Idiot. He didn't keep his promise. Fucking piece of shit.

I ignore every reflection I can as I walk back into the bedroom and grab an old shirt of Tiago's since none of my clothes are here.

He gave her away and now-

'Are you alright?' He asks, for the millionth time since we got to his room. 'Yes. I'm fine Tiago.'

'You've been acting weird since... You know.'

'Since what? Since you sold my best friend?' His eyes meet mine and I hope he feels my fury.

'It wasn't supposed to escalate this way Neve-' 'But it did! I told you to not go through with that stupid deal and you did!'

He looks at me, totally in shock by my words.

'What did you think I was going to do, let you die?'

'Yes! I was fine with dying Tiago!' I shout at him. He takes a step back, not knowing how to react.

My words scare him, I can tell by the way his hands are shaking, and I understand they do, but it's true.

But I know that Adrian wouldn't actually kill me. He would've kept me for himself until I finally caved in or would've given up entirely, and maybe then.

'You would leave me?' He asks with a lump in his throat. Leave him... That's all he can fucking think about. That I'll leave him.

'If that meant saving Cataleya from suffering, then yes..' I answer quietly, 'I would.'

'She won't be suffering, we will-'

'Yes, she will Tiago! We don't even know where she is right now! Your plan backfired and now we have to work harder to get her back! She doesn't deserve this and you know that!' His eyes shoot to mine with a questioning look.

'She got involved in this shit because of me. Because of my past with you. She doesn't deserve any of this.'

'Neveah, please...' He begs me to take back my words, but I can't. I simply can't.

I meant every word that came out of my mouth. Cataleya doesn't deserve this and it's all my fault. She had nothing to do with the Curzio's if it wasn't for me. And now the Steels have her as leverage against Rio. They will mentally drain her, if not kill her. We need to come up with a plan.

'I told you last time, pull Cataleya in our mess and I'll leave.' I whisper, stepping away from him. 'I told you-' 'Neveah, I was not going to let you die.' He interferes, trying to step back to me.

'As soon as we get her back, we're leaving.'

'No. Neveah, please. Don't do this.' I shake my head and take a seat on the bed, feeling the exhaustion take over me. 'You leave me no choice.'

'You can't go.' He strides over to me, dropping to his knees so I have to look at him. 'Please. We were supposed to get her back, I didn't know she wasn't chipped. You can't leave, I thought we were going to get her back within the next few hours and-'

'The moment she's back, the moment we get her back, I'm going to fucking pack my shit and leave.' My words cut through him like knives.

First, he has to find me. He's been searching for me the entire time. But now that I'm here, now that he did what he did, I'm ready to leave again.

'I'll get her back to you, but you can't leave.' He whispers, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

His arms feel rough but different from Adrian's. Way different. Way more gentle, smoother, way more everything good. Good.

He's not Adrian. He's not Adrian and he'll never be Adrian. But he sent Cataleya into that deathtrap.

His head is pressed against my stomach, making this hurt so much more than necessary.

'I'll find her even if it's the last thing I do.' I want to believe him, I truly do, but we don't even know where to begin. 'I promise.'

'You also promised to never drag Leya into this again, but you did.' He nods and looks up with tears in his eyes. I hate hurting him, but he hurt me too. He keeps hurting me by dragging Cataleya into our mess.

'Adriano will kill me if I don't find her.' What? He nods and takes a deep breath, before standing up. I look up, waiting for him to explain himself. 'We're going to find her, we have to.'

'I know, and we will. Just not together.' He mumbles, grabbing my face gently. 'What do you mean?'

'He ordered me to be gone by morning. If I don't find her before you two do, he'll separate us forever.' Oh...

Not that it will matter. When we get Leya back, I'll leave with her. I'll go back to Florida, we'll be living a normal life. A life where we have to work for our money, a life without all this murder and drama.

A life without Tiago...

The thought of that makes my bones ache, but I can't let this slide. He broke another promise. And I can't let it slide this time. I can't. This was the last drop. The last drop that made the bucket overflow.

