Neveah Aurora North:

The bed feels emptier as I roll to the other side and I slowly open my eyes. Leya isn't lying next to me anymore.

I glance around the room and wipe my eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of them as I search for her in the room. But she's not in here. Where did she go?

I climb out of bed and walk to the bathroom. The big mirror covering the wall startles me. I look like absolute shit. Bruises running up and down my arm and my eyes are puffy from all the crying last night.

I said that I wasn't going to cry with Cataleya, she had enough tears for the both of us, but I couldn't help it.

The way she spoke about him simply made my heart ache. So I cried.

I get why she felt stupid for believing he fell for her, but I don't think it's stupid. I would've thought the exact same and, even as an outsider, I kind of did think he was falling for her.

But I guess not.

When I'm done brushing my teeth and changing into other clothes, a simple shirt with shorts, I head to the hall. Where the fuck is Leya?

I hear talking coming from the kitchen and quickly glance at the living room to see if she's there, but nothing, so I head towards the kitchen.

'So we need more supplies but we can't get them from Spain anymore?' It's Tiago and Rio. They're talking about supplies. 'We can, we just have to be more cautious.' Rio answers, stopping when he sees me.

Tiago slowly turns around and smiles at me. 'Goodmorning cara, how did you sleep?'

I take a deep breath to take them both in. They both look like a mess. Like they haven't slept at all. Like they've been trying to come up with a solution to our new problem the entire night.

But I can't look at Rio seriously.

The man who is feared by so many fears something as simple as love. He's afraid of letting people in because they become a weakness to the ones around them.

But I fight the urge to shout at him because I promised Cataleya I wouldn't. I promised I wouldn't get involved in their shit.

'I slept fine, where is Leya?' Rio chuckles while Tiago sighs deeply, turning in his chair so that he can look at me. 'I think we need to talk-' 'Where is she?'

I'm not in the mood to talk to Tiago right now. Especially not when Cataleya just got her heart shattered by his idiot cousin.

Last night was wild. First Tiago came to our room to talk. He woke me up to talk. Idiot.

And just as I was done ranting at him, Leya came running into the house. I asked him to give us some time and he did. He left. Allowing me to talk to her again. Just like old times.

But in different circumstances.

Normally, it's me who has her heart crushed by some boy I met a week before. But now it's the other way around. It's Cataleya who got her heart broken this time. And I feel sorry for her.

'She's in the living room North.' Rio answers, making me glare at him. I nod, grab a bottle of water, and head to the living room. 'Neveah.'

I come to a stop and slowly turn around, stepping back because I need to get to Leya.

'Not now Tiago, please. I need to-' 'Make sure you're ready to leave tomorrow morning.' Rio states, making me turn to him again. 'Why, we just got here?'

He nods and looks at Tiago, before turning back to me. 'Celine wants to spend time with her family, so we're going to Paris.' Tiago states, making me look at him again.

I step back into the kitchen and sigh. I get that Celine wants to spend with her family, but we just got here. 'Why didn't we go to Paris straight away?' 'We needed to get out of Venice.' Tiago answers softly, looking at the water bottle in my hand.

'So you will go to Paris with her since I'll make sure there will be enough security there.' You? Does that mean that he's not coming?

'Who else will come with us?' I ask, not wanting to ask directly. But he gets what I'm trying to get at. He knows that I need to know if he's coming or not.

If Rio's not coming, maybe Cataleya will recover. Even if he is coming to Paris with us, she'll recover. She has to and she will.

'So far Celine, Brandon, Marco, Kai, you, and Cataleya.' Rio states, making me turn to Tiago. He's not coming? 'If Leon is going, depends on you.' He continues.

Depends on me.

'How long will you be gone?' I ask Tiago this time. I know Rio won't give me a straight answer, and I doubt Tiago will. I just want to hear him say it. 'I don't know.' Right...

'You leave tomorrow morning, so you have the entire day to think about it. Now, we have some business to attend.' Rio states, climbing off the chair as he brushes past me, not caring about me standing in the doorway at all.

