A soft knock on the door, makes me wake up entirely. As if I wasn't about to fall asleep two seconds ago.

'Come in.' I would much rather spend time with the person knocking on the door than get another few hours of sleep.

Valentina's head appears behind the door and the exhaustion from all of this melts away like ice in the sun.

'I didn't know if you were asleep already.' She whispers as if I'm sleeping as she closes the door behind her.

'I already slept.' I lie, not wanting her to tell me to go to sleep again.

That's how they deal with all of this. And by they, I mean Celine and Valentina.

They're worried I'll do too much if they don't make sure I'll rest enough.

'Is that so?' She asks, raising a brow as she moves closer to the bed.

I nod and force my body up a bit, trying to ignore the pain and focusing on the woman in front of me.

My woman.

'Came to see me again?' She smiles at my question and stays at the end of the bed, awkwardly standing there as she looks at me. 'I wanted to ask you some questions, but you need your rest.'

'Like I said, I already slept.' I don't want her to go. I don't want to rest.

I know I should take it easy, but I just feel like I'm weaker than ever before if I stay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing.

'And you expect me to believe you?' I nod and feel a rush of pain ram into me like a truck at even the slightest movement, making her frown, 'Did the pain get worse?'

'No.' It didn't. It just doesn't seem to fucking stop, 'What did you want to talk about?'

She sighs deeply and walks around the bed, 'Too much at once.'

Her sigh starts something inside of me.

I know she's worried about me being injured, and I truly appreciate all that she's done so far, but I don't like seeing her like this.

She seems out of it like it's too much to handle for her right now.

'Talk to me.' I say as I place my hand on hers and pull her body closer.

She takes a deep breath and drops down next to me, her legs ending on top of mine as she brings my hands to her soft lips.

It should warm me, it should make me feel happy, but it doesn't.

Something's wrong and I don't like it at all.

I've been locked up in this room for less than forty-eight hours and I'm already going insane.

'What's wrong?' She shakes her head and looks into my eyes, making me search for something. Anything...

'Nothing, it's just that... I feel guilty.' Guilty? My heart starts racing and all the worse case scenarios start popping up in my head.

'About what?' She rolls her eyes and nudges me to lie down as she moves closer. 'About killing Hunter.' What?

'I don't regret doing it in the sense that I feel bad about him being dead.' She quickly adds, a soft smile playing on her perfect lips as she notices the confusion on my face, 'I regret doing it because we're in a bigger mess than we were before.'

'We're fine.' I whisper as I pull her closer, her eyes still on mine as if they're stuck like that forever.

'Says the one who almost died.' She mutters as she leans in and places her head on my chest. It hurts a bit, but I don't care about the pain.

All I care about is the woman in my arms. The one who I love more than anything in the world.

'But I didn't, did I?' I joke, knowing she secretly hates it when we talk about death, 'Martin wasn't going to stop until he got Hunter back.'

'Will he stop now?' She asks, tilting her head slightly to look up at me.

I shrug and wrap my arms around her, somehow wanting to feel her even closer than she already is, 'We can only hope he does.'

She sighs deeply, the worry in her eyes seeming to grow, and starts drawing circles on my chest. 'But if he attacks, we'll be prepared this time.'

'I just thought... I don't know. You wanted to keep him alive for so long to make him suffer and maybe negotiate with Martin.' Negotiate?

'Valentina, Hunter was going to die one way or the other. I never planned on letting him get out alive.'

'So you're not mad at me for killing him?' She asks before quickly looking away as she awaits my answer.

I tilt her head so she has to look at me, and shake my head, slowly leaning down to kiss her soft lips.

'I'm only mad at you for not making me watch.' I whisper against her lips.

She smiles and buries her head into my chest. I take a deep breath and soak in this moment, enjoying the peace lingering through everything right now.

Just me and my wife, laying in each other's arms in silence. No words needed.

'Tell me that you weren't going to sell Isabelle.' Valentina sits up, looking at the person storming through the door.

'What?' She asks, staring at my cousin, who's breathing heavily, before turning back to me as the words sink in.

'What are you doing here?' I ask curiously, trying to get information before I answer his stupid question.