And he knows it too.

'So you're leaving?' I whisper, trying to not sound too desperate. 'He can't even look at me.' He chuckles without any joy.

Rafael sure was angry, he was ready to fucking kill Tiago any second, but he didn't. Because he can't. He can't kill the only family he has left. I wouldn't either.

'And neither can you.' The fact that that seems to hurt him more than the fact that Rafael is sending him away, startles me. 'And I understand. So I'll pack my shit and go.'

I want to tell him to stay, I want to tell him that I need him here, I want to tell him that he can't fucking go. But he has to. We both know he has to.

'Okay.' He nods and heads to the closet, starting to pack his bags. Tears escape my eyes and I get up from the bed, following his every move as he throws a bunch of clothes into one of the bags.

'Tiago?' I whisper oh so softly. I don't want to fucking cry about this, it's pathetic, but I can't help it.

I wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my face against his back to stop myself from crying. I need to stop crying.

'Promise me you'll stay.' He whispers in return, making me sob just a little. 'I can't, you didn't keep your promise. I will keep mine.'

He drops the bag and turns around, wrapping his arms around me as if this is the last time he gets the chance to. And it probably will. At least for a long time.

I flinch at the sudden movement and he instantly lets go of me. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't be touching you-' He steps away and keeps his eyes on mine to see if I'm okay, but I am.

'It's okay, I just-' He shakes his head and curses at himself for doing what he did. Hugging me. 'Tiago it's fine.'

'No, it's not. I should've asked how you felt about me touching you.' He starts pacing around the room and sighs deeply when he finally stops. 'I feel fine.' I think. 'You do?' No.

'Despite the part where I want to kill you for handing Leya over, I feel fine.' He rolls his eyes and turns his gaze back to mine. 'You wanted me to let you die?'

'I wanted to keep Leya out of our shit, just like you promised.' I fold my arms and ignore the pain rushing through my body. 'She begged me to go through with it. Plus, it wasn't just our shit, they wanted her so she would get involved anyway.' Piece of shit.

'You promised to keep her out of this shit and you put her in the fucking middle of it, don't you fucking-' 'Don't you think I know that?! She convinced me because I wasn't going to let you die.' He takes a deep breath to calm himself down, knowing that shouting at me won't work.

'Did you want me to let them murder you?' I stare straight into his eyes and see the desperation, the desperation of me forgiving him for what he did, but how the hell can I do that if Leya is still with them.

'I wanted you to keep Leya out of it.' Nothing else. That wouldn't necessarily mean that I wanted him to let me die. I just wanted him to keep Leya out of this. As he fucking promised.

'You're really being ungrateful here.' Ungrateful? 'How is being angry at you because you sacrificed my best friend ungrateful? ' He looks away and takes a deep breath.

'I swear to god Tiago, if something happens to her, I will kill you.' He inhales sharply and looks at me again, panic flashing through his eyes. 'You don't mean that.' 'You gave her away.'

'Neveah, I'm sorry.' He slowly steps closer, this time slowly wrapping his arms around me and pulls me against his chest. 'Please don't be angry with me.' I can't help but chuckle, because there's no way I'm not going to be angry.

But I don't move. I stay put, right in his arms, in his warm embrace, and listen to his heartbeat.

'Write me.' What? I look up, into his dark eyes, and melt against his chest, hating myself for doing so. 'Write me every day, in a book or something. So when we will see each other again it will be like I didn't miss a day.'

Tiago... 'I'll write you too.' He chimes, grabbing my face gently. I move away a little, trying to create a little distance. 'Just find her.'

'I will.' He mumbles, pulling me back against his chest again. I finally stopped crying when he slowly lets go of me. 'Don't go.' he repeats, making me want to cry again.

He leans down, gently pressing his lips against mine, before pulling me closer to deeply kiss me.

The pain flows away, so does the betrayal and the stress. It all flows away simply because our lips are touching, moving against each other in the most perfect way ever. Delicate but strong, filled with desire but gentle.

