∙ PROLOGUE ∙

DISCLAIMER: I made this when I was still new on Wattpad and I was still a baby writer, so I hope you guys can be a little easy on it. Nevertheless, TFTBB is a book I take pride in, so I hope you enjoy it regardless! Thank you!

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     “We are now standing in front of the main building of the Valentino Group of Companies, and I can honestly say that this building is just spectacular.” The news reporter says as he turns around to admire at the building behind him.

     He looks back at the cameraman and continues, “As you can see, reporters from every station has gathered here today for the company’s seventh anniversary. The chairman of this great empire has allowed us, for the first time in history, to get a glimpse inside this marvelous building.”

     As he was about to say something else, the main door of the building opens, and everyone who were waiting outside the building started cheering.

     “The doors are open!” the reporter excitedly announces.

      A man - who was obviously in a high position in the company - walks in front of the reporters with a megaphone. The first thing everyone noticed was that the man was wearing leather gloves, but no one dared ask about it.

     The man positions the megaphone in front of his mouth and says, “Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We are honored that you have decided to visit this company, but as the chairman instructed, you are to oblige to all the rules that are to be given to you, guests or not. If you break any of the rules, you are forced to leave the building with no question.”

     The moment the man said those words; everyone who were listening started to look serious.

     “ Rule one , you are to wear the gloves provided to you before entering the building,“ the man started, and on cue, dozens of other men in suit and gloves went out of the building to hand out leather gloves to the reporters and camera crews.

     The people were confused, but they wore the gloves anyway.

    When everyone was already wearing the gloves, the man with the megaphone continued, “ Rule two , you are not to touch or move any of the objects inside the building. Rule three , you will only follow the man in charge of the tour and will not roam. Rule four , you are not to ask any of the employees any questions that were not approved by the company, and Rule five …“

     The man pauses and looks at everyone with a terrifying glare before continuing with the rules, “Everything…must be in complete order.”

     The news reporter gulps as he stares at the man in front of them with an expression that showed worry.

     “Follow these rules and we will end this tour with ease. Now, in behalf of Chairman Romeo Valentino, I am president Lukas Sterling, and welcome to the Valentino Empire,” the man says before giving the megaphone to the guard beside him.

     President Sterling goes back inside the building first, and like what he instructed, all the reporters went into a straight line before heading inside and following him inside the building as well.

     “ This company is already interesting, “ our main reporter whispered to the camera.

     As he was following the line like the rest of the reporters, he looks back at the camera and whispers again, “ There are rumours that the chairman of this company has severe

OCD

issues, I doubted it at first but now I’m starting to think that those rumours must be true. “

     “This is the main lobby. This is where we handle visitors and guests,” the president explains as everyone marveled at the beauty of the lobby area.

     “This looks more like a hotel lobby,” the reporter comments with awe.

     Everyone inside the building was wearing leather gloves too, and there were sanitizers placed in almost every inch of the building.

     The president continued to walk towards another room, but the reporter looks at the cameraman and says, “We’re not going to get any juicy gossip if we just go with the flow here. Our viewers want to see the real thing, right?”

     He looked straight at the camera, like he was actually waiting for the audience to respond to him.

     He grins and leans closer to the camera before whispering, “ Follow me. “

     “ Are you fucking serious? You’re gonna get us kicked out, “ the cameraman suddenly whispered back.

     “ We’re here to get the real story behind this mysterious empire, not the lies. Now stop acting like a baby and follow me, “ the reporter fires back.

     When everyone was already in a different room, the reporter quickly ran towards the staircase without anyone seeing him; the cameraman just right behind him.

     They ran upstairs until they were out of breath.

     He looks back at the camera and says, “Oh my god…this is crazy.”

     “You’re going to get us in big trouble Paul,” the cameraman says, but the reporter - who was apparently named Paul - ignores him and enters a room instead.

     The room was a typical company office. It was just employees with leather gloves ( not weird at all ) inside office cubicles. But if you’re wondering if there’s at least something different about it then I can say that everything is just dead-ass organized.

     From stacks of papers to pens perfectly aligned on top of the desk, everything, and I mean everything, was just well organized.

     “This is kinda creepy and impressive at the same time,” the reporter says, making everyone look at him with shock.

     A female employee quickly stands up from her seat to go to him, “Sir, I’m sorry but what are you-”

     The reporter didn’t even care about the consequences of his actions as he cut her off with no hesitation, “Don’t worry, I’m a reporter and we were given a pass,” the reporter lies while showing the gate pass that was around his neck.

     The girl was about to question him again but the reporter quickly says, “So, can you say something about Chairman Valentino?”

     The female employee was surprised and couldn’t even answer, so a male employee steps in to stop him.

     “I’m sorry but the reporters are instructed to only follow the…”

     “I’ll leave as soon as you answer my questions,” the reporter persistently says.

     The male employee looked annoyed, so he grabbed the reporter by the arm and leaned towards him, “If you don’t want both of us to get in trouble…leave.”

     “I told you, I’ll only leave if I-”

    The female employee cuts him off this time as she says, “You want to know something about the chairman? Well he’s not the nicest man you’ll meet, so we suggest you leave now before we call the guards.”

     The male employee finally lets go of the reporter’s arm. The reporter then looks back at the cameraman and nods his head, “Fine, we’ll be leaving now. Sorry for the trouble.”

     Everyone was looking at the reporter, so he quickly pushed the cameraman out of the room before anyone starts calling the guards for real.

     The moment they were outside, the reporter laughs.

     “Oh shoot I thought we were going to get kicked out,” he excitedly says.

     “We will be if we don’t stop snooping around. We should head back to where the others are,” the cameraman insisted.

     “Oh come on, we’re only getting started,” the reporter answers as he started walking away from where the cameraman was standing.

     The cameraman sighs in frustration but follows the reporter anyways. While they were hurriedly walking, the reporter bumps into another male employee.

     The reporter looks at the camera and whispers, “ Another suspect. “

     The male employee was supposed to ignore them, but the reporter grabs him by the arm and stops him. The reporter was about to ask him the same question about the chairman like what he did to the other employees earlier, but he stops midway when he sees the male employee glaring at him instead.

     The employee was wearing the same leather gloves that everyone was wearing, but he was fully covered from neck down, no part of his skin would be seen except his face. The way he just stood there sent out a somehow visible dark aura too. His eyes looked so taunting that it made the reporter gulp and slowly let go of his arm.

     “G-Good morning…sir,” the reporter says nervously.

     The male employee stares at the reporter without saying a word, making the reporter feel terrified even more.

     “We’re just…we’re just here to interview-”

     “You’re not supposed to be here,” the employee says with a low and intimidating voice, making the reporter flinch.

     “There they are!” someone suddenly shouts from the end of the hallway.

     The reporter and the cameraman quickly turns around only to see five guards approaching them.

     “This is what I was talking about Paul!” the cameraman finally shouts as he puts the camera down. Now the camera was focused on the floor.

     “Timothy, run!” the reporter shouts back, and then both of them started running as the guards chased after them.

     The guards were eventually able to catch up with them. They grabbed the two troublemakers by the waist and carried them like a potato sack.

     “Sorry! We didn’t mean to roam around! Please don’t hurt us!” the reporter begged, but the guards didn’t listen to him.

     Soon after they arrived at the lobby area. The guards threw the two men out of the building, causing the camera to have a crack on the lens because of the impact.

     “The chairman will deal with you afterwards.” One of the guards informed as he glares at the two men before going back inside the building with the rest of the guards.

     The reporter and the cameraman were panting heavily as they looked at each other.

     “T-The camera…is it okay?” the reporter asks as he stood up from the floor.

     The cameraman stands up as well to check the camera, “It’s okay. It has a crack but it’s still working.”

     The reporter laughs and rejoices.

     “Damn that was awesome! We didn’t get much but at least we got more exciting content than those other reporters,” the reporter says with a proud smile.

     He cleans himself off and looks back at the camera, “Well guys I guess that’s all we have left. I am Paul Martinez from EXRay Media, showing you the insides of the lives of famous and well-known people. Thank you and have a great day.”

     * Television turns off *

     I smirked and stood up from the sofa.

     “Sir, do you want me to contact that company so we could talk to that Paul Martinez reporter?” my secretary asked.

     I placed the remote control as neatly as possible on the table. Then I looked at my secretary and answered, “Please do. That man wanted to know more about me right? Then let’s show him how NICE I could be.”

     “Of course chairman.”

     My secretary bows his head and leaves the room with no further questions.

     I took a deep breath and walked towards my mirror to stare at my own reflection. Then, the phone suddenly rings.

     I sighed and commanded, “Answer call”

     The phone automatically answers the caller.

     “ Val! Happy seventh anniversary! Heard you were having a party tomorrow! “ the man enthusiastically says.

     I quickly frowned when I realized who the caller was, “I am, was it too obvious that I didn’t invite you?”

     “ Very funny Val. So, where’s the location? Everyone here wouldn’t tell me where it is “, my friend – Bryson King – asked through the phone.

     “I told you you’re not invited, and I specifically told everyone to not inform you about it. It’s a business party, outsiders aren’t allowed, especially you,” I answered him as I walked back to the sofa to sit down.

     “ Oh come on, I’m a fucking King, I am definitely not an outsider. And you obviously know that I’m under one of your companies too. If it weren’t for the Kings you wouldn’t be so high and mighty now Mr. Valentino, “ Bryson explained, making me smirk on how stupid he sounded, “I work with your father, not with his stupid and spoiled son. So please end the call so I could stop hearing your annoying voice.”

     “ You’re seriously making bad jokes right now Val…anyways, just text me whenever you feel like having fun. You know I got more places to bring you, “ he stated, but before I could complain, he hangs up the phone.

     I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, but then I quickly opened them back when I remembered something.

     I took the remote control and turned the television on again, then I skimmed the clip that I just watched earlier and stopped at the part where the reporter bumped into one of my employees.

     “We’re just…we’re just here to interview-”

     “You’re not supposed to be here.”

     I stopped the clip on the part where it was focused on the male employee.

     I stared at him for a long time, not even recognizing who he was, “Who the hell are you?” I asked myself as I continued to stare at him.

     I didn’t like how I didn’t know him.

     I knew everyone in my company because I needed to know everything in order for my company to be organized.

     Me not knowing who he was, made me furious.

     I was so angry that I was clenching on the remote that I thought it would eventually break.

     I took a deep breath and eased myself, and then I looked back at the screen. He was staring directly at the camera, his jet-black eyes filled with emotions that for a second I thought he was directly right in front of me now too.

     I quickly blinked and turned the television off again.

     “He’s not significant,” I told myself as I placed the remote back on the table as neatly as possible.

     I stood up from the sofa and said again, “He’s not significant.”

     I walked back to where my mirror was and stared at my reflection for the second time.

     “He’s not significant.” I said for the last time to convince myself that he really wasn’t…

      And boy was I so wrong about that.

• END -

NOTE: Chapters with [m] on the Chapter Title are chapters with

intimate scenes

. You might find it useful in the future *wink

*wink ;)

Well all the chapters have a somewhat

intimate scene

in them but [m] chapters are just a lot more intense.

Chapters with .5 are chapters that aren’t really connected to the main storyline but it might answer some questions and might help you understand some things. These chapters usually happened in the past.

You may follow me on Instagram to get updates about myself, my books, and the new books that I’ll be publishing: wickedauthor_n

(1) Chairman Clean

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     “How about this sir?” the seamstress asked as she showed me another white coat that looked similar to the last one that she showed me.

     I was inside my office looking at suits to wear for the party tonight.

     I asked everyone to wear white because I want things to look clean when I look at the crowd, but somehow, me wearing white like everyone else made me feel uneasy.

     “Black”, I simply told her.

      The seamstress slowly puts the white coat down and asks, “I’m sorry?”

      I looked at my secretary, and like a secret language, he nods his head in understanding and looks back at the seamstress, “the chairman would want a black one.”

      The woman looked surprised as she says, “I’m sorry but I only brought white ones today since you wanted…”

     I cleared my throat; then the two guards who were standing beside the door quickly goes to where the seamstress was to take all her things.

     “Let’s go”, one of the guards said to the woman.

     The woman looked shocked and confused at the same time, “I-I’m sorry but I’ll be back and bring black ones as well, I promise to-”

     I motioned my hands towards the door to quickly make them leave, so the guards lifted the woman up from her arms and dragged her out.

     I sighed as the door shuts.

     “Chairman Val, the party is tonight. If you want, we could just go to a clothing store and-”

     I quickly lifted my hand to stop my secretary from suggesting stupid things.

     “I am not going to those filthy public shops just to buy a suit that dozens of costumers have already tried. We talked about this Edrick…each suit must be personalized and done by one seamstress only. What was not clear to you?” I asked as I stared at him with my deadly gray eyes.

     He gulps and nods his head in understanding, “Of course, I’ll immediately look for a new one now.”

     Then he leaves my office.

     I stood up from the sofa and walked towards my desk. Before sitting down, I looked at the things on top of the table.

     I aligned everything until it was pleasing enough for me to look at, when everything was okay, I smiled satisfyingly and finally sat down.

     By the way, I’m Chairman Romeo Valentino , but you may address me as Val. I am the 34-year-old CEO of Valentino Group of Companies, also known as the Valentino Empire. There are a lot of rumors about me on how I was able to build such a great empire with such a young age. Well, some rumors are absurd, while some are practically facts.

     My employees call me Chairman Clean, but I don’t get mad by such petty nicknames because it’s not as baseless as others might think.

      I suffer from OCD, or to make it clearer, Obsessive–compulsive disorder …

      I hate dirty things. I hate seeing things that aren’t in order. I want things to be precise, arranged, and planned. Being touched by people makes me vomit, which is why I require all my employees to wear gloves.

     If I’m allowed to work with robots then I could have already done it years ago, but sadly, humans are the only things I can work with for now.

     “Romeo…” someone suddenly calls out, barging inside my office without even knocking.

     I quickly grabbed my stress ball and started squeezing on it as soon as I saw my 52-year-old personal assistant slash butler enter the office.

     “Knock…three times…those are the rules”, I say as I try not to show my anger.

     Johnson Pollock, who has been taking care of me since I was young, ignores what I just told him and slams his hand on my desk, causing the pens and papers to be unaligned.

     I ignored Johnson’s sudden outburst and quickly dropped my stress ball to fix everything again, but Johnson suddenly grabs my hand to stop me.

     I angrily looked at him, but the moment I looked up, he slapped me on my right cheek, making me widen my eyes from shock.

     “Four seamstress has dedicated their hours to make you your stupid white coat…and you fire all of them for a fucking black one? Are you fucking mad Romeo? Have you been cleaning yourself too much that you washed away your sense of sympathy too?” he angrily asked me, my cheeks burning because of how hard he slapped me.

     I was already breathing heavily as I touched my cheek.

     “Wear the black suit you wore on the seminar last week. Stop wasting money and other people’s time, do you understand me?” Johnson commanded.

     Without even waiting for my response, he leaves the room.

     I sat there, frozen in place.

     My heart was beating fast as I stared at the unarranged things on top of my desk. And the tingling feeling I had on my cheeks made my stomach churn.

     I blinked and quickly fixed the things on the desk again before standing up to go to the bathroom.

     I removed my leather gloves and threw it on the trash, and then I went in front of the sink to wash my face.

     “H-He was wearing gloves…he was wearing gloves”, I reminded myself as I felt Johnson’s touch on my cheek.

     I washed my face again and sanitized my hands. Then I quickly wore new gloves from the cabinet before heading out of the restroom.

     But the tingling feeling on my cheek was still there.

     My stomach churned again.

     And I couldn’t stop the urge to vomit.

---

     “Chairman Val”, my secretary calls out.

     I blinked and realized that we have actually arrived at the hotel where we were going to hold the company party.

     “Sorry…let’s go”, I say as Johnson parked in front of the hotel’s main entrance.

     “Call me as soon as anything comes up”, Johnson tells me, but I decided to ignore him since I  was still furious about what he did earlier. But even though I was furious, I still wore the suit he asked me to wear without any question.

     My secretary goes out of the car to open the door for me. Once the door was open, dozens or camera’s started flashing at the same time, I went out of the car and ignored all of them as I entered the hotel.

     “Good evening chairman Val, and thank you for choosing Poseidon Hotel once again to celebrate your company’s anniversary”, the president of the hotel says as he tried to catch up with me.

     I continued to walk, my secretary walking behind me.

     I looked down and saw that the president was wearing gloves. I took a deep breath and felt relieved when I saw it.

     “It is my greatest pleasure to hold the celebration here again”, I say with a fake smile.

     We then arrived at the hall where the party was arranged. Guards opened the door for me, and then everyone inside the room quickly stood up and started clapping their hands when they saw me enter.

     “And the chairman has finally arrived!” the host enthusiastically says as I walked down the aisle towards the stage.

     Everyone was wearing white and was properly sitting on the tables they were assigned to.

     I gave out more fake smiles as I waved at the guests. When I finally arrived at the stage, everyone stopped clapping and sat down.

     I stood in front of the microphone stand, making sure my lips were a few inches away from the microphone. But before talking, I looked at my secretary who was still standing beside me. Without saying a word to him, he whispered, “ It’s a brand new microphone sir. “

     I nodded and looked back at the crowd again.

     “Good evening everyone and thank you for celebrating the company’s seventh anniversary with me once again. I’d love to name everyone who made this empire successful but…I can’t name all of my employees right?” I say, making everyone laugh.

     When the crowd mellowed down, I continued, “Long speeches are cliché, so let’s just have fun tonight. Enjoy the food and wine everyone, thank you.”

      Everyone stood up and clapped again as I walked down the stage.

      I would love to make a long speech but I always feel uncomfortable talking in front of a microphone. I’m too afraid that my lips would eventually touch it so I keep my speeches short.

     “Let’s now greet everyone sir”, my secretary tells me. I nodded my head, and then we greeted all the presidents and vice presidents from all of my companies from all over the country.

     Everyone knows about my condition so they all wear gloves, and they never shook my hand. Those are the basic things that you must know when you are working for me.

     But as I was pretending to be interested  on the things that everyone was saying, my eyes were roaming around the room.

     My employees from the main branch are all here, which means the man with the jet-black eyes from the television would be here too.

     “Chairman?” one of the presidents called out.

     I quickly shifted my attention back to him and said, “Yes of course…thank you so much; enjoy the party.”

     I didn’t know what he was saying but I wasn’t interested in it anymore. I quickly left without hearing his response, and then I started walking around the room, trying to get a glimpse of the man who I saw yesterday.

     “Sir, are you looking for someone?” my secretary suddenly asked as he continued to follow me.

     Without looking at him, I answered, “Go ahead and enjoy the food, you may leave me for now.”

     He was shocked on what I instructed him, but he nodded his head anyways and left my side.

     I continued to look for the unknown man when suddenly, President Matthew   King stands in front of me with a wide smile.

     “Chairman Val! Congratulations on another successful year”, he says.

      I was uneasily tapping my feet and couldn’t concentrate, but I nodded my head and answered anyways, “Yes, of course…thank you. Enjoy the-”

     “You look uneasy”, he suddenly says with a smirk, finally making me stop tapping my feet.

      I now looked at him seriously as I said, “Uneasy? No, I’m just-”

     “Looking for someone?” he asked me, surprising me even more.

     “Is something out of order? Did something happen inside the company that you didn’t know about?” he continued to ask.

     I clenched my fist but faked a smile, “There is, and by the way you’re acting…you know the exact reason why.”

     President King gives out a low chuckle and says, “You must have finally seen him. I doubted you at first but now I’m quite impressed. You really do know each and everyone of your employees.”

     I was forcing myself not to get mad to not ruin the mood of the party, so I calmly asked instead, “What did you do now?”

      “I sincerely apologize chairman, but you were so busy with the preparations that I transferred one of my employees to the main branch without asking for your permission. He has been the best employee in my company for the past month and I have decided to make him work at your building to help him enhance his skills. I hope that does not bother you”, he says with an apologetic expression that almost made me cringe.

     He obviously knew that it bothered me, but he also knew that I would not ruin such a perfect order just because of this.

     I took a deep breath and continued to clench on my fist as I answered him, “No of course, it does NOT bother me in any way. But President King, I hope that this would be the last time you pull such a stunt, do you understand me?”

     The president smiles and says, “Of course, I apologize again chairman Val.”

     I was about to ask what the name of that fucking employee was at least, but the guards suddenly started arguing with someone, causing everyone to look at their way.

     President King and I quickly turned around, but the moment we saw what the ruckus was about, both of us quickly had frowns on our faces.

     “That idiotic son of mine”, the president says as he was about to approach the scene, but I quickly lifted my hand to stop him, “I’ll handle him. You enjoy the party president.”

      Without waiting for his consent, I went to where the noise was coming from.

     “Let me in! I am Bryson King, son of Matthew King, and I command you to let me in!” Bryson shouts as he was unsuccessfully trying to push the guards away.

     “Bryson!” I shouted, quickly making the guards let go of him.

     “Val!” he excitedly says. He was about to run towards me when I quickly say, “Outside, now.”

     Bryson pouts but heads out anyways.

     We were now outside the event hall. If I just could, I would have slapped this man from complete anger.

     “What did I fucking tell you Bryson?! This is a business party, not a party where you can get drunk and take someone home. What was not clear to you?!” I angrily told him.

     Bryson looks at me apologetically, seconds later, he started laughing.

     “What’s so fucking funny?” I asked him confusingly.

     “Well that was fucking easy”, he says as he started walking away.

     I quickly followed him and asked, “What the hell do you mean? What were you planning again?”

     “I was going to make a scene to give you a reason to go out of that boring party. Now that you’re out, and you’re totally following me, we’re going to have fun tonight”, he says with a grin.

     When we finally arrived outside, he takes out his cigarette, but before he could even light it up, I looked at him and glared, making him roll his eyes and put it back inside his pocket.

     “Anyways, let’s go. I brought a brand new car with me so you wouldn’t have a problem sitting there”, he says as a valet arrives with a brand new black car.

     I looked at him with shock, “You really are your father’s son.”

     Bryson smirks and says, “Come on, I have a new place to show you.”

     Bryson was about to enter the car, but he realizes that I wasn’t following him. So he stares at me and suddenly grins; like he thought of a perfect reason to make me come with him.

     “Have you forgotten Val? Your company’s anniversary…is the same as my birthday”, he suddenly says, making my eyes widen from shock. I was too busy with the party that I totally forgot about that small fact.

     “ Fuck “, I say under my breath as I walk towards the car.

     Bryson looks at me with a victorious smile.

     “You’re lucky you’re my friend”, I say as I entered the back of the car with no question.

     Bryson smiles and goes inside as well, “This is the exact reason why I never remind you about it.”

     “I can’t believe I’m leaving the party I prepared for a month just to celebrate Bryson King’s stupid birthday”, I honestly tell him. Bryson doesn’t say anything but laughs instead. Then he drives off.

     The drive was quiet, and all I could do was let Bryson bring me to wherever he was planning to bring me tonight.

---

     “Here we are”, Bryson says as he parks the car in front of a building that didn’t even have windows.

     Bryson goes out and opens the door for me. ( If you’re wondering, I always sit at the back because I don’t want to sit too close to the driver for a long period of time).

     “What the fuck is this place?” I asked.

     Bryson doesn’t answer me and just smirks. We then went inside the building where men wearing silver masks welcomed us.

     I quickly hid my hands inside my pockets, trying to avoid touching anything inside this unfamiliar place. 

     The ceiling was made of mirrors, the whole wall was painted black, the floor was a red carpet, and the lights were a warm orange. Thankfully Bryson knows about my condition, so by the way this place looks, he brought me to a clean, organised, and exclusive building.

     Bryson does this every year. He finds a good place, then he shows it to me; that’s how he ALWAYS does it. I don’t get mad since it always happens so I already find it  expected in a sense. But if it’s too much for my taste, we leave, and I go back to whatever I was originally doing.

     Bryson takes something out of his pocket. I looked closer and realized that it was actually a token.

     “Welcome”, one of the men says as he opened the curtain door for us.

     “I’m so excited”, Bryson tells me as he entered the room first. I looked around as the men in mask stared back at me.

     Then I took a deep breath and quickly followed Bryson inside. But the moment I got inside, I quickly stopped, like my feet was suddenly glued to the floor.

     “Welcome to Club Luxuria Chairman Val”, Bryson says with a smirk.

     My hands were inside my pockets, but it was already trembling by just looking at what was in front of me.

     “These are the toys…for the big boys”, Bryson continued.

      And I couldn’t help but stare at the

naked men who were displayed inside glass cases.

• END -

(2) Dirty

💋

     There were naked men in front of me. Everyone’s eyes were covered with a black cloth, while some were wearing these leather binders and straps.

     My stomach started churning, but Bryson quickly goes in front of me, making me quickly shift my attention back to him.

     “Cool right? I saw this token in my father’s room and checked what it was for. Found out it was a token for an exclusive club like this”, Bryson explains.

     I shake my head and said, “This is a prostitution house.”

     “What?! Don’t say that, this is actually very exclu-”

     I ignored Bryson and I quickly cut him off, “How dare you bring me to such a dirty place. We’re leaving…now.”

     I was about to leave the room, but Bryson quickly goes in front of me and said, “Val, come on, it’s not so bad!”

     I angrily looked at him and said, “Not so bad?! Are you fucking kidding me?! These are naked men who are displayed inside glass cases. I acknowledge you being gay Bryson, but I will not let you drag me to places like this. Now let’s go.”

     Bryson frowns and says, “No, if you want to go you leave without me, easy as that.”

     I widened my eyes from shock.

     Bryson clearly knows I don’t walk on the streets, and I definitely don’t commute, so he basically got me cornered here.

     “Just for today Val. Just accompany me in picking my toy, after that we’ll leave”, Bryson explains, making me cringe when he referred to these men as toys.

     I took a deep breath and glanced at the men again.

     When you look at it, these guys look pretty…clean. Thinking about that small fact made me feel a little better at least.

     I took a deep breath again and said, “You pick…we leave…are those the rules?”

     Bryson smirks, excited that I was slowly considering it.

     “You and your rules Val…” Bryson says with a chuckle.

     He walks closer to me and continued, “I pick, I go to a room, I play a little…then we leave”, he tells me, my anger slowly showing again.

     “And what the fuck do I do while you P L A Y?” I angrily asked.

     “Well…you don’t really have to touch or play with anything if you don’t want to. So why not pick one yourself”, Bryson stupidly suggests, but before I could even complain, someone enters the room and greets us.

     “Good evening gentlemen”, he says with a smile, but not like the men outside, he wasn’t wearing a silver mask.

     “Are you guys ready to choose?” he asked. Bryson quickly goes to him and says, “We are actually.”

     “Excellent. Now follow me”, he says as he started walking, Bryson walking beside him.

     I sighed and hesitated, but I followed them anyways.

     The room was large, it was like a typical hotel hallway, but instead of doors on the left and right side, there are glass cases with numbers, and inside those glass cases are different men whose eyes were covered.

     The atmosphere was also somehow sexual…especially when they were playing this RnB music. And if you could just look closely, the men were somehow swaying to the music too.

     Or are they in fucking ecstasy right now?

     “You may say anything about the toys since they won’t be able to hear you through the glass anyways”, the man explains, like that information would be helpful for us in some way.

     “So, do you see anything you like?” I heard the man ask.

     Bryson stops in front of a glass case that was numbered 14. The man inside was tall, had brown skin, light eye color and even had a good built.

     This was definitely Bryson’s type.

     “This one”, Bryson says as the man smiles in delight, “Excellent, I’ll give you your room key and number 14 will head there immediately.”

     Then the man looks at me and says, “How about you sir? Have you seen anything you like?”

     I looked at him with disgust and rolled my eyes.

     “No”, I simply answered as I started walking away.

     I am not gay, and I am definitely not going to pick a man who dozens of other men have already played with.

     “Whoa! This one looks tough”, I suddenly heard Bryson say. I was going to ignore him but the sudden urge to go check it out was just too strong. So I gritted my teeth and went to where Bryson was, and to my surprise, the man inside glass case number 2 4 was covered in tattoos from head to toe.

     Like everyone else, his eyes were covered with a black cloth. But his skin was a pale white, and he had a leaner body figure compared to the other ones here.

     “Number 24 isn’t a talkative one so he’s a good toy. Though there were cases that he get’s a little…aggressive”, the man explains.

     I looked at him with disgust.

     “ Dirty… “ I whispered under my breath.

     But the longer I looked at him, the more my heart started pounding. Somehow, this man was…familiar.

     I clenched my fist and suddenly commanded, “Remove the cloth in his eyes.”

     The man looked shocked and confused as he looked at me, “I’m sorry sir but the toys are not allowed to-”

     “I am Romeo Valentino, and I demand you to remove the cloth in his eyes”, I say as I seriously looked at him.

     The man flinched, and it was obvious that he has heard of my name before. So he sighs and snaps his fingers, seconds later a man wearing the same silver mask enters the glass case from the back, then, he approached him and leaned towards his ears, like he was whispering something to him.

     Bryson looked at me confusingly too, but he was also intrigued at the same time.

     I was clenching my fist so hard that it was starting to hurt.

     The wait was too much for me.

     But the man in mask finally leaves the glass case eventually, then, the tattooed man lifts his hand to removes the cloth.

     The cloth that was covering his eyes falls off.

      My whole body froze as his jet-black eyes directly stared at me.

      Slowly, his own eyes widened from shock as well as he recognized who I was.

     “ It’s him “, I say under my breath.

     I couldn’t believe it. He was the man that I was desperately looking for at the party, and like fate, I was able to find him here instead.

     This man…this dirty looking man…was the same man who ruined my perfectly organized line of employees. I will definitely make you pay for making me think about you the whole day.

     “Him…“I simply say.

     Bryson looked shocked, but the man who was accompanying us looked delighted.

     “Excellent! Now follow me and I will be giving you your room keys”, he says as we walk out of the room.

     “ Wow, I thought you were a clean freak, but I’m surprised you chose the dirtiest looking one out there “, Bryson whispered as we followed the man to a reception area.

     He takes two keys that were hanging from the wall.

     Bryson immediately took the key from the man’s left hand while I only stared down at the one on the right.

     “I want the cleanest room”, I immediately tell him.

     The man reassuring smiles and says, “Well all of our rooms are…”

     “Cleanest room…if possible, a room that no one has used yet”, I tell him.

     He looks shocked, but he nods his head from understanding.

     “We have the most expensive room here, and only one has used it. Will that be enough?” he asks, and I nod my head as an answer.

     He smiled and puts my original key back, then, as he was about to reach out for the red key at the top, Bryson quickly stops him, “Do you have gloves? Or even a handkerchief?”

     The man stops and looks at Bryson confusingly, so Bryson explained further, “You know…anything that will not make you directly hold that key.”

     The man looked even more confused, but he cleared his throat and nodded his head anyways.

     He took out his handkerchief and uses it to take the key before handing it to me.

     “The rooms are upstairs. Enjoy your stay”, the man says with a smile.

     Bryson looks at me first, then he excitedly runs upstairs like a kid who just bought his new toy and he couldn’t wait to open it up in his room.

     I take a deep breath and went upstairs now too.

     I looked down at my key that had the number 100 on it. Thankfully it was easy to find since it was the only door that was painted red.

     I took out my handkerchief and used it to open the doorknob. Then I gently kicked the door open before going inside.

     The room was definitely clean and organized. The man downstairs wasn’t lying about it. It looked like an expensive hotel room, but like the outside of the building, there were no windows, and everything was red and black.

     I wouldn’t dare sit on the bed, so I sat on the sofa instead.

     There were wine and fruits on the table, but of course, I wouldn’t touch that either.

     I was uneasily tapping my feet as I waited for that man to enter my room.

     Wait…why am I suddenly nervous?

     “ He’s not significant…I just want to have a word with him, that’s all “, I told myself as I anxiously stared at the door.

      Finally, I hear footsteps, and the doorknob slowly twists open.

     “Knock three times”, I quickly commanded, making him stop.

     He quickly lets go of the doorknob, seconds later, someone knocks on the door three times.

     “Come in”, I finally say.

     The door slowly opens, revealing the tattooed man.

     I was expecting him to be naked in front of me, but instead, he was wearing a suit, and was even wearing gloves. I smirked by just seeing it, “So it really is you. You wouldn’t be wearing that if you didn’t know about me, am I right?” I asked.

     The man didn’t even look nervous as he answered instead, “I am ready to serve you maste-”

     “Stop with the bullshit…sit down”, I say.

      He stares at me for a couple of seconds before sitting down on the sofa in front of me.

     “President King placed you inside my company without consent. Then I heard Bryson say that the president himself goes here…now I’m starting to understand the reason why he was so confident about you”, I tell him, but the man still doesn’t say a word.

     “The Valentino Empire does not hire employees who have tattoos…so you decided to cover it all up?” I asked again, but as expected, he still doesn’t answer me, making me feel annoyed a little.

     I then pointed at the lower side of my eyes, referring to the tattoo on the lower side of his eyes as well, “That…when I saw you, you didn’t have that.”

     “Concealer”, he finally answers, making me laugh.

     “Of course, concealer…how stupid can I get?” I tell him sarcastically, but the man doesn’t even flinch nor says anything.

     “Name”, I tell him.

     “We can’t reveal our names to custom-”

     I quickly cut him off and said, “I’m your fucking boss, not your customer. Now you tell me your name.”

      The man just stares at me, like he wanted to say something else but he decided not to. So he brushes his hair back with his fingers as he finally answered, “ Julien Choi. “

     I smirked upon hearing the name.

     “Alright then…Julien…besides the piercings and tattoos that are obviously against my employees’ requirements, you work in such a club too. Give me one reason why I should still let you work in my company”, I seriously tell him.

     He looked back at me with a serious expression as well as he answered, “I’m good at work.”

     “Work. You mean at the company or at this club?” I asked with my right eyebrow raised.

     “Both”, he quickly answered.

     “Alright then, if you’re so good…how many men have you served tonight?” I now asked him.

     Julien looks at me with this intense look as he answered, “Four.”

     “And how many men did you fuck?” I asked again.

     Julien keeps quiet for a few seconds, but he answered without shame anyways, “Four.”

     “And how many men does it take for you to finally feel satisfied?” I asked further.

     He pauses, then he finally stands up from his seat and answered, “Five.”

     I smirked and looked up so I could look straight at his eyes, “Let me guess…I’m your fifth.”

     He loosens his necktie and says, “You are.”

     “But you definitely know I can’t touch you”, I tell him.

     The man named Julien who has been expressionless since earlier, suddenly smirked, making my heart surprisingly skip a beat.

     He walks closer to where I was as he answered, “Then go ahead and watch me.”

• END -

(2.5) Cover Up

💋

     “ Remove your blindfold, but don’t react or say anything, do you understand me? “ someone suddenly whispered against my ear, making me flinch a little.

      I was too confused on the sudden command that I had to process it for a couple of seconds.

     “Why the hell do they want me to take my blindfold off?” I whispered to myself.

     Well whatever, I should just listen or else I’d end up being beaten again.

     I take a deep breath and reached out at the back to untie the cloth, then, like what they asked me to, I removed my blindfold.

     I slowly opened my eyes.

     It was blurry at first but then it got clearer and clearer. And when everything was finally in HD, my eyes automatically widened from shock.

     Deadly grey eyes suddenly welcomed me.

     My whole body froze from surprise and terror.

     “ Fuck… “ I say under my breath.

     I looked around and saw another man beside him.

     “ What the hell is he doing here? In all places! “ the only thing I could ask myself as I watched the two men talk to Mr. Jackson, A K A my boss.

     The man standing in front of me with the deadly grey eyes was none other than the chairman of the company I work for. I was originally under President King, but he transferred me to the main branch and told me he’d introduce me to the chairman as soon as possible, but I’ve been working at the Valentino Empire’s main building for more than a week now and president King never introduced me to him.

     Of course I wanted to just do it myself but the president specifically told me not to.

     Well, now I got to meet him, but the downside is…I’m fucking naked. In all the things I could have worn in our first meeting, he gets to see me wearing NOTHING.

     But even though I haven’t met him personally ( until now ), I pretty much know a lot about him.

     I got into the company because of President King. He was a customer here and then he asked me if I wanted to work for him. Obviously I didn’t know why he offered me the job but I needed the extra money, so basically I agreed with no hesitation.

     He also told me tattoos and piercings weren’t allowed, but since I’m not working at the main branch, I could just hide it. So ever since that day, I’ve been wearing a turtleneck under my coat to hide every inch of my skin. I even had to remove my piercings and conceal the tattoo on my face every morning.

     But, even though we don’t work at the main building, we are ALWAYS instructed to wear gloves.

     Before you start working at the company, you get trained for a week. They tell you the dos and don’ts in the company, and they explained to us why we have to do all those things. And the main reason is because the man in front of me now, is suffering from OCD. Some say it was triggered by trauma, but no one knows the exact reason why.

     He has his mother, but for what I heard, his personal assistant has been his somewhat parent-figure ever since he was little.

     He’s one of the richest men in the country.

     He’s obviously single. And maybe even a virgin .

     He fires anyone who he finds insignificant.

     And I heard…he’s a fucking asshole.

     “Number 24! Get ready!” someone suddenly shouts, making me realize that Chairman Val wasn’t in front of me anymore.

     I sighed and went out of my spot, then I saw Toy #14 approach me.

     “Come on, let’s get ready”, he says as he started walking away.

     I quickly followed him and walked beside him, “You got picked?”

     “Yeah, and thankfully the one who picked me looked easy to handle. Yours in the other hand looks like a very…aggressive…owner”, he tells me with a chuckle.

     I rolled my eyes and said, “Aggressive owner…yeah right.”

     We eventually arrived at the locker room.

     Number 14 quickly went to his locker and started wearing this facemask and stethoscope.

     “Going with the doctor-patient roleplay again?” I asked as I started wearing a suit.

     He laughs and was about to answer my question, but he stops and looks at me confusingly, “What the hell are you wearing?”

     “A suit”, I answered him with a serious expression, now wearing the leather gloves the company provided for us.

     Number 14 looks at me amusingly, “ I’m pretty sure your owner would want to see you NAKED, not wrapped from head to toe“, he tells me, making me chuckle this time.

     I fixed my tie and looked at him with a smirk, “Believe me…THIS, is what that man wants to see me in, no doubt about it.”

     “Well…good luck then.”

• END -

  

  

(3) Just Watch [m]

💋

     “Then go ahead and watch me”, he confidently says as he removes his necktie. Then he starts unbuttoning his shirt one by one.

     I smirked as I watched him remove it.

     “Gloves must always be worn at all times. Those are the rules, right?” he asks me, a grin imprinted on his face.

     “ Is this boy seriously seducing his boss right now? “ I asked myself as I stared at his topless body.

     He looked like a perfectly white paper that was covered in drawings.

     It was fucking frustrating to look at…but somehow…I couldn’t help but think that he was a work of art; a messy art that had an unknown artist. It may be frustrating in my part, but I just couldn’t look away because it was interesting at the same time.

     Like every tattoo in his body had a past. And looking through his eyes alone, you’d feel like he’s telling you the whole story.

     “If I can make you hard, you won’t fire me”, he suddenly tells me, making me snap back to my senses.

      I looked straight into his eyes and chuckled, “You sound confident.”

     Julien smirks and removes his belt next, “That’s because I am.”

     He drops his belt on the floor and says, “So Mr. Ego , is it a deal?”

     I obviously didn’t want to see his body again, let alone see him masturbate. But somehow, I felt like he was challenging me, and I obviously liked being challenged.

     “Let me see you try”, I bravely answered, making Julien lick his lips seductively, like it was a sign that the show is about to begin.

     He slowly unzips his pants, and then he tugs it down without hesitation, making me realize he actually wasn’t wearing boxers nor underwear underneath that thing.

     “ Dirty… “ I unknowingly say under my breath when I saw his naked body again.

     Julien quickly looks at me seriously. I thought he was going to get offended about what I said, but he suddenly started laughing instead.

     “Dirty?” he asked. But when I didn’t answer, he continued, “I am dirty, inside and out. Did you seriously think I wouldn’t know that by now?” he asked, slowly walking towards me.

     I thought he was going to touch me, and I was so ready to kick him if he did; but surprisingly, he didn’t.

     Rather than touching me, he kneeled in front of me like he was going to pray for me.

     He looks straight into my eyes and said, “So watch this dirty little thing stain your perfectly clean mind Mr. Ego.”

     Before I could even react, he removes the gloves on his right hand by biting it off. He then places his middle finger in front of his mouth, afterwards he shamelessly starts licking it, making me quickly feel uncomfortable.

     He licks another finger, and when it was wet enough, he slowly snakes his hands lower until it reached his crotch area. I  thought he was going to touch his cock, but instead, he shoves his wet fingers inside his ass, suddenly making me flinch like an idiot.

     Julien moans as he pushes his fingers deeper inside while his other hand plays with his nipples.

     He looks straight at me and sexily bites his lower lip.

     I gulped and watched him finger himself.

     I wanted to leave immediately. In my mind I was telling myself that it was disgusting, but I couldn’t even move my head to look away.

     Julien was panting heavily now.

     But when I thought it was over, he suddenly shoves his third finger in, making him moan even louder.

     “Fuck…n-now this is…definitely…your size”, he tried to say, biting his lips even harder until it turned red.

     The way he said it made me realise he was actually imagining me fucking him.

     “ How shameless “, I whispered to myself as I stared at him push and pull his fingers inside even faster.

     He then leans forward, using his left hand to support his body so he wouldn’t fall to the floor. His head was now in between my thighs, inches away from my crotch. I widened my legs just to avoid touching him with it, but it only made it worse. He was so close to me that I could feel his hot breath against my cock.

     My member was starting to throb. And I knew, that Julien knew, that whatever he was doing…was fucking working.

     “ Rome “, he suddenly whispered under his breath, surprising me.

     He lifts his head so he could look straight at my eyes again.

     “W-Watch me cum for you…okay?” he suddenly tells me.

     One last deep, hard thrust, Julien fell to the floor, panting heavily like he just ran a marathon.

     He slowly pulls his fingers out, and I could see cum oozing out of his cock. And knowing me, the first thing I got concerned about was the carpet getting stained.

     I quickly stood up from my seat; my heart beating fast and my stomach feeling ill.

     “Sickening”, I say as I looked at him. But instead of getting mad, he starts laughing.

     I looked at him confusingly as he slowly stood up, “Sickening you say”, he tells me, slowly walking towards me.

     I quickly took a step back. Thankfully he decided not to take a step any further.

     “You really are strange Mr. Val. Very…very strange. But also very, very interesting”, Julien says with a confident smirk.

     I clenched my fist and was about to leave the room when he suddenly calls out for me, making me stupidly stop.

     “What?” I angrily asked as I turned around to look at him.

     Julien grins and says, “See you tomorrow boss.”

     “And what makes you so sure I’ll even let you step foot inside my building?” I asked him, but instead of answering me, Julien looks down, making me follow his gaze.

     My whole face turned red as I saw a huge bulge on my pants.

     I clenched my fist even tighter as I looked back at him ( Now I regret not bringing my stress ball with me ). But instead of saying anything to him, I quickly left the room.

     “Bryson!” I shouted the moment I left the room. I was trying to shake this frustrating feeling away but nothing was working.

     “Bryson!” I shouted even louder, glancing down on my crotch, hoping it finally calmed down so I would be able to forget this weird feeling .

     “Bryson fucking come out! Now!” I shouted for the last time before a door immediately opens behind me.

     I quickly turned around and saw Bryson sweating and panting heavily, “W-What the fuck Val?” he asks me, still catching his breath.

     Then, the man he chose earlier appears behind him, making me even more frustrated because I immediately remembered Julien again.

     I quickly looked back at Bryson and said, “We’re leaving, and I don’t fucking care if your dick is hard as a rock. Jerk off at your fucking house for all I care.”

     Bryson was about to protest, but I quickly walked away, making him unable to refuse me.

     I quickly went downstairs and saw the man who was entertaining us earlier. I didn’t allow him to speak since I quickly took out my black card and showed it to him.

     He was a little surprised but he smiles and takes the card anyways. And thankfully he got the idea that I had OCD so he used his handkerchief again to take the card from my hand.

     “Will you only be paying for-”

     “Both”, I quickly answered without even letting him finish.

     I wanted to leave this place as soon as I can. The longer I was here, the more my dick would start throbbing, and I obviously didn’t know how I’d handle it if it continued like this.

     I never jerked off because it was too dirty for my taste.

     I couldn’t even touch myself, what more if other people touched me?

     “That would be 24 milli-”

     “Alright, whatever, just punch it in”, I quickly told him.

     The man delightedly smiles as he swiped my credit card. While I was waiting for him to finish, Bryson finally arrives while looking like a mess.

     “Val, what the fuck man. I can’t believe you did this to me, and on my fucking birthday too”, he angrily tells me. Without looking at him, I answered, “I already paid for the 24 million so stop whining.”

     Bryson doesn’t say anything, seconds later he gasps from shock, finally making him realise that the price for a night with these toys were no joke.

     I looked at him and continued, “Happy fucking birthday.”

     “Here you go sir”, the man says as he hands me back my card. I quickly took it and hid it back inside my pocket, “Let’s go”, I say as I quickly left the building, ignoring the men in silver mask who was thanking us for visiting Club Luxuria.

     I waited for Bryson as he opened the car door for me.

     I went inside the car and couldn’t stop bouncing my legs up and down. I was definitely feeling uneasy for some reason.

     Bryson gets inside the car too and starts the engine, “Val, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know you’d be spending millions for this. Well, I didn’t ask you to pay for me but-”

     “Just shut up and drive”, I tell him, still not looking at him.

     I knew Bryson was staring at me confusingly, but he doesn’t ask about my sudden bad mood and just drove off.

     The drive was quiet, and I liked it because that was the exact thing that I needed to calm myself down.

     “ One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, five one thousand, six one thousand…“ I continuously whispered to myself to organize my thoughts again.

     When it was obviously not working, I stared out the window, looking at whatever so I could finally forget everything that happened and just fucking think of something else other than that scene.

     But I utterly failed…

     Because all that I could think of the whole night was Julien fucking Choi…

     And what shocked me even more was that rather than feeling sick like how I expected to be…

     I ended up wanting to see more.

     And maybe this time…

     It’s more than just watching.

• END -

(4) Stay Close

💋

     “Romeo…”

     I blinked and realized that I’ve been staring out the window of the car for a long time now. I cleared my throat then looked at the rearview mirror and saw Johnson staring at me.

      “We’re here”, he tells me as soon as our eyes met. 

      I cleared my throat again and answered, “O-Of course…let’s go”

      Edrick – my secretary – goes out of the car and opens the door for me. The moment I went out, employees quickly aligned near the entrance to greet me properly like how they were trained to do.

     “Good morning chairman Val”, everyone greeted in unison.

     “Good morning”, I greeted back with an expressionless face.

     I went inside the building, my secretary quickly following behind me while holding all my things.

     I walked towards the elevator. Everyone who was lining up quickly went to the side to give me way.

     When the elevator arrived, I went inside, my secretary alone following behind me, leaving all the employees who were waiting first, to wait again.

     “Julien Choi”, I quickly tell Edrick as soon as the elevator door closes, making him look at me confusingly.

     “J-Julien…Choi?” he clarified to me again.

     I nodded my head and further explained, “In our employee list, look for the name Julien Choi.”

     My secretary quickly nods his head and takes out his tablet. He turns it on and looks through the list of names of hundreds of my employees in the main building.

     I was staring at the floor number increasing, but my secretary still hasn’t given me anything yet.

     “What’s taking so long?” I asked impatiently as Edrick continued to search for Julien’s name on the list.

     But before he could even answer my initial question, we arrived at the 20th floor.

     The elevator door opens, and I went out without even waiting for him to follow me.

     He quickly runs pass me to put his things on the somewhat “ reception area “ that was just outside my office.

     As he puts his things down, he runs towards the door to open it for me. I went inside and went straight to my desk to sit down. Edrick on the other hand neatly placed my things on the table; afterwards he stood in front of me with his eyes still glued to the screen of his tablet.

     “Julien Choi-” he repeats to himself. Seconds later, his panicked expression changed into relief as he said, “I found it sir. Julien Choi, 28 years old. Korean Nationality but American Citizen. He worked at the Valentino Company that was handled by President King for a few months before being transferred here. Now he’s in the Marketing department.”

     “Send the data to me.”

     “Right away sir.”

     I opened my drawer and took out my stress ball.

     After that night, all I could think about was that man’s face. I was thinking of him too much that I wasn’t even able to sleep properly.

     So while I was at the car a few minutes ago, I got the perfect idea.

     For me to stop thinking about him, I’ll just make him stay close to me. If I always see him, then I won’t be stupidly thinking about him like an idiot.

     It’s fucking genius!

     I squeezed my stress ball as I finally made my decision, “I’m transferring you to the Production Department. Fire the current head and replace him, tell that person that you were directly ordered by the chairman himself”, I tell Edrick, making him widen his eyes from shock.

     He even dropped his tablet because of the sudden news.

     “S-sorry sir”, he says.

     He quickly picked his tablet up and looked back at me, “Sir this is too sudden. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very honored but-”

     I quickly cut him off and said, “That Julien Choi guy…”

     I paused, finally making him realize where this conversation was going to end.

     “He’s my new secretary.” I finally told him.

     Edrick just stood there, staring at me with confusion and shock.

     When it was clear that he lost his words, I raised my right eyebrow and continued, “What the hell are you still doing here? Go to the Production Department and do what you were instructed to do. And while you’re at it, call for Mr. Choi as well, but don’t say anything about his new position, just tell him I want him in my office immediately.”

     He flinched and quickly nodded his head, “Yes, of course. Thank you so much chairman Val. I am very happy to have been your secretary.”

     Without waiting for my response, he leaves my office.

     Edrick has been my secretary for four years but we weren’t really close, nor did we have a friends- type of relationship. So him leaving my side won’t really be a big deal.

     I don’t really like being attached to people, especially to my employees. Bryson just so happened to be my friend because we shared our twenties-years together, but other than that, the only person I’m still very close to is Johnson, no one else.

     Strangers have a lot of motives on why they suddenly want to be close to you, it can be good, or bad. But either way, it’s going to benefit them in the end.

     “ You are a fool to think he was on your side “, a sudden memory suddenly flashed in front of me, immediately making me let go of the stress ball. I didn’t even notice that I was squeezing it too much, causing my hand to turn red.

      “ What the hell was that? “ I asked myself as I tried to calm myself down.

     I took a deep breath and aligned the already aligned items on top of my desk.

     I was bouncing my legs up and down again that I quickly had to stand up to make it stop.

     “Why the fuck am I suddenly feeling this way?” I asked myself as I walked towards the glass window to stare at the view of the city instead.

     “ One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand- “ I continuously tell myself as I put my hands inside my pockets.

     “ Watch this dirty little thing stain your perfectly clean mind Mr. Ego “, I suddenly remembered, making me stop counting.

     “ Rome…watch me cum for you, okay? “ I remembered further, making me aggressively scratch my head, causing my perfectly waxed hair to be ruined.

     “Why the hell am I thinking of a man who’s not even significant to me?!” I angrily asked myself.

      I stared at my reflection on the window and saw how messy my hair has become, making me even more furious.

     “Great…” I annoyingly say as I walked my way towards the restroom to fix my hair. And at the most convenient time, someone knocks on my door three times.

     “ You gotta be fucking kidding me “, I muttered to myself as I hear the door slowly open.

     “Chairman Val?” I heard a voice say. It was so familiar that I suddenly panicked like an idiot.

     I quickly went out of the restroom with my hair not even waxed properly.

     And as expected, Julien Choi was standing near the door, wearing his usual attire that covered every inch of his body except his face.

     He looked a little surprised when he saw me, maybe because of how my hair looked. But he might have brushed the thought away as he looked back at me seriously.

     “You called for me sir?” he asked me with a serious expression.

      Him not even being fazed after what happened last night makes me even more stressed out.

     “Sit down”, I commanded him as I quickly went back to the restroom to change my gloves since the other one was covered is wax.

     I went out of the restroom again and saw Julien sitting on the sofa in front of my desk. I took a deep breath and fixed my coat before going back to my seat.

     I don’t say anything and just stared at him.

     He concealed the tattoo on his face again, and compared to last night, he looked a lot cleaner.

     Staring at him was suddenly making my face feel hotter.

      “I’m sorry chairman Val but…what do you want from me?” he suddenly asked me, making me snap back to my senses.

      I grabbed my stress ball again and started explaining, “I’ll send you the address to my house. Every morning you need to be there at exactly 7 AM, no more, no less. My day-off is always on Sunday, you don’t have to go to me but there will be times where I have to call you for meetings and other important matters. You walk behind me at all times, but you have to be able to open the doors for me because I avoid touching doorknobs as much as I can. At the car, you sit beside the driver. And when we arrive at the office, you have to immediately buy me black coffee at the coffee shop just in front of the building, only one employee can prepare it, but just tell them it’s for me and they’ll immediately know what to do. Knock three times, always, as I already instructed you. And the most important rule…”

     I paused and squeezed my stress ball even harder, “You can NEVER touch me. Questions?”

     Julien stared at me, but he didn’t even look shocked or confused about what I just elaborately told him.

     “You’re making me your personal assistant”, he says with an expressionless face.

      I released my grip on the stress ball and looked straight back at him, “ Good, he’s not as stupid as Edrick “, I thought to myself as I answered him, “I’ll label you as my secretary since Johnson is already my personal assistant. Labels are very important to me so I can’t label you as a personal assistant too.”

     “I’m not an item for you to label. But since you’re the boss…I don’t have a choice do I?” he bravely asks me, making me feel annoyed at how he’s acting.

     “Not an item…but at night you’re labeled as a toy for men to continuously play with. That’s kind of confusing, don’t you think?” I tell him with a grin.

     I thought he was going to be offended by what I just said, but his expression still hasn’t even changed.

     “What I am at night…is very different as to what I am during the day”, Julien answered, and it honestly made me chuckle.

     “Then can you please tell me what you are during the day?” I asked.

     Julien looks at me seriously, “During the day I’m trying to be as clean as I can for the sake of my CEO who can’t even touch the fucking doorknob”, he suddenly answered, quickly changing my expression into an angry one.

     “Do you really want me to fire you?” I asked him, trying to make him feel a little intimidated at least.

     “No…But you can’t though”, he suddenly confidently tells me, honestly making me shocked.

     Before I could even say anything, he continued, “If you wanted to fire me you could have done it last night…but you didn’t. And to top it all off, you made me your secretary. Don’t you think it’s a little too obvious?”

     Julien then crosses his legs and smirks, “Has my dirt already stained you…Mr. Ego?” he suddenly asks, making me quickly stand up from my seat.

     I wanted to grab him by the collar, and say something that would make him look scared at least. But I couldn’t, and it made me angrier.

     “Touch me”, he suddenly says, startling me.

     He then stands up and slowly walks closer to where I was, “All you could think about was me…am I right?” he asked.

     When it was obvious that I wasn’t going to answer him, he continued, “I told you that I find you interesting. There’s something about you…that I desperately want to break. But somehow, just by looking at your intense glare…it seems like you’re the one who wants to break me.”

     His statement suddenly made me gulp.

     Was he seeing things about me that I didn’t even realize myself?

     “Shut up”, I quickly say, but Julien ignores me.

     “I don’t know why our way of crossing paths was like this, but I’m very curious on how it’s going to end. So tell me…Chairman Val…what do you really want me to do?” he asks me.

     I was already breathing heavily for some reason.

     How he was acting was making me furious, but at the same time, I couldn’t even show it to him.

     I’ve fired so many employees before. Some were even just an eyesore to me that’s why I fired them. But him…this mysterious man named Julien Choi…this dirty man who isn’t even afraid to talk like this towards his own boss…

     I can’t even deny, let alone try to lie to everything he has been telling me so far.

     But this is enough.

     “ So this is how you want to play “, I tell myself as I gathered all my will power to take a step closer to him until our faces were only inches away from each other.

     Finally, after acting so tough, Julien was taken aback.

     He might have thought that he could use my OCD to play with me, but little does he know…I like challenges, and I specially like winning them.

     I’m still a CEO of a company that people would die to have, so I will not let a mere employee who’s as disgusting as him, to talk to me like I’m nothing.

     “You wanna know what I really want you to do?” I asked him, my gray eyes deeply staring back at him.

     Julien gulps, slowly moving away from me. Shocked on how I was suddenly acting towards him.

     I was a few inches taller than him, but I never felt dominant towards him ever since last night.

     But now, I was finally feeling it…and I fucking loved the feeling.

     “I have a lot of things that I want you to do for me”, I say as I lifted my hand, inches away from actually touching his chin.

      I wasn’t touching him, but he was slowly lifting his head, like I was pulling it myself.

     It was my turn to smirk as I say, “I want this dirty little mouth to shut up as soon as I tell him to.”

      Julien doesn’t say anything so I continued, “I want you to stop messing with me. I want you to treat me like a fucking chairman…”

     I finally put down my hand as I finished, “And I want you to stay close to me always, do you understand?”

     “Why?” he finally asked.

     “Because you’re supposed to be insignificant to me. But after your little show last night, I can’t seem to focus on anything. And I HATE losing focus on things that are more significant to me, do you understand?” I coldly answered him.

     Julien slowly nods his head and finally takes a step back from me.

     I thought he was going to say something else about what I just said, but instead, he answers me this, “Black coffee at the shop in front of the building. Just tell them it’s for you and they’d automatically know what to do, am I correct?”

     I blinked and went back to my normal self. I then took a deep breath and nodded my head, “Correct.”

     “What happened last night…” he suddenly says, looking back at me again.

      And I thought we were never going to talk about that again.

     “If it’s making you feel that way then pretend it never happened. I hope you know that I did that last night because that was my job. So I’m sorry to have disrespected you in any way today because my job here…is to be a good employee to you”, he suddenly says, then he deeply bows in front of me, surprising me.

     Is he seriously expecting me to say something after that?

     “Then I’ll be back as soon as I can”, Julien says as he quickly bows again before leaving the room.

     The door finally closes, and all I could do was slowly turn around and look out the window.

     “ One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand- “ I continuously tell myself as I put my hands inside my pockets.

     Romeo Valentino, the richest bachelor in the country, is suddenly acting like this…because of a man named fucking Julien.

     The worst part is…

     I was inches away from touching him.

     And I didn’t even mind.

• END -

(5) Dirty Memories

💋

     I take a sip of my coffee, my eyes still glued to the screen of my laptop.

     Julien was now outside my office since his desk is located there. His job now was to handle my appointments, answer all the calls for me so he could tell me who it is before I could talk to them, fix my schedule, and, the most important job of all, to stay by my side at all times.

     It was his first day of the job and he didn’t even complain, and to top it all off, he’s doing a pretty good job with it. Now I understand why President King transferred him here.

     I sipped on my coffee again. While I was reading some of the company reports, someone suddenly knocks on my door three times.

     I thought it was Julien, but when the door opens, I quickly frowned when I saw who the person was.

     “Romeo”, Johnson says as he closes the door and walk towards me.

     “What is it?” I asked as I went back to looking at the screen of my laptop.

     “You fired Edrick?” he suddenly asked me.

     “I didn’t fire him, I made him the new head of the production department”, I answered Johnson while still not looking at him.

     “And why would you do that?” he asked further, finally making me look at him.

     “Look, we both know Edrick hated me, so I gave him a favor and promoted him. He should be happy that I felt generous earlier”, I answered Johnson, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to buy it.

     “Who was that man Romeo? The one outside your office”, he finally asked, sitting down on the sofa comfortably like he was at home, not inside my office.

     “He’s not significant”, I tell him, and I was honestly getting tired of saying that myself because it was clear to me that he was more than significant.

     “He wouldn’t be your new secretary if he was insignificant. I know you Romeo, order and labels are important to you, but that man outside is clearly making things unorganized for you and you don’t even mind. It’s strange and fascinating at the same time”, he says with a playful grin.

     “ Seriously, this old man still treats me like a kid “, I thought to myself as I stared at him.

     “You’re still not going to tell me who he is?” he asked, but when I didn’t answer, he added, “If you don’t I’ll have to ask him myself.”

     I quickly shut my laptop and said, “Fine.”

     Johnson smiles victoriously.

     “Bryson brought me to one of his stupid hangouts again, but this time he brought me to a gay club, and apparently I found that man there”, I explained to Johnson, surprising him on what he just heard.

     “Gay club…” he says, but I ignored that short statement.

     “I couldn’t quite focus after that night, so I decided to make him my secretary so I’d stop wondering about what he’s doing, or what he’s up to, or shit like that”, I explained further, but this time, Johnson started smirking.

     “So you have no idea why you’re suddenly feeling that way?” Johnson asked me, but I only shook my head as an answer.

     “Oh Romeo…you innocent little thing”, he suddenly tells me, making me look at him angrily.

     “I’ve been with you since you were a baby and I’ve been teaching you everything you know now. But looking at what you’ve become, I’m starting to regret not teaching you about these kinds of things too”, he suddenly tells me.

     “What do you mean by… these kinds of things ?” I asked him, but Johnson just shrugged his shoulder and said, “You’re older now. You figure it out.”

     I massaged my temple from frustration and didn’t force him to answer me anymore. Knowing Johnson, he’ll keep his mouth shut for years when he decides on keeping something a secret from me.

     “What the hell are you doing here in the first place anyways?” I finally asked him.

     Johnson shifts himself on the seat and answered, “Your sister Diana…she called me earlier, said she wanted to eat lunch with you.”

     I was honestly surprised since I haven’t seen that child for a very long time. I think the last time I saw her was on her birthday last year, but that time I was just at the car and she had to go out just so I could give her my gift. She celebrated her birthday at her family’s residence, she asked me to go inside but someone had to kill me first before I could even step foot inside that mansion.

     “Why didn’t she call me instead?” I asked.

     “She said she was sure you’d decline her if she did. And she had to lie to her parents just so she could spend the afternoon with you, so be a gentleman and don’t decline it”, Johnson tells me, making me chuckle, “Spend the time with me? I know Diana, the only reason why she wants to talk to me is because she needs something.”

     Johnson doesn’t say anything but chuckles instead.

     “So, where does she plan to dine?” I asked.

     “She already texted me the location, she also told me to meet up at 12. I’ll just drive you there”, Johnson tells me. I quickly looked at my watch and saw the time: 11:24 AM.

     I took a deep breath and stood up, “Well then…let’s go.”

     Johnson nodded his head and went to the door to open it up for me.

     I went out first and saw Julien typing something down on his computer. When he hears the door open, he quickly lifted his head and sees me.

     He quickly stands up from his seat and said, “Sir, what can I-”

     I quickly lifted my hand to stop him, “We’re eating lunch, let’s go”, I say as I started walking away without even waiting for his reply.

     Johnson follows behind me, seconds later Julien joins in too.

     After that we eventually got inside the car. I was staring out the window like how I usually do when suddenly, Johnson – whose eyes were still glued to the road – asked, “So, what’s your name Mr. Secretary?”

     Julien quickly looks at Johnson and answered, “Uhm…Julien Choi sir.”

     Johnson laughs, “ Romeo & Julien …oh what are the odds.“

     I rolled my eyes while Julien pretends to laugh at what Johnson just said.

     “And don’t add the sir, we’re both just working under chairman Val anyways”, Johnson suddenly tells him, making me quickly clear my throat and say, “Excuse me but-”

     Johnson cuts me off and says, “Oh sir, were you listening to our conversation?”

     Julien glances at me, and I quickly clenched my fist from frustration, “No, of course not. Why would I listen to other people’s conversation?” I forcefully said, and I could see Johnson smirking through the rearview mirror.

     “So Julien, how long have you been living here? Or were you actually born here?” Johnson continued to ask.

     “No, but I’ve been living here for almost 10 years now”, Julien answered, making Johnson nod his head as an understanding.

     “That’s quite long. Then you must be enjoying your stay here”, Johnson stated, and Julien nods his head as an agreement, “People here are…not as complicated as the people I used to be with before.”

     “Then is your family not here with you?” Johnson asked further.

     I thought Julien was going to answer quickly again, but suddenly, the atmosphere became quiet, like the word “ family“ made him feel uncomfortable all of a sudden.

     “ Great job Johnson “, I thought to myself as I cleared my throat again to break the awkward silence.

     “I’m sorry…that was very rude of me to ask you that”, Johnson quickly says. Julien shakes his head and answers, “No, It’s okay. I was just a little taken aback.”

     “That’s good. Anyways, we’re here now”, Johnson says as he parks in front of a fancy-looking restaurant.

     “Let’s go”, I say as Julien quickly goes out of the car to open the door for me.

     “I’ll just be wai-”

     I quickly cut Johnson off, “No, you go inside so Julien can eat with someone. And so that you’ll have a better opportunity to talk to him about his personal life”, I sarcastically say, making Johnson look at me apologetically, but he nods his head anyways.

     I went out and went inside the restaurant, Julien just right behind me.

     “Good afternoon sir, table for two?” the receptionist asked as he walked in front of us with a wide smile.

     Johnson enters the restaurant too, so I pointed at him and Julien and said, “Table for them. I’ll be with a woman named Diana Roselli, did she make any reservations?”

      “Oh, then you must be Mr. Romeo Valentino. Please, follow me”, the receptionist says as he guides us to a table.

     “This table is for the two gentlemen, and Mr. Valentino, your table is just right there”, he says as he points at the table that was just two tables away from Johnson and Julien’s table.

     “Thank you”, I say as the receptionist smiles and leaves.

     I turned around and looked at Johnson and Julien, “You two order anything you want, I’ll handle the payment. If you need anything just approach me.”

     Johnson nods his head while Julien looked confused about what was actually going on.

     Well, I wouldn’t blame him. I didn’t really tell him the details since he wasn’t required to know about it anyways.

     “Then enjoy your lunch”, Johnson says as I nod my head and walked towards the table that I was supposed to sit at.

     While walking towards it, I could already see a woman who was facing her back towards me. I stared at her wavy brown hair, and noticed that the people surrounding her were stealing glances at her too.

     When I arrived, everyone stopped staring.

     “Good afternoon Diana”, I say, now facing her.

     Diana, who was looking at the screen of her cellphone, quickly lifts her head and smiles when she sees me.

     “Romeo”, she happily says. She then looks at her watch and says, “Right on time…as always.”

     I sat down on the chair in front of her and stared at her again.

     She had brown hair, honey-colored skin, and hazel-brown eyes that matched her long eyelashes.

     She was no doubt beautiful. But her beauty was something that I hated very much…because it reminded me so much of HER .

     “Thank you for coming Romeo, it really means a lot to me”, she says with a smile that showed her dimples.

     By the way, this is Diana Rose Roselli , my 16-year-old half sister. We’re not that close, but we’re not in bad terms with each other either because I don’t really get to be with her often. We talk with each other because of our family-relationship, nothing more. If we didn’t share any blood I wouldn’t even be here right now.

     “I already ordered for us, if that’s okay with you”, she tells me, but before I could answer, waiters arrived with our food.

     “Thank you” she happily says as the waiters placed the dishes on the table and leaves.

     “Shall we eat?” she asked as she looks back at me. I nod my head and answered, “Alright, let’s eat.”

     Both of us started eating.

     I could feel the awkwardness between us so I quickly asked, “So, how’s your school?”

     Diana smiles; glad I finally asked her something.

    “It’s actually great. I was elected as the school’s president just last week and I might be the next elected cheerleading captain too. I also got straight A’s and-” 

     Diana continued to tell me whatever she was trying to tell me.

     I wasn’t really interested in what she was saying, I only asked her about it just so we wouldn’t look awkward.

     While Diana was still enthusiastically telling me about how popular and successful she is at school, I took my glass of wine and took a sip. I don’t know why but I looked up and glanced at Johnson’s table. My eyes quickly widened when I saw Julien’s jet-black eyes directly looking back at me too.

     “Romeo?” Diana suddenly asked, making me flinch.

     I quickly put the glass down and said, “That sounds wonderful.”

     Diana frowns.

     She clearly knew my words weren’t even sincere.

     I took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry, I’m just…a little tired. What did you want from me anyways?”

     Diana suddenly puts her spoon down and looks at me seriously, “It’s about our mother .”

     I quickly paused.

     I gripped on my spoon and tried not to get mad on the mention of that woman.

     “Diana, I gave you rules remember? If you want me to continue on meeting up with you, you are not to mention that woman…ever”, I tired to remind her.

     Diana raises her right eyebrow, “That woman. You mean our mother?” she bravely tells me again.

     I gripped on the spoon even harder and said, “Enough. I am seriously going to leave you if you mention her again.”

     Diana was now looking angry too as she says again, “I’m here to talk to you because OUR mother is fucking sick and she won’t tell it to my abusive father. You’re the only hope I have right now Romeo, I don’t know anyone else who could help us.”

     “She’s still being abused?” I asked instead.

     Diana’s expression quickly changed into a sadder one as she explained, “She is, and all I could do is painfully watch. She’s vomiting blood and I really know something bad is wrong with her, but she just wouldn’t tell anyone. I already texted you about this but you didn’t reply to me, that’s why I called for you now so we could personally talk about this matter.”

     “I didn’t reply to you because I wasn’t interested in helping in any way, I thought that was already clear to you”, I answered her.

     “Romeo…father is still beating her while not knowing what she’s going through. She’s already in so much pain and this is what you say?”

     I was about to say something back when suddenly a memory flashes in front of me again…

     “ Why did you do this?! How cruel can you be?! You’re a monster! A fucking monster! “

     I quickly dropped the spoon that I was holding.

     My expression was now dark as I coldly said, “She deserved to be abused. It’s payment for everything she has done…”

     “Romeo! How dare you!” Diana now angrily shouts, making everyone look at our direction.

     “She’s sick? Then tell her to go fuck a doctor next so she could have free treatment”, I told Diana, making her eyes teary.

     I thought she was going to say something to me again, but instead, she grabs her glass and directly throws the water at me.

     Everyone gasps.

     I took a deep breath. Now my blood was boiling from anger, but I still tried to control it, because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t know what I’d be able to do to this child.

     I took my napkin and dried myself with it.

     I angrily looked back at Diana and said, “So, you learned that dirty trick from her too?”

     Diana finally had enough as she stood up and was about to slap me with her bare hands, but before she could even make contact with my face, someone suddenly grabbed her hand to stop her.

     I looked up and was surprised to see that it was actually Julien.

     “I hope you are sensitive enough to know that he is not allowed to be touched”, Julien says, making Diana shocked.

     “Romeo”, Johnson calls out as he arrived at the scene as well. He then looks back at Diana and says, “Ms. Diana, I already warned you to not mention her…why didn’t you listen?”

     Diana doesn’t say anything, but she angrily pulls her hand away from Julien and quickly wipes the tear that was actually already streaming down from her eyes.

     My hands were already trembling as I stood up from my seat.

     “You weren’t there Diana, you don’t know how cruel that woman was. It makes me sick to see a sweet girl like you to try and help a woman like her”, I say as I put my wallet out, then I took out a few bills and gave it to her, “Thank you for this wonderful lunch”, I say as I quickly went out of the restaurant, Julien quickly following behind me while Johnson stayed inside to help Diana with the mess that we both created.

     That old man, he treats Diana like his daughter too that it pisses me off.

     “Chairman Val…” I heard Julien say. But I ignored him and stood at the pavement, waiting for the valet to arrive with the car.

     “ One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, five one thousand, six one thousand… “ I continuously say to try to calm myself down.

     “ N-No…what have you done? What did you do to him!? “ another memory comes to mind.

     “Seven one thousand, eight one thousand, nine one thousand…” I said louder, my hands trembling even more and my heart beating even faster. Terrible memories were suddenly flashing right before my eyes, and I was soaking wet, and I felt so dirty…everything around me felt dirty, and everyone who looked at me made me feel like vomiting.

     Julien looks at me confusingly and tried to say, “C-Chairman Val…sir are you okay?”

     I was clenching on my fist as I slowly turned my head to look at him.

     Julien’s eyes widened when he saw tears coming out of my eyes.

     “ S-stained…s-so stained “, I whispered, but it was loud enough for Julien to hear.

     His always-serious face quickly changed into pity, and his eyes were even teary by just looking at how pathetic I was.

     I thought he was going to say something that he thinks would help me feel better, but instead, he lifts his hand and slowly touches my cheek, his thumb wiping my tears away.

     I flinched as I felt the warm glove touch my bare skin. But surprisingly, I didn’t move away.

     “It’s painful right?” he says, like he understood exactly how I was feeling right now.

     He continued to touch my cheeks as he continued, “I’m already used to the pain, so if you want…you can pour it all out on me. I’ll take it…with no questions asked.”

• END -

(6) Nighttime

💋

     “Romeo”, Johnson suddenly calls out, making Julien quickly put his hands down from me.

     Johnson walks towards us. He was surprised to see that I was actually crying, but he sighs like he knew that it would happen sooner or later.

     “You’re going home. There’s no need for you to go back to work today”, Johnson tells me.

     Then, he noticed that people were already looking at us, probably because they were already recognizing my face.

     Thankfully, our car arrives. Johnson quickly opens the door for me and hurriedly asked me to get inside.

     Julien went in next, and then Johnson got in last.

     “Diana told me her driver will pick her up soon so-”

     I quickly cut Johnson off and said, “I don’t care. Drive, I want to go home.”

     Johnson takes a deep breath but nods his head anyways, “Alright, but I’ll have to drop Mr. Julien back at the company first.”

     I quickly looked at Julien who doesn’t even say anything.

     I slowly lifted my hand and gently touched the cheek where Julien first touched it.

     “No”, I suddenly say as I put my hand down, making Johnson look at me confusingly through the rearview mirror.

     I looked back at Julien as I continued, “He’s coming with us.”

     Johnson was once again surprised.

     Well, he would definitely be surprised since the only people who has ever been inside my house is Johnson himself, Edrick ( and my past secretaries ), my maids and cooks, and some family members. My secretaries can enter my house, but only at a specific time.

     I’m picky towards people who get the chance to step foot inside my house, but NO ONE can go inside my room, even the maids. I have a camera right outside my bedroom door to make sure no one can get inside. And if you’re wondering, I’m the one who cleans my own room because I don’t want anyone else to touch my personal belongings.

     And like what I just said, I’m picky towards people who get the chance to step foot inside my house, but somehow, I feel like Julien is an exception.

    “Alright then”, Johnson finally says as he drives away from the company and straight back to my house.

     Thankfully, the sudden outburst of my memories stopped, and I was able to occupy my mind with something different, and apparently, that something different was…

     “ I’m already used to the pain, so if you want…you can pour it all out on me. I’ll take it…with no questions asked. “

     I quickly closed my eyes. Feeling Julien’s touch on my cheek for the second time.

     “ Did it always feel like this? “ I asked myself as I took a deep breath and tried to think of other good memories instead to ease myself more.

     But like always, I failed.

     I finally went back to my usual self because like before, all I could think about was this insignificant man in front of me.

     Which made me realize that currently, the only good memory that I have…

     Was him.

---

     “We’re here”, I heard Johnson say as I opened my eyes after taking a quick nap inside the car.

     I might have been thinking too much that I doze off.

     I yawned and said, “Sorry, let’s go.”

     Julien quickly goes out and opened the door for me.

     I went out and avoided looking at him.

     After thinking about him all day, and after having the time to relax my brain a little, I finally realized that actually looking at him made me feel… weird.

     I think my plan of making him my secretary was actually stupid after all.

     “This is a house?” Julien suddenly asked as Johnson drives towards the garage to park the car.

     I quickly hid my hands inside my pockets and dared to look back at Julien.

     “Why? Do you have a different criteria on how a house should look like?” I seriously asked him, even though deep down I seriously wanted to look away from him.

     Every time I look straight at his eyes, the memories of him fingering himself, mocking me freely, and even touching my cheek just an hour ago, would automatically flash right in front of me.

     It was honestly starting to tire me again.

     “N-No…it’s just…this is a fucking mansion”, he points out.

     I lifted my right eyebrow and looked at my house.

     It was all white, only two floors, 4 bedrooms, one master bedroom, and…let’s just say, a few other rooms that I don’t really go to anymore since I’m usually at the company building.

     “Can’t a mansion be defined as a house?” I asked him. But without waiting for his answer, I started walking towards the front door.

     Julien quickly goes in front of me to open the door. When I got inside, he goes back to walk behind me.

     “I hope you paid attention to where this is so when you go here you wouldn’t waste time by just looking for it. I’ll provide you with the money you’ll be needing to commute, but you can honestly tell me if you’re having a hard time so I could just buy you your own company car”, I tell him as I glanced at him to see his reaction.

     My previous secretaries before would look flustered or excited whenever I tell them about this, but Julien on the other hand, looked like he didn’t even care about what I just told him.

     “That’s not necessary”, he simply answers me with a serious expression.

     I rolled my eyes and continued walking, “The reason why I ask my secretary to come here every day is because I sometimes do my work at my office at this house. In other cases, I have meetings on other companies before heading to the main building, and as my secretary, you are required to be there with me. Your job is very different from everyone else in the company, but I hope you know that this job is also the most complicated one, which is why I’ve seen a lot of my secretaries come and go.”

     Julien doesn’t say anything so I don’t say anything anymore until we finally arrived at the living room.

    “Good afternoon Master Val”, one of my maids said as she and two other maids walked in front of us.

     “We sincerely apologize that we were not able to welcome you back at the front door. We didn’t know that you would be coming home at this hour”, she adds.

     Like my employees at the company, I train my maids to be precise too.

     For them, time is everything.

     “It’s okay”, I tell her, then I pointed at Julien and continued, “By the way, this is my new secretary, Julien Choi. Open the doors for him at 7 like what you always do to Edrick. For today he’ll be staying here till dinner so while he waits, serve him some tea. I’ll just be going to my room to change.”

     “Yes master Val”, the three of them said in unison before leaving.

     I quickly turned my head to look at Julien and regretted it soon after because I didn’t realize that Julien was actually standing just a few inches away from me.

     Julien was obviously a little surprised but he doesn’t show it.

     I quickly moved away and cleared my throat.

     “Just stay here for now”, I tell him. Still trying to avoid making eye contact with him.

     “Yes…chairman Val”, he suddenly says, mimicking how my maids said it to me too.

     My nervousness towards him was once again quickly changed to annoyance.

     “ Seriously, this man just drops random bombs at me. If this keeps up I’ll end up getting used to it “, I thought to myself as I walked away from him.

     I went straight to my bedroom and changed my clothes ( and gloves ), but this time, the gloves are just a simple white cloth instead of a leather one.

     As I was changing, my telephone suddenly rings.

     I slowly walked towards it and looked at who the caller was.

     “ Diana Rose Roselli “

     I sighed and ignored the call, automatically making it go to voicemail.

     “ Romeo… “ Diana softly started.

     I sat down on my bed and closed my eyes. Silently listening to what Diana was going to tell me.

     Obviously, since she called, she’d be apologizing first.

     “ I’m sorry about what happened earlier. I knew you were always sensitive about…that…but I hope you know that I did it because I really am concerned about her “, Diana says as how I expected her to say.

     Next is she’ll be talking about that woman’s condition so I would feel bad, even for a little.

     “ It’s just that…she’s really in a bad shape right now. I don’t know what she did in the past and I admit that I’m being unfair to you about this. But if you could just see how father treats her, and what she’s going through with whatever sickness that she has now…it’s just…it’s painful you know. “

     Then finally, she’ll ask me to meet up with her again.

     “ I won’t force you, but I hope we could talk about this again. I’ll free my time for you, just tell me if you’re ready to talk about this, okay? “

     “The Roselli Family is still waiting for you Romeo…” I say as Diana paused.

     She takes a deep breath and says, “ The Roselli Family is still waiting for you Romeo. The Valentino’s might have forgotten about you…but we’re here…always. “

     Then the message ends.

     I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.

     “You always say the same shit Diana”, I say as I stood up and clicked on a small buzzer. Seconds later, someone knocks on my door three times.

     “Call for Julien and bring him to my office”, I say as a maid answered, “Right away Master Val.”

     I arranged a few things inside my room that looked out of place. Afterwards I looked at myself at the mirror for the last time before heading out to go to my office.

     I stupidly fixed my hair again for the nth time before going inside.

     And like how I expected, Julien was…standing?

     “What are you doing?” I asked, making Julien quickly turn around to face me.

     “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know where I’m allowed to sit so I just decided to stand up. Don’t worry, I didn’t touch anything”, Julien suddenly says, stupidly making me feel weird again.

