My gaze went to my hand, I took the ring off and stared at it, "I kept wearing it, even after I believed you were dead, I just couldn't.." I swallowed hard, "I couldn't take it off because to me, it was a reminder to always keep my promise, to never look at any woman the way I looked at you, I didn't allow myself, I didn't allow myself to move on," I lifted my face to her, a lump knotted my throat with unspent emotion, "You were dead, Cara, you were dead and I couldn't even look at any other girl...because I am a lot of things but I am not a cheater." The dimming in her eyes told me she understood exactly what I meant, "Because I can go now and hurt you just like you've hurt me but I wouldn't, because I am not like you, it's not easy on me to hurt you."

A war raged inside me, one side desperate and destitute, the other rigid and strong. Funny, how the damaged side felt so much more powerful than the fortified. It only proved, that I am taking the right choice.

"You said you did everything to protect me, but what you people don't understand is that...that maybe I didn't need protection, that all I ever needed is the people I love to be by my side." I sucked into a deep breath, "But you all pretend to know me better than I know myself."

My fisted hand opened and the ring fell on the ground, "But that's it, I am done," I said and I could feel it, I could feel my heart breaking, it was indeed breaking. I never felt like this before. This feeling is new.

It's physical.

Intense.

Real.

I rubbed at the sore spot right over my frenzied heat. This girl had me wound so tight I couldn't breathe, "I can't live without you but I can't be with you either," I said, "So it's over, this time, it's really over."

Few tears went down her cheeks and she said nothing, she did nothing and I became more sure that this is the right thing to do. I took few steps closer, "From now on, the only thing between us is Lilly," I said, it felt too real, "After tomorrow, we'll figure out a way to manage that."

She nodded her head weakly, "Okay."

"So we both agree?" I asked. We both are going to put an end to this. We both are going to break this relationship up. Are we ready for that?

She blinked, trying to kick all the tears away, she nodded, "I agree." She said and extended her hand toward me. My eyes fell on it and a small smile came to my lips before I placed my hand in hers and shook it, both agreeing to give up and stop fighting for this.

Our hands still held into each other, unable to break free, our skins felt the way our hearts were slowly breaking and they didn't let go so fast. Her touch telling me, begging me, please don't let go. Mine told her the same, don't leave my hand, it whispered. But we both chose to ignore that. Slowly, we started to let go, our hands broke free, our skins no longer touching. Heaviness strained between us and all those words were left unsaid.

Her throat bobbed, she gave me a low nod before she turned around and started to walk away. I kept my eyes on her. I swallowed over the heartbreak. My chest burned with it, this fiery pain as I stared at the one person that stole my world, the one person I thought would be the endgame, the one person I thought I wouldn't leave but now as she walked away, I was ready to walk away too.

It felt like nothing mattered anymore, because there was nothing left to fight for, and I was giving in.

She paused in her steps, hesitant to move forward, hesitant to turn around and face me again.

Turn around Cara, please.

Show me that I am not the only one breaking over here, show me that you still care.

********

Cara's POV

I stopped, I just had to stop.

I lost control over the tears that kept pouring down my cheeks, I lost control over the heart that was breaking all over again. I am doing it again, I am walking away from him again. This time it's different, it is worse, this time it feels more real. This time, it's really over. We're over.

I gasped, my hand flew to my mouth to stop the heartbreak from leaving my mouth. All those things I knew I should never want suddenly felt like they were missing. All those resolutions I'd made didn't seem so solid. And the commitment I had toward breaking this once and for all, it didn't feel so real.

He scares me. Yes, I am terrified of Alex.

Physically? No. It was a sad, sick twist of fate that only in his arm where I felt the safest.

I am terrified of what he could do to me with his heart, of what he could do to my heart, how easily one look from him is enough to break free of all the emotions I am trying to bury deep down.

With my heart lodged in my throat, I slowly turned around, to see him, to look at him, at what was mine but no longer is. He was looking back at me. In his eyes, I saw it, the words that were left unsaid, they were in his eyes. His expression alone destroyed the last good thing in me.

Because I knew it was done.

I didn't think about it, all I felt was myself turning my body around and walking back toward him, he inched closer, also trying to reach for me. A choked sound strained in my throat and I reached up and wrapped my hands around his neck, like I couldn't allow him to get any closer but I refused to let him go either. Emotions ran hard through my veins as he pulled me into his arms, pulled me even closer.

I buried my face in his chest while he just held me.

I cried, loudly. I couldn't handle this, I couldn't not break knowing that he is never going to be mine again. My face felt wet, soured and soaked with tears. The whimpers grew, and a ragged sob tore up my throat as I struggled to get closer to him. I clutched his shirt, and tears soaked through it. He only pulled me closer, he didn't push me away as I broke down in his arms. He wove one hand in my hair, cradled the back of my head. I felt the pounding of his heart underneath my palm, his touch gentle as he ran his fingers through my hair, threading them in.

He held onto me just like I was holding into him. We whispered our goodbyes through this closeness. I don't know how long I cried for, how loud my cries were, all I know is that he didn't let go. I took in a couple of gasping breaths, shuddering as the heightened emotions broke free. I felt his arm loosen a little bit from around me. Frantically, I shook my head, "No!" I said in panic, my fingers clutched harder around the material of his shirt, "No, no, stay." I mumbled, the words barely made it out of my constricted throat, "Just...can you, can you hold me like this." My words were choppy and rough, barely audible, "For one last time.."

He exhaled heavily but he still held me close. One arm left my body and I felt him edge backward just a little bit. Like a caress, he trailed his fingers along the line of my jaw, lifting a line of goosebumps in its wake, before he hooked it under my chin and lifted it up, so I can meet his gaze. His thumb ran over my lower lip, his eyes on mine, "Can I kiss you?" He asked, his voice a mere whisper, "For one last time.." He added, bringing his mouth a centimeter from mine.

There was no stopping the way my lips parted on instinct, as if they've been waiting for this. His heat spread across my face, and I felt myself leaning forward. He silenced all the thoughts running through my mind when his lips brushed against mine. A kiss that was long and slow, deep enough that I felt it all the way to my toes.

My lungs felt strangled as I kissed him back. Uncontainable, tears broke free again as all the love I have for him spilled over. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to process the magnitude of it.

It was painful. Beautiful. Heartbreaking.

This kiss. It was everything.

It wasn't slow anymore, I felt as his fingers dug into my hair, grabbing it. They fisted around it as he pulled my face closer, his other hand grazed my cheek, his tongue grazed my lower lip and every nerve in my body fired. My tears still falling as I devoured this kiss with everything I had in me, my hands ran up his chest, held into his shoulders before they tangled in his hair, feeling it, feeling him, for one last time.

We both struggled to get closer, both scared to break this kiss because once we do, it'll be...it'll be the end. The end of something so big and so beautiful.

But we had to.