Just perfect. No. I lean back a bit, needing the space now more than ever, but still stay in his arms.

'I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?' He whispers against my lips, practically begging me to extend his stay.

I nod because I honestly don't want him to go. My heart feels like it's about to break and I want to latch onto the pieces as long as I can.

So we walk over to the bed in total silence. I climb underneath the sheets and watch as he lays down next to me.

His eyes roam over my face, my body, my soul. And I've never felt as exposed as this moment. Not because no one ever looked at me like this, but because he can see my pain. He can see how much I regret my decision already, but he knows, just as much as I do, that this needs to happen.

All he needed to do was keep his end of our promise. And he didn't. He knew how important it was, and he still did it. He still put Leya in a fucked up position, just to get to me. Just to get me back.

'I'll miss you.' He whispers, making my heart ache as I press my hand against his chest. He moves closer, pressing his lips on my head for a long time, before moving back to look at me again.

It's as if he's trying to imprint me in his mind. But I do the same to him. I look at his eyes, nose, brows, cheeks, lips, and chin. All of him. I look at all of him.

'Don't go.' He repeats again as if it will make me change my mind. It won't. It only pains me more. 'Get her back.'

'I will. Just don't go.' I close my eyes for a second, trying to fight the tears trying to break free again. He shifts, making the bed dip at his weight as he moves closer and presses his lips on mine.

I wrap my arms around him and let the heat rush through my body, enjoying the sensation again before he goes. Before I probably never see him again. 'I love you, Neveah.'

His words hit me like a truck and I let the tears escape, before pushing him off of me a little.

All of this, him leaving, me threatening to leave when he gets back, all of it is his fault. Because he is obsessed with me. But in some ways, I'm also obsessed with him.

I turn around and take a shaky breath.

'I'll get her back. She's strong and-' 'We better get her back soon.' He leans in closer, I can feel his breath on my back and try not to let it get to me, try not to panic because of his breathing, try not to react in any way, 'We will.'

'Don't go.' He whispers, moving around a little, but not touching me at all.

I want to turn around to see what he's doing, but I stay still, trying to blink my tears away.

He wraps his arms around me tightly, pulling me against his chest, and rests his head on mine. 'I love you.'

I know... But I can't say it back. Not after what he did. I slowly close my eyes and try to fall asleep, which takes longer than I expected.

I wake up cold. With no one to warm me. He left. Of course, he did. What did I expect?

My body hurts, but I feel way better than I have in a while. I slept on a bed again. I sit up straight and try to fight the pain in my body.

The bruises hurt like shit. But I'll have to fight through it. There's no way I'm going to let this weigh us down. We have to find Cataleya as fast as we can.

I walk over to the little dresser and look at the outfit that's laid out for me. A totally black outfit, black jeans and shirt, a bag packed with clothes, and a book. A notebook. The book:

𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓭𝓪𝔂

He wasn't joking around when he said that. Oh well...

My stomach starts rumbling and I head to the bathroom to take a quick warm shower, brush my teeth, and get dressed, before grabbing the bag and heading down to the kitchen.

Rio is sitting in one of the chairs with maps laid out in front of him. 'Goodmorning.' He sighs and quickly looks at me, before turning back to the map.

'What's the plan.' He sighs again and finally looks at me entirely, not caring about his eyes roaming over me like I'm some... Monster. 'Don't remind me.'

He shrugs and takes a sip from his glass. 'Drinking already?' 'Is that a problem?'

I don't know what it is today, but I just need to get it off my chest. I just do.

'Listen, Rio, I don't care about you and I know you don't care about me either. So how about we cut the shit and do what we both want, finding Cataleya. The girl you fucked up, because you couldn't say the words when she needed to hear them the most, okay?'

He opens his mouth, ready to sneer something back at me, but closes it and takes a deep breath.

I wish I could cut off his lungs because all he does is sigh and take deep fucking breaths. Idiot.

'You're right...' What?

'She was so happy, and I destroyed her. She's always on the verge of crying, and I haven't seen her smile since that night.' The night she killed Luca...