He's supposed to be helping Marcello with tracking down Martin Steel, but instead, he's here.

Standing in my room, ruining our moment, and asking me stupid questions about Isabelle Norman and the decision I made.

'Neveah called me.' Of course... She did. 'She told me that you were going to sell Isabelle back to her old buyer and I'm telling you not to go through with any of it.' Leon says, looking right at me.

'She's not going back.' Valentina states, keeping her eyes on mine as if she's trying to make a point.

But what's done is done.

'I'm not selling her, she will simply be returned to the one who rightfully bought her.' It sounds wrong coming out of my mouth, but I can't risk it.

'Do you even hear what you're saying?' Valentina asks, slowly moving away from me until she's back on her feet.

I reach out for her, wanting to keep her close, but she steps away from the bed, making me sigh deeply.

'We don't have time to-' 'She is not going back to that disgusting family, Rafael.' She states, crossing her arms over her chest.

She looks so good when she's angry...

'I agree with her.' Right... I turn to Leon and take a deep breath to keep myself from using my last ounces of energy on murdering him.

'And why do you all of a sudden care?' He looks at my wife for a second, before turning back to me. 'Neveah said that she will be going with her if you go through with the deal.' Mio Dio...

Valentina shakes her head, her arms dropping to her sides, and starts pacing around the room.

'She's being dramatic.' Leonardo's gaze hardens, making me wonder how he would react if I wasn't already hurt. 'She really cares about Isabelle.'

'I don't care.' I reply. He sighs deeply and looks at Valentina, who finally stopped walking, 'I care about her.'

'Why?' It's a stupid question with a simple answer. A wrong answer, but an answer nonetheless.

'She's my friend and even if she wasn't, you are not making her go back to those people.' She continues, her eyes set ablaze with a raging fire.

One that sparks my own.

'I already made my decision.' Leon steps forward, grasping my attention as he leans on the frame of the bed.

'And I'm telling you, it's not going to happen.' I roll my eyes and move to the edge of the bed, both of them looking at me as if I might break if I even make the wrong move.

'We have enough to deal with, you should go back to Marcello and help him-' 'Is it because of what they said?' Leon asks, completely ignoring what I was trying to say.

'Doesn't matter.' I sneer, trying to move on from all of this.

My head is starting to pound more and more as we continue about this situation.

'Who said what?' Valentina asks, keeping her eyes on mine in an attempt to get me to talk.

But she quickly gives up and turns to Leon, 'Who said what?' She repeats.

'Some guests at Marcello's party were wondering what Isabelle Norman was doing with us since she used to be with the Steels,' Leon says, 'Word goes that we're weak because we keep taking in our enemies.'

Despite me sitting at the edge of the bed, I don't have the energy to slam Leon's face against the wall right now, but I don't take my eyes off of Valentina, who's frowning.

'But we're not.' Leon shakes his head and tilts it slightly toward me. 'We are now that he's down.'

'Shut the fuck up.' I say, making them both look at me as if I wasn't sitting here the entire time.

'Is that true?' She asks, taking a step closer, but still out of arms reach. Maybe if I-, 'Rafael, answer the question.'

'We don't have time to deal with people attacking us if we're trying to find Martin Steel.' Instead, I answer, not fully wanting to cave under their pressure.

'If you send Isabelle back, Neveah will go with her.' Leon repeats as if I didn't hear him the first time. 'She won't, she's just being dramatic. You can convince her not to and we'll all be able to move on.'

'Leon, can I have a moment with him?' Valentina asks, her voice as hard as stone. Even though she's talking to Leon, she's looking at me.

I can't take my eyes off of her, but I can hear a door open and close, knowing Leon just left the room.

'What the- You are not selling her to that disgusting family.' She says, raising her voice just a little bit. 'I'm not selling anyone, I'm simply returning her.'

'Well, you're not returning her either.' She sneers as she starts pacing again.

'Valentina-' 'How could you decide to be so cruel to her? I mean I know you don't like her but this is too far, Rafael!' I follow her with my eyes as she stalks through the room.

She needs to breathe or she'll drive herself mad, 'You went behind all of our backs to deal with this and now- She will not go back there! She can't go back there, okay?'

