Celine Elloise Dufort:

Amlodipine, Dupixent, Entyvio, Kevzara, Onpattro, Probuphine, Tramadol. I write it all down.

It's a list of drugs I need to restock. Rio told me to make sure I have everything I need. He's going to order some shit from the Russians this Saturday.

I walk over to my desk and look at the list I made. It's not that long, but longer than usual.

That's probably because of the girls. Ever since they came, I've been busier and using way more resources than usual.

'Elle!' I look at the door, waiting for it to burst open. Leon rushes into my office with a bloody shirt. 'What happened?'

His hair looks freshly cut and styled, making him look a little more professional than the mess he always has.

He lifts up his shirt, revealing a deep cut running down his abdomen. I rush over to him, examining the cut a little, before grabbing all the essentials.

'It's my day off and then this happens.' I joke, putting everything to the side. Leon snorts and wines because of the pain.

'What happened?' I ask again, dipping a piece of cotton in rubbing alcohol. He jumps on the table in the middle of the room and sighs deeply. 'Eiko's wife, Ayako Tanaka.' What?

I gently press the cotton ball against his skin, trying to clean it the best I can so that I can stitch him up.

Leon hisses, not liking the stinging pain, and grabs onto my arm.

'Why were you talking to the Yakuza's?' I ask, waiting for him to let me go so I can continue.

'We needed to find out if they were going to Marcello's party next month.' He hisses, turning the other way like a dramatic kid.

For a man who won't hesitate to kill someone, he certainly is weak.

'And?' He tries to move away from me, but I stop him and sigh deeply, before continuing to press on the wound. 'Fucking hell!' He groans trying to stay still, 'They'll be there.'

'That still doesn't explain why you have this.' I state, pointing at the wound for a second, before wiping away any access blood. 'She thought I was there to kill her husband, so she stabbed me on the way out.'

Typical Ayako... I try to keep myself composed but the thought of Leon getting stabbed over something so simple is very amusing to me.

'It's not funny- Watch out!' He sneers, stopping me from cleaning again. I raise an eyebrow at him and wait for him to stop acting like a little kid. 'You're a real baby, do you know that.'

Leon rolls his eyes at me and grasps the edges of the table instead of my arms, to cope with the pain.

'Of course, this is happening right when we have that stupid interview.' He groans, looking at me as I walk towards the shelves. I need to grab a needle and some dissolvable thread.

'Oh right, you have to leave in a few minutes.' I state, rushing back to him. He nods and takes a deep breath, knowing that this will only hurt more if he panics. 'Make that a few hours. Adriano wants to tell everyone about the plans for the next few weeks.' 'Of course, he does.'

I push him down and move to the side of his wound. 'This might-' 'Stop enjoying this and just do it.' He sneers, making me pinch him before pushing the needle through his skin. He winces out of pain and tries to stay as still as possible.

'Did you have lunch yet?' He asks as soon as I'm done. I nod and look at him strangely. 'Why?' I ask and he shrugs.

'I just wondered how-' He stops and sighs deeply, 'Forget it.' He mumbles, before sitting up straight again. He stays put though. Leon knows that I have to clean the wound again.

'You know, this shit hurts worse than the actual cut.' He chuckles, before grasping the edge of the table again. I giggle as I wipe the wound one more time. 'All done.'

He jumps off the table, lowering his shirt before turning to me again. Something is upsetting him and I wonder what it is.

'Leon, is everything okay?' I ask softly.

Leonardo and I have always been honest with each other. No matter how much the words might hurt. He's the one I go to if I need advice and the same goes for him. If Rio is a pain in the ass again, Leon comes to me.

'No.' He sighs before jumping back on the table. 'What's wrong?' I ask, rolling my chair towards the other side of the table so that he can talk to me.

'I really want to talk to Neveah again.' He states. The fact that he's not even looking at me, that he's nervous about this, makes me smile.

Neveah is the girl he was after for almost six years. She's the one he would die for. She's the one who brings light into his life. Ever since the girls are staying with us, he's been happy. He's been happier than ever, but also more conflicted.

His feelings for Neveah are his worst struggle ever. He knows that what he's doing isn't right, but he can't and won't let her go again.