     I quickly looked away so he wouldn’t see my expression.

     “Just sit wherever”, I said as I quickly went to my desk to sit down.

     Julien nods his head and sits down at the seat just in front of my desk.

     The room was silent, and very, very awkward. So I quickly cleared my throat and asked, “Do I have any appointments tomorrow?”

     Julien looks at me and suddenly bites his lip, making me quickly grip on my own thighs.

     “I apologize chairman Val but I can’t answer you about it now since your schedule is on the computer…back at the company”, he answers me, making me massage my temple.

     “ Of course it is “, I whispered to myself.

     I was now bouncing my leg up and down since I seriously didn’t know why I asked him to come here in the first place.

     “Chairman…what am I supposed to do anyways?” he finally asked me.

     I looked up and looked at the clock.

     Then, I suddenly remembered something.

     “What time are you supposed to be back at your night work?” I asked him, shocking him a little that I opened up such a topic.

     “Uhm…it doesn’t matter. If my work with you is done then I’ll just leave”, he answers me.

     I don’t know what suddenly came up to me but I suddenly asked him this, “What if I keep you here till tomorrow? What would you do then?”

     “Keep me here?” Julien asked me, making me widen my eyes from realization that I actually asked him such a stupid question.

     “I-I mean…what if…we finish late, and you wouldn’t have time to go to your other work…what would you do then?” I tried to ask him again.

     Julien looks at me seriously and answered instead, “What am I really doing here Mr. Valentino?”

     I gulped, unable to answer his question.

     Julien stares at me, like he was examining me again.

     Seconds later he starts smirking, but instead of saying anything, he just quietly sat there while continuing on staring at me, like he was mentally telling me to just tell him what I actually want him to do and he’ll immediately do it with no questions asked.

     “ Shit… “ I whispered under my breath.

     I gulped again.

     My legs continued to bounce as I grabbed my pen to squeeze it.

     I don’t know if it was even possible but the room became quieter that it was slowly irritating me even more.

     “One one thousand, two one thousand, three one-”

     Fuck it…

     “You told me that you’re very different during the night”, I say as I stopped bouncing my leg and immediately dropped my pen on the table.

     “If I keep you till nighttime…will you be able to show it to me again?” I finally asked him, making Julien grin now.

     “I’m very expensive though”, he suddenly tells me, and this time, it was my turn to smirk.

      I opened my drawer and took out my checkbook, “How expensive?” I asked back.

     Julien did a thinking pose, and then he looks back at me and asks, “Are you still in pain though?”

     “ I’m already used to the pain, so if you want…you can pour it all out on me. I’ll take it…with no questions asked “, I quickly remembered.

     I lay back on my seat and answered, “I’m in so much pain that I think I’d die.”

     Julien smirks and loosened his tie, “Then exactly at 8 PM…”

     I glanced at the clock: 2:34 PM.

     Julien brushes his hair back and continued, “I’m all yours…Mr. Ego”

• END -

(7) Pen [m]

💋

      I take a bite on my steak and looked up to see Julien silently eating his dinner.

     “I heard the Valentino Empire dropped a few percent on public ratings after EXRay Media released their report on the company a few days ago”, Johnson suddenly tells me, making me quickly shift my attention to him.

     “Ah yes, I read the report from president Sterling”, I say, not even a little concerned about the matter.

     “News about me being a bad person started circulating just because of that Paul reporter. But news are news, it will be forgotten after a few days if we ignore them”, I say, and Johnson nodded his head as an agreement.

     “Anyways, who even gave the idea to let reporters inside the main building anyways?”

     And why the hell did I stupidly agree to it?

     “President King did, remember? He talked about how the public will love the Valentino Empire more if you try to connect with them, and apparently, letting reporters inside the building will be a great way to do so”, Johnson explains, making me sigh.

     Of course, it’s because of President King again.

     I’m starting to notice that everything that’s happening to me now is all thanks to him.

     “You’re from his branch right?” Johnson suddenly asks, but it wasn’t towards me, it was a question directly thrown to Julien.

     Julien gently puts his spoon down and says, “I was.”

     “How is he? Is he a good boss to everyone? Chairman Val here hasn’t visited that company for a long time now so we don’t really get to hear reports about him”, Johnson says.

     I don’t know why but I suddenly remembered that Bryson was able to find that Club Luxuria because of his father, and apparently, Julien works there, and since President King obviously goes to that club too, then it means Julien was able to get a job at the Valentino company because of him too.

     It’s a disgusting thought but…has Julien…fucked him too?

    Well it can’t be, president King isn’t even gay. He’s actually happily married for at least 20 yeas now. 

     But then again, the question on why he had that token would resurface.

     Why on earth would president King – not a gay man – have a token that will give him access to an exclusive gay club? And why on earth wasn’t Bryson even shocked about finding something like that in his father’s room?

     It’s either President King was supposed to give it to Bryson since it was his birthday, or, President King is really secretly gay and Bryson knows about it.

     “He’s always at his office, but when he’s not he attends meetings outside the company. But, he checks on us time to time”, Julien explains.

     “Meetings outside the company”, Johnson and I said in unison.

     President King was once a CEO of a small company. My father was once acquainted to him in the past, which is why I knew him. When I was starting with my own company, he went to me and practically begged me to partner with him since his company was going on a stage of bankruptcy.

     After a few years of being partners, I bought off his old company and made him a President in one of my own companies in which President King was very honored about.

     Since it’s Valentino Group of companies, it means I have a lot of sub-companies that are being handles by presidents, vice presidents, and directors. Like President King, he’s a head of a different branch; President Sterling handles the main branch, and a few more presidents handle my other branches. But all these presidents have one boss, and that’s me, the chairman of the Valentino Empire.

     Though the presidents have a boss ( which would be me ), they still have a lot of power over the company.

    One of the powerful ones is none other than President King.

     A few years ago, I only had one sub-company, and that company was the company that President King handles now. I have at least 15 sub-companies now, but since President King is the oldest and was with me when I was still growing, he’s basically the second most powerful man in the company next to me, so there are a lot of things that he’s able to do without me knowing about it.

     He hasn’t really done anything that would ruin my name or even make the whole company fall, but I think if he even gets to do something like that, I wouldn’t even be able to fire him so easily, especially when he knows too much about me.

     But then again, I said “ wouldn’t be able to fire him too easily“ not, “ wouldn’t be able to fire him “.

    “Heard those are meetings with stockholders and future partnership projects”, Julien quickly explains, obviously noticing our reaction when he mentioned about it.

     It pissed me off a little when Julien seemed like he was defending him. But I brushed the stupid thought away as quickly as possible.

     I looked at him and took another bite on my food, “Don’t worry, it’s not like we’re suspicious towards him. If he wanted to do something that would ruin me, he could have done it a long time ago.”

     “Is that so-”

     “And besides”, I quickly say as Julien looks at me, waiting for me to continue.

     I took a sip of my wine and looked at him seriously, “The things he knows about me…is nothing compared to the things I know about him. Attempting to destroy me is practically attempting to destroy himself, do you understand that Mr. Choi?” I asked.

     I get really serious about topics related to these things, and I think it’s the first time Julien saw me like that too.

     He gulps when I looked at him, then he quickly nods his head as an understanding.

     His reaction made me smirk.

     “ Wait till you see me during board meetings “, I tell myself as I continued to eat.

     “Anyways, are you done eating Julien? I noticed you’re not eating anymore”, Johnson suddenly says.

     I quickly looked up and realized Julien’s plate was already empty.

     “Are you not hungry anymore?” Johnson continued to ask.

     Johnson asked the question, but Julien looks at me instead. He shyly bites his lower lip and answered, “I apologize if I’m being rude but…I’m actually craving for something else.”

     My eyes widened as I gripped on my fork. Then I slowly glanced at my watch.

     7:59 PM

     “Oh, is that so? Then what could it be, we might have it in the kitchen”, Johnson says. But before Julien could even answer, I quickly put my fork down and said, “Don’t spoil him on his first day.”

     Johnson looks at me, but I ignored him and stood up, “We still have some papers to finish so we’ll be going upstairs first.”

     Johnson looked like he was going to ask about it, but he sighs and nods his head anyways.

     “Alright then”, he says, quickly making Julien stand up from his seat.

     I walked upstairs first, Julien right behind me.

     When I was now in front of the door of my office, I stopped and looked at my watch again. When it was exactly 8:00 PM already, I took a deep breath first before turning the doorknob and heading inside.

     I walked towards my desk and heard the door close. I slowly turned around and sat down on my chair, watching Julien just stand there, staring back at me too.

     “Ready to play?” he suddenly asks me.

     I don’t say anything and just stared at him.

    “ What are you doing Romeo? “ I asked myself as I watch Julien slowly walk his way towards me.

     “If my owner won’t talk or even move me, then I wouldn’t know what to do”, he tells me. Now he was standing right in front of my desk.

     “You want me to command you?” I finally asked him, making him grin, “Those are the rules.”

     He leans forward and seductively continues, “I know you love rules, right? Chairman Val?”

     I smirked and nodded my head, “If that’s the case then neatly clear my desk please”, I tell him.

     It was obvious that Julien was expecting me to give him a sexual command, so when he heard what I commanded him instead, his expression quickly changed into confusion.

     “Alright then”, he says anyways as he removes my perfectly aligned pens and papers and neatly places it on a different table. He then takes the small sculpture and my lamp and also placed it on top of the other table until my desk was completely empty.

     When my desk was now clear, he looks back at me and asked, “Are you actually going to make me clean your desk? Because that is seriously a huge turn off.”

      When I heard what he said, I started laughing my pants off.

     “Looks like I have a lot more tricks than you do”, I tell him as I crossed my arms.

     I stared at his eyes deeply and said, “Rather than making it clean, I surprisingly want you to make it dirty.”

     Julien continued to look at me confusingly, seconds later his eyes widened from realization.

     “You want me…to masturbate…on top of your desk?” he asks, unsure if I was actually messing with him or not.

     It was actually confusing me too. All I want is order and neatness, but somehow, because of Julien, I ended up wanting him to do something dirty for me.

     For a man who I literally just met, he had the ability to confuse the shit out of me. 

     But I’m slowly starting to learn that I should just go with the flow and accept it.

     It might sound weird but…Julien might be the only thing I need to clear myself from this torturous disorder.

     He makes me forget about the bad things.

     He feels surprisingly comforting.     

     And he especially makes dirty things look fucking irresistible.

     “I command you to play with yourself on top of my desk. Those are the rules, right?” I asked.

     Julien looks at me with disbelief, like he couldn’t believe that he’d actually be able to hear those words come out of my own mouth. But after a few seconds of sinking it in, he chuckles and nods his head anyways.

     “You’re right. Those are definitely the rules”, he says as he walks towards the table to get one of my fountain pens, then he looks back at me and finally removes his necktie.

     I thought he was going to strip again, but instead, he only removes his coat, pants and boxers, leaving his turtleneck shirt and gloves still on him.

     “Enjoy the show”, he mischievously says as he sits on the edge of my desk. He quickly turns his body so he could be able to face me now.

     My thighs were in between his legs, but before they could even touch, he quickly lifts it up so he could kneel in front of me.

     His cock was a few inches away from my face; if he moved a little further then I’d be able to touch it with my own lips.

     “Just watch”, he warns me, like he felt like I was really going to suck his dick, which was very unlikely so there wasn’t any reason for him to worry.

     “Since you can’t go inside me, maybe something you own would be an acceptable replacement”, he says as he shows me the fountain pen, “If you don’t mind.”

     I stared at the pen, thinking I’d definitely just throw it away after.

     “Go ahead”, I answered.

     Without wasting any time, Julien started licking on the pen like it was some kind of ice pop.

     I cringed a little when I saw him do it, but knowing the fact that all my pens are brand new makes me feel at ease at least.

     “H-hopefully…yours is bigger”, he suddenly says while still sucking on the pen.

     I quickly understood what he meant so I chuckled and answered, “You’ll need at least five more of those if that’s what you’re wondering”

     Julien slowly pulls the pen out of his mouth and smirked, “That will definitely destroy me”, he sexily tells me.

     I don’t know how he made that sentence feel so sexy but he just did.

     “All wet now daddy “, he playfully says, showing me the wet pen.

     I gulped and started bouncing my leg up and down again.

     The moment he said the word daddy, my whole body quickly became 10 times hotter than it already was.

     “Now let’s feed this naughty little hole”, he says as he positions the pen on his asshole. Then, with a slow push inside, Julien quickly moans.

     “A-Ah shit…it’s so s-slippery”, Julien says.

     I gulped and watched him push the pen deeper.

     He moans again, but louder this time.

     I had to grip on my thighs to make it stop bouncing, “If you don’t want to be heard you have to keep quiet”, I tell him, quickly making Julien bite his lip so his loud moans wouldn’t come out of his mouth.

     He starts pushing and pulling the pen inside his hole.

     “D-daddy…your dirty toy…c-can’t stop the sound f-from…coming out”, he tried to say as he now bends over so he could properly shove the pen inside.

     Julien quickly moans again, making my pants feel even tighter.

     “ Fuck “, I say under my breath as I felt my own dick twitching.

     If he continues on moaning like that, I wouldn’t be able to control myself anymore.

     “I told you…keep quiet”, I say as I started looking for something that would be useful in this kind of situation.

     My eyes eventually saw my own hands.

    I gulped as a stared at it, but when I heard Julien moan again, I quickly showed him my thumb, “Bite”, I say, making Julien look at me with shock.

     “If you feel like moaning…bite as hard as you can”, I say, not sure about it myself.

     “ I’m wearing gloves anyways “, I thought. Trying to convince myself that it was okay. But before I could even change my mind and back out, Julien starts thrusting the pen faster, making him quickly bite my thumb.

     The sudden contact of his teeth made me grip on my thighs harder.

     It was definitely painful.

     But, there was obviously something else, and that something was obviously something that I was enjoying.

     “ Rome “, he mumbled while my thumb was still inside his mouth.

     One final push and cum started oozing out of his cock.

     I quickly pulled my thumb away from his mouth.

     I was panting heavily, like I was actually the one who fucked him. I quickly looked down and felt something warm inside my pants.

     I sighed when I realized that I actually came as well.

     “ Great “, I whispered to myself.

     I suddenly felt so dirty after everything that JUST happened. 

     I wanted to quickly change my gloves and even my pants and boxers. I felt like a kid who pissed his pants and I felt so embarrassed.

     Wait a second…

     “ Embarrassed “

     My eyes widened when I realized something again. The thing that I’m feeling right now is actually embarrassment…not disgust, nor anger. It felt so new that I felt the hair on my skin stand.

     “This is enough”, I finally say.

     “Wear your clothes back and go downstairs”, I say as I slowly stood up.

     I looked at Julien who was panting heavily while he was still on top of my desk. He pulls the pen out of his asshole and neatly places it on the table.

     “Let me clean up first. Don’t want the maids to think about weird things right?” he says as he slowly goes down from the desk.

     He wears his clothes and used some papers to clean the desk.

     After throwing the dirty papers away, Julien quickly puts all the items back on top of my desk.

     He then took the pen that he used and was about to throw it away as well. I don’t know what came up to me but I quickly stopped him.

     Julien looked at me confusingly as I said, “Clean it up and hand it over to me.”

     Julien laughs, like I made a joke. But when he saw my serious expression, his own expression changed as well.

     He took another paper and used it to wipe the pen. Then he gives it to me.

     I stared at the pen. My brain was telling me to just fucking reach out and take it, but a bigger percent of my brain kept on telling me to throw that disgusting thing away.

     “Do you really need this because I don’t think it’s necessary for you to-”

     Julien stops mid-sentence when I quickly took the pen from his hand and quickly hid it inside my pocket.

     “Are you serious?” he asked, shocked on what I just did.

     “If you don’t want to leave yet then I’ll go first”, I say as I quickly turned around since I was starting to feel my face getting hotter and hotter.

     It was definitely turning red, and I’d rather die than let Julien see that kind of expression.

     “Wait!” he suddenly shouts, making me stupidly stop walking again.

     Seriously, I’m acting like a weakling when I’m around him.

     “What you did just now…why?” he asked me.

     “ I don’t know either “, I whispered to myself, but I didn’t dare say it to Julien.

     The pen was hot inside my pocket, and it felt heavy too. I don’t know why I suddenly wanted to keep such an item, but somehow, I felt like keeping it…would make me feel like I’m keeping…him.

     “Alright, you don’t have to answer. But at least…sit down”, he suddenly tells me.

     I finally turned around and looked at him.

     “Sit down and let me help you with that, to at least repay you for dirtying your office”, Julien says as he looked down on my bulging crotch.

     “No, you can’t touch me, remember?” I asked him.

     Julien nodded his head, like he obviously understood it already and I didn’t have to keep on telling him about it.

     “You have severe OCD right? I heard some say that a lot of people have already tried to help you with that disorder but nothing happened. A lot of them had already lost hope, and one of those people is none other than yourself”, Julien suddenly tells me. I didn’t know why he was saying those things but somehow, it was a big punch in the gut in my part.

     “But earlier, during the incident at the restaurant…I touched you”, he finally says, surprising me since I thought we were never going to talk about that event.

     “You didn’t react, you just let me touch you”, he continued.

     “What’s your point Mr. Julien Choi?” I finally asked him.

    Julien looked like he was thinking really deeply before he answered me, “What if there’s still hope? What if…”

     Julien paused and looked down, like he was unsure of it himself. But after what seems like a quick debate with his inner self, Julien looked straight into my eyes and continued, “What if I can help you?”

     Help you.

     How long have I not heard someone say that those words to me?

     “You can’t help me”, I coldly answered him.

     I thought he was finally going to give up on the idea, but I saw him clench on his fist instead and persistently say, “No, you can still be cured.”

     “I’m not fucking sick”, I fired back, shocking Julien.

     “I-I’m sorry…” he softly says, and the way he looked suddenly made me feel angry.

     “Enough with this crap”, I say as I was about to turn around and leave the room.

     “Rome”, he suddenly calls out, making me flinch.

     “I know…and you know…that whatever is going on between us…is helping you with your OCD”, he honestly tells me, making me gulp since that was exactly what I was just thinking about a few minutes ago.

     “I told you I’m used to the pain, and you can use me to put it all out. If using me…will help you with your disorder…then use me all you want”, he says, making me clench on my fist.

     “Why do you even care about me Mr. Choi? You don’t even know me that well, and you’ve only met me too”, I tell him.

     I thought he was going to answer my question, but instead, he tells me instead, “I should be asking you the exact same question Mr. Valentino. Why do you even care about me? You don’t even know me that well, and you’ve only met me too…but why? Why do you want me to stay by your side?”

     I took a deep breath and just stared at him.

     “ You got me “, I whispered to myself as I closed my eyes to calm myself down.

     I’m a person who wants nothing more but order. But ever since meeting him, order was already gone, and I didn’t even mind it. If Julien can help me escape this torturous disorder, then who am I to be picky? Everyone else has given up on me anyways.

     I took a deep breath and finally asked him, “What did you want me to do again?”

     Julien quickly smiles, shocking me since it was my first time to see him smile like that.

      And for the first time…

      He looked beautiful.

     “You don’t want to be touched, I get it. People touching you makes you feel dirty right?” he suddenly asks me, quickly snapping me back to my senses.

     He removes his necktie again and walks closer to me, “But if you can’t see it, you won’t know…right?” he asks me again.

     “Sit down and let me finish our play date”, Julien says, and like a puppet, I sat down on the chair in front of my desk.

     “Close your eyes”, he says. Now it was his turn to command me.

     “ I can’t believe I’m actually doing this “, I whispered as I closed my eyes. Seconds later I felt Julien tie something over my eyes.

     I flinched, and I could hear Julien shushing me, like he was trying to calm me down.

     “Earlier you were counting…if you feel uneasy, and doing that will help, then I want you to count”, Julien tells me.

     I took a deep breath and felt like there wasn’t any reason for me to do that…yet.

     “ Count “, Julien whispered, then I felt him unzip my pants.

     Like what he expected, I started to feel uneasy. But before I could even say anything, he pulls my pants and boxers down, quickly making me grip on the edge of the chair.

     “S-Stop…” I quickly say as I felt the breeze touch my now exposed cock.

     “Count”, Julien says again.

     My heart was beating fast, and I felt my hands starting to tremble a little.

     I gulped and finally started counting, “O-One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, five one thousand, six one thousand, seven one thousand-”

     I continued to count as I agonizingly waited for Julien to do something.

     Finally, I felt his breath near my cock. I was gripping so hard on the edge of the chair that my hands were starting to hurt.

     “I can’t”, I finally say, then, a tear fell out of my eyes.

     The whole room was silent, and then I felt Julien pull my pants and boxers back up.

     He zips my pants and finally removes the necktie off my eyes.

     I quickly wiped my eyes and looked down, afraid to see Julien’s reaction.

     “Rome…” he suddenly called out again.

     My heart was beating fast and my hands continued to tremble as I slowly lifted my head to look at him.

     To my surprise, Julien’s eyes were teary too.

     He gives out this smile that blew me away for the second time and sincerely says, “You did a good job…Romeo Valentino.”

     I didn’t know why but those words suddenly broke me. Tears started pouring out of my eyes even more as Julien kneeled in front of me, “You did a REALLY good job”, he tells me again.

     But before I could even say anything back, someone suddenly knocks on the door three times.

     “Romeo…you’re being called for an emergency meeting”, Johnson says outside the door.

     My eyes widened as I quickly wiped my tears away to stand up.

     Emergency meeting.

     “Company?” I asked.

     Johnson paused for a few seconds before answering, “No… family “

• END -

(8) Family Affairs

💋

     I quickly changed my clothes and wore a formal suit. Then, I opened my drawers and took out a small box. Inside the box was a gold letter V pin. I took it out and pinned it on my collar.

    After fixing myself up, I took my phone on the side table and saw the pen placed beside it. I was telling myself that I should just leave that disgusting item there, but of course; I didn’t listen to myself and just took the goddamn pen and hanged it on the back of my necktie.

     “ I cleaned it with alcohol anyways “, I thought, trying to convince myself that it was okay for me to carry around a pen that Julien used to masturbate earlier.

     I went out of my room and saw Julien leaning on the wall just right in front of my door.

     “You look tensed”, he says as he walks towards me. I ignored him and went downstairs. Julien doesn’t say anything and just follows behind me.

     I went out of the house and saw Johnson inside the car that’s parked at the front.

     I turned around and looked at Julien, “There will be another car that will arrive shortly. The driver will bring you to wherever you ask him to go.”

     Julien doesn’t say anything and just stares at me.

     I sighed and said, “Look, what happened tonight-”

     Julien quickly cuts me off and says, “Thank you for tonight. I’ll be here at exactly 7 in the morning, right?”

     I nodded my head and said, “Right.”

     Another car arrives. I looked back at Julien and said, “That’s your ride.”

     Julien nods his head. He was about to go to the car but quickly stops and looks at my necktie. He looks back at me and chuckles, “Looks like you’re bringing a piece of me with you.”

     I quickly looked at my necktie and saw the pen.

     I pretended that it was a different pen and ignored his statement.

     “I’ll see you tomorrow”, I say instead.

     Julien bows in front of me before I walk towards the car. Johnson quickly goes out to open the door for me.

     “They’re already waiting”, Johnson says as I quickly went inside the car. Johnson goes back inside as well, and then I looked at the side-mirror and saw Julien go inside the other car.

     As we drove off, I looked down and stared at my thumb.

     It felt like my thumb was still being pressed by something. The feeling, and the memory of Julien biting it made my whole body feel hot again.

     “ What if I can help you? “ I remembered him say.

     I chuckled by just the thought of it.

     “ Let me see you try “, I whispered, quickly making Johnson look at me through the rearview mirror, “Did you say something?” he asked me.

     I shake my head and answered, “No, I just remembered something.”

     “Hopefully you remembered something good. I don’t want you to be in a bad mood again like the last emergency meeting”, Johnson tells me; making me remember the last time I met my so-called family.

     I don’t want to be part of them anymore. If I could be given a chance I’d even change my last name just to finally remove my connections with them. But sadly, the Valentino blood is running inside my veins. I have to die in order for me to finally end my connections with the family.

     I don’t even attend family meetings anymore, or any family related affairs in general, which is why every one of them doesn’t like me, or rather, they’re pissed off that I’m not acting like I’m one of them. They say I bring dishonor to the family name since I didn’t even follow on with my father’s footsteps.

     In case you’re wondering, Valentino is from my father’s side while Roselli is from that woman’s side (AKA the mother ). Those two families go way back, and they also have a lot of history together, which I obviously don’t have the time to explain one by one.

     But like what I said, I try my best to pretend like I’m not a part of them anymore, like how I don’t go to their regular meetings. But since today is an emergency meeting , I am obliged to attend even if I didn’t want to.

     They can brush off the fact that I’m not attending the regular meetings, but not attending the emergency meetings is practically suicide. It has been made clear to me that even if you like it or not, you HAVE to attend those meetings, because if you don’t…well…bad things will definitely happen.

     “Who called anyways?” I asked.

     “You’re uncle, Antonio Valentino “, Johnson answered, making me change my expression into a serious one.

     Antonio Valentino. Now that’s a name people are definitely afraid of.

     “Then it looks like something serious is really happening”, I say as I look out the window.

     “Or…they just desperately want to see to you again”, Johnson adds.

     I chuckled and answered back, “I highly doubt that.”

---

     “Let’s go”, Johnson says as he went out to open the car door for me.

     I went out of the car and stared at the café in front of me.

     It looked like a normal café, but in reality, only a Valentino   can step foot inside. There were two guards in full suit outside the door. The windows were even covered with thick red curtains so no one can see what’s happening inside.

     “Is everyone already there?” I asked as Johnson gave the car keys to a valet.

     “They are”, he says as he opens the door for me.

     I went inside and everyone automatically greeted me, “Welcome back sir Romeo”, they say in unison.

     I simply nodded my head to greet them back. Then I looked at my right and saw 10 other men sitting down on a long table, and my very own 50-year-old uncle, Antonio Valentino, was sitting in the middle.

     They quickly see me, but not like the others, no one stood up to greet me except for my uncle.

     “Romeo”, he calls out.

     “I’ll be waiting here”, Johnson says as he went to sit on a different table.

     I took a deep breath and walked towards him. He was going to shake my hand but stops when he sees my gloves.

     “Oh yes, of course. I haven’t seen you in a long time that I even forgot about your…condition”, uncle Antonio stated.

     “Condition? More like an excuse he uses so he wouldn’t have to admit that he’s a weakling”, one of the men stated, quickly making uncle Antonio glare at him.

     “Is this how you show respect to our-”

     Someone suddenly cuts my uncle off and bravely said, “Respect? You ask us to respect a man who abandoned the family? Who decided to go on his own and pretend like we don’t even exist? Is that the kind of man you want us to respect?”

     Uncle Antonio quickly slams his fist on the table and angrily stated, “That is enough. We haven’t even talked about anything and you’re already acting like this. Now Romeo, do sit down.”

     I sighed and nodded my head before sitting down on the other end of the table, just parallel to uncle Antonio’s seat.

     Everyone glares at me, but I ignored them and just silently sat down.

     This is one of the main reasons why I don’t go to meetings anymore. I haven’t even said a single word and everyone’s blood is already boiling.

     And Johnson fucking expects me to keep my cool.

     “Alright, now that we’re all here, we should begin with the meeting”, Uncle Antonio stated as he sat back down, making everyone shift their attention back to him.

     Uncle directly stares at me and continues, “This meeting is actually about Elizabeth Roselli. “

     I quickly flinched the moment he mentioned that woman’s name.

     Everyone started whispering at each other as they heard the name too. But in my case, I quickly clenched my fist under the table so no one would notice it.

     “Ms. Diana Rose Roselli contacted me and told me about Elizabeth’s condition. She might be a head of a different family, but she is still the legal wife of our deceased boss. And we all know that she will be under our protection until her last breath”, uncle explained.

     “Diana Roselli has already told me about this matter, and like what I told her, I am not interested in helping her in any way. And why are you even concerned about her when the fact that she remarried a different man will weaken the Valentino’s connection with her”, I explained, surprising others about the fact that I still know some rules about this matter.

     “How can a sane man say those cruel words to the woman who gave birth to him?” another man tells me, making uncle glare at him too.

     I haven’t been attending meetings that I don’t even recognize these men anymore.

     “Yes Romeo, that may be true”, my uncle says, ignoring the other man’s comment about me. He then seriously looks at me and continues, “But the fact that you are still alive, still makes her an important person we must protect”

     “Then protect her all you want. I thought this emergency meeting was important, I didn’t know it would be filled with bullshit”, I coldly say, making the men look at me angrily again.

     Uncle was loosing his patience too, but he was good at not showing it, “Romeo, whether you like it or not, she is still your mother. She is a Roselli, and she is from a family that the Valentino’s swore to protect.”

     I stared at my uncle, then I looked at everyone one by one and answered, “Trying to protect her…won’t change the fact that you couldn’t even protect my father.”

     “How dare you!” the man on my right suddenly shouted. And to my surprise, he suddenly stood up and grabbed me by the collar.

     Everyone who was sitting on the table gasped from surprise. Johnson and my uncle were also shocked on the man’s sudden action.

     He gripped on my collar and dragged me upward so he could forcefully make me stand. But before he could do anything damaging, all the employees who greeted me earlier quickly stood up as well. Seconds later, they brought out their guns and pointed it at the man who was holding onto my collar.

     The whole café was silent.

     “You have no idea…how many brothers have died…just to protect your father”, the man says, anger and pain visible in his eyes.

     “Mathias, let go of him”, uncle says as he slowly stood up, trying to calm everyone down.

     But the man – who was apparently named Mathias – didn’t bother to let go of me.

     I couldn’t even push him away. Well, I didn’t even want to touch him. So I just stood there, staring back at him as well.

     Uncle Antonio looked at the employees who were pointing their guns at Mathias. He was moving so cautiously like making a wrong move would make everyone shoot Mathias at the same time.

     “We do not want a brother’s blood to stain these floors, so let Romeo go”, uncle tried to calmly say again. But when it was obvious that Mathias wasn’t listening, he finally shouted, “Mathias! Fucking let go of him…now!”

     Mathias was gripping on my collar even tighter, but seconds later, he let’s go of me, automatically making everyone hide their guns away.

     Johnson sighs and slowly sat back down.

     Uncle on the other hand, looked at Mathias angrily and said, “You clearly know that you cannot harm, nor touch that man. Not because of his sickness, but because he is a goddamn Valentino, and not just a Valentino, but the last original blood of this family. Do you fucking want me to cut your hands off?!”

     The man’s hands were trembling, but he puts his head down and says, “If I am to face a man who does not even give honor to the sacrifices my brothers have done for this family, then I’d rather you cut my head off.”

     Everyone didn’t say anything.

     Uncle was clenching his fist, obviously trying to calm himself down as well.

     “I understand your pain brother…so I will give you your last chance. Do this stunt again and I will do the honors of cutting your head off like you wished”, my uncle says.

     “Thank you Antonio”, the man says as he sits back down.

      Uncle Antonio takes a deep breath and sits down, quickly making me sit back down as well.

     “Is this what you want Romeo? To see your own family like this?” Uncle asked, but he looked like he was begging me rather than asking.

     “You do not have to see that woman, but…as a Valentino, you are under the same oath. You will give respect to that oath, and give a hand to Elizabeth Roselli, and that is final. Do not make me argue with you again”, my uncle stated, and I knew that nothing could change that anymore.

     I took a deep breath.

     I closed my eyes and massaged my temple. When I opened my eyes back, I quickly looked at Johnson.

     Johnson nods his head and walks towards me with my bag.

     I took my checkbook out, and then I took the pen that was hanging on my necktie.

     I was going to write down a few thousands since my blood was practically boiling because of this fucking emergency meeting. But the moment my eyes locked with the pen, I automatically calmed down.

     I closed my eyes and sighed again.

     “50 million”, I say as I wrote the numbers down.

     I took the check and slammed it on the table.

     “That would be enough to cure whatever her fucking sickness is. Secretly taking her from her household will be in your hands. Whatever happens…I will not be involved with it”, I say as I put the pen back on my necktie.

     I stood up, making everyone stand up as well.

     “ It’s funny how they’ll automatically show a little respect whenever money is involved “, I tell myself as I looked back at everyone.

     “Thank you Romeo. I will personally give that to Diana”, Uncle Antonio says as he gestured at the check on the table.

     Johnson took my checkbook and puts it back inside my bag. I looked at him and nodded my head; he nods his head back and leaves the café to get the car.

     “I am not helping because she is my mother. I am helping…because I give my respect to the oath the Valentino’s made with the Roselli family”, I reminded them, and uncle nodded his head as an understanding.

     “And next time, if the emergency meeting is about this again…don’t even bother calling me”, I say as I finally turned around and walked away.

     The employees inside the café quickly bowed and thanked me for visiting. 

     A guard opens the door for me. 

     I quickly went outside and pretended like I never walked inside that café in the first place.

     “Family affairs…why are they always this complicated?” 

• END -

(8.5) Don’t Stare

💋

     “You two order anything you want, I’ll handle the payment. If you need anything just approach me.” Romeo immediately tells us.

     We were inside a restaurant to eat lunch, but apparently, we were actually here because Romeo was going to meet up with a woman that I clearly didn’t know about.

     “Then enjoy your lunch”, Johnson told him as Romeo walks away from us, probably to go to the woman who he was supposed to meet with.

     “ Why did he even make me come with them? “ I thought to myself, a little annoyed about the whole situation.

     “Julien, let’s sit down”, Johnson tells me, quickly making me look at him. I nod my head and waited for him to sit down first before I could sit on my own seat.

     But before Johnson could even say anything, a waiter goes to us.

     “Your order sir?” the waiter asked.

     Johnson takes the menu and starts saying these dishes. He then looks back at me and asked, “What would yours be Julien?”

     I gestured my hand and answered, “Whatever you picked sir Johnson.”

     Johnson nods his head and looks back at the waiter, “Then make that two.”

     “Anything else sir?” the waiter asked.

     “No, that would be all, thank you”, Johnson answered, and then the waiter nods his head and leaves.

     “Johnson would be fine by the way, like I said earlier, you don’t have to add the sir”, Johnson suddenly says.

    I looked at him confusingly so he continued, “I might be old looking but I’m still just your co-employee.”

     “But, aren’t you like…Chairman Val’s guardian?” I asked, suddenly making Johnson laugh.

     What’s so funny?

     “Well, it looks like it doesn’t it? But no, I’m not his legal guardian. If personal assistant isn’t pretty convincing then…butler? Will that be more appropriate?” he asked me, but I didn’t know what to answer him.

     “It might not look like it but Romeo has a very protective family; he doesn’t need me to be his guardian. I am only here to assist him in any way possible, nothing more”, Johnson explains to me.

     “Is that so…” I say, and then both of us became quiet and awkward.

     Johnson cleared his throat and quickly asked me, “So, do you have any particular reasons on why you chose to work for the Valentino Company?”

     I shook my head and honestly answered, “Not really. If it weren’t for President King I wouldn’t even be interested in working there, it just so happened I needed the extra money.”

     “Extra money? Then that means-” Johnson suddenly pauses when he sees a message appear on the screen of his phone.

     “Oh excuse me, let me just reply to this real quickly”, he says as he takes his phone and replies to the message.

     I took a deep breath and waited for him to finish. While waiting, I unknowingly looked at Romeo who was sitting with a woman that had really pretty hair. Just by looking at her back, it was obvious she was beautiful.

     And the fact that Romeo - who I won’t deny; is very handsome - was eating lunch with a beautiful woman pisses me off for some reason.

     Who was she anyways? Romeo’s girlfriend? If she is then I bet their sex life is terrible.

     I continued to stare at Romeo, but to my surprise, Romeo suddenly looks back at me. He was obviously startled that I was actually staring at him, so he pretends like he doesn’t see me and just looks back at the pretty lady that was sitting in front of him.

     “Don’t stare”, Johnson suddenly says, quickly making me flinch.

     “N-No…I wasn’t really-” I nervously tried to explain, making Johnson chuckle on my sudden action.

     “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. But if you stare too long Romeo’s eventually going to notice”, he tells me, making me feel embarrassed all of a sudden.

     Johnson stares at me, seconds later he starts smirking, “Oh, he already did, didn’t he?” he asked me, making me bite my lower lip.

     “You find him interesting don’t you?” Johnson continued to ask me. But of course, I still didn’t dare answer that.

    “And I know you’re already wondering, so let me make it clear. The woman he’s with…that’s his sister”, Johnson suddenly tells me; honestly shocking me since I didn’t know Romeo had a sister.

     “Half sister”, Johnson immediately added when he noticed how confused I was. But what he just said made me confused even more.

     “It’s complicated”, Johnson says.

     Of course it is.

     “I’m used to things being complicated”, I tell him.

    Johnson suddenly leans closer and says, “Believe me…his version of complicated is way out of your league.”

     I smirked and leaned a little closer to him too, “Well that’s because you haven’t heard of my version of complicated…sir Johnson.”

    I thought Johnson was going to say something, but suddenly he grins and says, “Now that’s the attitude I’m waiting for. I’m pretty sure you’re not the quiet type, because if you were, Romeo wouldn’t even find you significant.”

     I leaned back on my seat and chuckled, “I try to keep my mouth shut as frequently as I can”, I told him.

     “Why? Don’t want the wrong words to come out?” Johnson asked.

     I shake my head and answered, “No, it’s the other way around. I don’t want the right words to come out, because telling the truth brings more harm than lying.”

     “Then you must be a good liar”, Johnson stated, making me smirk.

     “I wouldn’t be where I am now if I weren’t”, I bravely said.

     Johnson was going to say something, but suddenly, we heard a splash.

     “What in the-”

     I quickly looked at Romeo’s table and saw him soaking wet.

     The sight of him looking like that suddenly made my blood boil.

     I clenched on my fist and quickly stood up from my seat to go to where my boss was. As I was approaching their table, I saw the woman lift her hand, quickly making me understand what her next move was.

     “Sister or not, you are not allowed to do that…bitch.”

• END -

A/N:

Hey guys! It’s been so long since I’ve wrote an authors note 😂 Anyways, I hope by this point you guys are aware that the story will eventually end up being complicated, so, to help you with that, I took the liberty to make a family tree. Each (.5) chapters that I will be uploading, an updated family three will also be uploaded, so by the end of the story, you’ll be seeing a VERY big family tree of the Valentinos. 

I hope you guys take note of this because I won’t explain it to you next time. Red lines signifies marriage or union, white  lines signifies siblings, and blue lines signifies their children. X are people who are mentioned in the story but have not been named yet, so in the future, you’ll eventually know who they are.

![](https://img.wattpad.com/cee7a8640f00a8b175e1c868790e4886cfe20848/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e4a5059333957494142737552413d3d2d3533333930343136382e313531323430393561316230316532623238313436363230313935392e6a7067)

Anyways, I hope you guys are ready for this story’s very complicated plot, because I seriously worked hard in making it, and it will be by far one of the most intense story that I will be writing. I was honestly scared to published this but here we are haha

Take note that this story will be a little longer than Sit, Stay, Roll Over ( If you ever have read it ). So I hope you guys are ready to accompany me in this new journey.

I am very happy that you guys are reading this and I am very honored that you guys are even enjoying it. To the boners  (the readers), thank you for trying this out too, you guys have no idea how happy that makes me feel 😭.

Hopefully you pray for me that I can end up executing this story with ease. 

Well anyways, thank you again and see you on the next update! 💋❤️

Your Dear Author, 

N

(9) A Little Embarrassed

💋

(One week later)

     “Master Val, secretary Julien is already waiting downstairs”, one of the maids says from outside my door.

     I fixed my tie and looked at the time: 7:00 AM.

     “ Arrived on time as usual “, I say as I take the pen from the table and hanged it on my necktie like how I’ve been doing for the past week.

     It’s been a week since Julien has become my new secretary, and it has also been a week since we’ve…

     Because of the stress that I’ve acquired from my complicated family, I decided to busy myself with company work. Julien has been beside me for almost 24/7, but for the past week, I’ve practically ignored him. Not because I’m embarrassed to talk to him, but because I’m just really busy and I don’t find the significance to talk to him about anything in particular.

     He also suggested that he’d help me with my OCD. Since then I’ve noticed him purposely walking slowly so he could give me a chance to open public doorknobs myself, but as expected, I still haven’t touched that dirty thing.

     “Tell him to get ready because I’ll be going down soon”, I answered.

     The maid doesn’t say anything else but I heard her go down the stairs instead.

      I looked at myself in the mirror for the last time before heading downstairs myself.

     At the living room, I saw Julien politely sitting down on the sofa while drinking coffee the maids have probably served him.

     The moment he sees me, he quickly stands up and gives me a respectful bow, “Good morning Chairman Val.”

     I nod my head to acknowledge his greeting. Then I looked around and noticed something, “Where’s Johnson?” I asked.

     “Johnson told me he’ll be heading somewhere today”, Julien suddenly answers me.

     “He’ll be what?” I quickly asked, trying not to suddenly get mad because Johnson didn’t even say anything about this to me.

     “He said it’s a very important matter so-”

     “If it was so important then he could have at least told me about it”, I said, quickly making Julien stop talking.

     I took a deep breath and massaged my temple, “Fine, I can let this slide. But who on earth would be driving me then?” I asked.

     Julien suddenly bites his lower lip and lifted his hand to show me the car keys; “H-He kinda gave this to me…yesterday.”

     Great, so Julien knew about this since yesterday and he didn’t tell me about it too.

     Seriously, these two are a little bit close with each other now.

     “Can you even drive?” I asked him.

     Julien quickly nods his head and says, “Yes sir, I still have my license with me.”

     I stared at him, not even sure if he was serious or not. But since this was already planned, I just nodded my head in defeat, “Alright, whatever. Let’s just go”, I finally say as I walked towards the front door.

     “Have a good day Master Val”, the maids said before I got outside.

     Julien quickly runs towards the car that was already parked outside. He opens the door for me as I got in, then he went inside as well and starts the engine, “To the company sir?” he asked as he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

     It was kinda weird for me to see him sitting on the driver’s seat, but I brushed the weird feeling away and just answered him, “No, we’re heading to Olympus Mall.”

     “Oh, you’re going shopping?” he asked me.

     “I don’t go shopping on public malls. I have a meeting there, that’s why we’re going”, I answered him, suddenly making him look confused, “Wait, do you somehow…own the mall?”

     Seriously? Did he even study the company background?

     “No, I do not own any mall in particular. But if you listened attentively on your training before working at the company, they’ll be telling you about the company’s partnerships, and Olympus Mall is one of them”, I answered him, suddenly making him roll his eyes from annoyance.

     When he noticed that I actually saw him do it, he quickly clears his throat and says, “Then Olympus Mall it is.”

     He then drives away.

     Since I always sit behind Johnson, I wasn’t able to see Julien properly. It’s not like I always have to see him, but it somehow frustrated me that I couldn’t.

     To brush the thought away, I quickly looked out the window.

     “Oh, chairman Val…” Julien suddenly calls out.

     I don’t say anything so he continued, “A man named Bryson called yesterday. You were at a meeting that time so I wasn’t able to tell you about it.”

     Bryson? Haven’t heard of that asshole ever since the time we went to Club Luxuria.

     “What did he say?” I asked, my eyes still glued outside the window.

     “He told me to tell you that he misses you and that he wants to hangout again”, he says. I was about to answer Julien but he quickly continues, “And he specifically told me that his hole wasn’t satisfied after what you did last time so he wants you to make it up for him”, Julien suddenly answered me, quickly making my eyes widen and my face turn red from shock.

     “W-What the fuck did he just say?” I asked again, but this time, Julien doesn’t answer me anymore.

     “ Bryson you fucking idiot! “ I internally shouted at myself from complete frustration.

     “D-don’t misunderstand that”, I quickly tell Julien.

     I don’t know why but I suddenly felt obliged to explain things to him even though there wasn’t any reason why I should even do so.

     “I didn’t even say anything sir”, Julien quickly tells me back.

     I clenched on my fist and closed my eyes from frustration, “ Then why the hell do you sound pissed off? “ I asked myself as I opened my eyes again.

     I glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Julien’s jet-black eyes concentrating on the road. I couldn’t see him properly so I couldn’t even see his reaction on the whole thing.

     “He’s just a friend”, I tried to explain further.

     Why the hell am I even explaining myself?!

     “A friend. How nice of you to satisfy a friend’s hole”, Julien suddenly tells me, emphasizing the word friend more.

     “I told you that you shouldn’t misunderstand! What wasn’t clear to you?!” I angrily answered him now. And I have no idea why I’m the one getting angry here.

     “Everything wasn’t clear”, he quickly answered me.

     I massaged my temple and asked, “Then what the fuck do you want me to say?”

     The car became quiet for a few seconds.

     “Make it clearer to me”, he finally says with a soft and low voice.

     I clenched on my fist and quickly commanded him, “Stop the car.”

     Julien doesn’t even hesitate and stops the car on the side.

     I quickly went out of the car, and for the first time, I opened the door on the front and went inside.

     I sat on the passengers seat and looked at Julien properly now. His eyes were wide from shock; he wasn’t expecting me to suddenly sit beside him.

     “He. Is. Just. A. Friend”, I said slowly this time, but Julien was still shocked as he stared at me.

     “The only hole I would be willing to satisfy would be fucking yours”, I suddenly continued, making Julien’s eyes widen even more.

     Seconds later, my own eyes widened from shock as I realized what I just told him.

     “ Oh Romeo you just walked right into a trap “, I tell myself as I quickly looked away because I knew for sure my face would be red from embarrassment.

     I heard Julien clear his throat, but he doesn’t say anything and just starts driving again.

     The whole atmosphere became awkward, and to add it all up, I was sitting on the front seat, just inches away from Julien.

     I never sat on the front, but for some reason, sitting here now isn’t as uncomfortable as I expected it to be.

     Is it because I’m sitting beside…him?

     “Listen…” both of us suddenly said in unison.

     I quickly looked back at Julien and said, “You go first.”

     Julien gulps and nods his head. Without looking at me, he says, “I’m sorry for being unprofessional. I shouldn’t have said such a thing to you since it wasn’t really necessary.”

     Wait…he’s apologizing?

     “Then why did you open it up?” I asked.

     “Isn’t it obvious?” He pauses; then he stops on a red light. He slowly looks at me and continued, “I’m fucking jealous. I’m like a fucking kid and I hate it.”

     “What?” I asked from shock.

     I was seriously taken aback. Surprised that he actually said those things so openly without even looking embarrassed.

     “You can’t even touch a single part of my body, then I suddenly hear you’re satisfying someone else. It’s a selfish thought, but who am I to say such a thing right? After all, I’m just a secretary, and a toy men uses to-”

     I quickly stopped Julien from saying anything further.

    The moment he referred to himself as a toy, something suddenly triggered inside me.

     I slowly looked back out the window as I showed him my hand.

     Julien must have been confused since he didn’t say anything.

     “You’re worried that I don’t even touch you right? You’re wearing gloves anyways so…” I paused and gulped.

     I was seriously feeling embarrassed right now. I took a deep breath and finally continued, “So go ahead…hold my hand.”

     I waited for him so say something, but before Julien could even react, the car behind us honks, making us realize that the light was green now.

     Julien starts driving.

     I felt like he was just going to ignore my hand. So to stop embarrassing myself more, I decided to take my hand back. But, as soon as I was going to do so, Julien suddenly grabs it.

     My heart skips a beat the moment I felt his warm hands touch mine. We were both wearing gloves, but somehow, I could still feel the heat.

     My hand was so stiff that I didn’t even move it.

     Suddenly, Julien gently squeezes it, like he was feeling the warmth of my hand too. The feeling made my heart start beating faster.

     I closed my eyes and continued to feel his slender fingers hold mine. I took a deep breath and finally squeezed his hand back.

     I opened my eyes and slowly turned my head to finally look at Julien.

     Julien’s eyes were still glued to the front, but to my surprise, his whole face was red from embarrassment too.

---

     We finally arrived at the mall.

     Julien, who has been holding my hand the whole drive, finally let’s go of me so he could properly park the car.

     He clears his throat and quickly goes outside to open the door for me. I went out and immediately looked away so our eyes wouldn’t be able to meet.

     Great, I’m still embarrassed.

     I took a deep breath to calm myself. When I tried to pretend that whatever happened between us earlier was just my imagination, I finally calmed myself down.

     “Let’s go”, I finally say but still without looking at him.

     I walked towards the entrance of the mall, Julien just right behind me. When we arrived, four guards quickly welcomed us.

     My eyes directly went to their hands. I nod my head impressively as I saw them wear the gloves I asked them to wear.

     “Looks like Chairman Luis ( The chairman of Olympus Mall ), listened to my request diligently”, I said out loud.

     I walked inside, quickly making the guards walk on our side so no one could go near me.

     People stared at me, curious on who I was, while some stared at me and immediately recognized me as the clean chairman of the Valentino Group of Companies.

    Julien, who was walking behind me, quickly walks beside me and asked, “Luis? You said the chairman here is named Luis?”

     I looked at Julien confusingly.

     Why was he suddenly concerned about this?

     “Yeah, Luis Walker”, I answered him, suddenly making Julien stop walking.

     I stopped walking too just to look at him, automatically making the guards stop walking as well.

     “C-Chairman Val, if it’s alright…can I stay at the car?” he suddenly asked me.

     I stared at him, now even more confused, “What do you mean? I need you there so I could-”

     “Val! My man!” someone suddenly calls out.

     I turned my head and saw chairman Luis walking towards me. His famous Hollywood smile implanted on his face like usual.

     I quickly looked back at Julien and saw him take a step back.

     “ What’s going on? “ I asked as I looked at Luis walk towards me.

     “I’m glad you can make it. But I’m a little surprised, because for the first time you’re a few minutes late”, he says as he finally stands in front of me.

     I don’t know what’s going on with Julien, but my instincts told me to quickly move to the side to cover him behind me.

     “Johnson wasn’t with me today so I had a little delay”, I explained.

     Luis nods his head and continues to stupidly smile for some reason. But then, he suddenly noticed that someone was hiding behind me.

     “Edrick?” Luis asked, referring to my previous secretary.

     “N-No…Edrick isn’t with me either so we should-”

     I tried to hide Julien more but Luis suddenly went behind me to look at him better.

    When he finally sees who the person was, his fake smile quickly disappears as he asks, “ Number 24? “

• END -

(10) How much?

💋

      “Number 24?” Chairman Luis suddenly asked, making me confused on why he suddenly called Julien that.

     Julien puts his head down as Luis continued to stare at him. I was still confused about the whole situation, but after a few seconds, my eyes widened from realization.

     Number 24 is supposed to be his “name” in Club Luxuria. Chairman Luis knows him, which means he goes there, which also means, he already…

     “Go back to the car”, I quickly say without looking at Julien.

     My eyes were still on Luis as he continued to stare at my fucking secretary.

     “I said get back to the goddamn car”, I angrily say, making Julien, and even Luis, flinch on my sudden command.

     “Y-yes…chairman Val”, Julien nervously says as he does a quick bow before leaving.

     Luis continued to look at him, but when Julien was finally out of sight, he quickly looks back at him and said, “Val…was that your-”

     I quickly cut Luis off and said, “Secretary, he’s my new secretary.”

     Luis looked shocked and confused at the same time so he tried to explain, “Val, do you have any idea who that man is? He’s from a-”

     I quickly cut Luis off again and said, “Let’s not talk here.”

     Luis shuts his mouth, seconds later he nods his head and says, “Fine, let’s talk in my office.”

     We finally went to the top floor of the mall where you can find his office.

     The guards stayed outside as Luis and I went inside his office. Luis sat on his desk while I sat down on the chair in front of him ( that Luis promised to be new ).

     The moment we got settled down, Luis looked at me seriously.

     “So, about your new secretary…do you have any idea who you’re letting inside your company? For someone who wants things to be clean, you brought in trash inside your building”, Luis suddenly says, quickly making me clench my fist from anger.

     I didn’t want to suddenly flip here, especially since this is his territory. So I calmly looked back at Luis and said instead, “We’re here to talk about business, not about my employees.”

     “Well that’s the thing Val, that man can ruin your partnership with mine”, he suddenly says.

     When he knew that my whole attention finally went back to that topic, he continued, “Let me be honest with you Val, that man is a piece of shit. I go to a club, a very exclusive one too. He kinda works there, and since he was a little different from the rest, I picked him. We chatted a little, then, when things got-”

      I quickly cut Luis off so he couldn’t continue on with the details.

     “Club Luxuria. I know that place and I know that he works there so stop with this topic and let’s move on to something significant”, I say, still trying to calm my nerve.

     Luis was surprised that I actually knew about the club that he was talking about, but I knew that he was more surprised about the fact that I knew Julien worked there but I still made him work at the company.

     “So you do know him”, Luis says, seconds later he starts smirking.

    “I gotta hand it to you Val, I didn’t know you were that kind of man. So, you tested him out? You know, since he’s a toy. Oh wait, don’t tell me, did you actually buy him?” Luis continued to ask.

     I was inches away from punching him but I was still trying to keep my cool for the sake of my status. I didn’t want people to know that the chairman of the Valentino Empire suddenly punched the chairman of Olympus Mall.

     “Well looking at how you’re reacting, you actually care about that mother fucker”, Luis suddenly says while still smirking.

     “That’s not the case. The man you’re talking about is my employee and-”

     It was Luis’s turn to cut me off as he raises a finger to stop me.

     “Was he good to you Val? Is that it? Because it would be unfair since he was definitely terrible to me”, he suddenly tells me.

     When I didn’t say anything about what he just said, he continued, “I was asking him to try the sex toy that I bought but he wouldn’t let me, so I forced him to use it, and that son of a bitch suddenly slapped the shit out of me. But don’t worry, I was able to punch him a little, and was still able to fuck the guy. But you know, he wasn’t really special, didn’t even fucking moan when I fucked him”, Luis explained further, and finally, I snapped.

     While Luis continued to talk about the disgusting thing that he did to Julien, I quickly took the scissors on his pencil holder and stabbed the space that was between his third and forth finger. The force was so strong that the scissors actually stayed on the desk.

     “That’s enough”, I said with a low voice.

     Luis finally stopped talking.

    He gulps and slowly looks down on his hand to see the scissors.

     I stood up from my seat and said, “Forced him? Punched him? Fucked him?! Another word from that disgusting mouth of yours and I would have stabbed your useless hand instead.”

     Chairman Luis was shocked from my words that he quickly stands from his seat and says, “Know who you’re talking to Val!”

     “I do know who I’m talking to. I’m talking to a disgusting man who isn’t ashamed to talk about the disgusting things he’s doing to MY employee. You…chairman Luis Walker…should be the one who knows who he’s talking to”, I angrily told him.

     “I’m trying to help you Val, that man is no good. I’m telling you the reality of what others are doing to him every fucking night. He can ruin your image, if people find out that you let men like that work at your company then they’d-”

     “I’m the one who’s going to deal with the hate, not you. I went here to talk about business, not about this”, I continued to tell me.

     “Fine, you want to talk about business? Then let’s talk about business. If you don’t fire that rotten thing now, I’m canceling my partnership with you”, he threatened me.

     I chuckled and said, “You’re not that shallow Luis. I know you”

     “But you don’t know him”, he quickly fired back, his expression serious.

     For a second I felt like he wasn’t just talking about Julien working in a club, it felt like he was talking about something else.

     “I can’t fire him, and you can’t cancel your partnership with me. You’re in the losing team Luis”, I say, and finally, it was Luis’s turn to laugh.

     “Him being in your company? You’re in the losing team Val”, he says.

    I thought he was finally going to shut up but he suddenly continued, “You like him right? It’s fucking obvious on how you’re trying to defend him. But he’s a goddamn toy that’s been used by maybe…hundreds of men. He get’s fucked every single night and knowing you I’m pretty sure he hasn’t even touched you yet. He’s like a snake Val, slowly wrapping you around using his body until your small enough for him to eat.”

     I ignored all of his other remarks and said instead, “Call him toy one last time and you’ll seriously find out who’s the fucking snake here.”

     Luis didn’t look scared, because he was confident that I wouldn’t even be able to touch him.

     So he looks straight into my eyes and said, “He’s one of the toys for the big boys Val, you can’t change that disgusting fact.”

     “ That’s it… “

     I clenched my fist and took a deep breath before grabbing him by the collar.

     Luis’s eyes widened from shock as I slowly lift him up by pulling his collar.

    “As the Chairman of the Valentino Group of Companies, I am canceling my partnership and plans with you…chairman Luis Walker”, I say, finally letting go of him.

     “He’s a significant employee, and I’ll decide if I would fire him or not”, I say as I started walking away.

     “You’re making a huge mistake Val! That man isn’t what you think he is!” Luis continued to shout, but I ignored him and went downstairs, trying my best to not let anyone go near me.

     When I finally got out, I quickly went to the parking lot to see Julien silently sitting on the driver’s seat. 

     I don’t know why but the words that Luis just said started replying in my head. Anger quickly escalated on my whole body as I quickly walked towards the car.

     I opened the door, startling him.

     The moment he looks at me, I quickly grabbed him by the arm without even saying anything. I pulled him out and slammed his slender body on the side of the car.

     I leaned closer towards him and angrily asked, “How much?”

     Julien looked shocked and confused as he stared at me.

     “W-What do you-” 

     “How much…do I have to fucking pay…for you to stop working at that club?”

• END -

(11) A Frustrating Day

WARNING:

There will be words here that might trigger some readers so please do not proceed if it makes you uncomfortable. I request that you just skip those specific scenes. This is only for storyline purposes, it does not mean I’m promoting that act in any way.

💋

     “How much…do I have to fucking pay…for you to stop working at that club?” I seriously asked him.

     I thought Julien was going to answer me, but he pushes me off instead, his touch on my chest suddenly burning.

     “I don’t need your fucking money”, Julien angrily tells me.

     “What?”

     I was panting heavily for some reason.

     I was so mad that I quickly punched the side of the car that was just a few inches away from Julien. The sudden force quickly made the car start alarming.

     Julien sighs. He turns around and stops the alarm, but he didn’t look back at me anymore.

     “Luis Walker. You were so afraid of him because he’s a regular at Club Luxuria, am I right?” I asked him, but Julien doesn’t answer.

     “He told me what he did to you-”

     “Stop”, Julien quickly says, but I ignored him and continued, “He told me every fucking detail, and to think that every night…it happens to you.”

     “I told you that’s-”

     “Every fucking night Julien! Every goddamn night, tons of men-”

     “I know okay?!” Julien shouted as he finally turns around to face me, his eyes now filled with tears and pain.

     The sight of him looking like that made me angrier, but my anger was definitely not towards him.

     “I know what they do to me okay? So it shouldn’t be something you should concern about”, he coldly answers me.

     I clenched on my fist again and looked at Julien like he was crazy, “It shouldn’t be something I should concern about? Julien you’re fucking being raped there!”

     “Do you think I like being treated like a fucking sex toy?! I’m there because I have no choice, not because I needed the fucking money”, Julien suddenly spits out, shocking me.

     “What do you mean you had no choice?” I asked him. Julien quickly stops and widened his eyes from shock, like he wasn’t supposed to say those words to me.

     He quickly turns back around so he wouldn’t look at me anymore, “We should just go…chairman Val”, he says instead.

     Julien opens the car door, but I quickly pushed the door shut and said, “No, you need to explain to me what you just said. Why are you working there if not for the money?”

     Julien finally turns to me. He looks straight through my eyes and seriously answered, “You’re not the only rich and powerful man in the world Romeo.”

     His statement made me so confused that Julien used the confusion to quickly go back inside the car.

     I stared at him through the window, but Julien doesn’t look back at me anymore.

     I took a deep breath, and then I opened the door of the back of the car and went inside. The moment I got in, Julien starts driving.

     “We’re heading to the company”, I say, but Julien doesn’t answer and just continued driving.

     I looked at him through the rearview mirror and thought, “ I fucking canceled a partnership for you and you treat me like this? “

     “I’m sorry”, Julien suddenly says; immediately making me flinch. It was like he just heard what I just said inside my head.

     “It’s okay”, I said with a low voice.

     Julien was quiet for a few seconds, but when I looked back at the rearview mirror, I was surprised to see him crying again.

     “I’m sorry”, he says again, tears still pouring out of his eyes.

     I thought I was going to cry too as I continued to look at his pained expression. But I knew crying now would only make Julien feel worse. So instead of saying anything, I leaned my forehead on the headrest. I wasn’t really leaning on him but it felt like I was actually touching and comforting him.

    “I’ll let this slide for now, but we’ll need to talk about this matter again, do you understand?” I asked him. I was expecting him to ignore me like before, but he sniffs and answered me instead, “Okay…I understand.”

---

     “Good morning Chairman Val”, the employees said as I went inside the building, Julien just walking right behind me.

     It’s only been hours since I woke up this morning and so many things have already happened. My head was aching that I didn’t even know what to do anymore.

     “Good morning”, I answered as I got inside the elevator with Julien.

     As we waited to arrive at the top floor, I looked at Julien through the reflection on the elevator door and said, “Starting today I want you to walk beside me, not behind me, is that clear?”

    Julien stares at me for a few seconds, but before he could answer, the elevator door opens.

     I went out and started walking again. Julien quickly goes to my side and continued walking too. He was walking beside me like how I just instructed him to do.

     As we arrived at my office, Julien goes in front of me to open the door. I was about to go in but stopped when I saw Johnson inside the office, standing near the window. Julien was surprised to see him too, but he quickly puts my things on my desk and says, “I’ll get your coffee sir”.

    Without answering him, he bows and goes out.

    I took a deep breath and walked towards my desk. Johnson slowly turns around and looks at me. His expression looked so neutral that I didn’t even know what he was thinking.

    “Where were you?” I asked instead.

    “I went to the Valentino household”, he answered, quickly making me uninterested in learning more about the reason why he didn’t even tell me about it.

     I sat on my chair and waited for Johnson to go in front of me.

    “Chairman Luis Walker called me a few minutes ago”, Johnson says as he now sits down on the chair in front of my desk.

    “Well that was quick”, I say as I started arranging the pens and papers on my desk.

    “Why did you cancel your partnership with him? Olympus Mall is one of the advantages we have against other companies, and you end up canceling it. Do I even have to listen to the reason why you fucking did it? Will it even be worth my time?” Johnson asked, but I didn’t answer him.

     “What did he do Romeo? Did he touch you? Was that the reason why you canceled it? Did he disrespect you? Did he-” Johnson stops, like he realized something.

       His already serious expression quickly changed into an even serious one as he says, “Let me rephrase that…did Chairman Luis touch Julien? Did he disrespect him? Did he do something to him that you didn’t-”

     “He raped him”, I quickly answered, surprising him.

     Johnson sighs and massaged his temple, “He raped him? How?”

     “You fucking want me to describe you how?” I angrily asked him.

     “No, but I know Julien works at a gay club, his work is entirely to fuck and be fucked by other men, so I’m asking how it’s rape when it’s his job in the first place”, Johnson suddenly tells me, making me look at him with disbelief.

     “I can’t believe you actually said those words. Luis fucking Walker forced his dick inside Julien, what other words do I have to say so you’d fucking understand it?” I said, quickly making Johnson sigh again.

     I quickly took my stress ball from my drawer and started squeezing it.

     “Alright, I get it. But Romeo…what does it have to do with you?” Johnson asked. I squeezed on my stress ball even harder and answered, “He’s my employee.”

     “Oh, okay. So if I tell you that almost half of our employees have also been “forced” by other chairman’s too then does that mean you’ll cancel all our partnerships as well? Or did you do that because it specifically happened to Julien?“ Johnson continued to ask, but this time I didn’t answer him anymore.

     “What’s happening to you Romeo? What a person is outside business is something you tend to ignore because for you it’s not significant. But because Luis decided to go to a gay club and Julien didn’t like it, you flip about it and just threw away the partnership that gives the Valentino Group an upper hand”, Johnson stated, making me squeeze on the ball even harder.

    “It pisses me off okay?” I finally told him.

    “It pisses me off to see myself acting like this when in the first place I shouldn’t even be acting in such a childish way. I’m one of the most powerful man in the country…and I can’t even keep my composure over a man whose the opposite of what I like in a person”, I told Johnson.

     Johnson nods his head, like he finally understood what I was going through.

    “Eighteen years Romeo…you’ve been isolating yourself from other people for eighteen fucking years. This must be your karma for hurting other people”, Johnson suddenly says.

    “I have never hurt anyone anymore”, I quickly corrected him.

     Johnson nods his head as an agreement but says, “Physically yes, I know you’re not that cruel. But mentally and emotionally…you have.”

     After the serious conversation, Johnson suddenly chuckles, “Tons of woman have cried and begged in front of you Mr. Romeo Valentino. Who would have thought that the hottest bachelor in the country, who have even rejected models and actresses, would only end up falling for a tattooed man who looks like a kpop idol”, Johnson says, making me look at him confusingly.

     “What do you mean?” I asked, making Johnson laugh this time, “Oh my fucking god Romeo. How stupid can you get?”

    “Excuse me?” I angrily said.

     Johnson finally stops laughing and looks at me seriously, “You l i k e him…simple as that.”

     * Knocks three times *

     I immediately flinched when I heard someone knock.

     “Come in”, Johnson says as he slowly stands up from the seat; a smirk imprinted on his face.

    Julien goes inside the room and walks his way towards the desk, “Your coffee sir”, he says as he places the coffee on top of my desk.

     I nodded my head and quickly avoided looking at him, “T-Thank you”, I answered.

    Johnson then looks at me and says, “You handle the outcome of what you did today. Stockholders will be calling you after this so you better start thinking of a good reason on why you decided to cancel your partnership with Chairman Luis.”

     Without waiting for my answer, Johnson leaves the room. I thought Julien was going to leave too, but instead, he stayed there.

    I cleared my throat and lowered my head to look at the stress ball, “You may leave as well”, I instructed him, but Julien doesn’t even move an inch.

    “You canceled your partnership with Luis Walker?” Julien suddenly asked me.

    “ Fuck “, I cursed under my breath.

    “You canceled it? Was it because of me?” he continued to ask.

    Without looking back at him, I answered, “I don’t want to be partnered with a man who has the audacity to openly talk about the disgusting things that he does to my employees.”

     “No…”

      No?

     “Look straight into my eyes and say that again”, Julien suddenly tells me.

     I let go of my stress ball and slowly looked up to look at Julien.

     I stared at his face. His black hair and eyes made him look mysterious; his pale skin made him look fragile; his pink lips…

    “ You like him…simple as that “, I suddenly remembered Johnson.

    I gulped and slowly stood up.

     Without even thinking about it, I licked my thumb and leaned forward, and then I slowly reached out for his face to touch his dry lips.

    Julien flinched, shocked on my sudden action.

     As I put my hands back down, I looked straight into his eyes and said, “You’re sleeping at my house tonight. That’s your payment…for making me worry.”

     Julien continued to stare at me, seconds later his face started turning red.

    “ Fuck, that’s cute. “

    “Y-Yes…chairman Val”, Julien nervously says as he quickly goes out of my office.

     When he was gone, I sighed and sat down on my seat. Seconds later I started laughing.

     “Like him…I like Julien Choi”, I tell myself.

    Hearing it come out of my own mouth made me feel weird.

    When I finally calmed down, I clicked on my phone, “Call home”, I say, and then the phone automatically makes the call.

    “ Master Val? “ one of the maids answered.

     I slowly took the pen from my necktie and stared at it, “Clean the guestroom that’s next to my bedroom, afterwards tell everyone to go home and just come back tomorrow morning, okay?”

     The maid must have been confused, but she answers anyways, “Understood Master Val.”

     She hangs up the phone.

     I continued to stare at the pen like a teenage boy who just realized he’s actually been in love with his best friend this whole time.

     But while I was looking stupid, someone knocks on my door three times.

     I quickly hanged the pen back on my necktie and saw Julien open the door.

     I grabbed my stress ball again as I saw his face, but what he tells me next was something I wasn’t expecting at all.

    “Chairman Val…a man named Dario Alfonzo is waiting for you at the lobby”, Julien says, quickly making me stand up from my seat.

     “Who?” I asked, making sure I didn’t just hear it wrong.

     “Dario Alfonzo”, he says again, making my heart skip a beat.

     Without answering Julien, I quickly went out of my office. Julien was about to follow me, but I quickly looked at him and said, “You stay here, understand?”

     Julien looked confused, but he nods his head anyways.

    I then went to the elevator and went straight to the ground floor, my heart pounding as I approached the lobby. But when I finally saw a man who was wearing a full white suit and a fedora, my heart almost stopped beating.

     He was sitting on the sofa at the waiting area. He was even accompanied by six bodyguards. They were showing such a scary vibe that everyone was purposely avoiding them.

     Johnson, who was actually already there, quickly runs to where I was when he saw me.

    “Romeo! What are you doing here?!” he said with a panicked expression.

    I stopped walking and quickly looked at Johnson seriously, “What is that man doing here?”

    I was trying not to burst from anger as I stared at the man quietly sitting on the sofa with a grin imprinted on his face.

     “This was the reason why I went to the household. So let me handle this, and you go back upstairs while he hasn’t seen you yet”, Johnson says, but I shook my head as a disagreement.

     “No, he personally went here, so it means he personally wants to see me”, I say as I started walking towards him.

     I heard Johnson curse but I ignored him, so Johnson just decided to accompany me instead.

     “ This is seriously one of my most frustrating day ever “, I tell myself as I finally arrived at the waiting area.

     When the guards saw me, they quickly moved away, giving way for me to walk towards Dario.

     “Romeo”, he says with a low voice as he slowly stands up from the seat.

     “What are you doing here?” I asked, but instead of answering my question, he says instead, “Where’s Elizabeth?”

    I looked straight at him and answered, “I don’t know.”

    Dario chuckles and slowly moves closer to me. I looked down and saw that he wasn’t wearing gloves, so I quickly had to take a step back.

     “I know the Valentino’s planned something, and I know you’re a part of it too. So if you don’t want to stain this perfectly clean marble floor of yours…I suggest you tell me where my wife is.”

• END -

(12) Strong Man

💋

     “I know the Valentino’s planned something, and I know you’re a part of it. If you don’t want to stain this perfectly clean marble floor of yours…I suggest you tell me where my wife is”, Dario threatened me, making me chuckle.

     “You dare speak to me like that here? In my own territory?” I asked him.

     He looks at me with a grin, “Which is why I brought my men”, he says as he gestured his hand towards the guards who were armed with guns.

     “I don’t care if this is your territory, I am here to take something and I will go home with it”, he continued.

     “Then you’re wasting your time. I do not know where that woman is, you clearly know I despise her, so why on earth would I know where she is? Oh wait…” I paused and changed my expression into a more serious and intimidating one, “You know she’s at the Valentino household don’t you. But you also know that the moment you step foot at the gate you’ll be killed. You didn’t stand a chance, so you went to me, a mere CEO who doesn’t even have trained bodyguards like you do”, I say with a smirk.

     “How cowardly”, I finished, and I could clearly see Dario clenching his fist from complete annoyance and anger.

     “Fine, I admit that barging at the Valentino household will be the death of me. But…the moment I touch you they’ll come running here instead”, he tells me, slowly reaching out for something from the back of his pocket.

     My eyes widened as I realized what he was about to do. Johnson, who was standing beside me, also knew what Dario was planning, so he quickly grabbed the gun the guard on his right was holding and immediately points it at Dario.

     “Don’t you fucking dare!” Johnson shouts.

     The rest of Dario’s guards who saw the whole thing pointed their guns at Johnson as well, causing the people who were at the lobby to gasp from shock; some even started running away.

    “ Shit “, I silently cursed.

     I quickly looked at one of the guards at the entrance and nodded my head, signaling him to do something about the visitors. The guard nods his head back and started asking the visitors to leave the building immediately.

     “I am sworn to protect Romeo Valentino with all my life, and you will not touch him until my last dying breath”, Johnson bravely says while pointing the gun at Dario.

     Dario looks at him and impressively laughs, “You still have it Johnson, I’m quite surprised. I’m sure if we battle now you’d be able to kill three of my men, but that still won’t be enough.”

     “Ask your men to put their guns down Dario. There are innocent civilians in my building, and I will not allow you to do anything that will harm them”, I say, quickly making Dario look back at me.

     He then pouts and says, “Innocent civilians? Oh Romeo, you don’t sound like a Valentino at all. Your father will be so disappointed if he hears you talk like that.”

     “Do not drag my father into this”, I angrily told him.

     “Why? What are you going to do?” Dario asks as he slowly moves closer to me.

     “You can’t even touch me”, Dario continues, but before he could do anything else, Johnson quickly shoots the floor that was inches away from Dario’s feet.

    The almost empty floor went silent.

     The sudden sound quickly made Dario take a step back.

     “Leave now because this time I won’t miss”, Johnson says.

     I quickly lifted my hand and covered the muzzle of the gun. Even with my leather gloves, I could still feel the heat that the shot had created.

   “That is enough”, I say while looking at Dario, but that statement was for Johnson too.

    Johnson hesitates, but slowly puts the gun down anyways. But, Dario’s men still pointed the gun at Johnson.

    “Ask your men to put their fucking guns down, now!” I angrily shouted, but Dario still didn’t budge.

    “Ask your family to bring back my wife”, he tells me instead.

    “If you want your wife then I am not the man that you should be talking to. You should be thankful Mr. Dario that you are an Alfonzo, because if you weren’t, Johnson would have already shot you with no hesitation. I am sparing you because of your family name. Now if you are a man, and if you know the consequences of even showing your face in front of me, then I suggest you fucking leave my building…now”, I say with a hint of dominance in my voice.

     “ Weak “, he suddenly whispered.

     Dario adjusts his fedora and looks straight into my eyes. He then lifts up two fingers, but before he could do anything, someone suddenly shouts my name.

     Dario’s guards immediately puts their guns down as we all looked at the owner of the voice.

     “Julien?!” I asked from shock as I saw Julien running towards me, panic in his eyes.

     “What are you doing here?!” I asked as he finally arrived in front of me.

      He was panting heavily as he said, “I…I heard a g-gun shot, so I quickly-”

     “You can’t be here, go back upstairs!” I demandingly told him, worried that something bad might happen to him.

     Julien shakes his hand and suddenly points at Dario, “N-No…this man…his hands…it’s a signal to shoot”, Julien suddenly says, making my eyes widen from shock.

     I quickly looked at Dario who was lifting his hand mid-way.

     “How dare you!” Johnson quickly shouts.

     Dario’s eyes also widened because of what Julien just said. Obviously surprised that he knew about something like that.

     Johnson runs towards Dario, but was immediately grabbed by the guard that was near him. Seconds later both of them were fighting. Johnson was trying to take the gun out of the man’s hand while the man did his best to push him away.

     The other guards were about to go to Johnson too but Julien quickly joined the scene and started punching them.

     Dario and I just stood there, looking at the people in front of us fight for their lives.

     I wanted to help too. Johnson had also trained me to fight, but I felt like I was glued to the floor. Instead of helping out, I wanted to avoid them like a weak man that I am.

     Johnson fought the men like it was only an exercise.

    Julien on the other hand surprisingly fought with grace. He was precise, like his movements were calculated somehow. He looked like he’s been doing it for years. The look on his eyes suddenly made me gulp and feel tensed.

     Eventually, Dario’s men fell one by one. Johnson and Julien were panting heavily and were even unharmed.

     “W-Where the hell did y-you…learn to…fight like that?” Johnson asked while he was catching his breath.

     Julien doesn’t answer but walks towards me instead.

     “I made sure…to not stain your floors with blood…chairman Val”, Julien suddenly tells me, shocking me that he was still considering my sickness after what he just did.

     I clenched my fist from anger, feeling stupid that I was once again weak in front of the man who I just realized was someone that I surprisingly liked.

    But the anger quickly vanished as I stared at Julien. He was catching his breath and even had bruises on his mouth, “You’re hurt”, I say.

    Julien gives out a reassuring smile and says, “I told you…I’m used to pain.”

    I knew he was just trying to reassure me, so I didn’t ask more about it.

     “You’re good at making me worry when in reality you can actually handle yourself”, I say instead, making Julien smirk, “I don’t think this is the right time to say that Mr. Ego.”

     “Dario”, Johnson suddenly says, quickly making me shift my attention back to the man in white.

     “You had the nerve to spill blood…in a Valentino’s property?! Have you no shame?! Have you forgotten that you are nothing in the eyes of the families?! The only reason why we show you a little speck of respect is because you married a Roselli, nothing else”, Johnson angrily says.

     Dario doesn’t say anything but looks back at me instead. But suddenly, his eyes went to Julien, and shock and horror suddenly became present in his face.

     He lifts his hand and points at Julien.

     “Why do you have someone like him here?!” he shouted from shock, terror still present in his voice.

     “What are you talking about?” I asked as I quickly looked at Julien who was also confused, but then, like he knew what Dario was talking about, he reached out for the bottom side of his left eye, then he looks at his fingers, realizing that the concealer was semi-removed and that his tattoo was now somehow visible.

     Julien quickly takes a step back and looks away.

    “What’s going on?” I asked further, but Julien didn’t answer me.

    “Y-You are acquainted to them? You’re acquainted to the dark-”

     Before Dario could even finish his sentence, twenty of my guards finally arrived at the scene.

     “What took you so long?” Johnson asked.

     “Bring these men out, and escort Mr. Dario Alfonzo to whatever he used to get here”, I quickly instructed as my men started carrying Dario’s unconscious men on the floor.

     I looked back at Dario who still looked terrified.

     “I lied about not having trained bodyguards, but not like you, I do not have them with me 24/7. You come here again and they will personally finish the job for me this time, do you understand?” I asked him as two of my men grabbed him by the arm.

     Dario quickly pulls his hands away from them and angrily looks at me, “For someone who is clean…you stand beside a man of dirt. Bring me my wife back and I will not tell your family that you’re with him”, Dario finishes, but now he was looking back at Julien.

     I don’t answer as Dario starts leaving the building with the rest of his men.

     When everything was clear, I took a deep breath. Without looking at Julien, I said, “I’m going to have a word with you.”

     I didn’t wait for his response as I started walking away, but Johnson quickly goes in front of me and said, “He’s injured Romeo, let me heal him before he goes to you.”

     I looked at Johnson with my cold eyes, quickly making him flinch from the sight of it.

    “I will talk to the both of you. I am tired of being treated like I am not even your boss. Both of you are keeping secrets from me like it’s a hobby. You will tell me everything, or so help me god I will show you this monster that I’ve been trying to contain for years”, I angrily said, making Johnson sigh and nod his head in defeat.

---

     “Talk”, I say as I was now sitting in front of my desk while Johnson and Julien was standing in front of me as well.

     Johnson looked at Julien, and Julien looked back at Johnson. I immediately grabbed my stress ball and squeezed it tight, “Did you not hear me?!” I angrily asked.

     “Your mother is at the Valentino household with Diana, she is scheduled for a checkup tomorrow”, Johnson finally answers me.

     I closed my eyes and continued to squeeze on the stress ball, “Mother…what did I tell you about saying that word to me?” I asked as I opened my eyes back to look at Johnson.

    “I’m sorry. I mean Elizabeth, Dario’s wife, is at the Valentino household with Diana, she is scheduled for a checkup tomorrow”, Johnson rephrases.

     “And why the hell did they bring Diana with them?” I asked.

     “Your uncle was afraid that Dario might do something to Diana since her mother was taken”, Johnson answered, making me massage my temple from complete frustration. 

     “Dario can never hurt Diana, especially when she shares the same blood as him. But bringing Diana with them automatically gave Dario the idea that the Valentino’s took his wife. How on earth did they make such a stupid mistake?” I asked, but Johnson doesn’t answer anymore.

     “I told my uncle that whatever happens, I should not be involved in any way. I have already given the money, and now I get treated like this? Dario brings men with guns in my building where people can see. I am a chairman in the public’s eyes and such a scene can ruin my name, but here I am, still trying to act calm when in reality I should be barging at the household right now to drag that woman back to Dario so this could be over with”, I tell them.

     “You know you can’t do that”, Johnson quickly says.

     I dropped my stress ball and slammed my hand on my desk, causing Julien and Johnson to flinch, “I fucking know!” I shouted angrily, quickly standing up from my seat to at least calm myself down.