I stumble back and keep my eyes on Tiago.

'Do you have any idea how long it will take?' I ask, hoping for him to at least know something. 'It could take a few months.'

Whatever it is they'll be doing, will take a few months. It will take a few months. A few months of not seeing each other after being with each other twenty-four-seven for the past nine months.

'Do you want to go?' I ask, stepping closer to him a little. 'Do you want me to go?' He asks, desperately waiting for me to answer. 'I don't know.'

It's the truth. I don't know what I want. I don't know if I want him here or not.

Sure, I need to focus on helping Cataleya through her first heartbreak like she's been helping me through the past twenty-thousand, but I don't think I can stay without him for that long.

But then again, I'll have no time for him if I'm going to focus on getting Leya back on her feet.

'Oh.' My answer isn't what he wanted to hear. And I get that. 'I don't know- Cataleya needs me and I need to focus on her- She's in pain and- I'm sorry.' I start rambling again, not knowing how to explain this to him.

'It's okay. I get it.' He smiles softly, finally looking into my eyes. I wish he didn't though. Because it hurts. 'I'm happy that you want to help Cataleya and I understand.'

I nod and try to blink away my tears. I can't start crying again.

'She needs you and I'll be fine.' But I won't. I want to say, but I swallow my words. This isn't about me. It's about Leya. She needs me.

'Thank you, Tiago.' I whisper before heading to the living room. This time for real.

I glance around the room, still not seeing Leya anywhere, and walk around a little.

She's laying on the couch, all crawled up with the pillows, with her eyes almost closing. As soon as she sees me, she jolts up.

'You're up!' I nod and walk over to her, trying to get close enough to see her eyes. I can tell she hasn't slept yet. 'Leya?'

'Yes, Neveah?' 'Did you even sleep?' She looks away and shrugs. 'I don't know.' Lies.

She still hasn't slept. Or at least not the full amount of sleep she needs.

'You should head to bed-' 'I think we should first go by the others, see how they're doing and all.' She jumps up from the couch, stumbling towards the door, but I pull her back and stare straight into her eyes.

Normally the roles would be reversed, but they aren't. Not this time. Which feels weird.

'Cataleya you need to get some rest.' I mumble, trying to get her to bed. I don't want to be too hard on her, because that won't work. 'I'll sleep when we get back, I promise.' She groans, looking straight into my eyes.

'If not, I'll knock you the fuck out.' I sigh, climbing up so that we can go check up on the others. She smiles and wraps her arm around mine, trying to hide the fact that she's actually too tired to do anything.

I'm not sure why she can't sleep. It's either the crime she committed, she killed Luca Santos, a teenager that was about to kill the man she loves, or the fact that Rio broke her heart and slept with someone else.

But either way, she can't sleep and that's a bad sign.

I basically drag her outside, feeling her shiver at the cold wind, and look up at the sky. It looks like it's about to rain and maybe even storm, but I think we'll be back in time.

'What's up with you?' She asks when we turn around the corner to walk to Celine's place. 'What?' 'You look sad.'

'They're sending us to Paris tomorrow because Celine wants to be with her family.' Her eyes widen before she almost stumbles over her own feet. I hold onto her and take a deep breath. 'Sending us?' 'They're not coming with us.'

'Oh?' She looks at me before turning to the house in front of us. 'Leon is not coming with us?' 'Nope.'

But I'll survive. I'll manage. I have to. Because she needs me.

'And what about the others? Who else is coming?' We head up the little steps that lead to the front door and knock on the big wooden door. 'Celine, Kai, Brandon, Marco, and us two.'

Kai opens the door and smiles at us, before stepping aside. We quickly get in and close the door. 'How is she?'

'Better than yesterday, Brandon is here as well. Please make sure you all eat something.' He states, before opening the door again. 'Where are you going?' 'I'm going to talk to Rio about Hunter.' Oh...

'I'll be back.' He states, closing the door behind him. I look at Leya and shrug, before helping her up the stairs. She looks like she's about to faint, but she manages.