'Cataleya.' She stops moving and turns around to face me, her chest heaving up and down as if she just ran a mile, 'Calm down, please.'

'She doesn't have to go back there in order for us to seem strong.'

'People talk about us taking in our enemies and letting them live a happy life, Valentina. I can't focus on them when I have other things to worry about.'

'What other things are so important?!' She shouts, forgetting that we're alone in this room, but not alone in the entire house.

'You are more important. Our baby is more important. We have to find Martin Steel before he gets to us again. And let's not forget about North or the twins or everyone else.' She frowns at my words, but the anger seems to dissolve a little, 'I know it's hard to hear, but I would much rather trade her life in order for some peace while we deal with all of this.'

'That's not fair and you know it.' She mutters as she takes a step back. 'It's the way things go in this life.'

'No,' She shakes her head and locks her eyes with mine, a shiver going down my body, 'there has to be another way.'

'There isn't.' She shakes her head again, 'There is.'

'Valentina-' 'Why didn't they say all of this with Kai?' She asks, trying to dig into something to keep this from happening.

'They did.' I answer, not knowing how to calm her down if she's on the other side of the room.

'What did you do to make them stop?'

'They saw him fall in love with Celine.' Her frown deepens as she starts pacing around again.

I can keep my eyes on her until the day I die, but she's moving too much. It's only making my head pound more and more.

'Valentina, please. Don't get yourself worked up about this, she'll be fine.' I have no idea what her story is, apart from the fact that she was with this family before she was with Hunter Steel, but I don't care.

I shouldn't care and I don't.

I want my wife and kids to be safe. My family.

The door opens and all Valentina does is look at me. I can hear Leon clear his throat as I keep my eyes on my wife.

'They still haven't found her.' Leon says as he steps into the room. 'I'll go help search for her.' Valentina mumbles as she slowly heads for the door.

'Cataleya, don't go out there.' Maybe it's best if we don't find her?

Then none of this will be our issue.

The Russians have to find her themselves and we'll be able to move on from all of this.

'I'm going to find her while you're going to think of other ways to get her out of this mess.' She says, not looking back to face me as she speaks before she leaves.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and push my legs to the floor, which hurts more than it should.

I was walking just fine a few hours ago, so why does it hurt this much now?

'Adriano-' Leon runs over to me and tries to get me back on the bed, but I shove him away, making him stumble back.

'Go after her, you idiot!' I sneer as I try to push myself up again. But Leon shakes his head and stays right in front of me, not making any moves to help me either.

'Leon, I will kill you if something happens to her or the baby.' Something shifts in his eyes and I can see his body tense before he nods.

'And if you go through with this deal, I'll never speak to you again.' Threats that should mean absolutely nothing to me at this point, but it does.

'Go after her.' I say, practically begging him to go after my wife to make her stop this nonsense.

'After you tell me that you won't do it.' I sigh and push myself to my feet, ignoring the immense pain rushing through my body as I try to keep myself standing.

Leon wants to rush over and help me, but he won't because he's too stubborn.

'You should stop moving if it hurts so much.'

'You should get the fuck out before I kill you.' I stumble forward and try to reach for him, but he simply takes a big step away from me.

'I won't be able to convince her to stay if you go through with this.'

'Let me talk to her and go after Valentina, right now.' He takes a deep breath before he leaves the room.

I make my way back to the bed, my body feeling like it's about to shatter into pieces, and drop down.

She better be okay... Usually, I would've hated being injured because of the lack of work I could get done while I'm recovering, but now I hate it because I won't be able to keep an eye out for my wife.

She's strong, I know she can handle being out in the woods for a few hours, but I don't want something bad to happen while I'm not there.

I don't want to lose her. Fuck.

The door opens and Neveah walks into the room, her eyes filled with anger and sadness, but most of all disappointment.

'Don't tell me you're actually going through with this.' I ask as I sit on the edge of the bed and look at her.

'I am.' She replies, making me roll my eyes.

'Why?' I don't know why I'm wasting time while I could be searching for my wife, but I figure if I convince North to stay, Valentina won't mind as much.

