It takes me a moment to register what's happening. The fact that I thought my brother had graduated and is staying with his friends, makes me feel like I'm a fool. He hadn't been visiting, maybe once or twice a year, and barely calling. Indeed, he took his time to graduate, which is totally fine, but he completely ignored our existence, my existence.

I look up at his shocked face and anger fills my body. All this time, he has been what? Working for the mafia?

"Ana..." His voice is shaking as he looks at me with guilt.

I look around to see if anyone knew, but from their shocked faces, I don't think they did.

"You know her?" Rafael asks, furrowing his brows.

Andrew swallows and nods. "She's my sister. The one I told you about."

I hear someone cursing, but I don't know who. The only thing I could think about is how angry I am.

I look at Andrew with the fire burning in my eyes. I still can't comprehend what's happening. How is he here? The fucker left us, let me, and joined a mafia. Why? What happened to him? He left us and we never knew anything about him. The only times he comes back home were on Christmas and New Year. Not even our birthdays.

"Ana...please say something," Andrew pleads, keeping a good space between us.

I want to hit him, yell at him, and make him feel like shit, but the only thing that I do is answer him coldly because I don't want to show him how much he hurt me.

I look around the room and my eyes land on Rafael's gun. Oh, how much I want to shoot Andrew's leg to take my revenge. The funny part is that Rafael saw me looking at his gun and he tightens his hold on it, thinking that I'd actually use it.

I look back at Andrew, who still has a pleading look on his face, and say, "Well, what do you want me to say? Nice to see you, bro?"

I glare at him and march inside the house, leaving him outside. The tears which I suppressed start coming down. I run to my room and start crying my eyes out.

I feel betrayed, humiliated, and hurt.

I tried. I tried leaving the house, but my father was a control freak. He let my brother go because he was a boy. Boys could do anything they want, according to him. Besides, he loved Andrew more. Andrew is two years older than me. I used to cling to him whenever I was scared of my parents. He knew that. He knew how much they expected from me and when I couldn't deliver what would happen. Yet, he left. He left to live the life he wanted, away from my parents. I shouldn't blame him, but I can't help but feel betrayed and hurt.

I was alone in that house.

I keep sobbing that I don't hear the door opening. I feel a hand around my shoulder, making me flinch slightly.

"Hey, it's me," Victoria says, making me relax.

I look at her and bury my face in her neck as I continue crying. She pats my back gently, not telling me to stop. She's letting me take it all out, which I am very grateful for.

When my cries die down, she takes my face in her hands and wipes my tears with her thumb. "Are you okay?" Her gentle voice soothes me.

"Yes," my voice cracks.

"Now, tell me, darling. What happened out there?"

I sniff and push my body backward, so I could look at her properly.

"Andrew is my brother. He...left a few years ago to live on his own. We never really see him unless on Christmas or New Year. We were very close and he left."

"Why did he leave?" She frowned, gently playing with my hair.

"My parents...they are too much. I know I am acting like a selfish person, but I can't help but feel betrayed. He left me with them, knowing how they treat me. The only time I finally got out of that house was when I quit the hospital. I finally got to live on my own for six months until now."

"Come here, honey." She hugs me tightly and plays with my hair gently. "I am sure he has an explanation. Hear him, okay?"

"I shouldn't blame him nor be mad at him. It's his life and he could do whatever he wants. I just thought that he would act differently because I'm his sister."

"I know, sweetie. I know." She breaks the hug but still holds me close as she looks into my eyes. "I have known Andrew for a long time. He studied with Rafael at the university, and as far as I know, he has reasons for everything. He used to always talk about his sisters. We never really asked anything personal about his life because he used to get mad, but he never stopped talking about his one sister that he missed the most."

For some reason, hearing Victoria telling me about how Andrew talked about us made me feel so much better. I feel like I wasn't the only one who thought about him. He did too. He never forgot me.

"Thank you, Victoria." I smile weakly, hugging her again.

It's so weird that I felt Victoria like a mother to me when I just met her half an hour ago. I didn't even feel this way with my mother. Manuel was so right about her when he told me how kind his wife is. She's an angel.

She smiles back and wipes my tears again. "I know you don't feel like going back down, so stay here and I'll speak with Andrew."

"Okay, thank you."

She nods and smiles, and walks out of the room.

I push my body back on the bed until my back hits the comfy mattress. I close my eyes and sigh deeply. My eyes hurt from how hard I cried. They're burning.

I walk to the bathroom and wash my face, massaging my eyes gently. I always did that whenever I cried as if the pain would miraculously go away. It's amazing how different every person deals with pain.

I decide to take a shower. Showers are the only thing that could make you feel better besides food. Not every person has an appetite after they cry or feel sad.

After showering, I wear my pajamas and head to bed. It's still very early, but I can't open my eyes. They still hurt.

I cradle the duvet and let sleep consumes me.

* * *



When Andrew and I met in university, we never went deep into our families, especially me because I couldn't tell him anything about my family, so he never told me about mine and I never asked. It was only when we became best friends that he told me about his, and even then, he never went too deep. I knew his parents and their names, but he never told me his sister's. I didn't even tell him about Alba.

When he joined the mafia, he met my parents and Alba, and even then, I never asked him about his family because I know it was a hard subject for him.

"How...why is she here?" Andrew asks with a frown on his face.

We are sitting in the backyard. My mother, father, Cash, Alex, Alba, and Andrew.

"It's a long story," Cash says.

"What happened?" Andrew asks.

"She's the doctor that helped us escape," I reply.

"I know that, but why is she here? I thought she helped you and that's it," Andrew explains.

"Well, she insisted to come," Alex speaks up.

"She? She insisted?" Andrew's eyebrows lift in surprise.

I nod. "You need to talk to her."

"She won't listen."

"I talked to her and convinced her to listen," my mother points out.

Andrew just nods, not saying anything. I could feel his anxiety through the air as his leg moves up and down.

"I better go. I'll come back later to talk to her. Don't let her go."

"Don't worry, she's staying here," my father replies.

Andrew nods and leaves.

I decide to go check up on Ana even though I give no shit about her. Well, yeah...

I knock on her bedroom door and wait till she opens it. A minute goes by and she doesn't open the door. I decide to call for her name. Again, she doesn't answer.

I put my hand on the handle and open the door slowly. I look inside only to see her on the bed, sleeping. I walk inside like a thief until I stand beside her bed. I see the duvet's not covering her stomach, so I pick it up and cover her.

She suddenly moves and mumbles something. I quickly walk out, but not before hearing a scream from behind me.

* * *