Sebastian

*Alexis is here

Rameta's text chimed on my phone. I composed myself. Within seconds, Alexis entered the dining area. He wore a black tuxedo, but three buttons of his white shirt hung open, his jet-black jacket draped over one arm.

A heart-shaped golden locket glowed and swayed against his chest as he strode toward us. Recognition hit me like a gut punch.

He still has it?

My grip tightened on the glass, anger surging so fiercely I feared it might shatter. I forced my fingers to loosen.

Mom owned the matching one.

Our eyes met. He gave me a curt nod, completely ignoring Ryan. I gestured to the seat opposite Ryan, and he claimed it with predatory grace.

A waitress handed him the menu. He ordered a meal and drink, his voice clipped. Ryan smirked, ignoring my earlier warning entirely.

"So, what was decided in that meeting?" I asked Alexis to explain as his food arrived. With a flick of my wrist, I signaled Liam to clear the place—no waitresses, no bodyguards, no hostages. Nothing. Not even Liam or Rameta. Just the three of us at that dining table, the air thick with unspoken threats.

"He wants us to help shift the goods—mainly out of Mr. Rossi's territory," Alexis said, pausing to glance at Ryan for the first time.

"We need Mr. Rossi's cooperation too." He scooped a spoonful from his plate, but his knife sliced deeper than necessary, scraping the porcelain with a grating screech that set my teeth on edge.

"Fine," Ryan finally spoke, his tone dripping venom and mockery. "I'll appoint Carlo to fake a raid with you, but I don't want any of my men dead. It's on you, Alexis. But you have to tell us their last stop so we can heist it," Ryan pressed.

"Add a tracker or whatever—but after years of those raccoons hunting me, I can't risk it without that." Ryan stated while Alexis agreed, his eyes gleaming with professionalism, like he knew the game inside out.

"But after I meet that bastard Nicolas Dimitri," I laid down my terms. Ryan and Alexis nodded in grim agreement. I needed my hands on Dimitri's heir, no matter the cost. Rage burned in my chest at the mere thought, a fire that never fully died.

"So, how was she, Alexis?" Ryan breathed out suddenly. For the first time, I wanted to smash my fist into his smug face. I'd warned him, but he never listened.

I watched Alexis's jaw clench, his grip crushing the spoon until his knuckles whitened. His eyes flashed amber with barely contained fury—a brewing storm that dared Ryan to cross the line. One more word, and he'd be dead.

"Ryan!" I barked, but he flashed that stupid, proud grin. "No, seriously, Alexis—for my friend." He thumbed at me. "She has average taste. What about you? Did you like that second-hand good?"
Arrogance dripped from every syllable.

Before I could react, Alexis lunged, yanking Ryan from his chair.Pow! Pow!Two brutal punches cracked against Ryan's jaw. This was exactly what I'd feared from the start.

"Alexis, stop!" I lunged to intervene, but he brushed me off like I was nothing.A lightning-fast kick slammed into Ryan's waist, sending him crashing to the floor. What shocked me? Ryan didn't fight back. He just laughed—a manic, unhinged cackle that echoed through the empty hall.

He'd pushed Alexis too far. Alexis dropped over him, fists flying in a relentless barrage."HOW SHAMELESS CAN YOU BE, RYAN?!" Alexis's voice boomed, raw with betrayal.

Pow!

"She's your elder sister, for God's sake!"

Pow!

"Whatever happened to you wasn't Sophie's fault. That was her father."

Pow!

"But you still sold her to your friend for your so-called revenge!"

"Stop, Alexis—you'll kill him!" I grabbed his arm, desperation clawing at me, but he shrugged me off. Ryan kept laughing like a madman, blood pouring from his split head like a river. His jaw hung dislocated, left eye swollen shut, nearly blind.

Pow!

Another devastating punch. "And she took it all on herself, thinking she owed you."

Pow!

"She owes you nothing, Ryan. She owes you nothing!"

"Liam! Rameta!" I roared. They burst in, eyes widening at the blood-soaked chaos. Guards swarmed, trying to pry them apart, but Alexis wasn't done. He yanked Ryan up by the collar, landing a few more vicious kicks and punches.

Slap!

Rameta's hand cracked across Alexis's face. "Stop this madness right now!" she barked. Their eyes locked, and sanity flickered back into him. Ryan crumpled to the floor, still chuckling deliriously, unable to stand.

Alexis raked a hand through his hair, chest heaving as he wrestled his rage. His gaze met mine—blank, hollow. No hate left, just emptiness.

Rameta dragged him toward the door, but he halted, turning back to Ryan. I braced, fearing another blow, and stepped forward—but he sidestepped me, crouching beside the broken man on the floor.

"She's the only one who ever genuinely cared for you," Alexis spat, voice laced with venom that cut deeper than any fist. "Kind to you. Fed you when hunger gnawed at you for days after fights, clothed you when your uncle left you to freeze in the brutal winters. And you repaid her by sending her to your friend?" A bitter chuckle escaped him.

"You don't deserve her kindness. You're more disgusting, cruel, and awful than your uncle ever was, Ryan."

The words landed like a death sentence. Ryan's manic laughter died, his face crumpling under the weight of truth.

"Next time you even speak her name from that filthy mouth, I swear, Ryan—I'll kill you. Without a second thought." He spat at Ryan's feet and stormed out.

"Hey! Alexis! You said you'd kill me—then do it, buddy! Please kill me!" Ryan's cry chased him, desperation cracking his voice.

Damn, this man was giving me a headache.

I hauled him up, his arm slung around my neck as he limped to the nearest couch. "Fuck!" I cursed, surveying the carnage of his injuries—bruises blooming like dark flowers, blood matting his hair.

"Do you have a death wish, Ryan? I warned you not to provoke him. Now look at this mess. We need a doctor now." I snatched the intercom for first aid.

But he stared blankly at the wall. "Yes, Seb. I really do have a death wish. I'm tired of this aimless life—these stupid mafia games, all this chaos. I want peace." He chuckled weakly. "And it seems only death can bring it... to me or her."

"Her again?" I arched a brow, his ramblings snagging my full attention."Yes," he whispered, eyes distant, like he was unburdening a festering secret. "She's the slave I bought at the auction."

"You have my ear," I urged. He managed a faint, lipped smile."I know." He leaned back, head lolling against the couch as he stared at the ceiling, voice breaking with raw pain.

"She was like any other girl I bought... but unlike them, I couldn't break her soul. I kept her with me over two weeks. Then I got addicted. Not lust, not my usual sickness—but something deeper, Seb." His words trembled, laced with a vulnerability I'd rarely seen.

He closed his eyes, silence stretching as he battled the storm inside. I knew he'd fail—he always did."I was falling for her. Damn it, Seb, I fell. But I had to send her away. Back to that auction." His voice cracked.

"No choice. She was a weakness I couldn't afford. But everything felt empty after. A void... scarier than death itself." He broke then, sobbing hysterically—the first time in years I'd seen him so shattered, so vulnerably human.

It reminded me of the day he sold Sophia to me. That day, he lost a piece of his soul. This mafia world exacts a brutal toll, and we all pay in blood and regret.

The punishment comes as love, twisting our lives into misery.

Alexis.

Rameta.

Liam.

Avi.

Ryan.

And God help me, I feared adding one more name to that cursed list: Sebastian.

"Take good care of him," I ordered the doctor hovering nearby. I appreciated subordinates who acted without questions—Liam must've sent him.

As the doctor inspected Ryan's wounds, I sank beside him, lost in my thoughts. They always circled back to her these days.

Erika.

The one fear I couldn't shake.