'Because she shouldn't go through all of that again.'

'And you think you being there will stop anything?' I don't know what she's talking about, but I don't give a fuck.

'I don't know.'

'You think they won't do the same to you as soon as you get there?' She shivers at my words as fear fills her eyes, almost getting rid of the anger, sadness, and disappointment that was there not so long ago.

A gleam appears in her eyes, one I know all too well. One that I can't seem to get rid of.

'At least she won't be alone.' For fuck's sake...

'You're doing this out of anger.' I want that look on her face to disappear and never return again. 'Out of anger?'

I nod and watch as she heads to the chair near my bed, 'Because of the list.'

'I don't give a single fuck about that list of tasks or what happened that night, I'm doing this because it's not fair that you're punishing her for something she has nothing to do with.'

'North, she was with them before, she'll-' 'I'm going with her if you're sending her.' God...

What is it with everyone wanting me to kill them today?

'What about your kids?' I ask, hoping it will somehow be too much for her so that she'll change her mind.

'They have you guys, they have all they need.' She says, the words coming out forced and pained.

She doesn't want to leave them, but according to her, it's the only way.

'And what will that change?' I ask, sounding calmer than I am. 'She won't be alone through all of it.'

I stay silent, not knowing what to do or say to make her come to her senses.

'Rio, I could barely manage a week- no a night of assault... Remember? That night, you saw what happened to me and you saw how I-' I turn away, not wanting to hear another word.

I don't want to think about that night.

I don't want to think about North on the floor with- No.

'I fought through it because of Leya. I wanted Leya to be back with us, I wanted to return for her.' She continues, making me sigh as I turn my head back to her, 'If Isa goes in there alone, she'll have no one to return to. She won't be able to get out. She'll be raped day in and out until she gets pregnant and even then, they'll keep using her.'

The images of that night spill into my head and I'm starting to feel nauseous again.

'I don't want to go.' She states as she gets back on her feet, 'But if you send her, you're sending me too.'

'No.' I don't want either of them to go through it, not even Norman. It makes me sick to even think about it.

But a deal is a deal. I will not make North go through any of it again, 'You are not going.'

She turns back to face me and takes a deep breath, 'I am.'

'You're just doing this out of spite.' If she leaves the room like this, she'll never stay. I just need her to understand what I'm trying to say without having to actually say it.

But North is slow and dumb and absolutely blind to what I'm trying to say without having to say it.

'I'm not doing anything out of spite!' She shouts, her anger finally boiling up again, 'I don't care about that stupid list, I just don't want Isa to go through anything alone!'

We haven't talked about the list ever since we got rid of it, so maybe this is a good thing. It might be at the wrong time, but that doesn't matter.

'You should be mad at me.' She takes in my words and frowns, before nodding.

'I should be, but I'm not.' She admits, more to herself than to me.

Because I know she would not be talking to me if she was still angry about that list. 'Why not?'

'Because I know you did it out of anger. You didn't want anything to happen to Leya and I brought her to the enemy without thinking about the consequences, I get it.' I just took it too far...

'You just took it too far and you regret it but you'll never admit it because you're too stubborn to ever admit anything like it.' She does get me sometimes...

'I know that you're sorry, Rio.' She says, making my heart race, 'But I will not let this one slide, simply because you're sorry for something you did in the past.'

'Neveah, you're not going.'

'You leave me no choice.' How do I kill someone from this far without a gun or a knife?

She heads for the door and looks at me over her shoulder, 'If you truly care about me, even the slightest bit, you'll stop all of this and let her stay with us.'

'Who says I care about you?' I ask, testing to see if she indeed caught up with me.

'You didn't have to.' She opens the door and looks at the person standing on the other side.

It's Marco and he's breathing hard. As if he ran a mile just like Leon not so long ago.

'I'll leave you to it.' Neveah says as she walks out of the room and leaves me alone with Marco.

A Marco who does not seem pleased to see me.

'Cancel everything.' He says, still trying to catch his breath, 'I am begging you, cancel everything.'

I roll my eyes and tilt my head, looking him up and down, 'I don't see you begging.'