Rio isn't himself. I have never seen, nor thought that I would, him this distressed in my entire life. He's all over the place.

'You didn't destroy her.' I whisper, making him look at me directly. He shakes his head as if it will change the truth. 'I did.' 'No, you didn't.'

He pours some whiskey into a glass, before looking my way again. I stare at him for a second, before stepping closer to the table.

'You're not that powerful, trust me.' He chugs the drink away and smiles at me.

Sure, he hurt her. Very much. But she wasn't broken beyond repair. She wouldn't let him break her that easily. There's just no way.

'But I certainly damaged her.' He sighs as he tilts his head a little, waiting for me to react.

'There's no denying that.' I sigh, slowly taking a seat in one of the chairs. My body hurts so freaking much, and he notices it too.

'So what's the plan?' He pours himself another glass and takes a deep breath. 'We're going to get her back. Even if it's the last thing I do.'

'I'm in.' I lean closer and look at the map.

Rio gets up and walks towards the cabinets, slowly walking back to me with a glass of wine. Wow? He has never poured me wine before.

I turn back to the map and try to read some of the scrambled words. He marked some places, the haven near Montpelier. 'They're going by boat.'

I reach for the knife and place it on my lap, just in case. I don't know what for though... It just makes me feel... Safe?

'I figured that much.' He mumbles, looking at the map as well. 'So why aren't we rushing to the coast?' 'We don't have enough information.' What. The. Fuck?

'What more information do we need? Their birthdays?'

'I see being kidnapped and tortured hasn't affected your humor.' He says as he glares at me for a second. 'Never.' I reply, a smirk creeping across my face.

'So you're not crazy?' He asks softly. It's the first time he has ever talked to me like this. Normal. Soft even.

'I'm freaking insane. I'm also your only hope of making it through this alive. So what's it going to be?'

I put the knife back and stare at him before leaning closer. 'Sanity or survival?'

'Survival.' I nod and gulp down on the glass he filled for me. 'Good, then let's not waste any more time.'

He nods and smiles at me, glad that we're on the same line. 'Pack your shit, we're going to Celine.'

I grab a piece of bread and follow him through the front door. Everything is ready for our departure. We're probably getting back to Paris, to talk to Celine.

I don't even ask any questions when we get to the airport, apparently, we're taking the plane, and as soon as we land again, we get into another car.

The drive takes about fifteen minutes and we stop into a nice and homey-looking neighborhood.

I hop out of the car, following Rio towards the entrance of Celine's house.

I've never been here before, but it just screams Celine. It looks exactly like I expected.

It's a small building, but probably costs more than anything I could ever afford.

I stare at the house for a second as Rio starts pounding on the door.

'Celine! I know you're here! Open the fucking door!' He yells before banging his hand on the door once more.

He does not give a single fuck about the people that are walking around in the streets. He's way too angry to give a fuck.

'Celine open the fucking door before I kick it down!'

I rush over to him and grab his arm, stopping him from banging on the door again.

'People are watching.' His eyes move to mine, still not giving a single fuck about the people watching us.

'Celine!' He shouts, before turning back to the door, banging on it with his other hand.

To my surprise, the door opens. Just slightly. A metal cord is attached to the door, letting it open just enough for an arm to go through.

'What do you want Rio?' It's her. It's Celine. I recognize her voice immediately, but why won't she step out? Why won't she open the door?

Probably because Rio is standing in front of her door, banging on it like a complete psychopath.

I push Rio to the side and step closer to the gap, trying to peek inside, hoping to catch a glimpse of my old friend.

'Celine, we need to talk.' I say, keeping my eyes on the door. 'Neveah?'

Celine steps closer to the door. I can see her eyes widen from shock and smile at her. She didn't know I got out yet, which must mean she hasn't been in contact with the Curzio's at all.

What the fuck is going on?

'You got out?' I nod, looking at Rio who seems to get more and more annoyed with each second. 'Yes, but can we please talk?'

Her eyes move to the person behind me and she sighs. 'Please?' I interfere before she sends us away.

