"Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."

—Game of Thrones

~~

My eyes followed his every move.

Sebastian was sitting on the living room sofa and I watched him from the kitchen.

I swallowed.

This is wrong Angelica.

You shouldn't be checking out a man while he bandages his shoulder.

"Well, it's not my fault,'' I muttered to myself.

How on earth Sebastian managed to make bandaging his own shoulder look sexy was beyond me.

He finally finished up and I averted my gaze just in time to avoid getting caught.

He finally headed towards the kitchen. Towards me. And my heart did a little flip.

He wordlessly reached to open the cabinet and took out two plates and mugs before setting them down on the kitchen island.

We had developed an easy routine. Every morning I made breakfast and he set the table. We ate together. He didn't talk much but he always complimented my cooking which had me jumping with joy on the inside.

We settled down and started to eat.

I'd made a cheese omelet with sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes, topped off with a hint of garlic.

Like usual Sebastian finished every last bite silently.

"Delicious." He murmured before giving me a grateful smile.

He patiently waited for me to finish before taking the plates and mugs to the sink. I watched the muscles of his back flex as he washed the utensils.

I sighed.

He even made washing the dishes look sexy.

"Angelica?" I nearly jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Y-yes?" I responded weakly.

He turned to look at me.

"You are a woman right?"

I scoffed.

"You're just noticing?"

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his cheeks flushing. "No of course not, I did not mean it that way. Apologies."

I fought the smile tugging at my lips.

He swallowed. "I was wondering if you could help me. I need to get a gift for someone, and since you are a woman I thought you would know what kind of gift to get for a woman since I am completely clueless when it comes to such things." He stumbled over his words. It was the first time I'd actually seen him flustered.

I grinned. "Sure thing."

~~

Sebastian drove us to the mall. The drive was about an hour long.

We didn't talk in the car but the silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, which was strange because I was the type of person who always found silence nerve-wracking. I was the person who always felt obligated to fill silence even if it was with unnecessary babble, but Sebastian was the first person who made me feel comfortable with silence.

"We're here." He announced softly.

I was pulled out of my trance and I took in my surroundings. We were in a parking lot, there were people everywhere carrying shopping bags, talking and laughing.

We got out of the car and headed inside.

"So before we get anything I need to know how old this woman is," I asked.

"She's about my age." He responded quietly.

A curious part of me really wanted to ask him who this mysterious woman was but the more sensible part reminded me that I had no right to pry in someone's business like that and that if he wanted to tell me he would do so himself when he felt comfortable enough.

So I just nodded and led him to a cute-looking flower shop.

Since I had no idea who this woman was to him I told the florist to arrange a medium-sized bouquet of white and baby pink tulips, which seemed like the most neutral option.

Next, we stopped by the chocolate stand.

"You wouldn't have any idea about what kind of chocolate she likes, would you?" I asked him hopefully.

He gave me a smile and shook his head. "No, unfortunately. Why don't you just get her the kind of chocolate you like?"

I chuckled. "Well, actually my favorite is dark chocolate and a lot of people don't like it because it's a little bitter so I don't think buying it for someone is a good idea."

After a while of contemplating, we finally chose a box containing a mixture of different kinds of chocolates.

We headed back to the car Sebastian carrying the shopping bags in one hand and he used his other hand to fish out the keys from his pocket and unlock the car door... He swung the backdoor open and tossed the bags inside carelessly.

"Sebastian! Be careful." I hissed.

He studied me for a while before his lips broke into a lazy smirk. "My bad." He murmured as he held the door of the passenger seat open for me, waiting for me to get in. I rolled my eyes at him but couldn't hold back my own smile.

I was suddenly taken aback by how natural this felt, interacting this way with him. It felt like we'd been doing it our whole lives.

~~

Sebastian maneuvered the car around town till we finally reached a shady-looking neighborhood. The houses were rough-looking with rusted windows and paint peeling off.

We stopped in front of a small whitewashed house.

Sebastian got out of the car first and headed straight for the trunk. I followed uncertainly and watched him pull out a black briefcase before slamming the trunk shut.

His eyes flitted to me. "Would you do me a favor, babe?"

Babe.

My stomach dipped.

I felt like my chest was going to explode.

That's how much a single word affected me.

Just call me babe one more time.

That's what I wanted to say.

"Yeah?" I murmured instead.

"Can you take out the gifts from the backseat?" His voice was casual, he was completely oblivious to my emotions.

I did as he asked, praying that he didn't notice my flushed cheeks.

We walked up to the front door and Sebastian knocked softly.

The door was opened by a beautiful black-haired woman with deep blue eyes. Her face lit up when she saw Sebastian. She held the door open for us to step inside.

"Marie." Sebastion greeted pleasantly. "How have you been?"

She smiled prettily. "I'm good." She murmured.

I swallowed. They looked like they were close.

Were they more than just friends?

Sebastian obviously cared for her if he bought her these gifts.

Were his feelings romantic?

I looked at her again. She really was lovely. If Sebastian was interested I couldn't blame him.

I hated myself for the pang of sadness I felt at that thought.

Sebastian nudged me with his elbow. My eyes met his and he gave me a pointed look. For a moment I was confused but then I understood.