     “I know I am weak in front of my own family. I know I am weak in front of the families lower than me. And I know I am weak because I let a weaker man like Dario play me in my own territory”, I say as I walked in front of the window to look at the scenery outside.

     “I know…that my sickness…is the reason why I am weak. No family, no title, no position, will make me look like a strong man”, I continued to say.

     The whole room was quiet.

     I know Johnson and Julien looked at me with pity, so I didn’t dare turn around to look at them.

     “Johnson you may go”, I say.

     Johnson doesn’t answer but leaves the room, leaving me alone with Julien.

    Julien was also quiet for a couple of seconds before walking towards me, “Why do you always-”

    “The tattoo”, I quickly say, stopping him midsentence.

     “Why did Dario look terrified when he saw it”, I continued to ask, quickly making Julien take a step back.

     “I…I-Its…Its…”

     “It’s what?” I asked, turning around to face him. But as expected, Julien doesn’t answer.

     “I thought I knew the amount of secrets you’ve been keeping from me, but in reality…you had more in stored”, I say as I slowly moved closer to him.

     “What are you Julien Choi? Why does everyone I know who sees you tell me you’re full of dirt?” I continued to ask, but Julien just gulps and still doesn’t answer.

    The terrified look in his eyes suddenly made me furious.

    I don’t know what came into me but I suddenly grabbed Julien by the cheeks and aggressively squeezed it, causing Julien’s face to turn red.

    “Answer me!” I shouted.

     “I-It…hurts…Rome…i-it h-hurts”, Julien struggled to say as I continued to hold his cheeks aggressively. Deep down I wanted to let go of him, but the fact that Julien wasn’t even pushing me away because he knew he couldn’t touch me pissed me off even more.

     “Push me away goddamn it!” I shouted again, but Julien doesn’t even say anything.

     I squeezed his cheeks even harder, but when tears started pouring out of my eyes, I finally let go of him, causing him to fall on the floor while touching his aching cheeks.

     I quickly wiped my tears away as I looked down at Julien.

    “Why is it…that when I start realizing things that can possibly make me happy…something will magically come and destroy it for me?” I asked him, my hands trembling.

    Julien looks up at me. He looks straight into my eyes but doesn’t even say a single word.

     “I am one of the richest man in the world, but inside…I am broken. Money is all I have…but it is worthless to me. No money can heal my OCD. No money can make me happy. No one…in this cruel world…will even stay by my side whether I had the wealth or not”, I tell him while my hands continued to tremble.

    Julien slowly stands up from his feet and looks back at me again.

    “You’re wrong”, Julien says.

    He walks closer to me, his eyes ready to pour some tears as he said, “You have me remember? I will stay by your side, even behind you, and even in front of you if I must. No one…in this cruel world…has ever been worried about me…except you, Romeo Valentino.”

     He lifts his hand and slowly touches my chest.

     I was surprised on the sudden contact but I didn’t move away.

    “You don’t know how strong people see’s you Romeo; you don’t know how terrified they are just by hearing your name. But this weak man right here, the man who is standing in front of me now, show me more of him. Give me your pain; show me all of your weaknesses”, Julien says, as his hand was slowly getting lower, “Show me, and I will promise you I will make you a strong man. A man so strong that even I…will tremble in fear.”

• END -

(13) I Like You [m]

💋

     Julien snakes his hands lower until he reached my belt. He was about to remove it but I had to quickly grab his wrist to stop him.

     “No”, I simply say.

     Julien quickly pulls his hand away from me. He looks straight at my eyes like he was pissed off and embarrassed at the same time.

     “ Don’t look at me like that “, I say as I slowly lift my hand to try and touch his lower lip. But before my finger could even make contact with his lip, I quickly put it down instead.

     “You’re sleeping at my house tonight right?” I asked him, but Julien doesn’t say anything and just puts his head down.

     I sighed and continued, “What we were doing at my office last time…let’s continue it.”

     Julien quickly lifts his head to look at me with shock.

     “If I can’t see it…I won’t know, right?” I asked as I quickly touched his necktie.

     Julien, a man who I found out had multiple expressions, quickly turned red.

     “You’re doing that again”, I say with a small smile.

     “D-Doing what?” he embarrassingly asked, trying his best not to look straight into my eyes.

     I leaned closer and grinned, “Making me like you more.”

    Julien blushed even more as he quickly puts his head down so I wouldn’t be able to see his expression.

     “Stop joking around”, he tells me.

    I chuckled and sat back down on my chair, “Go look for Johnson to get your bruises treated. What you did today…thank you”, I say as I looked at him.

     Julien slowly lifted his head to finally look back at me, “It’s okay”, he answers me. Then he bows down and leaves my office.

     The moment he leaves the room, the smile that was actually on my face quickly changed into a serious one.

     I took a deep breath and clicked on my phone, “Call Antonio Valentino.”

     I waited for it to start ringing, but instead, it said, “ The number you have dialed is busy right now, please try again later. “

    I slammed my hand on the table from complete anger.

    “ How dare you do this to me uncle “, I thought to myself, clenching my fist too much that it was already hurting me.

    I was trying to calm myself down while I loosened my necktie, but while doing so, I suddenly felt the pen that was hanging on the tie.

     I immediately look the pen and squeezed its slender structure. I closed my eyes and just held the pen until I was finally calmer than before. I stared at it again while thinking about the man who I thought was just an employee at a gay club, when in reality, he was actually something more.

     Dario and Antonio were completely forgotten, but then again, all I could think of now was Julien and that goddamn tattoo.

---

     “We’re here sir”, Johnson says as he parks the car in front of the main entrance of the house.

     Julien quickly goes out of the car to open the door for me. I was about to head inside when Johnson suddenly comes out of the car and calls out for me.

    I stopped walking and looked at him over my shoulder, “What is it?”

    “I am being called back at the Valentino household. If it is okay with you, I’ll be heading there now. But if you don’t want me to then I-”

     I quickly stopped him and said, “I don’t give a shit about what you do at that household so go ahead, don’t make me stop you.”

    Without waiting for his response, I went inside the house with Julien walking beside me.

    He opens the door for me. I entered first then he followed.

    While Julien was about to close the door, I heard Johnson drive away. I sighed and looked around the place.

    The whole house was empty and quiet, and I knew Julien was also surprised on why no one greeted us when we arrived.

    “They’ll be back tomorrow”, I told him as I walked towards the dinning room. And as expected, the table was already filled with food.

     I turned around and looked at my secretary, “Do you want to eat?” I asked.

     Julien shakes his head and answered, “No, I’m still full after what we ate during lunch.”

     I stared at him and don’t say a thing. Julien was still trying to avoid looking straight at me. His shyness finally made me smile and loosen up.

     “Then follow me”, I say as I proceeded upstairs.

     “You’ll be staying at one of my guest rooms. There are brand new clothes on each room so you won’t have a problem with clothes”, I tell him as we arrived at the second floor.

     I walked in front of a door and pointed at it, “This is where you’ll stay.”

     “And you?” he asked me, finally looking at my way.

     I smiled and pointed at the door beside it, “This is where I’ll stay.”

     Julien doesn’t say anything but suddenly looked…disappointed. I’m guessing he was expecting us to sleep together.

     “There are still a lot of things that I am not able to do. And sharing a room with someone is still one of them”, I explained to him, but Julien was just looking down on the floor so I wouldn’t be able to see his expression.

    “Why are you looking like that? Tell me”, I say, but Julien was still not looking at me.

     I sighed and lifted my hand, slowly touching Julien’s chin and lifting it up so he could forcefully look at me.

     “Why are you giving me such a look?” I asked him again, but now he was looking straight at me.

     “You tell me I’m not a toy”, he finally starts.

     As I put my hand down, he continues, “But you treat me like the men at the club. After using me at a fancy looking room, you leave.”

    I was surprised to hear him say that to me. I honestly didn’t know that he was feeling that way, and more importantly, I didn’t know I was treating him like chairman Luis and the others.

     “You’re being unfair”, I say, suddenly making Julien bite his lips.

      I gulped and moved closer.

     “ I can’t believe I’m doing this “, I say as I stared at Julien’s dark eyes.

     “If I sleep at the same room as you, will you stop looking at me like that?” I asked him.

     I knew Julien was going to smile after what I asked him, but he did a good job not showing it to me as he says, “Yes.”

     “Then let me just clean myself first. Afterwards I’ll go to you”, I say, quickly making Julien nod his head.

     He was finally looking happy. The way he looked made my heart flutter, and I knew feeling that way every time he would look happy would be dangerous.

     “ I haven’t even made you mine and I’m already spoiling you “, I tell myself as I continued to stare at him. Afterwards, I blinked and realized that I’ve been standing here for too long, so I cleared my throat and went inside my room without even saying anything.

     I immediately took a bath and changed my clothes. I was about to grab the white gloves that I use at home but decided to use the leather gloves instead.

     After 30 minutes of preparing, I went out of my bedroom and stood in front of the room where Julien was staying.

     For some reason, my heart was pounding fast as I stared at the door. I was looking like a kid who was waiting outside his parent’s door because he wanted to ask for money but was too afraid to do so.

     “ Stop being a little boy Romeo “, I tell myself as I took a deep breath.

     I lifted my hand and finally knocked on the door.

     Without even waiting, the door quickly opens, revealing a wet-haired Julien who was wearing a bathrobe.

     “ You gotta be fucking kidding me “, I told myself as I looked at him from head to toe.

     The sight of him made me gulp.

      I stood there, just staring at him. He knew I was staring at him too, and I clearly knew that he fucking loved it.

     “Come in”, he says as he opens the door wider.

      I hesitate but went inside anyways.

     “You can sit down on the bed”, he tells me.

     It’s weird how I’m being commanded by someone in my own home, but I don’t say anything about it and just sat down on the bed. 

     Julien takes his necktie and stood in front of me.

     “Are you really sure about this?” he asked with a concerned tone. I knew he was worried about me breaking down again like last time. I wasn’t sure about it myself but if I continue on breaking down and acting weak then nothing will happen to me.

     No one would really be able to help me if I can’t even help myself.

     “I’m sure”, I finally answered him.

      Julien looked like he wasn’t sure about this either, but he nods his head anyways.

     “Then let’s continue what we left off”, he says as he immediately takes off the bathrobe, revealing the pale skin that’s covered in tattoos that I knew nothing about.

     “Lights on or off?” he asked me.

     I looked around the room then decided that even if I was going to cover my eyes, the dark room would also help me concentrate more.

    “Off”, I answered.

    Julien quickly switches the lights off, causing the whole room to go dark. The only light that was supporting us now was the light from outside the window. So even though it was dark, I was still able to see Julien’s figure.

    “You can always tell me to stop like last time, okay?” he says as he walks towards me.

     He then kneels uncomfortably close to me. Julien was in between my legs as he gives me his necktie, “Cover your eyes real tight”, he tells me.

    I slowly take the necktie from his hands and took a deep breath. I looked at Julien for the last time before closing my eyes and wrapping the necktie around my eyes.

    Now everything was dark, and all I could hear now was mine and Julien’s heavy breathing.

    “ Start counting “, he whispered.

    I gulped and did what I was told.

    “ One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand- “

    I continued to count as I felt Julien slowly pulling my pants down.

    The moment it was off, the cold breeze quickly welcomed me, making me tremble a little.

     I gripped on the sheets of the bed and counted faster, “ five one thousand, six one thousand, seven one thousand, eight one thousand, nine one thousand, ten one thousand, eleven… “

     I immediately stopped when I felt Julien’s hand touch my cock.

     I gripped on the sheets even harder as Julien started moving his hands in an upward and downward movement.

    It was slow and agonizing, and all I wanted to do was kick Julien off me. But something inside me was stopping me from doing so.

    Julien was still wearing his gloves, which I find very considerate in his part since we were here to be intimate with each other and wearing gloves would be a turn off. But Julien didn’t even mind, he wore his gloves and continued to slowly move his hand up and down.

     “ Is this okay? “ he silently asked me, like someone would hear us if he spoke too loud.

    “Y-Yeah…” I answered.

     Julien continued to stroke me, but slowly, his pace was getting faster.

     The leather gloves were too rough that it was hurting me. I had to quickly yell stop just so I wouldn’t feel it anymore.

    “M-Mouth”, I said instead.

     Julien let’s go of my now hard cock and asks, “What?”

    “The gloves are too painful…just…use your mouth”, I finally said, and I have never imagined myself saying those words to someone in my entire life.

     Julien doesn’t say anything.

     I couldn’t even see him but somehow I felt like he was smirking at me.

     “ Mouth it is “, I heard him whisper.

     I gulped as I felt Julien’s hot breath on my cock, I was ready to count again when he suddenly said, “You’re so big Rome, so big that I’m wondering what it would feel like if this goes inside me”, Julien paused and chuckled, “I’m guessing it will tear this little hole apart”, he continued.

     “You’re making me lose it Julien”, I commented, but Julien ignores me and started making up these sexual scenarios.

     “Imagine me holding your cock, positioning it on my hole and just pushing it deep inside. You then feel my warmth, the tightness…the sensation”, he sexily tells me. The way he said those words automatically made me harder. And I think that’s what Julien was trying to do.

    “That’s better”, he says as he moves closer to me again.

    “Count”, he commands me.

     I took a deep breath and did what I was told, “ eleven one thousand, twelve one thousand, thirteen one thousand, fourteen one thousand, fifteen one thousand- “

     I could still feel Julien’s breath near my cock, but seconds later; I felt his hot tongue touch the tip. The feeling almost made me pass out.

     Julien was giving me quick licks, checking if I was going to aggressively react to it or not.

     The thought of a tongue touching me would make me vomit in seconds, but just telling myself that the one who’s doing it is Julien makes me think like it’s not a big deal, like it’s okay to be touched by him.

     The feeling wasn’t disgusting at all.

     It was actually fucking good.

     “Julien…” I called out, quickly making him stop licking me.

     I didn’t know if I was directly looking at him, but I looked down and smirked anyways before saying, “Go on…enjoy your meal.”

     Julien doesn’t say anything, like he was shocked to hear me say those words too. But seconds later, after all the silence, I felt Julien put my cock inside his mouth with no hesitation.

     His hot and slippery mouth quickly made me moan.

     He was slowly bobbing his head, his tongue playing with me as well.

     I was feeling his teeth brush pass my cock, but he tries his best to open his mouth wider so he wouldn’t be able to hurt me.

     “ This feels fucking good “, I say as Julien continued to devour my manhood.

     “Go deeper”, I told him, and Julien delivered so well that I moaned even more.

     “A-Ah! Fuck! That’s it!” I shouted from complete pleasure.

     So this is how it felt like. This is what everyone else was obsessing about.

     No wonder other men would have to go to gay clubs and pay thousands just for this. It was fucking amazing.

     “ Daddy t-taste so good“, Julien says while my cock was still inside his mouth. The vibration sent chills in my entire body, but what turned me on more was the fact that Julien called me fucking daddy.

     He pulls out to catch his breath. He then takes one of my hands and placed it on top his head.

    “Grab my hair…and push me as deep as you like”, he suddenly tells me. But before I could even react, Julien puts my cock inside his mouth again.

     My whole body was getting hotter that I finally understood what Julien was asking me to do.

     I gripped on his hair and pushed his head further.

     It felt so good that my heart was beating fast and I was starting to pant heavily too.

      While I continued to push and pull Julien deeper, Julien started playing with my balls. Gently caressing and squeezing it while his hot and wet tongue continued to slide up and down my dick.

     I pushed Julien so deep that he was starting to make chocking sounds.

     The sound made me turned on even more that I started pushing and pulling him even faster.

     “T-That’s it…”

     “ Hmmm “, the only thing I could hear Julien say.

      I was feeling so full that I knew this was the time where I was finally going to release my load.

      “J-Julien…I’m going to…cum”, I warned him as I gripped on the sheets even harder.

     I let go of Julien’s hair. I thought he was going to pull out, but he continued to lick me until I finally shot my load.

     “A-Ah! Shit!” I shouted as I continued to pour it all out inside his mouth.

      When it was finally over, Julien licks my cock clean and pulls my pants back up. Afterwards he stands up from the floor.

     He doesn’t say anything as I continued to hear footsteps going here and there.

     I was panting heavily as I heard him switch the light back on.

     “You can remove the tie now Mr. Ego”, I heard him playfully say.

     I couldn’t help but smile as I reached out at the back of my head to remove the necktie.

     I slowly opened my eyes and started rubbing it to get used to the sudden light.

      Everything was still too blurry, but after a few seconds, everything became clear.

     Julien stood in front of me while wearing the bathrobe that he wore earlier. He looked so clean that you wouldn’t even know that we did something indecent a few seconds ago.

      “How was it?” he asked with a wide smile.

      I looked at him, a smile still on my face as I answered, “It was amazing.”

      “You did look like you enjoyed it”, he says as he walks towards me, “Do I get a prize then?”

      I acted like I was thinking about it, immediately making him laugh.

      I stand from my seat and walked towards Julien until I was only a few inches away from him.

      “You want a prize?” I teasingly asked.

      Julien was the one who started it, but when I decided to play along he suddenly looked shy.

      I stared at Julien, his face getting red because of embarrassment. I couldn’t believe it. I let Julien blow me and I wasn’t disgusted about it.

      I must really like this man.

      “You know I was joking about the prize right? This was my payment anyways, for everything you’ve done for me so far. It might be a weird payment but this is all I could do since this is the only thing I’m good at, and besides, I was-”

     Julien stops when I suddenly leaned forward and gave his forehead a quick kiss.

     His eyes widened from shock.

      I was surprised too but I felt like I just had to do it now. Because if I didn’t, I might never get the chance to do it again.

      “I like you…”

• END -

(14) Wrong Side

💋 

    “I like you”, I blurted out.

    Julien froze like a statue. Seconds later he started to blush even more.

    When it was clear that he was too shocked to even say anything, I continued, “I like you, not because you can do such naughty things. I like you, not because you’ve tolerated me. I like you, Mr. Julien Choi…because you’re the only person…who has made me feel like I’m important.”

     Julien looks at me, his eyes suddenly teary like he was inches away from crying, “You’re crazy…why are you saying this right after I blew you?!” he angrily asked me, making me laugh on how cute that fucking sounded.

     “Then I take it back”, I jokingly told him.

    “No!” he suddenly shouts.

    He quickly wipes his eyes and said, “I like you too you asshole. I wouldn’t do all this…if I didn’t.”

    I don’t know why but I thought my heart would explode when he said those words to me. I was actually preparing myself for his rejection that I didn’t know how to react if he actually didn’t reject me.

     “I like you”, he says again when he noticed that I haven’t even said anything yet.

     When everything has finally sinked in, I started laughing.

     Julien looked at me confusingly. When I finally got my composure back, I looked at him straight in the eyes and said, “I’m so happy I can fucking hug you.”

    “Then go ahead and do it”, he suddenly says, making me stop smiling.

     I take a deep breath and looked at him apologetically, “You know that…”

     “You can’t touch me”, he quickly says.

     He looks out the window and continues, “I know.”

     “Look, Julien I-”

    Julien quickly cuts me off as he looks back at me, “You don’t have to explain yourself because I understand Rome. Its just…I’m sorry if I’m being too selfish, I’m sorry if I’m too greedy, and I’m sorry that…”

     Julien paused. But the pause was too long that it was starting to worry me, “Sorry about what Julien?” I asked.

     Julien looks away. He bites his lower lip and finally continues, “That the feelings we both have now…can only be up till here.”

    My heart almost dropped. But somehow, a part of me knew that this was how it was going to end either way.

    “I’m glad that you like me, because goddamn it…you make me so happy, and no one in this fucking world has ever said those words so sweetly to me. But…look at me Rome”, Julien suddenly says with a pained expression, causing my chest to suddenly hurt.

      I moved closer and looked straight at Julien’s jet-black eyes.

     “I am looking at you”, I answered back, and at that moment, tears poured out of Julien’s eyes.

     “I’m a person who has been used by hundreds of men, someone as dirty as that doesn’t deserve you”, he says as tears continued to pour out of his eyes.

     “Do you think I don’t know that? Julien I’ve seen you from the beginning, but look, I’m still fucking crazy about you. I’ve done so much for you in such a short amount of time compared to the people I’ve been with for years”, I tried to explain to him.

     Julien suddenly turns around and goes to the window.

     Without looking at me anymore, he says, “You don’t know what I’ve been through Rome. You don’t know how stained I am, how broken, how used. What I am now…is not capable of holding onto someone for a long amount of time.”

     “Julien I’m not asking for fucking commitment”, I say as I walked closer to him.

     Julien quickly turns around to face me, “Then what the hell are you asking for?! Why did you tell me you like me?!” he angrily asked, causing me to be taken a back.

     I looked at him, trying to think of a valid answer that would make sense to why I did tell him those words, “W-well that’s because I…I-”

     “Is it to unlimitedly use me?” Julien suddenly asked when he noticed I couldn’t answer him.

     “No, of course not-”

     “Then is it a symbol that you now own me?”

     “No, I-”

     “Is it to convince yourself that what we’re doing is okay because feelings are now involved in it?”

     “No! Listen to me goddamn it!” I shouted, finally making Julien stop talking.

      I moved even closer to where he was. I took a deep breath and finally answered his question, “It’s because I think that a broken man like you…can fix a broken man like me.”

     Julien finally calmed down, but he looked at me like he didn’t understand a thing that I just said.

    “I wanted you to try and fix me, and no one would be able to do so except for the man that I like. And if I told you I liked you then you’d at least have a reason to hold onto me, a reason to not leave even if you see me in my worst”, I explained to him, but it felt like I was also explaining it to myself.

    “But I am already doing that”, Julien tells me.

    “I know…but the more you help me, the more the real me unfolds. The monster that’s been hiding under my OCD will come out and I’m afraid you’d leave once you see him”, I honestly answered him, making Julien look at me like what I was saying wasn’t really a big deal.

     “We all have our monsters Rome”, he says to me.

     I shake my head and answered back, “Mine can’t be controlled. I can’t control it myself, what more to someone else who’s not willing to control it in the first place?”

     Julien fell silent. He looks at me but doesn’t say anything anymore.

     He doesn’t push the topic any further. He just nods his head like he finally understood what I was trying to tell him. But after everything that he said, I too, have finally understood what he’s been trying to tell me.

     “Then that’s it? You’re confession doesn’t mean anything else?” he finally asked me.

     I looked at him, unsure on what I should be answering.

     I never really said I wanted him to be my boyfriend right? I didn’t even consider our future so I think it’s just up to this…right?

     I clenched on my fist and took a deep breath.

     “Nothing…there was nothing else”, I coldly answered.

     The whole room was silent. Both of us just stood there, staring at each other for a couple of minutes.

     “ That’s what you wanted me to say right? “ I told myself as I continued to look at him without saying a word.

     Julien looked like he wanted to say something else but decided not to. He looked at me like he was hurt, but he looked relieved at the same time. I wasn’t sure on what he was thinking that it frustrated me to a whole new level.

     “ What the fuck do you really want me to do? “ I whispered, but thankfully Julien wasn’t able to hear it clearly.

    “W-what?” he confusingly asked.

      I shake my head and said instead, “We should go to sleep. I bet you’re…tired.”

     Julien continued to look at me confusingly, but he nods his head back as an answer.

     Both of us looked at the bed at the same, realizing that sleeping means sleeping in a bed, which this room had only one.

     “Y-You can…sleep in your room”, Julien awkwardly said.

     “No”, I answered as I walked towards the bed, “Left or right side?” I asked.

     Julien fucking bites his lower lip and answered, “Left.”

    “Alright then”, I said as I walked towards the right side of the bed.

     “ These are brand new sheets anyways “, I tried to convince myself as I finally sat down on the bed, patiently waiting for Julien to join me.

    Julien turns off the lights and walks towards me.

    He hesitates but finally sat down on the bed just inches away from me.

    I gulped and finally laid down, making Julien do the same.

     The whole room was once again quiet as both of us were now sleeping on the same bed together.

     “ I’m sleeping beside my secretary, I’m sleeping beside my secretary “, I repeatedly told myself so I could calm down.

     “Goodnight…Rome”, Julien suddenly says before turning around so I could face his back.

      Well I guess that’s better than talking about earlier again.

     I took a deep breath and turned around as well.

     “ I’m sleeping beside my secretary, I’m sleeping beside my- “

     I stopped as I felt my heart beating faster.

     “ I’m sleeping beside…the man I like “, I tell myself, and it finally felt right when I said it.

     “ I’m sleeping beside the man I like, I’m sleeping beside the man I like… “

     I stared out the window for a couple of seconds before closing my eyes shut.

    “ I’m sleeping beside the man I like…who doesn’t even want to be mine. “

---

     I felt someone squeeze me tight. 

     He was leaning his forehead near my neck, and I could hear him crying.

     “ Romeo “, I heard him call out.

     I quickly shot my eyes open.

     “Julien?!” I immediately called out as I sat up from the bed. But when I looked at my right side, no one was there.

     “Julien?” I asked as I stood up to check the whole room. But as expected, the room was empty.

     “Master Val? Are you fully awake?” one of my maids suddenly asked from outside the guestroom.

     I went to the door and opened it.

     “Master Va-”

     I quickly cut her off and asked, “Julien, my secretary…did you see him?”

     “Well we arrived here this morning and saw Mr. Choi leaving the house. His eyes were all red and he looked like he was in a hurry. He was also talking with someone through his cellphone so we weren’t able to ask where he was heading”, she answered, making me sigh upon hearing it.

      “Thank you, I’ll be down in a minute”, I tell her. The maid nods her head and goes downstairs.

     “We like each other, but you don’t want our relationship to go any further. Then you end up crying about it while I sleep and then leave without saying a word. Do you not realize how crazy that sounds?” I say as I went out of the room and continued on with my day.

     What happened last night was something that I could never forget.

     Not because Julien blew me, but because I “confessed” to someone, if that’s the right word to describe it.

     I like him, in a sense that I can’t stop thinking about him. And it pisses me off when other’s hurt or even touch him. Let’s just say I’m fucking possessive over him when he’s not even mine to begin with.

     I’m bad with this complicated thing you call feelings . I don’t know if what we talked about last night was normal, or would it have been better if I told him to not worry about being together with me because I’ll protect him.

     But that’s it; being together with someone means you need to protect them. But how the hell am I going to protect him, if I can’t even protect myself?

     I can’t even hug the man for pete’s sake and I’m hoping for commitment.

     Julien looked afraid last night. Like he was scared that I’d push him enough because it was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to say no to me if I did.

     But thinking back about every word that I said…

     It was pretty obvious.

     I was the one who was scared to make that push.

     I was the one who was afraid to make him mine, because that meant I’d be his. And belonging to someone frightened me.

     I’ve been attached to people before, and all have left me. I’m afraid that if I get attached with Julien, he’d leave me too.

     And the thought of Julien leaving this weak man would destroy me.

     “Romeo…we’re here”, Johnson suddenly says.

     I blinked and realized that I was already in my suit, and we were already in front of the company building.

     “Julien’s not with you. What happened?” Johnson asked, but I ignored him and went out of the car on my own.

     Johnson quickly goes out of the car too and immediately follows me, “He slept at the house right? Then why isn’t he-”

     “Give him time”, the only words I said that made Johnson give up in an instant.

     “Chairman Val!” someone suddenly shouts as Johnson and I entered the building.

     President Sterling comes running towards me with a newspaper at his hands, “We have a problem”, he says, and it took me so much strength to not explode upon hearing him say that.

     “That better be something we can handle because I fucking woke up on the wrong side of the bed”, I tell him, quickly making him gulp.

     He doesn’t say anything to me and just hands me the newspaper instead.

     I looked at the headline and saw the title: The Valentino Empire, now in a state of bankruptcy?

     There was a stolen picture of Dario’s men pointing their guns at Johnson while Johnson pointed his gun at Dario.

    According to this news, Dario and his men were loan sharks. I burrowed money from them and couldn’t pay anymore so they went to the company instead and made a scene to scare me so I can finally pay them.

     I almost wanted to crumple the newspaper and throw it at President Sterling’s face from frustration.

     Seriously, ever since Julien arrived, peace and order in my company has completely vanished.

     “Rumors, all of it”, I say as I slammed the newspaper on Sterling’s chest.

     “W-We’re not even going to clear this up?” the president worriedly asked.

     I started walking, quickly making Sterling and Johnson follow me so they could catch up.

     “It’s baseless and stupid. If we don’t react too much the news will mellow down”, I answered as we finally arrived at the elevator. I got in and Johnson followed.

     I looked at the president before the elevator door could close, “Is that clear?”

     “Y-yes…chairman Val”, he answered, the elevator door finally closing in front of us.

     We arrived at the top floor. I went out and found Julien’s empty desk. I immediately ignored it and went inside the office, “Bring me my coffee”, I told Johnson as he goes inside my office to put my things on the desk.

     “Alright, I’ll be back”, he says as he leaves the room.

     I sat down and quickly opened my drawer to get my stress ball.

     I squeezed on it tightly and took a deep breath, “I just woke up at the wrong side of the bed, that’s why I’m feeling cranky”, I told myself as I closed my eyes to calm myself down.

     “And once I see Julien, everything will be okay. We’ll pretend like nothing happened and just continue on with our current relationship”, I continued to tell myself.

     But the next day…

     “Romeo…we’re here”, Johnson suddenly says.

     I blinked and once again realized that I was already in my suit, and we were already in front of the building.

     “Julien still hasn’t-”

     I quickly cut Johnson off and said, “Just give him fucking time. He’ll be here tomorrow.”

     And boy was I still wrong about that.

    “Romeo we’re-”

     “I fucking know we’re here okay?!” I shouted from anger, shocking Johnson while he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

     I took a deep breath and continued bouncing my knee up and down.

     “What happened? Tell me”, Johnson says, but I ignored him and just sat there without saying a word.

     “It’s been three days. Julien hasn’t been coming to work and we can’t even contact him. What happened that night? Why isn’t he coming to work anymore?” Johnson asked, like I knew the reason why he was acting like that.

     “I told him I liked him”, I blurted out, making Johnson hit his elbow on the steering wheel from complete shock.

     “Y-you what?!”

     “It wasn’t a big deal, I wasn’t asking for marriage or anything, I just…told him I like him, that’s all. I didn’t know it would affect him so much to the point that he wouldn’t go to work anymore”, I honestly told Johnson.

     Johnson turned around to finally look at me face-to-face.

     He looked like a parent who was ready to lecture his child.

    “Not a big deal? Romeo you just told your feelings to a living person! That’s a big deal!” Johnson excitedly says.

     I rolled my eyes and continued to bounce my leg up and down, “It’s not, okay? It’s not like telling someone I like them meant that I completely changed or something.”

    Johnson’s eyes widened as he listened to what I just said. He was looking at me like I was the stupidest person he has ever met.

     “You haven’t noticed it…haven’t you”, he tells me.

     I lifted my right eyebrow and asked, “Noticed what?”

     “Romeo…You’re opening doors on your own, you don’t mind touching things without asking if it’s brand new, you’re not fixing your already arranged desk when we arrive at your office. You’re changing Romeo; you’ve changed so much the past week compared to all the years that you’ve had your OCD. Julien…he’s really helping you”, Johnson says, shocking me.

     And the fact that someone else had to say those things one by one directly to my face just so I could finally notice it myself shocked me even more.

     “Y-You’re right…”

     “But it’s been obvious that Julien likes you too. It would be weird that he’d stop going to work just because you confessed to him”, Johnson tells me. And I had to pause for a second because I seriously couldn’t believe that Johnson and I were actually talking about something like this inside my car that’s parked right outside my company building.

     “He blathered about not wanting to be together. He said that what we were now is the only relationship the two of us could have because he was too…dirty”, I say, making me cringe when I said the word dirty for some reason.

     “No, Julien isn’t that childish. Something more serious must have happened, maybe something about his work or-”

     Johnson paused.

     His pause was so sudden that it suddenly made me nervous.

     “What? Why do you look like you remembered you didn’t wear your underwear today?” I asked.

     Johnson opened his mouth from shock, but after a few seconds, he finally said, “Chairman Luis, he goes to the club Julien works to right?”

     When Johnson mentioned Luis, my heart almost stopped beating from sudden realization.

     “I canceled my partnership with him because of Julien…he must have…”

     I finally stopped bouncing my leg. I squeezed on my fist so hard that it was starting to turn red.

    “ Luis you better not have touched him “, I say as I seriously looked back at Johnson.

     “Drive…NOW!”

---

     We finally arrived at the club Julien works on. Thankfully I remembered the way when Bryson drove us here before.

     Johnson and I went out of the car.

     I stood in front of the building while Johnson stood beside me.

     “Club Luxuria”, Johnson says as he read the small sign near the door, “This is where he works?” he asked.

     I didn’t answer as I approached the front door.

    “Romeo it’s still too early. I don’t think someone’s going to be here”, Johnson says, but I ignored him and started banging on the door.

     “Julien! Julien are you there!?” I shouted instead.

    The door suddenly swings open, revealing a man I was not familiar with.

     “Sir I’m sorry but we’re currently closed. We’ll open at exactly-”

     I didn’t let the man finish as I pushed him aside and immediately went inside the building.

     “Shit”, I heard Johnson curse as he quickly ran inside as well to follow me.

     “Sir! What are you doing?!” the man angrily shouted, but I ignored him and continued to shout Julien’s name.

     “Sir! You can’t be here! Look I’m just a guard here, I’ll be fired if my boss finds out I let someone in”, the man who was actually a guard, worriedly said.

     The room didn’t have men in masks anymore, and there weren’t any “ toys “ inside glass cases like before.

     Well, it is pretty early.

    “I’m Romeo Valentino, the CEO of Valentino Empire. If you get fired because of me go to my building, I’ll hire you”, I say, finally making the man shut up.

     “Are you serious?” he surprisingly asked.

     “Oh he’s serious”, Johnson answered instead.

     I immediately looked at the guard and asked, “Where are t-the…the men inside the cases? Do they live here? Do they have a dorm?”

     “They live at the top floor, why? Are you looking for someone?” he asked.

     “Yes, I am. I’m looking for a man named Julien Choi”, I answered, making the man look at me confusingly.

     Oh yeah, they only know them by number.

     “Number 24, the man who’s covered in tattoos. Is he here?” I asked, and the man finally knew who I was talking about.

     But instead of answering me, the man looked shocked.

     “O-Oh…him? H-he’s not here”, he nervously answered me.

     “Do you see me as a fool? Where the hell is he?!” I shouted at him, making him flinch.

     “Answer him properly son or you’ll regret it”, Johnson says, but the man just shakes his head and says, “N-No…Number 24 is…he’s not here. Please, leave immediately before they arrive from their meeting.”

     “They? You mean the men in masks?” I continued to ask, but the man doesn’t answer me anymore.

     Something’s not right here.

    “Julien!” I shouted as I immediately ran upstairs.

    “Sir please!” the man shouted as he was about to chase after me, but thankfully, Johnson stopped him.

     “Romeo! Go! Look for him!” Johnson shouted as I continued to run upstairs.

     “Julien! Julien where are you!” I continued to shout as I finally arrived at the top floor.

     As I arrived, a door suddenly opens.

    I thought it was Julien, but I was shocked to see who it was instead.

    “Y-you…” I say as I saw the man walk in front of me. He was the man Bryson picked when we arrived here. If I’m correct, he’s number 14.

     “Julien…you’re looking for Julien?” he asked, looking cautious as he asked me about it.

     “Yes, is he here?” I asked back.

     “What do you want from him? Did he send you here too?!” he suddenly shouted at me, and at that moment I knew that something serious had really happened.

     “He’s had enough, please…leave”, he says, now he looked like he was begging.

     I haven’t even seen Julien but my heart was already aching for some reason.

     “N-No…I’m Romeo Valentino, I’m not sent here by anyone. Please, where is he? I need to see him”, I told him, and the man’s eyes widened as he heard my name.

     “R-Romeo…you’re Romeo”, he says from shock.

     But before I could even react, he suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and started dragging me.

     “What took you so long?!” he continued to shout at me, but I clearly didn’t know what he was talking about.

     We finally arrived at the room at the end of the hall. The man let’s go of me and then looks at me with pity, “I-I’m sorry. We tried our best, we tried to help him but…there were just too many of them”, he explained, making me realize that he actually had cuts on the side of his mouth. Like he was aggressively punched at that area.

     My heart was starting to beat even faster by just seeing him.

     “W-what happened to him? Please tell me he’s okay”, I say, my hands suddenly shaking.

    The man takes a deep breath and looks at me straight at the eye, “You were the name…he was always calling out…when those men continuously fucked him”, he suddenly says as he finally opened the door.

     I slowly turned around to see what was inside.

     My eyes quickly widened, and I had to cover my mouth from shock just because of what I was seeing.

     “R-Romeo?”

-END-

(14.5) The Brave & Strong

A/N:

The image above is how I imagine Johnson, it seriously fits perfectly well. Anyways, thank you for still reading this! 😭😘

• N

💋

     “Johnson. You’re needed at the Valentino residence immediately”, Antonio – Romeo’s uncle – told me this morning when I woke up.

     Currently I’m in the front gate of the Valentino Household.

     The enormous gate eventually opens, revealing this massive house that can accommodate hundreds of men.

     I drove inside and parked the car in front of the main entrance.

     I went out and saw dozens of men guarding the front door. Beside the front door was a sign that said: Valentino Family ( The Brave & Strong ).

     As the guards were looking at me, I removed my hat, looked back at them and nodded my head. When they saw who I was, they immediately put their guns down and moved aside.

     “Good morning brother Johnson”, one of the men said as I walked pass the group of men who were wearing black suits that was partnered with deadly guns.

     There are guards outside the gate and outside the household. And if I’m right, there are at least 20 other men guarding the inside of the house too.

     If someone decides to ambush this place then they better think twice.

     “Johnson”, someone called out as I entered the household.

     I stopped walking and waited for Antonio to approach me, “Thank you for coming”, he says.

     “Of course. Its my duty to come especially when the underboss personally calls for me”, I say instead, and Antonio nodded his head as an understanding.

     “Well then, we should go. Diana and Elizabeth are already waiting at their room”, Antonio stated as he started walking. I sighed and quickly followed him.

     “How did you manage to get her?” I asked as the two of us continued to walk down the hallway that had hundreds of different pictures hanged on the wall.

     All the family members had pictures, some even had labels. But there wasn’t even one photo of Romeo.

    The house, or more specifically, the mansion, is actually at least a hundred years old, so you can expect it to look old and gloomy.

     Everything was mostly wood and marble, and the lights were a warm yellow. Romeo actually lived here until he was a teenager, but after his father’s death, Romeo left.

     He always told me that he hated the place. It was big, hundreds of people lived here, and his family would occasionally hold extravagant parties. But Romeo told me that he always felt lonely and alone, even with all that.

     “It was easy”, Antonio suddenly said, making me remember that I actually asked him a question.

     “We barged in at the Alfonzo household and just took her”, Antonio continued.

     “And the men who were guarding the Alfonzo household?” I asked, even though I knew what Antonio would have already done to them.

     “Mostly weak men. They were very easy to kill, didn’t even take minutes”, Antonio proudly answered.

     Of course you did. You wouldn’t be a Valentino if you didn’t kill anyone.

     “You do know that Dario would be coming home to see his dead men and missing wife right? And he would definitely put out his frustration on Romeo”, I honestly told him, and Antonio nodded his head like he too knew about that as well.

     “Dario is as weak as his men so he would be too smart to not barge in here. But Romeo…he’s not weak, he’s actually very strong. But he controls his strength because of the position that he has now”, Antonio explained, and I couldn’t agree more on his statement.

     “But I know, that you know, that Romeo has to go back to his old self sooner or later. The mask he’s wearing now has to be removed, and he has to come back to his family before the war begins”, I told Antonio, making him sigh.

     “It will be hard to bring back the Romeo that was once feared by many and challenged by no one. But if we really need him, he has to conquer his OCD first”, Antonio stated, suddenly making me chuckle.

     Antonio quickly looks at me and asks, “What’s so funny?”

    I cleared my throat and answered, “N-Nothing. It’s just that…someone is actually helping him with that sickness of his, and I can say that there are improvements.”

    “Well, that’s good to hear”, he says as he finally stops in front of a door.

    He knocks, and then someone immediately opens it. And apparently that someone was none other than Diana Rose Roselli.

     “Johnson!” she happily shouts as she runs to me to give me a tight hug.

     “It’s good to see you too”, I say as we parted from the hug.

     “Your mother?” I asked.

     Diana took a deep breath and said, “She’s inside. Please, come in.”

     I nodded my head and finally entered the room with Antonio. When I got inside, I saw a woman standing in front of the window.

     “Elizabeth”, I called out.

     Elizabeth slowly turns around to look at me. When he saw who I was, she sweetly smiles and said, “It’s been years Johnson. How has my cruel son been doing?”

• END -

  

(15) Blood

WARNING:  

This chapter might be uncomfortable to you so please read with caution. Know that I put warnings because I was once called out for this a few years back and I do not want to make the same mistake again so hopefully you take these warnings seriously.

💋

     “R-Romeo…”

      I looked down and almost fainted on what I saw.

     Julien was lying in bed, naked.

     His pale skin was covered in bruises.

     There were marks on his wrist, like he was tightly tied up by something.

     There was also  blood on the side of his mouth, on his knees, and even in between his legs.

     My whole body trembled as I slowly approached him.

     “J-Julien…” I called out, making Julien open his eyes wider so he could be able to see me better.

     I slowly kneeled down in front of him as my body continued to shake. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was too much for me that tears eventually started pouring out of my eyes.

     “ W-What did they do to you…“ I whispered as I reached out to try and touch him. But I was too afraid to do so because I thought I’d hurt him more if I do.

     “What did they do to you?” I asked again, and Julien had to immediately look away from me.

     “ Please…don’t look at me “, he weakly says, his body slowly trembling now too.

     I gripped on the bed sheet as more tears continued to pour out, “What the fuck did they do to you?!” I now shouted.

     Number 14 quickly entered the room. He was about to touch my shoulder when I quickly stood up and pushed his hand away, “How could you leave him like this?!”

     “I’m sorry”, he suddenly says.

     “I’m sorry?!“I angrily answered back

     “O-Our boss…he said he’d kill us if we…h-help him”, Number 14 nervously answered, his eyes now teary as well.

     I was about to say something again when I suddenly heard Julien moan in pain. I quickly looked back at him and gulped, “Baby you’ll be a-alright…okay? I-I’ll…I’ll…”

     I was looking around the room. Looking for something when in reality I didn’t even know what I was looking for.

     My head was spinning and my chest was starting to tighten. My hands continued to tremble as I reached out for his clothes.

     But the more my eyes would fall on Julien’s body, the more my heart would start beating faster.

     There was blood everywhere that I thought my vision was slowly turning red.

     I closed my eyes and bit my tongue hard just to get back to my senses.

     “J-Julien…just…give me a second, okay?” I nervously said as I slowly walked towards him. But before I could even touch him, Johnson arrives inside the room.

     “Romeo I knocked out the-” he immediately paused when he saw us inside the room.

     Johnson gasped and quickly ran inside.

    “Romeo! What are you doing?! Close your eyes!” he suddenly shouted. He ran towards me and took out his handkerchief to cover my eyes with it.

     I fell on the floor as Johnson immediately embraced my trembling body. He patted my head and whispered in my ear, “ Happy thoughts…happy thoughts Romeo…think of happy thoughts. “

     “Johnson…J-Julien…he’s hurt and I can’t…I can’t even…”

     “It’s okay. Don’t think of anything else…just happy thoughts, okay?” Johnson continued to say as he hugged me tighter.

     When I was slowly calming down, Johnson quickly lets go of me to stand up.

     “Julien, dear god please answer me”, I heard Johnson say.

     Someone takes a deep breath and answered back, “S-Sir Johnson?”

     Johnson sighs in relief and says, “Yes, it’s me Julien…I’ll have to carry you, is that okay?”

     I couldn’t hear Julien answer but I knew that he nodded his head because I heard Johnson immediately carrying him.

     “Stay awake, okay son? You need to stay awake for me”, Johnson continued to say.

     “You…please accompany Romeo downstairs. Make sure he does NOT remove that handkerchief, understand?” Johnson commanded as I hear him go outside with Julien.

     “Sir Romeo, let’s go”, I heard number 14 say as I felt his hand touch my arm.

     I was about to push him away again but I felt too weak to even do anything.

     “He’ll be alright”, he suddenly says as we continued to walk down the stairs.

     “He’s a tough man…so he’ll be alright”, he said again as we finally arrived at our car.

     “Watch your head”, Johnson says as he pushed me inside the car.

     “Thank you sir. Please, take good care of him”, Number fourteen stated.

     “We will”, Johnson answered as he closed the doors before entering the car.

     Johnson immediately starts driving off without wasting any time.

     “S-shit…shit this is fucking bad”, Johnson says as he continued to drive. And by the sound of his voice, he was in a state of panic.

     “H-Hello?” Johnson suddenly says.

     “Yes, this is Mr. Pollock. I have an injured man with me and he needs to be immediately treated…yes, at the house. Thank you…oh, and, Romeo…he saw a trigger …yes, just now. I covered his eyes but he’s still trembling. Okay, I’ll inject him the shots as soon as we get home. Thank you doc”, Johnson says before ending the call.

     “Alright you two. Hang on, okay?” Johnson says as he drove faster.

     My vision was black, but the image of Julien continued to flash before me.

     I wanted to shout, I wanted to punch someone, I wanted to fucking do something but I just couldn’t and it angered me even more.

     I was silently sitting at the car, but tears suddenly poured out of my eyes again.

    “O-One one thousand…t-two one t-thousand…t-three one thousand-” I counted to calm myself down.

     I was pinching on my arm that it was already hurting, but the pain wasn’t helping because the image of Julien just wouldn’t go away.

     The blood was so visible, so red…

     Everything was just-

     “ Help! Please! Help me! “ I suddenly remembered.

     “ There’s so much blood, I can’t make it stop! “ the memory continued to flash in front of me that I suddenly slammed my head on the window.

     “Romeo!” Johnson shouted from shock.

     “A-Ah! Stop! Stop it! P-please stop it!” I shouted as I was tugging on my hair to numb the pain.

     Tears continued to pour out of my eyes as I slammed my head on the window for the second time.

     “R-Romeo please! We’re almost there!” I heard Johnson shout.

     “ Help! Please! Help me! Someone needs to help me! Please! “

     “No! Stop!” I shouted louder even more.

     “Shit…Romeo you have to calm down…Romeo…” Johnson tried to say.

     I was about to hit my head on the window for the third time when suddenly, “ R-Romeo…“ Julien silently calls out from the back seat.

     “ Y-Your pain…is my pain “, Julien weakly says as he reached out to touch my arm.

     “So p-please…that’s enough”, he says as he squeezed my arm, finally calming me down. I was panting heavily as the painful memories slowly drifted away.

     “ Happy thoughts “, I remembered Johnson say earlier.

     Just happy thoughts.

     “ I like you too “, I remembered Julien say a few days ago when I confessed to him.

     Johnson suddenly slams the breaks, almost throwing me off from my seat.

     “We’re here”, he immediately says as he went out of the car. 

     People were running towards us, and I knew that all of them were the maids. They were supposed to welcome us back but they didn’t expect to see us like this.

     “Help your master! Hurry!” Johnson suddenly shouts as he opened the door.

     “But sir, we can’t touch-”

     “Now!” Johnson shouts even louder, making the maids wince.

     Seconds later I felt more hands touch my arm. They pulled me out of the car and assisted me back to a room.

     When I was now lying in bed, the door suddenly slams open.

     “Where’s his medical kit?” I heard Johnson ask.

     “It’s in his room sir”, the maids answered. Somehow easing me since they didn’t bring me to my own room.

     I heard Johnson run back and forth. But when he got back, I suddenly felt a cold needle pierce on my skin.

     “ J-Julien… “ I whispered.

     “He’ll be fine. Now go ahead and rest”, Johnson answered as he patted my head for the last time.

     Seconds later, I fainted.

---

     I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

     It took me a while to realize that I was actually sleeping inside a different room.

     I slowly sat up from the bed, my head aching like crazy.

     “What happened?” I asked myself as I looked at the time.

     9:43 PM.

     “It’s already this late?” I asked again as I slowly stood up from the bed.

     I walked towards the mirror and saw my reflection. My eyes were all red and my head felt like someone just punched me really hard. I was also wearing different clothes now too.

     As I continued to stare at myself, my heart suddenly started beating fast. But then, my eyes immediately widened when I remembered something important.

     “Julien!” I shouted as I ran out of the room.

     I ran towards the guestroom where Julien slept on a few days ago. I immediately opened the door and saw Johnson applying a wet towel on his forehead.

     “Romeo, you’re awake”, Johnson says as he stood up from the chair.

     He quickly walks towards me and held my shoulder, “Thank god you’re looking better. I was so worried about you”, Johnson tells me, but my eyes were glued on Julien that I wasn’t even able to answer him anymore.

     Johnson suddenly clears his throat and puts his hand down from my shoulder.

     “The doctor said that he’ll be better after a week. He’s resting so it’s best if you don’t wake him up. But if he does, I’ll just be downstairs if you need me”, Johnson says before leaving the room and closing the door.

     I stood there, staring at Julien with disbelief.

     But after a few seconds, I gathered enough courage and slowly walked my way towards him.

     I sat down on the chair in front of his bed and stared at him again. Julien was resting, but the bruises on his face made me feel like he was still in pain even while he was sleeping.

     I gulped and looked down at his slender hand. I took a deep breath and looked at my own hands, then, without any hesitation, I removed the gloves on my left hand.

     My hand was trembling as I slowly reached out for Julien’s own hand.

     Finally, the tips of my fingers touched his pale skin. When I felt his warmth, I didn’t think twice anymore and just grabbed his hand.

     I gripped on his hand as tears started pouring out of my eyes again.

     “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry”, I say as I continued to hold his cold yet warm hand.

     “I shouldn’t have let you go that day. I should have told you that I didn’t want us to just end our relationship like that. I should have told you everything so you wouldn’t leave my side”, I say as I pulled his hand closer.

     “This wouldn’t have happened to you Julien…you shouldn’t have experienced something like this”, I say as I was pulling his hand closer to my face.

     “ You’re blaming yourself again “, Julien suddenly says, quickly making me look at him.

     “Julien…”

     Julien looks straight at me, then he looked at his hands, causing him to weakly chuckle, “You’re touching my bare hands Mr. Eg-”

     I didn’t even let Julien finish as I quickly stood up from my chair to hug him. I hugged him tightly and quickly said, “Please be mine.”

     “Romeo?” Julien asked confusingly, but I ignored him and continued, “Be mine and let me protect you. I’ll change, just so I could protect you. I will kill anyone who will try to hurt you again, I will do everything in my power just to make sure you’re okay.”

     I broke from the hug so I could look straight at his eyes, “I might be a weak man now. But for you…I will be strong, okay?”

     Julien continued to look at me. Seconds later, his eyes started becoming teary as well.

     “Are you sure about that Romeo?” Julien asked me.

     “Yes, I’m absolutely sure”, I quickly answered him.

     Julien takes a deep breath. He then lifts his hand up to gently touch my cheeks, “Then I’m yours…always.”

• END -

(16) Dangerous Man

💋

     “How’s Julien?” Johnson asked as I arrived at the living room.

     “He’s resting”, I answered.  

     Johnson puts his newspaper down and looks at me, “What are you wearing?” he asked as I approached him.

     It was already late, but I was now wearing my suit and leather gloves. Obviously an attire that wasn’t for bed.

     “You remember where Luis Walker lives right?” I asked Johnson, quickly making him realise what I was actually going to do.

     “N-No…you’re not planning to go interrogate him are you?” he asked as he quickly stood up from the sofa to go to me.

     I didn’t say anything, but my silence obviously answered his question.

     “Romeo, what the hell are you planning? We’re not even sure that Luis did all this”, Johnson tried to say, but I wasn’t listening to him anymore.

     “If you don’t want to drive me there then I’ll look for someone else who will”, I seriously tell him.

     I could see Johnson clenching his fist from anger, but he takes a deep breath and finally nods his head anyways, “Alright. But we won’t do anything dangerous”, he says, and I immediately went out of the house with a smirk on my face.

     “ Too bad. That was exactly what I was going to do. “

---

     “Did Julien even tell you that Luis did all this?” Johnson asked as we were now driving our way to his residence.

     “He told me dozens of men suddenly arrived at the club and asked for him, but he didn’t know who they were working for”, I answered, trying my best not to explode by just imagining what they’ve done to my Julien.

     “What were they planning anyways? What could they have gotten after doing such horrible things to him?” Johnson asked.

     “If it really was Luis who did it then he obviously wanted revenge from what I did to him. He knows that the only thing that’s keeping the Olympus Mall from falling is the Valentino Empire, and I just so happened to cut all ties with him because of Julien”, I explained, but Johnson shakes his head like he disagreed.

     “I don’t think chairman Luis would go that far for revenge”, Johnson says as we finally arrived in front of the place where Luis lives, which was the Crown Towers.

     “Well, there’s only one way to find out”, I say as I went out of the car.

     Johnson immediately follows me as I went inside the building.

     The Crown Towers are like apartments that are exclusive for the rich and well-known people. It looked like a five star hotel, so your payment here is also as expensive as how the place looked. Luis asked me a couple of times to get my own room here, but I’ve declined him every single time by the reason that I didn’t want to live near him. At all.

     “Luis Walker, where is he?” I asked as I stood in front of the reception area.

     The woman looks at me confusingly. She was obviously about to ask me to leave when Johnson quickly places my company card in front of her, “This is Romeo Valentino, the chairman of the Valentino Empire. We need to see chairman Luis now because we have urgent news for him.”

     The woman suddenly looks at us like we were crazy.

     “I’m sorry sir but it’s late and we don’t just give our residence’s information to random strangers”, the woman persistently tells us as she pushes the card away by using her pen.

     I was about to show this bitch my wrath when someone suddenly calls for my name, “Chairman Val?”

     I quickly turned around and saw the president of the Olympus Mall walking towards us.

     “What are you doing here?” we both asked in unison.

     “Well I just finished a meeting with chairman Walker. What are you doing here?” he asked back.

     “I’m here to talk about the partnership again”, I lied, but it looked like he was surprised to hear about what I just said.

     “The partnership? That’s great! We were just talking about that earlier. Please, follow me”, the president says as he starts walking back to the elevator.

     I glanced at the receptionist and smirked, then I immediately followed the president while Johnson walked behind me.

     We got inside the elevator and ended up at the top floor.

     The elevator door then opened and revealed the entire floor that Luis owned.

     “Chairman Luis, I’m back with guests”, the president calls out. We walked further inside and saw Luis sitting on the sofa while reading some papers.

     “Good evening chairman Luis”, I say as Luis puts the papers down to look at me.

     “Val”, he said with surprise as he quickly stood up from the sofa.

     “W-What are you doing here?” he nervously asked, and just by his actions I immediately knew that he had something to do with what happened with Julien.

     “They’re here to talk about the partnership”, the president answered.

     Luis gulps and continued to look at me, “Is that so?” he asked.

     “Yes, and I would like to talk to you privately about this matter”, I stated.

     Luis looks at the president first before saying, “Alright…follow me.”

     I looked at Johnson and whispered in his ear, “ If anything serious happens, knock the president out. “

     Johnson sighs but nods his head anyway.

     Then I walked towards Luis and followed him to a room that looked like an office.

     “Please, sit down”, he says as he closes the door behind us. But the moment he closed the door, I immediately grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against the wall.

     “V-Val…” Luis struggled to say as he tried to push my hand away, but it was obviously useless since I was stronger than he would ever be.

     “Julien Choi…Number 24…what the hell did you do to him?” I asked as I continued to strangle Luis against the wall.

     Luis held onto my hand and still tried to remove it from his neck, “I-I don’t…know w-what you’re t-talking about”, he answered.

     “Julien Choi! Dozens of men raped him at the club for three straight days and I know that you made that order!” I now shouted, my eyes burning from anger.

     Luis’ face was slowly turning pale as he answered me again, “I-I…don’t know…”

     “You’re lying.”

     “V-Val…please…I-I…d-don’t…know.”

     I was inches away from tightening my grip around his neck, but I took a deep breath and decided to let go of him instead.

     Luis fell to the floor. He was holding his neck while catching his breath.

     “I…I didn’t do…s-shit like that Val…” he tells me as he slowly stood up.

     Both of us looked at each other. I looked at Luis with anger while he looked back at me with fear.

      He continued to catch his breath until he could finally breathe normally again.

      He took a deep breath before looking back at me, “I got mad at you for canceling our partnership, I admit that. But I will never go so low as to take revenge by asking dozens of men to rape someone”, he answered, and just by looking at his eyes, I knew he was telling the truth.

     “ It’s not him “, I whispered to myself.

     I was panting heavily too for some reason, and I was gripping on my fist because of complete anger.

     I thought I was already in front of the man who broke my Julien, but I was wrong. And I was once again back to the guessing game.

     Without thinking straight, I punched the wall that was inches away from Luis’ face, making him flinch on my sudden action.

     My fist immediately started throbbing because of the impact, but I didn’t mind the pain.

     “If it’s not you…then who?” I asked as I slowly put my hand down.

     Luis gulps and slowly moved aside so he could go to his desk, “Val sit down”, he tells me as he slowly sits down on his own seat.

    I looked at him for a couple of seconds before sitting down on the chair in front of his desk.

     “I don’t know who could have done those things to your secretary, but I think it’s best if I tell you some things that I know about him so you could be aware of the people who you might be dealing with”, Luis suddenly says, immediately grabbing my attention.

     “And how on earth would I believe you?” I asked him.

     “I’m the only one you’ve got Val. Unless you want to go back to the club and interrogate everyone there”, he says, making me sigh.

    “Fine, but this better not be bullshit”, I say, and Luis nodded his head as an agreement.

    He takes a deep breath and finally started with his story, “I admit that I was drunk the night I chose him at the club, but I know that it’s still not an excuse for you to forgive me with the things I did to him. But, to be honest with you I’m a regular in that club, and I only picked Number 24 once in the two years that I’ve been going there. I heard rumors about him, that’s why I never picked him. The other customers called him the Black Angel , said he was part of a gang in Korea and-”

      I immediately slammed my already aching fist on his desk and said, “I said no bullshit Luis.”

     “Val, I’m telling you the truth. People said number 24 ran away to hide from all the crimes that he did back in his home country. He didn’t have anywhere to go so he worked at Club Luxuria, and the reason why he can’t leave is because the club knows his identity”, Luis explained, and I just sat there with my head all messed up because of what I just heard.

     “Black Angel, Korean gang…you do know how absurd that sounds right?” I asked and Luis just nodded his head as an answer, like he also knew that saying those things to me with a serious expression was something he also didn’t expect from himself.

     “But these are rumors”, I quickly added.

    “But rumors aren’t always baseless Val. There’s some truth there, and you know what I’m talking about”, Luis answered back.

     I took a deep breath and massaged my temple. I was thinking of what I’d do next after knowing such rumors about the man I like. But while I was thinking, I suddenly remembered the time Dario saw Julien back at the company. Dario recognized his tattoo, and he even looked terrified by it.

     If Dario reacted in such a way by just seeing Julien’s tattoo, then what Luis is telling me might just be true.

     “I have to go”, I say as I immediately stood up, making Luis stand up from his seat as well.

     I was about to leave the room but stopped and glanced back at Luis, “Look. I’m sorry for what I did today. It’s just…”

     “I get it”, Luis quickly says.

     “You almost chopped my hand off when you found out about what I did to your secretary. So hearing that someone did something a lot more terrible to him, I bet you’re not just going to chop that man’s hand off once you find him”, Luis tells me with a grin.

     I finally loosened up and chuckled back at him.

     “But Val…think about what I said okay? If those rumors are somehow true…then your secretary is a very dangerous man”, Luis says, making me smirk.

     “There are rumours about me too Luis, and I’m pretty sure if any of them were true then I’d be a lot more dangerous than you might think.”

---

     “What happened?” Johnson asked as we were now heading back to the car.

     “It’s not him, but I found something that might just help us find the real culprit who did this”, I answered as I opened the car door and got in.

     Johnson got inside as well and immediately asked, “Found what?”

     I looked out the window and took a deep breath, “Julien…they say he’s part of a gang.”

     “What?” Johnson asked from shock.

     I quickly looked at him through the rearview mirror and continued, “I’m still not sure about it, but Dario knows him somehow. Well maybe not him personally, but he knows his tattoo. If we find what the tattoo really is, then we’d be able to find the people who did this.”

     “W-wait a second. Romeo, are you hearing yourself right now? A gang? You can’t be acquainted with gangs, you’re a-”

     I quickly cut Johnson off and said, “I know about the fucking family rules okay? But until we’re not sure about this either, there is nothing for us to worry about.”

     “Yet”, Johnson adds, like he was warning me. He then takes a deep breath and starts the engine, “Then what’s you’re plan now?”

     “For now we’re going back home”, I say as I looked back out the window.

     “I’m tired and angry, and the only thing who can keep me calm is sleeping there”, I continued, and Johnson nodded his head and drove off.

---

    “Good evening master Val”, the maids greeted as I entered the house.

     I nodded my head to acknowledge them and immediately ran upstairs to go to Julien’s room.

     I opened the door and was surprised to see Julien standing near the window.

    “Julien, what are you doing? You should be resting”, I worriedly said as I got inside the room.

     Julien quickly turns around and walks towards me, “You’re back, I was worried about you”, he suddenly says, making my heart flutter a little because no one has actually said those things to me whenever I get back home.

    I lifted my hand and gently touched Julien’s cheek, “Worried about me? A man who has gone through a lot for the past few days shouldn’t be worrying about anything”, I say.

     “Well how could I not? When I told you about what happened to me, you’re eyes suddenly burned, like you were ready to kill someone. I knew you were going out to look for whoever did this to me, which is why I got worried”, he explains, suddenly reaching out for my hand too.

    I quickly pulled my hand away when I felt something painful pierce through me. Then I remembered that I literally punched a wall and a desk about an hour ago.

     “Rome, are you hurt?” Julien asked with a worried expression.

    “N-No…it’s just-”

     Julien didn’t even wait for me to finish. He grabbed my hand and suddenly said, “Close your eyes for a second.”

     I didn’t know what he was planning but I closed my eyes anyways.

     Julien doesn’t say anything, but I suddenly felt him remove the gloves on my hand.

     “There’s bl-”

    I knew he was going to say the word blood, but stopped after remembering what happened to me when I saw him covered in one.

     “Don’t worry, I don’t get triggered by just hearing the name. I get triggered when I see it”, I honestly told him, my eyes still closed so nothing serious would happen.

     “Is that so”, Julien says. Seconds later, I felt his tongue on my knuckles, suddenly making me shiver from head to toe.

     He continued to lick on it, making me quickly grip on my thighs so I could focus on something else.

     “Don’t worry, its only small cuts”, Julien says after licking my hand.

     He then puts my gloves back and says; “Now you can open your eyes.”

     I slowly opened my eyes and saw Julien a few inches away from my face, “Better?” he asked with a playful smile.

     I was smiling too, but then I saw the bruises on the side of his lips again, and my smile immediately vanished.

     “You should go back to bed”, I say with a serious expression.

     Julien bites his lower lip and nods his head. He then goes back to bed like how I told him to.

     I went towards him and made sure he was tucked in.

     I looked at him straight in the eyes and suddenly felt like crying all of a sudden.

    Julien was trying to look strong for me, but I knew that he was in great pain after what happened to him. And to think that I could have done something during those times made me furious again.

     I kneeled on the floor and looked at him.

     “I will do everything to protect you now, right?” I asked as I reached out for his hand again.

     Julien looks back at me and slowly nods his head.

      I continued to stare at him until I realized that I was now actually staring at the tattoo right under his eyes.

      I squeezed his hand tighter and continued, “But for me to protect you, you need to be honest with me first, right?”

    “ Yes “, he softly answered.

      I glanced at his tattoo for the last time before finally asking him, “The Black Angel , why do people call you that Julien?” 

     Julien’s eyes widened from shock upon hearing me say those words.

     “H-How did you-”

      I quickly stopped him and let go of his hand. With a serious expression, I continued, “No more lies, no more secrets…Who are you Julien?”

• END -

(17) New Family

💋

     “No more lies, no more secrets…Who are you Julien?” I seriously asked.

     Julien looked scared and speechless. He was trying to say something but words just couldn’t come out of his mouth.

     He looks at me and slowly sat up.

     “Rome…” he calls out, like he was begging me not to tell him.

     I knew I was asking too much, but I had to know. In order for me to protect him, I have to know whom I’m protecting and whom I’m dealing with.

     Everything…is for him.

     “I know you’re scared”, I say as I looked at him.

     I slowly reached out to touch the tattoo on his face and continued, “But whatever you were, or whatever you are now…I won’t get mad, and I definitely won’t hate you. You’re the most significant person to me, and I would die if something bad happens to you again without me knowing about it.”

     Julien looks at me, his eyes suddenly teary. Then, he looks away and wipes the tears that might have already fallen from his eyes.

     “Black Angel…” he started.

     I unknowingly gulped as I impatiently waited for Julien to tell me the whole story about that name.

     Without looking at me, he continued, “Beautiful to look at but too dangerous to touch. I was the most feared man in Korea. Handled different groups, raided poor towns, and even killed people who got in the way.”

     He must have expected me to react when he said the word kill. But luckily for him, killing was something I have already gotten used to ever since I was a child, so the word didn’t even faze me.

     “I was part of the richest and the most feared gang in Asia. I did everything I wanted and no one was able to touch me”, he says, and then he finally looks back at me to continue.

     “But I made a stupid mistake, and I had to leave everything behind because of it. I had more enemies than friends and I didn’t mind, no one cared about me anyway, even my family”, Julien explained, his eyes teary again.

     “Especially my family”, he continued, pain now visible in his eyes.

     My heart ached for him.

     No wonder he knew the pain I felt when I met up with Diana. Families can either make you, or break you. Apparently in our case, they broke us both.

     I reached out and wiped the tears off his eyes as I said, “I won’t ask you anything else but this. Your tattoo…what does it mean?”

    Julien looks at me, and without hesitation, he answered, “ Dark Saints. It’s a mark that you’re a member of the Dark Saints.“

     D a r k S a i n t s.

     How come that name sounds familiar?

     “Thank you for telling me”, I say as I put my hand down. I then leaned forward and gently kissed his forehead, “I’ve strained you. Now go and rest”, I said as I helped him lay back down on the bed.

     I tucked him again and stood up, “From now on, you’ll be staying here with me. So don’t worry about anything and just rest.”

     I walked towards the light switch and turned off the lights. I was about to leave the room when Julien suddenly called out for me.

     “ Rome “, he softly says.

     I was mid-way from grabbing the doorknob but stopped to turn around and look at Julien.

     The room was now dark, and the only thing that was keeping the room lit was the light outside my house.

     “What is it?” I asked.

     “Sleep beside me”, he suddenly said. And after everything he told me today, that was the one thing that made me flinch.

      I stared at him but nodded my head anyway, “Okay”, I say as I slowly walked towards him.

     Julien moved a little so he could give me space. I gulped since the space was too little and if I lay down I’d be too close to Julien’s body.

     Thinking about it suddenly made me uncomfortable.

     I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

     “ Fuck it “, I told myself.

     When I opened my eyes back, I quickly removed my necktie and coat, and then I removed two buttons on my polo, slightly giving Julien a glimpse of my chest.

     I decided to leave my gloves on as I removed my shoes.

     As I was now ready for bed, I slowly sat beside Julien. I gulped again and finally lay beside him.

     His shoulder touched mine, and the warmth felt…new to me.

     I slowly turned around so I could face Julien.

     “ You’re doing great “, he whispered. His face only a few inches away from mine.

     “It’s strange but…it feels nice. I like it”, I honestly say, my cheeks suddenly burning, like I was embarrassed by saying those things so shamelessly.

    “I’m sorry if I left you the other day. I should have at least said something before I left”, he says.

     I moved a little closer and touched his cheeks, “It’s okay. I should be the one apologizing since I’m the one who chickened out that night.”

    “Chickened out?” Julien asked with a chuckle.

    “You get what I mean”, I say with a smile.

     Julien moved closer too until he was able to lean his head on my chest.

    The action made my whole body stiff for a couple of seconds. But after taking it all in, I slowly snaked my hand on his waist and hugged him.

    Julien flinched when he felt my hand around him, but he doesn’t say anything.

    “Does it still hurt?” I asked.

     I thought Julien was going to lie and tell me he was fine for my sake, but he nods his head instead, his face slightly buried to my chest.

     I leaned forward and kissed Julien’s head, “I’ll make sure they pay for what they did to you Julien. I’ll definitely make sure.”

     “ I know “, I heard Julien whisper.

     I hugged him tighter as my eyes were slowly closing on its own. I was finally feeling tired after everything that happened today.

    “Good night”, I say, but Julien doesn’t answer me anymore.

     As I closed my eyes, I whispered, “ Black Angel…should I be scared of you? “

     I thought Julien wasn’t going to answer me again, but then I heard him say, “No…but I think I should be scared of you instead.”

     “Don’t worry, there’s nothing for you to be scared about”, I say as I hugged him tighter, “But the people who hurt you…has to tremble in fear by just hearing my name.”

---

     I slowly opened my eyes, the sunlight from outside the room directly hitting my face.

     I felt something heavy on my chest, immediately making me open my eyes wider.

     When my vision was now clearer, I saw Julien sleeping while leaning his head on my chest.

     My heart suddenly raced and my face burnt up.

     “ We slept like this “, I thought, to remind myself that I slept beside the man I fucking like so much without even feeling uncomfortable about it.

     A lot of things happened the past few days. But this may be the one thing that will stick with me for the rest of my goddamn life.

     Shit…

     I’m fucking happy.

     “Master Val?” a maid suddenly called out from outside the room.

     How did she know I was here?

     “Yes?” I asked instead, trying my best not to move too much so I wouldn’t wake Julien up.

     “Master Val, breakfast is ready. Mr. Johnson is already waiting for you downstairs”, the maid said.

     “Alright, I’ll be right there”, I answered.

     I looked back at Julien and was surprised to see that he was slowly opening his eyes now as well.

     I suddenly felt nervous for some reason when he looked at me. I didn’t know what to tell him since I never really woke up beside someone before.

     When he was now fully awake, he genuinely smiles at me and whispered, “ Good morning Mr. Ego. “

     I couldn’t help but smile as I said back, “ Good morning. “

     Julien gently pushes me so he could sit up. He then looks at me with a teasing smile.

     I chuckled and sat up as well, “What?” I asked.

     Julien cutely pouts and suddenly says, “I’m hungry daddy.”

     My face burnt up again, making Julien laugh hysterically.

     I looked at him and grabbed his arm, then I pinned him down and went on top of him, “You really like teasing your boss don’t you?” I asked with a smirk.

     Julien finally stopped laughing and looks at me, he then looks at me and sticks his tongue out like a kid.

    I laughed and leaned closer to him, “You’re making me hungry for something else now too”, I tell him, quickly erasing the grin on Julien’s face.

     It was my time to laugh as I finally stood up. I reached out for Julien’s hand and helped him stand up as well.

     “Let’s go”, I say as I went out of the room with Julien.

     When Julien and I got to the dinning room, Johnson quickly puts his cup down and looks at us.

     “Julien, you shouldn’t be moving too much”, Johnson worriedly said.

     “Good morning to you too Johnson”, Julien says instead. He then goes to him and suddenly kisses him on the cheek, “Thank you…for what you did yesterday.”

     Johnson suddenly blushed. He cleared his throat and said, “I-It’s okay. You shouldn’t worry about that.”

     I rolled my eyes and pulled Julien towards me, “Was the kiss really necessary?”

     “Looks like someone’s jealous”, Julien teasingly says as I made him sit beside the chair where I usually sit.

      I sat down as well and answered him, “Not jealous, just pissed off.”

     “Yup, he’s jealous”, Julien and Johnson suddenly said in unison. Seconds later both of them laughed.

     At times like these, I’d be angry, but somehow, I felt happy instead. I never really felt the warmth of my family. But being with these two made me feel like they’re the only family that I need.

     I looked at Julien and realized something.

     He wasn’t just a man I like.

     Julien…he’s family now too. And if both of our families abandoned us, then it’s better if we just started a family on our own. A family like this, the one that makes you feel light hearted, the one that makes you whole even when you’re broken and in pieces.

     A family that won’t leave you…

     This family.

---

     “I can go to work Rome. I really feel better now”, Julien persistently says as I was now outside the house while Johnson waited for me inside the car.

    “No, you stay here and rest. You don’t have to go to work today, and that’s final”, I say, and Julien finally gives up and nods his head in defeat.

     “Then promise me you’ll be back early”, Julien suddenly tells me with an innocent look, making me gulp for some reason.

     How can such a small gesture make me feel hot all of a sudden?

     “If you look at me like that I might not go to work now too”, I tell myself but dared not to say it out loud for Julien to hear.

     “I will”, I say instead as I looked at him. And believe me when I say that I had to gather all my strength to not tell him that I wanted to stay here with him instead.

     Julien gently touches my chest, then, he moves closer and leans his head on it, “ Thank you…for everything “, Julien suddenly whispered.

     I was about to say something when Johnson suddenly honked the car, making Julien and I flinch.

     “That’s enough love birds!” Johnson suddenly shouted as he looks out the window.

      Julien and I both laughed as I looked at Johnson and showed him my middle finger.

     “Well I need to go”, I say as I quickly leaned forward to give Julien a kiss in the forehead.

     Before he could even react, I immediately ran towards the car and got in.

    Johnson smirks as he looks at me through the rearview mirror. I don’t say anything and just looked out the window to hide my embarrassed expression.

     Johnson chuckles, then he starts driving off.

     “You look happy Romeo. Actually, I haven’t seen you smile and laugh like that for the past decade”, Johnson says as his eyes were still glued to the road.

     “That’s because I am”, I honestly answered him.

     “It feels nice doesn’t it? Having someone beside you”, Johnson suddenly says. I was about to answer him but then I remembered that Johnson has also been alone ever since I was young.

     I don’t remember him having a family, and because of me, he never got married or had a family on his own.

     “Do you regret it Johnson?” I asked as I looked at him through the rearview mirror.

     “Regret what?” he asked.

     “Regret wasting your life protecting me since I was little. You could have just left, you could have made a family of your own and just lived happily”, I honestly say.

     Johnson doesn’t answer until he stops at a red light. He then turned around to look at me.

     “I had you Romeo. You were my family, and I was happy about it. I watched you grow into a man that you are now, and seeing you transform does not mean I wasted my life. So there’s nothing for me to regret, because I was definitely happy to have you”, Johnson suddenly answered, making me feel emotional all of a sudden.

     I quickly looked away and looked out the window so Johnson wouldn’t be able to see my almost crying face. 

     “You always knew what to say old man”, I jokily said, making Johnson chuckle.

     I gulped and tried my best not to cry as I continued, “But thank you for everything Johnson…I don’t think I’ve told you that before.”

     Johnson suddenly reached out and patted my leg. I slowly looked back at him as he genuinely smiled and said, “You have Romeo…A thousand times already.”

• END -

(18) Complicated Love

💋

     “We’re here”, Johnson tells me as he parked the car in front of the main entrance of the building.

     I went out of the car and immediately heard noise coming from the main entrance of the building.

     “Let go! I personally know the chairman here! He’s an acquaintance of a friend of mine so let go!” a man suddenly shouts.

     I walked towards the noise and saw two guards carrying a man out of the building.

     “Excuse me? What’s going on here?” I asked, making the two guards quickly let go of the man that they were carrying.

     “Chairman Val!” the two guards greeted in unison.

     “What are you doing to him?” I asked as I gestured at the man who was fixing his clothes. But before the guards could answer, the man suddenly removes his sunglasses, and my eyes automatically widened as I recognized who he was.

     “Number 14”, I unknowingly said out loud.

     “Romeo!” he shouts as he recognizes who I was too.

     He runs to me and starts firing me questions, “How’s Julien? Is he doing okay? Is he resting well?”

     I actually had to raise my hand to stop him from talking.

    “He’s fine, don’t worry”, I answered, but then I looked at him seriously and asked, “But what are you doing here?”

     Number 14 doesn’t answer but gives me a tissue paper instead.

     I hold it with two fingers and looked at it with disgust, “What the hell is this?”

     “It’s a note. The same men who “ forced “ themselves on Julien…came back last night. But there was a new one, an intimidating looking man, Asian like Julien. When they found out that Julien wasn’t there anymore, the Asian man suddenly took a tissue paper and wrote something down. He said to give it to Julien, and to make sure he reads it”, number 14 explained.

     I looked back at the tissue paper but still didn’t dare touch it.

     “What did it say?” I asked.

     Number 14 shrugs his shoulder and says, “Don’t know, it’s in Korean. And there’s like a…symbol.”

     “Symbol?” I asked as I finally unfolded the tissue paper, my eyes widening when I saw what it was.

     Like how number 14 described it, there was a written text that was in Korean, and as predicted, there was a symbol that was exactly the same as the tattoo on the side of Julien’s eyes.

     “ Dark Saints “, I said under my breath.

     “What’s going on here?” Johnson suddenly asked as he finally arrived beside me.

     I don’t answer him and quickly hide the tissue inside my pocket. Then I looked back at number 14 and said, “Thank you for giving this to me. If you need anything I’ll-”

     “No. Just…keep Julien safe, okay?” he suddenly asks, and without waiting for me, he leaves.

     “Romeo”, Johnson called out.

     I finally looked at him and said, “Find a Korean employee immediately.”

     Johnson looked confused, but without saying anything, he nods his head anyways. Then I looked at the two guards and quickly said, “You may now go back to your stations.”

     The guards gave a quick nod before leaving. Johnson excused himself as well to go look for a Korean employee. While everyone got busy, I went straight to my office. I took out the tissue again and gently placed it on top of my desk.

     Rather than trying to figure out what the Korean text said, I decided to look at the symbol instead.

     I knew that there was a meaning behind it, but it was obvious Julien wouldn’t just be telling me about it if I asked him to explain to me the detailed meaning of his tattoo.

     The symbol had like a number 3, another one that I suspect is a number 1, or maybe it’s actually the letter I? But whatever that was, I’m pretty sure the last one is an x. And that’s pretty much it.

     “Romeo”, Johnson says as he knocks on the door tree times before entering the room without even waiting for me to tell him he could come in.

     “ What was the point of knocking? “ I told myself as I stared at Johnson enter the room with what I suspect was the Korean employee.

     “Here he is”, Johnson says as he gently pushed the employee to go in front of me.

     The man looked terrified as he quickly bows and says, “G-Good morning chairman V-Val…I am Kim Minsu of the Marketing Depart-”

     I sighed and quickly stopped the man midsentence.

     “I’m not going to fire you”, I tell him as I pushed the tissue closer to him.

     “But I will if you fuck this one up”, I continued, and Mr. Kim looked at me confusingly, like he didn’t know what I was actually asking him to do.

     I sighed again and said, “Read.”

     I didn’t know what was scary about saying the word read, but Mr. Kim suddenly flinched as he immediately grabbed the tissue paper from the desk.

     He gulps and reads the note, then he looks back at me and asked, “You want me to translate…this?”

     “Yes. Every word of it”, I answered him.

     The employee gulps again and finally says, “H-Hope you liked my gift. Can’t wait to play with you again… little brother .”

     Little brother?

     “Little brother?” Johnson asked, like he just read my mind.

     “That’s what it said”, the employee tells me. He was about to return the tissue paper but suddenly stopped and looked back at it with shock, “Wait…this symbol…it’s…”

     “The Dark Saints”, Mr. Kim and I said in unison.

     Johnson looked surprised. Mainly surprised that I didn’t even tell him about that information that I already acquired from Julien.

     “Yes, they’re the most feared men in Korea”, the man adds, a little shocked that I knew about it too.

     “Tell me something about them. Who’s their boss? What are they doing here?” I asked, half expecting the man to not know the answers to some of my questions.

     The man gulps for the hundredth time and answered, “Well they handle the prostitution houses, the drugs, and even half of the country’s crime. They’re loan sharks, thugs, criminals, you name it. I don’t know who their boss is exactly but for what I have known he’s an old man that goes by the name

The Sinful . And for them being here? I don’t know…they’re powerful in my country but I didn’t know they had power here too.“

     So they’re a big time gang then. Practically runs the whole country too.