The hold of our lips broke, but our bodies didn't, not ready to let go yet. His hand still tangled in my hair, keeping me close, mine around his face, holding my whole world in the palm of my hands. We were both panting, I gasped for a breath because it was all way too much. I felt something wet against my hand and I let my eyes glide open, my gaze on my hand, on the one over his cheek, on the tear that left his eye and collided with my skin, that tear felt like a stake being driven straight into my failing heart.

His eyes opened and he looked at me, "Why did you do this to us?" His voice was a pained whisper, he didn't care to hide it, he didn't run away from it. He showed me in his eyes how vulnerable I have made him. I've always been his weakness but now, now when I go, I will no longer be.

I lowered my head, my eyes on his chest as I brought my hand and placed it over his heart. I closed my eyes when I felt it beating hard, racing through his chest. I did it so this heart keeps beating. This heart will keep beating, I will make sure of that.

You don't need me to protect you, Alex, but I will. Because I can live with everything, I can live far away from you, I can live with you hating me, I can live with you moving on with someone else but I can't live in a world you don't exist in. I can't live if this heart stopped beating. That's why it will keep beating, it has to.

All the words I should've said, I kept them inside. There is no point anymore.

His hand came and rested over mine, he securely held it in his palm, "You're not doing this just to me, you're doing it to you too." I pressed my eyes shut and he carried on, "Your heart is breaking just like mine is, so why, why did you do this to us?"

I swallowed over the lump lodged in my throat. I breathed and breathed, "I only hope that one day," I lifted my eyes and met his, "That one day, you'll forgive me for this."

With that, I slowly backed away, breaking the bond that kept pulling us close. I turned around and walked toward the door. I texted Katherine before to unlock it when Alex broke down the glass, I wanted to leave then before I chicken out and confess everything t him. I placed my hand over the knob, twisting it, the door opened and to that I was beyond thankful.

For a second, I hesitated, but I pulled into a deep gulp of air and left the room, leaving him behind. Once and for all.

I made my way up the stairs and into the bedroom. On my way, I saw Katherine coming out of hers. Her eyes fell on me and she carefully inched closer, questions and worry seeped from her gaze but she said nothing. The tears fell again, she said nothing, she only threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. I hugged her back and let it all out.

"It's over Katherine," I cried out, "It's really over..."

********

Nikolas's POV

A car is parked outside, not so far from the house, one of my men noticed it. After looking more into it, I was able to recognize the men inside as Frank's. They're not here to attack, that for sure, they know we are more in number, they're here only to watch. And that's exactly what we want. Now, let them wait here all night and tomorrow, as much as I despise what's gonna happen but we will deliver her right into their arms.

I ordered the men guarding the house to keep their eyes opened and to alert me if anything unusual were to happen. After I made sure all is well, I went back into the house. On my way, I passed by the living room, the door now is opened. Curious, I looked inside, my eyes first fell on Alex, sitting on the couch, Cara is no where to be seen. My gaze traveled from him to the ground, to the glass shattered along the floor.

I sighed and roughed a palm over my face. It didn't work. Fuck, it didn't work.

I cautiously made my way inside, passing by the broken glass, I sat down by his side. His eyes were focused on the floor, at nothing in specific. He looked defeated, that's the only I could describe his body language. My gaze dropped down to his hand, to the blood seeping through the wound over it. My jaw tightened and I shook my head, "What did you do?" I scolded him before I pulled the handkerchief from my pocket. My fingers wrapped around his wrist and I pulled his hand closer. Surprisingly, he didn't stop me as I wrapped the cloth over his wound, stopping the bleeding.

He pulled his hand back, he pressed his elbows against his knees and placed his head in his hands. I kept my eyes on him, unable to shake the tightness over my chest away, unable to shake the fact that this all is my fault. Guilt and shame rolled through me and I didn't know what to do. I am not used to fix things, I am only used to ruin them, to destroy...that's what I am good at. Not this, I am not good at being the big brother, I am not used to care.

I hate everything about this.

I brought my hand closer toward his shoulder but it stopped midway. I shook my head and backed it away. What am I trying to do? As if this would fix anything.

Suck it up, will you. I brought it up again and rested it over his shoulder, I squeezed a little, "You should rest," I said, "For tomorrow."

He lifted his head from his hands and shook it, "I can't rest, not until I get Lilly back." He straightened his back and I pulled my hand away. Phew, that wasn't so hard.

I seriously hate this person I am becoming...

I cleared my throat, "One of your father's car is parked outside." I said, changing the subject somehow. He turned to me, "I think they're only here to watch." He nodded his head and I carried on, "But just in case, I am gonna stay awake and keep an eye on them, to make sure nothing happens."

He nodded, "Okay, I am gonna take a shower and sober up a little," He got to his feet, "Then, I will join you."

He left the room after. I did so too. I went toward the room my mother is staying in, I just wanted to warn her about the car outside. The door was ajar, I was about to knock but stopped when I heard her voice coming from inside.

"Hello," she said, she seemed to be talking on the phone.

"Yeah, Nikolas took me out of there today." She said. My eyebrows pulled together, who could she be talking to?

"I don't know," She sighed, "I am so scared, I have a feeling that Alex or Nikolas will get hurt in the end of this, I just don't want that to happen." Who the hell could she be talking to about us?

My jaw tightened and I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her eyes shot to me, "Uh, I...I will talk with you later," Her throat bobbed, "Bye." She said before she hung up, her whole demeanor shifted at my sight.

"Who were you talking to?" I asked, acting casual, trying not to let her feel my suspicion. She placed the phone beside her on the bed, "Uh, it's one of the nurses, she dropped by my room and didn't find me there so she called to check if it's all okay." The lie seemed to slip her mouth so easily. Of course it is a lie, what kind of nurse is going to call her at freaking midnight.

I nodded, showing her that I bought the lie, "I just came to tell you that Frank's men are here," Her eyes grew wide, "No, they're just watching over the house from outside, I guess." I walked closer, "Actually, I think you can see them from here." I pointed at the window. A frown pulled between her eyebrows before she got to her feet and walked toward the window. I took that as my chance to take the phone from over the bed and walked closer to her.

"Where?" She asked. I tried to unlock the phone without her noticing, "I can't see it."

"Uh, do you see the black car over there?" I said pointing at the car parked at the end of the road, she looked at where I pointed to while I snuck a look at the phone in my other hand, I opened the recent logs and looked at the last number she dialed.

"Oh, I see it." She said, I memorized the number and locked the phone before I backed away and dropped it over the bed, in its old place. She turned her head from the window, "Do you think they would attack?" She asked, oblivious to what I just did.

I shook my head, "Most probably not." I said, "We're keeping an eye on them, if anything happened, I'll tell you." I started to back away, "For now, just rest." With that, I went out of the room.

I immediately pulled my phone and typed the number in before I forget it, I walked further away from her room and dialed the number, I placed the phone to my ear, one ring, two rings and whoever was on the other side opened the call but said nothing.