The door closes for a second, the sounds of three locks being unlocked, and then it opens again. Celine steps away from the door and I smile at her before I wrap my arms around her.

She's gotten... Fatter?

I haven't seen her ever since Hunter let her go, which was about a week ago. She hasn't changed that much.

Celine inhales slowly and hugs me in return, letting her tiny hands wrap around my arms and squeezing me to death.

Just as I'm about to ask her how she's doing, Rio pushes us to the side, stepping inside the house. He looks around the, to him, familiar place and stops at Celine.

'Where is he?' She shrugs but keeps her eyes on me. 'I don't know, haven't spoken to him ever since I got here.'

'Are we talking about Kai here?' I ask, curious as to what Rio's trying to do.

'I know you're lying.' He states, totally ignoring me.

'Why would she talk with him after what happened?' They both look at me, not saying a word, but telling me what is actually going on.

They talked. Maybe they're still talking?

Celine knows where he is. I can see it in her eyes. And Rio knows she knows. We need to know where he is so we can talk to him about Hunter's plan.

'He's here isn't he?' Rio asks, walking deeper into the house, looking in every room possible to find our suspect. 'He's not here!' She yells, trying to pull Rio back to the front door.

'They took Cataleya so we need to talk to him about Hunter. If you know anything, please tell us.' I beg her.

If we can't find Cataleya, I might never see her again. That's something that can't happen. Not now, not ever.

'I-' She stops as Rio runs past her, up the stairs leading to the second floor. 'Rio!'

We both run after him as he storms through the halls, bursting through every door.

'Where the fuck is he?! I know he's here!' He grunts, moving to a hallway with just one door.

'As I said, he's not here!' Celine shouts, running in front of him, so she can be at the door first.

It seems like a game. A silly little game about who gets there first. But there are lives at stake here.

'He's not here Rio!' She shouts, blocking the way to the door. He's there. He has to be. Why else would she run in front of him, right?

And there's fear in her eyes. She's absolutely terrified because of Rio.

'I am going to fucking kill him!' Rio yells, trying to move past Celine. I follow him, getting closer to the door by the second, and keep my eyes on both of them.

I love Celine and I wish her the best, but I need to find Leya. She's my priority here.

'He's not here!' 'Celine, move.' Rio says as he's about to reach for the door. She steps in front of him and tries to push him away from the door, but it's no use.

Rio doesn't budge, keeping his hand close to the golden doorknob.

'Please, he's not in there.' If it wasn't for the fact that they're standing so close to each other, Celine would've been on her knees, begging for Rio to let this go.

But Rio is determined. He knows Kai's here and that we need him if we want to get Cataleya back.

'Celine, I swear to god. Move out of the fucking way before I-'

'I'm pregnant!' My heart stops for a second as I take in the words coming out of her mouth.

That wasn't fat. She's fucking pregnant.

Tears stream down her face as she stares at her old friend, her savior, her brother.

She's ashamed to say it out loud, which I understand. The person she fell in love with, the person she trusted, betrayed her. He betrayed all of us. He's the reason all of this is happening. He put all of us in danger and he's the reason Leya is with that monster right now.

'What?' Rio asks, breathless. He's in shock. 'Since when?' I ask, wanting to know what I missed while I was away. While I was being tortured by the monster we're up against.

The monster that has my best friend right this moment.

'Since before it all happened.' She whispers, wiping away the rolling tears.

Rio takes a deep breath, but still reaches for the doorknob. 'Please!' Celine begs, grasping onto his shirt.

'Please, just let it go. He's not in there and I need you to leave.' Why?

Someone moves on the other side of the door and Rio looks at her, ready to push her out of his way.

She knows what will happen if Rio opens that door. She knows how angry he is, how eager he is to get Leya back.

It shocks her. It scares her.

The same goes for me. I didn't think Rio was capable of feeling anything for anyone. He wasn't able to give Andrea the affection she deserved, he wasn't able to give Molly the love she deserved, he even treated Leya wrong and I hate him for it. But he cared. He still cares.