It's supposed to be a joke, I'm not expecting Marco to drop to his knees and beg me to cancel all of this, but he drops to his knees and looks up at me.

'Please. Do not go through with this deal.' I frown and take in the sight.

Marco Barsetti, begging me to let this go just to keep his fucktoy around. Yet he claims he doesn't care about her at all...

'Get up.' I say, hating the sight of my friend being this weak and desperate.

'Rafael, please-' 'Get. Up.' I order this time, making his shoulders tense as he gets back on his feet.

'I already told them they could have her back next week,' I say, feeling my headache go down a bit, 'There's nothing we can do.'

I feel bad for making Norman go through it all again, but I can't risk my family getting hurt because of all of this.

'Tell them the deal is off.'

'They need a valid reason.' He nods and takes a step forward. 'Give them one.'

'I can't.' Something settles in his eyes, something that looks like defeat.

'Rio, I beg of you.' He gets even closer and looks straight into my eyes, trying to reach into my mind so that he can alter it to make all of this change, 'Do not go through with this deal.'

I stay silent, letting everything settle for just a second, not really knowing what to say as I try to come up with a different way to deal with all of this.

'If you send her away, I'm leaving too.' For fuck's sake...

Everyone is talking about leaving and I don't get it. I know that this is hard to digest, but we've been through worse.

'Why does everyone all of a sudden care about a girl we tried to murder not so long ago?'

'We wanted to kill her because we thought she had something to do with Leon's death.' He counters, making my headache return with his loud voice.

'We still don't know if she had nothing to do with it.' His face hardens and for a split second, it looks like he's going to hit me.

'She will never forgive me for that night.'

'So why do you care about her staying with us or with the Russians?' I ask, obviously pushing his boundaries.

He only told me about his feelings for Cataleya after he realized that I was not going to let go of her ever again, which means his feeling for Norman, if he has them, might not come out until it's too late.

And what if he does love her? What if he cares about her?

It won't be enough to keep her here unless... no.

'Because... I don't want her to go through that again.'

'And why is that?' His shoulders tense as he slowly takes a step back, his eyes filled with fear.

As if he's just realizing why he's fighting for her.

'You know why.' He mutters, looking at the floor in despair.

'I don't, because you don't fucking talk.'

'If you're doing this out of revenge for the time I spent with Leya, I'll tell you now, this is too far.' What? 'Punish me differently, but leave her out of this, please!'

'You think I'm sending her away to punish you?'

He nods and keeps his gaze on the floor, 'Why else would you go this far.'

'Maybe because people will attack us if I keep one of our enemies with us on good terms?' I start as I get back on my feet, 'Maybe because I don't want to worry about my wife or our baby or everyone else's safety more than I already have to? Or maybe because she has lived with the Steels for most of her fucking life?'

'I'll kill everyone who will come after us.' He sounds determined, but we both know that won't happen.

'You'll try, but you'll get yourself killed.' If we're going to be attacked from all sides, we won't be able to fight back.

At least not right now.

'There has to be another way.' He looks up at me, his eyes more desperate than ever.

It might be because he knows that there's no other way around this, or because he just doesn't want to admit defeat.

'She can't- I can't let her go through all of that after all the shit I did to her.' He continues as I simply look at him.

There's one way we can make this work, but it will be a big risk for everyone.

And I don't know if the Russians will like the way we'll deal with it either, but at least no one will have to go through any of it. For now...

'Do you love her?' I ask. I need to know about his feelings for her before I continue with all of this.

'What?' He asks, confused why I'm asking him about his feelings for Norman. 'Answer the question.'

'No. I don't- I don't know. But that's not why I'm here-' 'Do you care about her?' I ask instead, knowing that love is a difficult subject for all of us.

Because as much as Marco hates admitting it, he doesn't like admitting to being in love either.

'I don't fucking know, that's not where my head is at right now.' He mutters as he takes a few steps closer. 'Where is your head at?'

He looks directly at my face and tilts his head, 'I want to know where Isabelle is. I want to know what will happen to her. I want t know if she's okay.'

'So you're head is with Isabelle?' His shoulders tense again, but he nods nonetheless. Fuck...

He might not be in love with her, but he certainly cares about her.