'Just go talk to her.' He shakes his head and looks at me directly, making me a little weirded out.

He never looked so stressed. Ever.

Leonardo is an easygoing person. He never stresses about anything. But with Neveah he does.

Every time they talked about her, his eyes lit up. There was this spark they always spoke of. She was his spark and probably still is. Cause even now, when she hates him, there is a spark in his eyes.

'I promised her I would let her be.' I roll my eyes at him and roll back to my desk. 'Did she ask about me?' Oh my god!

'How old are you? Twelve?' I ask sarcastically, making him huff out of frustration. This is really new to him.

'What happened that night?' He looks at me weirdly, as if it's weird that I asked what happened.

'They're mad at me, remember?' I say, filling in the last papers for today. 'I thought everything was going fine?' 'Just because they acted nice for the past week, doesn't mean they like me again.' I explain to him as if he's a child.

He might be since he only understands if I do.

'I don't know what to do Elle!' He yells, jumping back on his feet. 'Just talk to her!' 'No! She's the one who needs to apologize first.'

Leonardo is one of the most stubborn people I know. At the top is Rio of course.

'Why not?' 'She told me to die, that she hates me and that she'll never go back to me.' He explains, sighing, breaking at the words coming out of his mouth.

'And why did she say that?' I ask, knowing something had to be said for her to explode the way she did. 'I don't know!' His voice goes up, but I already know he's lying.

No matter how hard Neveah tries to cover it, she's in love with Leon. She would do anything to protect him, just like he would do the same for her.

She would never say such things without a reason for it. It might not be a good reason, but a reason.

I just haven't figured out why she wants to leave so bad. It's obvious she still has feelings, but why does she want to leave?

'It might be because of the hickeys from Santos, she saw.' I nod, because that much I know.

'So she did talk to you about it...' 'No, I told her that you had no choice and that seemed to help. At least a little.' I explain, grabbing all my stuff.

'Oh.' Is all he has to say. The room goes quiet for a while as I close off all the things in the room.

Both our phones buzz at the same time, meaning it must be Rio:

𝙳𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢!

'Guess we have to go.' Leon sighs deeply, before walking through the door. I turn off the lights and follow him up the stairs, into the main hall, and towards the dining room.

Everyone is already seated; Marco, Cataleya, Neveah, Brandon, and of course, Rio.

I smile as I sit down across from Cataleya. Tiago takes a seat next to his cousin but keeps his eyes on Neveah as he greets everyone in the room. 'Hello everyone.'

Neveah doesn't bother to even look at him, and simply continues talking to Brandon about something I can't catch onto.

As usual, the staff enters the room with plates. Just enough for everyone. They place it in front of us and courtesy before running out of the room again.

It's a delicious-looking dish with fish and different types of greens.

'Buon appetito.' I nod and take the first bite, enjoying Guy's cooking a little more with every bite.

'So.' Rio starts, sighing deeply before taking a big sip of his wine, 'I have an ultimatum for you two.' He points at Neveah and Cataleya, grasping their attention.

This feels weird because it's the first time since they got here that we're actually talking over dinner.

'What are you doing?' Leon asks, covering his mouth as he tries to chew away the food in his mouth. 'Tonight we have this-' Rio continues, ignoring Leon and turning back to the girls, 'Event.'

'Event?' Neveah asks, before taking a sip of her red wine. I noticed that she's also a drinker. 'An interview about our success.' 'Your success.' I correct him.

The interview is entirely about Rafael Adriano Curzio, not about any of us. And I don't need it to be about me, For someone like me, it's better to stay in the dark. I learned that years ago.

'Well, I couldn't have done it without you.' Brandon and I gasp for air dramatically. This is the first time Rio has ever openly "thanked" us for the shit we do for him. 'Is that a thank you?' Brandon chimes and all Rio does is roll his eyes.

'Anyways,' He turns back to the girls again, 'On September third Nicholas Marcello is hosting a ball.' What is he doing?

'I don't get what you're trying to say.' Cataleya mumbles, looking at Rio directly. He shifts in his seat and grins at her, liking the fact that he's looking at her.