"Hello," I said, one second only after I talked, whoever was on the other end, hung up right away.

I pulled the phone away and stared at the screen. A hundred thought tumbled through my mind and I couldn't even guess who it could be but the bad feeling that rose at the pit of my stomach made me suspicious. So I sent the number to Jeremy, he is the man who keeps tracking Franks' calls, he is good at this. I told him to try and figure out to whom this number belonged and if he can get me the phone calls that was made through it.

*******

Alex's POV

After I took a shower and changed my clothes, I went back downstairs. Nikolas was in the kitchen, talking on his phone as he poured himself coffee. I walked inside, at my footsteps, he turned to me, he raised the coffee pot, asking me if I want too. I nodded my head before I sat down on one of the chairs.

"Okay, I am waiting for your call." He said over the phone before he hung up. He took both mugs, placed them over the table and sat down as well, "Is there something wrong?" I asked, referring to whoever he was talking to.

He only shook his head, "Nothing important." He said before took a sip of his coffee.

I stared at the cup in front of me, "Aren't you going to drink it?" He asked after a while. I lifted my head up and my eyebrows creased in question, "Is there poison in it?" I asked, suspiciously.

A low chuckle came from him and he shook his head, he brought his hand and took my cup. He inched it to his mouth and took a sip, when he swallowed it down, he shook his head, "I don't think so."

I stared at him in disbelief, "Hey!" I shot out, "Now I can't drink it, it has your saliva all over it."

He only shrugged in return. My eyes narrowed at him before I got up and went to pour myself another one. I took my new cup and turned around, his back was facing me now, I saw as he went through his phone, I couldn't help but notice that his screen's wallpaper is Lilly's picture.

I tried to ignore that and went back to my place. We both stayed silent, probably waiting for the other to talk. I drank my coffee and placed it on the table. I tried to busy myself with anything just so I don't have to open a conversation with him. My gaze went to the cup the was mine, a little bug was standing on its edge. I inched my hand closer and kicked it, making it drop inside it.

"You're such a kid." Nikolas mumbled making me shoot him a glare.

Roman came into the kitchen after, "Ah coffee, I want some." He said with a sleepy voice. He looked at three cups over the table and yawned, "Why there is three?" He asked, "Is this for someone?" He asked, pointing at the one I just threw the bug in.

I looked at Nikolas then back at Roman, "No, you can have it." I said and he immediately took it and mumbled a thank you.

Nikolas cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his laugh. A smile came to my lips as Roman took the first sip, his eyebrows pulled together and he inched the cup away, "Why does it taste like this?"

I couldn't hold my chuckle, Nikolas the same while Roman stared at us confused before he took another sip, "What are you two laughing at?"

Nikolas stood up from his seat, when he passed by me, he tapped his hand over my shoulder, "Good one." He commented.

Roman still looked confused, "Since when you two became all bros and shit?" He said and that was enough to make me drop the smile and glare at him, "Shut up and drink your coffee."

Ashton came into the kitchen as well, Liam followed too. We all talked, discussed few things and time passed. At around two after midnight, one of Nikolas's men came running inside, "Sir!" He said, urgently, his voice seemed to silence us all, his eyes on Nikolas as he said, "They went out of the car and they're heading toward the house."

"What?" Nikolas said in shock, his eyebrows pulled together and he looked at me, "What are they trying to do?"

"They know we are more in number, they know we'll kill them." He added and when he said those words, it seemed to click, "And that's exactly what they want." I said in realization and Nikolas nodded, understanding it as well.

"They want to drag us out of the house to fight them, trying to distract us," Nikolas said, "And once that happen, there is probably more of them out here, they'll get into the house and take her," I continued on his behalf, "My father's techniques are getting so predictable." I added, recalling how he did almost the same thing when he got Lilly.

"Okay, let's give them what they want then." I said but Nikolas looked uncertain, "But we are not ready now, we were going to wait for more backup to arrive in the morning, if we went now, we don't know how many men he has, Marcel is still helping him, they might be more in number."

The sound of a gunshot outside grabbed all of our attention, I looked at Nikolas and raised my eyebrow, "It doesn't look like we have a choice."

He nodded, "Okay, let's do this." He said and looked around, "We'll go through everything exactly like it was planned."

He looked at the guy that told us, "Get Emma, let her and the others be ready." He ordered.

"I am gonna go and tell her." He told me, probably referring to his mother.

Roman pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Nikolas, "Let her place it in her shoes," He said, "Emma and I, we'll follow them when they take her, but you don't know what may happen, so this can keep us a step ahead." Nikolas took the tracking chip and went off.

Emma came into the room followed by Ronald and Nikolas's other men, "You both stay in the back," I said, my eyes drifting between Emma and Roman, "If we're going to fight them in front of the house, then they will definitely sneak her from the back, and be careful, they should not see you, don't fight, your only job is to follow them." I added, "When you get there, you tell us right away."

They both went off to get their part done. Another gunshot came from outside, they're probably starting the fight, "Liam and Ashton, you stay with Cara and Katherine." I said, "They're gonna go upstairs to get her so you never know what may happen." They immediately scurried upstairs.

I grabbed my gun from over the table, clicked the safety off, looked at Ronald and nodded my head to outside, "Let the party start." I sarcastically said and got out of the house.

There were around seven of them, already Nikolas's men has started the fight so we joined.

One of them was about to shoot one of Nik's men...I really should know their names, I keep referring to them as Nikolas's men.

Okay, maybe later Alex, there is people you need to kill now, remember. The logical part of my brain argued.

I agreed with him and marched forward, my hand curled over the guy's jacket from the back and I pulled him away. Flustered, he turned around ready to attack, but my hand collided with his jaw before he could react. I knocked the gun out of his grip and he staggered backward, his eyes lifted to me, he rubbed at his jaw and shook his head, "We are not here to fight you." He said. My brows pulled together, "But I am here to fight you." I said in a matter of fact.

"Your father ordered us not to come near you." He said, seriously.

I chuckled.

Oh wait, he is not kidding, is he?

My father never cease to amaze me.

I pulled my gun up and pointed it at him, "Well, this means that I can kill you." I was about to pull the trigger but someone pushed me away so hard, making the gun drop away. The bitch who pushed me cocked an eyebrow and said, "Unlike him," He pointed at his friend, that I was just about to kill, "I don't follow the rules."

My jaw tightened. Okay, now I am angry.

I pounced on him so hard and struck him in the face with a fist, flattening him on his back. I straddled over him, took the weapon from over the ground and pointed at his head, ready to fire.

He crooked a quick leg and freaking knocked me to the ground with a swift kick. The gun tore loose from my grip and slid across the floor. I was about to get up to my feet but that son of a bitch straddled me and all I felt was his fist smack into my cheek. Before I had time to react, I heard a gunshot and the guy hovering over me fell away.