     “Sons, does he have sons?” I suddenly asked, like there was something about it that I just had to know.

     “Sons? I actually don’t know sir. They’re very secretive about family information”, Mr. Kim explained as he finally hands me back the tissue.

     “Alright, thank you so much”, I say, and Mr. Kim bows again before leaving my office.

     The moment he was gone, Johnson immediately looks at me and walks in front of my desk.

     “So, when were you going to tell me that Julien being in a gang was actually true?” Johnson asked. I knew he was mad but he tried his best not to show it.

     I take the tissue from my desk and hid it inside my pocket.

     “I was going to tell you but I felt like it wasn’t really big deal”, I say, finally making Johnson show his anger towards me.

     “Wasn’t a big deal? Romeo, that’s a fucking gang! And by the looks of it, it’s a big and famous one. You can’t be acquainted to a gang or any other organizations that aren’t in one oath with the family”, Johnson explains. Anger, but also worry, present in his voice.

     “I said it wasn’t a big deal because Julien isn’t acquainted to them anymore. He made some trouble and left the gang, easy as that”, I said, but it was obviously not convincing me, which wasn’t going to convince Johnson either.

     “You can’t just leave a gang Romeo and you of all people should know that”, Johnson says.

     “I told you he-”

     Johnson quickly cuts me off and says, “If he isn’t acquainted to them anymore then why the fuck are they here for him now?”

     I take a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

     I quickly take my stress ball out of the drawer and squeezed it tightly, “Do I look like I fucking know? Julien talked about that “ Dark Saints “ like it wasn’t a big deal. And he just got fucking…abused…and you want me to interrogate him?”

     “I don’t want you to do anything. All I’m worried about is your safety. If the family finds out about this, they’d definitely call you out for it. And if those gangs find out about you…oh Romeo…The Valentino Family is a name that makes gangs, politicians, and mafia’s run from fear. But it also makes them hungrier and challenged. They’d start wanting to defeat us to upgrade their ranks, they start declaring wars, they start-”

     I quickly cut Johnson off and said, “Johnson, we’re not dealing with the Yakuzas, the Russian mafia, or even the Chinese Triads. Because if they were then fine, let’s be cautious. But this is just a gang, and you’re acting like Julien – a mere gang member – can get the whole underworld into war by escaping a club that his brother goes to. We’re just dealing with a bunch of gang members whose only power is to pay men to fuck someone. That alone won’t even make the Valentino Family flinch”, I tell him.

      “You’re belittling them too much Romeo. That attitude is the same attitude that got Don

Claudio killed.“

     I immediately slammed my hand on the table. But Johnson didn’t even flinch.

     “Leave”, I immediately say, my hands already red because I’ve been squeezing the stress ball too much.

     “You listen to me first”, Johnson persistently says.

     “I will not listen to a man who’s scared of a mere gang”, I fired back at him.

     I thought Johnson was going to get mad at me again, but he answered instead, “I am scared…because a mere gang was the exact reason…why your father died.”

     I looked at Jonson, my chest rising up and down, making me realize that I was actually breathing heavily now.

     “Love Julien all you want. Marry him for all I care. But until this…” Dark Saints “ matter settles down…Julien has to go. It’s for yours and his safety, understand?“ Johnson seriously tells me. But before I could even react, Johnson leaves the room.

     The moment Johnson leaves the room; I immediately threw my stress ball and massaged my temple from complete anger.

     I took out the tissue again and looked at it.

     I don’t want to involve myself with a gang because I know the consequences, but the people who actually tormented Julien was actually the gang he’s a part of.

     I don’t mind taking my revenge on them, because that part would be easy. But what won’t be easy would be the Valentino’s finding out about Julien being in a gang. My so-call family would do something even more terrible to him just because he’s beside me, and I won’t be able to do something about that.

     And to make things worse, Dario knows about him too.

     This isn’t easy for me to admit, but somehow, Johnson’s right. If I really do want to protect him, I have to hide him first. Make sure no one realizes that I’m acquainted to him.

     And I have to think fast before Dario says something to the Valentino Family. Because if the family ever confronts me about this; then Julien won’t be with me anymore.

     So if I want to hide someone, there’s no one else who can do the job better than…

     “Call Mat Luca”, I say as I pressed a button on my telephone.

     “ Calling Mat Luca “, the telephone says as it starts ringing.

      Seconds later, someone answers the call, “ Hello? Who is this? “

     “Mat, this is Val”, I answered, then suddenly, there was noise, like Mat just fell off his chair or something.

     “ V-Val! Chairman Val! It’s been so long my old friend, how can Mat Luca assist you?“ he asked with this host-like voice.

     “Remember the apartment you were selling me? Is that still available?” I asked. And Mat immediately answered, “ Of course it is! It was too expensive, no one wanted to buy it “, then he starts laughing, like there was something really funny about what he just said.

     “Consider it sold. I want it. Send me the papers as soon as you can”, I tell him, and Mat sounded like he fell off his chair for the second time.

    “ Oh god, thank you Val! You really know how to make a man’s day. I’ll send you the papers immediately! “ he excitedly says.

     “Okay, thank you”, I say.

     “ No, thank YOU “, Mat says back before ending the call.

     I sighed and stood up from my seat and walked in front of the window to look at the scenery outside.

     Just until this Dark Saints matter settles down. Everything…

      Will be back to normal.

---

     “Welcome back Master Val”, my maids greeted as I entered the house.

     I nodded my head and immediately went straight to Julien’s room.

     “Julien”, I called out as I opened the door.

     Julien, who was reading magazines, quickly let’s go of the magazine that he was holding so he could look at me. He smiles and stands up, and then he runs to me and says, “Rome! You’re back!”

     He was about to give me a hug, but I stopped him and took his hand instead.

     Julien looked at me confusingly as I handed him the tissue paper. He looked at the tissue paper and slowly opened it up, but the moment he opened it up, Julien gasps and lets go of the tissue paper.

     “W-where did you-”

     “No one cared about you, especially your family. You said that to me last night”, I tell him. Julien bites his lower lip and quickly goes to the window so I could face his back.

     “Julien, that note came from your older brother. Your friend told me they came back to the club and looked for you again. Is this a sick game your brother does to you? Even after you left they’re still doing something this horrible to you?” I asked, but Julien doesn’t answer.

     “For what? What was the mistake that you made that would cause them to do such things?” I asked, trying my best not to get mad again.

     “This doesn’t concern you”, Julien finally answered, honestly shocking me.

    “Doesn’t concern me? Oh believe me Julien it does. I can face death by just being with you so I want you to tell me everything so my life being in danger would be worth it”, I told him, finally making Julien look at me.

     “W-what do you…mean?” he asked from shock.

     I stopped and clenched on my fist.

     I wasn’t supposed to say that.

     “I told you I’ll protect you right? Then tell me what’s really going on. Tell me why those men are doing this to you, and tell me why you’re so afraid of telling me about it!” I now shouted, immediately regretting it because Julien really hasn’t done anything wrong.

     I took a deep breath and slowly walked towards him.

     Julien stares at me with shock, but he still doesn’t answer.

     When I was a few inches away from him, I reached out for his cheek and said, “From everything that you could have been, you just had to be a fucking gang member.”

     Julien gulps and quickly puts his head down.

     I took a deep breath again and removed my hand from Julien.

     “It would be dangerous for you to stay with me so for now you’ll be staying at an apartment that I own. There are guards there that will be able to protect you if something came up. Until this situation settles down you’ll have to stay there for a while”, I told him as I removed my coat and loosened my tie.

     I thought Julien was going to start asking questions, but he looks at me and nods his head anyways.

     I knew that he wouldn’t dare ask me questions now, because if he did, I’d ask him a question back, and he obviously didn’t want to answer them.

     “If possible, you’d be able to leave tomorrow”, I added as I sat down on the bed.

     I removed the buttons on my cuffs, and then suddenly, Julien goes to the bed and hugs me from behind.

     “I’m sorry”, he says.

    “Don’t be”, I coldly answered.

    Julien hugged me tighter and continued, “Why is a secretary liking his chairman so complicated?”

    I took a deep breath and said, “That’s because I’m not just a chairman, and you’re not just a secretary.”

     “ It’s a more complicated forbidden love then. Just like Romeo and Juliet “, Julien whispered in my ear.

     “I’m not in the mood to play ga-”

     I suddenly stopped midsentence when I felt Julien snake his hand near my crotch area.

     “What are you doing?” I ask as I was about to push his hand away.

     “It’s my last night with you right?” he asked as he finally got inside my pants.

    I was about to say something again when I suddenly felt Julien squeeze my cock. Immediately making me moan because of the physical contact.

     “J-Julien stop…” I tried to say, but Julien wasn’t listening.

    “I might be worn out but I can still use my hands”, Julien suddenly tells me as he started stroking my manhood.

    Julien was obviously seducing me so I would forget about the Dark Saints and just finally stop asking him about it.

    And as stupid and weak as I am, I was obviously seduced.

• END -

(19) Seduced [m]

💋

     “Julien…I said stop”, I continuously tried to tell him, but Julien still didn’t listen to me.

     When it was obvious that I was inches away from letting him handjob me, I quickly pulled his hand off my pants. Then I stood up and seriously looked at him.

     “Julien, what the hell is wrong with you?” I asked with frustration present in my voice.

     The whole room became silent.

     Julien looks at me embarrassingly, then he slowly puts his head down and said, “Men will pay millions for me. And here I am, shamelessly throwing myself to you like a starving dog.”

     I took a deep breath and clenched my fist, trying my best not to get any angrier.

     “It’s not that I don’t want you Julien. It’s just that you just went through a lot and-”

    “I don’t care!” he suddenly shouted, his head still looking down.

    I sighed and looked at Julien seriously, “I don’t want to fucking hurt you”, I honestly tell him.

     Julien immediately looks up at me, his eyes suddenly teary.

     Both of us were quiet for a couple of seconds, then, Julien slowly crawls his way towards me.

     He then kneels in front of me so his face could be aligned with mine.

     I didn’t say anything so he starts saying, “I have bruises around my body, and I have been touched by hundreds of men. Every touch was painful, but yours…”

     Julien grabs my hand and lifts it up so he could gently kiss each finger.

     “Your touch was the only touch that made me feel safe”, he continues.

     “So you can never hurt me Romeo Valentino, because the only thing that will hurt me will be the idea of not being able to be touched by you again”, Julien says, moving closer so his face would be closer to mine.

     “ Why are you always doing this to me? “ I whispered.

     “ I promised to make you a strong man right? “ Julien whispered back. He was so close that I could feel his breath on my lips.

     I gritted my teeth and tried my best not to move closer so I could give him a kiss.

    But when I finally got the strength to not do it, I kneeled down on the floor and grabbed hold of Julien’s hips instead, “A strong man that will make you tremble in fear right?” I asked as I looked up at him, but before Julien could even answer, I lifted him up and carried him. Then I sat back on the bed, making Julien sit on my lap.

     “Are you sure you’re okay with this? “ I whispered against his ear again.

    Julien doesn’t say anything but nods his head anyways.

     I then looked back at him, staring at his jet-black eyes that captivated me on the first day that we met, “Then make this weak man feel strong”, I finally tell him.

     Julien looks back at me. Lust and hunger present in his gaze.

     He takes my necktie and removes it from me. 

     “ Lights out “, he whispered as he tied the necktie around my eyes so I wouldn’t be able to see anything.

     When it was already secure, Julien suddenly stands up.

     I hear him turn of the lights. A few more footsteps and he was back at sitting on my lap.

     I gulped when my fingers brushed past his thighs. He wasn’t wearing anything below anymore.

     Julien grabs my hand and removes the gloves on my right hand by using his teeth.

     When the glove was finally off, he uses my hand to touch his own body.

     He slides it around his chest, his stomach and even abdomen. When my hand got lower, my fingertips suddenly touched his cock, and Julien had to quickly put my hand away.

     Without saying a word, Julien kneels up and pulls down my pants and boxers.

     “ You ready? “ he suddenly whispered against my ear, shocking me a little.

     I gulped and gripped on the sheets before nodding my head.

     I thought Julien was going to touch my manhood again, but instead, he sits back down on my lap, his cock suddenly touching my own.

     The sensation made me catch my breath.

    He takes my hand and draped it around his neck. When he knew that I wasn’t violently reacting, Julien started grinding on top of me, making our cocks touch and rub each other.

     “S-shit, that feels fucking good”, Julien says as he continued to move his hips around.

     I was biting on my lip so moans couldn’t come out of my mouth. But the contact felt so good that I couldn’t hold it anymore.

    “T-That fucking feels good…J-Julien”, I say as I rested my head on Julien’s shoulder.

     Julien continued to rub our cocks together. He moves slowly for a while, and then he starts fastening the pace and starts grinding on me faster.

     His warm cock continued to touch my own. It felt so good that Julien started oozing out pre-cum, making both of our cocks warm and sticky.

     Julien continued to grind on me. The room was so quiet that the only thing you could possibly hear was our heavy breathing and the weird sound our cocks made.

     I quickly lifted my head up to moan louder, but when I did, the necktie suddenly fell off from my eyes, making me see Julien’s face.

     Julien’s eyes widened as his eyes met mine.

     He stopped moving, then his face slowly started turning red.

     If this were Romeo a few weeks ago, then I would have pushed Julien away. But when I saw Julien’s pleasured expression, my own face started turning red as well.

     I was somehow turned on even more.

     “Romeo let me-”

     Julien was about to tie the necktie back, but I quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.

     Julien looked at me shyly as I stared at him more.

     When Julien couldn’t even say anything, I grabbed him by the waist and whispered in his ear, “ Come on. Show daddy the face you make when you feel good. “

     Julien looked surprised, but then he sexily bites his lower lips and presses his forehead onto mine, “ Anything you want daddy. “

     He wraps his arms around my neck and started rubbing himself against me again, but even faster this time.

     “Fuck, babe…do that faster”, I demanded, and Julien obediently obliged.

     I gripped on his waist tighter as I felt like I was inches away from releasing my load.

     “A-Almost…”

     I immediately closed my eyes, readying myself to cum.

     “A-Ah Rome”, Julien moaned, then he suddenly moved closer and bit my ear, immediately making me cum all over him.

     I slowly opened my eyes and looked straight at Julien. He leans his head on my shoulder, then he suddenly bites it hard too and starts cumming on me as well.

     Julien was leaning his head on my shoulder as both of us were panting heavily.

     “You’re too feisty”, I say with a smirk.

     Julien looks at me and cutely pouts.

    “How is it possible that a man covered in tattoos would be this cute?” I asked him, making him laugh.

    When he finally got his composure back, Julien looked at me and said, “Alright, let me clean up.”

     “No”, I quickly answered him.

     I grabbed Julien’s legs and lifted him up, shocking him.

     “What are you doing?” he confusingly asked as I carried him towards the bathroom.

     “We’re going to clean up”, I answered him as I gently placed him on top of the counter just beside the sink.

     I took some wipes and cleaned myself first.

     I’m gonna be honest, this still made me feel uncomfortable. But somehow, I was able to…tolerate it.

     “Your turn”, I say as I zip my pants back as I walk towards Julien with the wet wipes.

     “May I?” I politely asked, making Julien laugh, “You may”, he answered anyway.

     I smiled and looked at his cock. The thought of it being dirty never even occurred as I started cleaning off the cum.

     While cleaning it, I could feel Julien staring at me.

     “What is it?” I asked without looking at him.

     “Nothing. It’s just weird that you’re cleaning my dick when you couldn’t even touch my hand the first time we met”, he says, making me laugh.

     “Believe me, it surprises me too”, I say as I was now finished cleaning Julien up.

     I threw the wipes away and thoroughly washed my hands. 

     Then I showed  Julien my hand. He quickly takes it and uses it to go down from the counter.

     As we got out of the bathroom, I took my gloves and wore it back on. Julien wears his pants as well and looks at me.

     “I think dinner’s ready”, he tells me.

     I nodded my head and both of us went downstairs to see Johnson sitting on the dining room while reading a newspaper.

     “Good evening Johnson”, Julien greeted.

    Johnson puts his newspaper down and looks at the two of us, “You already told him?” Johnson asked me.

     “So it was your idea to throw me out”, Julien joked as he sat down on his usual seat.

      I sat on my seat as well as Johnson answered, “Hopefully you understand that I did it for your safety.”

     Julien nods his head in understanding and said, “Don’t worry, I understand.”

     Then Julien looks at me and said, “But that also means you told him about my gang history as well.”

     I quickly drank some water and ignored Julien’s question.

     “I hope you understand that him telling me about you being in a gang is for Romeo’s own safety as well”, Johnson answered for me, making Julien chuckle, “Of course. Understood.”

     “Good, now let’s eat”, I say as we all started eating.

     “You know, what I’m just really confused about is…why aren’t you two even shocked after knowing that I’m a member of a gang? Are you somehow…a gang too?” Julien suddenly asked, making Johnson and I both choke on what we were eating.

     Johnson immediately cleaned himself with a napkin as I grabbed my glass again to drink some water.

     “We just handled a few gangs in the business industry before so knowing that you’re also a part of it isn’t really new to us”, Johnson smoothly answered.

     I looked at Johnson and Johnson winked, like he was secretly telling me that he got it all covered.

     I know it’s unfair that I’m keeping my true background from Julien when I keep on forcing him to tell me his. It’s just that I obviously know that him knowing more about me won’t do him any good. In fact, it might even put him in danger.

     This is the exact reason why I isolated myself from other people. I never really got close to anyone ( Except for Bryson ), because I was afraid that if they find out the true me then they’d start running away from fear.

     “Anyways, let’s just forget about this and enjoy our dinner with Julien. Hopefully we’ll get to do this again soon”, Johnson tells us, and then suddenly, a maid arrives with wine.

     “Perfect”, Johnson happily says as he grabbed the wine. He then stood up and poured wine on all of our our glasses.

     Then Johnson sits back down and suddenly lifted his glass up; “Here’s a toast for Julien. Hopefully this little complication could end with ease and we could all just go back to normal like before. And hopefully…Romeo realizes that the rooms here aren’t soundproof.”

    My eyes widened as I shouted, “Johnson!”

    “Cheers!” Johnson said instead.

    Julien laughs and lifts his glass too, “Cheers!”

     Both of them looked at me. I wanted to act angry but I just couldn’t.

     How could I anyways? This is my family, and I can’t get mad over family.

     I finally lifted my glass and looked back at the two of them, “Cheers…for a bond like this in the future.”

---

     “I’m tired”, Julien says as we were approaching his room.

     I glanced at my own bedroom and quickly grabbed Julien’s hand, “Hey”, I called out, making him stop walking.

     Julien looks back at me and says, “What is it Rome?”

    I glanced at my room again before looking back at Julien, “Wanna sleep in my room?” I asked him.

    Julien’s eyes widened from surprise.

    “Well…it’s okay if you don’t want to. We could just sleep at your-”

    Julien quickly stops me as he answered, “No, I want to sleep there.”

    I smiled and nodded my head, “Alright then”, I say as I walked towards my room while still holding Julien’s hand.

     “This will be the first time I’ve ever asked anyone to sleep here”, I tell him as I finally opened the door to my room.

     Julien and I got inside. I let go of his hand and turned on the lights.

     My room wasn’t really something that would amaze anyone. It looked like a typical room of a normal man. I wasn’t really hiding anything inside; I just really didn’t want anyone to dirty my things.

     “So…this is where you sleep”, Julien says as he admired my room.

     “I clean my own room so the maids wouldn’t have to go here. Which is why you’re the first outsider who have ever step foot inside”, I tell him as I sat down on the bed, removed my watch and gently placed it on top of the side table.

     Julien looks around.

     He goes to one of my tables and lifted a pen up, “Is this the-”

     I didn’t have to answer him because the smirk on my face obviously answered his question.

     Julien immediately looks away and clears his throat.

     He walks around the room again and stopped in front of a picture.

    “Is this…you?” he asked.

     Without looking at him, I answered, “Yeah, that’s me.”  

![](https://img.wattpad.com/84bd19ddd4e02e7e3d62a7148202f692f01f96b4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f41486752686d377a3243704344673d3d2d3534343136343134332e313531393562303762636538356463343430383836313331303635352e6a7067)

    “It says here “ Claudio and Romeo “. Is Claudio perhaps your…father?” Julien cautiously asked.

     I took a deep breath and nodded my head, “He is. His name is Claudio Valentino, the man who proudly held the title of Brave & Strong “, I answered him, making Julien look at me confusingly.

     I brushed the topic away as I said, “Forget about what I just said. Come on, let’s go to sleep.”

     Julien shyly looks at me. But before he could join me on the bed, he walked towards the light switch first to turn off the lights.

     When the room was finally dark, Julien walks towards me to finally lay beside me on the bed.

     I opened my arms so Julien could comfortably rest himself on top of it. Then he gently places his head on my shoulder while his hand touched my chest.

     When Julien was now comfortable, I hugged him tightly and gently kissed his head.

      “I’m sorry if I’m suddenly doing this to you. You know I never wanted you to leave my side right?” I asked him.

     Julien nods his head and said, “I know. And I also know that me being in a gang is making everything complicated for you. And I also understand that if people finds out that the richest bachelor is the country is dating a gang member then things might just blow out of proportion.”

    I was surprised that Julien somehow understood the situation. Somehow.

     Well, ever since I met him, he always knew what was going on without asking me anything about it.

     “T-that’s not…it”, I answered him.

     “You hesitated”, Julien quickly says, making me curse under my breath.

     “Things are just…complicated, okay? But we don’t have to look deep into it because things will go back to normal anyways”, I say, and then the whole room suddenly became silent.

     “Hey Romeo”, Julien called out after a few seconds.

     “Yeah?” I asked back.

     “You told me that you’d take revenge on the people who hurt me right?” Julien suddenly asked, and just by this question, I automatically knew where the whole conversation was going to end.

     “Yeah”, I answered.

     “If I tell you to forget about it…would you?” Julien finally asked.

     I don’t answer for a few seconds, and I knew Julien was dying to hear my answer.

     I took a deep breath and hugged Julien tighter.

     “You want me to be honest?” I asked, and Julien nodded his head as an answer.

     I leaned closer and kissed his head again before answering his first question.

     “Never.”

• END -

(20) It Begins

💋

     “And sign here”, Mat stated as he pointed at another space on the paper.

     I signed it and looked back at Mat, “Is that all?”

     Mat happily smiles and takes the papers so he could put it back inside his briefcase, “Yes, that’s all.”

     Mat, also known as Matthew Luca, has been an acquaintance of mine for almost 20 years now. Everything you want and need, Mat would be able to provide it for you. Well, unless you have the money to pay him for it.

     Currently we’re in the office at my house, signing the papers for the expensive apartment that Mat was selling me about a year ago.

     I was buying the apartment for Julien. Because a few days ago, Julien was “ assaulted “ by dozens of men who were actually following orders from Julien’s own brother. Julien, for some unfortunate reason, was actually a member of the gang, and Johnson and I suspect that his brother, and the other gang members, are here to take Julien since Julien just literally left the gang. So as a temporary solution, we decided to hide Julien while we figure out what those men really want from him ( since Julien himself wouldn’t tell us, or maybe because he too doesn’t know about it either ), and just generally wait for everything to settle down and go back to normal.

     “I have already transferred the money inside your account”, I say as I placed the pen back on my necktie.

     “Thank you my dear friend, you’re really saving my butt here”, he suddenly tells me.

     “Don’t tell me you got mixed up with loan sharks again”, I say, and Mat just smirked, like he was proud about it.

     “Seriously, you never change”, I tell him, making him chuckle.

     “Well we gotta survive this cruel world Val”, he answered, and I just nodded my head as an understanding.

     Mat takes a sip from the coffee we served him, then he looks back at me and continued, “We grew up together you know, and we both left the family when things got…bad. You got lucky and built yourself an empire, while little-old Mat here became a…marketeer.”

     I rested my back on my seat and answered him; “Well I didn’t ask you to follow me when I left.”

     “Are you kidding me? I was like an outcast in the Valentino family; you were the only Valentino there who treated me like a person. I know my father was a mere soldier to the family, but I just couldn’t take how the others treated me”, Mat honestly tells me, and the memories of him being pushed around by my “ family “ members resurfaced.

     Mat might act like it wasn’t a big deal now, but the hurt in his eyes was obviously still visible.

     “Well, for what is worth…you were the only one who treated me like a person there too”, I told him.

     Mat’s eyes widened, probably surprised since I never really said anything sweet to him before.

     “Thanks Val, that means a lot”, he says with a genuine smile.

     When the atmosphere suddenly became awkward, Mat quickly takes his fedora and wears it, “I think I should go. The apartment is ready for you so you could just go there any time.”

     I looked at Mat but didn’t answer him.

     I sighed and took my checkbook out of the drawer.

     “How much is your debt?” I asked him.

     Mat looked shock as he looked at me with confusion, “Pardon?”

     “Tell me the amount of your debt before I change my mind”, I tell him as I took my pen.

     Mat didn’t know what to do, he looked like he was lost for some reason. But soon after, his mind started functioning again. He gathered all his shit together and answered me, “A little over a…m-million?”

     I looked at him with disbelief, but wrote the digits down on my check anyways.

     “That’s two million dollars. Use the rest of the money to start again. Wisely this time”, I tell him as I handed him the check.

     Mat looked like he was about to cry as he slowly reached out for the check, “Val…I don’t know what to say.”

     “Thank you would be enough”, I jokingly tell him as I placed the pen and the checkbook back to where it originally was.

     Mat quickly stands up and removes his hat, and then he suddenly bows on the floor and said, “Thank you Val, thank you so much!”

     He always does this when I do something for him.

     “Alright, enough with that. Fucking stand up, the floor is dirty”, I stated, and Mat finally stood up from the floor.

     I stood up from my seat as well and looked at him, “That’s also a thank you…for still staying loyal to me when everyone else didn’t.”

     “Val…”

     Mat looked at me, but this time, actual tears were now pouring out of his eyes.

     “Why are you like this now?! Where’s the cold-hearted Romeo that I grew up with?!” he asked as he wiped his eyes aggressively.

     I laughed and walked towards the door, “Come on, let me show you out. And stop crying, you look ugly when you cry.”

     Mat doesn’t say anything as he takes his things and follows me downstairs.

     Johnson, who was sitting on the living room, quickly stood up when he saw us.

     “Mat’s leaving?” he asked.

     “Yes he is”, I answered.

     Johnson looked at Mat and was shocked to see that his eyes were all red. But after a few seconds, Johnson chuckles and said, “Romeo paid for your debt again didn’t he?”

     Mat doesn’t say anything, but he pouts and nods his head.

     Johnson then looks at me and says, “You’re spoiling him again. How will he learn if you keep on doing that?”

     “Give the kid some slack”, I say as I looked back at Mat.

     “W-Well…thank you again”, Mat says as he goes to Johnson to give him a quick hug. Then Mat looks at me and shows me his hand.

    I looked down and looked at his hands. Since I’ve known Mat for a long time, he also knows about my OCD, so he wears leather gloves like everyone else does when they meet me. But it’s weird to actually see him wear it now since we practically share spoons when we were growing up before.

     I took a deep breath and smiled at him. Then I removed the glove on my right hand and showed it to him, “For old time’s sake.”

     Mat looked like he was going to cry again, but he stops himself and immediately removed the glove on his hand as well.

     Mat’s hand was covered with healed bruises, and there was a V tattoo on his middle finger, a symbol that Mat is an underling of the Valentino Family.

     “Let’s meet again my old friend”, I say as Mat grabbed my hand for a handshake.

     Mat’s hand was rough, not like Julien’s hand that was soft and smooth. The feeling was unusual, but somehow, I didn’t mind it.

     “I’m always here for you Val…till my last dying breath”, Mat stated as he pulls his hands away. He looks back at Johnson and me, and then he nods his head and leaves the house.

    “It’s good to see him again”, I honestly say as I watched the door close.

     Johnson patted my back and said, “I’m proud of you.”

     I smiled and nodded my head as I wore the glove back.

     “Anyways, where’s Julien? He needs to leave immediately”, I stated. And like I casted a summoning spell, Julien walks down the stairs with a backpack.

     “Are we ready to leave?” Julien asked as he walked towards me.

     I draped my arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the head, “ You’re ready to leave actually.“

     “You’re?” Julien asked confusingly as he moved away from me.

     Johnson awkwardly clears his throat and suddenly says, “I-I’ll…I’ll be outside if you guys need me”, then he goes outside, leaving me alone with Julien.

     Seconds later Julien’s eyes widened from realization, “You’re not even coming with me to the apartment aren’t you.”

     I sighed and placed both of my hands on Julien’s cheeks, “I can’t come with you, if people sees you leaving with me then what’s the sense of all this? We have to be cautious.”

     Julien lifts his arm to rest his hand on top of mine, “You’re unfair.”

     “I’m cautious”, I answered back as I put my hands down.

     “A driver will be waiting for you outside. We already talked about this last night so I don’t have to repeat everything. I also texted you the room number and the door password so just check that when you arrive. And please, don’t talk to anyone”, I explained.

     Julien doesn’t say anything but nods his head instead.

    I sighed and apologetically looked back at him, “I’m sorry if I’m doing this to you. It’s just…I’ve lost too many people that I care about, and I don’t know what I’d do if I lose another one.”

     “Rome”, Julien says, and then he suddenly pulled my necktie and gave me a tight hug.

    “I understand Mr. Romeo Valentino, so there’s no need for you to apologize”, Julien sweetly tells me.

     “It will be over as soon as I find out what those men are really trying to do to you. And when everything else goes back to normal”, I say as I slowly pushed Julien away from me.

     “Alright”, Julien says. He then takes a deep breath and continued, “Then I think I should go. The sooner I get there, the better right?”

     I looked at him and nodded my head.

     “Then…I’ll see you”, Julien awkwardly says as he slowly walks away.

     But before he could reach the door, I grabbed him by the hand, making him stop.

     “What is it?” Julien asked as he turns around to look at me again.

     I let go of his hand and asked, “Do you trust me?”

     Julien looked confused at first, but he smiles and nods his head anyways, “Always Rome.”

     “Then come closer, I have something important to tell you”, I say, and Julien moved closer until he was a few inches away from me.

     I clenched on my fist, and I felt my heart suddenly beating fast. I gulped and moved even closer to him, and without anything to lose, I leaned forward and gave Julien a quick kiss on the lips.

     Julien gasps and takes a step back, obviously shocked.

     I quickly felt embarrassed as I defended, “I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

    I was ready to give Julien this very long explanation on why I suddenly kissed him, but I stopped when I  saw his face turning red.

     I finally eased as I saw his reaction. Julien bites his lower lip and finally looks back at me, “C-can you say that again? I didn’t understand it the first time”, he shyly asked.

     He looked fucking cute that my pants were suddenly getting tighter.

     But I brushed the thought away and moved closer to Julien again. Then I leaned forward for the second time and gave Julien another kiss.

     The kiss felt good, not lustful. I opened my lips a little to get a better taste on Julien’s soft pink lips. Then, I gently bit his lower lip before pulling away.

     “I always wanted to know how it feels when you bite that”, I say with a smirk. Making Julien hit my chest from embarrassment.

     Both of us stared deeply at each other for almost a minute.

     I knew no one wanted to look away, but Julien immediately clears his throat and says; “Now I really need to go.”

     “Y-Yes, of course”, I answered.

     Julien nods his head and goes to the door, before grabbing the doorknob; Julien looks back at me and says, “No goodbyes okay?”

     I nod my head back at him and answered, “No goodbyes.”

     And just like that, Julien was gone.

(3 days later)

     “Did you pass all the documents to President King?” I asked as I was walking down the hallway at the company building.

     Johnson, who was now my secretary as well since Julien wasn’t here anymore, quickly followed behind me as he answered, “Already did. And President Sterling also emailed you the report from yesterday, said he needs the feedback as soon as you can.”

     “Okay, I’ll check it later”, I answered as I got inside the elevator, Johnson just right behind me.

     “And the documents for my presentation next week, have you transferred it already?” I asked. Johnson sighs and answered, “I forgot, but I’ll do it as soon as we get back.”

     “You forgot?” I asked him with my right eyebrow raised.

    Johnson sighs again and says, “It’s hard to be your private assistant, driver, and secretary at the same time you know. And why are you suddenly busy? When Julien was your secretary you weren’t this-”

     Johnson suddenly paused and said, “Wait a second. You’re busying yourself on purpose aren’t you?”

     I took a deep breath but didn’t answer him.

    “Rome, it hasn’t even been a week and you’re already doing this to yourself. And come on, you practically talk to each other every time you’re on a break, how on earth are you still missing him at that point?” Johnson asked confusingly.

     Thankfully the elevator door opens so I didn’t have to answer his question.

     Johnson immediately follows behind me and continued, “If you miss him so much, then just ask him to go back. Those…”

     Johnson paused and whispered close to my ear, “ Dark Saints… “

     Then he moves away and continued, “Haven’t done anything else after the day they left that note anyways. Maybe they just wanted to take revenge on Julien for leaving them all of a sudden, and after that they all went back to Korea.”

     “Until I find any proof that Julien is safe then I’ll ask him to go back”, I answered as we now arrived outside the building where the car was waiting for us.

     “Alright, but you have to promise me that you won’t tire yourself just because you miss your boyfriend”, Johnson shamelessly says in public, making my face become hotter.

     I purposely ignored Johnson’s question, “Let’s go, I’m hungry”, I answered instead as I hurriedly went inside the car.

     Johnson laughs and places all my things beside my seat before closing the door. Then he goes to the driver’s seat and starts the engine, “Then it’s a good thing I requested the maids to cook steak for our dinner tonight.”

     Johnson drives off and I stare outside the window like I always do.

     But as I was staring outside the window, my heart was suddenly racing, like something was wrong for some reason.

     I was uneasily bouncing my leg up and down, and I think Johnson noticed my worried expression.

     “Is everything okay back there?” Johnson asked as he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

     I took the pen from my necktie and squeezed it hard, “Drive faster.”

     “What?” Johnson asked confusingly.

     I was squeezing on the pen so hard that I thought it was going to break.

     “Something’s not right…” I simply say, and I knew that Johnson immediately understood what I was talking about.

     So Johnson drove faster until we arrived at the house earlier as expected.

     I placed the pen back on my necktie and immediately went outside of the car.

     I practically ran towards the front entrance, but I immediately had to stop as soon as I saw something on the door.

    The number  23  was carved on the door by what I suspect was done with a knife.

     I stared at the writing with complete confusion, but soon, my heart dropped.

     “Romeo?” Johnson called out before I could even grab the doorknob.

     Johnson’s eyes widened as he saw the text on the door as well.

     “Stay back”, Johnson says as he pushes me away from the door.

    My whole body was suddenly trembling as Johnson slowly grabbed the doorknob. He agonizingly twists the doorknob and slowly pushes the door open so he could take a peek. But the moment he opened the door, Johnson gasps and fell on the floor; his eyes wide and his hands covering his mouth.

     Johnson looked so terrified. It looked like he just saw a ghost.

     “J-Johnson?” I asked as I looked down at him.

    When it was clear that Johnson was too shocked to even answer me, I gulped and lifted my head to see what he was looking at.

    The door slowly opens wider. But when it was now wide-open for me to see everything, my heart almost dropped as I now saw what was in front of me.

     I stood there like a statue, unable to move as I stared at my maids lying dead on the cold floor.

     “T-This can’t be…” I say as my whole body trembled. I was taking a few steps back but I couldn’t look away.

     “R-Romeo…G-Go to the car”, Johnson tried to tell me, but he was obviously still in a state of shock himself.

    “Romeo”, Johnson called out again, but all I could do was stare as tears slowly went out of my eyes.

     All my maids were lying on the floor, there heads covered in blood like they were directly shot there. 

     There was a pool of blood on the floor, and someone wrote on the wall by using the blood from my own maids. And like the writing on the door, the bloody wall read: It Begins.

    Johnson and I were quiet for a couple of seconds. But we got back to our senses when my phone suddenly rings.

     I slowly took my phone from my pocket.

    Calling: Antonio Valentino.

• END -

(21) He’s Back

💋

     “I-It’s uncle…” I say as I was trying my best not to drop my phone.

     Johnson finally stands up from the floor. He was panting heavily, but he takes my phone from my hand anyway. He answers the call and puts it on speaker mode so both of us could hear it.

     “ Where are you right now? “ my uncle quickly asked the moment we answered the call.

     Johnson looked at me, and it was obvious I wasn’t in the right state to be answering him right now, so Johnson answered for me instead, “This is Johnson sir Antonio, and I’m back at the house with Romeo.”

     “ Then where the fuck is Romeo? “ my uncle asked, and by the tone of his voice, he didn’t sound happy.

     I glanced inside my house and saw the blood again. The sight of it automatically made my heart start beating faster like before.

     I was biting on my tongue and started counting just so I could ease myself.

     I closed my eyes, trying to think of something else so my mind wouldn’t be consumed by dark and taunting memories.

      “ Happy thoughts “, I said to myself.

     The bad memories was slowly appearing, but not like before, the images were blurry. Suddenly, there was light, and all I could think about…was Julien.

     “He’s…not feeling well”, I heard Johnson answer.

     “ You’re not going to fool me, I know Romeo’s there so let me talk to him now“, my uncle persistently says.

     Johnson sighs, but he still doesn’t give me the phone, “Alright, he’s beside me right now. Go ahead and talk since he’s listening.”

     Uncle Antonio would just ask to hear my voice first, but it was obvious that he was in a hurry so he started explaining himself instead, “Dario fucking Alfonzo called me just now, and you know what he told me? He said Romeo is currently acquainted with a member of the Dark Saints “, Antonio angrily stated.

     “That is not true sir!” Johnson immediately answered him.

     “ Then prove it to us. We’re going to have an emergency meeting now, I want Romeo here and I want him to explain to me every…single…detail “, my uncle suddenly says, finally making me take the phone from Johnson’s hand.

     “Alright, I’ll be there”, I answered before ending the call.

     Johnson looked at me with shock as he said, “Y-You’re going? Romeo, you might have a mental breakdown. You might-”

     I immediately lifted my hand to stop Johnson.

     I quickly closed my eyes and cleared my head. The trembling of my hand finally stopped, and the image of Julien silently sleeping in my arm suddenly appeared.

     Julien has given me so many happy thoughts that I’m forgetting the bad once and have started remembering how it feels like when I was once a strong man.

     “ It begins “, I whispered as I remembered the writings on the wall.

     I opened my eyes and looked at Johnson.

     I went to the door and closed it, then I angrily pointed at the number that’s carved in it, “They barged into my home, disrespected my name…and killed my people”, I say as I looked back at Johnson.

     “For the first time in my life Johnson…I’m not scared.”

     I angrily clenched my fist as I continued, “I’m fucking furious.”

     Johnson was shocked, but I could see pride and happiness in his expression.

     “Then what’s your plan?” Johnson asked, finally feeling at ease now too after what we have seen.

     I was about to answer him but then I immediately dialed Julien’s number.

     The phone rings, and then it rings again.

     “Please…please answer it”, I say as his phone rings again.

     I was gripping on the phone as my heart started pounding while I waited for Julien to answer.

     “ Romeo? “ Julien finally answered back, making me sigh in relief.

     “Oh thank god you’re okay. Thank god”, I say, finally at ease just by hearing Julien’s voice.

     “ Romeo? Is everything okay? “ Julien asked, suddenly sounding worried.

     “Yes, everything’s fine. Just stay inside the apartment”, I told him.

     “ Rome, something’s wrong, and I know it. “

     “N-No, I just wanted to hear your voice…I’ll talk to you as soon as I can”, I answered, immediately ending the call so Julien couldn’t ask me anything anymore.

     “So?” Johnson asked as I placed the phone back inside my pocket.

     “Drop me at the café, then head straight to where Julien is. I want you to make sure he’s safe”, I told him, and Johnson nodded in understanding.

     I sighed, and then both of us became quiet as we just stood there in front of the door, remembering what just happened inside the house.

     “I’ll check the house. See if someone’s still…alive”, Johnson says as he was about to enter the room.

     “I’ll come with you”, I tell him, shocking Johnson even more.

     “Are you sure?” he asked with disbelief.

     I took a deep breath but nodded my head anyways, “T-They’re my people. Their death…is practically my fault.”

     Johnson sighs.

     I knew that he wanted to decline and say that I should just stay outside, but after arguing with himself, he nods his head and says, “Alright, let’s go.”

     Johnson goes inside first while I followed behind him.

     The whole house smelled like blood. It was such a familiar smell that it made me feel uncomfortable again. But not like before, I didn’t feel anything anymore. There weren’t any bad memories that would start flashing in front of me. It was like everything that I was, was coming back. The selfish, cold, and emotionless monster that I was is slowly trying to come out again.

     It was like I finally got tired of just seeing the people I cared about slowly get taken away from me.

     It was like my body was finally ready to fight back.

     Johnson looked around the house. He went upstairs and immediately went back to the living room.

     “All the cabinets and drawers are open. They didn’t steal anything, but they were obviously looking for something”, Johnson says as he stood beside me.

     “They were obviously looking for something that would give them information on where we hid Julien”. I told him.

     Johnson looked at me and asked, “Then you think the Dark Saints did this?”

     “Who else?” I answered. Then I looked at the scene and continued, “All the maids are here, and just by the looks of it, the men who barged inside might have gathered them all here, interrogated them and shot them in the head when they didn’t answer.”

     “They know about Julien being here, and they must have heard about him staying at the apartment you just bought when Mat visited. But…even when death was right in front of them…they didn’t tell them where Julien was.”

     I sighed and slowly kneeled in front of the maid who always woke me up whenever the food was ready.

    I hesitated at first but I touched her hand for the first time before saying, “They need to be buried properly. They’ve stayed loyal to me even after their last dying breath, and I have to make sure to avenge them as my payment.”

---

     “We’re here”, Johnson says as he parks the car in front of the café.

     “Make sure Julien is safe. I’ll accompany you as soon as I’m done here”, I say as I went out of the car. The moment I closed the door, Johnson drives away.

     The two guards in front of the door nods their head and opens the door for me.

     I went inside.

     Everyone who was doing their own business, immediately stopped to greet me, “Welcome back sir Romeo.”

     I ignored all of them as I quickly went straight to the long table where my family was waiting.

     When I arrived, everyone looked mad at me, especially uncle Antonio. But this time, I didn’t mind the stares, because after what I just saw today, nothing else could faze me anymore.

     “I’m surprised you didn’t bring that woman here with you”, I say as I looked at everyone.

     “You’re mother isn’t a Valentino anymore, which is why she can’t come here”, Uncle Antonio stated, emphasizing the word “ mother “.

     I rolled my eyes and don’t say anything anymore.

     “Sit down”, my uncle says, but I was already sitting down as he said it.

    “Before I ask you a question, I want to tell you something first”, my uncle starts.

    I don’t say anything and just waited for him to continue.

     “It is in our rules that a member of the family, especially a man in…your position…cannot be acquainted to any family or group who is not partnered with us. It is because we follow a certain standard, and it is for the safety of the family’s well-being”, my uncle explained.

     “Am I just here to sit down and listen to you lecturing me about the rules that my father has already taught me since I was five?” I asked him, and I could see my uncle getting angrier.

     “I’m not here to play games with you Romeo”, uncle Antonio quickly tells me.

     “I’m not here to play games either”, I fired back.

     “I knew it. Calling for this man is just a waste of our time. He doesn’t respect the rules, he doesn’t respect tradition, and he definitely does not respect the family”, a man who was a few chairs away from me stated.

     “Respect? Here we go again with respect. That’s all you men could say to my face too when we had our meeting last time. You expect me to respect you but when my father was still alive you treated me like trash”, I say, making everyone quiet. Some even had to look away.

     “Do I have to remind you again that the same exact people in this table are the same men who proposed to my father to kick me out from the household? Your plans could have run smoothly if my father didn’t die, he wasn’t able to sign your stupid proposal, which is why I am sadly still sitting here right now”, I reminded them.

     “With all due respect Mr. Romeo Valentino, it is not the right time to mention the past. We are here to discuss about something you did, so you are here to listen to-”

     I quickly cut the man off and stood up from my seat, “No. It’s about time you listen to ME”, I angrily said, making everyone in the café look at me.

     When everyone looked like they were ready to listen, I began my speech.

     “I’ve gained the respect that I needed from other people without the help of this god forsaken family. I built my name, built my empire, and earned millions while this once powerful family crumbled. I grew because the people around me treated me like family while my own flesh and blood threw me away. I don’t need the respect of men who have done nothing for me, and I do not give respect to those who have thought lowly of me”, I honestly tell them.

     “I’m tired of listening to your complains while I sat down and did nothing. The only reason why you have the guts to even open your worthless mouth is because you think I won’t fight back. But too bad, those wonderful days are over”, I continued, and then I took out a pin that was in a shape of a rose and gently placed it on top of the table.

     This was a pin that all my maids wore when they worked for me.

     Everyone in the room looked at it with confusion, obviously dying to know what it was.

     “All of my maids died tonight”, I finally say, making everyone gasp from shock.

     My uncle’s eyes widened as he looked at me, “What? Who did such a thing?” he asked from shock.

     “The Dark Saints”, I answered, and everyone in the room started talking at the same time.

     My uncle slammed the table, making everyone quiet in an instant, “So it’s true?!” my uncle shouted angrily.

     I looked at everyone and answered, “Yes, I am acquainted with a member of a gang called Dark Saints.”

     Everyone was even more shocked that I admitted it. But they were too shocked that they couldn’t even react to what I just said. 

     My uncle was about to say something but I immediately added, “I am acquainted to him. And if you dare touch him…I wouldn’t need your respect, because I will give you a reason why you should fear me instead.”

     “Romeo!” my uncle angrily shouted, but I ignored him.

     For the first time in years, the men sitting on the table looked scared, while the men who always respected me looked at me with pride, like they were saying that, “ he’s finally back. “

     The Romeo that they once knew is no more.

     I’m tired to just waiting and listening.

     I can’t be weak anymore, especially now when I have someone who I want to protect. Someone who gives me more happiness than everyone in this room has given me.

     Julien has finally made me into a strong man. And I will make sure that this strong man will avenge everyone who has hurt the people I care about.

     No more tears.

     No more hiding in the dark.

     Let the blood pour.

     Let me dirty my hands.

     I was once filled with hate and fear. I hid myself because I couldn’t stand the thought of going back to what I was before. But what I was before was a man who is capable of protecting Julien.

     Nothing can consume me anymore.

     Nothing.

    “Now…what were your complains?”

• END -

(21.5) Little Boss

NOTE: that picture is just too beautiful so I had to put that there 😭 credits to the owner of the picture.

💋

     “Master Romeo! Where are you?!” a maid shouted as I hid inside a cabinet.

     “Did you find him?” another maid asked.

     “No. But we need to find him fast before the party starts.”

     “How can a ten year old kid be so troublesome?!” the maid angrily shouted before running off with the other maid.

     I sighed and stepped out of the cabinet.

     “ I’m not a kid anymore so I don’t need fucking babysitters “, I silently say as I glanced at the small knife that I stole at the kitchen.

     “ This will definitely be useful “, I mumbled to myself. Then I suddenly heard noise coming from the other end of the hallway so I immediately tucked the knife behind my coat and ran off.

     Thankfully this household is enormous, so the maids wouldn’t be able to find me so easily.

     “ Everyone is already complaining! “ I suddenly heard someone shout from the meeting room.

     The door was slightly open. So I slowly walked my way towards it to peek on the small gap.

     My father was sitting on the middle like he always does while the board members and my uncle Antonio sat around him.

     “He should stay with his mother at the Roselli household. All he does is make trouble here”, another man tells my father.

     “He is just a boy”, my father answered, obviously irritated since everyone in the room was talking at the same time.

    “A boy who almost set the whole house on fire the other day!” another old man shouted.

     “That was an accident”, my uncle defended, then everyone started talking at the same time again.

     “ Oh come on, my father will never kick me out of my own house “, I say with a smirk.

     “Fine!” my father suddenly shouted, making everyone in the room quiet.

     Father massages his temple and answered, “I will think about transferring Romeo to the Roselli household.”

     “W-What?” I asked from shock.

     I slowly backed away as the men started smiling happily at my father’s decision. Then I quickly turned around, my face suddenly hitting someone.

     “Romeo? What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked.

      I lifted my head and saw Johnson.

     “Johnson, they’re going to kick me out of the house!” I quickly told him.

    Johnson looks at me confusingly, and then he glanced at the door and realized what I was talking about.

    I thought he was going to defend me, but he chuckles and pats my head instead, “Oh Romeo, your father won’t do such a thing, he loves you too much to do that.”

     “R-Really?” I nervously asked.

     “Yes, and to tell you a secret…” Johnson kneels down and whispered in my ear, “ They’ve been asking your father about that ever since you were born. “

     “Huh?” I confusingly asked.

     “Those old men have been dying to kick you out ever since you were born so they’d get a chance to become the head of the family since Don Claudio wouldn’t have a heir. They’ll keep asking your father that even until you get older, but believe me, he will never agree to it. He only says he will just so they could shut up”, Johnson explains, finally making me sigh from relief.

     “Well they can’t take the position away from me. I’m a Valentino”, I proudly said.

     Johnson chuckles and answered, “Yes you are, which also means you’re both protected and in danger at the same time. So, like what I always tell you…”

     “Trust no one”, I answered back.

    Johnson smiles and pats my head again, “That’s good. Now, can I trust you on not making any trouble today? There will be a party tonight and I need you to be at your best behaviour.”

     “Of course Johnson”, I quickly answered him.

    Johnson smiles and fixes my tie, then he stands back up and says, “Now go to the garden, I think Mat is there watering the flowers.”

     I excitedly smiled and hugged Johnson, “Thanks Johnson. You always know what to say.”

    “Of course. Anything for my little boss.”

-END-

![](https://img.wattpad.com/9cfe43698b6329d133637b7c97ee409ca0bc6b99/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f38384543715a2d4b5276657244673d3d2d3534373235313637362e313531626134366631313534356564643230363237393032303731322e6a7067)

(22) Dark Saints

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     “Now…what were your complains?” I asked with a smirk.

     Everyone didn’t dare say anything. The atmosphere of the room quickly changed, and I wanted to laugh because of it.

    “Romeo”, my uncle called out, quickly making me look back at him.

     “This does not change the fact that you are acquainted with a member of a very powerful gang”, uncle Antonio explained.

     I nodded my head and said, “I know, but listen to me first.”

    My uncle wanted to say something else, but he sighs and nods his head, “Alright, since this is the first time you’re actually participating in our meetings, I’ll give you your spotlight”, my uncle answered.

     I looked at everyone and started with my explanation, “The man that I’m acquainted to works for me at the company. Everything was fine until something bad happened. You see this man ran away and left that gang, now the gang is coming for him and they want to kill him, and through all the ruckus I got included in it.”

     “So you’re saying he’s somehow not a part of the gang anymore?” my uncle asked.

     “Yes…well, in a sense. I was going to let the gang slide, but…they decided to kill my people, and that’s declaration of war”, I stated, making everyone start talking again.

     “That is true, especially when you’re a pure-blood Valentino. But, if you haven’t forgotten Romeo, you are not in a position anymore to declare war to another group. You are a mere member of this family because of your name, nothing more”, my uncle explained.

     “So you’re telling me that you can’t help me”, I say, and I swore I heard someone laugh.

     “If you want this family to help you Romeo, then you know what you have to do. Accept your fate, accept the position that your father had left, and then we will negotiate with you”, uncle Antonio explained further, making me curse under my breath.

     “And what? Be the head of the family so everyone could push me around again?” I asked as I angrily looked at the board members.

     My uncle sat up straight and answered me, “It will be in your hands if you want the men to push you around, or respect you like how they respected Claudio.”

     “No, I won’t lead the people who threw me away when I was in pain. I will deal with that gang on my own and I will protect Julien even if it kills me”, I seriously say, suddenly making my uncle’s eyes widen from shock.

     He immediately stood up from his seat and looked at me, “J-Julien…you said Julien.”

     I looked at him confusingly. Then I said, “Yes, Julien Choi. He’s the member of the gang that I’m acquainted with.”

     Everyone in the room gasped, making me confused and irritated even more since they obviously knew something about Julien that I didn’t.

    Uncle looked like he was going to lose balance when he heard me say Julien’s name. He quickly held the table for support as he looked back at me, “The B-Black Angel? He’s…he’s alive? “

     And with that question, I knew this was something serious. There was something important here that I didn’t know that everyone else clearly knew about.

     “What are you talking about? Of course he’s alive”, I say.

     Uncle looked at me with disbelief and asked, “Romeo, do you have any idea who that man is?”

     I didn’t say anything, but my confused expression was already an answer.

     “Romeo, that man…he’s the next heir to the Dark Saints”, my uncle revealed, my heart almost stopping because of the information that I just heard.

     “W-What?”

     “He’s not just a member, he’s the son of the sinful. Those men that you’re referring to, they’re not here to kill him, they’re here to take him”, my uncle says, making me confused even more.

     “No, his brother is here. He came here and almost tortured him, why on earth would he do that to his own brother if he knew that-”

     Uncle quickly cuts me off and said, “ The Dragon ? He knew that his brother was alive?“

     Alright. Nothing fucking makes sense here.

     “Enough with this unanswered questions. Tell me everything you know about him and this gang”, I say as I sat down on my seat.

     My uncle looks at me. I thought he was going to answer but instead, “And why would I do that?” my uncle dared ask me.

     I slammed my hand on the table and said, “Because you already started running your mouth, no point stopping now.”

     My uncle angrily looked at me because of my rude comment, but he sighs and nods his head anyways.

     “Alright, I’ll remember everything I know about them for your sake. So you’d know how dangerous the Dark Saints are”, uncle Antonio finally says.

     Uncle looked like he was arranging his thoughts. When he was ready, he started explaining, “The Sinful is the head of the gang. He has four children, two girls, and two boys; all in which are from three different women. His first child from his original wife is Hana Choi . She was a girl so she couldn’t be the heir since a gang can only be ruled by a man. Next is from his first mistress, a son, Kim Jiyong . He is not from the original wife so he is not the heir. His third child is another girl from another mistress, Park Minji , a girl, and not from the original wife, so she’s also not the heir. The sinful did not have a boy from the original wife, so he was about to declare that his heir would be Kim Jiyong. But before he could make it official, they found out that his original wife was finally pregnant with a boy, and that boy is  Julien 

Choi

. Julien was trained to be the next heir, but, there was news in the underworld that his own father suddenly killed him because of something that boy did that no one knew about. We were sure that Jiyong would be the heir again, but no news was ever announced. And now we know why.“

     “It’s because Julien is actually still alive”, I added. Now understanding the whole situation.

     Julien, why would you hide something like this from me?

     “Then that only means his brother really is here to kill him. So he could redeem the position of heir”, I say, and uncle nodded his head as an agreement, “That might be true. But knowing the Black Angel, there will also be men who are loyal to him and not loyal to Kim Jiyong. So there will be another group of men who would want to take him back instead.”

     “Aright, but Julien ran away. He doesn’t want to be part of the gang anymore. That Jiyong guy can just take it”, I explained, then a man sitting near me surprisingly answered, “They’re not fighting for the position of heir anymore. The sinful…he died two weeks ago. They’re now fighting for the position of head of the gang, and Kim cannot take the position until the son from the original wife is still alive.”

     Two weeks ago?

     During those days Julien was raped.

    “If people thought Julien was killed, then why does his brother know he’s alive? And why on earth did he find out he was here?” I asked, and no one answered me. Obviously they didn’t know the answer either.

     “We don’t know the whole story, we only know the story that’s circulating in the underworld”, my uncle explained.

     I immediately stood up and looked at everyone, “Then I have to go. If something like this is happening then Julien is really in danger.”

     My uncle immediately stood up as well and said, “No, I was going to let this slide but after finding out who it really was then I am not letting you leave. You are now in danger too by just being near that man.”

     “Then what do you want me to do? Let his own brother kill him?” I asked, trying my best not to get angry again.

     “You shouldn’t care if he gets killed! You should be sensitive enough to know that if you get killed this whole family will no longer exist anymore. You are the only original blood that is still alive, once you die the family will no longer have a reason to continue”, uncle seriously tells me.

     I wanted to get mad, to tell them that I didn’t really care if this family finally discontinued. But this family is the only memory I have with my father. He did everything to protect them, and he died for them too.

     And maybe the reason why I’m still alive, and the reason why I didn’t kill myself when my entire world practically crumbled is because I knew about this fact, and I didn’t want to end the family name.

     “You do not understand how important that man is to me”, I say with a pained expression, shocking everyone on what they just heard.

     “Let me leave and go to him, and I promise I will return here in one piece”, I continued.

     “Romeo, you’re making this hard for me”, my uncle says.

     “Uncle, please. How many times have I begged you for something?” I asked back. My uncle sighs and shakes his head, “None.”

     Then he walks towards me and casually held my shoulder, “You’re a changed man, and I could see it. I’ve waited for this day to come, and I could see that the reason why you’re a changed man is because of Julien Choi.”

     “Not a changed man uncle. I just came back to the old me”, I told him.

     Uncle nods his head and says, “It’s nice to protect someone doesn’t it?”

     I don’t say anything but nod my head back.

     Uncle takes a deep breath, like he just made the biggest decision of his life, “Alright, you may leave. But know that we cannot help you even if you’re in danger. Those are the rules.”

     “I know”, I say, then uncle finally lets go of my shoulders.

      Everyone stood up as I left the café.

      I took out my phone and called my good friend Mat, “Matthew?”

     “Hey Val! Just paid off the loan sharks and invested the rest of the money on-”

      I quickly cut Mat off and said, “Mat, how would you like to serve me again?”

      Mat became quiet. Seconds later, his always-happy voice changed into a serious one as he finally answered back, “What seems to be the problem boss?”

---

     “What?!” Mat shouted as we were driving our way to the apartment where Johnson and Julien were.

     “Okay, let me get this straight. You got a new boyfriend, and coincidentally that boyfriend of yours is the next head of the famous gang Dark Saints, then the Valentino Family found out about it and you literally rubbed it in their face that you can do anything you want?!” Mat shouted as his eyes were still on the road.

     I was sitting at the back as I answered, “Yes, and you don’t have to be shocked that I can actually talk back to those old farts.”

     Mat aggressively shakes his head and answers back, “No! I’m not shocked about that! I’m actually shocked you were gay all this time!”

     “Seriously? After everything I just told you, you get concerned about that?” I asked him. Mat looks at me through the rearview mirror and says, “S-Sorry, I was just surprised. But anyways, you bought the apartment for him so you could hide him from whoever tried to hurt him, which was actually his brother.”

     “Yup”, I simply answered.

     Mat smiles at me and says, “Then you really must like him. You knew about the consequences but you still did this anyways.”

    “I never cared about anyone ever since shit happened because I was scared of losing them. So now that I have Julien, I have to protect him with everything I can”, I say, and I could see Mat stupidly smirking through the rearview mirror.

    “Now I’m kinda jealous. I’m your friend for almost 20 years and you don’t even call me up to go eat dinner. You replace me with that Bryson friend of yours, now you have that Julien kid. Where do I stand now?” Mat jokingly asked.

     I ignored his question and said instead, “That’s actually what I’m concerned about too.”

     “What is?”

     I sighed and looked out the window, “Bryson is the one who brought me to the club where I met Julien, and coincidentally, President King is the one who made Julien work at the company. Don’t you think that me meeting Julien was actually planned?”

     “Wait, why didn’t you tell me this sooner?! Of course that’s planned! It’s pretty obvious!” Mat says.

     “Then why? Why would President King want me to meet Julien?” I asked, and Mat looked confused about that too.

     “Damn, this is too confusing that you won’t even know where to start”, Mat honestly says.

     “It is, but for now my top priority is to see Julien. Nothing more.”

---

     “Johnson”, I called out as I knocked on the door. Seconds later, Johnson opens the door to see me with Mat.

     “Romeo, thank god you’re okay. What happened, what did the family say?” Johnson quickly asked.

     “A lot happened, and I’ll tell everything to you later. For now I need to see-”

     “Romeo?” I heard Julien say before I could even finish my sentence.

     Johnson opened the door, revealing Julien with his eyes red from crying.

     “Oh baby…”

     “Romeo!” Julien shouted as he ran to me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me in for a hug, “I heard everything from Johnson. Romeo I’m so sorry, this is my entire fault. I should have told you everything, I should have-”

    “Please don’t cry. It’s not your fault, okay?” I reassured him as I hugged Julien tighter.

    “Uhm…I think you guys should talk inside. Johnson and I will stay out here”, Mat suggested as he awkwardly stood there while looking at us.

     I let go of Julien and looked back at Johnson and Mat, “Alright”, then I pulled Julien inside the room before closing the door.

    “Romeo I-”

     I quickly cut Julien off as I pushed him against the wall. I held his cheeks and aggressively started kissing him.

     Julien looked like he was struggling, but after some time, he relaxed and draped his arms around my neck as I draped my own arms around his waist.

    I pulled Julien closer. Pushing my tongue in so he could open his mouth wider.

    His tongue was hot and wet. He slides his own tongue inside mine as we continued to aggressively devour each other.

     Julien slowly pushed me away to catch his breath, “Romeo…wait.”

     “No. More”, I say instead as I pulled Julien closer to kiss him again.

    Julien was trying to push away but I didn’t allow him to. I kissed him deeper and even pushed my body against him.

     Julien was clenching on my shoulder now, so I finally stopped kissing him.

     I was panting heavily as I looked straight at his eyes. Then, out of nowhere, tears started pouring out of my eyes.

     The emotions suddenly hit me like a hammer.

      Everything that happened today started flashing right before my eyes.

     “Rome”, Julien gently called out as he quickly embraced me.

     I hugged him back and lowered my head on his shoulder, “T-they’re dead Julien. Every one of them died and I wasn’t even there to protect them”, I say as I continued to cry on Julien’s shoulder.

    Julien was crying now too as he hugged me even tighter, “I’m here Romeo. Just let it all out. I’m here.”

     “They could have taken you too. They could have killed you too”, I continued to say, tears still pouring out of my eyes.

    “I’m still here Rome. I’m safe because of you so you don’t have to worry. You were able to protect me like what you said”, Julien tells me so I could feel better. But something inside me was still in pain.

     “I talked to my family, I tried to be strong like what you wanted. But it hurts…it hurts so much Julien”, I added.

     Julien doesn’t say anything anymore and just silently hugged me.

     I cried for minutes, hugging Julien as he took all the pain out of me like how he always does.

     I could scare thousands of men with one command. I could act tough and strong in front of my own family. But my weak and pained self…can only be witnessed by him. No one else.

• END -

(23) Left Behind

💋

     “Here”, Julien says as he placed a pitcher of water on top of the table.

     The four of us were sitting at the living room of the apartment, thinking of what to do next since bad things have finally started. Julien wasn’t the only one involved here now. I was also involved now because the Dark Saints killed my people, and I will not sit around and wait for them to kill more of my people.

     “By the way, this is Matthew Luca”, I say as I looked at Julien and gestured my hand at Mat.

     Mat quickly stands up and politely gives a bow, “Mat Luca, at your service.”

     “Nice to meet you”, Julien says as he sat down beside me.

     “He works at the black market”, I added.

     Julien nods his head in understanding and says, “So he’s a marketer.”

    Of course he knows that too.

     “Yes I am, and the best one at it. I know everyone in the black market. So everything you need, I can give it to you. Well, of course if you have the money”, Mat says with a grin, and then he sits back down beside Johnson.

     “So, what do we do now?” Johnson asked.

     “Before we do anything, I have to say something to Julien first”, I say as I looked at Julien seriously.

    Julien didn’t even look nervous. He stared at me for a couple of seconds, like he was reading me, then suddenly he says, “You know about me being the next head of the Dark Saints don’t you?”

     Everyone in the room became shocked, including me.

    “Wait a second, you’re not just a member? You’re a fucking heir?!” Johnson asked, his expression obviously in shock with the sudden news.

    “I am”, Julien simply answered. Then he pointed at the tattoo on his face and added, “This is the symbol. Only the heads and heirs can have this symbol on their face.”

     “So we’re really dealing with real shit here”, Mat says, also in disbelief even though I already explained to him everything earlier.

    “So your brother is here to…”

    I looked at Julien but didn’t dare finish. But he nods his head and finished for me anyway, “kill me. He’s here to kill me so he could reclaim it.”

     “Are you an original blood?” Johnson asked.

     ( If you don’t know what original blood is until now well it’s basically the son of the head of the family and the legal wife. )

     “I am, my big brother is only my half brother”, Julien answered.

     “No wonder he’s so desperate to kill you”, Mat added.

    “But why were you put here anyways? Shouldn’t you be at your household since you’re the heir?” Johnson asked, and that was a question that I was also dying to know.

     Julien takes a deep breath. When he looked like he was hesitant, I quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it, “If you don’t want to tell us, then it’s okay. You don’t have to push yourself.”

     Julien takes another deep breath, but then he looks at the three of us and started with his explanation, “I was supposed to be killed by my own father’s hands because the elders demanded me to be killed. But, when my father was about to shoot me, he suddenly stopped midway. He said he couldn’t kill his only heir. So, he sold me instead without the elders knowing about it.”

     “He sold you…to Club Luxuria”, I said, finally understanding it.

    “He did, and since then I wished that he could have just killed me instead. Because in that club…I was being killed every night”, Julien says, his eyes now teary.

     I squeezed his hand harder and don’t say anything anymore.

     I wanted to know why his father was supposed to kill him in the first place, but I didn’t want to push him too much.

    Now the whole room became quiet. No one wanted to say a word, and it was obvious that every one of us were exhausted after everything that happened today.

     I lowered my head and suddenly saw the V tattoo on Johnson and Mat’s middle finger.

     I took a deep breath and decided that this was the perfect moment for me to finally tell Julien my side of the story.

     “Julien, I want you to listen to me carefully okay?” I stated.

     Julien, and even Mat and Johnson, quickly looked at me, curious on what I was about to say.

     “Julien”, I said as I let go of his hand so I could properly look at him.

     I took a deep breath and immediately continued, “The reason why I’m like this, is because my family is…”

     “Stop”, Julien suddenly says, confusing me.

     This time, it was Julien’s turn to grab my hand; “You don’t have to say it now. You’ve gone through so much today. What this might be…it can wait.”

     I looked at him confusingly, but I nodded my head anyway.

     “He’s right, we have to think of a plan first before we start talking about other irrelevant things. The Dark Saints are after Julien, and since he’s with us, we’re also in danger too”, Johnson stated.

     Then Mat looks at me and asked, “So boss, what’s your plan?”

     I looked around the apartment and answered, “We’re not safe here. Maybe for a few days but they’ll eventually find us. The safest place we could go to now is to head over to the Russo household. Once we get there, I might be able to ask Doña Victoria for some help.”

     “Russo Household?” Julien asked confusingly.

     “Yes, the head there is Victoria Russo Valentino “, Johnson answered instead.

     Julien looked shocked as he asked, “Valentino? She’s your…”

     “Grandmother. She’s the wife of the head of the family before my father ruled”, I finished.

     “Val’s right. The Russo household is near the mountains, it will be hard to find. But it will take us at least 2 days to drive there”, Mat stated.

     “Who said we’re going to drive?” I asked, making Mat’s eyes widen from shock, “You have a private jet?!” he shouted, and I just nodded my head as an answer.

     “Of course he does”, Julien suddenly says, making me laugh.

     Finally, the atmosphere became light. We were so tensed that it was literally hard to breathe inside the room.

     “Alright, then we should get ready”, Johnson stated as he stood up.

     “Let me use the bathroom first”, Mat says as he quickly leaves, then Julien stood up as well and said, “Then let me get some of my things.”

     Julien stood up and went to the bedroom. I was about to follow him but Johnson suddenly grabbed me by the shoulder and stopped me.

     “What is it Johnson?” I asked him.

     Johnson lets go of my shoulder and said, “I’ll drive you to the airport, but I won’t be coming with you.”

     “W-What? No, we have to stick together”, I quickly answered him.

    “No, Romeo, listen to me. The family won’t like you leaving with Julien; they’ll definitely be against it if you do. But, I can stay here and buy you some time so you could plan for your next move. I’ll talk to the family and convince your uncle, it’s the least I could do for you”, Johnson says.

     I was about to decline his suggestion again, but Johnson looked like he read my expression, “You’ll be fine. You’re not the little boss that I was babysitting a month ago, you’re Romeo Valentino now, and I’m counting on you to protect Julien. Can you do that?” Johnson asked.

     I clenched my fist and looked at Johnson. But I knew that Johnson would never change his mind even if I beg him to.

     I don’t say anything and grabbed Johnson for a hug, “I will protect him, I promise.”

     Johnson chuckles and gently pats my back, “You really are a changed man. It was like a few weeks ago that you wouldn’t even allow me to touch you.”

      I laughed back and let go of him, “Thank you Johnson. I don’t think I’ve said it to you enough.”

     Johnson smiles and says, “Don’t worry, it was enough.”

     “Let’s go!” Mat shouted as he got out of the bathroom. Julien goes out of the room too and says, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

     “Then let’s not waste any more time”, I said as I quickly went out of the room. Julien, Johnson, and Mat following behind me.

     We arrived at the parking lot where our car and Mat’s car were parked.

     “Are you going to leave your car here?” Johnson asked as he looked at Mat.

     “No way man, I saved up for this baby for almost three years. I’ll just follow behind you guys, don’t worry”, Mat answered.

     “Alright then. Julien let’s go”, I say as I looked at Julien. I opened the back door for him, and then both of us went inside.

     Johnson went inside as well and started the engine, and then he drives off, Mat just right behind us.

     While we were driving our way to the airport, Julien suddenly grabbed my hand and leaned his head on my shoulder.

     “ I missed you by the way “, Julien suddenly whispered.

     I smiled and rested my head on his, “ Me too. But I’m glad you moved out of the house, you could have been taken if you didn’t “, I answered him.

     I thought Julien was going to comment about what I just said, but he said something different instead.

     “Will your grandmother like me? This is actually the first time I’ll be really meeting a member of your family. Well, except for your sister, but I wasn’t able to greet her properly that time”, Julien suddenly says, making me laugh.

     “Are you actually nervous?” I jokingly asked him.

    Julien hits my thighs and was about to remove his hand from mine, but I held onto his hand tighter and said, “I was just joking babe.”

     Julien rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything.

     “Don’t worry, I’ll properly introduce you to her. Tell her you’re my boyfriend and I’d be very upset if you’d hate him”, I said, half joking and half serious.

     Julien doesn’t say anything. I thought he was still mad, but actually, his face was turning red because of what I said.

     I was about to say something when Johnson suddenly clears his throat, “Have you guys forgotten I was here?” Johnson asked, making Julien and I laugh.

    “Sorry Johnson. And I missed you too by the way”, Julien says.

    Johnson looks at us through the rearview mirror. He then smiles and says, “I missed you too Ju-”

    Before Johnson could even answer, my heart suddenly dropped as a truck hits us on the side.

     “Julien!” I shouted as I was able to quickly move to the right to hug him tightly and protect him.

     “Romeo!” I heard Johnson shout as our car suddenly gets thrown to the side.

    Everything was in slow motion as our car was being flipped over. I hugged Julien tighter and closed my eyes, “No, no…I am not dying like this”, I say as I waited for the impact.

     Julien was crying in my arms as the car finally fell.

     The impact was so hard that I hit my head on the ceiling.

     I slowly opened my eyes. We were hanging upside down; my arm bleeding because of the shards of glass from the window.

     “J-Julien?” I weakly asked as I looked at him.

     I slowly let go of him and checked if he was okay.

     “Romeo”, Julien called out, making me sigh in relief. Tears poured out of my eyes as I hugged him again, “Thank go, oh thank god you’re okay.”

     “R-Romeo? Julien? A-are you…alright?” I head Johnson ask from the front.

    “Johnson!” I shouted as I quickly let go of Julien. I tried to get out from the seats but my whole body was aching in pain.

     “Romeo! Johnson!” I heard Mat shout from outside.

    “M-Mat! Mat! We’re here!” I shouted back, seconds later Mat arrives. He kneels down and looks at us, “Oh my god, I thought you guys died!”

     “H-Help us out you fucking idiot”, I say, quickly making Mat open the door.

     “T-There was a truck, and it came out of nowhere and it suddenly hit you guys and your car was flying in the air and I thought I lost you”, Mat tells us, his hands trembling as he pushed the seats so we could have a gap to get our legs out.

    “Mat, calm down. You can do this”, I say as Mat continued to tremble.

     His eyes were teary, and he was obviously in a state of panic, “I thought I lost you guys”, he said again.

     “You haven’t Mat, so don’t worry”, I say, and finally, Mat was able to pull Julien out of the car.

     “Alright, you next V-Val”, Mat says as he tried to pull me out of the car too.

     “Let me help”, Julien says as he helped Mat pull me out of the car.

     When I was finally out, I quickly stood up, but immediately regretted it because my whole body was in great pain.

     “S-Shit…” I say as i quickly held my bleeding arm.

     Mat helped Julien and carried him inside his car. Mat was about to help me up too but I pushed his hand away and practically crawled my way towards Johnson.

     “J-Johnson…” I called out as I got to where Johnson was.

    “Romeo”, Johnson weakly called out. I thought I was going to faint when I heard his voice.

     His forehead was bleeding, but it looked like he was okay.

     “Mat! Help me get him out!” I shouted as Mat ran towards us.

     “N-No…” Johnson suddenly says.

     “What do you mean no?!” I angrily shouted at him.

     Johnson doesn’t answer and looks at his legs. I followed his gaze and realized that his legs actually got smashed by the front of the car, and there were metal parts piercing out of his flesh too.

     My eyes widened, and my own hands was started to tremble.

     “N-No…we’re going to get you out of here”, I say as I looked at Mat, “C-Call…call the ambulance!”

     “No!” Johnson suddenly shouts again.

     “T-The gas…it’s…it’s leaking…the car will explode, you need to get out of here”, Johnson suddenly tells me. And I literally bluffed for a couple of seconds when I heard Johnson said those words to me.

    I grabbed him by the hand as more tears now poured out of my eyes, “No, I am not leaving you behind. We can still get you out, we can still…”

    I was trying to pull Johnson out, but he wasn’t budging.

    “Romeo listen to me!” Johnson shouted, and then he suddenly pushed me off him.

    “Leave! Now!” Johnson shouts again. Then he suddenly started coughing blood.

    “N-No…Johnson please”, I say as I grabbed hold of him again. My hands were now covered in his blood, but I didn’t mind.

    “Please Johnson”, I begged him.

    Tears poured out of Johnson’s eyes, but he still smiled at me as he said, “I am proud of you, Romeo. You can prove everyone wrong, you don’t need me anymore.”

     “That’s a lie! I still need you Johnson! Johnson, you’re the only one I have left, you can’t do this to me, please”, I told him.

     Johnson slowly reached out to touch my cheek as he said, “You have Julien now.”

     “N-No…it’s you, me, and Julien. You have to be there for me, you have to…”

     “It was my pleasure to serve you…little boss”, Johnson finally says before looking at Mat.

     “R-Romeo…we need to go”, Mat says as he was about to grab me, but I quickly pushed him away and held onto Johnson again, “No! We’re not leaving him!”

    “Rome!” I heard Julien shout. He goes to where we were and suddenly gasps when he saw Johnson.

    “Julien! Help me get him out!” I told Julien. But Julien just stood there, his eyes wide from shock. Then he immediately started crying. 

     He moved closer and immediately covered his mouth and said, “G-Gas…Romeo, the gas is leaking!”

     “Get out of here now!” Johnson shouted again before coughing more blood.

     “No! Johnson please!” I shouted back.

      But Mat grabbed hold of my arm now too and started lifting me up, “Romeo we have to go!”

     “No! I’m not leaving Johnson behind! Let go of me!” I continued to shout as I struggled to get off Mat’s grasp. But my whole body was in pain that I couldn’t even push him away.

     “Romeo, I’m sorry”, Julien says as he helped Mat push me away from the car.

     “Johnson!” I shouted as we got farther and farther away from the car.

     “Romeo!” Johnson suddenly called out.

     Mat and Julien stops pulling me away as Johnson continued, “Your mother…she did everything for your sake…p-please…please forgive her!”

     “W-What?” I asked. But Johnson just smiles and says, “I love you…my son.”

    ( A lot was so confused in this hahaha This is NOT biological. Johnson meant this as a symbol that even though Johnson doesn’t have a family, he treated Romeo as his real son, which is why in his last breath, he called him his son. Thank you and please do continue 😉)

      And just at that moment, the car explodes.

     “No!” I shouted as Mat and Julien finally lets go of me.

     “Johnson! No!” I shouted as I ran towards the car. But I couldn’t approach it anymore because of the large fire.

    “Johnson!”

    I fell on my knees as the tears continued to pour. I gripped on my hair and aggressively tugged it to stop the pain that I was feeling, but it wasn’t working.

     “N-no…no…no…” I say as my looked at my bloody hands.

     “One one thousand…t-two one thousand…t-three one thousand…”

      I clenched on my chest, trying to catch my breath as I stared at the burning car where Johnson was still in.

     “H-Help me…” I now say as I was about to hit my head on the floor. But Julien quickly grabbed me just in time. He kneels in front of me and hugged me tightly.

     “J-Johnson…” I say as I buried my face on Julien’s chest and hugged him back.

     “I’m so sorry…Romeo I’m sorry”, Julien told me over and over again.

      He hugged me tighter and my vision became blurry.

     My whole body was trembling, and the tears continued to pour. But Mat then approaches us.

     “Val”, he says as he hands me a paper.

     “The driver of the truck…he dropped this when he drove away”, he says as I slowly took the paper from Mat’s hand.

     My own hand was still trembling as I looked at the paper. I unfolded the paper, and Julien immediately gasped when he saw the symbol. 

     “R-Romeo, oh god I’m so sorry. Romeo, I’m so sorry”, Julien immediately says as we both stared at the Dark Saints Symbol on the paper.

     I continued to stare at the paper.

     The tears stopped pouring, and my hands stopped shaking.

     Then, everything felt numb.

      And the monster that I desperately tried to lock away…

      Finally came out.

• END -

(24) Pained

💋

     I looked out the window of the plane, staring at the clouds as we flew our way to the Russo Household.

     All my bruises were already treated when we arrived at the airport. Mat insisted that we head to the hospital first, but since we were already threatened, it wasn’t safe for us to stay there anymore.

     And Johnson…

     Even if I didn’t want to…we left him behind.

     I’ve been crying for almost 2 hours now that I didn’t have any tears left in me. I was so tired, so angry, and so lost. I didn’t know what to do anymore.

     “Romeo”, Julien says as he walks towards me.

     I looked at him and don’t say anything, suddenly, Julien went down on his knees and bowed in front of me.

      “I do not need your forgiveness Romeo”, Julien suddenly says, shocking me. We haven’t really talked after what happened earlier, so I’m quite shocked to see him do this all of a sudden.

     “Julien, what on earth are you doing?” I asked as I immediately kneeled down to hold him.

     Julien looks up at me, his eyes red because of too much crying, “This is all my fault. You should have just left me there. You should have just killed me too.”

     “Julien…why would I do that to you?” I asked as I wiped the tears off of his face.

     Julien slowly lowers his head and said, “Johnson’s death…is clearly my fault.”

     Julien continued to cry. I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his entire fault, but somehow, I just couldn’t.

     I wanted to blame someone, and I know that it’s unfair for me to blame it on Julien when he hasn’t even done anything wrong.

     “I promised Johnson that I will protect you”, I say as the tears were once again falling from my eyes.

     The pain that I felt when I left Johnson to die will forever leave a scar in my heart. But Johnson wouldn’t want me to act like this. He wouldn’t want me to just sit here and let everything else fall because I was too much in pain because of his lost.

     He wants me to fight back, to make sure I take my revenge on the people who hurt Julien, my maids, and now even Johnson himself.

     “I couldn’t protect my maids, and I couldn’t even protect Johnson. You’re the only one I have left Julien, you’re the only family I have”, I say as I looked straight at his eyes.

     Julien cried louder as he grabbed me for a hug.

     “I will never leave you Romeo. You die, I die…I will make sure that I’ll be by your side, even through death”, Julien says as he hugged me tighter.

     I slowly pushed him away, and then I looked at him and gave Julien a kiss. Tears were still pouring out of my eyes as I continued to kiss him. And just like that, the pain slowly vanished.

