Neveah Aurora North:

I slowly open my eyes, immediately closing them since there's too much light, and groan out of pain. I feel like I've been run over by a million elephants.

'Neveah?' It's Leya. I feel her tiny hands wrap around mine and flinch at the sudden touch. 'Celine, she's awake!'

'What's going on?' I ask, trying to open my eyes again. It takes a few seconds for them to adjust to the bright lights, as everything comes flowing in.

'How are you feeling?' Celine asks as she flashes a tiny flashlight in my eyes. 'Where are we?'

I close my eyes and try to calm myself down. Stressing out won't help anything.

'First, answer my questions, then I'll answer yours.' I try sitting up, but a wave of pain rushes through me, making me flinch and look at the blankets that are covering me.

I remember getting shot and losing a lot of blood, but somehow I'm still alive. 'I feel like shit, now tell me where the fuck we are.' I sneer, pulling the blankets down just enough to see my body.

Stitches are going up my stomach, alarming me a little. 'You're fine. You just lost a lot of blood,' Celine says as she grabs my hand, trying to calm me down, 'Thanks to Rio that problem was solved. Nothing's damaged, you should be fine in no time.' Thank god!

'Leya?' I turn to her and grab her hand, pulling her in my arms. 'Are you okay? Did you get hurt?' She shakes her head and smiles at me. 'I'm the one who should be asking you, idiot.'

I lean back, trying to get comfortable in this hard bed. This isn't our room.

'How are you feeling?' She asks softly while grabbing my hand. 'Better than yesterday, worse than tomorrow.'

A wave of pain rushes through my body, out of nowhere. It hurts like a motherfucker and almost makes me pass out.

'What day is it?' I ask trying to stay awake. I'm absolutely exhausted. 'Monday.' Meaning I didn't miss much... 'How long do I have to lay in bed.' 'As long as possible. You need time to heal Neveah.'

I huff and stare at Celine. I love her for saving me, but I don't want to stay in bed all day and do nothing. Besides the two of them, the room is empty.

'Wait, where's Tiago?' My heart starts racing as fear takes over my body. What if something happened to him? What if he got shot and died?! 'He's fine!' Leya yells as she sees the growing fear in my eyes.

'Where is he?' 'Do you want me to go get him?' I nod and push myself up, just a little more. 'Okay, I'll be right back-' Celine stops Leya from walking out the door and looks at me.

'You two need to talk, after that, you'll sleep. You can talk to Leon later. You need to rest.' Oh my god! 'Please, let me just-' 'No. Go and talk.' She demands before leaving the room.

Talk about what? I stare at Leya who slowly turns around and smiles at me. She's hiding something. I just know it. 'What happened?'

She slowly steps towards my bed and looks at my hands. I try moving to the side, creating space for her to sit, as she climbs next to me and sighs deeply.

'I thought you weren't going to make it...' She mutters before taking another deep breath. I grab her hand and squeeze it tightly. 'You're not getting rid of me that easily.'

She giggles and wipes away a falling tear. 'I'm fine Ley, what happened?' She takes another deep breath, scaring me a little.

Cataleya only acts like this when she fucked up big time, which means she did something bad. Like, really bad.

'I kissed Rio last night.' What? I stare at her with wide eyes, unable to contain myself. 'Well, actually. He kissed me but I didn't stop him.' She adds, making me stare at her in bewilderment.

'And I'm so sorry.' She says as she starts to panic herself. I don't get why she's sorry though. Well, I do, but it's not necessary.

'What happened?' I'm not angry at her, I just want to know how it happened.

'Well, after you got shot he took Kai with him. He's the one who shot you by the way, and they almost killed him.' She doesn't need to explain who they are. I know it's Tiago and Rio. But why Rio?

'Celine needed Rio's blood and he was totally wasted. So she asked me if I could sober him up, which I did. Let's just say there was a lot of sexual tension and he got kind of annoyed. And I don't know, he just kissed me and I went with it.' She's trying to get into details as much as possible.

Leya has never been someone to tell something in detail. She keeps most of it to herself, she always has.

'Sexual tension?' She nods ashamed as her cheeks glow red. 'You- and Rio? You-' 'I know! It was like you said!'

I can't keep in my laughter and burst out, hurting myself because of the stupid stitches. 'Stop laughing, it's not funny!' She screams at me, making me laugh a little harder even though it hurts.