I pulled myself up and looked at Nikolas, "You know, I totally had that." I said. His eyebrow raised, "It didn't look like you did." He said before he extended his hand toward my direction. My gaze flicked from his face to his hand, without hesitation, I placed mine in his as he helped me get up.

"Did you tell her?" I asked, he nodded in return and his jaw tightened, "Now, she is sitting, waiting for them to take her." He added with an annoyed sigh, still against this whole idea. "Don't worry," I said, "Roman and Emma will follow her right away, we will kill these son of bitches and then we'll go as well."

He nodded and a low sigh parted his lips, "I just have a bad feeling about all of this."

I do too.

"Come on," I said nodding toward the others, "Am I gonna have to save your ass again?" He asked and I shrugged, "You might have to." I said, "You're the older brother, it's kind of a package deal."

He smiled at my words and shook his head, "You're unbelievable."

I saw Ronald pinned to the ground, receiving punches, oh poor guy. I scurried forward, to rescue him.

I don't know how long it passed, but finally, after many punches to my head and two to my stomach, all of them were dead. I wiped the blood from over my mouth and my gaze drifted from the dead bodies to Nikolas, before I could say a thing, he was running into the house. I followed him right away.

We reached her room and like expected, the door was burst opened and no one was inside. Although this was the plan, Nikolas seemed like he was expecting something else, like he'd find her here. God, he really cares about her, I'll never be able to understand why.

My phone rang, I pulled it out to see Roman's name flash through the screen, I immediately answered, "We're following." he said and I nodded. Nikolas looked at me as I talked, "Okay great but be careful, they shouldn't notice you're following them."

"Don't worry," he said, "We're on it. I'll send our live location so you can keep up with us."

I hung up after and went out of the room, heading toward the other end of the hall. I almost stumbled over the two dead bodies over the ground. I lifted my head up from them to see Liam, with Cara standing behind him, "They weren't here just for Leya," He said, "These two tried to take Cara, so I killed them."

Cara looked away from the two dead bodies and rubbed at her arm. There is something about her now that I didn't get. She didn't seem scared, no, it was the total opposite.

I pushed that to the back of my head and looked around at everyone else, "Okay, let's get ready and leave," I sighed, "It's gonna be a long night."

Everyone went to get ready, to get the weapons and prepare the cars. One of Nikolas's men, who I suppose his name is Jeremy, walked closer and whispered something to him. Nikolas's eyes grew wide a little but he recovered right away before he walked away as well.

There is always something suspicious about this man.

*********

Nikolas's POV

When I was sure Alex went away, I rushed back into Cara's room and closed the door behind me. She had her back facing me, at the sound of the door closing, she turned around. Her eyes grew wide, "What are you doing here?" She said, panic evident in her tone before she brought her hands behind her back, hiding whatever in them from me.

"What did you do, Cara?" I asked, stressing on each word.

"What do you mean?" She asked, "Get out of here, now!"

"I went through his phone call but stupidly enough I didn't check the messages." I said, if it wasn't for Jeremy telling me now, I would've never known, "I thought he was at the cemetery because he was following us but turns out, he was there to meet you!" Her eyes grew wide, like she didn't expect me discovering this, "What did you do, Cara? Answer me. What did you agree on?" I know Frank very well, I know that he played with her mind, that's why she kissed me, that's why she is treating Alex in this way.

"Those two men, why were they here?" I asked again when she kept silent.

"Cara, answer me!" I snapped and took a step forward, "What are you trying to do?"

Her jaw tightened, her throat bobbed but she didn't give me an answer. My suspicion grew more, so I marched forward, my hand went to hers behind her back and I tried to snatch away whatever was in her hold. She fought back, "Get away from me!" She snapped and hit my arm, "Get away!"

I grabbed the papers in her hand and pulled myself away from her, "Give them to me!" She said as she tried to get them back but I didn't let her. I looked at what's in my hand and read through it. When she realized that I saw them, she stopped fighting.

Air harshly rushed in and out of my lungs, my fingers tightened over the tickets and I turned to her, "There is two tickets in here." I said, still trying to process all of this, "It's written here that the flight is at six in the morning."

"They were here to give you this, not to take you, weren't they?" I asked, making sense of everything. I frantically ran my hand through my hair, "You were going to take Lilly and leave." I said in disbelief, "He was going to give you Lilly in exchange of what?" I asked. She didn't answer, "In exchange of what?!" I snapped. She is gonna drive me crazy.

"Of me leaving." She finally answered.

"How could you do this?" I snapped, "How could you even think about this!"

"We were all here trying to plan this and you were cooking a plan of your own with Frank!" I swear if this was the old me, he would've hurt her by now. I ripped the tickets in my hand and threw them away, "Now, we are going to go and get Lilly back in our own way." I said, warning her, "If you try to do something, anything Cara," There is one thing I can threaten her with, "If you try to, I will tell Alex about all of this."

With that I walked out of the room, heading downstairs, ready to get this over with.

********

Alex's POV

"Can you freaking calm down!" I snapped at the bitch sitting with me in the same car. He keeps shifting in his seat and moving, gosh he is playing on my nerves and not letting me concentrate on the road.

"I don't understand how you can be so calm about this!" He grated out.

"Okay, look, my father's dick is probably too limp to stand on its own, so he is not gonna do anything of that sort to her," I said, "So calm down before I throw you out of my car!"

He stared at me in disbelief, "How can you find humor in this!" He exclaimed. I only shrugged in return, "I find humor in everything. That's what keeps me sane." I said, "You should try it sometimes."

Roman started calling, interrupting our conversation. I pressed answer and his voice echoed in the car, "Hey guys, they finally stopped."

"They're still in the car, I think they're waiting for someone." Emma added.

"Okay send us your location," I said, "Keep an eye on them and tell us everything that happens."

When we hung up, they sent us the location right away. My brows cinched as I looked at the map, "That's weird." I mumbled, "It's beside the sea."

Nikolas took the phone from me and looked at it. He sighed, "Whatever it is, we have no choice but to follow them."

I took the phone and placed it ahead of me so I can check the way there as I drive, "Well, I just hope we are not walking into a trap." I said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that happened." He mumbled.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He is so weird.

Few minutes later, Roman called us again, "Guys, this is a little bit weird," he started, "They took her down and went into...into a yacht, a very very big one, I might add." He said, "And just now, Frank arrived and followed them inside."

"What should we do?" Emma asked.

"Wait for us outside," Nikolas said, "We are almost there."

Around fifteen minutes later, we arrived to our destination. I spotted Roman's car and we parked by their side, a little bit far from the seaside, so they don't notice our presence.

The other three cars that were following us, arrived as well.

Nikolas and I went down, so did Roman and Emma. They pointed at probably the biggest yacht among the ones present, "They went into that one."

"From all the places, why here?" I asked, confused. It's unpredictable, that's a first.