     When we parted from the kiss, Julien looked at me and said, “We’ll take our revenge. I’ll help you…I’ll help you destroy the Dark Saints…even if it kills me.”

---

     “Thank you my dear friend, thank you”, I say as I was hugging Mat.

     Mat pats my back and says, “What happened to Johnson…we’ll get them Romeo. Now that I’m here, I’ll make sure we’ll get them.”

     “Thank you”, I say as we parted from the hug.

     The door of my private jet finally opens. I looked at Julien and grabbed him by the hand, “Let’s go.”

     I went down the stairs. Julien walked beside me while Mat walked behind us.

     There was a red carpet on the floor, and there were guards on both sides; their hands on their chest to show respect for my arrival.

     “Welcome Sir Romeo Valentino”, all said in unison.

     We continued to walk down the carpet, and at the end was my grandmother, sitting on the wheelchair while her assistant stood behind her.

     We stopped right in front of her.

     She might be an 88-year-old woman now, but she still has an aura of a strong family head.

     “Good Evening, Doña Victoria”, I say as I looked at her.

     My grandmother doesn’t say anything. But then suddenly, she slowly stands up from her wheelchair. Her legs were shaking but she ignores it just so he could stand in front of me.

    “Madam”, her assistant says, as she was about to help her. But my grandmother pushes her hand away and angrily says, “Let me be! Can’t you see that I have to show my respect to the real head of the Valentino family?”

     “Grandmother, you do not have to do this”, I say, but she ignores me and stands up properly.

     “Welcome Romeo to the Russo household. It is my greatest honor to welcome you here”, grandma says as she bows her head. She then looks at Julien and says, “And you must be Julien Choi, the real head of the Dark Saints.”

     “Actually I-”

     I quickly squeezed Julien’s hand to make him stop. It’s best if the guards hear about his position now so they wouldn’t try to do anything bad to him.

     “And Matthew Luca. The last time I saw you was at the Valentino Household, and you were covered in mud too”, my grandmother says as she looks at Mat next.

     Mat laughs and scratched his head, “Y-Yeah…garden duties.”

     My grandmother chuckles and looks back at me “And Johnson? Is he not with you?”

     And with that one question, the three of us quickly changed our expressions.

     My grandmother looked at us confusingly, but after a few seconds, her expression changed as well.

     “Oh no, not Johnson”, grandmother says as she closes her eyes to take a deep breath.

     She then opens her eyes back and looks at me pitifully, “You must be all exhausted. We should go now so you could rest”, my grandmother says as she sits back down on her wheelchair.

     Her assistant pushes the wheelchair on a car that’s parked on the side. I was supposed to follow them when someone suddenly blocks my way, “Sir, this will be your car”, the guard says as he gestured his hand on the car that’s parked just behind my grandmother’s car.

     “Oh, okay”, I say as I walked towards it, my hands still intertwined with Julien.

     I was very uneasy as I stared at the car. I was literally just in a car accident a few hours ago so I didn’t feel like it was okay for me to get inside a car again.

    “Rome”, Julien says as he squeezed my hand.

    “I’m here, you’ll be fine”, he tells me with a reassuring look.

     I take a deep breath and nodded my head.

     A guard opens the door for us as I got inside the back with Julien; Mat sitting at the front.

     When the car starts, my heart ached even more.

     To think that Johnson has been with me since I was young. I’ve taken him for granted and thought that I’d be with him forever. But just like that, he was taken, and I would never have a chance to see him again.

     “Underboss Antonio called me, he said they now have acquired Johnson’s remains from the place where we had the accident”, Mat suddenly says.

     I looked out the window and don’t say anything.

     “He also said that they will not conduct the funeral until you get back”, Mat continued, and somehow, I was glad to hear that uncle thought of that.

     “Was he mad?” I finally asked, but still not looking at Mat.

     Mat sighs and answered me, “He was devastated, but he was glad that you decided to stay here since he said this was the safest place for now.”

     “I see”, I simply say.

    “And he wanted to tell you that…the whole family is mourning for his death.”

     “Of course they are”, I sarcastically say, but in all honesty, I knew that they were.

     Mat sighs again but doesn’t say anything anymore.

     When everyone was now silent, I closed my eyes and remembered the accident just a few hours ago. My whole body was still in pain, and I have bruises as proof of the accident.

     Johnson’s blood was still warm in my hands, and somehow, I could still smell the gas that was leaking out of the car before it completely exploded.

     But, as the smoke cleared out, the memory of me eating dinner with Julien and Johnson suddenly appeared. The way we laughed, the way we all thought of the future together; it made me feel at ease. It was like Johnson was still there, staying by my side like he always has for 30 years.

     I regretted having my OCD, because I became distant with him when I had it. But, even after all that, even when I pushed him away, Johnson stayed by my side like he always does. And even in death, I could feel like Johnson is still staying by my side like how he promised.

     “ I love you too Johnson. Very, very much. “

---

     I stared at my reflection in the mirror; my eyes darker than usual.

     I felt empty somehow. Like the only life that I had in me was gradually getting smaller and smaller, and the only thing that was keeping me from having a little hope in me is Julien.

     “It looks like my grandmother likes you”, I stated.

     “Is that so”, Julien says as he turns off the shower.

     I blinked and looked at my right to see Julien getting out from the shower.

     “Yes”, I say I slowly walked my way towards him.

     We were now at the Russo household.

     Grandmother obviously knew about my relationship with Julien so she decided that we should just share a room while Mat stays at the other guest room.

     We didn’t talk much. She just said that we should rest now after everything that happened to us and just talk tomorrow; which I openly agreed upon because I seriously wasn’t in the mood to discuss anything to anyone today.

     “Let me get you dried up”, I say as I took a towel and used it to wipe off the water from Julien’s body.

     “Rome”, Julien suddenly calls out as he grabbed my hand to stop me.

     I looked at him but don’t say anything.

     “You have the right to be upset today Rome. Get mad, throw a fit, place the pain all on me”, Julien suddenly says. I don’t say anything and just placed the towel back.

      Here we go again.

     I turned around and walked out of the bathroom, “Johnson wouldn’t like that.”

     “Romeo, you’re in pain and I know it. Your pain will only be turned into hatred if you keep it stuck like that”, Julien persistently tells me as he followed me out of the bathroom. The towel now wrapped around his lower body.

     I’m trying to calm myself down as I looked back at Julien.

    “Then what the fuck do you want me to do? Hurt you too because I’m in pain?” I asked him.

     Julien walks closer and answered me, “If that’s the only way.”

     I looked at him frustratingly and asked, “Only way? To fucking what?!”

     “Romeo, I’m just worried. You’re acting like you didn’t lose someone today”, Julien adds as he holds my hand. He looks at me with pity that I was slowly getting angrier.

     “That’s enough, let’s just go to sleep, okay?” I said as I quickly pushed his hand away.

     I was about to walk towards the bed but Julien grabbed my shoulder and forcefully made me look at him.

     “Romeo, Johnson’s fucking dead!” Julien suddenly shouted at me, finally making me lose my temper.

     “And whose fault do you think it is?!” I suddenly shouted back at him, immediately making me regret it. But Julien didn’t even look shocked. It was like he’s been expecting me to say those words to him since earlier.

     I clenched on my fist and aggressively scratched my head, “Now look what you made me say to you.”

     “Those are the words that you’re dying to say but are too afraid to run out of your mouth. I told you already right? That whenever you’re in pain, just give it all to me, because I’m used to it.”

     I looked at Julien and don’t say anything.

     I clenched on my fist harder and waited for my temper to ease out. When I knew that I wasn’t going to explode anymore, I started, “You have no idea how I want to fucking kill your fucking men because of what they’ve done to me and to my people. You have no idea how I just want to run away, leave everything behind and just forget about everything and go back to my old life. But it’s so unfair for me to blame it all on you when you haven’t even done anything wrong. The only thing you’ve done, is make me fall for you, and that is not a mistake I can blame on you”, I honestly tell Julien.

     Julien was teary again. It was obvious that he was inches away from crying.

     I knew what Julien wanted me to do.

     He wants me to let out my frustration on him. He wants me to hurt him, like that could help me feel better. But it obviously wouldn’t, and I hated that Julien thinks that it will.

     “I lost Johnson, and I don’t think someone has to look like they lost someone just so people could know they’re in pain. I know you want me to feel better, but do you seriously think I’d feel better if I hurt you?” I asked Julien.

     Julien looks at me and quickly wipes the tears off his face.

     “That’s because that’s the only thing I can offer you Romeo. Because ever since I arrived, you’ve felt nothing but pain”, Julien suddenly says.

     “Do you think I’ll do all this for you if all you’ve given me is pain?” I asked him back.

     Julien looks at me, but he doesn’t say anything anymore.

     I sighed and walked towards him. Then I gently kissed his forehead and said, “Now wear some clothes, and enough with this nonsense. I don’t want us fighting, especially after everything that happened today.”

     I don’t wait for Julien to answer as I walked towards the bed.

     I sat down while Julien wore a shirt and boxers. Then he goes to me and lies beside me.

     He doesn’t say anything and just rests his head on my chest. I kissed his forehead again and just stared out the window until Julien could fall asleep.

     And when Julien was asleep, I finally cried my heart out.

     I just stared out the window until I realized that the sun was finally rising, and I actually stayed wide-awake the whole night.

     I blinked and rubbed my eyes.

     Julien yawns and slowly opens his eyes to look at me, “You’re awake?”

     I looked back at him and answered, “Yeah, just a few minutes ago”, I lied.

     Julien sits up and stretches his arms, then he leans forward and gives me a kiss on the lips, “I’m sorry about last night, I was just-”

     “It’s okay”, I say as I kissed him back. Then I stood up and looked at him, “Let’s go downstairs, I think the food is ready.”

     Julien quickly stands up from the bed and puts some pants on. Then, we both went out of the room and went straight to the dinning room where my grandmother and Mat have already started eating.

     “Oh, good morning”, Mat says as he sees us.

    Julien bows in front of my grandmother and greeted her, “Good morning Ms. Victoria.”

     My grandmother laughs and looks back at Julien, “Victoria would be fine sweetie. And please, sit down, I know both of you are hungry.”

     I nod my head and pulled the chair for Julien. Julien looked shy but he sat down anyways, then I sat beside him after.

     “Did you two have a nice sleep?” grandmother asked as she looked at the both of us.

     Julien nods his head as an answer, making me nod my head as well.

     Grandmother obviously knew that I was lying, especially since I literally had eye bags under my eyes. But she doesn’t comment about it anymore, which I was thankful about because Julien would be worried again if he finds out.

     “Your uncle…Antonio…he called me by the way. Asked me if you were alright”, grandmother suddenly stated, shocking me since she never really talked about uncle Antonio.

     She then takes a sip of his tea and continued, “Of course I told him you weren’t. How could you expect someone who just witnessed their love one die to be alright.”

     I took a sip of my tea too but don’t say anything.

     “He’s always insensitive, just like his own mother”, my grandmother suddenly says, which I found very unnecessary.

     Julien, who obviously got confused, looked at my grandmother with shock.

     “You don’t know don’t you”, grandma suddenly says as she looks at Julien.

     “Grandmother, I don’t think that’s-”

     Grandma suddenly cuts me off and said, “Antonio is a son of my husband from a mistress. Which is why when Claudio died, he wasn’t the head of the family.”

     Julien looked even more confused, but he tries to keep his mouth shut from asking any questions.

     “Grandmother, we don’t have to talk about this here”, I say, finally making her look at me.

     “I apologize, I just assumed that he knows everything about you since you two are…close”, she says, and I just sighed and looked at Julien apologetically.

     “But there is something else that I do want to talk to you about Romeo”, grandmother says as she seriously looks at me.

     “What is it?” I asked.

     “You’re here not just to hide aren’t you? You’re here to ask for my help”, grandmother asked, directly pointing out my plans here.

     “That’s right”, I simply answered.

     Grandmother sighs and massages her temple, “It would be an honor to help you Romeo. Believe me, I’d call out all my men to help you right now. But, we all know that I cannot do that. You are clearly not in the position to ask for any help from any heads of the family that the Valentino’s are on oath with.”

     “So you’re basically telling me I’m all alone here?” I asked her.

     Grandmother sighs again and asks; “You know that there’s only one way for you to be able to have everyone on your side right?”

     I don’t say anything and just looked down.

     I knew what it was, I just didn’t want to admit it.

     Grandmother reached out to touch my hand as she said, “The only way you can avenge your people’s death is if you take your throne as godfather . Be the head of the most powerful Mafia , and you will definitely have your most awaited revenge.”

• END -

(25) The Godfather

💋

     The whole room became silent.

     I quickly glanced at Julien, but he was completely expressionless. He didn’t show any reaction so I really didn’t know what he was thinking.

     “Doña Victoria”, I called out to her.

     My grandmother removes her hand from mine and looks at me.

     I stood up from my seat and looked back at her, “Let’s talk privately. Please.”

     Grandmother nods her head and wipes her mouth with a napkin. Then she answers, “Then let’s walk outside.”

     I nodded my head and took her out.

     We were strolling through the garden while I pushed her wheelchair. It would have been very relaxing if there weren’t any guards on every corner of this place.

     “So your lover doesn’t know you’re a godfather”, grandma finally said.

     I shake my head and answered her, “I haven’t really given him the exact details of my life. But I’m pretty confident he half expected it, but maybe not in the godfather level.”

     “Well at least he’s a head of a gang, so basically both of you are the perfect people who could understand each other”, my grandmother adds.

     “Uncle Antonio said there would be two groups from the Dark Saints. One is the group who wants to kill him, and one would be the one who would want to take him and safely get him back to Korea so he could regain his rightful position. But Julien doesn’t want to be the head, so it doesn’t matter”, I told my grandmother.

     “It does matter Romeo. You can use those men to help you, and, don’t you think revenge is more powerful if Julien takes the position of head of the Dark Saints?” grandma asked me. I was about to clarify to her again that Julien didn’t want to become the head anymore, but then I remembered what Julien told me yesterday.

     He was willing to help me, and maybe if I ask him to, he might just agree upon accepting the position.

     “But the one thing that can make everything possible would be your decision to become the godfather or not. The Valentino Family have slowly been falling, and they’re obviously losing funds”, grandma explained.

     “Well they wouldn’t be asking money from me all the time if they weren’t”, I added, making my grandmother chuckle.

     “Well it’s basically your fault. A mafia cannot work, cannot make business, and cannot do crime if they do not have a godfather. Antonio might be the underboss, but he doesn’t have the right to make that call”, grandma explained further, but I already knew about that too.

     “So what do you think I should do? Finally take the position of head of the family and lead the people who despises me?” I asked as we stopped in front a beautiful view of the land my grandmother owns.

     “They don’t despise you, they’re just afraid of you. They tried putting you away, hoping they could find a better godfather before Claudio dies. But my son died before they could even do anything about it. And honestly I can’t blame them, you were a troublesome boy, killed anyone who you thought was not worthy of breathing the same air as you”, my grandmother suddenly says, making me close my eyes just so the memories of me pulling the trigger a hundred times wouldn’t resurface.

     I felt the cold breeze and opened my eyes again; “I stopped killing people when my father died.”

     “So I heard”, grandma simply says.

     Without looking at me, she continued, “You know what, my husband, your grandfather, didn’t really want to be the head of the family too. And it might not be obvious but Claudio, your father, also didn’t want to be a godfather. They hated the family like you, thought it was useless to lead a bunch of greedy and selfish men. But, as soon as they started gaining their trust, their respect, both Rafael and Claudio became the greatest Godfathers of all time, and the men they once hated became family, and they did everything to protect their family.”

     I was a little surprised to hear this from my grandmother since I’ve always looked up at my father. He looked like a real father to everyone, and when I was a kid I always wanted to be just like him.

      Maybe it’s not too late for that.

     “Will they be happy to find out if I ever go back and become the godfather?” I asked.

     It didn’t even take my grandmother a second to answer my question, “It doesn’t matter if they’re happy about it or not. Because even if they want to protest, they will still admit that they need you. And once you become the new godfather, then it will be in your own hands now if you want them to respect you, or fear you.”

     “But isn’t that just the same?”

     “Oh no, respect and fear are very different things Romeo. Rafael was feared, so a family member killed him out of hatred. Claudio was respected, so the family members died just to protect him”, my grandmother explained, making me nod in understanding.

     “Thank you…Doña Victoria”, I say, looking down at the gloves that have been covering my hands for years.

     I’ll make you proud Johnson. You’ve dreamt about seeing me sit on that throne, so I will make sure that I do, for your sake. And for the sake of protecting the man I have practically given my life for.

     “Grandmother…I know what I have to do”, I finally say.

     “Don’t worry, the moment I saw the hunger and hatred in your eyes, I already knew what you were about to do.”

---

     “This is everything!” Mat shouted as he carried boxes inside my plane.

     “We’re ready to leave!” another man shouts, the door finally closing.

     We were back inside the jet, ready to head back to face my family. But this time, my grandmother was coming with us.

     “I haven’t seen the Valentino household for a long time”, Grandmother says as she comfortably sits on the chair while staring at the view out the window.

     “Don’t worry, we’re the same”, I say, and Mat nodded as an agreement.

     “But we’ll only be there for 2 days madam, we still have a lot of things to do here”, her assistant suddenly says, making my grandmother angrily look back at her, “Why do you always have to ruin everything?”

     “I’m guessing you two are close”, Julien suddenly says, making my grandmother laugh this time.

     I glanced at Julien who was sitting a little farther away from me.

     After eating breakfast, and after letting my grandmother literally reveal my background, Julien and I haven’t really talked properly. I tried talking to him again when we were at the room, but he keeps brushing it off. So I got tired and just gave up.

     I think it’s best if I give him some time to think first.

     “By the way grandmother, what’s with all the boxes?” I asked, but grandmother just looks back at me and smirks.

     Mat, who carried all the boxes inside, looked at me and excitedly says, “Val! It’s guns! 6 boxes of guns and ammos!”

     I quickly looked at my grandmother from shock, “Guns? Why are you suddenly giving us-”

     “We don’t use them anymore, because as you can see, we don’t usually have wars in our area. But that’s only the beginning, just give me one call, and I will send out all my men to help you”, grandmother suddenly says. I was partially shocked, but I was also thankful.

     “Now you should rest, you haven’t really slept at all right?” grandma suddenly added, making Julien immediately look at me with shock.

     I gulped and quickly looked out the window as we took off, staring out at the clouds like how I usually do.

     But then I glanced back at Julien and flinched when I saw him still staring at me.

     I’m heading back home to become the godfather of one of the most powerful Mafia in the world but I end up flinching over my lover staring at me. I must be the strongest man out there.

     I cleared my throat and immediately stood up, “Excuse me.”

     I don’t wait for anyone to answer me as I walked towards a small room that was separated from the other passengers. There wasn’t really a bed, but it had a red curtain that was used as a cover so others wouldn’t be able to see you inside.

     I removed my coat, sat down on the sofa and waited. And as expected, Julien peeks from the curtain and looks at me. When he sees me sitting down on the sofa, he goes inside at closes the curtain again.

     “You didn’t sleep?” he asked, making me sigh.

     Thank you grandmother for once again making Julien worry about me.

     “I couldn’t”, I simply answered him.

     Julien looked like he was angry, but he massages his temple instead and looks at me again.

     I thought he was going to say something else, but he suddenly goes on top of me and sits on my lap. He hugged me tightly and rested his head on my shoulder.

     “Sleep”, he suddenly says.

     I lowly chuckled and comfortably adjusted to Julien’s weight. When we were both comfortable now, I answered him; “I’m going to sleep while you cuddle me like this? I must be the luckiest man in the world.”

     I was expecting Julien to say something back, but he doesn’t say anything and just hugs me tighter. And that’s when I knew that something was wrong.

     “Hey, what is it?” I asked, but Julien still doesn’t answer me.

     “Are you mad because I didn’t tell you I was an upcoming godfather in a mafia?” I asked, and Julien finally answered, “No, of course not. Honestly I wouldn’t even care if you were the greatest criminal in the world Romeo. You didn’t get mad when you found out I was the next head of a gang, so why should I?”

     I caressed his back and answered him, “Then what is it? Why are you acting like this?”

     Julien doesn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. But finally, he buries his face on my chest and answered, “ I’m afraid Romeo “, he whispered.

     My heart suddenly ached when I heard I’m say that.

     “I’m afraid that what happened to Johnson, might suddenly happen to you. And I’ll end up being alone again and I don’t know what I’d do if I lose you”, Julien suddenly says, now looking at me, his eyes ready to pour out tears again.

     I sighed and rubbed his eyes with my own fingers, “You won’t lose me.”

     “And why not?” Julien asked back, trying his best not to cry.

     I leaned forward and gently kissed Julien’s lips, then I looked straight at his eyes and said, “That’s because…”

     I moved closer to his ears and whispered, “ I love you. “

     I quickly looked back at Julien. He looked so shocked that he didn’t even know what to say anymore.

     I was at least expecting him to blush, but suddenly, he started crying.

     “You always say these things on the weirdest situations”, he says as he immediately buries his face on my chest again.

     I laughed and hugged Julien tighter.

     “Now go to sleep”, he suddenly says, making me stop laughing.

     “ I need you to say it back first so I’d be able to sleep properly “, I whispered again, finally making Julien’s ears turn red.

     Julien slowly lifted his head and looked at me, the leaned forward and kissed me before saying, “Isn’t it already obvious? I love you too Mr. Ego. I love you so, so much.”

     My heart fluttered.

     Honestly hearing someone say those words to me almost made my heart explode. I was so happy that I currently forgot every bad thing that happened.

     I could stay here with Julien forever.

     “Can you say that again?” I said with a grin.

     Julien pouts and buries his face on my chest again. “ I love you “, he mumbles against my chest, making me stupidly blush this time.

     “Alright, now we can go to sleep”, I say as I slowly closed my eyes.

     Both of us didn’t say anything anymore. So I closed my eyes and just embraced the man that I love.

     L o v e.

     It’s strange how I think about it. I never really knew how love would feel like. But after I met Julien, I was now sure that my feelings for him was definitely it.

     It feels amazing, but I’m just sad that I didn’t get to tell Johnson that even after all this, I was able to love someone. Well, if you kinda think about it, he’s probably watching right now, smirking like an idiot, telling me the words: “ I told you so. “

     I’m ready to become the monster who will avenge everyone that I care about. But I’m also ready to be the man who will love Julien unconditionally, and protect him with everything I’ve got, because that’s what love is right?

     I remembered Johnson tell me that my father loved me very much because he was ready to die for me. And I knew Johnson loved me too, because both him and my father died for my sake. And I know, that when the situation comes, I’ll be ready to die for Julien too.

     “Hey Julien”, I called out, my eyes still closed.

     “ Hmmm? “ he mumbled against my chest.

     I took a deep breath and said, “When you feel like I’m not the Romeo that you fell in love with anymore, make sure you get me back, okay?”

     “ Alright “, Julien whispered back.

     I brushed his hair with my fingers and gently kissed his head.

     “I don’t want to be the monster that will end up hurting you too”, I told myself, but didn’t dare say it out loud to Julien anymore because I didn’t want him to be more scared, and I especially didn’t want him to be scared of me.

---

     “Val. Val wake up”, someone continuously called out.

     I felt something heavy against my body, but when I realized that Julien was actually sleeping on top of me, I quickly opened my eyes to actually see him still sleeping.

     “Romeo”, someone calls out again.

     I looked up and saw Mat peeking at the curtain.

     “We’re here?” I asked, trying not to move too much so I wouldn’t wake Julien up.

     “Yeah, we just landed. And…look out the window”, Mat suddenly said, confusing me.

     I shifted a little to my right and looked out the window. And to my surprise, there were at least a hundred Valentino soldiers waiting outside the plane. And on the side, my uncle Antonio was talking with my grandmother with the board members.

     (Note: Soldiers are the lowest rank in a Mafia. )

    There were at least 20 cars parked on the side, and everyone was holding guns, like I’d suddenly be ambushed at the airport if I get out of the plane.

     “What the hell are they doing here?” I asked as I looked back at Mat.

     Mat scratched the back of his head and said, “Well…Doña Victoria called them earlier and told them you were…kinda…ready to take the position of godfather.”

     Great.

     “I’ll be out shortly”, I said as I sighed heavily.

     Mat nods his head and leaves.

     I looked at Julien and gently shook his body so he could wake up.

     “ Julien…wake up baby, we’re here “, I whispered against his ear.

     Julien moans and slowly lifts his head so he could look at me. He opens his eyes and immediately smiles when he sees me.

     “Good afternoon Mr. Ego”, he tells me.

     I gently kissed his nose and smiled back, “It’s good evening.”

     “Eh?” he asked as he looked out the window. But instead of being shocked because it was actually dark outside, Julien gasped when he see’s the men waiting outside of the plane.

     “I-Is that…your family?” he asked, still looking out the window.

     “We’re a big clan”, I say instead, quickly making Julien look at me.

     “Well, they must be really excited to welcome you back”, Julien says as he slowly gets down from me.

     I stood up, my body aching a little because of Julien’s weight. I stretched my arms and looked back at Julien who walked towards me to fix my hair.

     “We don’t want you having a bed head when you face your family right?” he says as he fixes my hair, then he fixes my tie and helps me wear my coat.

     I smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, “Thank you”, I say as I helped fix his hair too. Then I grabbed his hand and said, “Let’s go.”

     I was about to walk out when Julien suddenly pulled his hand away from mine.

     “I think it’s best if we don’t do this in front of your family”, he suddenly says, making me chuckle. I grabbed his hand again and squeezed it tight, “Don’t worry, I want them to see that you belong to me, and I belong to you.”

     Julien looked unsure, but he nods his head anyways.

     I pulled him close to me and walked out the room to see Mat patiently waiting for us.

     “You ready?” he asked me.

     “We’re ready”, I answered as I walked out of the plane, Julien right beside me while Mat walked behind us.

     The moment they saw me on the exit, everyone became quiet. And without wasting any time, everyone quickly went to the sides to make a pathway for me.

     “Welcome back Don Romeo Valentino “, everyone suddenly greeted, surprising me.

     I never really wanted to be a godfather. Ever since my father died, I ran away with Johnson and hoped that I’d forget about the family. But who would have thought that I’d actually feel good when I hear everyone say that to me now.

     Don Romeo. It’s not as catchy as Chairman Val, but I can get used to it.

     “Romeo”, my uncle called out as I walked down the stairs to walk towards him and my grandmother.

     Grandmother smiled proudly as I stood in front of them.

     “I’m not the godfather yet”, I say instead as I looked at uncle.

     Uncle glanced at my hand that was holding Julien. But he ignores it and looks back at me. I thought he was going to say something, but instead, he grabs me and gives me a hug, immediately making me let go of Julien.

     “Thank you Romeo…thank you”, my uncle suddenly says.

     We pulled out of the hug. Then I looked at the board members behind him, surprised that they didn’t really look mad like how I expected them to be. Somehow, they looked…proud.

     “We should head to the household and conduct the Mafia Initiation Ritual”, my grandmother suddenly says, making me remember that I didn’t actually immediately take the position of godfather when my father died so I have to do that ritual.

     “That’s right”, uncle Antonio agreed. Then he looks at Julien and says, “But he cannot come with us.”

     “What?”

     “He is not a Valentino, he cannot-”

     I immediately cut my uncle off as I said, “No, where I go, he goes. I am doing all this because of him, so I hope you are aware that I am willing to leave everything behind if something bad happens to him. “

     Uncle looked shock, even the board members. But my grandmother clears her throat and says, “Well you heard our boss. Now stop treating him like a kid and let’s go.”

     My uncle looked like he was about to protest, but then he sighs heavily and nods his head, “Fine, it’s wrong for me to question you.”

     And without saying anything else, uncle moves aside and gestures his hand to a car.

     “Let’s go Val…I mean…Don Romeo”, Mat says as he walks towards the car to open it for me. I made Julien go inside first before I got inside myself.

     Mat, who I thought was going to sit on the passenger’s seat, suddenly sits on the drivers seat.

     “I know I won’t be able to replace Johnson”, Mat suddenly says as he closes the door.

     I looked at him through the rearview mirror as he continued, “But I will serve you till the end Val. I’ll be your driver, butler, soldier, you name it.”

     I genuinely smiled and patted Mat’s shoulder, “A friend would be better Mat.”

     Mat quickly looked at me. He was inches away from crying again like an idiot but he forces himself not to.

     “A friend is nice too”, Mat says as he starts driving.

     The rest of the cars started driving off now too. Five cars drove in front of us while five drove behind us. Then the rest of the cars went to both of our sides, protecting us if something bad ever happens.

     “Too much?” I asked as I looked at Julien.

     Julien looks back at me and laughs, making me remember that Julien is actually also from a rich family. He grew up being treated like this too, so asking him if this is too much is an understatement.

     “It’s funny how I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth, now I’m-”

     “In love with the godfather of one of the greatest mafia’s in the world?” I finished, because I knew Julien was about to say something that would degrade himself again.

     Julien laughs, then he leans his head on my shoulder, “Who would have thought that the man I referred to as chairman Val, was actually supposed to be Don Romeo.”

     “It’s still kinda weird to hear it”, I honestly say.

     “You’ll get used to it; trust me. I didn’t like it when people called me Black Angel, but here I am now”, Julien tells me.

     I was about to ask him about the Dark Saints, and if he was willing to become the head so we could both take our needed revenge. But I knew that this wasn’t the time to talk about it, so I kept quiet instead and just looked out the window in silence until we arrived at the Valentino Household.

     Mat quickly goes out of the car, opening the door for us as Julien and I got out.

     “Who would have thought we’d be back here, right Val?” Mat asked as both of us looked at the mansion.

     Memories of me growing up here suddenly flashed right in front of me. But not like before, I felt nothing.

     “It’s smaller than I remembered”, I jokingly said, making Mat and I laugh together.

     “Now I can really say that this is not a house”, Julien says as he stared at the household too.

     “Romeo, let’s go”, uncle Antonio suddenly says as he goes out of the car too.

     “Your grandmother is already waiting inside”, he adds.

     I nod my head and finally went inside the household. The moment I step foot inside the house, my heart suddenly felt weird. I thought I was going to cry or even feel mad when I looked around the house, but somehow, I felt happy.

    I hated this place when I was younger. It was too big and my father would throw parties almost every night as I watched fake people practically worship my father just so they could be recognized by him.

     But looking at this now, remembering the times when I would just run around the house and just had fun, it’s not as bad as it looked like.

     “I heard Elizabeth stayed here with Diana for two days, but underboss Antonio said they were immediately transferred to the Roselli Household after she finished her checkups”, Mat explains to me, which was very unnecessary because I really didn’t care what that woman does.

     “So you grew up in such a place like this?” Julien asked as we walked down the hallway. Guards bowing at us every time we walk pass them.

     “Yeah. It was a terrible childhood, but it was bearable”, I honestly told Julien.

     “How about you? Did you grow up in a mansion like this?” I asked, immediately making Julien shake his head as an answer, “I didn’t. Our household was traditional, like the once you see on old Asian movies.”

     “Sounds relaxing”, I add.

     “If hearing guns blaring and people screaming in agony almost every day is relaxing then yeah, it was”, Julien sarcastically says with a smirk, making me grin now too.

     “Here we are”, uncle Antonio says as we stopped in front of the meeting room.

     My father practically lived here when I was younger.

    “Mat, can you bring Julien to the living room?” I said as I looked at Mat and let go of Julien’s hand.

    Julien doesn’t say anything. I was glad he understood that he couldn’t come with me inside.

     It’s not like I didn’t want him to, I just didn’t want the board members to keep on staring at him while we conduct the ritual.

     “I’ll see you later”, I say as Julien followed Mat to the living room.

    “Let’s begin your baptism”, uncle says as he finally opened the door.

     I took a deep breath and went inside the room, automatically making everyone stand up from their seats.

     The board members were all there, and there were at least 20 soldiers inside the room too. Grandmother Victoria, who was siting on her wheel chair, immediately stood up as well to give respect to my arrival.

     The room was enormous. And there were big portraits of all the previous godfather’s surrounding the room.

     I slowly walked my way towards the front to greet my grandmother. When I was now standing in front, everyone sat down and became quiet.

     We were now starting the ritual.

    “Romeo Valentino, son of Claudio Valentino, and an original blood of the Valentino Family; you are here today to accept the position that your ancestors have left for you. You are accepting a position of head of this family, a family that will mean more to you than your country, and yourself”, grandmother started. Then she takes the dagger on the table and looks back at me, “Now show me which finger would pull the trigger.”

      I looked down at my hand and showed her my right pointing finger.

     Uncle Antonio, who was standing behind me, quickly clears his throat.

     I looked at my fingers again, realizing that I have to finally remove the gloves on my hand.

     I’ve been through a lot this week, but somehow, removing my gloves in front of everyone made me nervous.

     “Romeo”, grandmother called out, snapping me back to my senses.

     Everyone was staring at me, waiting for my next move.

     So I took a deep breath and looked down on my hands again. After years of wearing gloves, I finally removed them, and to my surprise, I felt free.

     Grandma nods her head and takes my finger before pricking my finger and immediately getting a picture of a saint so the blood would drip on top of it.

     “This drop of blood symbolizes your birth into our family. We are one until death”, grandmother says as she puts the dagger down.

     Someone then goes to her and gives her the candle. She sets the picture on fire and immediately hands the picture to me.

     My hands felt the heat of the fire, but I remained expressionless.

     “Now repeat after me. If I were to betray my family…”

     “If I were to betray my family…”

     “My soul will be burnt as burns this saint”, my grandmother finished.

     “My soul will be burnt as burns this saint”, I repeated, quickly putting down the picture so my hands won’t completely burn.

     “I will now ask you questions, and you will all answer it with “ I will “, only if you are certain about it”, my grandmother says as she slowly takes an old book from the table.

     I looked at her as she starts, “Romeo Valentino. Will you be loyal to the members of the organization?”

     “I will”, I quickly answered.

     “Will you be rational? Be a member of the team that does not engage in battle that you cannot win?”

     “I will”, I answered again.

     “Will you be a man of honor that will respect the womanhood and your elders?”

     I paused and looked at the board members. I forced myself not to smirk as I answered, “I will.”

     “Will you keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut?”

     “I will.”

     “And will you be a godfather that has class, that is independent, and knows his way around this world”, my grandmother asked, and I nod my head and confidently answered, “I will.”

     “Doña Victoria”, uncle calls out as she gives her a small box.

     Grandmother quickly takes the box from my uncle and opens it, revealing three silver rings. One had a carving of a rose, one with chains, and the last one was a letter V.

     “Don Romeo, accept this ring as a symbol of godfather”, my grandmother says as she places the ring on my pointing finger.

     She takes out another ring and places it on my middle finger, “This ring as a symbol of your power over the households that are under an oath with the Valentino Family.”

     “And lastly, accept this ring as a reminder that you are a Valentino”, my grandmother says as she places the last ring on my ring finger.

     “Family”, my grandmother addresses as she looks at everyone.

     She then looks back at me and smiles, “I give you our godfather .”

    She leans forward and kisses both of my cheeks, and then everyone started clapping and cheering.

     For almost 20 years of running away, here I am, leading the family that I once despised.

     I am now the godfather of the Brave & Strong.

    The g o d f a t h e r…

     …Of the Valentino Family.

(Three Days Later)

     “May Johnson R. Pollock rest in peace”, the priest stated as he splashes holy water on Johnson’s coffin.

     I clenched my fist, trying my best not to cry as they lowered his coffin on the ground. Julien on the other hand, quickly wipes his tears as he squeezes my other hand tighter.

     We threw roses as the coffin was finally at the bottom. Then men started putting in soil on the hole, finally covering Johnson’s coffin.

     Everyone stood behind me, waiting for me to leave so they could all leave as well.

     We were at the Valentino Family graveyard, and after everything that happened, we finally buried Johnson with the rest of the maids who were killed.

     “Mat”, I called out, immediately making him run towards me.

     I leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “ Make everyone leave. I’ll stay here for a while. “

     Mat nods his head and quickly looks at everyone.

     “Alright, let’s go! Our godfather would want to be alone!” Mat shouted, immediately making everyone leave the area.

     Julien removes his hands from me and gently kissed my cheeks, “I’ll be at the car.”

     “Okay”, I say as Julien walked away with Mat.

     When the whole place was now quiet, I slowly walked in front Johnson’s headstone. Then I slowly kneeled on the ground and touched the headstone.

     “I did it Johnson. I’m the godfather of the Valentino family”, I say as I continued to stare at it.

     Then I looked at my hands. There weren’t any gloves covering it anymore, but there were rings on my fingers instead; symbols of my new position.

     “But don’t worry, I won’t neglect the company…the empire…that both of us worked hard for. I left the presidents in charge while I do my business here. My top priority now is to make sure I take my revenge on the people who killed you. And I will make sure they end up having the same fate as yours”, I say.

     Then I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, “But Johnson, why does it feel like this? Why do I feel nothing?”

     The breeze became harder, like Johnson actually answered me.

     I took a deep breath and finally opened my eyes.

     “I will protect Julien as promised. And even if it kills me, I’ll protect this family too…like how you wanted me to”, I honestly say.

     I then took out something from my pocket. I took a deep breath and put out my pair of leather gloves and a picture of me with Johnson when I was still young. 

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/566005738ca5259701f3f73542da5e73c69c37c7/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4833506e77534e4a75786d534c773d3d2d3535313438313237332e313531663065316164626639623330353530323734313534323837312e6a7067)

     I leave it on top of his grave. And then I stood up and looked back down at him, “No goodbyes.”

     Then I turned around and walked away.

     Leaving Johnson…and the old Romeo Valentino behind.

• END OF ROMEO VALENTINO’S POV-

∙ VALENTINO FAMILY ∙

“I’m a kind person, I’m kind to everyone, but if you are unkind to me, then kindness is not what you’ll remember me for.”

• Al Capone ( godfather )

  

• The Brave & Strong -

     The Valentino Family, founded by Dante Valentino , has been operating for almost a hundred years. They are the longest running Mafia in the world, and they are also the family who has the largest amount of households under their name. Some of these respectable households are the Russo Family, the Roselli Family, and the De Stefano Family. 

     The Valentino Family, as the oldest running Mafia, is also one of the last traditional Mafia families in the world. So, it is in their rules that if you are to be a Valentino, you must be able to kill someone first before taking the Mafia Initiation Ritual. All members must also have the symbol of Valentino, which is the V tattoo on their middle finger. Everyone in the family is required to have it except for the godfather. 

     One of the other rules of the Valentino Family is that wives cannot stay inside the Valentino Household. They must stay at their own household, and will only be allowed to go inside the Valentino household if the godfather allows them to.

     But, cheating on a brother’s wife is punishable by death.

     Hurting your own brother is also punishable by death, but only if the godfather himself didn’t instruct him to be killed.

     Having mistresses is also not allowed to give respect to the wife, but this rule does not imply to the godfather as well. 

     If the godfather dies, his wife will still be a Valentino, but, if the wife remarries, and her offsprings have also died, the wife will now lose all connection with the family and her household.

     The  capos, also known as the board members, have power over the soldiers. The underboss , has the power over the board members, and the boss or godfather, has power over everyone.

     The Valentino Family usually conducts meetings at the household, but emergency meetings are conducted at “ The Den “, also known as the Valentino Café. It might be a normal cafe on the outside, but in reality, only the people who are under the Valentino Family are welcomed inside. It is also in the rules that not being able to attend the emergency meetings have specific punishments, and those punishments are based on the reason why you were not able to attend the meeting.

     The Valentino Family is the most respected family in the world, but, they are also the most targeted family. And the Valentino family can only be able to defend themselves if they have a capable godfather. And that godfather must carry the Brave & Strong title until his last dying breath.

---

(26) Tattooed Man

🌹

     “You have to execute him! He is a disgrace to our clan’s name!”

     “Do you really want a heir who is disgusting and dirty as that?!”

     “Julien? Julien wake up”, someone suddenly calls out while his warm hands touched my arm.

     I gasped and immediately sat up from the bed.

     My vision became clear, and I saw Romeo Valentino directly staring at me with a confused expression.

     “Babe, are you okay?” he quickly asked, reaching out for my cheeks to wipe away the tears that was actually coming out of my eyes.

     I took a deep breath and realized I was sweating hard too, “I-I’m…fine. It was just a stupid bad dream.”

     Romeo looked like he was still worried, but he nods his head anyway, like he forced himself to just understand so he wouldn’t keep on asking questions anymore.

     He brushed my hair with his fingers and gently kissed my lips, “Well breakfast is ready.”

     “You go ahead”, I tell him as I stood up and walked towards the mirror to check how swollen my eyes actually were.

     “You’re not going to eat?” Romeo asked me as he sits on the bed and looks at me through my reflection in the mirror.

     I wiped my eyes with a tissue and fixed my hair, “Your family will be there. And I don’t like how they stare at me whenever I’m at the dining room or any room in this freakin’ enormous household to be exact”, I answered him, making Romeo sigh and walk towards me.

     He stands behind me and hugs my slender body.

    “Then should I propose a rule that anyone who stares at you will be punished by death?” Romeo suddenly says before kissing my neck.

     I gripped on his arm as I felt his warm lips on my tattooed covered neck.

     Romeo then slides his hands on my groin area, making a quick moan escape my mouth.

     “ Rome “, I whispered.

     Romeo was about to put his hands inside my pants when someone suddenly knocks on the door, completely ruining the moment.

     “Boss! They’re already waiting for you at the dining room!” Mat suddenly shouted from outside the room.

     “ Mat you fucking… “ Romeo stops midsentence and just let it go.

     He quickly bites my ear and goes to the door to open it.

     “I told you to fucking WAIT, didn’t I?” Romeo asked as he glares at Mat.

     Mat flinched and actually took a step back from fear, making me chuckle.

     I walked towards them and gently held Romeo’s shoulder to calm him down, “Tell them to start eating. He’ll be joining them soon. Am I right Romeo?”

     Romeo wanted to say something else, but he massages his temple instead and looks at me, “Right.”

     Mat looks at me and gives me a quick smile, like he was thanking me for helping him out with Romeo. He then gives a quick bow and leaves.

     “Go ahead now Mr. Ego. Your family… is waiting”, I say with a grin, emphasizing the word family. Romeo looks at me and gently touches my cheeks, “You’re the only family I need. And the only reason why I’m here, is because-”

     I quickly lifted my hand to cover his mouth with my finger.

     “I told you. Don’t make me your reason. Be a strong man, not just for me, but for yourself too”, I honestly say with a genuine smile.

     Romeo looked like he wanted to argue, but he nods his head and leans forward, giving me another quick kiss on the lips, “Then I’ll be waiting for you downstairs. I won’t start eating until you come.”

     Romeo lets go of me. And without waiting for my answer, he leaves the room.

     When the door closed, I sighed and walked back to bed. I lay down and stared at the chandelier of this fancy-looking room in this fancy-looking house, rewinding the past events so I’d remember how I actually got here in the first place.

     By the way, my name is Julien Choi . A 28-year-old prostitute in an exclusive club called Club Luxuria. People there call me Number 24, but actually, I prefer people calling me Black Angel, the next head of one of the most famous gang in the world, the Dark Saints.

     I’ve killed hundreds, no, maybe even thousands of men. They feared me, and I loved the feeling of how they’d look away whenever I arrive.

     But now, all I get are stares. Disgusting stares in the club, and even in this household.

     No one fears me; they all laugh and think I’m just a slut who seduced Romeo to get out of my miserable life.

     But they’re all wrong.

     I’m here because I love that man.

     I don’t need his wealth, because I already have plenty under my name. I can go back home and claim all my riches if I have to if all they’re concerned about is money. I don’t need his protection either, because I can protect myself better than anyone. All I need from Romeo is for him to stay by my side, and I will do the same for him for the rest of my life.

    I’ve been treated like dirt even when I was young, and Romeo was the only person who held me like I was his most precious diamond.

     Romeo wants nothing more than revenge, and I will do everything I can to help him achieve it, especially after what they’ve done to Johnson.

     I know he’s trying his best not to show his anger towards the Dark Saints because he’s afraid he’d end up disrespecting me in some way, because even if I deny it, they’re my family too. But little does he know, even before him, all I wanted was to destroy them as well.

     Romeo is now one of the most feared men in the world. He was officially declared the Godfather of the Valentino Family five days ago, and two days ago we had Johnson’s funeral. And ever since that day, Romeo somehow became…empty.

     You’d feel like his body is in the room but his actual self is gone, drifting away somewhere no one can find. At times I see him spacing out too; drinking all night outside the balcony until he passes out.

    It pains me to see the man I love act that way, especially when I know that most of it was because of me. At times I wished I didn’t meet him, but I know both of us would immediately disagree. And if we were given a chance to go back in time, I’m pretty sure Romeo and I would do it all over again.

     Our love story is complicated, but we’re not finishing it like how Romeo & Juliet stupidly did. We’re only beginning, and we’ll definitely make sure we have our well-deserved happy ending.

---

     “Our drug trades begun again just yesterday. We’re definitely back in business”, I heard someone say as I was slowly walking down the halls towards the dining room.

     “I assigned my uncle to handle all the inside business. I still have a company I’m also handling, so it’s best you tell everything that happens to him, and he’ll inform me about it after. But if there are problems that you cannot handle, you can tell them to me directly”, I heard Romeo answer, somehow making me proud of how he was maturely acting. Not like he wasn’t mature when he was a CEO of the Valentino Empire but…you know what I mean.

     I continued to walk through this very long hallway, staring at the pictures hanging on the wall. They were mostly old, and I haven’t even seen a single photo of Romeo yet. He might have had a few in the past, but maybe this family took it away when Romeo left. Who knows.

     “Don Romeo, what about Mr. Julien Choi?” someone suddenly asked, making me stop walking. I was inches away from the dining room, but I quickly had to take a step back the moment I heard them mention my name.

     “What about Mr. Julien Choi?” Romeo asked back, and I could immediately feel the tension inside the room when Romeo asked him that question back.

     The room became quiet, and no one dared say anything.

     “Julien Choi stays here as long as I’m here. And you should not concern yourself with him and just focus on the significant things I asked you to do. Is that clear?”

     “Yes Don Romeo”, everyone answered in unison.

     I took a deep breath and slowly walked my way towards the dining room.

     The moment I went inside, everyone immediately faced me.

     “Julien”, Romeo calls out as he quickly stands up from him seat.

     I glanced down on his plate. This idiot actually didn’t eat yet.

     “Come on, let’s eat”, he says as he goes to me to hold my hand.

     Everyone continued to stare at me as Romeo pulls the chair out for me like a gentleman that he is. Romeo sits in the middle of this very long table since he’s the head of the family now. I sit on his right beside Mat while his uncle sits on the other end of the table since he’s the second head of the family.

     “G-Good morning”, I awkwardly say as I did a quick bow before sitting down on my seat.

     Everyone continued to stare at me as Romeo pushed the chair back. Then he sits back down on his seat without saying a word.

     The whole room was quiet, and everyone still stared at me like an animal in a zoo. So to avoid their stares, I slowly picked up my spoon to take a sip of the soup in front of me. But, I immediately let go of it when Romeo suddenly slammed his hand on the table.

     Everyone in the room was startled, even me. But thankfully, because of what Romeo did, everyone stopped staring at me.

     “Why are you staring at him?” Romeo angrily asked.

     “Romeo it’s oka-” I was about to finish, but Mat quickly held my arm to stop me.

     Romeo glares at everyone in the room and continued, “Why are you staring at a head of a very powerful gang like he is an outsider? Do you not have any respect?!”

     I slowly put my head down as everyone is the room avoided Romeo’s gaze.

     I didn’t want Romeo to act like this in front of his family, especially when it’s all because of me.

     “What are you all doing?! Stand up and apologize to the boss!” Romeo’s uncle – Antonio – suddenly shouted as he stood up from his seat, automatically making everyone stand up from their seats as well.

     “We do not deserve your forgiveness Don Romeo!” everyone shouted, even Mat, who didn’t really do anything wrong.

     Romeo stood up, and then he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me upward so I could stand as well. He then looked at Mat and said, “Bring our food at my bedroom. I don’t feel like eating in front of these people today.”

     “Yes boss”, Mat quickly answered back. Then Romeo pulled my hand and dragged me out of the dining room.

     “R-Romeo…was that really necessary?” I asked as Romeo continued to pull me upstairs.

     “They won’t stop if I don’t do that. And you know I hate it when other men stare at you”, Romeo answered as he continued to pull me until we arrived back at the room.

     “If you hate it so much then why don’t we just go back home?” I quickly say as Romeo lets go of me.

     “Home”, he repeats, surprising me since those words just slipped out of my mouth.

     He then walks towards me and presses his forehead on mine, “You’re my home.”

     “ Romeo …“

     Romeo walks away and walks towards the balcony. I took a deep breath and followed him there.

     “This is the only place left. We’re not safe anywhere anymore, and I am not risking going anywhere that might harm you”, Romeo says, looking at the scenery in front of us.

     The Valentino Household is very far away from the city, so it’s also very hidden and secure. Not only is the mansion big, the land surrounding the house is enormous as well. It would feel like you’re the luckiest person on earth if you lived here, but almost every inch of the house has armed guards so you feel like you’re in prison instead.

     “Nothing will happen to us if we continue to hide here”, I honestly say.

     Romeo still doesn’t look at me as he answered, “We’re not hiding. We’re planning.”

     I was about to say something back when someone suddenly knocks on the door.

     “I’ll open the door. It must be Mat with the food”, I say as I walk towards the door to open it. The moment I open it, Mat appears in front of me, but he didn’t bring anything with him.

     “I’m sorry Julien but where’s Val?” he suddenly asked me, and he looked like he was panicking too.

     “He’s at the balcony, please come in”, I say as I opened the door wider.

     “Thank you”, Mat says as he quickly goes inside the room to go to where Romeo is.

     “Boss”, Mat called out, making Romeo turn around to look at him. I quickly followed behind him to hear what the ruckus was all about.

     “What is it?” Romeo asked. It looks like he sensed Mat’s panic too.

    “Our men who are guarding your company suddenly called. They said twenty armed men suddenly arrived outside the building. And they were all looking for you”, Mat suddenly says, making me gasp.

    Romeo and I looked at each other.

     “It’s them”, I say.

    “Have they hurt anyone? Have they done anything?” Romeo quickly asked. I knew he was panicking now too but he tried to look calm with the whole situation.

    “No, they were just waiting outside. They said the men looked like they weren’t going to hurt anyone. They were just standing outside, waiting for you”, Mat explains. Romeo quickly went back inside the room, Mat and I following behind him.

     “Don’t tell me you’re going there”, I say as I walked towards him.

    Romeo ignores me as he goes inside the bathroom to change his clothes, then he went back out and looked at Mat, “Tell them I need at least 50 men to come with me.”

     “Yes boss”, Mat says as he opens the door. But he stops when he sees Antonio standing outside too.

     “Uncle?” Romeo asked as Antonio walks inside the room.

     “You’re going to the Company?” he simply asked.

     Romeo wears his four rings and looks back at his uncle, “I am. I have to go there before they do anything stupid to the rest of my people.”

     “If that’s the case then bring him”, Antonio suddenly says as he points at me.

     My eyes widened from shock as Romeo quickly looked at Antonio angrily, “Are you insane?! I’m hiding him from them and you want me to bring him right to them?”

     Romeo looked angry, but Antonio didn’t even flinch, “Those men…they’re not working with Julien’s brother.”

     “What do you mean?” Romeo confusingly asked, but with what Antonio just said, I automatically knew who those men were.

     Antonio doesn’t say anything as he puts his phone out. He then looks back at us and gives his phone to Romeo. “One of our men sent me this video.”

     I quickly go behind him as Romeo played the video. The moment the video was played, dozens of men quickly covered the screen. Some were even familiar.

     “ We just need to talk to your chairman then we’ll leave “, a man says with a very visible Korean accent. The hair on my skin literally stood up when I heard that voice. It’s like I’ve heard it a thousand times before.

     “ I’m sorry sir but we really have to ask you to leave “, a guard calmly says, but the man wasn’t budging.

     “ We’re only here to take our boss. We just want to know where he is so we could safely take him back to Korea before the others get him first “, the man says again, immediately making Romeo look at me.

     “ We told you he’s not here “, another guard says to him.

     One of the guards was about to push him away when the man suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pushed him so hard the guard fell on the ground. Then, in a split second, everyone started fighting with each other, and the video immediately stops.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything and just gives the phone back to Antonio.

     “I know those men. They stayed loyal by my side when I was back in Korea”, I say as I looked at Romeo.

     “I am not bringing you with me. And I will definitely not let them take you from me”, Romeo says. Then he looks back at Mat and says, “Let’s go.”

     Romeo was about to leave the room when I immediately grabbed his shoulder and effortlessly pulled him so he could face me.

     I may be smaller than him based on built, but I’m confident that I’m just as strong as him, and maybe even stronger.

     “I had enough of following you around Romeo. You are not my boss, and you are not my knight in shining armor”, I honestly tell him, shocking him, and even Mat and Antonio.

     I didn’t mean to hurt Romeo with what I said, or even make him worried even more. All I want to say is I know these people more than him, and I’m a capable man who can help him better than anyone in this stupid family.

     “I am not a toy you can hide inside your room because you don’t want others to play with it. I know you want to protect me, and I know you’re doing all this for my sake. But Romeo, I grew up killing people, do you seriously think a man like me is worth protecting?” I asked.

     “Julien, don’t-”

     “I told you I’d help you, so let me be by your side. Let me serve this man who I love, and we will definitely conquer this world together.”

• END -

(27) Wanted

NOTE: B o l d

sentences are Korean. Now, enjoy.

🌹

     “You stay beside me whatever happens, do you understand me?” Romeo suddenly asked.

     “Romeo, I know you’re worried about me but-”

     Romeo immediately cuts me off and says again, “Do you understand me?”

     I took a deep breath and nodded my head, “I understand.”

     Romeo nods his head as he looks out at the car window.

     Mat is driving us to the company while the rest of the Valentino’s followed behind us. It’s been a while since I’ve got back there, well, in all honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve gone out in general.

     Last time, I was locked inside an apartment, then I was locked inside Ms. Victoria’s villa, now I’m locked inside Romeo’s household. I’ve been practically caged at Club Luxuria for at least 9 years now too. I’m tired of being inside, and to tell you the truth, my hand’s been itching to hold a gun again. 

     Before I could even hold my father’s hand, I was already holding a gun. A gun has been like a missing body part when I left my home. I miss the feeling of holding onto it and pulling the trigger. Then feeling the warmth and seeing the blood coming out of the person you just shot. I miss that exciting feeling, and I miss how people begged on my feet, kneeling and asking for mercy. Mercy that I never once gave to anyone.

     I was merciless, I was feared, and I was hated; but I liked it. And now I feel like I should-

     “We’re here”, Mat suddenly says, snapping me back to my senses.

     I blinked and looked around and realized that we were now inches away from the main building of the Valentino Company. And to my surprise, I was actually gripping on my fist so hard that I could now feel the pain of what my nails did to my palm.

     “ Not now Julien “, I whispered to myself.

     You have to contain this Black Angel. It can’t come out, especially when you’re in front of Romeo.

     “They’re all at the front”, Mat says as he takes a right turn, revealing a big crowd of people who were punching each other.

     When they saw our car approaching, everyone immediately stopped.

     “In front of my fucking company?!” Romeo angrily stated as he quickly went out of the car before Mat could even open it for him.

     “Don Romeo!” the guards – who were actually part of the Valentino family too – shouted in surprise as they immediately put their hand on their chest to show him their respect.

     “You should stay inside”, Mat says, but I quickly shake my head and went out of the car to follow Romeo.

     “Julien!” I heard Mat shout, but I completely ignored him.

     Romeo’s men immediately went out of their cars one by one so they blocked my way towards the scene. I had to push most of them away so I could go to where Romeo, and my own men were.

     “E-Excuse me”, I say as I pushed the last man in front of me.

     Romeo’s men and my men were arguing, but the moment I got into the scene, everyone became quiet.

     “Black Angel!” one of my own men shouted as he deeply bows in front of me, making the rest of them bow too. I was surprised since it’s been a while since anyone had ever shown respect to me except for Romeo.

     “B-Boss?” someone else asks, making me look at my right.

     My eyes widened as I saw Eric Kwon; a 36-year-old man who has stayed by my side for as long as I could remember.

     “Eric”, I say as I was about to approach him, but strong arms suddenly grabbed me and pulled me away from him.

     I turned my head and saw Romeo.

     “Who’s this?” he asked me, but I wasn’t able to answer him because I was too shocked to see Eric. I haven’t seen him for so long, and I honestly thought father killed him too.

     “ Boss, you need to come back. Everything is in chaos. Every single gang in Asia is fighting us, and the Dark Saints is falling one by one. We need the Black Angel back; we need our strong leader “, Eric tells me, his eyes suddenly filled with pain. He looked so much in pain that I could see the hardship they had to go through while I was away.

     “ We sacrificed so much just so we could come here “, Eric continued as he was about to grab me from Romeo. But before he could even do so, Romeo’s men suddenly took out their guns and pointed it at him, resulting my own men to put out their guns too.

     “Romeo…” I called out as I slowly put his arms away from me.

     I turned around and looked at him, “Ask your men to put their guns down.”

     Romeo looks at me but doesn’t say anything, shocking me because it looked like he wasn’t planning to ask his men to put their guns down at all.

     I grabbed his arm and begged, “Romeo, ask your men to put their guns down!”

     I shouted right at his face, but Romeo doesn’t even flinch.

     I clenched on my fist and whispered, “ You leave me no choice. “

     I pushed Romeo away and went in front of Eric, finally making Romeo widen his eyes from shock.

     “You shoot him, you shoot me”, I seriously told him while Eric stood behind me.

     “I respect your men Romeo. Even when they talk shit about me I don’t fucking point a gun at them. I told you these are my men, so respect them as I respect yours”, I say.

     I could see Romeo clenching his fist as he looked at me. Then, he simply nods his head, automatically making everyone put there guns down.

     When no one was pointing a gun at Eric anymore, my own men took their guns away now too.

     I sighed in relief and walked my way back to Romeo. Romeo looks at me like he wanted to say something, but he walks towards Eric instead.

     “Who are you?” Romeo coldly asked.

     Eric glances at me and quickly looks back at Romeo. Then, he bows and says, “I am Kwon Eric of the Dark Saints. And I am here to take our boss back.”

     Eric stood up straight, but the moment he looked back at Romeo, Romeo answered, “No. Now leave.”

     Everyone was shocked, especially Eric.

     “We are not here to fight you”, Eric says. But Romeo continued to look at him with an expressionless face and says, “So are we. So leave now while I’m nice.”

     Eric now looked like he was running out of patience, but he still remained calm. It was obvious that we’re outnumbered, and Eric wasn’t going to risk anyone else from the Dark Saints to get hurt especially when a lot has already been killed.

      “We don’t listen to anyone else’s command. We will leave…only if our true boss tells us to”, Eric suddenly says, making everyone look at me.

     Romeo slowly turns his head and looks back at me too.

     I took a deep breath and gently held Romeo’s shoulder. I moved closer to him and said, “Eric Kwon to me is Mat Luca to you. I have not seen him for almost 10 years, so please let me properly talk to him.”

     Romeo glances back at Eric who was actually staring at us too like the rest of the people here.

     I thought Romeo was going to answer me, but instead, he suddenly leans forward and kisses my forehead, “Everything for my Julien”, he says, making sure everyone, especially Eric, heard it loud and clear.

     Then, Romeo leans forward and whispered in my ear, “ But if he touches you. I’ll personally put a bullet in his head. Do you understand? “

     Romeo finally lets go of me as I looked straight at Eric’s eyes.

     “I understand.”

---

     I don’t know how we ended up like this but Eric and I were now at a strange coffee shop that the people here calls “ The Den “.

     Guards were everywhere as my own men stayed and waited outside.

     Eric and I were alone at a table, but Romeo was sitting just a few feet away from us, Mat and Antonio sitting beside him.

     The whole room was quiet. No one stared at us except for Romeo, but I knew everyone else was listening.

     “ That man, he’s your lover? “ Eric suddenly asked, making me quickly look back at him. I don’t say anything and just nod my head as an answer.

     “ How did this happen? How did you meet a godfather? From all people? “ Eric asked, obviously shocked that I got caught up with all this.

     “ It’s a long story, but it’s not really important. What’s important now is the gang. What happened? Why are you in chaos? “ I asked instead.

     Eric takes a deep breath and looks at me seriously, “Your father is dead. Do you know that?” he asked me, making me take a deep breath as well as I answered, “I know, the moment I found out my brother was here, I knew father was dead.”

     “Jiyong thought he was going to be declared the new head since he thought you were dead. But, on the day we were reading your father’s testament, he wrote there the truth. The truth that you were actually alive and that he left you all his riches and all his property, even the gang”, Eric explained.

     It was obvious my father would do something reckless like that. He valued his own flesh and blood more than a boy he had from his mistress.

     And even when my father sold me out, which he said was for my own sake; all that would still be meaningless because the higher ranks don’t want me.

     “It doesn’t matter, the Elders are-”

     Eric suddenly cuts me off and surprisingly says, “Are dead. Your father killed them the day after he said he killed you.”

     My eyes widened from shock. And I almost fell off my chair when I heard him say that.

     “W-What? That can’t be” ,   I say, trying to process what he just said.

     “The Dark Saints doesn’t have Elders anymore, and we don’t even have a head who can lead us. Gangs across Asia heard the news and started attacking us, hoping to take our position as the strongest. Thankfully we have endured most of the battles, but a few more and the Dark Saints will definitely fall. This is why we’re here, we need you back”, Eric explained further.

     The Elders are dead? Which means…I can go back home.

     I was about to answer Eric when my eyes suddenly fell on Romeo. And at that moment I realized something important.

     “I can’t just leave” , I honestly told him.

     Eric looked shocked and confused. He obviously didn’t expect me to answer him that.

     “Boss, Jiyong’s here to kill you. We can protect you” , he tells me.

     I sighed and massaged my temple, “Like what I told my lover, I do not need your protection. I need allies who will be able to help me defeat my brother.”

     Eric looked at me like I was crazy.

     He doesn’t say anything and just takes a sip of the coffee that was actually served to us earlier.

     When he looked like he finally cleared his thoughts, he looked back at me and says, “Your brother is not a weak man. He has the strength, and the men. There are even rumors that most of our enemies are teaming up with him now too.”

     I also took a sip of my coffee as I asked him with a smirk, “Do you think my brother has a chance to defeat my lover’s family?”

     Eric smirks back, then he glances at the men in front of him and answered, “Honestly this is a big clan. They are thrice as big as the Dark Saints too. But, your brother has respect to each and every one of his members, which your lover clearly has none. Your lover is feared, but fear will only end up killing him. He has thousands of men, and if he continues to act in such a way that his family does not like, one of his own men will end up putting a knife on his neck.”

     I took another sip of my coffee, wishing I was drinking alcohol instead because what Eric just said made me feel uneasy.

     “His men mostly hates him because of me”, I honestly say.

     “Then leave and come with us”, Eric tells me again.

     I put my now empty cup down and looked back at Eric, “I told you I can’t just leave. He is a man I love, and he has given me more than my own family could have given. And…whether I like it or not, I need his men.”

     I thought Eric was going to laugh. But instead, he seriously tells me instead, “You are risking your life over a man again boss. If you have forgotten, a man was also the reason why the Elders told your father to kill you.”

     My expression quickly changed as Eric said those words to me.

     Eric and I talked about this, and I told him to never speak of this incident ever again. But it looks like he was risking it just so I could open my eyes and see the consequences.

     “It was a mistake that I will not make ever again. So do not worry”, I calmly say, but I made sure Eric could feel my anger.

     Eric suddenly looks at me apologetically and puts his head down. Without looking at me, he says, “But, on the day of your supposed execution, you asked me to take revenge and kill that man and your own brother. But I have brought shame in you and have utterly failed your supposed last request.”

     The anger that was starting to consume me quickly changed into pain.

     The man in front of me is the man who has taken care of me for such a long time. When every one was against me, he was the one who stayed by my side. And even until now, he’s still here, staying loyal to me like how he has been since day 1.

     “Don’t worry, I knew there were risk, and I knew you would not take that risk for a boss who you thought was already dead” , I answered him, quickly making Eric look back at me.

     “But I should have stayed loyal to you”, He quickly says, making me shake my head as a disagreement.

     “You did stay loyal to me. I also asked you to stay alive for me that night, and here you are now”, I say, making Eric finally smile.

     “Thank you…for also being alive…boss Julien”, Eric sincerely says. Tears were ready to pour out of my eyes, but I tried my best not to cry. I didn’t mind crying in front of Romeo’s men. But I will definitely not cry in front of mine.

     “Alright, I think that’s enough”, Romeo suddenly says. He stands up from his seat, making everyone inside the café stand up as well.

     “ Looks like our conversation is over “, I say as I stood up as well.

     Eric stands up and looks at me, “ If you need us, you’ll know where to find us. “

     I looked at him confusingly. But before I could even figure it out, Romeo approaches us.

     “Let’s go. I still have to handle the troubles your men did in front of my company”, Romeo angrily said, but he was looking at Eric when he said it.

    Eric bows in front of Romeo instead and says, “Thank you Mr. Valentino.”

     Romeo ignores him and looks at me, “Let’s go.”

     Romeo grabs my hand and pulls me outside. Mat, Antonio, and the rest of the member of the Valentino family following behind him. When we went out, Mat quickly opens the door of the car, but before I could even get in, my men sees me.

     “Boss!” they all shouted.

     I quickly stopped Romeo as I looked at my men, shortly after; Eric joins them and stands in front of them.

     “ I will talk to you as soon as I can. And I honestly am grateful to see you all. But while I’m away, I want you to look out for my brother, is that clear? “ I asked.

     “ Yes boss! “ they all answered in unison.

     “ Then we’ll be off “, I simply said, making everyone bow in front of me. I looked back at Romeo and nodded my head. Romeo doesn’t say anything as he pushes me inside the car, then he goes inside next.

     Mat goes inside as well and immediately drives off.

     “Damn Julien. I totally forgot you were a head of a gang. After today, I literally now realized that you were”, Mat says, honestly making me chuckle.

     “Are you happy?” Romeo suddenly asked while looking out the window.

     I don’t look at him too as I answered, “I am. It’s been years since I’ve seen them.

     “I thought you hated them”, Romeo quickly says.

     “I don’t hate all of them”, I clarified.

     I thought Romeo wasn’t going to ask me questions anymore. But instead, he says, “And Eric? Did you miss him too?”

     I quickly looked back at Romeo.

     “Eric?” I asked back, but Romeo doesn’t answer me anymore.

     Something was obviously off.

     And with just one look I clearly knew this man was stupidly jealous.

---

     We arrived back at the Valentino household. Romeo doesn’t say anything as we went out of the car without even waiting for Mat to open the door for him. His men immediately formed a line and greeted him, but Romeo completely ignored them and went straight inside the house.

     I immediately followed behind him as Romeo went back to our room.

     When we were finally together privately inside the room, I quickly held his arm and forcefully made him look at me.

     “You’re being unfair Romeo”, I seriously told him.

     “I’m being unfair?” Romeo asked back.

     “Yes! How could you be so jealous over a man who I have not seen for almost 10 years? He has been by my side for as long as I could remember, and he is one of the most important people in my life”, I tell him.

     Romeo looks straight at my eyes and takes a deep breath.

     I thought he was going to say something about what happened earlier, but instead, he aggressively grabbed me by the cheeks.

     “Important person in your life? Is that why you’re willing to catch a bullet for him?” Romeo angrily tells me; his tight hold making my cheeks turn red from the pain.

     “I told you Eric to me is-”

     Romeo suddenly cuts me off and angrily says, “Mat does not fucking look at me like how that fucking Eric looks at you. I know…because that’s how I look at you too.”

     I looked at Romeo’s deadly gray eyes. He was angry and obviously jealous; a combination of emotions that can make a person literally kill anyone.

     “Will you be willing to catch a bullet for me too?” he continued to ask.

     I didn’t mind how he was painfully holding me. He thought I’d be afraid, or maybe even try to push him away, but I didn’t. I let him feel dominant like how he wants himself to be.

     I looked straight at his eyes and said, “I will. Over and over again if I have to.”

     Romeo squeezed my cheeks tighter until it ached even more.

     Then he stares at me with hunger. And he knew, that I knew, what both of us desperately wanted.

• END -

(28) Rub [m]

🌹

     Romeo lets go of me. He stares at me like he was fighting with himself again. Or rather, he was fighting the old Romeo again.

     I glanced at his hands, and like how he always does, he clenched his fist and suddenly pushed me on the bed.

     “You fucking love it when I get jealous don’t you?” Romeo asks, now going on top of me.

     He takes my hand and stares at it, then, to my surprise, he starts licking my fingers.

     “Did you touch him?” he asked me while he sexily licks my fingers.

     I tried not to show how much I loved what he was doing so I don’t say anything and just shake my head as an answer.

     Romeo finally puts my hand back to my side. He stands up, his eyes still locked on mine.

     While he continued to stare at me, Romeo pulls his pants down, suddenly making me feel hot.

     I’ve always been the one who’s taking the lead whenever we do something like this. So looking at him become the aggressive one is seriously turning me on.

     “I bet your Eric isn’t as big as this”, Romeo says as he finally removes his boxers, revealing his cock that I have started to love so much.

     “ I fucking miss that “, I unknowingly whispered, making Romeo smirk.

      “I fucking miss your mouth sucking on it too”, he suddenly says, making my face turn red. “Can’t wait Mr. Ego?” I teasingly asked.

     “And whose fault do you think it is?” he asked back. Almost making me laugh because I was practically the reason why he became a beast.

     Romeo then goes on top of me and aligns his dick on my face, “Now enough with the chit-chat. Make this real wet for daddy.”

     Romeo hasn’t even touched me but my own cock immediately became hard because of what he just said.

     I stared at the meal in front of me and lick my lips.

     “Make sure it’s firm daddy. I like it when it’s long and hard”, I seductively say, making Romeo groan.

     With what I just said, Romeo’s dick became harder. And without even waiting for my go signal, Romeo lowers himself and pushes his manhood inside my mouth, almost making me choke.

     Romeo’s cock was throbbing inside, making me even hornier. I was about to reach for my own throbbing cock when Romeo quickly takes my hand and grips on my wrist to stop me. 

     “No touching…n-not yet”, he tried to say. Obviously having a hard time talking since I was licking on his cock like it was a meal I haven’t eaten in a while so I was savouring it.

     “ Push it deeper “, I say while he was still inside my mouth.

     Romeo automatically closes his eyes and immediately did what I asked him to do. He pushes and pulls himself in a slow motion. When he pushes himself back in, I closed my mouth a little, making my teeth brush past his cock.

     Romeo immediately reacted as he closed his eyes from the pressure.

     “N-not too hard baby”, Romeo says.

     I knew he was inches away from busting his load inside my mouth. So, I started bobbing my head in a faster pace, making Romeo kneel on both hands and knees, gripping on the sheets as I put his cock deeper inside. He was so deep in that I thought his tip was about to touch my throat.

     “S-Shit…” Romeo says as he immediately pulls his dick out.

     He looks at me, panting.

     I was panting heavily too as I looked at Romeo’s still throbbing cock.

     “Not yet”, He simply says, standing up from the bed again.

     I looked at him amusingly. I wasn’t expecting him to be so energetic after what I did to him.

     Romeo looks at me and immediately pulls my pants and boxers down. He looks down at me and stares at my own cock, making me blush for some stupid reason.

     I wasn’t expecting him to lick me since I knew Romeo still wasn’t in the stage where he’d be willing to lick me or put anything dirty inside his mouth. So instead, Romeo flipped me over so effortlessly until I was lying on my stomach.

     “Don’t tell me you’re going to fuck me”, I teasingly say with a smirk.

     Romeo lowly chuckles and goes on top of me again.

     “Not yet”, he tells me. And I’m pretty sure he’s told me the words “ Not yet “ a lot of times now.

     Romeo lifts my ass up as my face was still pressed against the bed.

     “ Let’s do this for now baby “, he says with a low voice, almost making me shiver from how hot he sounded.

     Out of nowhere, Romeo smacks my ass, making me moan.

     Romeo chuckles again and says, “Looks like you like it aggressive.”

     “I do”, I answered him.

     Romeo goes down on the bed and stands up. Then he pulls me closer to him until my hole would touch his hard cock.

     The sensation made me immediately moan for the second time.

     “Fuck, just put that in”, I practically begged.

     I wasn’t looking at Romeo, but I knew he was smirking again.

     “I told you…” Romeo pauses and pulls my legs apart.

     “Not…fucking…yet”, then he puts his hard cock in between my legs, just below my hole, then he closes my legs, immediately making him moan.

     Where the fuck did he learn this?

      “C-Close your legs…tighter”, Romeo tried to say, and I happily obliged. I closed my legs, squeezing Romeo tighter, making him groan again.

     He then grips on my waist and starts pushing and pulling himself in, his hard cock rubbing onto my own cock.

     Romeo wasn’t really fucking me, but the way he was moving, and the way he was gripping on my waist was making me turned on even more.

     “That fucking f-feels good daddy”, I say as Romeo continued to rub himself in between my legs.

     Then, his pace became faster.

     “Tighter baby”, he says again.

      I squeezed Romeo even more that I thought he’d be in pain, but he was already oozing out some cum that my thighs became warm and sticky, making Romeo just slide inside effortlessly.

     He then pushed my body down until I was lying back down on the bed.

     He positions himself on my hole but doesn’t shove it in. But Romeo starts rubbing himself on it instead, making me grip on the sheets and moan like crazy.

     “D-Daddy please…just put it in”, I begged him as Romeo continued to rub himself on my hole.

     “This is punishment…for making me jealous”, Romeo says as he continued to rub his cock against me, but faster this time.

     Then, the tip of his cock almost got in, making me moan even louder. But at that moment, Romeo came, a lot.

     His hot cum was dripping right on top of my hole. It was so warm that I ended up cumming on the sheets too.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything and falls beside me, catching his breath like I was.

     He turns his head and looks at me.

     I looked back at him, then seconds later, both of us ended up laughing at each other.

      Romeo moves closer, and then he leans forward and gives me a passionate kiss.

       He touches my cheeks and presses his forehead on mine, “ I’m sorry “, he whispered, surprising me.

      “It’s okay. I know you’re just worried but-”

     Romeo immediately cuts me off and says, “No, I’m the one at fault here. I acted like I own you, so I ended up being selfish. You’re right Julien, you’re not a toy that I can keep, I shouldn’t be acting like you can’t make choices of your own.”

     “Romeo…”

     “You supported me on everything that I did. So I should do the same to you”, Romeo suddenly says, kissing me again.

     When we pulled apart, I looked at him confusingly and asked, “Why do you sound like you’re-”

     Romeo cuts me off again and says, “You want to go back to your gang don’t you?”

     My eyes widened from shock.

     “What?” I asked as I quickly sat up from the bed. 

     Romeo sits down as well and says; “I know the look in your eyes when you saw your men. The power you once had quickly came rushing back when you saw them, and I know you desperately want to go back to the time you were treated with respect, not with disgust.”

     “I don’t know what to say”, I tell him.

     Romeo smiles. Then he holds my hand and continues, “We’re conquering the world right? Then let’s both be powerful together.”

---

     “So what’s the plan?” Mat asked as we were at the godfather’s personal office, that’s now Romeo’s personal office.

     Romeo decided that it was best to let Mat in with the plans since he’s the only one he could currently trust. Not that he doesn’t trust his uncle, it’s just that his uncle is very family oriented, and Romeo wouldn’t be surprised if he shared ouor plans to the rest of the family.

     “Julien has to talk to Eric again”, Romeo answered.

     “Alright, but how do we deal with his brother? He’s actually done a lot of damage but we haven’t even seen that fucker yet”, Mat says. Romeo looks back at me and asks, “Do you have any idea where your brother might be hiding?”

     I shake my head and answered, “No. Eric and the others don’t have a clue either.”

     “Wait, I don’t want to offend you or anything but didn’t you say you were sold to a club?” Mat suddenly asked, quickly making Romeo angrily look at him, “Mat shut up”, Romeo angrily said.

     “No, it’s okay”, I tell Romeo as I looked back at Mat, “And yes, I was sold to a club. It’s called Club Luxuria, or in English, Club Lust”, I answered.

     Then Mat looks at both of us and says, “Who’s the owner of that club anyways? And how did your father know him from all the way from Korea?”

     “I really don’t know who runs the place. No one really explained to me anything when my father sold me off. But we do have a floor manager, his name is Mr. Jackson. He’s the one you actually met Romeo, when you and your friend came to the club”, say as I looked back at Romeo.

     “Yeah, he was quite annoying. But, if I could remember, there were men in silver masks there too”, Romeo adds.

     “There is. They’re the ones who run the place; the owner wears a mask like that too. They never put it out so I don’t even know if they’re Asian or not. And us toys never get to speak to him”, I honestly say, suddenly making Romeo look at me angrily.

     I looked back at him with a confused expression, then, I remembered that Romeo doesn’t like it when I call myself toys, even when that’s the label that we have in the club.

     “Wait a second, boss, didn’t you say the King’s were the reason why you met Julien?” Mat suddenly asked.

     “What do you mean?” I asked back, and Romeo looked like he was surprised that he hasn’t actually talked about this with me yet.

     “Remember Bryson, a friend of mine who would usually leave messages for me at the company? He’s the guy I was with when I went to the club, and his name is Bryson King, the son of the president who made you work at my company”, Romeo explained, shocking me.

     “I didn’t know President King had a son”, I honestly say.

     “He does. When Johnson and I left this household, we were basically on our own. But then I met President King again who I knew because he was once acquainted with my father”, Romeo explains, immediately confusing me.

     “Wait, the president is a part of a mafia?” I asked.

     “No, he was already a businessman even before then. But like what I told you before, he was in a state of bankruptcy when I met him. He needed money while I needed a person who knew business. So we ended up helping each other up, and his son was around my age that time so we became close friends”, Romeo explained further.

     “Then should we talk to your friend Bryson or his father?” Mat asked.

     “Knowing Bryson, I’m pretty sure he knows nothing about what’s going on. So our best chance would be to talk to President King”, Romeo answered.

     “Then give him a call”, I immediately say.

     Romeo nods his head and clicks a button on his hi-tech telephone.

    “Call Matthew King”, Romeo commanded, making me chuckle a little since I didn’t realize Mat had the same name as President King. And I could see Mat trying not to cringe too because of it.

     The phone rings two times before someone immediately answers it.

     “Good Evening, this is the King’s residence. How may I help you?” a female voice asked.

     “Good Evening. This is chairman Val, his boss. I’d like to speak with him”, Romeo says.

     Its been a while since I’ve heard him being referred to as Chairman Val.

     “Oh chairman Val! This is Fiona”, the woman suddenly says, making me look at Romeo confusingly.

     Mat leans forward and whispers in my ear, “ That’s his wife. “

     “He has a fucking wife?” I unknowingly said out loud, almost making Mat laugh.

     I seriously thought president King was gay since he’s always at the club almost every night. He usually picks toys just to drink and he never touches them. But it never crossed my mind that he’d be a family man.

     “Matthew isn’t here chairman. He said he was in a business trip”, his wife suddenly says.

     “Business trip? I did not ask anyone to be on a-”

     Romeo quickly paused, then he says instead, “Oh yes, I forgot. I’ll just text him then. Thank you.”

     “Oh yes, of course chairman”, Ms. Fiona King answers before hanging up the phone.

     Romeo sighs and massages his temple.

     “Why’d you lie?” Mat asked him.

     Romeo looks at us and says, “If I tell his wife that I didn’t ask King to go on a business trip then she might start thinking his husband is cheating on him. Ms. Fiona is a nice woman, I don’t want her to stress over her husband.”

     “Well that’s sweet and all but you could have just asked her where he was”, Mat says.

     “Then it would be obvious that I didn’t even know where I sent my employees, then she’d find out I was lying”, Romeo answers back. And it actually made me feel proud that he was concerned about matters like that.

     “Guess it’s really obvious that the president is up to no good. We should try calling his phone now”, I say, and then Romeo immediately puts his phone out.

     He opens his contacts and clicks on the President’s name.

     The phone rings, but after a while…

     “ The number you have dial is busy right now. Please try again later. “

     “Great, this bitch ran away”, Mat says.