It's the ultimate staredown and neither of them are willing to look away.

'I think I do.' Brandon sighs, taking his last bite. Cataleya rolls her eyes and looks at Neveah. Without words, the girls communicate. The way only close friends can.

'I'm going to give you two options.' Rio continues once again, 'You either go with us to the interview or you go to the stupid ball with us.'

'What?' 'No way!' Is the immediate reaction the girls deliver. I snort and try not to spit out my food or choke on it, as I try to swallow it away.

'Oh yes, you will. So pick.' Rio takes his last bite and waits for the girls to answer. 'Why are you being such an asshole again?'

He looks at me and shrugs, before gulping down his last bit of wine. 'Why do you need us there anyway?' Neveah asks, staring at Rio only.

She's really fighting the urge to look at Leon with all she has. I can see it in her eyes. She wants to look at him, but won't. She's way too stubborn to give in.

'Because he needs to create an image.' Leon informs, making it way harder for her to not look at him. Even though he's talking to her, she won't look at him.

'An image?' Rio nods and sighs deeply, before looking at Cataleya again. 'The press is all up my ass about being a wealthy bachelor. If I go to an event with a woman, they'll stop.'

'Do they know what type of shit you do?' Leya asks, weirded out by the fact that journalists write about Rafael. 'They know what they need to know.' Rio answers mysteriously.

I roll my eyes and take a sip of my water, before turning towards Cataleya. 'No, they don't know. Somehow he's been able to keep it out of their sight.'

'Celine-' 'As far as the world knows, Rio is nothing but a rich man without a girlfriend. So he wants to take you with him so that they'll keep believing his story.' I openly explain since no one else will.

Both of the girls look at me, wondering if what I'm saying is true. They have every right to look at me the way they do. I did put a tracker in them and all.

'What do we get in return?' Cataleya asks, keeping her eyes on me. I glance over to Rio and wait for him to answer, but all he does is chuckle. 'Who says-' 'What would you like?' Leon interferes.

He's trying way too hard for Neveah to look at him and she's trying way too hard not to look at him.

'Excuse me, they'll do it. If they want to or not.' Rio demands, even though he's on his own in this one. For once, I think the girls deserve something in return.

They've been working for him, day in day out, with nothing in return. He made me chip them for fucks sake, yet he has the audacity to not give them anything in return.

'Is one thing too much to ask for?' Neveah asks, glaring at Rio. If looks could kill, both of them would drop dead right now. Damn..

'You're really getting on my nerves North.' Rio snaps at the girl on the other side of the table.

Rafael is a scary man. He could kill her without hesitation and if it wasn't for Leon, she would've been dead the moment she walked into the house. Yet she dares to go against him. The same goes for Cataleya. The only problem with her is that she's disposable. There is no reason for her to be alive, meaning that they will kill her instead of Neveah if Neveah keeps talking back.

'Good.' 'What would you like?' Leon asks, now looking at Cataleya. She thinks for a second, tapping her fingers on the table, and looks back up. 'A phone.'

We all look at Rio, waiting for him to respond. 'Just give it to them.' Brandon mumbles, before smiling brightly. Rio rolls his eyes and thinks about it for a second. He knows that we won't let it go, so he nods.

'Fine.' He mumbles in defeat. This never was a fair fight. 'I'll handle it tomorrow.'

I look at Neveah and Cataleya who smile at me, thanking me without words. I smile back and lean against my chair.

'But that didn't answer my question.' He states, getting up from his chair and pulling down his shirt, 'What will it be?' 'Nicholas Marcello's party.' The girls say in unison, looking at Rio as if they own this place.

Rio absolutely hates it. At this moment, he hates everyone at this table. Even Marco, although he didn't say anything to piss him off.

'Okay. Brandon, you're in charge of making them look-' He stops to think of the right words and snaps his finger, 'presentable.'

The girls roll their eyes and watch as he walks out of the room. Leon and Marco rush after him and chuckle before closing the door behind them.

I stare at the others, not really knowing what to say. Neveah gets up first, waiting for Cataleya to follow her.

'Can we talk?' I ask sheepishly, hoping that she'll stay and let me talk. Which, to my surprise, she does. She turns back around and waits for me to continue. 'I know it's a little late to apologize, but I'm sorry.'