"Maybe he is planning on going somewhere." Nikolas said. That could be true too.

Everyone else went down their cars. Roman opened a small bag and gave us each a very small tracking chip, "Keep these on you, it's connected to an application in each of your phones." He said, "We don't know what may happen inside, so in case one of us get lost or something, we'll be able to find each other." He added, "And this is also to make sure that everyone is out before we set the whole place on fire."

We all tucked the little things on our clothes and got our weapons ready. Nikolas was barking orders at his men, to make sure everything goes as planned. My eyes drifted to Cara standing beside Liam, they were arguing about something. Her being her, she insisted to come. I didn't say a thing to stop her, I no longer have that right.

I walked to Ashton, "Hey," I said grabbing his attention to me, "Yeah?" He said.

"Look, I am gonna need you to stay here." I said, his eyebrows pulled together and he was about to disagree but I carried on, "I need someone to stay with Cara here, and I only trust you in that matter, okay?"

I tucked my gun in the back of my pants, "We are gonna get Lilly out of there before everything." I said, "When that happens, no matter what, I need you to take them both and get as far away from here as you can." My eyes went to her again then I looked back at him, "Can I count on you on this one?"

"Of course."He nodded, "And Alex," He said, "Be careful."

I gave him a small smile and tapped my hand over his arm, "I will."

"Okay now, let's go," Nikolas said and everyone started to walk, "Hold on, hold on," I said, "Are we all going inside?" I asked, "Some of us should stay out here."

Nikolas shook his head, "Alex, we are already less in number than them, we need all the back up we can get."

"Okay, I get that but," I pointed at the sea, "It's a yacht, what if when we get in, and they started it and went into the sea, how will we get back?" How will we be able to get Lilly out? "We need like at least two people to stay here, in case that happens, they can follow us and help us get out of there."

"You're right." He seemed to just realize that option. His brows creased together, "I didn't, I didn't think about that."

I fixed the collar of my shirt and shrugged. I passed by him, "You're getting rusty bro," I said with a raised eyebrow, he only smiled in return and shook his head. He ordered two of them to stay and he told Emma something I didn't catch on before we all crossed to the other side.

There were two men in front of the yacht, probably guarding it. Nikolas's men took that job and knocked them both unconscious, using a silencer on their gun, they killed them. They cleared the way for us and we carried on, we all tried not to make much noise, to not alert the people inside.

We climbed up, and reached the entrance of the yacht, Nikolas and I stood at opposite sides of the door, as the others went in and cleared the way for us. Nikolas took a peek inside, then he looked at me, "Do you trust me?" He asked, out of the blue.

My brows cinched, "No," I said in a matter of fact.

He rolled his eyes, "Well, you don't have a choice, do you?"

He nodded his head to the inside, the gun tightly wrapped in his hand as he cautiously walked in. I followed, my gun in my hand, we kept our senses on alert, making sure no one is around as we walked further inside. The place was gigantic, if it wasn't for the current circumstances, I would've enjoyed being here.

A guy suddenly came from one of the rooms, his eyes widened at our sight but before he had a chance to even react, Nikolas wrapped his arm around his neck from the back and snapped it, letting the poor guys' body limply slid into the ground.

"You're way too fast." I mumbled lowly as we continued walking. I heard my father's voice coming from the door to my right. I inched closer, "I am going in first." I said before I tucked the gun in the back of my pants, opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hello," I said cheerfully. Everyone's attention fell on me, my father was in there and around five other men, they immediately aimed their gun at me but my father held his hand up, stopping them.

They lowered their guns and my father turned to me, his jaw tightened, "What are you doing here, Alex?"

"What does it look like I am doing?" I walked further inside and my eyes drifted around, "You got a nice place in here."

"Alex!" He grated out, "You shouldn't be here." It didn't come out as a threat, it came as a warning.

Nikolas stepped inside as well, my father's gaze drifted to him and he immediately pressed something over the remote beside him and all of a sudden, another five men came into the room, their gun aimed at us, well, at Nikolas not at me.

I gave Nikolas a glance he understood. He immediately marched forward, his arm wrapped around my neck and he pulled me backward, he pressed the gun to my temple and said, "Everyone back away before I make his head explode all over the place."

My hand went to his arm, "Nikolas!" I hissed, the bitch is literally suffocating me.

Some of them tried to step forward, "Don't!" Nikolas warned as he pressed the gun further against my temple.

"You're not going to do it." My father said, testing him. "Wanna try me?" Nikolas teased, that smug smile pulled at his lips. He clicked the safety off, his finger over the trigger moved. Holy shit, he is gonna kill me; "Okay okay, stop!" My father snapped, stopping him, I could swear that was fear in his voice.

"Let them put their guns down then." Nikolas said and they all did so after my father told them.

"Nikolas, what about Lilly!" I snapped. His gaze dropped to me and he shook his head, "I don't care about her," He looked back at my father, "There is only one thing that I care about at."

"We're more in number, if you killed him," My father threatened, "We'll kill you right after."

Nikolas shrugged, "I don't care," He said and looked at me, "Looks like we'll die together, little brother."

I shot him a glare, "I am so gonna kill you when this is over." I hissed at him.

He looked at my father, "You see, you are doing everything in your power to protect this son of yours.

There was a time where I really thought you cared about no one," He said, "But turns out, I was wrong, you gotta watch out uncle, I guess that's love I see in your eyes." He mockingly added and if it wasn't for this whole situation I would've laughed at the way he said it.

"Let him go, Nikolas." My father stressed on each word.

Nik shook his head, "Imagine how iconic it would be now, to kill him right in front of your eyes," He said, "You see for years, you tried to make us enemies and you finally got what you wanted, you made me hate him and then, I made him hate me," I swallowed hard at his words, "And now, he'll die because of you only."

"If you try to, your mother will die as well." My father threatened, confident his words would stop Nikolas, "You used her as a bait to get to me, and I am using her as a bait, but not for you." He said, "But that doesn't matter, I killed her once, I'll kill her again. So, let him go."

"You don't get it, do you?" Nikolas said, "The only thing I want now, is for you to pay, it doesn't matter who is gonna get hurt in the process, but as long as I am breathing and there is air in my lungs...I am, I am running out of things to say." At the last part, he loosened his arm from around me and both him and I bursted laughing. I ran my hand in my hair before I tapped my hand over his shoulder, "Ah, It was a good one."

I turned to my father and he was staring at us, beyond confused, "Oh yeah that, that was just a distraction." I said, "So these people," I pointed at the ones around the room, "So they don't stop Nikolas's men from planting three bombs in this yacht.

All we have to do now is set them on and the whole place," I mimicked an explosion with my hand, "The whole place will go poof. "

Some of them scurried out, trying to stop this, oh but they're so late, and the others, they are more than ready to kill Nikolas off. I immediately stood in front of him, in their way, "You want him, you'll have to go through me first." I said but it wasn't long before Roman, Ronald and Emma and Nikolas's men came into the room and started fighting them off.