We head towards Celine's bedroom and freeze when we see a flash of lightning in the distance. Oh god... Cataleya flinches as the loud thunder kicks in and tries to keep herself from falling on the ground as she takes the last step towards the door.

As soon as we step in, we freeze. Brandon is crying and Celine is rubbing his back, slowly looking up at us. 'I feel very famous right now.' She chimes, making Brandon laugh a little.

I hear raindrops fall on the slightly opened window and look outside for a second.

'Everything okay? What-' 'I'm never going to find someone who will love me!' Brandon cries, pressing his head against Celine's chest again. 'Brandon...'

We slowly make our way to the bed and climb down next to them. It's big enough to fit all of us if we squeeze a little.

'You will find someone else that will love you, you're a great guy.' Celine mumbles, probably repeating the exact words over and over again. 'Yes, you will find a great boy-' 'Man.' Leya states, looking at me.

'Oh right. You will find a great man that will love you exactly the way you need it.' He chuckles at our attempt to cheer him up and wipes his tears. 'He's gone... I never got to tell him how I felt and I hate myself for not telling him...' He whispers, trying to keep in his tears.

Tears start to fill my eyes again and I hate that I'm a crier. Exactly in moments like these. If I'll start crying, we'll all be a mess. Crying because we don't know what to do.

'I don't think you had to tell him. He already knew.' Celine whispers, pulling Brandon closer despite the bruises on her body. 'Maybe you'll meet someone in Paris?' she jokes, making Brandon laugh again.

He shakes us off and takes a few deep breaths, before turning back to me. 'I don't know what I would do without you.'

'Bro, you would've died.' I joke, wrapping my arms around him. 'Now where is the food Kai was talking about because I'm starving.'

I turn to the side of the bed, a tray filled with fruits and sweets is sitting on a nightstand and my mouth immediately starts to water. He made some extra because he knew we would be here.

For the next two to three hours, we talk about our plans for Paris. We convince Brandon to come out with us when we feel like it so that he can meet someone new. Maybe.

We also talk about Celine's recovery and she says she wants to introduce us to her family. When she says that she has at least six little cousins, seven aunts, four uncles, and two grandparents, my eyes widen for a second.

'I bet they ask you when you're going to have children every time you visit?' I joke and she nods, making all of us laugh even harder. 'It's so annoying!'

'They'll go insane if they know you're dating someone now.' Cataleya says, completely out of breath. I can't stop laughing as I look at the time. It's getting late already and everyone is getting tired.

'I think we should call it a day.' 'I think we should, I'm getting tired.' Celine groans, making us smile. 'We'll see you tomorrow.' Brandon says, pulling Cataleya and me towards the hall.

We gently close the door and head down the stairs, stopping at the door to look outside. It's still raining.

'I'll see you tomorrow, make sure you both get some rest!' Brandon shouts, running over to his house. 'You too!' I shout, before turning to Leya. 'Ready?' She nods and wraps her arm around mine, before taking another deep breath.

Celine's house is not that far away from ours, but still. 'Let's do this.' Leya hates thunder. She doesn't mind lightning or rain, just the thunder that's driving her insane.

We run towards our house as fast as we can and try to catch our breaths when we enter the hall, entirely drenched because of the rain.

'I hate the weather.' I laugh at her statement and pull her towards our room. 'You're going to shower and get to bed.' I say, helping her up the stairs.

She sighs deeply but doesn't go against it. She promised. So she doesn't have a choice.

I get her to take a quick shower before she puts on some spare clothes lying around. I change as well, quickly showering in the other room.

I don't think I've ever showered this quick before. I stay with her and make sure she's in bed to rest, but just as I'm about to leave, she turns to me. 'Please stay.'

I freeze and slowly turn around, rushing over to the bed. 'Sure. I'll stay until you fall asleep, okay?'

She nods and wraps her arms around me, making sure that I'm not going anywhere. I smile and gently rub her back, waiting for her to fall asleep. 'I love you Neveah.' 'I love you too Leya.'