      Romeo stands up from his seat and sighs heavily.

     “I’ll try contacting President Sterling, maybe President King mentioned something to him or-”

     Before Romeo could even finish his sentence, Romeo was immediately cut off when we heard a loud explosion from outside the household.

     Romeo quickly took a step back as we saw flames from outside the window.

     Then all we heard were agonizing screams.

• END -

(29) Respected

🌹

     “What the hell is going on?!” Romeo angrily shouted as he ran out of the room.

     Mat and I quickly stood up from our seat and followed Romeo out as well.

    When we arrived outside, we were immediately welcomed by smoke and flames. All the guards were running around with fire extinguishers, trying their best to put out the fire from the cars that were parked in front of the house.

    I don’t know if this is me being insensitive or not, but I’m glad the explosion didn’t come from the house itself.

    Romeo looks at the scene. I knew he was trying not to have a mental breakdown, especially when fire was the last thing he saw when Johnson died.

     But I felt so proud when Romeo sucked it all in and acted calm for the sake of everyone.

     “What happened?!” Romeo asked as guards approached us.

     “Don Romeo, a man riding a motorcycle suddenly drove pass the gates and threw a bomb. Some were badly injured, and sadly, a few didn’t make it”, one of the guards explained, shocking me.

     “Where’s the rider?” Romeo asked. He looked calm, but I knew deep down he was inches away from exploding.

     “The rest of the men are driving after him”, the guard answered.

     “Don Romeo! Don Romeo!” we suddenly heard someone call out.

     We turned around and saw Antonio running towards us.

     “Oh thank god you’re okay. A bomber suddenly-”

     Romeo quickly lifts his hand to stop his uncle, “I’ve heard. But the bodies? Where did you put them?”

     “We placed the injured ones inside the house. And for the dead ones…we had to put them aside first”, Antonio explained with a sad expression.

     “How many of my people were killed because of the bomb?” Romeo asked as he looked at the fire slowly getting smaller and smaller.

     “Four dead, six injured. Those ten men were the ones who were guarding the front”, Antonio explained.

     Romeo took a deep breath and says, “We’ll burry the four first thing in the morning.”

     Romeo then looks at me. He was about to say something when another car suddenly explodes, startling everyone.

     “Shit!” Mat shouts.

     Every one of us backed away as the fire grew bigger.

     “Get the water hose! Now!” Romeo shouted as more of his men went out of the household to help put the fire out.

    “Someone got stuck!” We heard someone shout.

    “Then fucking help him!” Romeo shouts back, but no one dared go inside the smoke and flames.

     His men stood around the fire. Some helped put the fire out while some just stood there, helplessly watching.

     “We have to do something”, I say as I grabbed Romeo by the arm. I looked at his eyes, and then I remembered what Eric told me earlier.

     Romeo is feared. If he could be able to do something that will end up making his family respect him then I’m confident that his men will protect him back from my own brother or anyone who will be against him.

     “Romeo”, I simply called out. I looked straight at his eyes, mentally telling him that he should take action to prove to his men that he cares for their lives too, and that he can give them a reason why they should be loyal to him.

     Romeo looked like he knew what I was thinking.

     He suddenly grabbed my cheeks and kissed me.

     “ Be careful “, I quickly whispered, then Romeo looks back at Mat and says, “Stay here and keep Julien and everyone else safe.”

     “What?” Mat asked confusingly. But Romeo doesn’t answer him and just runs away.

     He goes towards one of the water hose so he could wet himself before running towards the burning cars.

     “Don Romeo!” everyone shouted in unison. Shocked on what their godfather suddenly did.

     “What is he doing?!” Antonio asked as he was about to run after him. But I quickly grabbed his arm to stop him from doing so, “No!” I shouted, “You’ll only endanger Romeo if you follow him.”

     Antonio angrily looked at me as he pulled his hand away from my grasp. But even though he was mad, he didn’t say anything, because he knew that I was right about what I just told him.

     So instead, Antonio goes to the rest of the men and shouted, “Help your boss! Quickly put out the fire!”

     Everyone quickly surrounded the cars as they pointed the water hose at the scene.

     I put my hands together like I was praying. I stared at the flames slowly getting smaller while saying, “Please be safe. Please be safe.”

     After 2 minutes, the fire was finally gone, and all that was left was smoke and ashes.

     Everyone became quiet as they waited for their godfather to arrive.

    When the smoke cleared, I sighed in relief as I saw Romeo carrying an injured man while another man was draping his arms around Romeo’s shoulder.

     “ Thank god “, I whispered as his men immediately ran towards him.

     Romeo was coughing heavily as he gave the injured man to one of his guards, then he said, “A-assist them…inside. And call the household doctor…immediately.”

      “Yes Don Romeo”, the man answers as he carried the injured man back inside the household.

      “D-Don Romeo…thank you”, the other man says as he holds his hand on his chest as a sign of respect.

     “Go inside and get your wounds treated”, Romeo says as the man puts his arms down from Romeo. He nods his head and went back inside as well while others assisted him.

     I quickly ran towards Romeo; Mat and Antonio just right behind me.

     When Romeo saw me, I quickly draped my arms around his neck and hugged him, making him hug me back by the waist, “I’m so proud of you Romeo. I’m really proud of you”, I happily tell him.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything, but he kisses my head instead before letting go of me.

     He looks back the scene, panting heavily because of the smoke that he inhaled.

     “I had enough with burning cars”, he says. Then he looks at Antonio and continues, “Emergency meeting…now.”

---

     “What happened tonight was unfortunate”, Romeo says, his face covered with dirt and ashes.

     Knowing Romeo, I knew he wanted to clean himself up so badly. But this wasn’t the right time to be concerned about his cleanliness, especially when some of his men died tonight. It felt like all the shit that happened to his life literally knocked the OCD right off him. And I knew, deep down, that there would be worse side effects that replaced his OCD.

     “What should we do Don Romeo?” someone suddenly asked.

     The board members sat on a long table as Antonio and Romeo sat on both ends.

     Mat stood behind Romeo like a personal bodyguard. Then a few of his men were surrounding the room too.

     Romeo insisted that I come with them even when I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to sit beside those old men so I decided to stand beside the door instead.

     “We have to gather the other households tomorrow. These people are belittling us far too long. The Valentino’s have not done anything ever since my father died. It’s time we do something that will make everyone fear and respect our family name again”, Romeo says with a powerful tone, making everyone nod their head as an agreement.

     I stood there, staring at Romeo with awe. The fact that he’s doing all this for my sake was making my heart flutter, but I knew that Romeo finally understood what it means like to be a head of the family. Your decisions affect everyone, and Romeo learned it the hard way by seeing most of his people die.

     “Those people are attacking us because they think we’re weak Don Romeo. We’re a traditional family, and these gangs are playing with us because they think they’re a lot more powerful just because they’re young and new”, one of the board members suddenly tells him.

     “Our gang has been alive for generations. We are not close to young and new”, I quickly corrected him, making everyone look at me.

     I gulped and realized what I just did.

     I didn’t mean to defend the Dark Saints or anything, but I just wanted to correct his “ facts “.

     I took a deep breath and looked at everyone, “The Dark Saints are known to be fearless. They charge into battle without caring if they live or die through it. As long as they know that they fought with honor, they wouldn’t care less on what the outcome would be. They don’t use fancy guns or anything this family might have. But, they do make strategies that no one can truly predict. Your number of men will be useless, because I’m pretty sure those men will use your numbers against you”, I explained.

     “So you’re saying our family does not stand a chance with your…gang?” another man says, emphasizing the word gang like it was a word that would offend anyone if he said it properly.

     “No, I think you do have a chance, but so do they. What I’m trying to say is that; who else could help you defeat them than the next head of the Dark Saints himself”, I say, and everyone looked at each other and started talking at the same time.

     Romeo looks at me and nods his head.

     The board members were about to say something but someone suddenly barged inside the door.

    “Don Romeo!” he shouted, making everyone quiet inside the room.

     Romeo looked at the man who was panting heavily and asked, “What is it? Why are you interrupting an emergency meeting?”

     The man takes a deep and finally answered, “The rider…we caught him.”

     Everyone gasps.

     Romeo immediately stood up from his seat and says, “Uncle, Mat, follow me. The rest of you should stay here.”

     Everyone stood up as well and said in unison, “Yes Don Romeo.”

     Romeo then goes to me and holds my hand, “Let’s go.”

     I nodded my head as we followed the man towards a room at the basement that actually looked like a…torture chamber.

     When we arrived, there were two guards, and a man was sitting in the middle of the room with his hands and feet tied to each other. His face was even covered with a plastic bag.

    “Remove it”, Romeo instructed, his hands still intertwined with mine.

     The man who brought us here nodded his head and removed the plastic bag from the man.

     When I saw his face, I immediately gasped. Not because I knew him, but because he was obviously Korean, and obviously from my brother’s men. It was somehow expected anyways, but a part of me thought that my brother would not go so low as to bomb cars.

     The man almost looked like he was beat to death too. It looks like Romeo’s men taught him a lesson first before they called Romeo.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything as he stared at the Korean man, but his grip on my hand was suddenly hurting me that I quickly had to let go of him.

     “Don Romeo, what should we do to him?” Antonio asked.

     Romeo doesn’t answer, but instead, he goes towards the Korean man and slaps his cheek really hard. But instead of showing pain, the Korean man started laughing.

     It annoyed me, and it definitely annoyed Romeo. So Romeo immediately strangles the man, quickly making the man’s eyes widen from shock.

     The man was struggling, and he immediately started looking pale, so I quickly held Romeo’s hand, making him stop.

     “Let me talk to him first”, I calmly say.

     Romeo was panting heavily as he slowly put his hand down from the man’s neck. He angrily looks back at the man and says, “I’m not a nice man. So don’t waste our time and answer all our questions”, he then moves back so I could walk towards the Korean man.

     I went to the man and kneeled one knee in front of him.

     “ What is your name? “ I asked in Korean.

     The man stares at me. But instead of answering, the man suddenly spits right in front of me, quickly making me wipe my face with my bare hands.

     “You son of a bitch!” Romeo suddenly shouted. Quickly barging towards him.

     I had to stop him before his fist could even fall on the man’s face.

    “It’s okay”, I say as I looked at Romeo.

     Mat holds Romeo’s shoulder to calm him down.

    When Romeo finally looked calm, I looked back at the man and tried asking again, “ This man behind me will not hesitate to kill you. But if you do not answer me now, I will kill you myself. “

    “ I only answer to one leader, and that is the dragon “, the man finally says.

     I took a deep breath and adjusted myself, then I tilted my head a little to the side and pointed at the tattoo near my eye, shocking him.

     “ You have one leader…but only one true head of the clan “, I say.

     The man’s eyes were wide as he stares at me, “ T-The Black Angel…so you stopped hiding and finally decided to show your face to your family?“

     I don’t answer his question as I say, “ Why did you bomb the household? You weren’t looking for damage, but I knew that was a sign for something. What did my brother ask you to do? “

     “ It is a warning…that we are near “, he answers, but he looks at Romeo, Mat and Antonio instead.

     “What did he just say?” Antonio quickly asked.

     I looked at them and said, “The bomb, it was a warning that my brother and his men are coming.”

     “Then how the hell did he know where the household is? This is a secret place, no one other than a Valentino, or the people acquainted to us, knows where it really is”, Mat quickly says.

     I looked back at the man and asked, “ Who told you about the location of the household? “

     The Korean man doesn’t say anything but laughs again.

     I took a deep breath and tried to contain my anger as best as I could, but the man continued laughing even more.

     Romeo finally lost it. He grabbed my arm and pulled me up, and then he put me aside as he grabbed a gun from a table and pointed it at the man’s arm.

     “Answer me and we’ll go with this smoothly, don’t answer me and I’ll shoot you. But either way, you won’t need an arm to open your mouth anyway”, Romeo says. But the man looks up and smirks at Romeo.

     “You sound like a bitch”, the man says instead, immediately making Romeo shoot him.

     The loud sound made me flinch, but I didn’t say anything.

     “ I-Is that…all you’ve got…cockless boy “, the man says as he winced in pain.

     “Answer the fucking question”, Romeo says again, now pointing the gun at the man’s leg.

     The man was obviously in pain, but he was still laughing, which only made Romeo shoot him again.

     “Ahh!” he shouted from the top of his lungs.

     “ Answer him now or you’ll die “, I warned him.

     “Be my bitch first”, he weakly says with a smirk, immediately making Romeo point the gun at the his forehead.

     “What the fuck did you just say?” Romeo angrily asked.

     I thought the man would be scared, but he still continued to laugh instead.

    Romeo was about to pull the trigger for the third time and just end this man’s life, but finally, the Korean man looks back at all of us and says, “American Man.”

     Shoot

     My eyes widened from shock as I saw a hole on the man’s forehead. I slowly looked back at Romeo, his eyes wild and somehow darker. He looked like a man that I didn’t really know.

     Mat and Antonio looked shocked too.

     “ This was his first kill after seventeen years “, Mat whispers, suddenly making me have goosebumps.

     The gun’s tip was still smoking as Romeo puts it down.

     “I told you…I’m not a nice man”, he says as he turns around to look at the guards.

     “He answered our question so I’ll give him the privilege to be buried. But make sure to bury him as far away as possible. This bitch can laugh on his grave all he wants”, Romeo instructed. The guards nodded their heads and started untying the lifeless body from the chair.

     I stood there, shocked.

     It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone be killed right in front of me. And to think that the man who did it, was none other than my very own Romeo.

     I knew Romeo has a history of kills before, but it still shocked me to see him do it now, especially in front of me.

     “Let’s go”, Romeo says as he drops the gun and leaves the room first; Mat and Antonio right behind him.

     I stared at the lifeless body being carried by the guards. His blood dripping on the floor as they carried him out.

     When they left, I kneeled down and touched the bloodstain. Then I looked at my right and grabbed the gun that Romeo just dropped a minute ago.

     The gun was still warm as I held it.

     “Julien! Let’s go!” I suddenly heard Mat shout, making me flinch.

     “Y-Yeah! Be right there!” I shouted back as I immediately stood up and wipe my bloody finger on my pants.

     I was about to leave the gun on top of the table, but instead, I decided to keep it and tuck it under my pant’s belt area.

     I hid the gun under my shirt before following the other’s upstairs. Leaving the stain of blood on the floor, and the last place where my lover still had his “ clean hands “.

-END-

(30) Who To Trust?

NOTE:

The above picture is Jacey Elthalion who I chose to portray as  Mat Luca . As always, ENJOY.

🌹

     I got back upstairs from the basement.

     I was about to go back to our bedroom when I suddenly saw Mat smoking outside from the window.

     I decided to go out and join him at the lanai.

     I stood beside him while Mat continued to smoke. He doesn’t even say anything when I arrived.

     “I didn’t know you smoke”, I tell him anyways. Then I took an extra cigarette from the pocket of his polo and placed it inside my mouth.

     He finally looks back at me with his right eyebrow raised and said, “I didn’t know you smoke either”, then he takes out his lighter and lights the cigarette for me.

     He looks back at the scenery, so I did the same and looked at the large trees that were in front of us.

     I inhaled and exhaled the smoke from the cigarette before saying, “Where are Romeo and Antonio?”

     Mat exhaled his smoke as well and answered, “Underboss Antonio went back to the meeting room to talk to the rest of the family. Don Romeo on the other hand went back to his room to clean himself up.”

     “Romeo must be exhausted”, I commented, and then I inhaled the smoke again.

     Mat exhales and throws his cigarette away. He still doesn’t look back at me as he asked, “Mentally exhausted, physically exhausted, or emotionally exhausted?”

     I put the cigarette down and took a deep breath, “All three obviously.”

     “He’s been through a lot. Ugly as it sounds but he’s used to the exhaustion”, Mat explains.

     I chuckle and inhaled and exhaled the smoke again.

     “No one can ever get use to exhaustion. Because if you were, you wouldn’t be exhausted to begin with”, I honestly tell him.

     I looked up and realized there were actually thousands of stars above us.

     “Romeo smokes too you know. He started when he was only 13”, Mat suddenly says.

     I turned my head and got surprised when I saw that Mat was actually looking at me now.

     “He started killing people too when he was 13. It was a dark year for him. It was the year where his monster was born too”, Mat explains.

     I throw my cigarette away and looked back at him.

     “Romeo…how was he when his monster took over him?” I asked.

     Mat looks at me, then he quickly looks back at the scenery and answers, “He was cruel. He didn’t care about anything else but himself. Now he’s 34, and rather than caring about himself, he cares about you now. And somehow, I could see that he’s slowly caring about the family too.”

     “I never understood why he hated this family so much”, I say, suddenly making Mat chuckle, “The family never understood him, they never even tried. They just thought Romeo wasn’t capable of anything so they wanted to put him away. But I won’t blame them, Romeo just made trouble everywhere. He was sometimes too much for me too”, he explains.

     Mat sounded like he was just joking about that last statement, but I knew that there were some truth behind that too.

     So I just nod my head, but I don’t say anything about it.

     I’m glad Romeo is slowly forgetting the hate he has with this entire family, and I’m glad I helped Romeo become a better person too, I really am. But I’m afraid that I might end up being the key to the monster that he’s trying to lock up for a very long time now.

     “I’ll be the death of him”, I tell Mat.

     Mat sighs, “Then protect him”, he answers, making me laugh.

     “Protect him? Do you really think he needs my protection?” I asked Mat.

    Mat looks back at me. And with a serious expression, he answers, “He does. More than you need his.”

---

     “Romeo?” I called out as I unknowingly ended up knocking three times on my own room.

     I don’t wait for his answer and just went inside.

     The room was dark, and the bed was empty, but the door to the balcony was open, so I automatically knew where Romeo was.

     “Romeo”, I called out again as I went out of the balcony.

     Romeo stood near the balustrade. He doesn’t say anything nor looks at me, so I walked closer to him and gently touched his shoulder, suddenly making him flinch.

     He quickly blinks and turns his head to look straight at me.

     “Oh, Julien. You’re here now”, he says.

     I took a deep breath and brushed his wet hair with my fingers, “You’re spacing out again. I know a lot happened today, but you don’t need to stay like this. It’s better if you rest.”

     Romeo looks straight at my eyes. He doesn’t say anything, but he leans closer to give me a kiss instead. But instead of kissing me, Romeo suddenly stops midway.

     “Who were you with?” he suddenly asked me.

     I paused and confusingly looked back at him, “Who was I with? Well I’ve been in this house for days, who else would I be with?”

     Romeo doesn’t say anything as he leans closer. He uncomfortably sniffs me and suddenly whispered, “ Mat. “

     “Romeo, you’re being weird”, I say as I quickly moved away from him. But Romeo grabs my arm and angrily asks, “Did he touch you?”

     “Touch me? Mat? No, of course not. Why would Mat-”

     I stopped when Romeo suddenly laughs at himself.

     “Oh yeah, that’s right. Matthew Luca’s the good guy”, he says, making me look at him confusingly.

     Romeo knew that I was starting to get concerned over his actions, so he quickly shifts his expression into a serious one, and then he leans his head on my shoulder.

     “Sorry”, he quickly says.

     What’s going on with him?

     “Come on, let’s go inside Rome. You need to rest”, I say as I tried to pull him inside the room, but Romeo doesn’t even budge.

     “Another bunch of my men got killed today”, he now tells me, pain visible in his voice.

    He sounded so hurt that my heart was starting to ache again.

     “And all that was my fault because I was too stupid to see that fucking Matthew King was someone who will end up betraying me like everyone else did when my father was still alive”, Romeo says.

     “That’s not true and you know that-”

     “It hasn’t even been a whole week and how many of people have already been killed? Godfather or not, I can’t protect them.”

     I shake my head and hugged Romeo tighter.

     “No, you can protect them, maybe not all of them, but you can protect the rest of them. Everything that happened…that wasn’t your fault. President King…he…he was just-”

     “I trusted him”, Romeo quickly says, finally breaking my heart.

     I closed my eyes as I was slowly feeling my shoulder getting wet.

     Romeo was crying again.

     TRUST. That’s a very strong word.

     “I was so mad that I even ended up killing someone today Julien. I pointed the gun at his forehead and pulled the trigger”, Romeo says as he finally lifts his head so he could look back at me.

     His gray eyes were surrounded with red as he continued, “I pulled the trigger…but you know what? I felt nothing.”

     “Oh Romeo…”

     “Make me forget Julien. Take my pain away like what you always do”, Romeo practically begged.

     I don’t say anything and just continued on hugging him. I knew that anything I would say right now would not make Romeo any better.

     He was a mess, and he looked like he was inches away from having another mental breakdown.

     So instead of telling him anything, I slide down and kneeled in front of him until my face wound directly be parallel to his crotch area.

    I gulped and closed my eyes for a second.

    I can’t give Romeo anything with my current status. But for now, I’ll just give him something that I’m good at.

     “Close your eyes and let me take your pain away”, I tell him, and Romeo doesn’t say anything and just did what he was told.

     I looked at his crotch, and then I unzipped his pants, hoping his pain would slowly just turn into pleasure.

---

     I slowly opened my eyes, the sun directly shining on my face through the window.

     When my vision was clear, I saw Romeo sitting down on the edge of the bed. I sat up and crawled towards him. I touched his shoulder and whispered, “ Good morning. “

     Romeo was startled, but he doesn’t say anything.

     He smiles, and then he pulls me towards him until I could sit on his lap.

     I was wearing his shirt that was obviously too big for me, so my shoulder was easily being exposed. Romeo stares at me, then he slowly leans forward to gently kiss my shoulder, “Why do you look like you’re seducing me this early in the morning?”

     I chuckled and rested my head on his shoulder, “I’m not though.”

     Romeo then touches my waist and stands up, carrying me with him towards the bathroom.

     He gently places me on the counter beside the sink.

    Romeo takes a face towel and wets it. Then he goes back to me and started cleaning my face.

    I don’t say anything and just looked at him do what he was doing to me.

     “Hands up”, he says, and I followed him like a child.

     Romeo takes off my ( his ) shirt and started cleaning my body next. His eyes were so serious, so focused, that it was starting to make me feel hot.

     When he was done, he gently kisses my neck and puts me down from the counter. He looks straight at me and says, “Change your clothes and tell everyone to get ready for the funeral. I’ll be right there in a minute, okay?”

     I nodded my head and answered, “Okay.”

     So I quickly changed my clothes and went downstairs to see everyone already wearing black funeral suits like I was.

     “Good morning Mr. Choi”, someone suddenly says. I looked at my right and saw a Valentino soldier approaching me.

     “Oh, hello. Good morning”, I awkwardly tell him since no one really greets me a good morning here.

     The man looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how to start it. So I gently touched his shoulder and said, “It’s okay, what is it?”

     The man was startled, surprised that I actually touched him. So I quickly put my hand down and added, “I mean, if you’re going to tell me something then just do it.”

     “Brother Mat”, he starts.

     I looked at him seriously as he continued, “He said you were the reason why Romeo decided to rescue the men who got stuck on the fire last night.”

     My eyes widened from shock. Why would Mat suddenly tell everyone about that detail?

     “No, I didn’t really-”

     “The man who was injured yesterday was my real brother. I was a coward to not go after him and just left him there to die. But because of you and Don Romeo, he was rescued. So thank you”, the man says, touching his chest as a sign of respect.

     I was surprised so I quickly had to bow in front of him as I said, “N-No, you shouldn’t be thanking me. I was just…you know…just thank Romeo. He risked his life for them, not me.”

     “I know, but you were one of the reasons why Don Romeo took on that risk. And, I don’t think I’m allowed to personally thank him so it’s best if I tell you instead.”

     “It hasn’t even been a whole week and how many of people have already been killed? Godfather or not, I can’t protect them”, I suddenly remembered Romeo say from last night.

     “No, I think it’s best if you thank him personally. He needs his people, and he needs the assurance that his people is glad that he’s their godfather,” I say, and the man nods his head as an understanding.

     “Well that’s it I guess. Thank you, again”, he tells me. But before he could leave, I said, “Hey, can you tell everyone to get ready for the funeral? Romeo said he’ll be joining us soon.”

     The man nods his head again. He doesn’t say anything anymore and just leaves to tell everyone that they should go the funeral grounds now.

     I stared at the man walk away from me.

     I touched my chest, surprised that it was actually beating fast. I never felt so happy hearing someone say thank you to me for something that I really didn’t contribute a lot to.

     “ How refreshing “, I whispered to myself.

     When everyone else was going out of the household, I immediately followed them towards the Valentino graveyard that was just a few meters away from the household itself. But while I was walking, I saw Mat standing alone near the scene where the explosion happened.

     “Mat”, I called out, quickly making him turn to look at me.

     “You again”, he says with a playful grin.

     I stood beside him and looked at the burnt cars, “You like being alone…somehow like Romeo.”

     “That’s why Romeo and I are friends”, Mat jokingly says, making both of us laugh.

     “How is he by the way?” Mat asked.

     I took a deep breath and answered, “He’s fine. He kinda handled this situation better than the past incidents.”

     Mat nods his head and says, “That’s good.”

     I glanced at Mat, and then I remembered last night, when Romeo almost flipped because he found out I hanged out with Mat.

      I was supposed to tell Mat that Romeo is very protective and gets mad easily when he’s going through something. I was going to tell him that he should avoid me whenever Romeo’s in that stage, but I decided to just keep my mouth shut since it didn’t really matter.

     “I think we should go”, Mat says, and I nod my head as an agreement.

     Both of us were about to leave when we suddenly saw the gates being opened from a far.

     Mat and I paused as five black cars drove inside.

     “What’s going on?” I asked.

     “The guards let them in. They must be family heads”, Mat says as he slowly walked forward.

     The cars stopped right in front of us. Mat fixed his suit as we waited for whoever was going to come out of that car.

     A man goes out and opens the back door of the car in the middle.

     I looked closely as I saw a beautiful woman get out of the car. Mat even gasped when he saw whom the woman was.

     She sees us and quickly stares right at me with her cold stare, suddenly making me flinch just because of it.

     Antonio and a few other men suddenly arrived to greet the woman.

    “What are you two doing here?” Antonio asked as he looked at us, but he doesn’t wait for us to answer him.

     Mat and I quickly moved aside so Romeo’s uncle could do his thing. He walks towards the woman, and then he grabbed her hand and gently kissed it like a gentleman.

     “It’s good to see you Antonio”, the woman says, her voice cold like her eyes.

     “Elizabeth, what are you doing here?” I heard Antonio ask.

     I quickly looked at Mat and whispered, “ Who’s that woman? And what is she doing here? “

    Mat moved closer to me and whispered back, “ That’s Elizabeth Roselli. “

     “ Elizabeth Roselli? “ I asked confusingly.

     Mat nods his head and says, “ Yeah. That…is Romeo’s mother. “

     What?

     “Woman”, someone suddenly says behind us.

    Mat and I quickly turned around and saw Romeo, his eyes looking straight at her, like he was getting ready for his second kill.

     “My cruel son, how are you?”

• END -

(31) Own Reasons

🌹

     “My cruel son, how are you?” the woman asked as she looks at Romeo.

     Romeo walks towards the woman who was actually his mother.

     He stands in a safe distance from her and stares at her from head to toe.

     The whole atmosphere became tense. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath ever since Romeo called his own mother “ woman “.

     Her mother was old, no doubt about it. But, even when she looks like she’s in her fifties, Romeo’s mother still looked beautiful.

     “I thought you were dying”, Romeo coldly asked, making his mother chuckle.

     “Unfortunately I’m not dying Romeo, just sick,” Ms. Elizabeth Roselli answers.

     Mat, who was standing beside me, moved closer to where Romeo was. He looked straight at Elizabeth and bravely said, “You may address him as Don Romeo madam Elizabeth.”

     Elizabeth smirked; then she looks at Mat and says, “You were the gardener weren’t you? I didn’t know you could speak.”

     “Pardon madam but I am Don Romeo’s right-hand-man, not…gardener,” Mat says, and it was obvious he immediately got pissed.

     Elizabeth looked satisfied and answered, “Is that so? Then I apologize to both of you…sir Luca and Don Romeo.”

     Looks like both of them don’t like her.

     “What are you doing here?” Romeo finally asked.

     “I’m here to pay respect to your fallen brothers,” Elizabeth says with a pained expression that will obviously not fool anyone. But just by looking at her expression and gestures, she basically didn’t really care.

     “Pay respect? Don’t make me laugh woman. If you wanted to pay respect then you should have been here when Johnson was buried too,” Romeo fires back, now the atmosphere became ten times tenser than what it already was earlier.

     I looked at Elizabeth, and to my surprised, the pained expression that she was faking suddenly became real.

     “You have no idea how hurt I was when he died,” Elizabeth says, trying her best to look tough even when it was obvious that she was inches away from crying.

     Romeo walked closer and angrily looked at his mother, “You’re right, I don’t have an idea. Because when my father died you didn’t look hurt at all.”

     “Don Romeo, I think this isn’t the right place to-”

     Antonio was quickly cut off as Romeo lifted his hand to stop him.

     Romeo moved even closer and looked straight at his mother’s eyes, “Leave my household.”

     Elizabeth doesn’t say anything and just continued to look at her son. Then she glanced at Antonio, like she was asking him to help her out, but Antonio immediately looked away, because all of us knew about Romeo’s position, so it means no one could defy him anymore, even his uncle.

     “I’m sorry Elizabeth, but our godfather wants you to leave. So please…leave,” Antonio says with neutral expression, to make everyone know he doesn’t favor Romeo or Elizabeth.

     “As you wish…DON Romeo. But I’ll be back, and by that time, you’ll be the one begging for me to come back,” Elizabeth says, emphasizing the word don. Then she glares at all of us and goes back to the car.

     Seconds later, everyone who just arrived, immediately left the premises.

    “Start the funeral without me. I give my greatest respect to all those who were killed,” Romeo says as he immediately turns around without even waiting for anyone to answer him.

     I quickly ran towards Romeo and followed behind him back to the house, “Romeo. Romeo wait…”

     “Join the others,” Romeo says instead without looking at me.

      He continued to walk until we arrived inside the house.

     “Romeo,” I called out again, grabbing his arm to stop him.

     Romeo stops walking, but he still doesn’t look at me.

     I let go of him and quickly walked in front of him so I could see his face. But not like how I was expecting, Romeo didn’t have any expression. His face was completely blank that I could even read what he was thinking at the moment.

     “So when were we going to talk about the fact that you and your mother have…THAT kind of relationship,” I told him. Romeo looks at me, and then he ignores me and starts walking upstairs.

     “Romeo,” I called out again.

     “You don’t like your brother right? Then it’s the same as how I hate that woman, easy as that,” Romeo finally answers me, but he still doesn’t look back at me.

     I followed Romeo to his office. He went inside and sat down while I stood in front of his desk.

     “I know I’m going to be unfair here, but you can tell me what happened with you and your mother, I’ll listen,” I say.

     Romeo takes the pen that’s hanging on his necktie and squeezes it tight. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him put out his frustration on an object.

     “I will not waste my time talking about a woman like her,” Romeo angrily tells me.

     Oh come on.

     What did Elizabeth even do to make Romeo hate her this much?

     I hate my brother, but not to an extent that I’d pretend like he never was my brother to begin with.

     “I obviously don’t know what happened, but there must be something that I could do to help you. You’ve been suffering Romeo. You’ve been going through something and I know that what your mother could have done is one of the reasons why. I know, because when you and your sister Diana met up before, she mentioned your mother, and you literally ended up having a breakdown by just hearing her name,” I tell him.

     Romeo seriously looks at me and says, “What she did that time made me remove all the relation I had with her. I do not need to tell anyone the reason why I despise her.”

     “Fine, you don’t have to tell me everything. But Johnson…when he died, I knew that you heard what he said, and I know you’re just ignoring it up till now. He said that your mother did everything for your sake so you should just forgive her,” I reminded him, and Romeo immediately dropped the pen on the desk, like he was afraid he’d end up breaking it if he continued to squeeze it.

     “For my sake? That’s a fucking lie. She did something that any son or any person cannot forgive…”

     “Johnson would not have told you that if there wasn’t any reason,” I persistently told him.

     “What the fuck do you even know Julien?!” Romeo shouted at me now. But the moment the words came out of his mouth; regret was immediately imprinted on his face.

     And I don’t blame him. I practically deserved it for pushing him too hard.

     But something was really off here. Elizabeth might have done something that Romeo didn’t understand, or rather, he didn’t try to understand.

     “You’re right, I don’t know anything. But for my case, my father was asked to kill me, he might not have done it but he fucking sold me to a club that killed me every night. I forgave him because I know that that was his only way to keep me alive. What your mother could have done…it might not be the best decision but she took that risk, and if Johnson, a person who has taken care of you since you were young, says you should forgive her, then I think you need to rethink the reason why she did what she did,” I explained, and Romeo looked like he was having a fight with himself because of what I said.

     He takes a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

     “That woman…” he finally says.

     He puts his head down and holds the pen again.

     “She k i l l e d my father,” Romeo continued, almost making me lose my balance because of what I just heard.

     “If killing my father was a risk that she was willing to take…then forgetting that she was my mother…is a risk…that I am willing to take,” Romeo says before standing up.

     He puts the pen back on his necktie and leaves the room. But this time, I didn’t follow him.

     I took a deep breath and slowly sat on the chair in front of his desk.

     She killed her own husband?

     “She killed my father,” the words echoed inside my head. But as I was trying my best not to over analyze it, my own memories started coming out as well.

     “ You know I don’t want to hurt you, “ I remembered my own father say before dropping the gun on the floor.

     I remember my whole body trembling. Tears continuously falling as I waited for my own death.

     But my father pulled my arm up so I could forcefully stand and look at him.

    “ We need to make it look real, “ I heard him say during that night.

     He grabbed my hand and suddenly slashed something on my palm that I soon realized was an actual knife.

     I flinched as the blood dripped on the floor.

     “ I will do everything…to keep my original blood alive. Now…run. “

     And that was it.

     I ran out of the house and heard continuous gunshots. Men were actually waiting for me outside the gate so when they saw me, they suddenly grabbed me and shoved me inside a van. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a club, naked and worn out.

     And that’s how my life continued on.

     My father did what he had to do. The whole family hated me, and I knew he had hatred in him too but he brushed all the thought away because I was his son.

     He killed the elders for my sake.

     And for some reason, I do believe…that Elizabeth killed Romeo’s father…for his sake too, whether Romeo liked it or not.

---

     It was already evening.

     I haven’t eaten anything ever since my conversation with Romeo earlier. I wanted to go down and join them during lunch but I bet Romeo wouldn’t eat either and I didn’t want to eat alone in a table of men who basically didn’t really like me.

     I stayed inside our bedroom the whole day and Romeo hasn’t even gone back yet.

     I was starving, concerned, and afraid at the same time. I know Romeo needed his space after what happened earlier, but I can’t help but feel that something bad might just happen again.

     So as I was doing nothing, I went towards one of the cabinets and took out the gun that I took yesterday at the torture chamber. I lay on the bed and stared at the gun; the gun that Romeo used to make his first ever kill after so many years.

     “ Sir Julien?“ I suddenly heard someone say from outside the door, quickly making me tuck the gun inside my pant’s belt area.

     I stared at the door. Obviously it wasn’t Romeo since Romeo will never address me as fucking sir.

     “I’ll be right there,” I answered as I lazily stood up from the bed to walk towards the door. I opened the door and saw a man holding a tray of food. I quickly gulped and stared at the food in front of me. The smell was so good that my stomach suddenly rumbled.

     “Don Romeo asked me to bring this up for you,” the man says.

     I looked back at him. 

     I wanted to just grab the tray and shut the door but I had to be polite at least.

     “Thank you,” I say as I take the tray from his hand.

     “And Romeo? Where is he? Did he eat already?” I asked him.

     The man nods his head and says, “Yes. He’s at the meeting room with the board members and specifically told me to make sure you eat this.”

     “Oh don’t worry, I will,” I say, trying my best to to stupidly smile at the food.

     I thought the man was going to leave but he stares at me like he was waiting for something. Only then did I realize that he literally meant that he has to fucking watch me eat all of it.

     “ Romeo you idiot, “ I tell myself as I looked back at the man.

     “This is going to be awkward but please…come in,” I say. Then the man nods his head and goes inside the room.

     Yup. I’m just letting a complete stranger go inside the room. But if he does something funny I could just blow his head off with the gun. But if worse things happen, this house is still filled with CCTV cameras, so basically I’ll be fine.

     “I’ll just stay here sir Julien”, he tells me as he stood near the door and didn’t move any further, which I kinda find respectful in some way.

     I sat on a chair and placed the tray of food on top of the table.

     I don’t want to look like a spoiled rich-kid, but I grew in an environment where people tried to kill each other. So eating this straight on might just be my death sentence.

     “I don’t want to sound rude here but can you…you know…taste this,” I awkwardly say. The man calmly nods his head and walks towards me.

     I gave him my fork, then he starts tasting the food. I stared at his mouth to make sure he swallowed everything.

     He looks back at me and nods his head.

     Okay, I’m just being paranoid at this point.

     “Thank you”, I say, then the man goes back to stand near the door.

     I glanced at the man and nodded my head. I take my spoon and showed it to him, “I’ll start eating now.”

     Then I opened my mouth and savored the delicious food.

     I knew I was hungry, but I didn’t know I was THIS hungry.

     “So, what’s your name?” I asked him while I continued to eat.

     “Aaron Rodrigez, sir Julien,” he politely answered.

     “Aaron. May I ask how long you’ve been staying with this family?” I asked again.

     “My grandfather was a soldier for Don Romeo’s own grandfather, so the generation that followed him became soldiers of this family as well,” the man explained, which surprised me since he didn’t mind answering my questions.

     Wait; was he afraid I’d report him to Romeo or something?

     “A family…do you have one?” I asked again, but this time, the man doesn’t answer.

     I nodded my head as an understanding.

     That might have been something too personal for him.

     “I’m sorry,” I say instead as I grabbed the vanilla ice cream and started eating it up too.

     But I had to immediately stop when I saw a powdered substance on the edge of the bowl.

     “W-what’s this?” I asked as I scooped it up with my fingers. I stared at the powder and placed my finger near my nose to smell it.

    My eyes widened from shock as I realized what it was.

     “The food! It’s drugged!” I immediately told Aaron.

     I thought he’d be shocked too since he tasted it himself, but to my surprise, he was calm, like he…

     No…he tasted everything, and he’s still fine…

     Unless…he quickly sprinkled it in when I asked him to taste the food. He knew and calculated the whole scenario. He planned everything.

     “How dare you drug me!” I shouted at him.

     I ran towards him and was ready to take the gun that I was keeping. But before I could even reach out for it, my head automatically started throbbing, making me lose my balance.

     I was about to fall but the man quickly grabs hold of me, “You asked about my family right? Well my wife and daughter…they were ordered by Romeo’s father, Claudio Valentino, to be executed in front of me,” he suddenly answered.

     My eyes widened from shock.

     I tried to say something but I was already struggling to breathe.

     I grabbed the man and gripped on his arm.

     “ R-Romeo, “ I tried to call out.

     My vision became blurry and blurry as I heard the man’s last words, “I’m sorry sir Julien. We all have our own reasons on why we have to do bad things, I hope you could understand.”

     And with that, I immediately fainted.

• END -

(32) Unmask

🌹

     I slowly opened my eyes and realized that I was inside a moving van.

     “We’ll bring him to the warehouse. Boss said the Asians would be waiting there too,” I heard a man suddenly say.

     “Why don’t we just kill him now?” another man asked, quickly making me feel nervous when I heard the word kill .

     “We can’t okay. So just shut up.”

     My heart was beating fast as I pretended to still be unconscious to not alarm them.

     It was like earlier I was eating the best meal of my life, now I’m inside a van like the time those men drove me to the airport, only to be sent to a club here.

     By just listening to their conversation, it’s pretty obvious that they’re bringing me to my brother. And when we interrogated the bomber yesterday, he said American Man, so President King somehow ended up teaming up with my brother ever since before.

     I don’t know how that happened but I’m not going to stay here to find out.

     I tried moving my arm a little.

     My wrists were tied together, but it wasn’t really tight so I could escape from it easily.

     The plan that they did to kidnap me was risky, but it had a lot of flaws, so I’m guessing they’re not used to kidnapping people, especially since I’ve heard that the Valentino’s haven’t really done anything for years since they didn’t have a godfather after Claudio’s death.

     I moved a little again, and as expected, these stupid assholes didn’t even check me; I luckily still have my gun with me.

     Well they might have been in a hurry to leave the household, and knowing them, they’d expect that I’d be unarmed since I’m basically a prisoner in that house.

     But where the hell was Romeo?

     Will he be okay? Or rather, is he okay?

     Antonio and Mat would be with him, and not everyone hates him. So he must be okay.

     Oh please let him be okay.

     “We’re almost there,” one of the men suddenly says.

     Shit, I have to move.

     I slowly squinted my eyes to see what the situation was.

     There were three men inside the van. The driver, Aaron – the man who drugged me, and another man I was not familiar with.

     The driver won’t be able to do much if I do anything since he’s driving. Aaron looks trained; well he is a soldier of the Valentino family, but he’s old, so he’d be slow. And the other one…he looks weak and too easy to kill.

     I can take him out first then try shooting Aaron.

     What the hell did they think of me? They could have at least brought more men with them.

     I closed my eyes again.

     I tried not to move much as I tried to escape from the pathetic knot these idiots did.

     Thankfully I’m a skilled gang member, so I got out as fast as I could.

     I slowly moved my arm behind my back until I reached out for the gun. When I got a hold of it, I didn’t waste time and opened my eyes.

     I quickly sat up and kicked the first man on the chin area, making him hit his head on the window and automatically knocking him out.

     “ Easy, “ I muttered to myself.

     “What the fuck!” the driver shouted from shock.

     “You dare kidnap a head of a very powerful gang? You’re insulting me,” I say with a smirk.

     The driver kept on looking at the rearview mirror and says, “Aaron! Do something!”

     “I should have killed you myself!” Aaron suddenly shouts as he was about to grab me. But I quickly grabbed the gun and shot him on the shoulder.

     His eyes widened from shock.

     “Who the fuck trained you guys?” I mockingly asked him.

     My heart was beating fast as I felt the gun getting warm on my hand. I smirked and quickly pointed the gun at the driver. I then pulled the trigger, and the bullets went straight to his head, making the car go to the right.

     “Tell my fucking brother I said hi,” I tell Aaron as he was holding his arm to stop the bleeding.

     “You’re making a big mistake Choi Julien. Your real enemy is so close that you don’t even know he’s just waiting to put a knife on you dear Romeo’s neck,” Aaron says. I stared at him, but I didn’t bother saying anything anymore.

     I quickly opened the door and jumped off the moving van before it could hit a light post.

     My body rolled on the road; my skin automatically having bruises because of the impact.

     I was panting heavily. My elbows and knees bleeding, but the gun was thankfully still in my hand.

     That was the easiest kidnap I have ever escaped on. But I can’t help but feel that it was too easy.

     “ I have to get out of here ,“ I tell myself as I looked at the smoking van.

     Why do I always get acquainted with car related accidents?

     “He escaped!” I suddenly heard someone shout.

     I quickly turned around and saw another van approaching behind me.

     So they have extra people after all.

     I slowly stood up and reloaded the gun.

     “Come on suckers. Let this black angel bring you to hell,” I say as I pointed the gun at the driver’s seat.

     Even though the car was still far away from me, I pulled the trigger. I couldn’t see if I hit the driver, but the van starts moving left and right, automatically making me know that I successfully managed to kill him.

     “Three shots left”, I say as the van quickly stops.

     I stood there and waited for them to get out, but to my surprise, there were six of them.

     “You gotta be fucking kidding me! Why the hell were you all there and not in the van that I was just in!” I shouted as I looked at them running at me. Seconds later, a man takes out a gun and shoots me, quickly hitting my arm.

     “Ah! You fucker!” I shouted as the pain escalated on my whole body.

     I quickly made a run for it as I let the blood drip on the ground. They’re shooting me, but they’re being cautious. It looks like they can’t kill me…yet.

     “Get him!” someone shouts.

     The men chased after me as the other one continued to shoot.

     I continued to run, then I quickly turned and took a deep breath, and then I shot the man shooting me, straight at his forehead.

     “Three,” I say as I continued to run.

     I turned around again and shot the man who ran faster than the rest.

     “Two,” I say as I pulled the trigger again, the bullet hitting the man’s neck this time.

     One bullet. Four men.

     I ran faster and went to the side. I turned around and another man shoots me, but on the leg this time.

     “Ah!” I shouted as I finally fell on the floor.

     I was panting heavily, and the blood lose was making me weak.

     I turned around and shot the man with another gun. He died soon after, but the rest of the men finally arrives and stops in front of me.

     “ One, “ I silently say as I took a deep breath.

     “ I’m sorry Romeo. “

     “You’re a good shooter. No wonder your brother said to be careful,” one of the men says.

     “You thought you could escape us easily? Huh fucker?” the other man asked as he goes to me and suddenly punches me on the face.

     The men laugh. Then the other man kicks me on the stomach, making the rest of them laugh again.

    I was coughing heavily, and my vision was getting blurry again. But I tried my best not to pass out.

     “R-Romeo…he’ll kill all of you,” I tell them, then the man laughs again.

      “Romeo? That weak man? He won’t stand a chance against us. He was a monster, but now he’s just a little kid I can easily kill,” the man boastfully says, and this time, it was my turn to laugh.

     “H-he is a little k-kid, but…I’m his m-most precious toy, and you just took it f-from him. Y-You will eat your words…I swear it,” I say, and everyone stopped laughing.

     The man in the middle kneels in front of me and looks straight at my face.

    “And he’s not weak, you guys are. S-six…against…o-one? I killed half of you, and I could kill the rest of you if I w-wanted to,” I tell him.

     The man clenches his fist and was about to punch me again, but I quickly slammed my forehead on his own forehead, quickly making him fall back from the sudden impact.

     The two men quickly took out their guns and pointed it at me.

     “You slut!” the man I just hit shouted.

     He stood up and took out his own gun.

     His forehead was bleeding as he pointed the gun at me, “I don’t care if they told us to get you there alive. I’ll kill you myself,” he says he pushes the tip of the gun on my forehead.

     If this is how I’ll die, then at least I died fighting.

     I quickly closed my eyes and waited for the bullet to hit me, “ Make them pay Romeo…make them fucking pay, “ I say as I bravely waited for my death.

     I took a deep breath and heard a gun shot.

     I quickly opened my eyes, but to my surprise, nothing happened to me.

     I lifted my head and widened my eyes from shock when I saw the man who was about to kill me, have a hole on his own forehead instead.

     Seconds later, two more gun shuts were heard, and the rest of the men who chased after me fell on the floor, revealing a group of masked men standing in front of me.

     My eyes widened even more when I recognized the masks.

     They’re the men who handle Club Luxuria.

     What the fuck are they doing here? And how the fuck did they find me here, of all places?

     “You’ve been gone for too long number 24,” someone says. But they were all wearing masks that I didn’t even know who said it.

     “The other toys are missing you,” another man says.

     “That’s enough,” a man wearing an expensive looking suit suddenly says when he went out of the car that’s behind the rest of the men.

     Everyone moved aside as this silver masked man approached me.

     “Boss, he’s injured,” someone else says.

     The man – who was actually the boss, or what I suspect as the owner of the club, doesn’t say anything but suddenly shows me his hand instead.

    I hesitantly looked at him but grabbed his hand anyway so I could stand.

    I could have been killed if it weren’t for them so I should at least be thankful about it.

     “T-Thanks,” I tried to say as I looked back at him.

     I haven’t really seen the owner of the club before. Mr. Jackson was my boss, but he wasn’t the owner of the whole club, he was like the floor manager there.

     “Your father sold you to us. You cost a fortune, so did you easily think you can escape from me so easily?” the man asks me, but I didn’t have the strength to answer him anymore.

     “Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you. If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t really hurt you before. The customers might have but they’re all pigs, and this is a cruel business. Your father knew about the risks but he said you’d be strong enough to handle it,” the man suddenly explains, confusing me.

     “W-Why are you…t-telling me this?” I asked him.

     The man chuckles and holds his mask like he was about to remove it.

     “I tried protecting you Julien. But this world is cruel, and I raised you in an environment where a lot would not have survived. I hope you know I tried my best to make sure you are hidden, and so that no one else could find you like how I promised your father. Even when it meant I had to force you to work in my club,” he explains further, confusing me even more.

     “I will not apologize for what I did, so you will not have a reason to forgive me. But, my debt to your father is done,” he says, finally taking off his mask.

     My eyes widened from shock and I almost lost my balance from what I just saw.

     “Now it’s your turn to fulfill the end of the bargain.”

     “P-President King …”

• END -

(33) The Truth

🌹

     “P-President King…” I say as I stared at his face with disbelief.

     I had to blink again to make sure I was seeing the right person.

     “Surprised?” he asked with a small smile.

     All this time, this man who I thought was just a mere customer, was actually the owner of the club that practically saved my life.

     “T-this can’t be…I thought you were the bad guy. N-No, WE thought you were the bad guy. Romeo…he practically lost it when he found out you were a traitor,” I honestly told him.

     President King sighs and says, “I still have a lot to explain to Romeo, and I know that through all the events that happened, all the suspicion ended up being pointed at me. But I hope you know that I did not kill any of Romeo’s people, and I would never team up with your brother because there is no reason for me to do so.”

     “Don’t worry, I know. Because if you did, you wouldn’t have hid me for more than 9 years,” I answered him, and President King looked relieved.

     “Well I know that I also have a lot to explain to you, but for now we need to leave,” President King says as he turns around to walk back to his car.

     Two men in masks approached me and assisted me to the car since I basically couldn’t walk properly.

     When I got inside, we immediately left the scene before anyone else finds us.

     “I’ll bring you back to the club so we could treat your wounds. For now that’s the safest place you could be in,” the president says. I didn’t say anything and just nodded my head as an answer.

     “Does my brother know about you being the boss of Club Luxuria?” I asked as I looked at him.

     President King shakes his head and answered, “No, but he might know me as a man that had a business agreement with your father in the past. I tried to hide my identity, which was why I was not able to do anything when your brother and his men came to the club.”

     “Because if you stopped them then my brother would definitely get suspicious, and he’d end up finding out that you were actually helping me,” I said, understanding the whole situation even though everything about it was messed up.

     It was an incident that I will never forget. Thankfully President King didn’t apologize about anything, because that incident might be something that I will never forgive him for.

     I took a deep breath and looked at the masked men inside the car, “I hated that club you know,” I suddenly say.

     Everyone immediately looked back at me, but no one said a word, so I continued, “I hated the smell of lust in the air. I hated how we were displayed like toys for men to play with. And I hated how I couldn’t even leave because I knew that there were no where else I could go to.”

     I looked at President King’s eyes, and I swore he looked apologetic when he looked back at me.

     “But that club was where I met people who suffered like me. And for what was worth, it kept me alive up to this day. So thank you…thank you for taking me away,” I seriously tell President King.

     President King takes a deep breath and immediately looks away.

     He stares out the window and says, “I won’t label myself as a bad guy, but I won’t label myself as a good guy either. I have my reasons on why I protected and hid you, so you do not need to thank a selfish man like me.”

     I was going to argue with him, but I knew there was no point in doing so.

     I stared at him for a couple of seconds, then I opened my mouth and said, “You need me don’t you.”

     President King immediately looks back at me, obviously a little surprised by what I just said.

     “You need my name, and the power that will come with it,” I continued.

     I looked straight at his eyes and finished, “You need the Dark Saints.”

     President King seriously looks at me, but he doesn’t say anything.

     “You hid me and protected me because when the right time comes, you’ll be needing the head of the Dark Saints. Which basically means you’ll be needing me,” I tell him.

     “Your father said his debt will be paid once he dies. I automatically knew he meant that you’ll be the next head of the Dark Saints once he does, and that’s when I’ll get my payment,” he finally answers me, but it didn’t even shock me because I knew that my father always made deals like that.

     “That…was the bargain I made with your father,” he finished.

     “He was really confident that I’d do it for you then,” I answered him back.

     President King chuckles and nods his head, “Well he was pretty confident that you wouldn’t let him down.”

     I smirked and answered him, “Then he really did know me well.”

     The smile on President King’s face suddenly vanished when he heard what I just said.

     “W-wait…are you saying what I think your saying?” he asks me.

     I looked at him seriously and nodded my head, “Hiding me was a risk that could have gotten yourself killed, but you did it anyways because you had hope that by the end of it all I’d be willing to help you. A man like that…is worthy enough to be serviced by the Black Angel himself.”

     President King looks at me with shock. He obviously didn’t know what to say after hearing what I just said.

     Even when I was bleeding everywhere, I said with power in my voice, “So what was the bargain President Matthew King? You waited for almost nine years for this moment, so what was I supposed to do?”

---

     “Are you feeling better?” Trevor ( Toy #14 ) asked while we were inside my old room back at the club.

    Like what President King said, he brought me back here and got my wounds treated. We were supposed to talk about the bargain that he made with my father, but he said I should rest first before he starts with the explanation.

     “I am, it was just two shots,” I say like it was nothing, but in reality, it really was very painful.

     “Seriously, what the hell is happening Julien? First these men barges in the club and rapes you, then Chairman Val ended up taking you away. You’ve been gone for so long, now you’re back here, wounded, and have even met the big boss. What kind of shit have you been tied up with?” Trevor asked, obviously confused about the whole situation,

     “If I tell you everything we might end up talking for a whole week. It’s…. just complicated,” I say, and I’m glad Trevor didn’t ask me about it further.

     “Well I’m glad your safe. But, what happened to chairman Val? I thought he was protecting you?” Trevor asked, making me remember Romeo.

     How on earth did I end up forgetting about him?

     “He is protecting me, but I got kidnapped yesterday, which is why I’m here” I answered, shocking Trevor even more.

     “That’s why I think I should immediately call Romeo. I don’t know what happened to him after he found out I was gone,” I say as I tried to stand up from the bed.

     Trevor helps me up and says, “You can do that, but Mr. Jackson said THE boss wants you in his office.”

     “Looks like resting is over. Let’s go.”

     Trevor nods his head and assisted me towards President King’s office.

     It’s still very strange that the man in mask that has been running this place for all those years was none other than President King. Who would have known?

     “I’ll stay here and wait for you,” Trevor says as he lets go of me.

     I thank him and went inside the room to see President King sitting in front of his desk while wearing a mask.

     When he sees me close the door, he immediately removed his mask.

     “Did you eat your lunch?” he asks me.

     I don’t say anything but nodded my head instead.

     “Alright. Sit down,” he tells me.

     I nod my head as sat down on the chair in front of me.

     When I was already comfortably sitting down, he starts, “I know you have a lot of questions. So where do you want to start?”

     “How did you find me?” I quickly asked first.

     President King shifted from his seat and answered, “We’ve been keeping an eye on you. Your father asked me to protect you, so even though I knew you were safe with Romeo, I still made sure my men could keep an eye on you. Thankfully it wasn’t a waste, because my men saw you being carried to a van, and that’s when we knew that it was time for you to know my real identity.”

     So they’ve been watching me all this time.

     I don’t know if I should be freaked out or if I should be thankful.

     “I know this doesn’t sound connected to the situation at all but…where were you? You were gone without a trace that Romeo and I immediately concluded that you were helping my brother.”

     “I was planning here actually. I knew your brother was starting with his plans as well so I had to do something. I needed you because I needed the Dark Saints, and I can’t have what I need while he’s in the picture,” President King explains, finally making me understand the situation.

     “So you’re obviously not the man who has been helping my brother. But do you somehow have an idea on who it is? We interrogated someone before, and he said American Man. The only person we could think of at that time was you,” I say, but President King shakes his head and says, “I don’t really know, but what I do know it’s someone who’s inside the Valentino Household. He wouldn’t be able to give such specific details to your brother if he wasn’t part of that mafia.”

     “Could it be Elizabeth Roselli?” I suddenly asked, making President King looked shocked.

    “Obviously you’ve heard of her,” I say when I saw President King’s reaction.

     “Of course, she’s the wife of Claudio Valentino,” the President answers.

     “That’s right. Do you know that she killed Claudio Valentino too,” I say, and President King looked even more shocked.

     “W-Who told you that?” he immediately asked me.

     I took a deep breath and answered, “Romeo.”

    “Romeo? Romeo knew who killed his father?” President King asked, and that’s when I knew something was off.

     “That’s it actually, Romeo hates his mother because she killed his father. But why doesn’t anyone know about it yet? Why does everyone in the Valentino household still respect her?” I asked.

     “I…I wouldn’t know,” President King honestly answered, but then his eyes suddenly widened, like he just thought of something.

     “Unless…” he suddenly says.

     “Unless what?” I asked.

     “Romeo is the only one who knows about it right? Then that only means Romeo didn’t tell anyone about it,” President King explains, making me widen my eyes too from the sudden realization.

     “That’s right. He didn’t tell anyone. He despised his own mother, but he knew she’d be killed if the Valentino’s find out she killed Claudio, so he didn’t tell anyone and just ran away,” I say, shocked on what we just realized.

     But why? What would Romeo gain by not telling anyone about it?

     “Claudio was a respectful man so everyone believed no one would try and kill him inside the household. But the truth was, his own wife actually killed him, that’s why no one could find out who did it,” President King explains, still shocked on the sudden revelation.

     “I don’t think he was a respectful man at all President King. The man who kidnapped me, he said Claudio killed his wife and child right in front of him,” I tell him, shocking the president again by what I just said.

    “No, that’s not true. I know Claudio; I’ve been one of his partners for years. He’s a man of honor, he will not kill anyone without any reason,” the president explains.

     “Then why are people rebelling against him now?” I asked, and the president answered, “Someone might be changing the stories so people would end up hating him. One of the reasons why I wouldn’t even suspect Elizabeth as the person who killed Claudio is because Elizabeth herself told me Claudio was a kind man.”

     Elizabeth said that?

     Alright, what the hell is the truth here? Everything isn’t connecting at all.

     “You sound like you know Elizabeth very well,” I say.

     President King took a deep breath and said, “I do, that’s because I’m the reason why she visited the Valentino Household other day.”

     “What?”

     “She and I has one goal, that’s why I asked her to start with our plan,” the president explained, but I was too confused to even ask about it more.

     “I also called her this morning and told her that you’re here. If I call Romeo and tell him where you are I’m pretty sure he won’t believe me, so I told her to tell him instead, maybe Romeo would somehow listen to her at least” President King tells me.

     I was about to ask another question when we suddenly heard a loud gunshot from outside.

     President King smirks and says, “Looks like your Romeo is here Julien…and as always, he’s right on time.”

     “No way, he’s already here?!” I asked with disbelief.

     I immediately stood from the chair and practically ran to the door. But before I could leave, President King says, “Could you do me a favor Julien?”

    I quickly looked back at him and nodded my head, “Sure. What is it?”

     President King wears his mask back and continues, “Would you mind not telling Romeo about me yet? I’m waiting for a perfect time to explain everything. So for now, let him continue on hating me.”

     I looked at him confusingly, but I nodded my head anyway.

     “Alright,” I answered, and then President King suddenly writes something down on a piece of paper. He stands up and hands it over to me, “And here.”

     “What’s this?” I asked as I looked at the folded paper.

    “It’s an address of where your men are. A man named Eric Kwon hoped you’d be able to find them quickly. I’m sorry if it took too long for me to give it to you,” President King suddenly says, obviously shocking me.

     I wanted to ask how he got acquainted with them, but I knew this wasn’t the time to talk about that now.

     So I nodded my head and left the room instead to go meet my lover.

    Hopefully I’d meet him immediately before he ends up killing anyone.

---

     “I will shoot everyone here if you don’t answer my question. So let me ask you again, where the hell is Julien Choi?!” I quickly heard Romeo’s voice from the lobby. My heart beating faster just by hearing his voice.

     I immediately pushed Trevor aside so I could run downstairs.

     “Julien! Wait a second!” Trevor shouted, but I completely ignored him.

     My wound was aching like crazy as I ran, but I didn’t even care anymore.

     I had to see Romeo.

     “I said where is he!?” Romeo shouted again.

     “Sir please, ask your men to put their guns down first before we answer you anything,” I heard Mr. Jackson beg.

    When I got down at the lobby, I saw Mat and five other men pointing their guns at the men in masks while Romeo pointed his own gun at Mr. Jackson.

     “Romeo!” I immediately shouted when I saw him.

     Everyone quickly put their guns down.

     Romeo turns his head, and when he saw my face, he quickly dropped his gun on the floor.

     He doesn’t say anything but runs towards me. He grabbed me by the waist and hugged me tightly.

     “Sorry for making you worried,” I say with a smile, trying to lighten the mood even though I was inches away from crying by just seeing him alright.

    “ I thought I’d die,“ Romeo whispered against my ear.

     I tried my best not to cry as I whispered back, “ I-It’s okay Rome. I’m here and I’m safe. “

     “I was willing to trade my own life just to find you, “ he continued to tell me.

     He was hugging me so tightly that the wound on my arm was starting to ache. But I didn’t mind at all. I let him hug me as everyone at the lobby stared at us.

     “ Thank god you’re okay, “ I whispered at him.

     Then his hands were slowly trembling on my back, and at that moment I knew, my strong Romeo was once again going to break.

     “Come on, let’s talk in private.”

• END -

(33.5) Find Him

🌹

     “Where the fuck is he!?” I shouted at the man who was also guarding the second floor of the household last night; my hand still around his neck.

     “D-Don R-Romeo…p-please…I swear…I-I don’t k-know…” the pathetic man answers me.

     “That’s not the answer I’m looking for,” I angrily told him. 

     I tightened my grip on his neck, but when he looked like he was about to faint, I let go of him, making him fall on the floor. But while he was catching his breath, I grabbed the gun from another soldier who was standing beside me and quickly shot the man on the floor right on his face.

     Everyone inside my bedroom gasped from shock. Mat even had to step away just because of the blood that quickly stained the floor.

     “Don Romeo, these two were also guarding the first floors while we were having our meeting,” Antonio said as he arrived at the scene.

     He immediately notices the lifeless body on the floor, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he pushed two men in front of me.

     I glared at the two soldiers standing in front of me, their whole body trembling from fear.

     “Let me ask you worthless men again. Where the hell is my lover!” I shouted right at their faces, making both of them flinch.

     The man on the right quickly held his chest and bowed his head, “I failed you Don Romeo! I was not able to see anything while you were…”

     I didn’t even let him finish as I shot him right on the head as well.

     His lifeless body immediately fell beside the other dead man on the floor.

    Everyone inside the room became ten times more tensed as I pointed the gun at the other man this time.

     He immediately went down on his knees and said, “I’m so sorry godfather! Please! Don Romeo! Please don’t’-”

      I was about to push the trigger for the third time but Mat suddenly touches my shoulder and said, “Don Romeo, I think that’s enough. You killed all the cooks and all the guards who were assigned on the second floor. Nothing will happen even if we end up killing everyone here.”

     I took a deep breath and put the gun down.

     I was gripping on the gun until it hurt my hand.

     I was so furious.

     So lost.

     Julien was missing, and the only thing I found was poison on his food and tire tracks leaving the household.

     And like magic, not even a single soul has seen him being taken away.

     “I will call every soldier who were on duty while we had the meeting last night. There were 20 soldiers who were asked to guard the outside of the household, I’m pretty sure one of them could have seen something suspicious at least,” Antonio stated.

     He walks towards me and continued; “I’ll ask them to gather at the lobby for interrogation.”

     I looked back at him but don’t say anything.

     I went out of the bedroom and walked down the hall. Mat, my uncle Antonio, and the rest of the soldiers, following behind me.

     “Where are you going?” I heard Mat ask from behind me.

     “I’m going to find him on my own since no one in this pathetic household could do it for me,” I say as I continued walking.

     Mat grabbed my arm again to stop me, “Don Romeo. You already sent 30 men to find him. You need to stay here so we could keep you safe. People were able to get inside and take him like it was the easiest thing in the world. We can’t risk something like that to happen to you too,” Mat says.

     I pulled my arm away from him and looked straight at his eyes. Then, I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him upward until he could be lifted from the floor.

     “Julien is the only reason why I’m here, and he’s the only reason why I’m still alive. If something happens to him…”

     I stopped, because the thought of Julien getting hurt in any way almost made my heart ache even more than it already has.

    “I am willing to kill everyone in this household just so I could find him. I am willing to trade my own life just to make sure he’s okay,” I seriously tell Mat, but Mat didn’t even look terrified at me at all, like he perfectly understood what I was feeling.

     “We will find him. I promise you that,” Mat said with a determined voice instead.

    “He’s right, so please Don Romeo, let him go,” uncle Antonio said this time.

     I took a deep breath and looked at everyone’s terrified stares.

     I gripped on Mat’s collar harder but decided to let him go.

     “Search the whole area. Search the whole fucking city if you have to,” I say as I looked at the soldiers behind me.

     Without waiting for their response, I walked away and continued, “FIND him.”

     “Yes Don Romeo!” I heard my men answer before they could go down the stairs

     “Is someone missing?” I asked as uncle Antonio and Mat continued to follow me.

     “There is actually. A veteran soldier named Aaron Rodriguez . The other men said he’s been gone since last night,” Antonio immediately answered.

     I stopped walking, making the two stop walking behind me too.

    “Aaron Rodriguez,” I repeated.

     I clenched on the gun at my hand and immediately ran to the meeting room, the two still following behind me.

     I was about to go inside the meeting room to see Aaron Rodriguez’s files, but before I could even get inside the room, someone suddenly runs towards me with a phone.

     “Don Romeo…It’s madam Elizabeth Roselli,” the man suddenly says.

     My eyes widened from shock.

     I looked back at Mat and Antonio who looked shocked as well.

     I took a deep breath and took the phone. I put the phone close to my ear but I didn’t say a word.

     “ My cruel son. It looks like you lost a toy. “

• END -

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(34) Mine [m]

🌹

      “Remember this?” I asked as I brought Romeo in front of a red room with the number 100 written on it.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything but just looks at me. His eyes were suddenly teary that the smile on my face immediately vanished.

     “Don’t look at me like that,” I say as I let go of his hand.

     Romeo took a deep breath and said, “I thought I lost you.”

     I gently touched his cheeks and answered back, “I thought so too.”

    Then I turned around and went inside the room, Romeo following behind me.

     Romeo gets inside first, and the moment I closed the door behind us, Romeo pushed me against the wall and devoured my lips.

     He starts gentle, like he was making sure if I’d accept his kiss or not.

     But after a while, he pushes his tongue inside mine and tasted every inch of my mouth like he hasn’t eaten the whole day and I was his food.

     “ I love you ,“ he tells in between the kisses, the words making my heart flutter like how it always does when Romeo tells me those words.

     When we were both out of breaths, we slowly moved away from each other.

     I quickly leaned my head on Romeo’s chest and whispered back, “ I love you.“

     And just with those words, tears immediately fell out of my eyes.

     “I love you,” I say again, glad that I was still able to tell him these words after everything that just happened.

     “Baby I was so scared I’d never see you again,” I honestly tell him as the tears continued to pour out of my eyes.

     At times like these, Romeo would be the first one to cry, but after everything that just happened, it was my turn to break down in front of him.

     “I was so afraid to lose you,” I continued to tell him, making Romeo hug me even tighter.

     “I keep on telling myself that I should be strong so I could help you become stronger, but even when I was trying to pretend like everything else was okay I just-”

     I stopped midsentence when Romeo presses his lips on mine again.

     I closed my eyes and felt his soft lips gently touching mine.

     We were silent for a couple of minutes. And when we were finally feeling better, I moved away from him and went further inside the room.

     “This room…this was where chairman Val interrogated me,” I say as I looked back at Romeo.

     Romeo finally smiled as he sat down on the same sofa where I first saw him before.

     He looks at me and said, “You definitely know I can’t touch you right?”

     I looked at him and laughed.

     Those were literally the same words he told me before when we met.

     I smirked and walked towards him. I leaned forward and pressed my hands on his thighs, “Then go ahead and watch me.”

     Romeo smirks and licks my lips, “I don’t think I can do that now.”

     I laughed again and immediately sat beside him.

     I rested my head on his shoulder as Romeo said, “A man named Aaron Rodriguez took you.”

     I took a deep breath and said, “I know, he told me.”

     “We haven’t found him yet but if we do I’ll-”

     “He’s probably dead,” I quickly tell Romeo when I remembered that I left him in a moving van and even shot him.

     “I’m glad,” Romeo simply says.

     I squeezed Romeo’s hand tighter and said, “He hated your father you know. He said the reason why he did what he did was because Claudio Valentino killed his wife and child.”

     “I know…I was actually fifteen when that happened,” Romeo suddenly says, shocking me.

     “But there’s a different side of that story you know,” he continued, quickly making me shift from my space so I could properly look at him.

      “What is it?”

      “His wife…it’s in the rules that no one in the family is allowed to make affairs, sadly, his wife did. And my father found out that the kid was also a product from the affair,” Romeo suddenly explained, shocking me.

     “The board members said that my father should kill the wife, the man she’s having an affair with, and the child. Of course my father could not do it, but it was tradition, and he knew bad things will come out if he doesn’t follow tradition,” Romeo explained further.

     “Then why is he mad at your father? Shouldn’t he be mad at his-”

     Romeo cuts me off and said, “My father asked everyone not to tell about the wife’s affair to the husband. So my father killed the wife and the child, without Aaron knowing the reason why.”

     My eyes widened from shock as I realized why his father did it, “He didn’t want Aaron to live while knowing that his wife and supposed child was just a sad illusion. He was willing to make Aaron despise him just so Aaron could continue on living with the idea that he had a happy family of his own.”

     “My father is respected, and I know to myself that I will not be able to reach the level of respect his people gave him,” Romeo tells me.

     So President King was right. Claudio really is a good man.

     “He’s a good man. But why did your mother kill him?” I asked, shocking Romeo.

     I knew this was a sensitive question, but it was a question that I have been dying to be answered.

     Romeo takes a deep breath and surprisingly answered me, “That is the same question I have kept asking myself ever since that day.”

     Romeo looked calmer about the topic; probably because his hatred for his mother lessened since she’s the one who told him where I was.

     “I saw it in my own eyes; how she just ran to him and stabbed him continuously. I quickly grabbed his body, the blood on my own hands. My father coughed blood, but he was still able to touch my hand and tell me that I’d be a great godfather. I didn’t know what happened next, but the last thing I knew was that I was inside a car; Johnson driving me farther away from the household,” Romeo explained, shocking me since he actually told me the story.

     “I wasn’t even on my own father’s burial,” Romeo continued, tears ready to pour out of his eyes, but nothing came out.

     I touched Romeo’s hand and squeezed it.

     “Don’t worry, so was I,” I say, trying to make him feel better.

     Romeo forced a smile and nodded his head, then he suddenly gives out a quick laugh as he said, “Looks like we both have a lot of unanswered questions from our own fathers.”

     I smiled and answered, “We do.”

     Alright I think that’s enough for today.

     “You know what my mistake was?” I asked Romeo back, shocking him.

     Romeo was able to open something very personal to him. So I think it’s about time I do the same thing for him.

    “I was 19-years-old. I was at my prime and my family was getting ready for an arrange marriage they made for my sister Park Minji. My sister was 20 at that time and she hasn’t even met her soon to be husband yet. But while I was training at the garden, this man suddenly approached me and gave me a few tricks he said he learned when he was young. I didn’t know who he was at first until I saw him at the hall drinking tea with my family. At that moment I knew he was my sister’s fiancé,” I paused and looked at Romeo’s reaction.

     Since the story hasn’t really gotten to the good part yet, Romeo haven’t really given me any reaction, so I continued, “He stayed at our household for a few months. At morning he’d prepare for the wedding with my sister, at night he’d join me at the garden. And I’m pretty sure you know what happened next.”

     “You became together,” Romeo answered with an expressionless face.

      I took a deep breath and nodded my head, “I loved him, and I thought he loved me too. But on the night of his wedding, we were planning to run away. But, someone heard of our plans and ratted us out to the elders and to my father. And you know what that asshole said to them?”

     Romeo doesn’t say anything, but I knew he was waiting for me to continue.

     “He said I forced him every night. He said he was afraid because he knew how strong I was so he just played along. And for some stupid reason, the elders believed him more than me. I knew they hated me, but I didn’t know it would be to an extent where they’d want to kill me.”

     “So at the night where you were supposed to be killed by your own father…he let you escape instead and sold you to Club Luxuria,” Romeo finished.

     I slowly nodded my head and stared at Romeo’s face to see his reaction.

    I thought I’d feel really bad after finally telling Romeo a part of my past, but somehow, I feel relieved instead.

     “Are you mad?” I finally asked him.

     Romeo takes a deep breath and kisses my forehead, “I’m furious,” he suddenly answered.

     “At him of course…” he immediately continued when he saw me pouting.

     “He’s stupid to have left you like that. But, I’m thankful because I’m able to meet you because of him,” Romeo continued, and then he suddenly embraces me and lifts me up from the sofa.

     He carries me towards the bed and gently placed me there.

     “It’s funny how I didn’t even want to touch this bed before,” Romeo suddenly tells me.

     He leans forward and quickly kisses me again, “But since we’re here, let me touch what’s mine.”

     Romeo slowly helps me removed my shirt. But when he saw the wound on my arm, Romeo’s playful expression quickly changed into a serious and dark one.

     “They did this to you?” he asked.

     I looked straight at Romeo’s eyes and answered, “They did. So would you please take the pain away?”

    Romeo presses his forehead on mine and whispered, “ Oh I will. And afterwards, those men will feel the pain we’ll be giving back to them. “

     Romeo doesn’t wait for my response as he quickly removes my pants. When he saw the wound on my legs too, he leans forward and kisses it instead.

     He doesn’t say anything, but his eyes were covered with hunger and lust as he stared at my entire body.

     He kisses my lips, “ Mine, “ he whispered while still looking straight at my eyes.

     He kisses my neck, “ Mine. “

     He kisses my stomach, “ Mine. “

     He kisses my thighs, “ Mine. “

     Then he kisses my feet, “ All mine. “

     He stands up, and to my surprise, for the first time ever since I’ve been with Romeo, he removes all the buttons of his polo.

     He turns around so I could face his back.

     He looks at me over his shoulder, and with a look that could make anyone melt, Romeo says with a low voice, “And this…is all yours.”

     Romeo removes his polo, making my eyes widen from shock.

     On his back was a large tattoo of a cross that was covered with roses and thorns.

     “ Romeo… “

     “ All yours,“ he tells me again as he slowly turns around to look at me.

     He removes his pants and boxers until both of us were finally naked.

     Nothing was really special about being naked together, but for me, it was a very big step for my relationship with Romeo.

     It was like Romeo has finally showed his true stained self to me.

    And I couldn’t be happier about it.

    “You had that all along?” I asked as I reached out for his back to touch the tattoo; Romeo kneeling one leg on the bed so he could level me.

    “It was a tradition. So I already had it when I was only sixteen,” he answered me.

     “It’s beautiful,” I honestly tell him.

     Romeo smiles and brushes my hair back with his own fingers, “You’re the first one to see it.”

     I don’t say anything but leaned closer to kiss him instead. 

     When we parted from the kiss, Romeo stands up and looks back at me “Alright. Now it’s time for daddy to become one with you,” he says with a seductive low voice, making the hair on my skin stand just by the sensation his voice gave me.

     “Let me,” I say as I moved closer so my face could level Romeo’s cock.

     I gulped and licked the tip, quickly making Romeo react.

     When I saw him closing his eyes, I immediately put his cock inside my warm and wet mouth.

     I closed my mouth a little so Romeo could feel the tightness. Thankfully it worked because Romeo let out a hot moan when I did it.

     “Yeah…that’s it,” he says as he grabbed a chunk of my hair so he could push my head deeper.

     “ Hmmm “, I moaned, feeling my own cock getting harder.

     Romeo fastened his pace, and was inches away from cumming.

     I thought he was going to cum inside my mouth, but Romeo quickly pulled out.

     I quickly grabbed his hips and practically begged, “ No … D-daddy…let me taste it…please let me drink all of it. “

      Romeo groaned and quickly shoved his cock inside my mouth again, and at that moment, Romeo released his hot seed inside me.

     I swallowed everything as Romeo slowly pulled his cock out of my mouth.

     Both of us were panting.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything, but then he suddenly pushed me on the bed and turned me around so I could lay on my stomach.

     “Now it’s my turn to make my baby feel good,” Romeo sexily says.

     My heart was pounding fast for some reason.

     I know it sounds wrong but I’m used to having sex. Well maybe after I became together with Romeo, no one has used me anymore, which will probably make me tight. But, I’m not a virgin, but the thought of Romeo finally fucking me was suddenly making me nervous.

     The thought of Romeo thinking that, “ Was that all? “ terrified the shit out of me.

      What if he doesn’t like the idea of me being used by other’s before?

     “I always loved everything about you,” Romeo suddenly says as he slides his hands against my back.

     “The first time I saw you on the television, I knew there was something about you that I’d end up not being able to resist,” Romeo continued to say.

     When I thought he was going to say something else, I suddenly felt the tip of his cock on my hole.

     The contact made me immediately moan.

     “Your mesmerising black eyes,” Romeo says, slowly pushing himself deeper inside me now.

     My eyes widened as I was slowly feeling him getting deeper and deeper.

     “Your beautiful body,” Romeo continued, his cock now halfway inside me.

     I gripped on the bedsheets as I was starting to feel Romeo’s size.

     “ B-Babe…Hmm…babe it’s so big …“

     Romeo gripped on my waist and suddenly stopped midway, “And your dirty side too.”

     “R-Romeo…p-please…put it-”

     I suddenly stopped midsentence when I felt Romeo completely shove himself inside me, the pain immediately escalating in my entire body.

     “T-That’s why…I f-fell in love…with you…Choi Julien,” Romeo struggled to say since his cock was now completely inside me.

     I continued to grip on the sheets as I felt Romeo’s big dick finally inside me.

     Romeo wasn’t moving, and I knew it was because he was scared to do so.

     I slowly adjusted to his size, and when it wasn’t painful anymore, I pushed and pulled myself for him instead.

      Romeo moaned and quickly stopped me.

     “Babe…you’re fucking tight,” he tells me, making me bite my lower lip.

     “I made sure it was tight enough for you daddy,” I tell him back.

     “Stop torturing me like this Julien,” he suddenly says, making me chuckle.

     After getting ourselves comfortable, Romeo finally started thrusting himself inside me like a pro.

     He was slow, which made it feel better because he was sliding inside me in a pace where I’d be able to feel every inch of his cock.

     “ Uh …you feel so good,“ Romeo says, leaning forward and kissing my shoulder.

     I continued to moan while Romeo fucked me for the first time.

     The faster his pace, the louder my moans became, and apparently, my moans were turning Romeo on even more.

     He wasn’t scared to fuck me. He was aggressive and hard and so free that it was turning me on even more too.

     His cock was throbbing inside, so I ended up clenching myself around his cock.

    Romeo quickly gripped on my waist again when he felt the sudden tightness.

     “J-Julien…I’m about to…I’m about to cum,” Romeo tells me, his thrusts getting faster and faster.

     “I wanna see your face when you cum inside me Rome. I wanna see it,” I immediately tell him.

     Romeo quickly pulls out and flips me over. He takes my legs and hangs it on both of his shoulders so my hole would become wider. And without wasting any time, he shoves himself back inside me.

     “A-Ahh! Romeo! More! D-Do it faster!” I shouted.

     Romeo gritted his teeth and slammed himself inside me so fast that I was having goosebumps by how good it felt.

     “Cum…I-I’m gonna…I’m gonna…”

     Romeo wasn’t even able to finish his sentence as he released all of his seed inside me again.

     His cum was so warm and so good inside me that I ended up cumming next.

     Both of us were panting heavily as Romeo gently puts my legs down. Then, he slowly pulls his cock out too, making me bite my lip when he did.

     Romeo leans forward and quickly kisses my forehead, “I love you,” he said.

     I gently touched his cheeks and answered back, “I love you more.”

     Romeo smiles and falls beside me.

     Both of us were panting heavily, sweaty and tired. Seconds later, we both started laughing like teenagers who just had sex together for the first time.

     I don’t know why, but even though I’ve been fucked by so many men already, I somehow feel like this fuck was the only fuck that mattered.

     It felt like it really was my first time.