'I'm sorry, but wow! I did not expect you to look at any man like that. Ever. Let alone Rio, the man that abducted us and threatened to kill your mother!' I snort, feeling sorry immediately.

This is already hard on her. I just reminded her of all the harm he caused. All the fear he created.

'Do you love him?' I ask, trying to put the pieces together. If she says yes, we're screwed. If she says yes, I'll have to lock her up in this fucking room and make sure she never sees him again. Because if she loves him, she'll end up just like Andrea.

That's what I've been trying to prevent from day one.

But thank god, she shakes her head. 'Of course not! He's ruthless and an absolute piece of shit!'

I smirk at her tone, she so wants to fuck him. I hear the desperation in her voice. She wants to get fucking railed, which I completely understand.

'A handsome piece of shit though.' Her eyes go wide, making me laugh again. It hurts like hell, but I'll need to get used to it if I want my life to go back the way it did.

'What? You're the one who's desperate for his dick, not me.' She wants to hit me but doesn't.

Instead, she hits the pillow to her right. 'Stop saying that! I don't-' 'Admit it! You want him to fuck you!' She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She knows I'm right and finally gives in.

'Oh my god! You really do!?' She rolls her eyes and tries to hide the fact that she's blushing like crazy. 'Shut up!'

We both laugh this time and hug each other tightly. 'So you're not angry?'

'Why would I be angry?' I ask softly.

'Well, he's a bad person and he used Andrea and-' I stop her by squeezing her cheeks together and looking deep in her eyes. 'Listen Ley. Yes, he's a bad person, but so is Tiago. They killed a bunch of people, but that does not mean we can't have some fun with them, as disgusting as it sounds.' I admit, feeling myself heat up by just the thought of things I want Tiago to do to me.

'And yes, he used Andrea. But that's because she was hopelessly in love with him. So as long as you don't fall in love with him, you should be fine.'

'So you mean to tell me that I can go with him?' She asks, making it sound so weird since I'm still holding onto her face. I nod and smile at her. 'Use him for your own pleasures.' I joke before we both start laughing again.

I let go of her face and move my hands to the hurting stitches. 'Stop laughing, it's bad for you!' She says, pointing her finger at me as if she's some kind of teacher. I nod and lean against the soft pillows.

'Just don't fall in love.' I whisper, making her turn to me again. 'Because if you do, you're screwed.' She nods and grabs my hand again. 'You'll end up like... Andrea... And I don't want you to end up like her, okay?'

'I won't fall in love.' Let's just hope you won't...

'But tell me, is Rafael a good kisser?' I ask curiously, making her laugh again. 'What? This is only the second boy you've kissed in your entire life! Let me be excited!'

She rolls her eyes and lays down next to me, telling me all about their little moment. It sounds too good to be true. The Rio I know just uses people for his own satisfaction, but it seems like she actually got something out of this as well.

'Neveah!' Someone shouts from down the hall. We stare at each other, before turning to the door. It's Brandon. He's out of breath and runs to my side of the bed, hugging me tightly, making me wince just a little because of the stupid stitches.

'You fucking stupid bitch! You could've gotten yourself killed!' He fumed at me. As if I didn't know that...

'But I didn't. Now could you calm down!' He looks at me for a second and smiles. 'I'm just happy you're still alive.' He smiles before taking a seat on the bed.

'Brandon she- Oh!' Celine walks into the room with a tray with soup and something else that looks absolutely disgusting. Is that burned oatmeal porridge?

'Sorry about that, he was very worried about you.' Celine states as she places the tray on the end of the bed. Even though it looks disgusting, it smells delicious. 'No one compared to Leon though, he went ballistic. He took all his anger out on Kai.'

'Yeah. And who's the one who has to fix him up again?' We all look at Celine who seems more annoyed than usual. She also seems exhausted. I just hope this is not all because of me getting shot.

'Where is he?' I ask Brandon since Celine probably won't answer and Leya has been with me the past hour. 'He's-' 'Here, eat this. When you're finished, just put it to the side and get some rest. We should go.' Celine interferes as she pulls Leya and Brandon off the bed.

I huff and stare at the food in front of me. 'Did you make this?' I ask, trying to hide the fact that it looks disgusting. 'Yes. The soup is a special family recipe, it makes you heal faster. And the porridge is to make you feel a little less pain.'

She walks to the door and turns around, facing me once more. 'Also, take those pills before you go to sleep. It'll help with the pain a little.' I nod and return her addicting smile. 'I'm happy that you're awake.'