I saw my father trying to sneak out, "You go after him," Nikolas said, "I'll take care of this."

I nodded and scurried away, my eyes fell on the knife over the table. I grabbed it and ran after him. My fingers tugged at the back of his jacket, stopping him, "Not so fast, father," He turned to me, everyone else in the room busy fighting and I got him all to myself.

"You should've never came here, Alex." He said and shook his head, "I freaking told her. I was gonna send your daughter back to you." What the hell is he talking about? "You need to leave here, now."

"I didn't come here just to get my daughter back," I said, honestly, "I am here to get rid of you, once and for all."

His eyebrow raised, "You're going to kill your own father?" He asked, "It doesn't sound like you."

I smiled, my hand over his arm before I drove the knife right through him, "Don't act like you know me," I said through clenched teeth, "You have no idea who I am."

My jaw clenched, "You always said you preferred to kill with a knife, because it felt more...personal." I said beside his ear, "Well, you are right." I said as I twisted the knife in his guts and he gasped, "I can feel your blood seeping between my fingers and I gotta admit, it does feel better."

"Should I remind you now why I am doing this?" I asked before I pulled the knife away, my hand held into his arm, keeping him standing as I drove it again through his skin, "This is for hurting him." I said, I twisted the knife and he groaned in pain, "This is for telling me that he died." I twisted it again, anger and resentment burned through my blood, "This is for making me hurt him." My jaw clenched and I couldn't bit back the bitterness that left my words, "This is for raping my mother...For doing it right in front of him.."

"And this," I twisted it one last time, "This is for trying to hurt Cara and for taking my daughter." I pulled the knife away, my hand left him and his body went crashing into the ground. He gasped for a breath, his hand went to where all the blood seeped from and he pressed his eyes shut, in pain and agony.

I pulled my gun out, ready to finish him for real this time.

"Alex!" Was all I heard before I felt a hand over my arm, it pushed me away so hard making me stumble to the right toward the wall, I heard two gunshots as the side of my head hit the wall. I pressed my palm against it, to steady myself and not fall.

"Do you have to always do that!" I said as I rubbed at the side of my head.

I turned around to look at Nikolas. He pressed his palm over the table, his other hand went to his abdomen, when he pulled it away I saw the blood covering his fingers. My eyes widened and I marched forward, my hand went to his arm and my gaze fell on the blood over his shirt, over where he just got shot, "What did you do?" I whispered.

My eyes went toward the door, to see the man who was about to shoot me but shot Nikolas instead trying to run away. Nikolas has shot his leg making it harder on him to get away.

I left Nikolas's side immediately, left the room and went after him. His back was to me now as he tried to escape. Without hesitation, I aimed the gun and fired, three bullets went through his back. His body gave up and he fell down. I took a look at his face and he didn't look familiar, definitely not one of the guys that were inside. Who else is on this ship?

It's not till I went outside of the room that I felt the yacht moving. Fuck, I knew it.

I ignored that and went back running inside. Nikolas was trying to walk back into the other side of the room, into the fight, I reached him, my hand on his arm stopping him, "Hold on, where are you going?" I said. His jaw tightened, in pain, "I am fine." He said. I shot him a glare, "You just got shot, you're definitely not fine." I said.

"I've had worse." He muttered, trying to act as if he is all okay, he can barely walk.

"I don't think so." I said as I pulled at his arm, "Let me get you out of here."

He shook his head, "I don't think the bullet hit any vital organ, I can still walk, I am fine." He said, "Go and get Lilly and our mother out of here, that's the important thing now."

"But-" I hesitated.

His eyebrow raised, "Go, now." He said, leaving no place for negotiation.

My jaw tightened, "Okay, but I am coming back for you." With one last look at him, I went to the other side of the room, they were still fighting. They were more in number now, few dead bodies scattered over the ground but my father was not were I left him. Fuck.

Roman saw me, he kicked the guy beside him, he shot him in the head and jogged toward me.

"Let's go," I said as we both left the room and started searching. Liam was already searching for Lilly from the moment we got into the yacht. We searched most of the rooms in this level but we couldn't find her. We crossed path with some of my father's men on our way but they only ended up dead.

"Let's search upstairs." I said and made my way up the stairs.

"This place is freaking big," Roman commented, bothered by the fact.

The moment I reached the second floor, someone said, "Alis!"

My heart stumbled when my ears heard her call my name. I turned around, she immediately left Liam's side and came running toward me. I crouched down to meet her and she came crashing into my arms, they wrapped around her little body and pulled her closer. I buried my face in her hair, smelling her, "Oh god, I missed you so much." I mumbled as I tightened my hold over her. My heart felt like it would burst at the moment. She had her little arms wrapped around my neck, holding into me as well.

"Alis," She sniffled and said my name ever so sadly, and it thudded my already hammering heart. She pulled away and faced me, I looked at her, from up to down, checking, "Are you okay?"

Tears went down her cheeks and she rubbed at her eyes, "Mommy.." she said, her cries broke my heart and I wiped her tears right away, "Okay, okay I am gonna take you to her, don't cry," I said before I took her into my arms again, "Come here." I said before I stood up. She rested her head over my shoulder and kept her arms hooked around my neck. I didn't realize how much I needed this little girl till she held into me like this, because I realized that she needed me too.

My eyes went to Linda standing beside Liam, a small smile lifted her lips as she gazed at me and Lilly. I inched closer, "Are you okay?" I asked, worried. She nodded immediately, "She is okay too, don't worry, I was with her all the time." A sigh of relief parted my lips and I thanked her.

I pulled my phone when I felt it vibrate in my pocket and read the message I received, "See, it's good we left men behind, they're on their way now to get us back." I said.

"What about your mother?" Liam asked. Linda's eyes widened, "What?"

My jaw tightened, "I'd much rather leave here but we gotta find her."

Liam nodded, "Roman and I will keep looking." He said, "Take Linda and Lilly downstairs, we'll follow you."

I took them and went back down, with Lilly still wrapped securely in my arms. I walked out of the main door to check how far we've sailed. My eyes widened when I saw that we're getting further and further away from the land that I can barely see it anymore.

I went back inside and a few minutes later, Liam and Roman came down. He shook his head, "She is not upstairs," He said.

He was about to say something else but the whole place suddenly shook. It all happened too fast for us to understand. In a millisecond, the sound that echoed was like a thunder that rolled right above us but it's wasn't, the thudding impact of the explosion loud enough to wake up the dead, the shock wave knocking us backward. On instinct, my arms hovered over Lilly, trying to shield her from whatever this was. My hand covered her ear and pressed her head further against my chest as my body went backward and it hit the wall.