I quickly held out the gifts I was holding. "Sebastian bought these for you," I told her with a genuine smile as I handed her the flowers and chocolates.

Even if what I suspected was true. Even if the man I was attracted to was interested in her, that was no reason to dislike someone who I didn't even know. My feelings were my own personal business and I knew that it would have been completely unfair if I projected my anger on another woman because I might have feelings for the man who was interested in her.

"Well, Angelica picked them out so most of the credit goes to her actually." Sebastian's voice broke in.

She gave me a gracious smile before accepting the gifts.

She smiled sadly at the bouquet and inhaled, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "My Benny always bought me tulips on my birthday. They're my favorite flowers." The sadness in her voice made my heart clench.

"Mama! Look what I made!" An adorable little boy suddenly zoomed towards Marie, waving a paper wildly in his hand. His eyes landed on Sebastian and his face lit up. "Bastian!" He greeted gleefully.

"Hello there Adam," Sebastian said warmly as he ruffled the little boy's hair. "He looks more like Benny with each passing day."

Marie smiled down fondly at the boy. "Yes, he does."

Adam's curious eyes turned to me. "Who's this?" He asked adorably.

"This is my friend, Angelica," Sebastian answered gently. "Why don't you show her your drawings while I talk to your Mama?"

Adam bobbed his little head eagerly as he clasped my arm and tugged me into the other room. He skipped to the bedside table excitedly and took out a stack of papers.

The sound of two voices from the other room caught my attention.

"Sebastian, I can't accept this. This is too much." Marie's voice argued. For a moment I was confused thinking she was referring to the gifts she had so graciously accepted a few moments earlier but then I was suddenly reminded of the briefcase Sebastian had brought with him.

"Benny was my friend. He asked me to take care of you and Adam." Sebastian responded gently.

"You've already done too much for me and my son. I can't possibly take any more from you." Her voice wavered.

"You're not taking it, I'm giving it to you." He argued back.

Silence.

Sebastian sighed.

"If you don't want to take the money for yourself then don't but take it for Adam. You can take him away from here, give him a normal life, send him to a good school."

My throat clogged up. I was feeling a thousand different emotions at the same time.

I shook my head.

What is wrong with me?

This is obviously a very private conversation.

I shouldn't be eavesdropping.

Guilt clawed at my chest for stooping so low.

I drowned out the rest of the conversation between Sebastian and Marie although I knew I'd heard too much already. I focused all my attention on my adorable companion instead, who was busy laying out his colorful drawings on the floor in front of me.

"This is my favorite," Adam whispered as he pointed to the picture of a woman, man and child standing in front of a house. "That's me, Mama and Papa." He explained pointing to the figures. He looked at me his eyes wide. "Mama says that Papa can't be with us anymore because God loved him too much so he called him back to heaven. She says we'll get to see him when it's time for God to call us into heaven."

That's when I broke down.

Tears trailed down my cheeks, my shoulders heaved as I sunk down to my knees.

This little child had managed to completely undo me.

His tiny arms suddenly curled around my neck as he hugged me. "Mama cries a lot too but she says she always feels better when I give her a hug."

I wound my arms around him and pulled his tiny body closer.

"Thank you, Adam." I whispered.

It had been so long since I had cried away the heaviness in my heart.

It was a relief to pour out all those pent-up emotions.

So I clung to that little boy like my life depended on it.

I wept for everything that he'd lost.

And I wept for everything I'd lost too.

~~

There was a soft knock at the door and it opened slowly.

Sebastian stepped inside the room.

I put a finger to my lips telling him to be quiet as my other arm cradled the sleeping child.

"He fell asleep," I whispered.

Sebastian's eyes widened a fraction and he swallowed visibly as he looked at me and Adam. An emotion flashed across his face, tenderness and something else I couldn't read.

He closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "It's time to go home."

Home.

My heart suddenly gave a little leap at the way he said it.

~~

We didn't speak during the ride to his house it was clear that we were both battling with our own thoughts.

Sebastian parked the car in the driveway but neither of us made a move to get out.

"Benny was a good man. He was like a brother to me." Sebastian's hands were white on the steering wheel I could tell that it pained him to say those words.

He turned to me, his expression haunted. "Someone with a vendetta against my family found out about him and they killed him to send me a message."

I choked. "Who would do that?"

He didn't blink. "The man you saw Warren kill that day was the one who tortured and killed Benny. He worked for one of our rivals."

I curled my hands into fists to keep them from trembling.

I thought of sweet Marie and innocent Adam.

"He deserved to die." I spat out. "If he was still alive I'd find him and kill him myself." I was surprised at myself for uttering such vile words and even more surprised that I meant every word.

His hands gently unclasped one of mine and brought it up to his lips. He kissed the edge of my palm gently before placing it back on my lap.

"I would never let you do that, mia cara. Taking someone's life, it changes you. It stays with you forever." His eyes were filled with sorrow as he spoke.

He stayed silent for a moment. "What I'm trying to tell you is that being close to me is dangerous Angelica. You could get killed."

When I didn't respond he sighed.

"Aren't you angry? I have made you a potential target. Aren't you afraid?" His voice was low.

"No." I told him truthfully.

What I didn't tell him was that it was the thought of not being with him that was starting to scare me.