And when Marco cares about a woman, it's not just caring about her wellbeing. It's caring about her in ways that make it seem like he's in love, which he might be.

But for now, he cares about her. And that's enough for him to go and make sure she's safe.

Even if it will get him killed.

'Where's Norman?' He takes another step back and frowns at me, probably wondering why I'm asking for the girl I'm willing to hand back to her worst nightmare, but I need to talk to her first.

I need to know if she would be willing to take the alternative before I ask my friend.

Because if she's not willing to take what I have to offer, it won't be any better.

'She ran into the woods, so we have no clue.' I nod and stumble forward, my body hurting with every step I take.

But after a while, I get used to the pain and I'm able to get to the door.

'What are you doing?' Marco asks, following me through the hall, but not stopping me either.

'I need to talk to Norman.' I reply, realizing Marco stopped moving and is still standing somewhere in the hall as I head for the door.

There's only one forest around here and I know that there are a billion ways to go through it all. So I have to start where the others didn't...

I head down the hill, straight for the woods ahead, and look around for Valentina or anyone else. Where are they?

The deeper I get into the woods, the more I'm feeling like giving up.

I don't know how long she's been out here so far, she could be anywhere.

I stop near a small river and sit on one of the big rocks as I look around, my body aching because of all the movement of today. Where the fuck is she?

After looking around like some idiot, I get up and go a little further into the woods.

And to my surprise, I notice a woman with blond hair, balled up against a big rock.'

'Norman.' Her head whips around and fear takes over her entire body as she notices me behind her.

She jumps to her feet and steps away from the rock. It looks like she's trying to find a way out of here, but the only way she can go is through me.

'Stay away from me.' She cries as she slowly backs away from me, but I stay put.

She could run and I would let her go, but at least I would know that I've tried.

'I'm here to negotiate.' I continue, ignoring her bark to stay away and watch as she reaches for a rock on the ground and throws it at me.

It barely reaches my shoe, but when she reaches for a big branch at throws it at me, I have to step to the side to make sure that she doesn't knock me out with it.

'Stop being dramatic and listen.' I sneer, making her slump down against the rock again.

She has been outside all this time. Her legs are covered in bruises and her shirt is ripped at her waist, blood staining the edges because of the cut she has there.

'I know you and I don't like each other, and I don't think that will ever change.' I say with all honesty.

I don't plan on changing the way I am around her if she takes this deal and I don't want her thinking that I will, 'But I'm willing to change what's about to happen.'

'How?' She asks as tears spill from her eyes, 'You already went ahead and told them that they could have me!'

'Marry Marco.' I state, my body begging me to rest.

She stays silent and looks at me, but it feels like she's looking through me as I continue, 'I'll tell them that you two eloped and that I had no clue, that way they'll leave you alone.' I hope...

'Why him?' Because he cares... 'Can't I just marry a random man off the street?'

Maybe she should... That way she won't a burden to me and I won't ever have to think about her again.

But Marco...

If she was going to get married to anyone else, he would freak out and we wouldn't be guaranteed that she'll be treated the way Marco will treat her.

'They wouldn't attack one of us.' If she marries Marco, she'll officially be one of us. 'I can't guarantee your safety if you marry someone else.'

I don't want her to be one of us, but it's the only option apart from sending her back there.

'You can decide if you want to marry him out of love or simply on paper, but if you want to stay with us, you'll have to marry him.'

'And what if I run?' She asks a bit skeptical about what I might do. 'You could.'

Her frown only deepens as she climbs to her feet, 'You could, but they would come after you.'

'And you would let them kill me.' She adds as if she's weighing out both options.

'I wouldn't blink an eye.'

Norman looks at me and nods, slowly letting everything sink in as she steps forward.

'The choice is yours, but be quick.' Either marry into this mess or count your fucking days...

----

A/N: What do you guys think? Should Isabelle and Marco get married? And will Marco agree to it?

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter even though it was a bit shorter than the other ones! Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote!

I love you guys so much and I'm scared to start the last chapter because I will probably get emotional as fuck.

I hope to see you guys in the next chapter my loves, have a blessed day/night <3