I wait for her to fall asleep and stay with her a little longer, just to make sure.

At some point, maybe three or four hours later, when the sun has already set and the thunder stopped, I climb out of bed and head to the hall. I need some more water.

So I head to the kitchen and see Tiago sitting in a chair. It's already past midnight, but he's still up. He looks up from his phone and smiles. 'Hey.'

'Why are you up?' I ask, heading to the fridge to grab the bottle I came down for. 'I couldn't sleep. What about you?'

I hold the water bottle up in the air as I head to the table, to sit across from him. 'How is she doing?'

'She's finally sleeping.' I sigh and open the bottle, before taking a sip and looking at him again. 'I'm sorry for saying I'll send you away.'

I don't know what to say, but I feel myself smiling a little. 'Really?' He nods and puts his phone to the side, letting me know that I have all his attention. 'I know that hurt and that was not my intention.'

But it was. He wanted me to hate him so that I would have no problem getting the hell out of here.

'I'm truly sorry Neveah.' I melt into the chair and keep my eyes on his. God, I want to kiss him right now. 'I'll miss you.' I breathe, trying to keep myself from jumping over this table to touch him.

He smiles and tilts his head a little. 'It's best. If we finish the job quickly, we'll be back within a month.' Good.

'Then I hope you finish it quickly, whatever it is you have to do.' He nods and grabs the bottle out of my hands, taking a sip before handing it back to me. 'We will.'

We turn to the hallway, to a loud scream shuddering through the walls of the house.

I get up from my place and look at Tiago for a second. 'Is that-'

I sprint to see where the noise is coming from and run into the hall.

It's Cataleya. She's screaming.

I run back to our room and push the doors open.

Cataleya is spread out on the bed, all the sheets and blankets are on the floor.

I rush to the bed and see that she's crying. Her eyes are squeezed shut, fear clear in her face.

She's having a nightmare. And by the looks of it, the worst one ever.

I climb onto the bed and pull her closer, shaking her shoulders a little.

Tiago rushes through the door and stares at our room. The room was fine when we got here.

It's a mess, I know, but right now I don't care. And neither does he.

'What the fuck is going on?'

I ignore him and try waking up Cataleya again, but nothing seems to work.

'Go get Manuela!' I sneer at him since she's not waking up.

Manuela helped me with a nightmare once. So I hope that she'll be able to help Leya too.

Tiago nods and rushes out of the room, he's going to get Manuela.

More screams and grunts of pain come out of her mouth and I start to panic myself.

She's in so much pain that it scares me.

'Cataleya, wake up.' She doesn't. She continues to move around and cry because of whatever she sees in her mind.

'Cataleya, please...' She finally jolts up. Sweat dripping down her neck and back as her eyes search the room until they land on me.

'It's okay, it was just a nightmare.' I whisper, moving her hair out of her face.

She takes some shaky breaths, obviously having a hard time breathing.

I rub her back and keep my distance, trying to comfort her as much as I can, without taking up too much space.

She slowly starts to calm down, still shaking out of fear.

Tears stream down her face and I wish it would stop.

I slowly get out of bed, making her instantly grab onto my arm. 'Please don't leave.' She softly says, her voice hoars from all the shouting.

'I'm not going to.' I whisper, before closing the door and walking back to the bed. 'I'm here.'

She pulls me closer and rests her head on my shoulder as we lay in bed.

Her arms slither around my waist and she continues to take some deep breaths.

'Want to talk about it?' I ask quietly while brushing my hand up and down her back.

Her arms tighten around me as she presses her head against my chest, trying to stop herself from crying. Oh god...

'Cataleya...' It takes me all my power to not cry with her.

She's in so much pain and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help her and that makes me feel worthless.

'I-' She tries, but she can't. She can't fucking breathe because of the pain and I hate it. 'Breathe.'

She tries, but it's no use. I move away from her a little, allowing her to take her time, but it's no fucking use.