I blinked, trying to see through the smoke that filled the place as I stood straight, my ears felt like they could explode, it took me a second to make sense of Lilly's loud cries, I looked at her, check if anything happened but she was okay, only crying in fear, "It's okay baby, it's okay." I tried to calm her down as I rubbed at her back. Roman pulled himself up and Liam helped Linda get up. My eyes went to them, "What the hell was that?" Roman's wide eyes drifted around, "There was three small bombs, we were going to set them all on at the same time, so the whole place can go down...but someone, someone just set one of them on," His eyes went to Liam, "It's the one at the other end of the yacht."

"We are still here on the ship, who the fuck did it?" I snapped. I looked at the other end and through the smoke, I was able to notice the flames of fire.

"I don't, I don't know." Roman said bewildered.

"Okay, forget about my mother." I said, "We are getting Lilly out of here now."

Ronald, Emma, and some of Nikolas's men came running toward us, "Who set the bomb on?" Emma asked bewildered, "We don't know." Roman said.

"We all need to leave here right away, the fire alone is enough to set the other two on." She added.

Her words were enough to make me panic. When I heard voices, I walked outside and thankfully, the two men we left behind had arrived with a very small ship, but enough to get around six people on it. They stopped right beside us, I turned to Roman, "You go first." He did and then Liam and him helped Linda go down too.

I tightened my hold over Lilly, I kissed the top of her head and mumbled in her hair, "I love you so much."

I inched closer to the edge, Roman stood over the small ship and tried to carefully take her from me. She started crying again but Roman hugged her, "It's okay, I am taking you to your mom.." he said, trying to sooth her.

With one last look at her, I backed away. I turned around, ready to walk back in but someone tugged at my jacket's sleeves, stopping me. I turned around to meet Liam's wide eyes, "Alex, where are you going?"

"Nikolas is still inside." I said, "Make sure Lilly arrives safely into her mother's arms and then let them come back for us."

His eyebrows pulled together, "Alex, you heard her, we don't know when the bombs are going to be set on," He said urgently, "We gotta leave here, now!"

I shook my head, "I can't."

"He is my brother, Liam." I said, "I can't leave him, not...not again."

With that, I walked back inside. I coughed when the smoke went straight into my lungs. The fire was eating at the yacht's inside. I went back to where I left Nikolas at last but I couldn't find in him in there.

Too many dead bodies on the ground, I stepped over them and kept searching. Where did he go?

I remembered how we all had the tracking chip on us. I pulled my phone and opened the application Roman talked about.

A weird sense of relief came upon me when I was able to access Nikolas's location. He was still in here, but on the other side.

I exited the room and followed the way shown to him. I lifted my head from over the phone and my eyes fell on him. He held into the wall, trying to steady himself, as he walked further inside. Where the hell is he going to?

I ran toward him, he almost lost his balance. My eyes widened and I clutched his arm, holding him up, preventing his fall. His breathing was ragged and rough, his eyes lifted up and met mine, sweat beaded on his forehead, "You came back." His voice was low and his brows cinched together.

"Well, I did the mistake of not coming back the first time, and we all saw what happened," My eyebrows raised, "We don't wanna repeat that again, do we?"

A small smile lifted the corner of his lips before he pressed his eyes shut, that smile fell off and pain twisted his face.

My heart lifted to my throat, "Come on, let me get you out of here."

He shook his head, "No, I am not leaving," he said, breathless, "I need to find her."

"Nikolas, you bled a lot, you need to go to a hospital right away." I tried to say but he kept on shaking his head, "I am not leaving her behind." But she decided to leave you behind. I wanted to say but stopped myself.

"Look at me, you'll die if you stayed here." My voice raised, "Let me take you outside and then I will come back here and search for her."

He shook his head, "No, you should leave too, the bombs are gonna be set on any moment now." He pulled away from my hold, "But I need to find her."

"Look at you, you can barely walk!" I snapped at him, "Nikolas, don't make me punch you right now." I said through clenched teeth, he always plays on my nerves, "Stop being so damn stubborn and come with me. I told you, I'll find her, I promise."

"No, you Leave, now." He said, still not giving in. He held into the wall as he tried to walk, "If you stayed, you'll die."

"So it's okay if you died but not okay if I did?" I sarcastically said.

He nodded, "Yes, it is."

"No, it's not." I want to punch him so bad right now.

"Yes it is, because there are people outside waiting for you to get back to them and you should," he said, "It's the total opposite for me, I have no one else to get back to, the only person that ever gave a shit about me is still here, so I'd much rather die in here searching for her then go back into that world, okay?" My chest tightened and the thought of punching him became more appealing, "You said it yourself once, who will give a shit if I died, no one."

He was about to walk away but the pain overcame him. He pressed his hand over his abdomen, the hand pressed against the wall seemed to fail him and he almost lost his balance.

Emotions tightened my jaw and I got closer to him. His body failed him and he slowly went down to his knees. I leveled myself with him, my hand went to his arm, "Look at you, you're literally dying, look around you, this place is falling apart, you need to leave with me because I am not going out of here without you, you get that?" I stressed on the last part, "You do have someone to get back to Nikolas, you have...you have a brother."

He looked at me and shook his head, "No, I had a brother." He said brokenly, "And it was good as it lasted but the moment we get out of here, when we both get back into our lives, I will no longer be your brother, you'll see me again as the man who took everything from you and I..I can't," He shook his head, "I can't live with that anymore."

"So you need to leave here but I can't," His voice shook a little, "I shouldn't."

I swallowed hard, "Why did you take that bullet for me?" I asked, "Why did you save me?" he didn't answer, so I added, "Answer me Nikolas, why did you save me?

He blinked and lowered his gaze down, "Why do you think?" His throat bobbed and he whispered, "Because you're my little brother."

He lifted his head up, "He was going to hurt you."

I nodded my head, "And you didn't want him to hurt me?" I asked. He shook his head, "No."

"See," I said, showing the facts to him. My hand went to the back of his neck, "There was a time when I believed that you actually became the monster you try so hard to be," I said, my hand tightened over the back of his neck, "But you're not." I shook my head, "You're not, Nikolas. You only try to hide behind that monster."

"Because under all these layers, there is a little kid, locked in a room, crying, waiting for his brother to come back." Dread barreled in. My heart started pounding so fucking hard I could feel it in my ears.

"Your...your brother is here now and he is not going anywhere," I said, I meant it, "I promise, I will be by your side, I will help you, I will help you get through this and with time...with time I'll learn how to forgive you but you can't, you can't do this," I swallowed over the rock lodged in my throat, "You can't make me lose you again."

The muscles of his jaw worked, emotions gathered in his eyes but he didn't let them out, his lips parted but nothing came out. My pulse took off at a sprint and I forced myself to breathe. With my my hand over the back of his neck, I pulled him closer, his forehead pressed against my shoulder and I pressed my eyes shut, trying to let all of this in.

"Why are you doing this?" He mumbled weakly.