Celine closes the door behind her, leaving me in total silence as I take the first bite out of the porridge. Is not as bad as it looks. Quite the opposite actually. It's delicious even though it looks like wet newspaper.

I hate that Celine forced everyone to get out of my room. She knows that I'll be asking them a bunch of questions if she let them stay, but I just feel so alone right now.

If I have to believe Brandon and Leya, that Kai dude is taken care of. I just want to see him myself first since I have no idea who shot me.

I wonder why Tiago did not come to see me yet... I slurp up the soup and feel like I'm about to explode. This might be a little too much for the first meal after getting shot, but it's delicious.

All this food is making me sleepy, making me want to sleep as Celine suggested. I quickly swallow the pills, like Celine told me to do, and lay down, moving myself down just enough to get somewhat comfortable.

After a few seconds, I'm out. Drifting off to sleep.

When I wake up, the sun is still shining bright. Which might mean that I slept for a long time or a very short time.

Someone is sitting at the edge of the bed, holding onto my hand. It's him.

'Tiago.' I squeak, trying to find my voice again. He immediately looks up and smiles widely. 'Thank god you're okay!' He whispers as he hugs me tightly.

I wince, making him pull back quickly. 'I'm so-' 'It's fine. I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much.'

He sits back into his chair and keeps his eyes on me, making me go crazy on the inside. 'Do I need to get Celine?' He quakes, making me smile at him all the more. 'No. Stay with me.'

Tiago nods and grabs my hand again, smiling like a little kid. I'm glad he's here. Now I have someone to talk to. His eyes are focused on our hands, making me melt on the inside.

'What day is it?' I ask, looking out through the big windows that are opened now. 'It's Tuesday.' What? 'How long was I out for?!'

He chuckles softly and looks at his phone for a second. 'According to Celine, you were out for twelve hours.' WHAT?!

'Twelve hours!?' He nods and smiles at me, while I try to process the fact that I slept for fucking twelve hours. 'You needed the rest.'

We both go silent for a while as we look at each other. He's so sweet even though all of this is my fault. I should've listened to him. I should've waited. I should've stayed down at that stupid party. The party...

'Who was that blond girl? Daphne?' His eyes shoot my way and he softly smiles at me. 'She was one of my replacements for you.' He shyly admits.

'Replacement?'

'I was just as broken as you when you left Neveah...' I melt at the sound of my name coming from his lips.

I try sitting up, but the stitches on my stomach feel like they're about to burst.

'At least,' A whimper escapes my mouth and Tiago notices. His arms support me, so I can sit up straight. Or at least try to sit up straight. 'replace me with someone that looks like me.'

'What?' A smile appears on his lips. I know that he knows exactly what I'm talking about, he just wants to hear me say it.

'You heard me.' I huff, not wanting to repeat myself. 'Elaborate Neveah.' Fucking hell!

What did Celine give me? I feel hornier than usual and Tiago saying my name isn't helping at all.

'That girl doesn't look like me at all.' He slowly sits down on the edge of the bed, resting his hand on my legs. 'So?'

'Next time you're going to try to replace me, at least do it with someone that looks like me.'

'There won't be a next time.' He trembles. I don't want to leave him again, but if stuff like this keeps happening, I might have to run with Cataleya.

'I hope so.' I slowly move my hand towards his and I feel the heat flowing through both our bodies.

'I'll protect you with my life Neveah.'

The only thing I want is his lips against mine. I need him. More than I'll ever let him know, just so he can't use it against me, but god I want him.

'Kiss me.' His eyes widen- utterly in awe of my sudden demand. 'Kiss me Tiago.'

And he does. His soft lips crash onto mine, making me gasp for air at his sudden touch. This kiss is different than any kiss I've ever had. It might be because I almost died yesterday, but that doesn't matter right now. All that matters right now, are his lips against mine.

He leans back a little, catching his breath, and smiles confidently. 'Idiot.' He chuckles, before walking towards the chair next to my bed. He slowly takes a seat in the chair and looks at me again.

'Now tell me the truth.' I raise an eyebrow at him, not knowing what he's talking about.

'Tell me about the-' He inhales sharply and tries to find the right words for whatever he's trying to say. 'About the miscarriage.' oh...

My heart stops for a second, making me wish that I could just disappear into the ground. This was the last thing I wanted to talk about today, but here we are. I know he won't drop it until I tell him the truth. So I look straight into his bewitching eyes, trying to push back the tears forming in mine, and nod.