'Cataleya?' 'I can't- bre- breathe.' Shit. I rush to the windows and open them, not giving a single fuck about the rain that might get in.

I turn back to her and see her crawling to the window. 'Stay here, I-'

She shakes her head and points to the window, trying to explain herself without words. 'Out-' Outside.

I nod and help her up, carrying her through the door. We make it into the hallway, but she's slowly giving up. 'Come on, just a little further.'

The sound of thunder startles the both of us and before I know it, she drops to the floor. Shit!

'Cataleya!' I drop to my knees and try to help her up. She's fighting for her life right now, all because of a fucking nightmare.

'I- Can-' She chokes, forcing my heart to race.

I start to panic as well but try to stay calm for her. Where the fuck is Manuela?

She knew how to help me when I panicked, I don't remember what she did with me. She simply told me to breathe and helped me to the balcony. Shit...

I should've taken her to the balcony instead of dragging her all the way through the fucking hall.

The door opens and I hear footsteps going down the hall. 'Tiago!' I shout at the top of my lungs, begging for them to come to help her.

'Dio mio, Cataleya!' Manuela and Tiago run over to us and slightly push me away from Leya.

She's still fighting for her last ounces of air, her breath hitching in the back of her throat.

'Please- I-' I don't know what to say, I don't know what to fucking do.

She still seems to be in pain and I can't help her. I don't know how to.

'Leonardo.' Tiago nods and runs over to me, helping me up, but I can't.

I want to crawl back to Leya, tell her that everything is going to be okay, but he stops me from doing so.

'Move!' 'You need to calm down cara.' He says, trying to keep me away from her.

He's right. I need to calm down.

My stress will only make it worse for her.

So I look into his eyes and take a few deep breaths, calming down immediately.

Manuela managed to calm Leya down in the meantime. She's still crying, but she seems to be able to breathe normally. Thank god!

'Help me get her to a room.' Manuela whisper as she keeps caressing Leya. I nod, get up, and watch as Tiago lifts her up gently.

I lead the way to another room. I don't want her to think about her nightmare and another room might help a little.

We get into the room, which is dark because of the lack of lights. I flip the switch and turn to Tiago. 'Place her on the bed Leon. Neveah, open the window.'

I do as Manuela orders and open the window, letting the cold, wet night air enter the room.

Another lightning strikes somewhere in the distance, making the clouds grumble and rain even harder.

I turn back to the bed, which Leya is lying on now.

'It's all going to be okay, Cataleya.' Manuela whispers as she continues to cry.

She looks way calmer and I don't know how to thank Manuela for whatever it is she did. She's pure magic.

'Neveah, go to my place and grab a black pot with a golden sticker from the kitchen. Make tea and bring it to me.'

I look at Leya for another few seconds, before nodding. She needs this. No time to panic.

'I'll be right back, okay?' She squeezes my hand and takes a deep breath.

I run as fast as I can, not caring about the thunder or rain. I need to get that stupid tea.

'Neveah!' I ignore the soothing voice calling out for me and continue to run to Manuela's estate.

'Neveah stop!' Tiago pulls at my arm and turns me around, pulling me against his chest. 'Calm down.'

'What are you doing!?' I try to break free from him, but it's no use. 'Let go of me! I need to-' 'You need to calm down.'

He's right. I saw Leya. She's going to be okay. Especially now that Manuela's with her.

So I calm down, take a deep breath, and let the rain wash away all the stress.

'She's going to be okay.' She is... But it didn't look like that two seconds ago...

Cataleya is not in sight, so I'm allowed to break. I'm allowed to let fear consume me for a few seconds. Just a few.

'I thought she was going to die...' I cry into his chest, holding onto him for dear life.

'She's not going to die.' 'It looked like she was, she could- She couldn't breathe Tiago.' His grip around me tightens and I try to calm down.

'Neveah...' I look up, enjoying the rain dripping on my face.

I always liked the rain. When I used to be younger, I would always sit in the rain and drown out everyone else.

It would always make me sick afterward, but it was so worth it.