     When we stopped laughing, Romeo takes my hand and kisses it gently, “Julien Choi, the greatest head of the Dark Saints” he suddenly says.

     I chuckled and kissed his hand back, “Romeo Valentino, the greatest godfather of the Valentino Family.”

     Romeo takes a deep breath. I looked back at him but Romeo has actually closed his eyes already.

     “Two of the strongest men in the world, as one at last,” he suddenly says.

     Romeo’s eyes was still closed as he continued, “If those men still don’t fear us, then I don’t know what will.”

-END-

(35) My Pride

🌹

     “How did you escape?” Mat asked.

     The next day came and we were now at the meeting room inside the club. President King already left while Romeo and I…

     “Made love,” I suddenly thought, my face turning red at the wrong place and at the wrong time.

     I then remembered how Romeo kissed every part of my body last night. The thought of it alone made me shiver. 

     “Are you okay?” Mat suddenly asked, snapping back to my senses.

     I blinked and quickly shifted from my seat.

     I looked Romeo and saw him stupidly smirking, like he knew exactly what I was thinking about.

     “Is sitting down too hard for you babe?” Romeo suddenly asked me, shocking me.

     I quickly cleared my throat and answered Mat’s question instead, “The masked men in the club has secretly been looking after me since I’m somehow still their property. So when I was taken, they followed me.”

     “So they know about Romeo being a godfather,” Mat says.

     I nodded my head and explained, “they do, but I assure you that it does not interest them in any way.”

     “How sure are you?” Mat asked further.

    Then Romeo suddenly lifted his hand to stop Mat, “Julien trusts them, and I trust him. So for now, these club-men are not a threat to us.”

     Mat looked like he wanted to say something, but he nodded his head as an understanding instead.

     “Now we need to look for Matthew King. I’m a hundred percent sure he’s the one behind all this, so I will not let him do something like that again,” Romeo suddenly says, anger present in his voice.

     I was inches away from seriously telling him the truth, but since the president wants his identity a secret then I’ll keep it for now.

     “Don’t you think everything that’s happening now is too scripted? Like everything is being pointed at President King. Don’t you think it’s kinda fishy?” I asked instead, and thank god Romeo was thinking about it now too.

     I might not be able to directly tell him about it, but I might just remove his doubt on President King instead.

     “What makes you think that?” he asked me further.

     “You see, I escaped the van easily. It was actually too easy that I couldn’t even believe it. It’s like their goal was to purposely let me escape. And whoever is really planning this is obviously making you hate President King even more,” I explained further.

     “So you’re telling us President King can be innocent?” Mat asked with his right eyebrow raised.

     “He CAN be innocent. I’m not saying he IS innocent,” I clarified, and both Romeo and Mat nodded their heads as an understanding.

     “Then who do you think it is?” Romeo asked.

     I took a deep breath and honestly answered him, “I’m not sure yet, because it’s hard to point fingers. But whoever he is, your family trusts him.”

     Romeo sighs and massages his temple, “I wouldn’t even be shocked if the one who’s betraying me is actually the whole family.”

     “It might also be-”

     “Obviously playing guessing games won’t help us.” Mat says, cutting me off.

     “What we should talk about now is our next move,” Mat continued, and I nodded my head as an agreement.

     Then I quickly remembered the address President King gave me earlier.

     I put it out and immediately placed it in front of them.

     “This is our next move,” I confidently say.

     Mat and Romeo looked at the piece of paper, then they looked back at me with confusion in their faces.

     “And what is that?” Romeo asked.

     I pointed at the paper and answered him, “This…this is where my men are.”

     “The Dark Saints?” Mat asked, and I nodded my head as an answer.

     “Your plan is to meet them?” Romeo asked again.

     “You said it yourself, your whole family can’t be trusted at this point. So the best chances we have is to get my men to help you,” I answered him, and Romeo was slowly looking interested.

     “All I have to do is meet them, go back to Korea and show myself to the rest of the gang, then become the new head,” I simply explained.

     “Do you think they’ll easily want you back?” Mat asked.

    I confidently nodded my head and said, “It’s either my sick brother or me. But if things end up bad, I’ll have to make them regret why they didn’t pick me in the first place..”

---

     “Thank you Mr. Jackson,” I tell him as we were now standing outside the club, getting ready to leave.

     “You’re thanking me? That’s very strange don’t you think?” he asked me, making me laugh.

     Then Trevor ( Toy #14 ) runs to me to give me a quick hug.

     “You’re leaving again,” he tells me.

     I hugged him back and answered him instead, “Life will be better. I’ll be back and make things better, okay?”

     Trevor looked like he was going to cry, but he nods his head as an answer instead.

     “Let’s go,” Romeo says as he opened the door of the car for me.

     I nodded my head and looked at the masked men, mentally telling them to thank President King for me too.

     Afterwards, I went inside the car, Romeo going inside next before closing the door.

     Mat sits on the driver’s seat and drives off. Romeo’s men following behind us.

     “This is a pretty far address. Is there a particular reason why your men are hiding there?” Mat asked, his right hand on the steering wheel while his left held the piece of paper where the address was written.

     “Our gang did business overseas so we had head quarters at different countries. But that was a long time ago, so I didn’t know they’d be there since the HQ is practically abandoned,” I answered.

     And I only realized now that the reason why we got connected with President King is because he handles a prostitution house, and if I could properly remember, my father imports other prostitutes there to bring to the prostitution houses in Korea. It’s sick but it’s the sad reality of our gang.

     “So the plan is to go to an abandoned headquarters, talk to the Korean guy you met up before, then bring you to Korea to reclaim your title?” Mat asked.

     I was about to answer him but Romeo quickly answered for me, “I’m obviously going to come with him. I’m not going to allow him to go there alone.”

     “Am I not coming too?” Mat quickly asked.

     “No. I want you to stay here and keep the family busy. And I want you to keep an eye on anyone who looks suspicious. You’re the only one who I can trust to do this,” Romeo answered.

     Mat nods his head and answered back, “I’ll do my best.”

     Afterwards the drive became quiet.

      I rested my head on Romeo’s shoulder while Romeo held my hand tightly.

     “So you were planning to come with me to my hometown?” I asked him.

     Romeo squeezed my hand and answered, “Of course I am. I’m not letting you leave my side ever again.”

     “You’re too protective,” I jokingly say, but Romeo seriously answered, “I am, especially towards you.”

     “I’m still here people,” Mat suddenly says, making me laugh.

     “Cover your fucking ears then,” Romeo angrily says, making me laugh even more. He might have been mad since Mat almost ruined the mood.

     Mat rolls his eyes, but he smiles afterwards and continued driving peacefully, not saying anything anymore and just pretending that he wasn’t there at all.

     “It looks like you’re going to meet my family,” I reminded Romeo.

     “Will they like me?” Romeo teasingly asked.

     I chuckled and answered him, “If you don’t glare at them as much as you glare at Eric then I think they’ll like you.”

     “Eric is different okay,” Romeo says.

     “He’s family too, and I don’t want us fighting over him again,” I honestly say.

      Romeo sighs and nods his head, “Alright. No more being jealous over family, and of course, no more glaring.”

     “Thank you.”

     Romeo chuckles and gently kisses my forehead. I snuggled closer to him and slowly closed my eyes.

     “ Romeo ,“ I softly called out.

     “Hmm?” he asked.

     I took a deep breath and said, “Thank you for finding me by the way.”

     Romeo squeezed my hands again and answered, “You know I always will.”

---

     “Julien…Julien I think we’re here,” Romeo calls out.

     I slowly opened my eyes, my vision still a little blurry. So I rubbed my eyes, and when I opened them back, I realized that I was still inside a moving car, Romeo thankfully sitting beside me.

     “I think we’re close,” Mat says, quickly making me look at him through the rearview mirror.

     Then I looked out the window and saw trees after trees after trees. Apparently we’re in some kind of forest.

     “We passed through a town earlier, apparently the address wasn’t specific. I asked some of the locals and they said that there was an abandoned building at this area,” Mat explained.

     I was going to ask if he was sure since this place looked like it was leading us nowhere, but then I looked up front and saw a building a few meters away from us.

     “That’s right. There it is,” I say, pointing at the building.

     Mat quickly drives closer to the building. There wasn’t any point for us to be stealthy since there’s literally like five other black cars following behind us.

     “Are you sure we’re not going to be ambushed here?” Mat asked, and I knew Romeo was wondering about that too.

     “No, I’m sure this is the place where Eric and the other’s are. I’m sure of it,” I say, and Romeo didn’t say anything else and just trusted me.

     We finally arrived in front of the building. Mat parks in front of the main entrance while the rest of Romeo’s men parked behind us.

     “I’ll check it out first,” Mat says as he removes his seatbelt.

     Mat was about to get out first, but Romeo quickly stopped him and said, “No, Julien and I will go out first.”

     Mat was going to protest but he nodded his head as agreement.

      Romeo goes out of the car first, lifting his hand in front of his men as a signal that they should stay inside their car.

     I followed Romeo and went out as well.

     I turned around and looked at the abandoned building.

     It was a 3-story building that didn’t really look old at all. It was definitely abandoned, but it wasn’t ruined.

     “So what now?” Romeo asked as he looked at me.

     “Let’s knock and see if someone’s home,” I sarcastically say with a smirk.

     I was about to walk towards the main entrance when I suddenly heard guns reloading.

     Romeo and I quickly lifted our heads and saw dozens of men pointing their guns at us.

      I was about to talk to them when Romeo’s men immediately went out of their cars and pointed their own guns towards them.

     “ Seriously Romeo, you’re men are so protective, “ I whispered at him.

     It was Romeo’s turn to smirk as he answered, “They basically learned it from me.”

     He then turns to his men and commands, “Put your weapons down!”

     Everyone was confused, but one by one, they put their guns down like how Romeo told them to. Mat even did the same and followed orders by hiding his gun back too.

     Not it was my turn to looked up at the men who were pointing their guns at us and shouted, “ Is this how you welcome me?! “

     It took them a couple of seconds to finally realize who I was.

     “ It’s the boss! “ one of them shouted, quickly making everyone put their guns down.

     Seconds later, the main door slams open, revealing Eric Kwon with five other men behind him.

     “ Boss! “ he excitedly shouted as he ran towards me.

     He immediately bows in front of me, the rest of the men following behind him.

     “ So you’ve been hiding here? “ I asked him.

      Eric stands back up properly and was about to answer me, but then his eyes met Romeo, and Eric immediately stopped.

     “ You’re still with him? “ he asked me instead.

     I gently held Romeo’s shoulder and answered, “ I told you, this is my man. Where I go, he goes. “

     Eric takes a deep breath, but he sighs and says, “ Understood. “

     “It’s nice to meet you again Eric,” Romeo greeted, but the tone in his voice felt like he wasn’t really excited to meet him at all.

     But Eric still bowed in front of him and greeted back, “It is nice to meet you too…Mr. Romeo Valentino.”

     “We should talk inside,” I immediately told him.

     Eric nods his head and gestured at the door, “Please, follow me.”

     Eric goes in first, and then Romeo told his men to stay outside before we followed Eric inside the building.

     As we were walking at the hallways, Romeo and I passed through every door on the sides of the hallway. And in each room, there were different men who were training, preparing food, and even cleaning tons of weapons.

     “How many men do you even have here?” Romeo asked as we continued walking.

     Without looking back at us, Eric answered, “There were thirty men from Korea while the rest are gang members who were once based here.”

     “So they didn’t return to Korea?” I asked, shocked that I’m only hearing about this now.

     “Our connections overseas suddenly stopped and they were totally forgotten, so the men who were based here didn’t have much choice and just stayed here. Thankfully I was still able to gather them,” Eric says as we arrived at this big room that looked like a storage room, but now it was completely empty.

     “ We are truly glad that you are okay, “ Eric says as he turns around and bows in front of me again.

     The large storage room was filled with at least fifty men, and everyone bowed in front of me as well.

     I stood there; still a little shocked because of the amount of respect these men are giving me.

     These men escaped Korea and went all the way here just so they could safely get me back.

     I looked at them with pride and thought, “ These are my men, and I will do everything I can to repay them. “

    “ Welcome back boss ,“ everyone greeted in unison.

     Romeo suddenly touches my back at says, “Come on Black Angel…it’s time you show them why you’re worthy to be their boss.”

     I was honestly surprised by what Romeo just said, and in all honesty, it felt good. I was lucky to have a partner who knew exactly how I feel.

     I took a step forward and looked at everyone.

     When my men stood up straight, I seriously looked at them and said, “ People have been living in paradise for far too long. So it’s about time we head back and remind them why we’re called the Dark Saints. “

     Everyone nodded in agreement; determination slowly being imprinted in their faces.

     “Now…who’s with me?!” I shouted, and everyone cheered and lifted their hands up.

     I smiled and glanced at Romeo, my heart fluttering as I saw him raising his hand too, his eyes staring at me like he’s never been so proud of anyone his entire life until now.

• END -

(36) Welcome Home

(Picture above is Park Minji

& Choi Hana )

🌹

     “Are you sure your family will be okay?” I asked as I looked at Romeo who was sitting beside me.

     We were now at his private plane, flying our way to my hometown. Eric and two of my men were with us, while Romeo didn’t bring even one of his men with him. Antonio got mad and practically begged Romeo to bring Mat or even anyone with him so someone could at least protect him, but Romeo gave his own uncle the I’m the godfather card so Antonio surrendered and just let Romeo do whatever he wants.

     “They’ll be fine. And I’m using this opportunity to really catch who’s betraying us,” Romeo answered me.

     “Well if that’s the case okay then,” I told him.

     Then I looked out the window, staring at the clouds as my heart started beating faster than usual.

     I’m actually going back home. I never knew this day would ever come.

     What would they say? What would they think of me? Will they accept me back or hate me like how I’ve feared?

     “Babe, are you okay?” Romeo suddenly asked me, immediately making me look back at him.

     He stares at me, and by the looks of it, he obviously noticed how uneasy I looked.

     “Are you secretly scared of heights?” Romeo suddenly asked me, making me laugh by the weird question.

     “Rome, I was with you when we flew our way to your grandmother’s villa,” I told him.

     Romeo chuckles and slowly grabs my hand so he could squeeze it, “I know, I just wanted to make you laugh. And it obviously worked.”

     My heart flattered again by just what Romeo said.

     These little things that he does for me seriously makes me fall in love with him all over again.

     “I’m just nervous, that’s all,” I say as I looked out the window again.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything yet but gently grabs my chin so I could forcefully look back at him.

     “Tell me why you’re nervous,” he tells me.

     I took a deep breath and answered him, “I haven’t been home for almost a decade. Which also means I haven’t seen my family for almost a decade too.”

     “Are you scared your sisters will hate you?” Romeo asked, making me shake my head as an answer, “I don’t know.”

     I thought Romeo wasn’t going to say anything anymore, but then suddenly, he rests his head on my shoulder and asked, “Will you introduce me to them?”

     I smiled and looked at him so I could kiss his head, “As my lover?”

    Romeo chuckled and sarcastically answered, “No, I meant was as your chairman of course.”

     I laughed and moved away from him, removing his head from my shoulder, “Yes, I will introduce you to them as my boss who came with me all the way to Korea while using his own private plane.”

     Romeo smirked and leaned forward to bit my lower lip, “I must be the best boss in the world then.”

     I smirked and kissed his lips back, “And the sexiest too.”

     “ You’re making me want to fuck you, “ he suddenly whispered to me.

     I snaked my hand towards his crotch area and squeezed it, making Romeo groan from the sudden contact, “ Give it to me then. “

     “Boss?” Eric suddenly called out from outside the curtain that was thankfully covering us.

      I quickly removed my hand from Romeo and said, “Y-Yes…”

     Romeo did his best to hide his laugher as Eric opened the curtain, “ Boss, we’re almost there ,“ Eric tells me.

     I don’t say anything and just nodded my head as an answer.

     Eric nods his head back, and then he bows and leaves, closing the curtain back again.

     The moment he left, Romeo and I started laughing.

     “Give it to me then?” Romeo asked with his right eyebrow raised.

     I laughed and ignored him, then I looked out the window and realized that we were actually landing now, and the nervousness that vanished just a few seconds ago has finally came back.

     “We’re here,” I tell Romeo.

     Romeo held my shoulder and sincerely said, “Welcome home Julien.”

     I quickly looked back at Romeo, my eyes already teary just by what I heard.

     “I’m scared…but if I’m with you, then I’ll be okay,” I say, then Romeo leans forward and kisses my forehead, “You’ll be fine. I’ll be by your side no matter what.”

---

     I was standing in front of the door of the plane. Romeo standing beside me while Eric stood behind me.

     My heart was beating fast as the door slowly opens. But then, the nervousness that I have been feeling finally vanished as I saw at least fifty men standing in front of me, all lined up to greet me.

     “ I told them you were arriving, “ Eric says from behind me.

     “ Are these…“ I didn’t finish my sentence, but Eric understood what I was trying to say and answered, “ There are at least 10 more men at the household, but all in all, these are the only men that are left of the Dark Saints. “

     I was honestly surprised even though I was already expecting it. But hearing someone confirm it to me made me feel really guilty.

      I tried my best to not shed a tear as I slowly walked down the steps.

     When I was finally down, the men bowed in front of me and said, “ Welcome Back Boss Julien. “

     I looked at them one by one, remembering their faces and even the memories that I had when I was here before.

     I’m really back home.

     I can’t believe it.

     “ It’s been years… “ I started.

     Romeo, who was standing beside me, didn’t budge nor say anything.

     “ I’m sorry for disappointing you and hiding from a far place while the rest of you suffered by a mistake that I have caused, “ I continued.

     No one said anything, which I found respectful because these men could literally just shout at me now and I would completely understand it, but no, they remained silent, and I could see it in their faces that they were really listening to what I was telling them.

     “ I don’t know if I could repay you back, and I know it will be selfish of me to ask you this now, but…for one last request, will you walk by my side again? “ I asked them.

     Everyone was quiet, and honestly the silence was making me nervous again.

     But then, someone in the front suddenly bowed, and slowly, one by one, the men in front of me bowed down as well.

     “ We will stay by your side till the end Black Angel, “ they suddenly said in unison, and finally, a tear dropped down of my eyes, and eventually I started crying.

     Romeo looks at me and quickly gives me his handkerchief.

     I smiled and used it to wipe the tears on my cheeks.

    “I didn’t know I’d ever say this but…I’m glad to be home.”

---

     “ Your sister’s are at the household, they said they are excited to see you again, “ Eric explained as we were now at a car that will bring us to the household.

     Eric was sitting at the passengers seat while Romeo sat beside me at the back.

     “Babe, where are we going now?” Romeo suddenly asked.

     I quickly looked at him and answered, “We’re heading to our household. My sisters are there.”

     “Are they nice?” Romeo asked.

     I smiled and nodded my head, “All of my siblings are good people.”

     “Not all of them,” Romeo suddenly reminded me.

     I took a deep breath and looked out the window, “My brother…we weren’t close before but I never really hated him. He practically wasn’t allowed to come close to me because I was the heir and he was…well he was a son of a mistress. I pitied him before, but he became a strong man that the pity that I felt for him changed into respect. Like what Eric said, my brother respects his men, and I was willing to make him the second head once I become the head myself. But I didn’t know that through all the years that I was gone, hate and jealousy would consume him. It never occurred to me that he’d do all this just to kill me,” I explained to Romeo.

     “Jealousy…it’s one of the most dangerous feeling, especially inside a family,” Romeo tells me, and I couldn’t agree more to what he said.

     “Did that ever happen to your family too?” I asked as I looked back at Romeo.

    Romeo started thinking for a couple of seconds, then he looks back at me and answers, “My grandfather died because of hatred and jealousy too. I don’t know why my mother killed my father, but I’m guessing hatred and jealousy is somehow involved in that incident as well,” Romeo answered.

     “It can never be removed can’t it?” I asked again.

     Romeo takes a deep breath and says, “Who knows.”

     “But we shouldn’t be talking about that now. We should talk about how we’re going to defeat my brother instead,” I say as I looked at Eric this time.

     “ Eric, how many men do we still have? “ I asked him.

     “ With the men here, and the men back at the HQ…we have a little over of a hundred men, “ Eric tells me.

     “ We’re not sure about Romeo’s men yet, so the best chances we have is with ours, “ I say, then I looked back at Romeo and continued, “I don’t know how much men my brother has, but I think my men can be enough to defeat him.”

     “I have men who still respect and trust me, and there’s my grandmother’s men too. I think all of them combined can help us defeat your brother,” Romeo says.

     “Your brother brought quite a few men with him when he left” Eric suddenly says.

     “We can defeat him,” I quickly say.

     “ You sound confident, “ Eric tells me back.

     I smiled and glanced at Romeo, “That’s because I am.”

     “ We’re here ,“ the driver suddenly tells us.

     I quickly looked out the window and saw the very familiar gate of our household.

     “Rome…we’re here,” I say in excitement as I looked at him.

     Romeo leaned closer and looked out through my window, “This is where you grew up in?” he asked me.

     I looked out the window again and answered, “Yeah. And I know it’s not as big as your house back in-”

     “Are you kidding me? It looks like a freakin’ temple,” Romeo suddenly says, making me laugh.

     Our household wasn’t modern; it was more of a traditional home compared to other homes here in Korea.

     “ I’ll park at the front boss, “ the driver says as he drives inside the gate. Then, he parks in front of the main door of the house where I saw my two sisters and a few other men.

     “They practically looked the same when I left them, “ I thought as I stared at my sisters, my eyes already teary by just looking at them.

     “Are those your-” I heard Romeo say, but I didn’t let him finish as I immediately went out of the car and ran towards my two sisters to gave them a hug.

( I know there are formalities in Korea like nuna, hyung etc. But, to make it not too complicated, I’ll just use names like normal. )

     “ Hana…Minji…I’m so sorry. I should have called you, I should have told you I was alive, “ I continuously say as tears finally started falling out of my eyes.

     My two sisters hugged me tighter, tears falling out from their eyes as well.

     “ We missed you little brother, we missed you so much, “ Hana – the eldest – said back as she hugged me tighter.

     When we broke from the hug, the three of us looked at each other, then, we ended up laughing.

     “ We shouldn’t be crying in front of our men, “ Minji – the third – joked as she quickly wiped the tears off her cheeks.

     “ Father would scold us for sure, “ Hana continued, and just by that, the three of us became quiet.

     I was about to say something when Romeo suddenly arrives and stands beside me.

     My two sisters looked at him with a confused expression, so I quickly held his hand and said, “Minji…Hana…Meet Romeo Valentino,” I paused and looked at Romeo, “He’s my lover.”

     Minji and Hana looked surprised. I thought they were surprised because I introduced him as my lover, but in reality, they were actually surprised about something else.

     “ He’s a Valentino? “ Hana asked from shock.

     Romeo must have noticed that my two sisters looked confused, so he quickly bows in front of them and says, “It’s nice to meet you, I am Romeo Valentino, chairman of the Valentino Empire and godfather of the Valentino Family.”

     When Romeo stood up properly, my two sisters looked at each other, then they looked back at Romeo and suddenly smirked.

      “Are you boasting?” Hana asked.

     “N-No…no ma’am,” Romeo nervously answered, shocking me since Romeo has always been composed.

     Is he actually nervous about meeting my family?

     “Ma’am? Don’t kiss my feet godfather, I’m practically as old as you,” Hana says with an amused smile.

     Romeo looked shy as he quickly says, “I’m sorry…Ms. Hana.”

    “Hana will be fine,” Hana tells him, then Minji looks back at me and says, “ You’re boyfriend

is adorable isn’t he? “

     I chuckled and answered, “ He is actually. “

     Minji and Hana laughed while Romeo looked worried since we were obviously laughing at him.

     It might not have been obvious but I was so happy.

     It felt like I met my sisters last week because there weren’t any awkwardness at all. It felt like I wasn’t gone for years.

     “ Madam Choi, Madam Park, I have returned, “ Eric suddenly says as he joins us.

     He bows and looks back at my sisters again and continued, “ I have safely brought the boss back as promised. “

     “ You have, and we greatly thank you. While we talk to my brother, please gather the rest of the men at the warehouse, “ Hana tells him. Eric bows in front of us again and immediately leaves. When he was completely gone, Hana gestured at the door and said, “Come, let us talk inside.”

     Romeo and I nodded our heads as we followed both of my sisters inside the household.

     Not like Romeo’s household, there weren’t any picture frames hanging on the wall. And maybe I’m just being biased but this household feels more like a home than what the Valentino household could ever be.

    “ Welcome back boss Julien, “ I suddenly heard people say when we passed through the guest area. I turned to my right and saw the maids bowing to greet me.

     Some were shockingly still familiar as I looked at them.

     I smiled and nodded my head to acknowledge them, and then I continued following my two sisters.

     We passed through different rooms that brought me tons of memories, but when we passed through the garden, I immediately had to stop.

     My sisters stopped walking too, and then they looked at what I was staring at. When they saw that I was staring at the garden, their faces immediately changed into pity and concern.

     This is where I made my mistake.

     This is where I met up with that man every night, thinking we were both in love with each other.

     I stared at it more. But the longer I stared, the harder it is for me to keep my tears from falling.

     “It’s a beautiful garden,” Romeo suddenly said, making me flinch.

     I quickly looked at him, then Romeo looks back at me and smiles, “Don’t you think so Julien?”

     I blinked my tears away and immediately nodded my head as an agreement. Romeo then reaches out for my hand to touch it. He intertwines our fingers together, and then he squeezes my hand as a sign of comfort.

     I looked at him again, then I remembered that this is the man I love, and there is no reason for me to cry over a man who destroyed my heart, because Romeo has been here, fixing it for me over and over again.

     “Should we leave?” Minji asked.

     I looked back at my sisters and saw them smiling. It wasn’t a smile that meant they were teasing me, but it was a smile that shows that they’re happy I finally found someone like Romeo.

     “Yes, let’s go,” I simply say, and then the four of us continued walking.

     Eventually we arrived at one of the private rooms.

     My two sisters went inside first.

     The four of us sat on the floor in front of the low table as two maids arrived to serve us some tea and biscuits.

     “We should talk about something important now,” Hana tells us as he looked at Romeo and me.

     “Have you met Jiyong ( our brother )?” Minji then asked.

     I shook my head and answered, “No, I haven’t.”

      “We knew it, Jiyong hasn’t seen you yet. This is why we sent Eric. We were in battle at that time because the household was under attack again, and even though it was risky, we sent Eric and some of the other men to take you back,” Hana continued.

     “It was in a perfect timing because Jiyong has done so many damage already, which is why we’re here to-”

     I was about to finish my sentence when Hana suddenly cuts me off, “Jiyong has done damage? What do you mean?” she asks, confusion present in her tone.

     “He killed most of Romeo’s people, he even asked his other men to…” I stopped, because it was hard for me to say it out loud, especially to my two sisters.

     “Something’s not right here,” Minji suddenly says.

     “What do you mean?” I asked back, now starting to be confused since my two sisters looked shocked on what I just said.

     “Your brother is trying to kill Julien, didn’t you know?” Romeo asked back, shocking my two sisters even more.

     “N-No…that can’t be,” Minji worriedly said.

     Then Hana looks at the both of us and says, “We know that no one in the gang knows about this yet because father wanted to keep it a secret even when he died.”

     “I-I don’t…I don’t understand what your trying to-”

     “We were the one who sent Jiyong to America,” Hana suddenly revealed shocking Romeo and me.

     “W-What? What do you mean? Jiyong’s been trying to kill me!” I practically shouted at them because I was so shocked and confused from what I was hearing.

     “Julien listen to me,” Hana says as she reaches out for my hand, “The three of us helped you escape. Jiyong, Minji, and our father…we’re the people who killed the elders for you and no one knew about it. When father died, his last words to the three of us was to take you back, which is why we sent Jiyong to America,” Hana explained, and I swore to you that I sat there, staring at them like they were crazy.

     All this time, I thought Jiyong was there to kill me, but the truth was, he was there to take me back.

     “But it’s not adding up, why are his men attacking us then?” Romeo asked, also shocked about the whole situation.

    “That’s what we’re worried about. We lost our contact with Jiyong when he arrived to America; we got worried so we sent Eric. If what your saying is true, that his men are attacking you…then the only guess that I could think of is that he’s being threatened by someone so he’d look like the bad guy,” Minji explained.

     No. Here we go again.

     This was the exact thing that happened to President King. The mastermind of all this is playing us like fools. He’s been misleading us all this time.

     “I’m so sorry…I…I didn’t know. I should have looked for him while I was there,” I say, suddenly teary because of the guilt that I was feeling.

     I was so ready to kill Jiyong and take my revenge on what he did to Romeo and me, but all this time, he’s actually on our side. 

     “No, it’s okay. You didn’t know Julien,” Hana stated, comforting me.

     “So whoever is behind all this has your brother,” Romeo suddenly says.

     “That’s right. That person might have kidnapped him,” Hana answers.

     “Those monsters,” I say, now worried about my brother who I was stupidly resenting for no reason.

     “But Julien, haven’t you ever noticed that you haven’t seen him personally yet?” Minji asked, also making me realize it.

     “That’s right, they only use the Dark Saints symbol and even use Jiyong’s name, but I never saw Jiyong, not even once,” I stated.

     Then I looked at my two sisters and said, “Please tell me everything. Please tell me the truth about everything because I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve been gone for years and I didn’t even know about the things you have done for my sake.”

     Hana takes a deep breath, then she looked at Minji, and both of them nodded their heads like they just agreed on something.

     When they looked back at me, Hana stated, “Listen carefully, okay?”

     I don’t say anything and just nodded my head.

     “Our father…we were never jealous because we understood, it was obvious that you were his favorite. But before you even arrived, there was a boy that everyone else called as the son of the first mistress, and there was no doubt, he was father’s first favorite.”

-END-

(37) First Favorite

(Picture above is Kim Jiyong )

🌹

Kim Jiyong’s POV

     I lived in a household where blood would constantly stain the floors.

     My sisters would be trained to be well-mannered women who will marry into a rich family in the future, while I was trained to become a strong man who will one day lead the gang.

     But, my purpose was suddenly changed when Julien was brought into this world.

     “It’s a boy!” I remembered everyone shouting.

     I was six-years-old at that time when everyone in the household started going wild when the original wife gave birth to a boy.

    The wife was never the nicest person, so I avoided her as constantly as I could. My own mother on the other hand was a woman that I never met, not even once. But it never really concerned me.

     I knew the situation. I was a product of a mistress, so I never complained.

     Thankfully the wife is staying here only until Julien turns one. Wives of the heads are not allowed to stay at the household, so I’m very glad we have a rule like that.

     “ He’s so adorable! “ I heard someone say from inside the room.

     I was standing near the room where my new baby brother was born when one of the Elders suddenly approached me from behind.

    “Looks like the household will be busy for now on,” he tells me.

    I looked at him and said, “Then I’ll help take care of him.”

     The Elder laughed and looked at me like I was a fool, “Do you not understand your position now Jiyong?”

     “W-What do you mean?”

     “You are nothing now, no value whatsoever. The real heir is born, and you cannot approach him, not even look at him, because you are not worthy to be-”

     “Mr. Hans!” someone suddenly shouted from behind us.

     I quickly turned around and saw my father approaching us.

     I had to wipe the tears that were already forming in my eyes because father hated it when we cry in front of anyone.

     “What the hell are you telling my son?” he angrily asked as he stood in front of us.

    “The truth sir,” he bravely answered.

    I could see my father clenching his fist as he says, “Leave. I do not need Elders to manipulate my own son into hating his own brother.”

    The Elder smirked, but he doesn’t say anything and just bows and leaves.

    “F-Father…is it true that I am-”

    “You are my son. My blood runs in your veins. I raised you right, so positions should not be a hindrance to you. Do you understand?” he asked me, and I quickly nodded my head as an answer.

     “Good, now head back to the garden. Hana is playing with your younger sister.”

     My father and two sisters loved me and treated me well. But the Elders, or what we call as the wise men, treated me like dirt like how they treated Minji, who is also a daughter of another mistress.

     My father hated them, but on the other hand he needed them.

    They had power, knowledge, and connections. They’re the reason why our gang is a strong one.

    They made sure I never approached the heir, because they were scared that I’d end up killing him off, which I found impossible because there were no reasons for me to do so.

     Moving forward to when I was 19 and Julien was 13.

    He was already troublesome at a very young age. He knew how to hold a gun, and he definitely knew how to use it.

     The Elders hated how he became. They thought they could manipulate him, but Julien was a boy the Elders thought wrongly of.

     He was free spirited, and he listened to no one.

     He was no doubt a terrifying boy who will become a terrifying boss.

     “You dare defy me?!” I heard my father shout from his office.

     I quickly peeked at the door and saw father slapping Julien right on the cheek.

     “You killed four of my men for no reason. If you continue this you will be hated, and if you are hated your own people will plot your death!” father shouted at him.

     I thought Julien was going to apologize, but instead, he shouted back, “I don’t want to be the fucking head of the gang! What do you not understand!?”

     “I do not need to understand anything! What you are to become is already decided since you were born!”

     “Then I shouldn’t have been born in the first place!” Julien shouted back, then he quickly runs out the door, leaving my father shocked on what he just heard.

     When he went out of the room, he immediately sees me.

     He glares at me, but I don’t do or say anything.

     There was blood on the corner of his lips; father must have beaten him again.

     “You have a big responsibility,” I tell him, shocking him since I never really talked to him before.

     I took a deep breath and gave him my handkerchief, “But this world is cruel. If you continue to act in such a way, you will eventually be killed.”

     Julien stares at me and slowly take the handkerchief from my hand.

     He wipes the blood off and suddenly hands the handkerchief back to me, “Then let them kill me.”

    Then he leaves without saying anything else.

    It went on and on for years.

    But when he reached 18, he became the boss who led raids and battles against other gangs. He became the Black Angel in front of our very eyes. He became strong and fearless, and the Elders hated him even more.

     I knew, my sisters knew, and my father knew, that the Elders would soon plot something for his death. But when he reached 19, I didn’t know it would happen that soon.

     “It’s tomorrow! I don’t want to be married!” Minji whined while we were at the study room.

     I just finished training some of the new recruits so I decided to join my sisters while they were studying.

    “Oh yeah, your wedding’s tomorrow. Do you want me to wear a traditional attire or a black suit?” I jokingly asked her, making Minji hit me with a book.

     “If only a miracle would happen and the wedding won’t continue,” Minji says with a pout.

     “We don’t have a choice, we were fated to be married off to a wealthy family,” Hana explained. Since she was the eldest, she was always the most traditional compared to the three of us, so it was easy for her to understand the roles that we must play.

     “Like Julien’s fated to be the heir?” Minji asked back, making Hana sigh.

     “Like you, Julien has no choice but to fulfill what is destined of him. And as his siblings, we must do our best to raise him as a head that everyone will respect,” Hana explained.

     I chuckled and put down the gun that I was holding, “Well it looks like we’re doing a terrible job with it. That boy grew up to be emotionless.”

     “Let’s not talk ill of him,” Hana quickly scolded me.

     “Jeez, I’m not okay. I actually pity him. I was secretly sad that I wasn’t going to be the head of the gang anymore, but looking at what he’s become, I’m starting to feel glad that it never happened,” I say.

     Minji was about to say something when the head maid suddenly entered the room.

     “You two, why are you still awake at this hour? Shouldn’t you be asleep? Especially you Minji, you should be getting enough sleep for your wedding,” she angrily told them.

     “Sorry ma’am, we were just giving Minji some word’s of wisdom before she marries,” Hana calmly answered like a princess, and surprisingly the head maid believed her obvious lie.

     “Alright, I understand that this will be your last night here so it’s only natural that you want to bond as much as you can. But your father will scold me if he finds out you are still awake,” she  tells us.

     “We’ll head to our quarters immediately. Good night Jiyong,” Hana says as she grabs Minji’s hand and leaves.

     “And you Master Jiyong, if you don’t mind, the study room will be closed,” she tells me.

    I stood up and quickly hid my gun back.

     “Yes ma’am,” I say with a lazy bow before leaving the room.

    It was already ten in the evening. I wanted to walk around town but I decided that it’s best if I just head back to the quarters and rest.

     But as I was walking back to my room, I suddenly heard someone talking inside the Elder’s office.

     “ It’s working perfectly well. Julien has fallen in love with me. We will be running away after a few hours. Then I’ll bring him to an abandoned place and kill him, “ someone suddenly says, shocking me.

     But it shocked me even more because he sounded like…

     Oh no. That’s Minji’s fiancé.

     “ Good, you’ve done well. You’ll receive the payment as soon as the deed is done, “ someone answers him.

     They were about to leave the room so I immediately ran away.

     “ They’re planning to kill him…they’re planning to kill Julien, “ I thought as I decided to run towards my father’s office. And as expected, father was still there, signing some papers like he always does.

     “Father!” I practically shouted when I entered the room.

    Father immediately looked at me, almost dropping his pen from surprise.

     “Jiyong! What are you doing at this-”

     “They’re planning to kill him,” I immediately tell him, and this time, father dropped his pen from shock.

     “Where did you hear this?” he quickly asked me.

     I moved closer to him and said, “The wedding the Elders arranged, it was actually a plan to kill Julien. The fiancé somehow seduced Julien, like…he made Julien fall in love with him, and tonight, they’ll run away, then he’ll kill him.”

     “Tonight?!” Father shouted as he immediately stood up from his seat.

     “We need to go and tell everyone!” I say as I was about to run away from the room. But father immediately grabbed my hand and stopped me.

     “No, if we reveal the Elder’s intentions now, we will end up being in the losing end,” my father suddenly says.

     “But we can’t just let them kill Julien!” I practically shouted at him.

     “Go to the Elders…tell them you heard Julien’s conversation with Minji’s fiancé. Tell them they’re planning to run away,” he suddenly instructs me, shocking me even more.

     “Father, Julien will be punished if we-”

     “Do as I say, now!” my father shouted at me.

     So I ran and told the Elders what my father told me to say.

     They pretended to be shocked, and I had to force myself to not punch them by how they acted.

     They soon asked me to summon Julien, the fiancé, and my father. And I felt so bad when shit went down.

     “You have to execute him! He is a disgrace to our clans name!” one of the Elders shouted.

     “Do you really want a heir who is disgusting and dirty as that?!” another Elder shouted.

     “Enough!” my father angrily said as he slowly walked towards Julien.

     Julien was kneeling on the floor, crying in pain. Not because they want him executed, but because the man who he loved just face-to-face lied to him.

     “ He forced me every night! I didn’t know what else to do! “ I remembered Minji’s fiancé shout.

     I stood there, trying my best not to put out my gun and shoot everyone inside this room. Hana, who was standing beside me and Minji, held my shoulder to calm me down.

     “To hide the shame Julien Choi has done to the clan. I will execute him myself,” my father suddenly says, shocking the three of us.

     “You coward! You rather kill your own son than to make the Elders despise you?!” I shouted at him from complete anger.

     “Father! No!” Minji shouted back, running towards father and begging him to change his mind, “Why would you do such a thing! You cannot let the Elders kill your only heir!”

    “How weak! One more word or I will execute you too!” my father shouted, pushing Minji away and making her fall on the floor.

    Hana immediately runs to her to assist her up.

    “Good decision,” the Elders said in victory.

    “I will execute him tomorrow. Make sure no one will know about this man’s mistake,” my father says while looking at Julien. Then he takes a deep breath and leaves.

     The Elders then looks at me and smiled, like they were thanking me for making their plans of killing Julien easier.

    When the Elders left, I quickly ran to Julien.

    His head was down as tears continued to pour out of his eyes.

     He didn’t want to look at us, because he knew that showing your tears is a sign of weakness, or so my father said.

     But I pitied him, and now I pitied him even more.

     Julien felt like no one loved him, the Elders made sure Julien felt like he wasn’t loved, which was why we were never allowed to become close with him. They thought if he was filled with hate, Julien would be easy to manipulate. But Julien wasn’t filled with hate at all, because he was actually completely empty inside.

     How could the world be so cruel to him?

     “ Oh my little brother… “ I whispered as I kneeled in front of him.

    I slowly lifted my hand and patted his head, making him flinch, “You’ll be alright,” I tell him.

     I quickly put my head down too because my own tears were now falling as well.

     “ Your big brother will take his revenge…I promise, “ I thought to myself but don’t dare say out loud.

     And on the night of his execution, father suddenly went to us. Minji and I were at Hana’s room, trying our best not to break down as we waited for Julien’s death. But when we saw the blood on the knife that our father was holding, Hana and Minji immediately started sobbing.

     “How could you do this?!” I shouted at him.

     “I didn’t kill him,” he suddenly says, shocking me.

     Hana and Minji stopped crying and quickly looked at him as well.

     But before we could even ask questions, father started talking again.

     “But we need to hurry. I trained you three for this moment. Julien is heading to a van outside the gate. The van will bring him to the airport. Minji and Hana, I want you to make sure he escapes without anyone seeing him,” my father explained, then Hana hurriedly went to her cabinet to take two guns. She gives the other one to Minji, and then they both ran outside.

     “Father, what’s going on?” I asked when we were now left alone inside the room.

     Father doesn’t answer and suddenly hands me another gun, “I should have done this a long time ago,” he says as he runs outside as well.

    I quickly followed him, and we eventually arrived at the Elders office. And just by being there, I immediately knew what we were about to do.

     Father barged inside first, and then he started shooting everyone inside the room while I killed the rest of them, their blood splattering on my face.

     When all the Elders were dead, father dropped his gun and fell on his knees.

     “No one must know that Julien is alive. Chaos will eventually start after what we did, it’s best if people believes he’s dead.”

    “Yes father,” I answered, and then Hana and Minji arrived, their clothes and hands stained with blood as well.

    “Julien has safely left,” Hana stated, catching her breath.

     When they saw the scene, they weren’t even shocked.

    “What now father?” Minji then asked.

    “Prepare yourselves. The real battle is about to begin.”

     And so it did.

     Everyone rioted and resented my father. He told the gang that he killed the Elders because they forced him to kill his own son. It was like revenge to the Elders for making him stain his own blood.

     At the night we killed the Elders, I also went out to kill Minji’s fiancé as a form of revenge on what he did to my brother as well.

     But after all that, one by one, the gang started losing my father’s trust. Out of thousands, we were left with hundreds of men on our side. But, while we waited for the perfect time, I renamed myself as well. I became the dragon, and men followed and respected me.

     I gathered them all, because I knew that one day, there will be a battle where Julien and I must face together.

     We didn’t really know where Julien was, but we knew he was alive.

     But when father was on his deathbed, he told us everything.

     “A-A man…named Matthew K-King…I made a bargain with him. If I help him take his revenge, he will help me protect Julien. Julien is with him now; he is at a place called Club Luxuria. Find him…and bring him back home. I-It is time…the gang finds out…their true boss is alive,” father explained to us.

     I held his hand tightly as his other hand reached out for an envelope.

    “T-two will & testaments…the first one you w-will read to the clan…t-the second one…you will give to Julien,” father continued, “U-Until he is safe b-back here…no one m-must know a-about what…w-we have done.”

     And after a few minutes, his hands became cold, and he was eventually dead.

     Hana and Minji then secretly sent me off after reading the Will & Testament to everyone. No one knew why I left, but everyone speculated that I went to kill my brother, when in fact; I was there to find him.

     “This is the man, his name is Matthew King,” Hana says as she showed me the picture.

     “He owns the club, but in the morning he works at a company called Valentino Empire. We will try to contact him, but if we can’t, you can find him at those places,” Hana explained.

     I took the picture and hid it inside the folder where the rest of the papers were.

     “Will you be able to endure the battles here?” I worriedly asked.

     “We can take them, do not worry about the gang. What you must worry about is Julien’s safety,” Hana explains.

     “Alright, I will bring Julien back safely. I promise,” I say as I bowed.

     “Please…be careful.”

     And with that, I immediately flew my way to America, bringing at least forty strong men with me.

     When I arrived at the airport, a couple of men suddenly welcomed us. Hana and Minji didn’t call to tell me that they already contacted Mr. King, so I was surprised that someone actually knew that I was coming.

     “Kim Jiyong?” a man asked as he approached me.

     I looked at him confusingly and asked, “W-Who…are you?”

     “Welcome Mr. Kim Jiyong. Mathew King is not available right now, so while he’s out, you will be at my care.”

     He has a smirk on his face that I clearly did not trust. But before I, or any of my men, could put their guns out, we were suddenly ambushed.

     And that…was the last thing I could clearly remember.

• END -

(38) Who To Blame

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     “You guys…did all that…for my sake?” I asked from shock, tears pouring out of my eyes as I now found out what really happened.

     “We always cared about you Julien. The Elders were cruel, but we always watched over you,” Minji tells me.

     I quickly wiped my tears as Romeo held my hand tighter.

    “So President King…when were you going to tell me about him?” Romeo eventually asked me.

     I knew he has been suspecting the president, and I know I promised President King that I’d keep it a secret from Romeo. But somehow, I’m glad Romeo has finally found out about it.

     “I also found out about it just recently. I wanted to tell you sooner, but the president himself asked me to keep it a secret from you,” I answered.

     Romeo sighed, but somehow, I could see that he was glad that President King was actually somehow a good guy, “That old man…he’s like his son, they’re both good at tricking me.”

     “That’s why Eric barged to your company as well. We knew Mr. Matthew King worked there, so we asked Eric to look for Julien at the Valentino Company,” Minji explained.

     “But what did President King want with your gang? Why on earth would he need a gang for his revenge?” Romeo asked, and obviously no one knew the answer to that.

     “Let’s not concern about him for now. What we should concern about is our brother. Where’s Jiyong? Who the fuck took him?” I asked instead, anger now slowly consuming me.

     “We don’t know. And I’m afraid we might be too late,” Hana suddenly says.

     “No!” I shouted as I immediately stood up from the floor.

     “I was already there, I should have looked for him rather than wasting my time by plotting his death. I thought my family resented me, I am a fool to not have noticed anything,” I tell them, but then my eyes widened from shock when I realized something.

     “My family never resented me. So everything that happened…they never really tried to kill me. They always…targeted you,” I say, now looking at Romeo.

     “The kidnap…I always wondered why it was too easy. They never really planned to harm me. The one who they wanted to harm was Romeo all along,” I continued.

     Romeo’s eyes widened from realization as well.

     “They’re using your men to mislead us,” Romeo says, now understanding the whole situation.

     “That man…he must pay for what he did to Jiyong, and to Romeo,” I continued, clenching my fist from anger.

     Romeo stood up as well and said, “Then what do you want us to do? I’m with you all the way, just tell me.”

     “We need to go back,” I immediately say as I looked at Romeo.

     “Go back? You just got here!” Hana said from surprise.

     “Jiyong has been in America for almost a month, and we don’t even know where he is,” I reminded them.

     Hana was about to say something again when Romeo’s phone suddenly rings.

     He quickly takes his phone and looks at the caller, “It’s Mat,” he tells us.

     He answered the phone and put it in speaker mode.

     “ Val! We got ambushed! “ Mat shouted through the phone, panic present in his voice.

     “What?!” Romeo and I shouted from shock.

     “ Men from Julien’s brother came again, but there were at least twenty of them now. Twelve of our men got killed, Antonio got shot multiple times too while protecting the others so we quickly sent him to the hospital. We killed at least seven of these fuckers, but most of them were able to escape, “ Mat explained, making my sisters gasp from shock.

     “That can’t be…J-Jiyong’s men?” Hana asked, now confused even more.

    “And you? What happened to you?” Romeo immediately asked.

     “ I got shot three times at the arm and shoulder, but I’m okay. I’m assisting some of the injured men now,“ Mat answers.

     “Alright, we’ll leave here immediately.”

     “ Okay. Be careful, “ Mat says before ending the call.

     Romeo looked at us with worry, when in reality, we should be the one who’s worried of him because his men just got ambushed.

     “This isn’t right!” Minji angrily shouted, now standing up as well.

     “Why is Jiyong’s men doing this!” she continued.

     “We don’t know,” I honestly say.

     “Someone else must be controlling them. Someone must be threatening them or-”

     Hana quickly cuts Minji off and said, “Romeo, do you have any leads, someone who somehow wants you dead?”

     Romeo shakes his head and answer, “I thought it was President King, but now…I don’t have an idea. A lot of men honestly hates me, so I don’t know who would plan all this just to get me killed.”

     “But Romeo, if it’s someone who is within the family, why on earth would they attack the Valentino household?” I confusingly asked.

     “There’s only one way to find out,” Romeo says as he looks back at my two sisters, “I know this is rude, but is it alright with you if we leave now. I promise to bring Julien back here again when everything is over.”

     Hana stands up and nods his head, “No, take your time. Look for that monster, make sure he pays for playing us like fools.”

     “I will.”

     “We will gather the men and send them to you as fast as possible. Please be careful,” Minji tells us.

     I quickly ran to them and hugged them again, “ I want to stay, but instead, I will make you guys proud and return with victory. “

     “ I know you will ,“ Hana tells me.

     When we parted from the hug, I looked back at them and said, “ Thank you for everything. Thank you for being with me in the past, and thank you for still being with me now .“

    Hana smiles and gently touches the tattoo on my face. Then she looks straight at my eyes and answered, “ Thank you for being alive…little brother.“

---

     “ We have landed ,“ the pilot says through the speakers.

     I slowly opened my eyes and realized that I have actually been sleeping on Romeo’s lap.

     I looked out the window and saw that we were now back after 18 hours of traveling from Korea to here.

     “Rome , “ I called out, but Romeo wasn’t budging.

     So I decide to carefully stand up, but when I did, Romeo suddenly grabbed my waist and forcefully made me sit back on his lap, burying my face on his chest like before.

     “ Good morning, “ he whispered in my ears while his eyes were still closed.

     I smiled and brushed his hair back with my fingers, “Good afternoon actually.”

     Romeo finally opened his eyes to look out the window.

     When he saw that it was already bright outside, Romeo groaned and buried his face on my shoulder.

     “I know this is a selfish request…but just a little while, let’s stay like this,” Romeo says.

     “Okay then Mr. Ego,” I tell him as I comfortably snuggled myself closer to him.

     Romeo closes his eyes again. I thought he was going to sleep, but then he starts kissing my shoulder, then he kisses my neck and my chin.

     I looked at him and kissed his right eye, making him quickly open his eyes for me.

     Romeo lowly chuckled and pulls me closer to give me a kiss. He softly kisses me for a while, then, he pushes his hot and wet tongue inside my own mouth.

     He devoured me for a couple of seconds before I could pull away to catch my breath, but Romeo pulls me back and kisses me again.

     He hugs my waist and continued to aggressively kiss me. The kiss felt so good that I was unknowingly grinding myself on top of his crotch now.

    Romeo lowly moans, and I knew that nothing good was going to come out of this if we continued. So I quickly moved away again and put a finger on top of his lips to stop him.

     “ This isn’t the right time for us to do this ,“ I whispered to him.

     Romeo lifts his hand and starts caressing my cheeks, “ I love you, “ he whispered to me instead.

     I put my hand above his and took a deep breath, like his touch alone was giving me strength.

     “We’ll find your brother, I’ll make sure of it,” he continued, and I quickly leaned forward and kissed him again.

     “We’ll find the man who killed Johnson. That I’m sure of as well,” I tell him back.

     Romeo nods his head and quickly kisses my forehead before hugging my waist and standing up; carrying me like how he always does when we’re like this.

     “When all of this is over…let’s go back to normal, okay?” he asked, but before I could answer, he puts me down.

     “So where should we go to first?” I asked as I fixed my clothes.

      I went to Romeo to fix his own clothes too as he answered, “We have to go to the hospital first. I heard my uncle is unconscious now.”

     “Oh no, I hope he’s alright,” I honestly say.

     Romeo takes my hand and intertwines our fingers together, “Well we’ll find out when we get there.”

---

     “Antonio Valentino,” Romeo asked as he looked at the nurse who was on the reception area.

    “Are you a family member?” she asked Romeo.

     Romeo takes out his wallet and shows her his ID, “I’m his nephew.”

     “Oh I apologize. He’s at room 304, and it says here he just woke up a few hours ago,” the nurse explained.

     “I see, thank you,” Romeo tells her. Then we immediately went to the elevator to go to Antonio’s room.

     Romeo knocks on the door. He doesn’t wait for anyone to answer as he opens the door and goes inside.

     Antonio was eating his food when we entered the room.

    When he saw Romeo, he quickly puts his spoon down and says, “Romeo! I’m glad you’re back. We were-”

     Antonio suddenly stopped midsentence when he saw me appear behind Romeo.

     “You!” he suddenly shouted, shocking me.

     “This is all your fault! Your men killed my brothers and even almost killed me!” Antonio continued to shout at me.

     I was about to apologize when Romeo suddenly blocked me and said, “You’re lucky your injured uncle, or I might not control myself and injure you again.”

    “What?! You dare side him?! After what happened?!” Antonio angrily asked him.

     “His brother is innocent,” Romeo quickly tells him, finally calming Antonio down.

     “When we went to Korea we found out that Julien’s brother was supposed to safely take him back to Korea, not kill him,” Romeo explains further.

     “W-What do you mean?” Antonio asked, now even more confused on what Romeo just told him.

     “Someone is using his men so we would end up thinking that he’s the bad guy,” Romeo says, and all Antonio could do was put his head down from shock and confusion.

     “So all this time, we were tracking the wrong man?” Antonio continued to ask.

     Romeo was about to answer him when I gently pushed Romeo away from me so I could face him, “I am sorry about what happened to you Antonio, and I’m sorry if I mislead you into thinking that my brother was the bad guy. But please, he was taken, and no one knows where he is. If you know something…something that’s off with even one of the family members…please tell me,” I practically begged him.

     Antonio looked at me, and it looked like he was genuinely thinking, “I…I’m sorry. I handled the trades and the business of the family. I’m not at the house all the time too. So I’m sorry, I do not know where your brother might be.”

     I knew he was going to answer that, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed when I heard it myself.

     “Thank you uncle,” Romeo says as he walks closer to them.

     He touches Antonio’s arm and says, “You should rest now. I heard from Mat that you protected some of the men when you were ambushed. So for that I am thankful.”

     Antonio nods his head and says, “I will do everything for the family.

     “Well then, we should head out first to see the damage at the household,” Romeo says as he lets go of Antonio.

     We were about to leave when Antonio suddenly called out for me.

     I stopped and looked over my shoulder.

     “I’m sorry for accusing you when you haven’t really done anything wrong. I promise, if I remember something, I’ll tell you,” Antonio sincerely tells me.

     I gave out a small smile and nodded my head, “Thank you.”

     Then, without wasting time, Romeo and I left the hospital and went straight to the household.

     “Don Romeo is back!” someone suddenly shouts when the gate of the Valentino household opened.

     Everyone inside quickly formed a line when the car parked at the front.

     Someone opens the door for him.

     He goes out first and shows me his hand so I could take it. When I got out, Romeo intertwines his fingers with mine like it was already normal for his men to see us holding hands with each other.

     “Welcome back Don Romeo,” everyone greeted while holding there chest.

     Romeo nods his head to acknowledge them. He was about to say something when suddenly…

     “Val!” Mat suddenly shouts when he runs towards me.

     Mat looked like he hasn’t slept the whole day. He even has stitches and patches in his arm due to the gunshots from the ambush yesterday.

     He takes a deep breath and looks at the two of us, “I know you just arrived, and I know you two must be very tired, but yesterday, when they were taking the dead bodies, I did a little investigation.”

     “Investigation?” I asked confusingly.

     “If you don’t mind, please…follow me,” Mat tells us. But without even waiting for us to answer, Mat started walking back inside the house.

      Romeo looks at me confusingly, but I shrugged my shoulder and just pulled Romeo so we could follow Mat inside. The rest of his men followed inside as well.

     While we were following Mat, Mat suddenly started explaining, “We got attacked out of no where. It never occurred to me that they’d ever do it because Julien nor Romeo was here at that time. I’m pretty sure your brother would attack if you were here or-”

     “My brother is on our side,” I quickly say, making Mat stop walking, and making the rest of us stop walking as well.

     “What?” he asked as he quickly turned to us.

     “He was here to take me back. Someone’s using his men so we’d end up thinking that he’s the bad guy,” I explained, and Mat looked like he’d fall from shock.

     “That doesn’t make sense,” Mat says, scratching his head from the sudden information that I just gave him.

     “Mat, what on earth were you going to show us?” Romeo angrily asked, obviously being impatient.

     Mat flinched and quickly looked back at us, “Well when we were gathering the bodies of the people who ambushed us, I noticed that most of them attempted to go to the basement.”

     “The basement?” Romeo and I asked in unison.

     Mat nods his head and starts walking again, “Most of them ran towards the basement. Like they were looking for something. So I went down to the basement and found out that there was a locked door just beside the torture chamber.”

     “A locked door?” Romeo asked, like he wasn’t aware that there was such a room.

     When we arrived at the basement, Mat led us to the locked door that he was referring to.

     The door was made of metal, like no one really wants anyone to go inside it.

     “What’s in that thing?” I asked as I looked at Romeo.

     “That’s where the family hid their riches. But for what I know, father stopped putting our properties there. It’s practically abandoned” Romeo explained.

     “So they were planning to steal something from inside this thing?” I asked, but Romeo was unsure about it too so he didn’t answer.

     “This is where they were heading. I don’t know what’s in it, but it looks like those Asians really want something that’s inside this thing,” Mat says.

     Romeo looks at the door, then he turns around and looked at the six men who followed us down here as well, “Search the whole house. Look for a key that might just match this keyhole.”

     “Yes Don Romeo!” the men shouted before running back upstairs.

     “So every incident that happened…that wasn’t your brother?” Mat suddenly asked.

     I quickly looked back at him and nodded my head, “Apparently the mastermind is just using them. And apparently, they’ve actually been trying to kill Romeo, not me.”

     Mat’s eyes widened from realization of what I just said.

     “The time with Johnson, and when they raided Val’s house…they weren’t actually looking for Romeo. Somehow that makes more sense now,” Mat says, then he looks back at me and asks, “But your brother? Where is he then?”

     “I don’t know. My sister’s think he’s dead, but I think he’s being held hostage by the monster that’s playing us. And if what your speculating is right, I’m guessing the final key that he needs, might just be inside this room,” I explained, pointing at the door.

     “But if your brother is innocent, who’s the real bad guy then?” Mat asked, but before I could answer, the men suddenly ran back to us.

     “ Well that was fast, “ I heard Mat whisper.

     “We found a key that perfectly matched the door Don Romeo,” one of the men says as they gave Romeo a silver key.

     “Where did you find this?” Romeo asked.

     Then, the man answered, “At underboss Antonio’s room sir.”

     “Uncle Antonio’s room? Well it would make sense if he has the key to this room,” Romeo tells us, but just hearing what that man said, I immediately knew that something was off.

     “Well let’s see what those Asian’s were trying to take,” he continued as he finally puts the key in.

     “It’s the right key,” Romeo says as he slowly turns the key.

     I don’t know why, but every one of us were feeling tensed as Romeo opened the metal door.

     But when the door finally opened, my eyes widened from shock. I immediately fell on the floor, covering my mouth so I wouldn’t end up screaming.

     My heart almost stopped beating. Tears started pouring out of my eyes as I said, “B-Brother?”

• END -

(39) Betrayed

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     “B-Brother?”

     I asked as I looked at him with disbelief.

     Romeo and the others stood there in shock, not sure what to say or how to react to what we just saw.

     I stood there like my feet were glued to the floor.

     Jiyong was lifeless and chained up on the wall like some kind of animal that’s ready to be butchered .

     My tears continued to pour, and my body started to tremble. But when my brother suddenly gave out a shaky breath, the floor finally released me and I immediately ran towards him.

     “Jiyong!” I shouted as I approached him.

     At first I was hesitant. I didn’t want to touch him, I was too afraid I’d hurt him if I do.

    He was covered in blood, like he was tortured by a monster who I still wasn’t sure of.

     “What are you standing there for?! Someone get him out of those chains!” Romeo suddenly shouted, quickly making his men go to Jiyong.

     “P-Please be careful,” I say as I moved aside.

     But when they started touching him, my brother started moaning in pain, “W-Wait! You’re hurting him!” I shouted.

     “We can’t put him down if we don’t touch him,” one of Romeo’s men stated.

     So I nodded my head and finally let them touch him.

     One man put out his gun and used it to break the chains. And when the chains were finally off the wall, two other men immediately grabbed him.

     “Call for a doctor, hurry!” Romeo shouted.

     “Yes don Romeo,” one of his men answered before running back upstairs.

     “Carry him to our room,” Romeo instructed as he looked at the men who were carrying Jiyong.

     The men didn’t answer and just carried him upstairs.

     I was about to follow them when Mat suddenly grabbed my hand to stop me, “T-That’s…that’s your brother?” he asked me.

     I couldn’t even open my mouth since my whole body was trembling, so I nodded my head instead.

     “How on earth did he get here?” Mat asked further.

     “I…I don’t-” I immediately stopped because the tears started to pour out even more.

     Romeo immediately grabs me to give me a warm embrace.

     “I’m so sorry Julien. I should have known,” Romeo tells me.

     “W-We were right here…he was so close and I d-didn’t even know. I didn’t even fucking know,” I say as I buried my face on Romeo’s chest.

     “He’ll be okay. The doctor will be here and he’ll recover. He’s a strong man right? Then he’ll be okay. And once he’s okay, we’ll find out who did this, and we’ll definitely kill him. I promise.”

---

     “How is he?” Romeo asked as he approached me.

     I was standing outside the room where Jiyong was. The doctor immediately treated him so thankfully he’s better now.

     “He’s still unconscious but he’ll be okay,” I answered.

     Romeo looked like he wanted to apologize again. Ever since we’ve discovered my brother, Romeo’s been apologizing to me none stop.

     It wasn’t his fault so I wasn’t mad at him at all. But now I know what Romeo felt when Johnson died and I kept on apologizing to him too.

     “I’m sorry,” he says again.

     He walks towards me and suddenly lowered his head on my shoulder.

     “I’m the godfather of this household, and I didn’t even know anything,” Romeo says with a sad voice. I took a deep breath and quickly hugged him, “This isn’t your fault. We didn’t know anything, and we trusted too many people. And you shouldn’t worry, my brother is alive, and that’s all that matters.”

     “You’re the only one I can trust at this point Julien. I can’t even trust my own family,” Romeo tells me.

     “Do you have an idea on who it might be?” I asked.

     Romeo lifts his head and looks at me, “The key was found in my uncle’s room. It could be a setup since he’s not here, or it could really be him and I don’t know what I’d do if that’s true.”

     “So what’s the plan then?” I asked him.

     Romeo takes a deep breath and leans on the wall too so he could stand beside me.

      “For now we need to talk to your brother. Pointing fingers on just anyone won’t do us any good. And if it’s possible, we need to talk to his men, I think the person who planned all this purposely made Jiyong’s men think we’re the enemy,” Romeo answered, suddenly making me remember something.

     “Wait a second…” I say.

     “What?” Romeo quickly asked.

     I looked back at Romeo and said, “Remember the bomber? We thought he didn’t have a reason on why he did that right? But what if he was actually a distraction?”

     “A distraction?”

     “Yeah. He bombed the front to startle us. And of course, so we could put all our attention to that. But what if he wasn’t alone? What if someone else went inside the house to search for something,” I explained further.

     “And what makes you say that?”

     “The bomber said it was a warning that they are near. And the men who ambushed yesterday knew exactly where Jiyong was,” I revealed, shocking Romeo.

     “So his men came here to take him. But why are they attacking us? If a Valentino is the one behind all this, why did they attack here? Wouldn’t they be too afraid that he’d kill Jiyong if they do that? Because they’ve obviously been following orders from that guy, because if they haven’t, your brother might have been already dead,” Romeo explains to me, but I quickly shook my head and said, “But like what you said. What if they thought you were the once behind all this? We weren’t here on the day the household was ambushed, so that’s the only explanation.”

          “So these people don’t even know who they’re following?” Romeo asked further.

     I took a deep breath and said, “Or they did, and they were able to put him down.”

     Romeo was about to say something when the door to the room where my brother was suddenly swings open, “Your brother’s awake,” the home nurse suddenly tells us.

     I looked at Romeo first before running inside the room to see Jiyong sitting down on the bed, drinking medicine the other nurse was giving him.

     “Jiyong!” I shouted, immediately making Jiyong look at me.

     “J-Julien?” he confusingly asked as he stared at my face. He was about to say something else when he suddenly sees Romeo, “ Who’s that? Where am I? What am I doing here? “

     “Jiyong calm down,” I say as I ran towards him to touch his hand.

     “Leave us,” Romeo tells the nurses, making the two of them leave the room.

     “ Why are you here? How did you find me? “ he continued to ask me.

     “ You’re in the Valentino household big brother. Romeo is the godfather of this household; he’s the one who has been taking care of me. We didn’t know you were- “

     Jiyong suddenly cuts me off and angrily shouts, “ He’s a Valentino?! What are you doing with him?! “

     “What is he saying?” Romeo confusingly asked as he slowly walked towards Jiyong, but Jiyong suddenly flinched and shouted, “Don’t come near me!”

    “Jiyong, please calm down,” I tell him again.

     I squeezed his hand tighter and said, “ Romeo has taken care of me for a long time and has protected me with all his life. He even became a godfather for my sake. You do not have to worry because he’s on our side. “

     I thought Jiyong was finally going to calm down, but then he shouts at me, “ He’s a Valentino! “

     “ Who risked his life multiple times to save me!“ I finally shouted at him.

     When I realized what I just did, I took a deep breath and let go of his hand.

     I can’t believe I’m shouting at my brother who is obviously traumatized after being chained in the basement for who knows how long.

     “ I’m sorry, “ I say.

     “ I know you’re scared Jiyong, and you have no idea how angry I am at myself for not knowing anything. But you need to calm down and tell us what happened, “ I continued, and finally, Jiyong calmed down.

     He looked at Romeo instead and suddenly said, “A Valentino tortured me.”

     I took a deep breath when I heard what he just said.

     This is it. We were finally going to know who is behind all this.

     “I was sent here by our sisters to get you. I was supposed to meet up with a man named Matthew King, but when I arrived at the airport, a different man suddenly welcomed me. He said he was an acquaintance of Mr. King, but it was obviously a lie that I cannot be fooled with. But before I could even do anything, Valentino men suddenly ambushed us and took us to a warehouse,” Jiyong explained.

     “Valentino men? How many were there?” Romeo quickly asked. I knew that he already knew that his family was going to betray him sooner or later, but somehow, he had hopes that maybe they’ll all be loyal to him instead.

     “I don’t know…maybe about…20 of them at least,” Jiyong answered.

     “This warehouse, I’ve heard about that before when they kidnapped me,” I say, shocking Jiyong. But he doesn’t ask anything about it and just continued, “We were held there for a few days. My own men were being used by activities that I did not even know about.”

     That might have been the time his men came to the club to…

     I immediately looked back at Romeo, and I could see Romeo trying his best not to remember that event as well.

     “After that I was suddenly taken. They tied my hands and feet and brought me to this house. It was almost empty, like it wasn’t used for a long time,” Jiyong tells us.

    “I think I wasn’t the godfather at the time. Without a godfather, only a few chosen ones can be allowed to live inside the household,” Romeo explains to us.

     Jiyong then looks back at me and says, “I was chained up in the room downstairs. I was tortured every time my men didn’t follow orders. I asked them to just escape and go back to Korea, but none of them left, they were too loyal, and for the first time I didn’t want them to be loyal.”

     “If they were following orders, why did they attack yesterday?” I asked, but Jiyong shakes his head and says, “I don’t know what’s happening outside, so I don’t know why they suddenly attacked.”

     “We left the other day to go to Korea. We thought you were…we thought you were the bad guy but our sisters told us the truth. Do you think our absence, or rather, Romeo’s absence made them brave enough to attack?” I asked.

     “It was pretty obvious you’d think that I’m behind all this, but my men don’t really know how the system of this mafia works, so they might just assume that any person who is a Valentino is an enemy. And since your…” Jiyong paused then looked at the both of us before continuing, “Lover…is the godfather, or the boss. They might have thought that he’s the mastermind of all this.”

     “ the greatest question is…who took you?“ I finally asked, and I could see Romeo holding his breath as we both waited for my brother to answer.

     Jiyong looked like he was thinking hard about it. Like it’s been a long time since he has heard of the name of the person who was behind everything.

     “Name, what is the name?” Romeo asked, like he couldn’t wait any longer.

     “I-I…I don’t quite remember, but I think it was a man named-”

     “Don Romeo!” Mat suddenly shouted from outside the room.

     Before Romeo could even tell him to come inside, Mat suddenly barges inside the room and quickly says, “The hospital called…Antonio’s gone.”

     “What?” Romeo and I asked in unison.

     Then, my brother’s eyes widened as he shouted, “Him!”

     Romeo slowly looked back at Jiyong and asked, “W-What did you just say?”

     “A-Antonio… Antonio Valentino . He’s the one who has been using my men. He’s the one who welcomed me at the airport.”

• END -

(40) Let Fate Decide

🌹

     “A-Antonio…Antonio Valentino. He’s the one who has been using my men. He’s the one who welcomed me at the airport,” Jiyong suddenly tells us, making me gasp from the sudden revelation.

     Mat quickly paused too, shocked on what he just heard as well.

     Romeo on the other hand stared at Jiyong like he just said it all in Korean when it was obvious that he clearly understood what Jiyong just said.

      “No, that can’t be,” Romeo simply says, then he laughs and points at Jiyong and continues, “You’re lying to me.”

      “I am not lying. The man who took me here was called Antonio. He had black hair, brown skin, about your height, and had a V tattoo on his middle finger. He was even-”

      “That’s enough!” Romeo suddenly shouted.

     Then Romeo quickly looks back at me and says, “Tell me he’s lying. Tell me your brother is lying to me.”

     I stared at Romeo, unsure what to tell him after finding out about the truth myself. I didn’t know what to say, but I knew exactly how Romeo feels.

     This was what I felt when I “ found out “ my brother was the bad guy. But I knew Romeo felt something more after finding out the truth about his beloved uncle.

     He trusted his uncle more than he trusted anyone. He was his family, and not just in the mafia, but by blood.

      Antonio betraying him never even passed through his mind. Heck, I didn’t think about him betraying Romeo either.

     “My uncle…he can’t do that right? Your brother is just lying to me, right?” Romeo asked me, now gripping on my shoulders, “Tell me he’s lying…tell me!”

     “Val calm down! You’re hurting Julien!” Mat now shouted back at him. He was about to grab Romeo, but Romeo quickly pushed Mat away, making him stumble backwards.

     “Let go of my brother!” Jiyong now shouted, and finally, Romeo lets go of me.

     “As sad as it may seem I am not lying to you. This man is the reason why all of us are blinded. He’s the reason why until now we don’t know who to even fight.”

     “He is my uncle,” Romeo quickly tells him.

     “So what?” Jiyong coldly tells him, and I could see Romeo clenching his fist tighter because of it.

      “Because he’s your uncle you’d just let everything go?” Jiyong asked him, and Romeo couldn’t even answer, which somehow made me a little worried.

      “You became a godfather for Julien, but when you found out that your uncle is actually the one behind this, you just…stop? Is that what you’d do? You just act like you knew nothing and just run away because the bad guy is your fucking uncle?” Jiyong asked again, but still, Romeo couldn’t answer.

     I could see his eyes turning red as he forced himself not to cry. He looks down on the ground as Jiyong continued to reprimand him; “He’s your uncle, I get it. You trusted him, and you thought he was loyal to you. But now is the time to think about what he did to you, measure the bad with the good, find out if this man that you call your uncle is worthy of your forgiveness and mercy, or is he better off dead?”

     I looked at Romeo and saw tears now falling down on the floor.

     Mat looked like he wanted to comfort his old friend, but he stopped and just decided not to say or do anything.

     Romeo clenched his fist as he finally answered, “He killed Johnson,” he paused and looked at Jiyong before continuing, “He killed so many of my people while acting like he was concerned. He even hurt Julien.”

     Jiyong paused and didn’t say anything for a while, it was obvious he was shocked that Antonio was actually able to do all that, especially to Romeo who was his own nephew.

     “So he did all that and you’re still having conflicts?” Jiyong now asks.

     Romeo continued to stare at him, but then, his eyes became darker and darker, like he was ready to kill someone.

      I watched Romeo transform right in front of my eyes. And like the time when he made his first kill, I was terrified of him.

     At that moment I knew…that his monster has once again consumed him.

     And there was no stopping him anymore.

     “He is not worthy of my forgiveness…nor is he worthy of my mercy,” Romeo finally says.

     He looks back at me and suddenly held my hand, “When we thought your brother was the one who was behind all this, you did not hesitate and took my side. But now that things have turned out like this, I think it’s only fair if I do the same.”

     “Romeo…”

     “I will avenge you my love,” Romeo sweetly tells me, then he looks at Mat and Jiyong and continues, “I will avenge my people…and I will avenge Johnson. He is my uncle, but now he is my enemy, and enemies are worthy of death.”

     I could see Jiyong smirking. Obviously glad that he could now also take revenge on the person who tortured him for days.

     “Now that is a godfather,” Jiyong says, also glad his words made Romeo quickly open his eyes on the reality of the situation.

     “What are we going to do then? Antonio’s already gone,” Mat reminds us.

     Romeo takes a deep breath and seriously looks at Mat, “Call everyone. Tell them we have an emergency meeting.”

     “Yes Don Romeo,” Mat says as he was about to leave the room. But Romeo grabs his arm and adds, “And get my gun. It’s time we stain more blood on the floors of this useless household.”

---

     “He was right in front of me. I was right in front of Johnson’s killer and I didn’t even fucking do anything,” Romeo says as he wears his three silver rings. ( Godfather, Households, Valentino symbols ).

     We were inside our room while Jiyong was transferred to the guest room to rest. Five of Romeo’s trusted men guarding him in case of emergencies.

     When my brother regained consciousness, we found out that the traitor has been Antonio all this time. And Romeo obviously did not take it lightly.

     “We didn’t know,” I answered Romeo as I was sitting on the bed while looking at his face through the mirror.

     “That’s the problem…I don’t fucking know anything!” Romeo angrily shouted, now turning around to face me, “I didn’t know why my mother killed my father. I didn’t know President King was somehow connected to all this. I didn’t know your brother was fucking chained up in MY basement, and I didn’t fucking know my own uncle had been trying to kill me!” Romeo shouted again.

     I took a deep breath and walked towards him. I gently touched his cheeks and said, “None of that was your fault.”

     “But I’m the godfather of this household, am I not?” Romeo asked me, and I regretted not answering him right away because he quickly turns away from me and angrily stares at himself in the mirror.

     “We’ve been looking for the traitor everywhere when in reality he was just right in front of us. He’s been laughing at us this whole time. He’s been misleading us and we stupidly walked through the traps that he perfectly aligned for us,” Romeo tells me.

     I was about to say something but then he asks, “I don’t know who to even be angry with. Should I be angry with him, or should I be angry with myself?”

     “Is that even a question?” I asked him, but Romeo doesn’t say anything.

     I sighed and turned him around so he could face me. I deeply looked at his eyes and brushed his hair back with my fingers, “You do what you have to do. Antonio wanted you to become the godfather, and I know there is a reason behind it. You make him regret it. You show him that you are not the weak and frightened man who he thought you were. The Elders did the same to me, they thought they could manipulate me, but they were wrong. Make sure that your strength is the last thing that he will see,” I continued. Romeo slowly nods his head and takes a deep breath. Then he leans forward and gently kisses my lips, “Okay.”

     “ Don Romeo, everyone is now waiting for you at the meeting room ,“ Mat suddenly says from outside our room.

     “Let’s go,” Romeo says as he opens the door to see Mat holding a copper colored revolver with engravings on it. It even had pearl grips. It was obviously vintage, and darn expensive too.

     Romeo’s eyes widened as he saw the gun, “Is that-”

     Mat cuts him off and says, “We searched through Antonio’s room and saw this inside a wooden case. I believe this belonged to the past godfathers.”

     Romeo nods his head and takes the gun from Mat’s hand. He inspects the gun and counts the bullets.

     “Six”, he simply tells us.

     “So, are you ready?” Mat asks.

     Romeo takes one bullet from the revolver, spins the cylinder and closes it, “I’m ready. But are they?”

---

    “Don Romeo,” everyone greeted as they placed their hands on their chests to show respect that I now know is just an act by some of these men.

     Romeo ignores them and goes to his seat while Mat and I stood on both of his sides.

     “Sit,” he tells everyone, making his board members sit on their chair while soldiers surrounded them.

     The moment they sat down, everyone sitting on the table started talking at the same time while the rest of Romeo’s men just silently stood on the sides, listening to the old men do their “ job. “

     They asked about my brother, about the attack, about Antonio being missing, and a lot more things that obviously doesn’t concern Romeo anymore.

     As the men continued to ask him questions, Romeo suddenly places the gun in front of him, finally making everyone shut up.

     “I have 5 bullets, and there are ten of you here at the table. After everything that happened, I realized that most of you have been playing with me. And since you like playing games, this is how we’ll do this meeting,” Romeo says as he picks up the gun and slowly points it at everyone on the table, making them flinch.

     “I ask you a question, and if I don’t like your answer, I shoot someone at random. Do you understand?” Romeo asked, but obviously no one answered.

     “I said…do you understand!” Romeo now shouted at them.

     “Yes Don Romeo!” everyone forcefully answered in unison.

     Romeo smirks and relaxes his back on the chair, then he starts, “Now, my first question. Who knew about Antonio’s betrayal?”

     Everyone was silent, making Romeo chuckle, “You’re making it too easy. If no one talks I’d have to kill one of you. Did you not understand what I just said?”

     “D-Don Romeo…we d-don’t know what you’re…t-talking about,” someone bravely answered.

     Romeo quickly looks at him, and you could feel the whole room tensing up.

     Without saying anything, Romeo picks up the gun and shoots the man who dared open his mouth. But the man almost fainted when we heard a click instead.

     He luckily landed on an empty cylinder.

     “How lucky,” Romeo says with a smirk.

     Everyone sitting on the table was now sweating as they stared at Romeo.

     “Julien’s brother was never the bad guy. Antonio has been using his men and has been manipulating us so we would be stupid to realize that it was actually him. Jiyong said that there were more Valentino men with him, and I know that someone here knows who those people are. So who has known about his betrayal and did not even dare tell me about it?!” Romeo angrily asked them.

     “Don Romeo, I swear, we didn’t really know!” someone on the table told him.

     Romeo ignores his answer and takes the gun, but sadly for him, the gun shoots him directly at the forehead, causing him to immediately fall from his seat.

     Everyone gasped, and the room became ten times tenser.

     “I will end up killing most of you here, and no one would still dare say a thing?! You’d rather protect Antonio than tell your own godfather the truth?” Romeo shouted again, not even fazed that he just killed someone a few seconds ago.

     Everyone was quiet while most of them were trembling.

     When no one said anything, Romeo points the gun at someone else this time. The old man flinched and closed his eyes as a sign of defeat. He knew that whether he answers truthfully, Romeo would still shoot him.

     “Don Romeo! Please stop!” a soldier suddenly shouts from the side.

     The man who Romeo was pointing at suddenly opened his eyes back to look at the owner of the voice.

     “Please do not kill my father, I beg you! He was never a part of all this!” he pleaded, making me now understand the situation.

     “Son! What are you doing?!” the man angrily shouts at him.

     The soldier ignores his own father and slowly walks towards Romeo.

     “Antonio…” he starts.

     “No!” the father shouted as he now stood up from his seat to stop his son, but Mat quickly goes to him and grabbed both of his arms to stop him.

     I stared at the soldier, then I suddenly recognized him. I quickly leaned towards Romeo’s ear and whispered, “ He’s the man who found the key inside Antonio’s room. “

     Romeo nods his head and slowly puts the gun down as he looks back at the soldier, “Go ahead, what is it?”

     The soldier was shaking, afraid that if he tells Romeo the truth, Romeo might kill him, or the people inside this room would kill him instead.

     “Go on boy or I’ll kill you and your father,” Romeo threatened, finally making the boy talk.

     “The board members has been stealing money, and has been selling information to other mafia’s from the Valentino’s ever since Claudio was godfather. Antonio told them he’d protect them in exchange of protecting him. Which is why when things got complicated, the board members turned around and pretended like nothing was wrong. Some of us also knew about the treachery, but the board members threatened to kill us and our families if we even dare tell you anything,” the soldier finally reveals, shocking me.