'What don't you understand?' Whatever Celine gave me, made me emotional as fuck. I'm a wreck. Just two seconds ago I wanted Tiago to rail me and now here I am, ready to break down in tears again.

'Don't do that...' He sighs, standing up and turning towards the big window in front of me. 'Don't do what?'

'Don't shut me out like that. Just talk to me.' He mumbles softly. Even after all these years, Tiago seems the same. He needs to know every tiny detail about my emotions and I hate it.

I don't want to talk about anything that happened six years ago, because I left it behind. I was another person back then, I want to keep her in the past instead of digging her back up every damn time.

'You can't even look at me, yet you want me to talk to you?' I sneer at him and he immediately turns around. His eyes bore through me, making me wish I just kept my mouth shut. Now all he does is look at me, directly at me.

'Tell me Neveah...' There he goes again, saying my name in the most soothing way ever. 'Did you lose the baby?'

I nod, not able to actually say it. It never hurt this much. I just accepted it, knowing that I wasn't ready to have a kid on my own. But now. Now that I have to tell him that I lost our baby, now that I have to realize what it actually meant, it hurts. More than anything I've ever felt.

'How?' 'Too much exhaustion according to the doctors.' I whisper, afraid that if I say it too loud, I'll break. Tears stream down my face and I wish I could stop crying for once.

He hears my soft sniffles and turns back to me, almost rushing back to my bed and grabbing my hand. 'Neveah I-'

'Why does it matter anyway?' I ask, pulling my hand away from him. All of this is too much all at once.

'Because this changes everything.' What? He nods and turns his head towards the window again. I hate that he's not able to look at me too long. He knows I'll break if he looks at me too long, but I need him to look at me, I need him to see that I'm in pain, so that he'll stop.

I need him to look at me so he can see how much this is hurting me.

'How would this change anything?' 'You have to get this now.' He rolls up the sleeve of his grey vest and points at the tattoo on his arm. The one where Curzio and Omerta are intertwined in different fonts. 'What?'

'Whenever a woman gets pregnant by one of the Curzio's' No. He sighs and finally looks at me again, 'She has to join.' I shake my head, trying to move as far away from him as I can.

The stitches feel like they're about to rip again, but I simply ignore the pain and try to get out of this stupid bed.

'Please-' 'I am not joining any of this shit!' I yell at the top of my lungs. After everything that happened, he thinks I'll join this dangerous life? He must be insane!

'That's how it works...' He mutters under his breath. 'The baby died!' I shout as pain flashed through my body at my own words. 'That doesn't change anything.' It's obvious that my words hurt him and I immediately want to take them back.

'Please Tiago... No one knows about this, besides Cataleya and you. If we keep it that way-' He grabs my arm and presses me back in bed, making the stitches twist and turn, making me whine out of pain. 'Why would I do that?'

The way he says it just sounds wrong. He's determined to keep me here, despite my objections.

'I'll stay, just don't make me join.' He shakes his head and takes another seat on the side of the bed, before grabbing my hand firmly. Just firm enough to make it hurt a little.

My eyes shoot towards our hands, making him loosen his grip before I look back up into his dark eyes.

'It's saver if you do Neveah... Please understand...' I shake my head before sitting up straight and grabbing his face, so he has to look at me. 'Please...' I whisper against his lips and he inhales sharply.

'Why didn't you tell me?' I sigh and let go of him. This battle won't be won today. He won't fucking listen. 'It wasn't the right time.'

He raises an eyebrow at me, stepping off the bed and walking back to the goddamn window again.

'What did you expect? That after six years of not seeing you, I would come running up to you to tell you that I lost our child?' My voice cracks, revealing all the emotions I'm actually trying to keep inside.

Have you ever wanted to cry, but no tears came out, so you just stare blankly into space while feeling your heart break into a million pieces? That's what I'm feeling right now. I can't do this.

'Well, yes. This has something to do with the both of us.' He turns his back on me again, making me more irritated than I already am.

I get up, making him turn around at the sudden movements, and throw the first thing I can grab his way. It's a light-weighted plate with a fork on it. The plate flies across the room and hits him in the middle of his chest, leaving a weird stain of my leftovers on his shirt.

'I was afraid and didn't want to turn into someone I didn't want to be! If it wasn't for you and all this I wouldn't have needed to go through any of it! Yet you have the audacity to tell me what I should've done.'