They look at each other and let my words sink. The silence is eating me up inside as I wait for them to reply.

'We know who you're loyal to. So I guess it's fine.' Leya says hesitantly. Her lips curl up into a smile as she turns towards me again. 'We forgive you.' 'Kinda.' Neveah adds, before smiling at me as well.

'Come on, you've been acting like a bitch towards her for the past week!' Brandon exclaims, dramatically throwing his arms in the air. That much is true, but I don't blame them.

They have every right to hate me, that's why I'm surprised they forgive me this quick.

'Oh shut up you, you're not the one who got fucking chipped!' Neveah jokes, brushing her hand through his hair, trying to ruin his perfectly styled hair. 'Not the hair!'

I giggle at the sight of them and take a deep breath. Maybe everything will be just fine...

'We should watch the interview, they might say something interesting.' I state, making them look at me weirdly. 'About?' 'You. They need to introduce you as their girlfriends, right?' Brandon fills me in and I nod.

Everything becomes clear now. That's the exact reason he planned all of this. Asshole...

'Come on!' Brandon rushes into the living room, leaving all of us flustered and smiling at his sudden burst of energy. We follow him and see how he jumps over the couch, grabs the remote, and zaps through the channels.

We make our way to the big, white, L-shaped couch and take a seat.

'You're telling me we're going to sit here all night and watch them in this stupid interview?' Leya asks, sighing deeply. 'I mean, we could go out?' Brandon proposes.

'Oh hell yeah! I haven't gone out in ages!' I exclaim dramatically. It for sure has been two weeks since the last time I went out.

'I don't think they would like that.' Neveah says, pointing at the tv. Pictures of Rafael en Leonardo flash across the screen. 'Wow! They look good!'

We all look at Brandon for a second and start laughing as he almost starts drooling.

'Oh god, stop it! That's absolutely gross!' Leya shout, throwing a pillow at him. He chuckles and turns up the tv. "After the break, we'll interview the famous Curzio cousins, who are single and, so I heard, are ready to mingle!"

I roll my eyes and look back at the girls. 'So, what do you think?'

'They'll get mad if we leave without permission.' 'And since when did that stop you?' Brandon asks, pushing Neveah a little. 'Since they held us at gunpoint, or since they put those trackers in us, or maybe even when they killed that blonde girl right in front of us.'

Leya points at Neveah, indicating she totally agrees with her.

'Oh come on! I'll take full responsibility if they find out!' I state, placing my hand on my heart. Pledging them to cover for us if we get caught. 'You mean when they find out.' Leya jokes, pointing at the bruise from the stitches.

'They will know our every move.' 'They're not looking at it twenty-four-seven.' Brandon sighs, turning back to the tv.

"Here we have, the Curzio cousins! Rafael Adriano Curzio and Leonardo Tiago Curzio!" The presenter is a gorgeous woman with dark hair and crystal blue eyes. She smiles at the Curzio's and has the famous gleam in her eyes.

All she can think about is fucking them. Both of them.

"So tell me, gentlemen. How is it that you're both still single?" No shame, straight to the fucking point. They both giggle, displaying their perfectly white teeth to the whole world. "Well, we're not," Leon says, blushing like crazy.

I bet every girl watching is going crazy right now. They look absolutely gorgeous and, even though Leon's blushing, confident as hell.

'Idiot.' I mumble, making Neveah giggle for a second. 'Fine. Let's go out tonight.' Leya suddenly states, smiling at the screen. Hell yeah!

'Please let me style you!' Brandon immediately begs the three of us and I nod. Brandon is the best in what he does. He's the best fashion guy I know, of course, I'd let him style me.

'Where should we go?' They all turn to me and wait for me to answer Neveah's question.

We had to stay low, since enemies are getting closer and closer every day, so I don't think it'll be safe if we go somewhere unsafe.

The Curzio's own a few clubs in Paris, but the only one that really sticks out, might not be the safest option. But at the same time, it is. Because I know for sure that Rio has men walking around there all the time. If this goes wrong.. I'm dead...

'Let's go to Le Carmen'