Tiago's hands cup my face, making me melt against him. 'She's going to be okay.'

I take a deep breath and nod. He's right.

It might've looked like my best friend was going to die, but she's still here. And that's the only thing that matters.

'You're right.' He leans down a little and kisses me softly, just for a second to help me calm down.

And god do I love him for it.

'Let's go get that tea.' I nod and grab his hand, as we run to Manuela's house.

We break through the door, not caring about the fact that we're staining the tiles with our dirty shoes. We need to find that tea and get the hell back.

As soon as we find it, we run back to Tiago's house and make her that tea.

When we get to the room, Manuela tells us to be quiet.

I slowly step closer, seeing Leya sleeping peacefully again.

She's finally getting some sleep... I just hope she won't have a nightmare like that again. Ever.

'You should get changed, I'll stay with her for tonight.' Manuela whispers and Tiago nods.

He has to pull me out of the room. I don't want to go. I want to stay with her, be there if she wakes up, be there if she starts to have a nightmare again, but I know I won't be any good to her.

I panicked today, I panicked because I didn't know what to fucking do.

'This is all my fault...' I whisper as Tiago leads me back to our room.

Another flash of lightning strikes, closer this time, as he turns to me.

'What?' I nod and look at him. 'I could've taken her to the balcony instead of dragging her down the hall, I could've stayed with her so that I could wake her up in time, but no! I decided to go to you.'

'Neve-' 'And that's all I've been doing! I should've been there for her, should've helped her with her shit with Rio! But no! I was too busy thinking about myself! I let her go through all of it alone... And look how that turned out!' I shout, angry at no one else but myself.

'Neveah stop!' He grabs my face, forcing me to look up at him. 'Don't say that. None of this is your fault.'

'Then whose is it?'

'Not yours.' We both turn to the other voice, interfering with our conversation.

It's Rio. Of-fucking-course.

'I heard screaming. Is everything okay?' Just the sight of him makes me want to kill him.

Water is dripping off of him because of the rain outside, and it looks like he ran his way here.

'You heard her from-' I lunge at him and aim for his face. He deserves every punch I have to offer.

I know I told Cataleya that I wouldn't interfere, that I wouldn't let him know I hate him. But I can't. I can't act like I don't hate him, because I do. I hate him more than I already did and I want him to feel my anger.

He broke Leya's trust. Even after what she did for him. She did the one thing, the one rule she would never break. She murdered for him.

And he treated her like shit.

'Neveah!' Tiago pulls me away from Rio, who is looking angrier than ever. 'You really are a curse!'

His lips curl up and he looks at Tiago, instead of me. 'Is she having one of those pathetic nightmares again?'

Pathetic?! How dare he call- 'She had a panic attack.' Tiago explains, slowly letting go of me.

I try running back to Rio, wanting to rip his head off his fucking body, but he simply pushes me back, making me fall against Tiago.

Tiago helps me up and stares at Rio, ready to fight him if he has to. But I don't want him to. I want to fight Rio myself.

'I'll tell Celine to get her some pills, go to sleep.' And with those words leaving his mouth, he turns back to the door, leaving the house again.

'What the fuck was that?' I ask, trying to process what it was. 'Ignore him.' No.

I'm not going to ignore him. And I'm definitely not going to let him talk about her like that.

So I run out of the house, back into the storm outside, and look around. Rio took a detour back to his place and is nowhere near his house.

He's right in the middle of the vineyard, and I push him forward, making him turn around immediately.

'You fucking asshole!' I shout, trying to be louder than the thunder and rain surrounding us.

'Don't you fucking dare call her pathetic, you piece of shit!' I shout, slamming my hand against his cheek.

His head shoots back before his eyes turn dark. 'I warned you, North.'

His voice is deep, deeper than ever, as he steps forward, pushing me back without trying.

I lift my hand in the air, ready to hit again, but he grabs my arm and twists it the other way, making it hurt like hell. 'I warned you.'

He did. He did warn me, but I didn't care. And I still don't.