Within two seconds, he has me wrapped in his arms tightly. Never in my entire life have I felt more protected than this moment. Tiago is something else. He brings so much life into my whole existence, making me feel all kinds of emotions that I've never felt with anyone else. No matter how many times I've tried, no one could reach the same amount of happiness that this man gives me.

'I won't let anything happen to you.' He whispers into my hair as I cry out against his chest. I swear I can hear his soothing heartbeat, calming me down a little. 'I won't, because I love you Neveah..'

The words I didn't realize I missed.

Even after everything. After every lie, after every secret, he still loves me.

The door slowly opens and Leya walks in. 'Neveah I-' She stops and stares at us for a second. Celine also walks into the room and stares at us, slowly getting angry.

'You shouldn't be out of bed yet!' She screams, pulling Tiago away from me, before helping me back onto the bed. Tiago sighs deeply and sits down next to my bed again, holding onto my hand for dear life.

'What were you thinking!?' 'I'm sorry.' I mumble, wiping away my tears so that she won't notice that I've cried. Even though my eyes are probably all red and puffy.

'We brought you some food.' Leya whispers as she hands me a chicken sandwich and a bottle of apple juice. 'Thanks, Ley.'

Celine glares at me, obviously still angry about the fact that I got out of bed. 'Look, I'm sorry-' 'It's not her fault, but mine.' Tiago states, looking up at Celine.

She rolls her eyes at him and walks towards the little cabinet. The one where she keeps her pills, I think.

'Take these pills when you're done eating and make sure you get enough sleep.' She huffs before turning to the door again.

It's obvious, she's drained. And I wonder why. She works at a hospital, she should be used to helping the injured. But then I'm reminded of the shit she said yesterday. If Tiago and Rio keep letting their anger out on Kai and she has to keep him alive somehow, she has to work way harder than she normally would.

'Stop torturing Kai.' I state before taking a bite out of the delicious sandwich. 'Why? He deserves to die.' Tiago sneers as Leya slowly walks to the other side of my bed. She climbs up next to me and stares at Tiago for a second.

'For once I agree with you.' She mumbles, making me stare at her in awe. She never wished for anyone to die. Except for Rio of course.

'See, even the little girl agrees with me!' Tiago exclaims, making me roll my eyes as the two of them side against me. 'No, he does not! He probably did it by accident or something!'

They both stare at me as if I just said the craziest thing ever. 'He shot you by accident?'

'That's not what I meant, I just- He does not deserve to die!' I take another bite and chew on it, enjoying the freshly made sandwich while I can.

'It's exhausting Celine and I feel sorry for her.' I mumble as soon as I'm done eating. Leya nods, she noticed Celine's weariness as well. 'I mean, why not just kill him?'

Tiago points at Leya and rolls his eyes as if he wanted to say that. 'Adriano won't let me!'

I hit him across his chest, hard, and fold my arms in front of me. 'No one is going to kill him!'

'Then we'll keep torturing him until he gives us what we want.' Rio's voice startles all of us, making us turn to the door, which he's leaning against.

'Good to finally see you're awake.' He steps into the room, walking to the end of the bed. He seems annoyed again, making me wonder if something else happened while I was out. 'I've been doing fine, thanks for asking.'

He rolls his eyes and stares at Cataleya for a second. I notice the tension in the air and smirk. They're definitely going to fuck soon...

'Mind if I ask you some questions?' I stare into his dark eyes and nod. 'She needs to rest-' 'She slept for twelve fucking hours, she should be capable of answering a few questions, don't you think?'

Rio stares at his cousin, both men are trying to win this battle, but Rio's right. I slept enough already and I wonder what he wants to ask me.

'Do you remember any faces?' He asks as he turns back to me. What? 'You expect me to remember any faces?' I ask, making him sigh deeply. 'I'm asking you-' 'No. I don't remember any faces.'

He takes a deep breath, trying to compose himself as I push his buttons all the way. Fuck that.. I don't get how my best friend could go for him. He's got a very bad temper and is mean to everyone except his family.

'Velez,' He turns to her, making her flinch just a little. I wonder if they talked about their night at all but by the looks of it. They didn't, 'Go pack your stuff along with North's, your moving with Celine, Marco, and Kai.' What?

'Since when is this a thing?' Tiago asks, totally appalled by Rio's sudden decisions. 'Since I made it a thing.' He states before walking back to the door. 'Hurry up, your flight leaves in two hours.'

Well... Great...