"Because I am not planning on giving up on you." I said. Not like she did, I wasn't going to leave him alone, "Now, please, let me get you out of here." I said and my eyes fell on the piece of wood not so far from me.

He shook his head, "I can't." He was about to pull away but I grabbed the piece of wood so fast, "Okay then, you can't blame me for this." With that, I hit the back of his head with it, not too hard but hard enough to knock him unconscious.

I winced, "I am sorry, that must've hurt." I said as I took his arm and wrapped it around my shoulder, "Now, I am gonna drag your suicidal ass out of here." I said as I pulled him up.

"Oh fuck, you are so heavy." I said as I tried to drag his body out of here.

"I am gonna break my back because of you," I groaned, "You owe me one." Talking with him when he is unconscious is much easier than when he is awake.

As I dragged him out of the room, I heard someone coughing from behind us. My eyes widened and I turned around, searching for the sound's origin. The coughs increased and when my eyes fell on him by the end of the room, they grew wider.

"You must be kidding me!" I mumbled. At the moment, I didn't do what the fuck am I supposed to do.

Air rushed in and out of my lungs, one thing is, I need to make sure he is dead before I leave. I carefully leaned Nikolas's unconscious body against one the wooden pillars beside us.

"I'll be back." I told him and went to where the coughs came from. When I reached him, his back was pressed against the wall, his head hanging to the side in a very uncomfortable angle.

My hand went to his neck, feeling his pulse, "Holy shit, you really don't know how to die, do you?" I asked, my eyes went down to his stomach, to where I stabbed him, there was a bandage wrapped around the wound, stopping the bleeding.

"Alex," his voice was so low, a mere whisper. I snapped my head up, his eyes was halfway opened, looking at me, "Lea..leave," he tried to say, "Leave before he hurts you."

My eyebrows pulled together, "Who?"

His shaking hand came and rested over mine, "I am so..sorry, I only wanted to protect you." The words barely made it out.

"Protect me from what?" I asked, "You took my daughter, father, you threatened me with her, what kind of protection is that?" These people will drive me insane, "But I guess, you'll die without achieving what you wanted so bad, which is the baby dead." I remarked, "He'll live and you won't."

"I guess now I can finally say, checkmate."

He shook his head, "The baby is everything they want, Alex, he is the reason the deal was made for," he said, "He is Cara's kid and Cara is Maxwell's daughter. He is Nikolas's kid and Nikolas is a Viarchi...That kid is half british, half Italian, he has the blood of both, of both royal families, of both leading families," He gasped for a breath and tried to carry on, "He is meant to rule us all, to stop all the bloodshed between the brits and us."

"You have no idea how many people out there will want him dead and how many people will want him to rule." He shook his head, "No matter what you do Alex, they'll either kill that kid or they'll take him away from you."

He shook his head, "So you can't say checkmate yet, son.
This is not the endgame.
It's only the beginning."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I said, bewildered by the facts that were always there in front of us but we never saw them.

His shaking hand went to my face and a tear went down his eyes, "Be careful, Alex, he..he is gonna hurt you so bad." He pressed his eyes shut and removed his hand away, "He is gonna kill yo..you." He mumbled to himself, "Of course, he will, just like, just like I.."

He gasped unable to form one word after. His eyes slammed shut, his breathing labored before I no longer felt him breathing.

A war lit up in my mind but all of that didn't matter when I heard light footsteps coming from behind me. I swallowed hard, my hand carefully went in front of me and grabbed the gun over the floor. I cautiously stood up, the gun tightly held in my hand.

I pulled in a deep breath and turned around so fast, the gun aimed at my intruder and ready to fire.

But he was so close.

So close that in a swift motion, he grabbed my arm, twisted it, that the gun I am holding to him is now pointing at me. I felt the barrel press against my chest, "You're not fast enough," He said, his hand over mine.

He pressed the trigger before I could even have the chance to fight him.

My eyes widened and at first, I didn't feel a thing, "Who..who are you?" I tried to say as I stared at the brown eyes looking at me.

He tsked, "It's so sad, isn't it?" He said, a wicked smile over his lips, a smile so familiar, "To die and not even know who killed you."

I felt like a vibration in my chest, a little bit of pain spread from where the shot went, it was little only.

His hand still over the gun, the other he held my arm and inched his face closer to my ear, "It's so iconic, isn't it? For you and your father to die at the same time." He pressed his finger over the trigger and fired again.

I gasped when the second bullet went right through my chest, this one hurts. It felt like it went straight to my lung.

I couldn't breathe.

"I guess I am the one who can finally say it," his mouth was beside my ear as he muttered, "Checkmate."

********

Nikolas's POV

My eyelids glided open, I blinked trying to shake the blurriness away but I couldn't.

I felt someone hovering over me. I saw his eyes.

I couldn't see clearly.

I was slipping back into unconsciousness.

I blinked, I tried to sit straight.

I saw him again.

"Dad," I whispered,

He laughed, "Looks like you're starting to hallucinate again, little kid."

"What?" I tried to say before I felt something pierce into my neck.

A needle.

I felt it.

I rubbed at my neck, "What..what did you do?" I managed to say but it was seconds only before every muscle in my body gave up and it all slipped away and darkness took over me again.

*********

Alex's POV

I wanted to stay standing, to hold into anything but my body failed me, I couldn't...I just couldn't.

Blurriness swarmed over my vision and all I felt was my back coming in contact with the floor. My hand went toward where the pain was. It was all blurry, but I could...I could see the blood over my fingers.

I could see as that man walked toward Nikolas.

"No." I whispered, I tried to move but I couldn't. The pain, it overcame all my senses.

It pressed against my chest. It pulsed.

Darkness started to take over.

It was so painful.

I never thought it would be this much painful.

They say when you die, your whole life flash before your eyes.

But I only saw...I only saw her.

I tried to keep my eyes opened but I couldn't. I couldn't.

I saw her, but she was so young. I was young too.

She ran toward me, her small figure tried to reach for me and she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me.

"Thank you," She said, her voice so soft, so hypnotizing, "For the cupcake."

I slowly brought my arms and wrapped them around her too. Weird. I never let anyone hug me before, why did I let her?

"Happy birthday." I whispered, she smelled like flowers, it's not like I was trying to smell her or anything, but her hair was all in my face, "Try not to be so annoying." I said, playfully.

She pulled away and giggled, the sound of her laugh was so beautiful. I wanted to hear it again.

"Come on Cara, let's go." Her father called for her. She went to him but before she went through the door, she turned around and waved her hand at me, "Goodbye."

I waved my hand too, "Bye, cupcakes."

At the nickname I made for her, she narrowed her eyes at me but a big, beautiful smile played over her lips.

I wanted to see that smile again.

But I won't....

I no longer felt any pain.

It didn't hurt anymore.

I felt it all...slipping away.

Till I felt...nothing at all.

************

It started with him,
And it ended with him.