I don't care that he's hurting me, because I'll never stop shouting at him. I'll never let him talk about Cataleya like that again.

'You're a piece of shit!' He chuckles as he pushes me forward, making me drop into a bush.

The leaves are cold and wet, scratching against my skin, but I push myself back up and turn back to him.

'She knew that when we met. Just like every other person on this fucking earth!' His voice is almost louder than the thunder, making the ground rumble.

'Neveah!' I ignore Tiago's voice in the distance. If he finds us here, if he knows where we are, he'll stop us.

And I don't want this conversation to stop.

'She killed for you. Yet you continue to treat her like shit!' He nods and steps back a little, trying to create distance between us, so he won't kill me right now.

'I didn't ask her-' 'And she didn't ask to fall in love with you either!' I sneer, stepping forward.

'It's not my fault she fell in love with me, I told her not to.'

I can't contain my laughter. He can't be fucking serious right now, right?

'So you led her on and expect her not to fall for you?' I ask, ready to hit him as I await his answer.

'She knew what she was getting herself into.' My hand barely reaches him as he slams my hand away, startling me a little. But I have another arm and smack him right in his face again.

Without thinking twice, he strikes back, hitting me exactly like I just hit him, hurting like shit. Good.

Good that I angered him. Good that I'm hitting him. Good that he's hitting me back. That way I at least know he has at least some type of emotions inside of him.

Tears form behind my eyes, but I blink them away. Not that it would matter. The rain would simply wash them away.

'Is this what you wanted?! Did you want to anger me?!' He shouts, his voice is louder than ever before.

The thunder stopped, or at least it's too far away to be heard. But the rain's still here.

'I want you to own up to it!'

'Own up to what, North?' He asks, not knowing what the hell I'm talking about.

'I want you to own up to all the women you dragged down with you!' I shout, stepping closer again.

He tilts his head a little, still not understanding what I'm trying to say. But as soon as it clicks for him, he rolls his eyes. Allowing me to get closer.

'Admit that you ruined Andrea!' I push him, making him stumble back as he tries to keep himself composed. 'Admit that you're a monster for even thinking about selling Celine!'

I push again, letting the tears escape. 'Admit that you're cruel for doing this to Cataleya!' Another push, making him stumble back a little.

'Admit that you're a curse!' I shout as hard as I can, pushing with all my strength.

He almost falls and I want to push him again, but I'm pulled back. By no other than Tiago. 'Stop it!'

I'm kind of happy that he pulled me back. This way I can try to regain my strength before I hit him again.

I'm exhausted.

'No, let her.' Rio grunts, moving his gaze back to me.

Tiago takes a deep breath, but let's go of me. He's a fucking slave when it comes to Rio.

'I will never apologize for doing what I do. Ever.' He sneers, stepping closer.

'It's not my fault Andrea or Cataleya couldn't handle the truth.'

'They're not just options Rafael!'

'They are to me! And that's all they'll ever be.'

That's all they are to him. Options. Simple options. As simple as deciding what to wear in the morning.

'You'll burn in hell for this.'

'Couldn't care less.' And with those words and a slightly glowing cheek, he strides away again.

I almost fall to my knees, exhausted from all of this.

Tiago catches me and carries me back to the house, making sure I get changed into dry clothes, before wrapping me in the sheets.

He doesn't expect me to explain, he simply wraps his arms around me and stays close. As close as he can go.

And I'm thankful for him.

I just don't get how he can be related to someone like Rio. 'Please calm down, cara.'

He didn't do anything. Of course not. Why would he?

Rafael is his cousin, his blood, what was he supposed to do?

'I hate him.' He sighs deeply, pained by my words because Rio is all he has left. 'I know.'

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A/N: Well.... That escalated quickly.... Maybe some time away from each other will do all of them some good? Maybe Rio will realize his feelings for Cataleya, right?

Anyway! Thank you so much for the love and support! Please keep voting and commenting, your comments make my day! And I hope you all still enjoy this story as much as I do!

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