'We need to talk to him.' I whisper, trying to ignore the lump in my throat.

Celine nods and takes a deep breath. 'I get that, but he's not in there. I can get him for you, but he's not-' 'Who's in there?' Rio asks in a sharp tone. 'None of your business.'

'Celine-' 'Get out of my house.' She sneers, clear anger in her eyes.

Suddenly, I don't feel like it's Kai who's in the room. It's someone else. Someone she wants to protect.

'I'll get Kai to talk to you, you can torture him all you want. But don't kill him.'

She's talking to Rio now. There's no way I would ever kill Kai. Sure he betrayed us, he basically led the enemy to us and I want to kill him for it, but I saw the way he looked at Celine. He loves her.

He did everything in his power to get her out of Hunter's place, and he would do it time and time again because they love each other.

'Listen very carefully to what I'm about to say.' Rio sighs, finally stepping away from the door.

His eyes burn through Celine as she leans against the door, trying to calm herself down.

It's just now that I realize her growing belly. It's noticeable as fuck, making me wonder how I didn't connect the dots before.

'You will get him to talk to me, to tell us all he knows about fucking Steel,' Rio says in the most threatening tone ever, 'Or I will make sure that your child suffers just like Valentina is suffering right now.'

My hands fly to my mouth as I try to cover a loud gasp. Rio is absolutely heartless, more than usual. But it's all because of Leya. He needs her back.

'Understood?' All Celine can do is nod. She's unable to speak because of her trembling voice, but her hands are shaking. She's shaking.

'Good.' Rio sighs, moving back a little. 'I'll be expecting him later today.' He continues as he turns toward me.

'We have to go.' He walks past me, not giving Celine any ounce of attention.

I simply stare at her, wanting to hug her oh so tightly. Rio's words broke her. I can see it in her eyes.

She must be feeling like she's being torn in two.

On one side, the father of her child, and on the other side the person that saved her. The person that gave her all she needed and loved her as his own blood.

'I am so sorry.' I mumble, not knowing what else to say.

I want Leya back just as bad as Rio does, but this, the things he just said to her, it's too much. It's too painful.

'We just need-' She bursts into tears and leans against the door behind her. I rush over to her and wrap her in my arms, trying to comfort her the best I can.

'Does he know?' I ask, slowly dragging my hand up and down her back. 'No. And I'd like to keep it that way for a while.' Alright...

'North!' Rio's voice makes the both of us flinch in fear. I quickly let go of her and watch as she forces a smile on her face before I rush back down the stairs.

Rio is already at the door, ready to leave, as I rush towards him. We walk back to the car and the moment we get in, I look at him.

'That was-' 'I don't remember asking.' He snarls, before starting the car.

Before I know it, my hand smacks against his cheek, so hard that even Rio himself is shocked.

'How could you say that!? She's your friend!'

'Exactly! Yet she forgave him for his betrayal! Even after everything I gave her!' He sneers, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Tiago and Leya told me about his anger issues, but I've never seen him this angry before.

'She gave her everything to you! She didn't ask for any of this shit! Yet you have the nerve to take the one thing making her happy out of her life?!' He nods and drives off the grounds, racing through the streets.

'Why should I risk my happiness for hers?' He asks, getting even angrier than ever. I stare at him in total shock.

This is not the same Rio from nine months ago. This is not the same Rio from six years ago. That Rio is gone because Leya changed him. She broke down his walls and build a home with him.

Now that she's gone, the home is too big, making it feel like he's alone inside the big mansion.

'You really love her don't you?' He rolls his eyes at my words and sighs deeply. 'It doesn't matter, we need to get her back. If that means I have to threaten one of my close friends, I will. I would do anything to get her back.'

He is. Rafael Adriano Curzio is in love.

----

A/N: Will these two work together for once? Or is Leya's fate in her own hands because Neveah and Rio hate each other too much?

Don't forget to vote and comment and aaahhh! Thank you for all the love again! It makes me soooooooo happy!

I hope you have a nice day and that I'll see you in the next chapter!