     The room was already quiet, but somehow, after hearing what the soldier just said, the room became even quieter…if that was even possible.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything and just stares at the soldier.

     On the other hand, the board members looked like they just wanted to disappear.

     After a few agonizing seconds of silence, Romeo started laughing.

     I looked at Mat but he only shrugged his shoulder, also confused on why Romeo suddenly started laughing like that.

     But when Romeo stopped laughing, he slowly turned his head to look back at the men on the table.

     “Is this true?” he simply asked, and knowing Romeo, he wasn’t really expecting anyone to actually answer him.

     “Of course not! That’s preposterous!” someone dared say.

     Romeo nods his head and looks back at the soldier, “Looks like we have a problem then. He said that your accusations are not true, so whom should I believe in?” he asked.

     The soldier obviously didn’t know how to answer, so instead, he pointed at Romeo’s gun and bravely suggested, “Let fate decide…Don Romeo.”

     “What are you saying?!” the soldiers father angrily shouted at him.

     Romeo on the other hand, looked impressed. He nods his head and smirks, then he takes his gun and says, “We have four bullets left, but to make things more interesting, I’ll add another one, so it’s a 90 percent chance of death.”

     Romeo takes a bullet from his pocket and places in inside the revolver. He spins the cylinder and closes it.

     “Let’s see if you’re lying to me or not,” Romeo says as he points the gun at the soldier.

     “No! Do it to me instead! Please Don Romeo! Not my son!” the soldiers father begged, but Romeo ignored him and said instead, “Let’s see what fate has to say.”

     The soldier was trembling, but he closes his eyes and waited for the loud bang.

     But when Romeo pulled the trigger, we only heard a click sound.

     It was an empty cylinder.

     The soldier almost fainted as he opened his eyes.

     I exhaled too, now realizing that I was actually holding my breath through the whole thing.

     Romeo smiles, then without any hesitation, he shoots the man on the table that told Romeo that the soldier’s accusations were false.

      Romeo then shot the one beside him, and the one in front of him, and another one just sitting on Romeo’s right side.

     The quiet room was now filled with dead men and blood.

     Five members of the board were dead while half of them trembled in fear, praying that Romeo would spare them.

     “For years…” Romeo started as he slowly stood up from his seat.

     “For years you have not only been betraying me, but my father as well. For years, you have been stealing from your own family. And for years, you have pretended that I am the one at fault for this family’s demise,” Romeo calmly tells them, but deep down I knew he was inches away from exploding.

     The remaining men on the table stood up as well and quickly bowed in front of Romeo, “Please Don Romeo! Forgive us!” the men shouted in unison.

     “Forgive you?!” Romeo now shouted instead.

     “I have given so much for this family. I have given my whole life for this family but you continue to betray me like this. And now you are asking for forgiveness?!” Romeo angrily shouted at them.

     “You are not worthy of death, nor are you worthy of life. Take the rest of these useless men to the dungeon and chain them up like what they did to Julien’s brother,” Romeo commanded. But then he pointed at the father of the soldier who told them the truth and said, “Except for Mathias .”

( I hope you remembered Mathias in Chapter 8: Family Affairs haha )

     So his name is Mathias. Looks like Romeo had already clashed with this man because Romeo won’t casually just call him Mathias if they haven’t.

     “Yes Don Romeo!” the soldiers on the side shouted as they quickly grabbed the remaining men on the table.

     “No! Don Romeo! Please!” they continued to shout, but Romeo completely ignored them.

     “And for the rest of you, dispose of these dead bodies,” Romeo says. But before anyone could even answer him, Romeo started going out of the room.

     I quickly followed him, Mat and the man named Mathias following behind me.

    “Antonio will kill you! Antonio will come back with more men and kill you!” someone now shouted, making Romeo stop walking.

     “We’ll see about that,” Romeo simply says as the soldiers dragged the board members to the dungeon.

     “Don Romeo!” someone suddenly called out. We looked at the owner of the voice and found out that it was actually the soldier who told Romeo the truth, AKA Mathias’s son.

    “Are you going to kill my father?” he innocently asked. While looking at him I could guess that he’s at least 20-years-old or younger.

     “Don’t worry. I won’t,” Romeo answered, then he held the soldiers shoulder and continued, “That was a brave thing that you did. Do not worry, your bravery will be generously rewarded.”

     “Thank you Don Romeo,” the soldier answered with a serious expression, but it was obvious that he was glad about Romeo’s decision. Glad that he and his father would be safe.

     “Now go to the dungeon. Tell the men to torture the board members until they tell you the rest of the men who are siding with Antonio,” Romeo commands him. The soldier puts his hand on his chest and quickly left the scene.

     “What are you planning?” Mathias asked, making me realize that he was actually with us.

     Romeo looks at him and saw him still being held by Mat, “Let go of him, he won’t escape,” Romeo says, quickly making Mat let go of him.

     “The Valentino Family is in chaos. The board members are gone, and we don’t even have an underboss anymore. If the other households find out they’ll definitely-”

    Romeo quickly cuts Mathias off and says, “Let them find out. Let them know that the Valentino Family is no more, and the godfather himself ended it.”

     “What?!” the three of us shouted in unison, shocked on what Romeo just revealed.

     “This family has already fallen. Ending it is a form of mercy,” Romeo simply says as he started walking away again.

     The three of us looked at each other and quickly followed Romeo.

    Matthias was right; the household was literally now in chaos. After the emergency meeting, everyone started running around the place. Gunshots could be heard everywhere, and the whole household now smelled like death.

     It hasn’t even really ended, but just looking at the place, you’d know that the Valentino Family was no longer a mafia that other household’s would fear. It was as dead as Romeo’s father.

    “We need to find Antonio,” Romeo tells us as we arrived at his office.

     Romeo sat in front of his desk as the three of us stood in front of him.

     “Romeo, shouldn’t you rest, even for a little?” I asked, concerned that Romeo would be emotionally exhausted after finding out that his family has been betraying not only him, but his father as well.

     “There is no time to rest. Antonio is out there, laughing at us and watching this god forsaken family crumble to the ground,” he tells me. I took a deep breath and just nodded my head in defeat.

     Even though I wanted him to rest, I knew that Romeo was right. After everything that we just found out, resting would be crucial.

      “So what’s the actual plan?” Mat asks.

     “Like what I said, I have to end the Valentino Family. Uncle will not rest if I-”

     This time, it was Mathias’s turn to cut Romeo off, “The households that are under an oath with us is sided with Antonio.”

     “What?” Romeo quickly asked. Shocked on what Matthias just said.

     “Ever since Claudio was the godfather, the board members and Antonio have been selling information to other mafias. They’ve been teaming up with each other so they could take over the family, but they couldn’t do anything if the Valentino’s doesn’t have a godfather, which is why Antonio practically forced you to take the position,” Mathias explained further.

     “So once again I walked through one of his traps like an idiot,” Romeo says, and then he aggressively scratched his head, like he was finally losing it.

     “But why didn’t Antonio just take the position? Romeo didn’t want to be the godfather anyways,” I told him.

     Matthias took a deep breath and explained again, “Claudio was the godfather before, and when he died, his son was next in line because Antonio wasn’t a full blood. Antonio could have easily killed Romeo, but if he kills him without Romeo claiming the godfather seat, the Valentino Family will automatically shut down. The only solution for that is to make Romeo the godfather, then kill him, so Antonio will be the next in line to take the position.”

     “So there’s like a sequence. Claudio, Romeo, then Romeo’s supposed offspring. But since Romeo doesn’t have an offspring, the only living Valentino is Antonio, so Antonio becomes the godfather once Romeo dies,” I say, finally understanding the reason why Antonio had to do all this just so he could get the position.

     “Then we kill Antonio, simple as that,” Romeo suggested.

     “But then other households would try and defeat the family. Any household can take the Valentino Family if they can be able to kill the godfather of this house,” Mathias explained again.

     Romeo now looked angry as he said, “So you’re saying that the only way to end this…is to kill me?”

     “No,” I quickly answered. The hair on my skin suddenly standing up just by the thought of it.

     Mathias was about to answer him, but then he was cut off by a loud knock on the door.

     “Don Romeo!” someone suddenly shouted from outside the room.

     Romeo angrily grunted and shouted back, “What is it?!”

     “A man named Matthew King is here…and apparently he’s with your mother.”

• END -

(41) The Reasons

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     “Hello…chairman Val,” President King says as he entered the room with Elizabeth – Romeo’s mother.

     “You have been keeping secrets from me again President Matthew King,” Romeo says as he gestured at the seat in front of him.

    Mat and Mathias stood on the side as I stood behind Romeo.

     I seriously never imagined that one day we’d all be in one room together.

     “It had been a while since I’ve been to this household. I don’t remember it being so chaotic,” President King tells us.

      Romeo chuckles and answers him, “I am giving them what they deserve.”

     “What have you done?” Elizabeth asked as she and President King sat on their seats.

     Romeo wanted to ignore his mother like how he always does, but this wasn’t the time to act in such a way. So he sighs and looks at her anyways.

     “What I should have done a long time ago,” Romeo simply answers her, making Elizabeth and President King look at each other, like they knew that Romeo had finally learned the truth.

     “So Antonio’s not here anymore,” Elizabeth says.

     “The household was ambushed by my brother’s men. Apparently my brother has actually been chained up at the basement for days, and his men came here to rescue him. Antonio has been forcing my brother’s men to fight for him for the sake of their leader’s safety,” I explained to them.

      “Your brother was here? And he wasn’t the bad guy?” President King asked from shock, and I nodded my head as an answer.

     “He was actually supposed to look for you but instead Antonio got a hold of him first. I don’t know how he found out about it though,” I explained further.

     “As expected of Antonio,” Elizabeth suddenly says.

     Then Romeo quickly looks back at her and asks, “So you fucking knew about him?”

     Elizabeth looks back at her son, and for the first time since I’ve seen her, she looked apologetic.

     “There were consequences,” she tells him.

     Romeo chuckles and asked back, “Consequences? Is this the same reason why you killed my father?”

     Mat and Mathias suddenly gasped on what they heard, making me remember that I’m the only one who knows about it. Well except for Elizabeth and President King of course.

     “W-What? You killed-” Mathias tried to say. Elizabeth takes a deep breath and bravely nodded her head, “Yes, I killed Claudio with my bare hands, and until now the same scene keeps on replaying inside my head. I am not proud of killing the love of my life, but it was a sacrifice that I am willing to make over and over again for the sake of my family.”

     Everyone became quiet after, not sure what to say next.

     “We all have reasons,” President King suddenly adds. Then he looks at me and says, “And the reason why I am here…is because of Antonio as well.”

     “What do you mean?” I asked, and I knew Romeo was curious about it too.

     It was President King who practically started everything. He’s the reason why I met Romeo. He’s the reason why Romeo became the godfather. He’s the reason why we now know the truth about everything.

     He’s the main reason, but until now, we don’t know his reason on why he desperately wants to take revenge.

     “A man named Matthew Luca. Is he still here in your household?” President King suddenly asked, confusing Romeo and me.

     The two of us slowly looked at Mat, who was standing on the side beside Mathias. President King did the same and looked at Mat. When he saw his face, President King slowly stood up from his seat and smiled, “It’s you…isn’t it?”

     “I’m sorry?” Mat confusingly asked.

     “There’s no doubt that it’s you…because you look exactly like your mother,” President King suddenly revealed, shocking us.

     “You know her?” Mat quickly asked him.

     President King smiles, and for a second I thought he was going to cry, “Oh I knew her. I knew her very well. We were very close to the point that she named you after me.”

     “What?” Mat asked, now even more confused.

     “I’m sorry if I didn’t tell you or even talked to you about it. There were a lot of instances where I could have told the truth but I needed you alive. And I knew that you having a grudge on Antonio won’t help you with that,” President King tells Mat. But it only made Mat even more confused, “What are you talking about?” he asked.

     President King takes a deep breath and sat back down.

     At that moment I knew that we were once again going to have another roller coaster ride.

     “I was a business partner to your father like how I have always been, and that is something that you are clearly aware of,” President King started as he looked at Romeo.

     “But a side of the story that you did not know was that I had a sister ,” President King says, and just a mention of his sister made Mat flinch.

     “My sister ended up marrying a soldier of a powerful mafia. At first I was against it, but she was madly in love with him, and luckily for me, because of her husband, I ended up being introduced to Claudio Valentino regarding business about prostitution,” President King explained, making Mat suddenly look teary.

     I don’t know if he was feeling emotional because of a mere mention of his parents, or because he actually had an uncle that he didn’t even know about.

     “Wives of the mafia members aren’t allowed to stay at this household, but my sister would usually come with me to the Valentino Household whenever I would meet up with Claudio. Through various meetings, we met Antonio. He was a nice man, but then your uncle had a sudden interest with her,” President King suddenly stopped, and it looked like he was having a hard time continuing.

     Elizabeth touched his shoulder, like she was encouraging him to continue. And at that moment, I knew exactly what was about to happen next.

     “ Oh no… “ I whispered as I gently touched Romeo’s shoulder. Romeo took a deep breath and grabbed my hand to squeeze it.

     Mat’s eyes widened from shock; tears now falling down on his face like he too has finally understood what was going to happen next.

     “A-Antonio,” President King finally continued, “He was a crazy man. He…he raped my sister, causing her to kill herself.”

     The whole room felt like it completely stopped.

     Mat on the other had, slowly backed away from shock after hearing what happened to his mother. Mat tried to say something but words couldn’t come out of his mouth anymore.

     The thought that your mother’s rapist has actually been by your side all this time might have made Mat feel so many emotions. Like how Romeo felt when he found out that Johnson’s killer was actually Antonio as well.

     “At that time her son was already two years old. My sister’s husband kept quiet about it even though he knew, because he was a coward to fight Antonio. And when he died I didn’t care less, all I wanted was justice for my sister.”

     “That you tried to seek from me,” I say, now understanding the reason why he bargained with my father.

     President King nodded his head and continued, “I wanted to take my revenge, but I wasn’t crazy enough to fight an underboss of a very powerful mafia. Asking for any mafia’s help would be suicide since the Valentino’s are mostly the head of every mafia that I know. That’s when a friend of mine told me about gangs, and that’s why I went to Korea where I met The Sinner , the head of the Dark Saints, who I was also familiar with since they handled prostitution houses as well.”

     So that’s why President King met up with my father.

     “I came to Korea and offered him a large amount of money for them to ambush the Valentino Family. But your father refused because he said he didn’t need it. Instead, he asked me to take someone and hide him until the right time comes, and that someone was actually the heir of the Dark Saints,” President King explains, making everyone glance at me.

     “I knew what he was referring to, that if I helped Julien, he’d help me take my revenge on what Antonio did to my sister. I’ve waited for years Romeo; I waited and hid Julien with everything I’ve got. But when I realized that Julien has been gone for so long, and his own gang might not side with him, I decided to bring him to you instead. If Julien gets acquainted with you, he might just find out about the Valentino’s and he’d be closer to Antonio. I wasn’t sure about the outcome, but it was a risk that I was willing to take, and I’m glad that after waiting for years, my revenge is finally getting closer and closer,” President now finished.

     In just one sitting, most of our questions were now answered.

     The reason why President King wants his revenge, the reason why he made Romeo and I meet, and the reason why he accepted my father’s bargain, was all because of the terrible death of his sister.

     “Your wait will not be wasted,” Romeo stated as he looked at President King.

     “We will defeat Antonio. He has caused great pain to not only Julien and I, but to you too,” Romeo continued, and then he looked at Mat who couldn’t even say anything anymore.

     “I know what you feel, and I know how painful it is,” Romeo tells him.

      “After all those years…now I know why I never really like this fucked up family,” Mat says, not even minding the tears that were falling down on his cheeks.

      Romeo sighs. A sigh that hinted us that he was inches away from giving up because of exhaustion.

      I know Mat feels bad about the whole thing, but imagine what Romeo would feel after everything that actually happened to him?

      “My old friend. Why not bring President King to the other room so both of you could talk. I’m pretty sure you have a lot of things to say to each other,” Romeo suggested.

     Mat doesn’t say anything and just nods his head as an agreement.

      President King also stands up from his seat. He looks at Mat and both of them left the room.

     When they left, the room automatically became awkward.

     Mathias was just standing on the side, looking at us.

     Romeo was glancing at his mother, while Elizabeth did the same to Romeo.

     And when I realized that none of them was going to say anything, I cleared my throat and started, “So Antonio has been the monster of this household for years.”

      “He knows how to manipulate people,” Elizabeth surprisingly answered.

      “You speak as though you were one of those people,” I tell her, and she smirks like she wasn’t denying it.

     “You do everything for what you love. Like Matthew King for his sister, Claudio for his family, and Antonio…apparently he’s in love with power and money,” Elizabeth explains.

     “Then the reason why you killed my father, was that out of love for him too?” Romeo suddenly asked.

     “Not for him,” she answers.

     Elizabeth seriously looks back at Romeo and continued, “I did it out of love…for you.”

     “Lies,” Romeo quickly says.

     “You have no idea what I have to go through just so I could protect you,” Elizabeth says, shocking Romeo and me.

     But Romeo had so much hate in his heart that he was trying his best not to listen to his own mother.

     I could even see Romeo clenching his fist as he said, “What are you even doing here?”

     “My husband is missing,” she suddenly tells us.

      Romeo chuckles and asks back, “And why should I be concerned with your pathetic husband?”

     “He’s gathering his men,” Elizabeth quickly answers, like it was a really big deal.

      “So you’re here to warn us about his small…gang?” Romeo asked, making me quickly ask, “Gang?”

     “It’s a joke we make to small time Mafias. Well…no offence,” Mathias suddenly explained to me.

      “None taken,” I told him as an understanding.

     “I already have tons of problems. His men are the last thing I should be concerned about,” Romeo coldly tells her. Then Elizabeth smirked like she knew exactly what to say after what Romeo just said, “Well, for starters, those men are the people that ambushed us on the night I killed your father.”

     “What?” Romeo and Mathias both asked in unison.

      Elizabeth smirks and looks at the three of us.

     I took a deep breath, because I knew that we were once again going to go on another crazy roller coaster ride.

     “It’s my turn to tell you my side of the story.”

• END -

(42) The Forsaken Wife

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• Elizabeth Roselli’s POV-

     I was seventeen-years-old when I got married to the thirty-six year old godfather named Claudio Valentino. I didn’t want to marry in such a young age, especially to a man whom people are terrified of. But my parents told me that it was for the sake of my family name. They said marrying the most powerful godfather is an honor that I should be proud of, so I couldn’t refuse.

     I was terrified of Claudio. Not because he was a Valentino, but because he always had that serious look whenever he stares at me, like he was planning to kill me.

     When we got married, I stayed at the Valentino household for one day for our supposed “ honeymoon. “ I sat on the bed like a little girl that I am as Claudio stripped in front of me. I remembered trembling as he slowly approached me, kissing my neck and my shoulders.

     But when he noticed that the trembling wouldn’t stop, Claudio looked at me and gently touched my cheek.

     “We’ll stop if you don’t want to continue,” he tells me with a tender look that I never seen him give to anyone.

     “I don’t want to hurt you,” he tells me again.

     He looked so different that I couldn’t say no.

     I let him touch me that night.

     The pure me was touched by the most powerful man in the country.

      And at that night I was proud to say that I was the wife of such a powerful man.

      But being his wife had its downsides. I wasn’t allowed to stay at his house; I was only called there whenever Claudio and I would have sex.

      Women mocked me, told me that I was nothing more than a prostitute in Claudio’s eyes.

     Even though Claudio would comfort me and tell me otherwise, I was still so ashamed of myself that I wouldn’t even go out of the house. I thought I was dirty, I thought I was just a toy Claudio would use whenever he was in the mood.

     I was weak; I let people criticize me even though I was the wife of such a powerful man.

     But when I had Romeo, my weak self had to change…for his sake.

     “ It’s a boy! “ I heard the doctor shout as everyone rushed inside the room.

     Claudio and Antonio goes inside and looks at the baby. Then the doctor gives me the boy as I carried him in my arms.

     “ He’s beautiful ,“ I weakly say as I started crying.

     Claudio rushes to my side and kisses my forehead, “Oh honey, that’s our boy…that’s our boy right there.”

     I cried some more as I leaned to kiss Claudio’s lips.

     “Look at him. I’m sure he’ll become a great godfather,” Antonio tells us, making Claudio smile from ear to ear.

     Romeo didn’t even cry when he came to this world, which was why I knew he was going to be a man of power like his father.

     Though I had regrets, because Romeo grew up in the Valentino Household, so I wasn’t really there for him most of the time.

     But he was always the sweetest. Even though I wasn’t by his side, he knew I loved him.

     “Madam Elizabeth! He’s here!” one of my maids shouted from outside my room.

     I quickly ran out of my bedroom and went downstairs to see Romeo coming out of the limo.

     He was thirteen-years-old now. He was so handsome and sadly so unfamiliar that I suddenly felt teary when I stared at him.

     “Mother,” he greets with a smile.

     He runs to me and gently kisses my cheeks before giving me a bouquet of roses.

     “Oh son, you shouldn’t have,” I say as I hand the roses to one of the maids.

     “No, it’s from father. He said you love roses so he made sure to buy this for you,” he tells me, and I was once again teary by just hearing that it came from Claudio.

     “Your father is such a romantic,” I say.

     Romeo smiles and takes out his handkerchief to wipe the tears off my cheeks, “I’m sorry he couldn’t come. There was trouble again and father-”

     I quickly cut Romeo off and said, “No, it’s okay. I know your father is a busy man.”

     Romeo smiles, but I knew that it was a smile that told me he pitied me, “Happy birthday mother,” he says instead.

     I hugged Romeo as tight as I could and answered, “Thank you son. Thank you.”

     It was always like that.

     Once a year I’d only see Romeo maybe two or five times. It pained my heart to see him grow up every time we meet.

     Claudio became older and busier, so our meeting was also minimal.

     I was a wife and a mother of two powerful men and I couldn’t even do anything.

     Whenever we have parties, women would stare at me and judge me like I was the most pitiful thing in the world. But I learned to ignore them because men respected me anyways. I was untouchable thanks to Claudio. So women’s shallow words did not bother me…

    Most of the time…

     “Have you heard about Claudio Valentino’s sixteen-year-old son?”

     “What about him?”

     “I heard he killed four of his men again for fun. What kind of monster have they raised?” I heard two women say as I was walking around at a party that I was invited at.

     I always loved these parties because most of the wives of the Mafia boss would be here too.

     “I’m sorry?” I quickly say, stopping in front of them.

    They looked surprised, but mostly because there were six men behind me.

     “Oh look, the mother of the monster,” the woman bravely says.

     “The monster that you will call godfather in the future,” I reminded them.

     “Really now? I heard Claudio was planning to take your sons rights for the seat,” the other woman tells me.

     I chuckled and then seriously looked at them with a smirk, “I’m glad you’re worried. But my son is doing an excellent job in keeping the position that he was born to have.”

     “Your son won’t last in this world. He’ll eventually be killed, and without him, you will once again be nothing,” she bravely tells me.

     I clenched on my fist and tried my best not to make a scene.

     “You have the guts to talk like that in front of your godfather’s wife,” I calmly said, making the two women laugh.

     “You mean the godfather’s slut?” she says to me.

     I couldn’t control myself anymore as I slapped the woman on her left cheek, shocking her.

     Everyone gasped on my sudden outburst.

     “How dare you!” she shouted as she was about to slap me too. But the man behind me quickly stopped her and said, “As the godfather’s command, no one is allowed to touch madam Elizabeth.”

     The two women gasped.

     I smirked and looked at them.

     She pushed my guard’s hand away and told me, “No wonder your son is a monster! He grew up to be just like you!”

    I don’t say anything and slapped her again.

     “You say one more thing about my son, and you will see what a monster really is.”

     “ I think that’s enough madam Elizabeth, “ one of the men suddenly whispered to me.

     I smiled and looked at the women and said, “Well ladies, I would love to chat more but I have to go. Enjoy the party.”

     Like I said, women’s shallow words do not bother me. But when they talk about my son, these women will regret even opening their mouths.

     “Madam Elizabeth, Don Claudio is asking for your presence at the Valentino Household,” my maid suddenly says, making me stop brushing my hair.

     I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed, because I knew exactly why I was being called.

     “Elizabeth! What is wrong with you?!” Claudio shouted at me, but I don’t answer him.

     He goes to me and raises his hand like he was going to hit me.

     I continued to glare at him as I waited for him to do so, but Claudio angrily grunts and puts his hand down.

     Claudio can kill anyone with one command, but he has never hurt me, not even once.

     “You are the last person who I expect to do such an embarrassing thing,” he continued to say.

     I still didn’t say anything, making him even angrier.

     “Do you even know who you just slapped!?” he shouted at me again.

     I stood up from his bed and finally answered him, “I don’t care who she was, she talked badly at OUR son. The future godfather Claudio.”

     “Oh fucking hell, those women talk badly at everyone!” he tells me.

     “So you expect me to just stand there and watch them talk about our son like he’s some kind of-”

     Claudio quickly cuts me off and says, “Yes, that’s exactly what I expect from you. You have been my wife for sixteen years, so I expect you to know how this world is.”

     “ Claudio… “

      Claudio gently touches my cheek and continues, “My wife…you and Romeo are the most precious thing to me. I do not enjoy hearing people talk badly of both of you, but we are not in the position to act like uneducated people. Let them talk, but when Romeo rules they won’t talk anymore, and we will have the last laugh.”

     I try my best not to cry, but when Claudio leans forward and kisses my forehead, the tears immediately fell.

     “Why is it so hard for me to love you?” I asked him.

     Claudio doesn’t say anything and hugs me tightly.

     And that night, like every other night that I’m inside this household, Claudio embraced me.

---

     “ Claudio ?“ I whispered as I looked at Claudio sleeping beside me.

     When it was obvious that he wasn’t going to wake up yet, I stood up from the bed and wore my clothes.

    I looked at the clock and saw that it was only three in the morning, which was why it was still dark outside.

    I went out of the room and decided to visit Romeo’s room to see if he’s awake. But as I was walking, I suddenly saw light coming from the meeting room.

     “ Is someone still here at this hour? “ I asked myself as I peeked inside the room.

     “Romeo is going to be eighteen soon, and I’m hearing that Claudio will make him the godfather as soon as he comes of age,” I heard someone say.

     Then, I saw Antonio, Claudio’s half brother.

     “We still have two years of planning…”

     “We don’t have much time Antonio! That boy is getting stronger and stronger, if we don’t act now we’ll…”

     “I know okay? So just keep it down. I already planned the ambush. I called Dario and told him the plan. When Claudio’s dead, I’ll deal with Romeo next,” Antonio suddenly says, making me gasp from shock.

      I was about to run away when someone suddenly covered my mouth from behind and dragged me inside the meeting room.

      “You two aren’t careful enough,” the man who was dragging me says.

     “Elizabeth!” the other man shouted as he and Antonio looks at me.

     Antonio didn’t even looked panicked as he sees me.

     “Oh look who we have here, it’s the wife. Is Claudio horny again?” he disgustingly asked me.

     I pushed the man behind me and angrily looked at Antonio, “You’re going to kill Claudio?! And his son?! Your own nephew?!”

     “Oh, so you did hear everything,” he calmly tells me.

     He then walks closer and gently touches my cheeks, quickly making me push his hand away,

     “Claudio is weak. He cares too much for his people that it’s disgusting. He needs to be disposed, especially that monster you call a son,” he tells me.

     “Not before I tell Claudio first,” I tell him, suddenly making him laugh.

     “You think I’ll allow you to just leave after everything you just heard? Well, whether you tell him or not, my men will arrive and kill Claudio. Then I’ll take Romeo and raise him myself, and once he’s godfather, I’ll kill him too. And since the last original blood is dead, I’ll be the new godfather, and there is nothing you can do anymore.”

     “No, I won’t let you!” I angrily shouted, making Antonio laugh even more.

     “No wonder Claudio loves you, you’re so feisty,” he says, touching me again.

     “Don’t touch me!” I shouted at him.

     Antonio smirks, then he suddenly slaps me so hard my cheeks burned.

     “Oh shut up you slut. You don’t have the power to do anything anyways. I’ll kill Claudio and take Romeo, easy as that,” Antonio says.

     “Please…don’t hurt my son. I’ll do anything, just not my son,” I now begged.

      The thought of them killing him made my whole world stop spinning.

      “Should I kill her boss?” the man behind me asks, making me flinch.

      Antonio was about to nod his head, but then he smirks, like he just thought of a great idea.

     “No, actually…she might be useful to us,” Antonio says as he walks closer to me again.

     “How about we make a deal Elizabeth. A deal that might just save your son,” he tells me.

     I wanted to decline, but I also had to know what he wanted to say.

     “ Kill Claudio…and I’ll let you have Romeo,“ he suddenly tells me, shocking me.

      “N-No…I…I can’t…”

      “Oh come on. Claudio is old; killing him is like a gift for him. But either way, he dies tomorrow, whether you listen to me or not. And if you don’t, I get to have Romeo too, isn’t that just wonderful?” Antonio tells me, like killing my beloved husband was as easy as killing a bug.

     “So what is it Elizabeth?” Antonio asked, then, I felt the tip of a gun touch my back.

     Claudio’s face suddenly appeared in front of me, making tears quickly fall out of my eyes. Then, I remembered the time I held Romeo for the first time.

     My precious son.

     I won’t let them take you away from me.

     “O-Okay…” I say as the tears continued to pour.

     Antonio victoriously smirked as I continued, “I’ll kill Claudio.”

     And like what Antonio said, the household was ambushed the next day.

     Everyone was running around as men protected Claudio and me.

     “Father!” Romeo shouted as he ran towards us, Johnson right behind him.

     “Johnson! Protect them while I help the others,” Claudio says as he was about to run away.

     My heart was aching as I grabbed his hand and said, “No! Protect us! Not them!”

     Claudio looked like he was hesitating, but he nods his head and grabbed my hand, “Okay, let’s go to my room.”

     The four of us started to run until we arrived at the bedroom.

     Claudio quickly takes his revolver from the drawer and locked the door.

     “Father, who were those men?” Romeo asked as the four of us were panting heavily.

     “I don’t know son. I didn’t recognize them,” Claudio answered.

     My hand continued to tremble as I looked at Claudio, the knife cold on my back.

      “Ah shit,” Johnson suddenly says, making all of us look at him.

     “I…I got s-shot,” he tells us, making me gasp from shock.

     “Romeo, look for the medical kit inside the restroom,” Claudio tells him.

     Romeo nods his head and assists Johnson to the restroom. I was about to follow him so I could help them but Claudio suddenly grabbed me by the hand and said, “Do it now.”

      My eyes widened from shock as I looked at him, “W-What?”

     “You need to kill me right? Do it now before our son sees,” Claudio tells me, shocking me even more.

     Tears now poured out of my eyes as I looked at my husband with disbelief, “N-No…how did you…how did you…”

     “I’ve known about Antonio’s plan for a long time now. I knew he was going to kill me,” he says, making me start sobbing.

    “Oh Claudio…Claudio I’m sorry. I can’t do it, I though I could but I can’t…let’s just run away. Please. Let’s just run away and-”

     “Elizabeth, listen to me! Antonio will take Romeo too if you don’t do it now. I already told Johnson the plan; he’ll take Romeo and keep him safe until the time comes. But for us to protect him you need to kill me,” Claudio tells me again.

     “I can’t…” I say as I grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

     “I can’t do it,” I tell him again, but then Claudio takes the blade tucked on my back, then he forcefully made me hold it while the sharp end was pointed at his chest.

     “No!” I shouted as I tried to pull my hand away to let go of the knife, but Claudio wouldn’t let go of me.

     “Protect our son. He will hate us, but he will understand that everything we do…is for him,” he tells me.

     “Claudio! Please don’t do this!” I shouted as I tried to push him away.

     “ I love you…my dear wife, “ he whispered as he moved closer to kiss me, then, he finally pushes himself closer to me, making the knife pierce inside him.

     “Claudio no! Please let go of me!” I shout as I tried to push away, but Claudio was still holding onto me so I wouldn’t be able to pull away from him.

     “N-No….please Claudio,” I begged, but as Claudio’s grip on me loosens, and I was able to finally push him away, it was already too late.

     He falls on the floor, his blood staining it.

     I was still holding the knife as I looked at him. I was frozen in place, and I didn’t even know what to do.

     “What’s going on?” Romeo suddenly asked as he and Johnson went out of the bathroom.

     But when he saw me holding the bloody knife, and his lifeless father on the ground, Romeo quickly runs to him.

     “Father!” he shouted as he touched his father’s bleeding chest.

     “N-No…what have you done? What did you do to him?!”

     “Romeo!” Johnson shouted as he was about to stop him. But Romeo pushes Johnson away.

     “Why did you do this?! How cruel can you be?!” Romeo suddenly shouted at me, but I couldn’t say anything.

     “You’re a monster! A fucking monster!” he shouted again as he tried to stop Claudio’s bleeding.

     Tears continued to pour as I looked at him.

     I wanted to tell him to stop but I just couldn’t. 

    “ I killed him, “ I tell myself.

     Johnson looks at me pitifully. He looked like he wanted to comfort me but he couldn’t do it either.

     “Help! Please! Help me!” Romeo shouted as he now looked at Johnson.

     “There’s so much blood, I can’t make it stop,” he continued to say, his hands now covered with blood.

     “Help! Please! Help me! Someone needs to help me! Please!” Romeo continued to shout, but neither Johnson nor me could do anything.

     “ They’re in here! “ I suddenly heard someone shout from outside the room.

     I finally snapped back to my senses as I looked at Johnson, “P-Please…keep…keep him safe,” I say as I wiped the tears away.

     “I will,” Johnson tells me as he now grabbed Romeo’s arm.

     “No! Let go of me! Let go of me!” Romeo struggled, but Johnson continued to pull him away.

     Then, Johnson pushes a wall that was actually a secret passage.

     Claudio really did plan this.

     “Let go!” Romeo continued to shout.

     As he and Johnson was leaving, I looked at him and whispered, “ I’m sorry… “

     When the secret door closed, I continued, “ I love you my son. Please forgive me. “

     Men outside was trying to open the door as I slowly walked towards Claudio’s lifeless body.

     I kneeled on the floor and put the knife on the side.

     “I’m sorry,” I say, and then tears started pouring out of my eyes again.

     I hugged Claudio as his blood stained me. But I didn’t mind.

     “I’m so sorry…I will protect our son. I will make sure Antonio get’s what he deserves,” I say as I continued to hug him.

     The door then swings open.

      Antonio’s men barges inside and starts pointing me their guns.

     But then Antonio stopped them and said, “Put your guns down.”

     “Oh my poor brother, what did you do to him?” Antonio mockingly said, making him and the rest of his men laugh.

     The he takes Claudio’s gun on the floor.

     “Romeo and Johnson is not here sir,” another man says,

     “Leave them be. I’m sure after seeing his own mother kill his dear father, Romeo will be a broken man that we can easily deal with in the future,” Antonio says.

     I continued to hug Claudio as his men searched the whole room.

     “What about her? She knows too much,” someone tells Antonio.

     Antonio kneels in front of me and pulled my chin up so I could forcefully look at him, “We can’t kill her, she’ll be Romeo’s weakness. And don’t worry; she won’t say anything. She doesn’t want people to know that she’s Claudio’s killer right?”

     I angrily looked at Antonio and said, “ I’ll kill you. “

     Antonio laughed and suddenly slapped me again.

     “That’s why I like you Elizabeth, you’re so aggressive even after everything that happened. But as promised, we’ll let you have Romeo. But for us to make sure you’ll keep your mouth shut, I decided to sell you to Dario Alfonzo. He was thrilled to know that he will be married to Claudio Valentino’s ex-wife,” Antonio says with a grin.

     Then he stands up and looks at his men, “Come on. It’s time to deliver this… devastating news…to everyone.”

     Then Antonio and the rest of his men left the room.

     And as I watched them leave, I held Claudio tighter and said, “I swear I’ll kill you Antonio…Romeo and I will definitely kill you. Just you fucking wait.”

• END -

(43) Exhausted [m]

🌹

      “I don’t need your forgiveness, nor does Claudio. But the only thing I am asking from you is to kill Antonio,” Elizabeth tells us, wiping the tears that have stained her cheeks earlier.

     The whole room was silent.

    Elizabeth has finally told us her reason, and I could see in Romeo’s eyes that he is as confused as he was when he saw Elizabeth “ murder “ his father years ago.

     “My plans of killing Antonio will not change,” Romeo finally says.

     He hasn’t said anything since earlier that I was starting to get a little concerned. Thankfully he finally said something.

     “There are a lot of things that I still have to plan, and a lot of things that I still have to think about. But for now, I want to rest,” he continues, suddenly standing up from his seat.

     Elizabeth looks at him, but she doesn’t stand like how his men would usually do.

     “You do not need my forgiveness? Good…because I don’t think I can give it to you for now,” Romeo coldly says, but I knew that in his heart he felt something for his mother, maybe something close to pity.

     “Mathias, if you may…please escort Ms. Elizabeth to a room where she could rest. Then go check on the men and see how many other men they have already killed,” Romeo instructed.

     Mathias nods his head and puts his hand in his chest, “Yes Don Romeo.”

     Elizabeth finally stands up as Mathias gestured for the door.

     She looks at his son for the last time, like he was going to say something, but she decides not to and just leaves the room with Mathias.

      When Romeo and I were finally alone, I slowly reached out for his shoulder and touched it.

      Romeo doesn’t say anything or does anything. He doesn’t even look at me.

      I took a deep breath, feeling the pain and the hurt Romeo was feeling now.

      I knew what I felt now was nothing compared to what Romeo might be feeling. But seeing him so exhausted made my heart ache so much.

      He was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

      He looked even a little older now compared to the time he was still just chairman Val.

      It made me feel that this isn’t the Romeo that I’ve met before. He was like the Romeo that the people in this household knew, the version of him that I was not able to witness…not until now.

     “How many secrets are left?” Romeo finally asks me.

     I don’t say anything so he continued, “About my uncle, about President King, about the real death of my father…about everything else. How many more secrets are left?”

     Romeo finally turns around to face me, my heart immediately breaking as I saw tears in his eyes.

     I don’t say anything and just moved forward to hug him. Leaning my head on his chest as I draped my arms around his neck. Hoping that my comfort can somehow ease him, even for a little.

     Romeo lowers his head and continues to shed tears.

     Then, he drape his arms around me and finally hugs me tightly.

     “I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Romeo says as he continues to hug me tightly.

     “Whatever you decide on Romeo, I will be by your side, no matter what. Okay?” I reminded him, making him nod his head as an understanding.

     I slowly pushed him away from me and looked straight at his deadly gray eyes.

     I wipe his tears away with my thumb and gently kissed his lips.

     Romeo doesn’t pull me in like how he always does, and I was glad because I honestly didn’t want him to.

     “Go ahead and rest, I’ll join you at your room as soon I finish talking to my brother,” I tell him.

     Romeo looked like he was going to protest. Like he didn’t want me to leave his side since the whole house was in chaos. But Romeo was too tired to fight, so he just nodded his head in defeat.

     He takes my hand and suddenly kisses it before leaving the office.

     When Romeo closed the door, I slowly backed away and sat down.

     Then, the tears that I have been trying so hard to hide, finally comes out of my eyes.

     Because just like Romeo…

     I too was completely…

     Physically…

     Mentally…

     And emotionally exhausted…

---

     “ So that’s the reason why I’ve been hearing gunshots, “ Jiyong tells me with a serious tone.

      I knew he needed to rest, but it’s best if I update him on the things that happened today.

      “ It’s chaos, “ I answered him. Then I sighed and sat on the chair beside his bed, “ Makes our own house look much better doesn’t it, “ I jokingly say, making Jiyong chuckle.

     “ Yeah, it does, “ Jiyong simply answered.

     I looked down at my brother and once again saw the bruises on his arm. My anger over Antonio grew even more by just seeing it.

     “ I’ve been hearing from downstairs that most of Romeo’s men escaped the household to join Antonio earlier. The only ones left here are the men who are loyal to him, and I’m here to say that it’s not as many as you might expect, “ I tell my brother.

     Jiyong shakes his head, like it wasn’t a big deal at all, “ Numbers are just numbers. But loyalty is irreplaceable. We should be glad that some are even loyal to him to begin with, “ Jiyong explains.

     “ There are times Romeo proved his worth as godfather. But that wasn’t enough for some of the Valentino men because they were more blinded by the power Antonio promised them. “

     Jiyong takes a deep breath and looked out the window, “ It will only be a matter of time before real chaos starts. “

     “ Will you be safe here? “ I asked him. Then Jiyong quickly looks back at me and glares at me, like I just insulted him.

     “ You expect me to just stay here as I watch my men fight off the man who I desperately want to kill? “ Jiyong angrily asked me.

     “ Brother, you are obviously not in the right condition to fight. You’ve been chained up for days. Do you expect me to just let you-“

     Jiyong suddenly cuts me off and persistently says, “ Exactly! I’ve been chained up for days! Which is why I need to be beside my men and let them know that their hardship in keeping me alive was not a mistake. “

     I sighed and finally nodded my head, “ Alright, I understand. But I don’t want you dying out there. “

     Jiyong finally cools down. He looks at me and gives out a small smile, “ Oh don’t worry little brother. Dying is one of my weaknesses. “

     It was my turn to chuckle.

     But when I remembered the past, the smile on my face vanished, and I immediately took Jiyong’s hand and said, “ I’m so glad you’re alive Jiyong. I’m sorry if I- “

     “ No, Julien it’s okay. This wasn’t your fault, “ he says, but I shake my head and continued, “ No…I’m apologizing because…I never really treated you like a brother. I saw you as another person who I had to tolerate. A person who was like everyone else, forcing me to do this and that; not even thinking of what I’m going through. But in reality, you were thinking of what I’ve been going through. You’ve been behind me, cleaning the mess. So I’m sorry…if I was a troublesome brother. “

     Jiyong smiles again. He looks at me and hesitates, but when he finally had the guts, he pulls his hand away from mine and suddenly pats my head, startling me.

     “ The only thing you should be sorry about is the fact that you’re sorry about such things, “ Jiyong says.

     The warmth of his hand suddenly made me feel teary.

     Romeo had comforted me before, but a comfort from your actual brother was somehow warmer than how I expected.

     “ And you are troublesome, but trouble already runs in our blood so it’s okay, “ Jiyong jokes again, making me quickly push his hand away from me.

     He laughs. Then he holds my hand this time as he continued, “ The best thing that ever happened to our family was you, so there is nothing you should be sorry about, do you understand?“

     I tried my best not to shed actual tears in front of my brother. So I quickly blinked and nodded my head as an answer.

     Then, I pulled my hand away and stood up from the seat.

     “ You should rest now so you could join us at the meeting tomorrow. War is about to begin, and Romeo needs all the advices he could get, “ I tell him, and my brother nods his head.

     “ Good night, “ I say before leaving the room.

     Outside his room were at least four soldiers. I quickly looked at them and innocently smiled, “Thank you so much for protecting my brother. I know it’s going to be too much for me to ask this to you, but if you try to do anything to him, I will shoot your heads before you could even run away. Don’t even test me because I’m proven to be a very good shooter.”

     The soldiers flinched, then they immediately nodded their heads as an understanding.

     I continued to smile as I patted one of the men’s shoulders, “Thank you. I have witnessed too much betrayal today that I don’t think I could stomach another one.”

     Before anyone could even ask anything, I started walking away.

     The warning wasn’t necessary since my brother could easily kill them even at his state. But still, it’s better to be cautious now.

     Especially NOW.

     “Sir Julien,” a familiar soldier suddenly greeted me when I arrived in front of our room.

     “Do you need anything?” I asked as I approached him.

     The soldier nods his head and says, “I was about to report to Don Romeo about the number of men who we have killed.”

     “How many?” I asked, and surprisingly, he answered me, “The board members were able to give us names. A lot were able to escape the household, but we were able to execute at least 20 of them.”

     I nodded my head and stared at him.

     When I stared at him longer, I finally remembered him as the man who thanked me since Romeo rescued his brother before.

     “And your brother?” I asked, startling him.

     “He is unharmed…thankfully,” he says, actually relieved about it too.

     “That’s good. Well Romeo is resting, I’ll tell him about the report myself. Thank you,” I say, and then the man gives me a quick bow before leaving.

     A whole capo is being tortured ( Well most of them ). Twenty soldiers were already killed, and who knows how many other men escaped.

     I took a deep breath and brushed the thought away.

     I know it’s not the right time to rest, but I think it’s okay to just forget about all this, even for a few hours.

     Antonio is injured thanks to Jiyong’s men, so I’m pretty sure he also needs time to recover.

     I took a deep breath again before finally opening the door to our room.

     “Romeo?” I called out when I closed the door behind me, but no one answered.

     “Romeo?” I called out again.

     I was about to go to the balcony when I suddenly heard a splash from inside the bathroom.

     I sighed from relief and knocked on the bathroom door.

    Romeo never told me to knock whenever he’s in the bathroom. But I feel like I’m breaching his privacy if I just barge inside while he takes a bath. The only time I’d seen him fully naked is when we have sex, which was not so long ago. And in all honestly, the first time we made love was the last time too.

     Romeo never really stripped in front of me before, which was why I never noticed the tattoo on his back.

     “Come in,” he finally answers.

     I opened the door and saw Romeo sitting on the bathtub.

     He was obviously completely naked, and I clearly knew that this was not the right time to blush, especially since Romeo had seen me naked countless of times now. I was even naked on our first meeting too!

     “Did you talk to your brother?” he suddenly asked me, his eyes still closed, like he was really relaxing himself.

     “Yes, and just by looking at him I could see that he’s looking much better,” I answered as I closed the door.

     “I’m glad,” Romeo says, finally opening his eyes to look at me.

     He stares at me, like how he usually stares at me before, “Join me?” he suddenly asked, making me flinch.

     “Join you?” I asked, like I just heard him wrong.

     Romeo has helped me take a bath before, but it was never the other way around, so I’m a little surprised.

     “Are you embarrassed now? Now that we have actually become one?” he embarrassingly asked me, making me blush again. I knew Romeo really didn’t intend to make me blush with what he just said, but he smirked when he saw my reaction.

     “Aren’t you tired?” I asked, still stalling.

     “Exhausted,” he quickly answered. Then he moved a little, like he was giving space for me so we could both fit in the tub.

     “Which is why I need my boyfriend beside me to relax,” he tells me.

     And I never had thought that I’d ever witness the day that Romeo would actually ask me to join him in his bath. His bath session is like the most sacred thing to him.

     “Are you sure?” I shyly asked.

     Romeo weakly smiled. Then he playfully gestures on the space in between his legs. He was obviously really tired, but he still did his best to somehow flirt with me.

     “Alright then,” I finally answered, slowly walking towards him.

     Romeo intensely watches me as I took off my shirt first, revealing the tattoos that somehow made me feel like I was still wearing something.

     When I was now completely naked, I dipped my feet inside the tub. I took a deep breath, relieved that the water wasn’t as cold as I thought.

     I don’t look at Romeo and finally sat in between his legs, my back quickly touching Romeo’s hard chest.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything and just leans forward to kiss my shoulder, immediately making me close my eyes from the sensation.

      “ Your body still mesmerizes me, even until now, “ Romeo whispered against my ear.

     I couldn’t help but lean against him; my body now relaxing on his.

     Romeo lowly chuckles and said, “I told you this will be relaxing.”

     I was going to say something but Romeo suddenly kisses my neck. He wraps his arms around my body, then his hand suddenly grips on my manhood.

     The contact immediately made me gasp.

     “Squeezing this makes me feel much better than squeezing my stress ball,” Romeo suddenly tells me.

     “ Romeo…n-not here… “

     Romeo ignores me and squeezes it tighter.

     I reached out for his hand and buried my nails on his skin; finally making Romeo quickly released himself from me.

     “I’m sorry,” he says as he embraces my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder, “I haven’t touched you in a long time. I couldn’t help it,” he suddenly tells me, making me stupidly blush again.

     I wanted to say something, but I kept quiet and just relaxed instead.

     Romeo did the same as he closed his eyes to relax as well.

      We stayed like that for a couple of minutes.

     It was quick, but it felt like it was hours, and it was only Romeo and I. Everyone inside the household didn’t exist, and the thought of just being the two of us made me feel so happy.

     Just Romeo and I.

     Without the killings, without the gangs and mafias, and without the chaos.

     Just the two of us.

     “Let’s finish it up so we could sleep,” Romeo suddenly says, standing up first.

     He goes out of the bathtub and shows me his hand. And like a princess, I reached out for him and stood up as well.

     He doesn’t let go of my hand as we walked towards the shower area.

     We went inside the small space, and then he turns the shower on, the cold water surprising me.

     Romeo and I were facing each other.

     He stares at me as I stared back at him. And without any warning, Romeo pushes me against the wall and starts devouring my lips, but this time, I didn’t try to stop him.

     I draped my arms around his neck, his lips still on mine.

     When he pulls away from me. Romeo quickly bites my lower lips before grabbing his own cock.

      To my surprise, he starts jerking off, just a few inches away from me.

     “Do you want me to-”

     I was going to ask him if I should give him a hand, but then Romeo quickly came. I don’t know why but when he did I suddenly blushed.

     “This will do,” Romeo tells me.

     He looks back at me and winks, making me stupidly blush again.

     “Soap will hurt,” he adds, confusing me even more. But before I could even question him, Romeo brings my leg up and shoves his still very hard dick inside me.

     I gasped from the shocking pain.

     Romeo groaned and closed his eyes.

     “Y-You…idiot,” I say, trying my best not to laugh because of how eager my lover was to shove himself inside me.

     “ So he used his cum as lube, “ I finally realized.

     “Ah fuck…I miss your tightness,” Romeo randomly tells me, making me remember that his dick was seriously inside me right now.

     “I missed your size too,” I say, making him smirk.

     Romeo then lifts my other leg; now carrying me off the floor while my back was supported on the wall.

     “You can move now,” I tell him as my hole has finally adjusted to him.

     Romeo starts thrusting slowly. His cock was brushing against the walls inside me that I immediately gripped on his shoulder because of how good it feels.

     “Moan for me baby. Come on,” Romeo says as he started fastening his pace.

     “Hmm…so good…baby it’s so good,” I moaned as Romeo continued to thrust himself inside me.

     My voice echoed inside the bathroom, and I could tell that it was turning Romeo on even more.

     He pulls himself slowly and aggressively slams himself back in.

    While he did that, he continued to kiss me.

     “Stick out your tongue,” he commands, and I quickly followed.

     Romeo licks my tongue before practically sucking on it. He takes my tongue inside his mouth and continues to slam himself inside me.

     The feeling was so good that I thought I was going to cry.

     “More, shit Romeo fuck me more,” I demanded him, and Romeo didn’t hesitate.

     He was already oozing inside me that my insides became slippery. This made it easier for him to move faster.

     “Ah yes! Daddy I’m gonna cum…s-shit I’m gonna cum.”

     I leaned forward and practically bit his shoulder as I finally released my seed.

     Seconds later, Romeo cums again. Inside me this time.

     He slowly pulls away, but he doesn’t put me down.

     “ I love you, “ he whispered to me.

     I hugged him tightly and rested my head on his shoulder.

     As I was trying to catch my breath, I answered, “I love you too…Mr. Ego.”

---

     “ Don Romeo? Don Romeo we have an emergency! “

     I slowly opened my eyes, the sunlight coming through the window directly hitting my face.

     I sat up and stretched my arms, and then I heard it again, “ Don Romeo? Don Romeo! “

     “ Baby, they’re calling you, “ I say as I tried to shake Romeo up.

     Romeo mumbles something, but he still doesn’t move.

     I sighed and stood up from the bed. I wore my robe and finally opened the door.

     “Sir Julien!” the man shouted from surprise when he saw me.

     “What’s going on?” I asked the soldier in front of me while yawning again.

     The soldier looked panicked, so my sleepiness immediately left me.

     “What’s going on?” I asked again, but with a lot more serious tone this time.

     “Dozens of cars are approaching our gate,” he suddenly tells me, shocking me.

     I immediately looked back at Romeo, but it looks like he already heard because he was already standing up when I looked back at him.

     “We’ll be right there,” I answered.

     Romeo and I quickly changed our clothes and went out of the room.

     Mat, and surprisingly, my brother Jiyong, was already standing at the main entrance when we arrived.

     “Brother, what are you doing here?” I asked him as we joined them.

     Jiyong looks at me and answers, “I heard the noise from my room. If this is an attack, I don’t want to be locked inside my room.”

     “Are they attacking?” Romeo asked as he looked at Mat.

     Mat has dark circles in his eyes, obviously he wasn’t able to sleep properly after finding out the truth about his family. Remembering his situation suddenly made me feel guilty for some reason because of what Romeo and I did last night.

     “They’re not attacking. They’re actually just…waiting,” Mat answered, confusion present in his voice as well.

     “Waiting?” Romeo and I asked in unison.

     Then, we both looked at each other, like we knew what or who those men were.

     “Open the gates!” Romeo suddenly shouts, shocking his men. But no one questioned him as another man repeated, “You heard our godfather…open the gates!”

      With that, the gates slowly opened.

     Dozens of cars started driving inside. My heart beating fast as I watched them perfectly park themselves in front of us.

     Romeo’s men surrounded us, their guns ready if someone tries anything.

     But when the door from one of the cars opened, my heart finally eased.

     “Eric!” I shouted from joy.

     “Eric…they’re here?” Jiyong asked beside me.

     With a wide smile, Eric walks towards us. He bows in front of us and says, “Boss Julien and Don Romeo, it’s nice to meet you again.”

     “Likewise,” Romeo answers.

     Eric then looks at Jiyong and says, “And you too…boss Jiyong. Your men told us everything. I apologize for thinking you were a threat to our Black Angel.”

     “My men?” Jiyong confusingly asked. And like it was some kind of magic word, everyone inside the cars and vans started coming out.

     Some of these men were the men I saw back in Korea, while some were from the headquarters that Romeo and I went to. Then, the rest showed their faces, and I honestly didn’t know how to react when I saw them.

     “Those are my men!” Jiyong shouted from shock.

     “I was able to contact one of them when we arrived,” Eric tells us.

     Jiyong was going to say something when his men suddenly approached us. They were only twelve now. Most of them probably died while ambushing the Valentino Household.

     I looked at them without any expression. I was partly glad that they have finally reunited with their real boss, but I was also partly mad because of what they did to me.

     I know it’s wrong to blame it all on them, but I also can’t remove the fact that they were a coward to let Antonio manipulate them like that. If they were loyal to my brother, why were they willing to do all those horrible things to me too?

     “Boss Julien,” one of them says.

     I don’t know why but I suddenly flinched and backed away.

     Romeo quickly holds my shoulder, like he was protecting me.

     The man looked even guiltier as he looked at us, so without saying anything, he bows in front of me. Then, the rest of them did the same.

     “ We do not deserve your forgiveness Boss Julien, “ they all said in unison. And honestly, I didn’t know what to feel.

     I glanced at Jiyong, and he looked apologetic as well, like he knew all along what his men had specifically done to us. 

     The thought of it made my stomach churn.

     “ This is not the time for us to talk about things in the past. We’ll discuss this when things are better, “ I tell them, not sounding too comforting or too harsh.

     Jiyong nods his head, like he understood.

     Then I looked back at Eric, who immediately told me, “Boss, these are all of the Dark Saints that were here and in Korea. We’re a little over a hundred, so I hope it is enough.”

     “It is. Thank you,” Romeo said instead.

     Romeo was about to say something else when suddenly one of his men shouted again, “There are more men!”

     “More men?” Romeo confusingly asked. But before anyone could answer him, more black cars and vans arrived at the scene.

     “Who are-”

     I was about to ask who they were when suddenly; I noticed the letters V and R on the hood of the cars.

      My eyes widened from shock, “Russo? Are these men from your-”

     “My grandmother,” Romeo finished. Looking excited as he saw dozens of cars park in front of us.

     They all went out of their cars one by one. All wearing the signature suits the Valentino men also wear.

     “Don Romeo! We are ready to serve you!” they shouted in unison; their voices making the hair on my skin stand.

     “Romeo…” I say as I looked at him with amazement.

     Romeo smirks and grabs my hand to intertwine them. And with a powerful voice, he says, “Let this fucking bloody war begin.”

• END -

(44) Family Down

🌹

     “So what’s the plan?” Jiyong asked as he looked at Romeo.

     We were now at the meeting room. Romeo was sitting on his usual seat while Mat, Jiyong, President King, Eric, Mathias and I sat on the seats on the side.

    Elizabeth decided not to join us, which I thought was a good decision because I don’t think Romeo would be able to concentrate if his mother was with us right now.

     “Isn’t Antonio’s hideout at a warehouse?” Eric asked, and then Jiyong nodded his head and said, “Yeah, I’ve been there before. My men and I can tell you the exact location.”

     “Do you think Antonio would even still be there?” Mathias asked.

     “I know my uncle. He might be expecting that we already know where he is, but I also know that he won’t move out. Looking for a new place to hide will be even more of a problem to him,” Romeo explained.

     “So we’d just go there and ambush them?” Mat asked. I don’t know if he was being sarcastic or if he was being serious.

     “We have a lot of men,” Eric says.

     “But so does Antonio,” I reminded them.

     “Are the amount of men even important here? My own men aren’t fighters, but I can let them help you. But won’t our numbers just be a disadvantage to us?” President King asked.

     Romeo takes a deep and looks at him, “Whether we have a thousand, or even just ten men. The only thing that’s important is to kill Antonio and all the heads of the households that are in Antonio’s side. I thought of a plan, and I really need everyone’s cooperation,” he explains; now looking at all of us.

     “We’re all ears Don Romeo,” Jiyong says with a smirk.

     Romeo nods his head, then he loosens his tie and looks at us with a serious expression.

     “President King is right, our numbers might become a disadvantage if we all gather at the warehouse. So I thought that it’s best if we split up. We have seven households that are under an oath to the Valentino Family. We have the Russo Family and the Roselli Family , in which are still on our side. The DeStefano Family is a strong household who has been with us since the first godfather of the Valentino Family. I called their boss, and he said that he will not side with anyone in this battle. So the only Family that’s left, that are actually sided with Antonio are the Alfonzo Family , Costa Family , Gallo Family , and the Lorenzo Family .”

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/29adbf852639776945ef4c3daa3a0b3fbaa217cd/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5f426c534d3068334b756c7a67413d3d2d3537373230393135332e313533303938653038303934333736373632393230323330313631382e6a7067)

( A mafia can be under a Strong Household through marriage or formal and mutual agreements.)

     “We’ll divide my men, Jiyong’s men, and the Russo Family men into four groups. Four of those groups will attack the four households tonight. I trust that Jiyong and Eric can wipe all of their family members entirely,” Romeo explains.

     “No problem,” Jiyong confidently says as he exchanged glances with Eric.

     “And the rest?” Mathias asked.

     “The Dark Saints are more trustworthy than my own men, so they’ll be coming with us to the warehouse. That includes you too Mat,” Romeo continues.

     “So when do we attack Antonio?” Mat asked, obviously very eager to battle with Antonio.

     “We attack as soon as the four groups finish off the four households. If we can take them down before we attack Antonio, then Antonio won’t have enough men to fight beside him,” Romeo explains, then every one of us started nodding in agreement.

     The plan was good, but I can’t help but notice that Romeo calls his uncle just by his first name now. Like it was a sign that Antonio wasn’t family to him anymore.

     “Now gather the men and get ready. We’ll start as soon as the sun sets,” Romeo explains, then everyone – excluding me – stood up from their seats and placed their hands on their chest as a sign of respect.

     “Yes Don Romeo,” everyone said in unison before leaving the room.

     President King stays for a while and looks back at us, “I know I’m not in the right place to say this but…I think your father will be proud of you.”

     Romeo doesn’t say anything, and I think President King didn’t expect him to. So he nods his head and leaves the room with the others.

     When Romeo and I were finally alone, I looked at Romeo and grabbed his hand, “Are you okay?”

     “No,” Romeo quickly answers.

     I sighed and squeezed his hand, “We’ll end this war. I know it.”

     “My uncle is a fool to think that he can defeat us. But after this, we just ended generations of families and mafias. Defeating all of them will be our ticket out of this cruel world. But I can’t help but think that doing this will only become a greater problem in the future,” Romeo tells me.

     “We can discuss that after all this ends. But until that time comes, the problems we need to face are the problems now,” I tell him.

     Romeo takes a deep breath and stares at me deeply, “But what if…those problems become problems our children would have to face instead?”

     The question suddenly shocked me.

     My eyes widened as I stared back at Romeo, “O-our children?” I asked him.

     Romeo seriously looks at me, and then he takes my hand and kisses it gently, “I love you…I hope by now you know that my love for you is far greater than anything in this world.”

     I looked at Romeo, my eyes suddenly teary for some reason. Romeo and I never really talked about our future, so hearing those words from him somehow warmed my heart.

     “I cannot ask for a better man than you Romeo,” I tell him, bringing his hand close to my face as I closed my eyes to feel the warmth of it.

     “My love…” he suddenly calls out.

      I opened my eyes and looked at him. But the moment I opened them, Romeo suddenly asked, “Marry me?”

     My heart stopped.

     My whole world stopped.

     Everything stopped at that moment.

     Romeo just proposed to me. And I had to blink just to confirm if I was actually dreaming this or not.

     But Romeo then squeezed my hand tighter, like he was scared that I might not answer him.

     Tears now poured out of my eyes as I looked at him, “Oh Romeo…”

     “I know you don’t need my protection. But I will give you my life, like how you are willing to give yours. I will give you the whole world if I have to. Just stay by my side, that’s the only thing I ask of you,” Romeo tells me.

     I reached out for his cheeks to wipe away the tears that are actually pouring out of his eyes now too.

     “I am yours, as you are mine…what more do you want me to say?” I ask him, hoping that he’d understand that it was a yes .

     But when he smiled; that same smile that he gave me when I told him I liked him. I knew that in that moment, I have fallen in love with him again.

     “ I love you…my Romeo Valentino, “ I whispered to him.

     Romeo leans forward and gently kisses my lips before pressing his forehead into mine.

     “ I love you more…my sweet Julien Choi. “

---

     I was resting my head on Romeo’s chest. He smelled like cigarette and perfume, a scent that I have already gotten used to.

     His right hand plays with my hair, while he holds the cigarette on his left.

     He exhales the smoke and puts the cigarette on the ashtray. Then he kisses my head and gently moves me so he could stand up.

     “Where are you going?” I asked as I looked at him.

     Romeo wears his shirt and looks out the window, “It’s almost sunset. We need to go,” he says before looking back at me.

     I nod my head and stood up from the bed. But before wearing any clothes, I walk to him and draped my arms around his neck. Then I kissed him deeply, tasting the cigarette smoke that he just exhaled a few seconds ago.

     Romeo’s warm hand touches the back of my neck while the other hand touches my lower back. When we parted from the kiss, Romeo continued to kiss my neck, then my collarbone, and stopping at my shoulder.

     He grabs my hand and kisses that too.

     “It’s missing a ring,” he says as he looks back at me.

     I chuckled and grabbed his hand as well, “How about we get a ring tattoo. Would that be okay with you?” I ask, making Romeo smile.

     “A ring tattoo sounds perfect,” he tells me, and then just in time, someone starts knocking on the door.

     I quickly pulled my hand away from Romeo so I could put on some clothes.

     When I wasn’t naked anymore, Romeo opened the door, revealing Mat all geared up and ready to go.

     “They’re ready,” Mat tells us.

     Romeo and I looked at each other before going to the front where everyone else was waiting.

     Eric and Jiyong stood together while the rest of the men stood beside the cars and vans that they’d be using to leave.

     “Boss,” Eric says when he sees us approaching.

     “You guys ready?” I asked as Romeo, Mat and I stood in front of them.

     Jiyong looked at us and answered for Eric instead, “I’ll be handling the Lorenzo Family while Eric handles the Alfonzo family.”

     “What about the Gallo and Costa Family?” Romeo asked.

     “Mathias will handle the Gallo family, then the rest will handle the Costa Household” Jiyong answered.

     “Alright. So the plan is you go to the households while we stay at the meeting room. Call us whenever you defeat the household, and once everyone’s done, the rest of us will head over to Antonio,” Romeo explains.

     “We want the rest of you to follow afterwards,” I added, and then Jiyong and Eric nodded their heads as an understanding.

     While we were talking, one of the leaders of the Russo men approached us.

     “Don Romeo, we are ready,” he tells us.

     “Okay, ready your positions,” Romeo says as everyone stopped moving.

     The crowded area became quiet as everyone looked at the godfather of godfathers. The head of all heads, Don Romeo Valentino.

     Romeo looks at me first before looking back at the men in front of him.

      “Words cannot describe how thankful I am for all of you,” Romeo started.

     He paused and looked at everyone before he continued, “I have been betrayed multiple times, but now I know the real men who I am willing to fight with. Tonight we end the war Antonio Valentino has started. We might not be able to see tomorrow, but we were able to change history today. Tonight, we end the Valentino Family!”

     Everyone shouted in unison, excited as they listened to their Don Romeo’s last words.

     “My men,” Romeo says as he looks at the remaining Valentino men who stayed with him.

     “Your fathers, and your grandfathers, had served the Valentino’s for years. After this war, you are free men. And I haven’t told you this before but…thank you for protecting my father,” Romeo says, and I swear I saw a few of his men looking teary.

     “Now, as your last and final godfather. The last godfather of the Valentino Family…thank you for your service,” Romeo sincerely says, suddenly putting his hand on his chest as a sign of respect.

     Everyone was shocked; I could see Mathias looking shocked at the back too. I’m pretty sure not even one godfather has shown such great respect like this to their men before. But one by one, they placed their hands on their chest as well. The V tattoo on their middle finger being shown to Romeo for the last time.

     Jiyong, Mat, Eric, Romeo and I looked at each other. Then Jiyong smirked and looked at his last twelve men and shouted, “ Let’s kick some mother fuckin’ Mafia butts! “

     “Yeah!” everyone shouted in unison.

     “Be careful,” I tell my brother as we quickly hugged each other. Then, they joined the rest and started driving out and heading to the households that we hope they will eventually defeat. 

    Romeo and I looked at each other, then, Romeo looks down at his hand where three rings can be seen.

     One ring was a symbol of godfather , one was a symbol of household , and the last one was a symbol for the Valentino Family .

     Romeo took a deep breath before removing all three rings and throwing them all to the ground.

     “The only ring that will matter would be the tattoo here,” he suddenly says while showing me his ring finger.

     I smirked and quickly kissed his cheeks.

    Mat clears his throat, making us remember that he was actually here with us too.

     “It’s nice to see that there is still something good in this world,” Mat says.

     Romeo and I were going to say something, but then we remembered what Mat has also gone through for the past few days.

     “President King?” I simply asked.

     Mat takes a deep breath and answers us, “He’s with madam Elizabeth. They’re just at the room, waiting for this battle to end.”

     “Are you okay? We haven’t talked ever since yesterday,” Romeo says.

     Mat gives us a weak smile and answers back, “I’ll be fine. I don’t know if killing Antonio will make me fine, but I know that I will be…hopefully sooner than later. The good thing though is that I actually have an uncle and a cousin who I barely even know.”

     Romeo pats Mat’s shoulder and smiles, “Bryson King is a nice man…you’ll like him.”

     Mat suddenly chuckles and says, “Well you wouldn’t be close friends if he wasn’t.”

     “We should get a drink after this. Ask Bryson to join us,” I say, and then the two nodded their heads as an agreement.

     It’s funny how we could act like this even though we’re at war.

     I know it’s too soon, but when all this ends, I’m proud to say that I now have gained a real family of my own.

    “You’ve been a good friend to me Mat. You stayed ever since shit happened to me, and you’re still beside me even after shit happened to you. I don’t know how to repay you,” Romeo says.

     Mat looks at Romeo and sincerely smiles, “Be my friend forever. Consider that as your payment.”

     The three of us immediately laughed when we heard Mat say that.

     “Consider it done,” Romeo replies.

     “Maybe you two should become lovers instead,” I say as I started walking away.

     Mat and Romeo laughs as they immediately followed behind me.

     “You jealous babe?” Romeo asked with a smirk as he stands beside me. Mat stands on my right side, and then I placed my arms on Romeo and Mat’s shoulder.

     “Nah, I trust Mat. And I’m pretty sure he likes pussies more than hotdogs,” I said with a smirk, making the two laugh.

     “How would you know?” Mat jokingly asked.

     “You were more shocked about me being gay rather than finding out Julien’s in a gang,” Romeo answered instead, then the three of us laughed, forgetting that death might just face us very, very soon.

---

     “They’re not calling yet,” Mat suddenly says, panic in his eyes as we waited for Jiyong and the others to call to tell us they’re successful with the ambush.

     “It’s only been an hour. Don’t panic,” Romeo says, but I’m sure he was worried too.

     We’re at the meeting room. Romeo, Mat, and my phone sitting in the middle as we waited for either one of them to ring.

     We were so quiet that the only thing you could hear was our heavy breathing and the ticking of the grandfather clock inside the room.

     The longer we waited, the more my heart would start pounding. I was worried about Jiyong. There are still a lot of things that I haven’t told him, so I really need him alive.

     “I think we should go after-”

     Before Mat could even finish, Romeo’s phone immediately rings.

     Our eyes widened as Romeo quickly answers the call. He puts it in speaker mode and said, “Hello?”

     “ D-Don Romeo? “ an unfamiliar man answered. He sounded so weak that the three of us had panicked expressions on our faces.

     “Who is this? What’s going on there?” Romeo quickly asked.

     There was a pause, and I was so ready to call my Dark Saints if ever this man tells us they failed. But then, the man starts laughing and said, “ W-We did it…the Costa Family is defeated. “

    The three of us almost jumped on our seats when we heard the news.

     “Thank god. Good job…good job,” Romeo says as he starts smiling too.

     Then, my phone starts ringing next. I quickly answered it, but before I could even say anything, Jiyong shouted through the phone, “

We did it Julien!

We defeated the fucking Lorenzo family !“

     “Really?!”

     “ Is Romeo there? Shit, you guys didn’t tell me they’d be tough ,“ Jiyong says before laughing again.

     “Good job Jiyong!” Romeo shouted. Making sure Jiyong could hear it.

     “We’ll give you guys the signal. For now just stay there,” I tell Jiyong before ending the call.

     “Two more calls to go,” Romeo says, and then just in time, Mat’s phone rings.

     Mat quickly answers it.

     No one talks, but we continued to hear gunshots on the background. But soon after, Mathias’s voice was heard, “ Gallo Family is wiped out Don Romeo, “ Mathias reported back to us, trying his best to catch his breath.

     The three of us cheered again, but Romeo leaned forward and asked, “What’s with the noise?”

     “ We’re making sure the ones on the ground are dead, “ Mathias answered, making Romeo laugh, “You really learned so much from my father.”

     “ I took notes, “ Mathias suddenly answered. I couldn’t see him, but I somehow knew he was smirking on the other end of the phone.

     After a few more minutes, the last phone rings. I answered the call and put it on speaker mode, “Eric? What’s happened?”

     Eric doesn’t say anything to us yet, but we could hear that he’s saying something to the people he’s with.

     “Eric?” I called out again.

    “ Oh boss, sorry. We were just wrapping things up here. There weren’t a lot of them here so I’m guessing some of them are with Antonio, “ Eric explained, making the three of us sigh in relief.

     “That’s okay. But is Dario Alfonzo there? Is their head there?” I asked him.

     “ No, he’s not, “ Eric answered with a sad tone.

     “It’s alright, we’ll just give you the signal on when to head over to the warehouse. Thank you for your hard work,” I answered before ending the call.

     I looked at Romeo who already had a grin on his face. With a gun on his hand, Romeo stands up from his seat and says, “That’s our cue. Now let’s go kill my uncle.”

• END -

(45) The End

The song above was recommended to me and I have been obsessed with it ever since. It’s like the theme song of this whole story and I wanted to share it to you guys too. 

Thank you to the person who told me about this song! AND of course, this is THE END. Enjoy 😘

🌹

     “Antonio will definitely be able to see the dozens of cars that will attack them, so to take advantage of that, we should just continue on driving and just hit anyone or anything that’s in the way. Afterwards, Mat will go out first, then the rest will follow,” Romeo explains as we were walking our way down the hall.

     “And you?” Mat asked back.

     “Julien and I will handle Antonio,” Romeo answers, then he stops walking and looks at Mat, “I promise I will avenge you my friend.”

     Mat doesn’t say anything and just nods his head. Then we went to the front where my Dark Saints were already waiting.

     “Boss,” they all greeted when they saw me.

     I told them that the attack on the households was successful, and we were now heading to the warehouse to attack Antonio and his men.

     I told them the plan, and everyone immediately started getting inside the cars, ready to leave as soon as we say so.

     “My men are ready,” I tell Romeo.

     Romeo nods his head and looks at the car that we’ll be using to go to the warehouse.

     “I’ll drive,” Mat says as he runs inside the car and sits on the driver’s seat.

     “Let’s go,” I say as I was about to get inside the car too, but Romeo suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. When I was close enough, Romeo suddenly kissed me on the lips.

     I was surprised, but after a while, I kissed him back.

     When we pulled away from each other, Romeo whispered, “ I love you.“

     I looked at him confusingly, but Romeo kisses my forehead instead and continues, “I want to grow old with you. Which means I don’t want you to die tonight.”

     I looked at him seriously and gently touched his cheeks, “I will die beside you. But that will not be tonight. I promise.”

     I kissed Romeo this time, and then I ran to the car and got in.

     Romeo was about to follow me inside when suddenly we saw Elizabeth running towards us.

     Romeo stopped and slowly turned around to look at her. When Elizabeth was finally in front of her son, she suddenly grabbed him for a hug.

     Romeo’s eyes were wide from shock. He looked stiff as his mother hugged him for the first time since he first left this household when he was sixteen.

     Elizabeth still doesn’t say anything as they parted from the hug.

     Romeo looked at her, his eyes still wide from his mother’s sudden action.

     Elizabeth looked like she was about to shed some tears too, but she clenches her fist and says instead, “Avenge your father.”

     Before Romeo could even say anything, Elizabeth quickly runs off.

     Romeo stood there, stunned.

     I gave him a couple of seconds before finally calling him out.

     Romeo flinched, then he quickly turns around and looks at me. When he saw my face, he blinks and takes a deep breath, like he finally went back to the real world.

     He nods his head, and then he goes inside the car and closed the door.

     “Let’s go,” Mat says as he starts the engine and drives off first, the rest of the cars driving behind us.

     The drive was silent.

     I looked out the window as Romeo did the same on the other side.

     As I was looking at the dark sky through the window, I suddenly imagined the amount of dead men that I will be witnessing tonight. But somehow, if it was even possible, I felt nothing as I imagine the blood that will flood the floor of that warehouse.

     I wasn’t scared, and I wasn’t excited either. I wasn’t too confident that we would win, but I wasn’t too nervous that we would lose.

     I have been in different wars. I have been there when we achieved victory and even total defeat. I have seen my brother’s die one by one through my own eyes. But like those devastating times, I felt nothing.

     I took a deep breath and glanced at Romeo, but the moment my eyes fell onto him, my beating heart almost stopped.

     Romeo was closing his eyes, trying his best to easy his breathing.

     I stared at him clenching his fist while his other hand gripped on his father’s gun. And finally, my emotions flooded me.

     Looking at Romeo made me feel nervous, afraid, and even worried.

     This was the first time that I felt scared to die. And this was the first time that I was scared that someone would die.

     It was only now that I have finally realized that we will be heading to a place where we might never see tomorrow anymore. I have finally realized why Romeo pulled me and kissed me earlier before we left. He did what he did because the feeling that I am feeling right now, was the same feeling that Romeo has been feeling too.

     How could I be so blind?

     Death has never scared me. But now it feels like death is my greatest fear.

    “Romeo,” I called out as I looked at him.

    Romeo quickly opens his eyes and looked back at me as well, “What is it? Is something wrong?” he asked me.

     I don’t say anything and just moved closer to him.

     When we were finally touching each other, I leaned my head on his shoulder and gripped on his free hand.

     “Shakespeare did not write our story,” I suddenly tell him, but he didn’t seem surprised on my sudden words.

     I felt him tightening his hold on my hand as I continued, “So we will not die like Romeo and Juliet.”

     Romeo nods his head, like he agreed to what I said.

    I was about to say something else when Mat suddenly looked at us through the rearview mirror and said, “We’ll see how your story ends because we’re here.”

    I quickly let go of Romeo’s hand to look out the window.

     It was dark, and we were like in an abandoned junkyard that was surrounded by abandoned factories.

     “Where’s the warehouse?” I asked, then Mat pointed forward and answered, “Right there. If what Jiyong said was correct.”

     “Alright, I’ll message Jiyong and the other’s and ask them to head here immediately,” I say as I took my phone and messaged everyone like what I told Mat.

     While we were driving fast, someone suddenly shoots our left tire, making the car swerve to the side.

     “Shit!” I heard Mat shout as he quickly pulled the handbrake.

     I closed my eyes and gripped on Mat’s headrest as the screeching of the tires burned my ears.

     When Mat successfully stopped the car, the cars behind us immediately drove pass us to head to the warehouse while some stopped behind us.

     Romeo looked at me, then he gripped on my cheeks and kissed me before shouting, “Let’s go!”

     Romeo went out of the car as Mat and I immediately followed. The moment we were out of the car, the rest of the Dark Saints followed too.

     Well, looks like we need to change our plans.

     “ Head to the warehouse! Attack and show no mercy! “ I shouted at my men as they started running towards the warehouse where the rest of the Dark Saints were.

     I quickly opened the trunk and saw the guns that Mat packed for us

     I quickly scanned the stash then decided to just get two Neue Pistol Hudson H9As. Both guns have fifteen bullets. It might look like it’s not enough, but believe me, it is.

     We could see the warehouse from where we were, and we could hear the loud gunshots and explosions.

     I gulped and looked at Romeo and Mat.

     We nodded at each other before running to where the traumatizing sound was.

     The moment we arrived at the scene, the word chaos almost felt like it wasn’t enough to describe what we were currently seeing.

     Everyone was shooting each other. Some were lifeless on the ground while others were screaming in agony.

     “We need to find Antonio!” Romeo shouted so we could hear him through the noise.

     “Alright! I’ll handle it here! You and Julien should go ahead!” Mat shouted back at us, but before Romeo could even answer, Mat runs off to join the others.

     Romeo looks at me, but the moment he looks back at me, someone behind him shoots him on the shoulder.

     “Romeo!” I shouted as I quickly pushed him away to shoot the man behind him.

     With one look, I pulled the trigger and shot him right on his forehead. Then I pushed Romeo down so we could hide behind huge barrels. Away from the eyes of the men who are targeting their old godfather.

    “They’re attacking you! Are you okay?!” I say as I looked back at Romeo’s bleeding arm.

    Romeo doesn’t react much as he grabbed his handkerchief and tied it around his wounded arm.

     “It’s only a scratch,” Romeo simply says. Then he peeks and starts shooting his own Valentino men who betrayed him. Like me, Romeo had two extra guns, while his father’s gun was tucked in his pants.

     I wanted to tell Romeo to just take cover, but I helped him instead.

    After shooting as many men as we could, Romeo and I hid behind the barrels again to reload, and then I looked at Romeo and said, “Romeo, we’ll be wasting our bullets if we stay here. My men can handle this, we need to find Antonio.”

     Romeo wanted to protest, but he nods his head and immediately stood up, making me follow him.

     “ Cover us! “ I told my men as Romeo and I started running towards the warehouse.

    My men immediately went to our sides to shoot anyone who decides to attack us.

     “ Make sure no one gets inside the warehouse! “ I shouted at them again.

    When we finally arrived inside the surprisingly empty warehouse, Romeo and I immediately hid behind an old car just in case.

     “ There’s too many of them outside, are you sure that we should- “

     I quickly stopped Romeo and whispered back, “ Jiyong and the others will arrive soon. What we need to worry about is- “

     I was immediately cut off when someone suddenly shot my hand, quickly making me let go of the gun that I was holding.

     “Julien!” Romeo shouted. But I quickly pushed him away as another bullet hit the spot where Romeo was just in a few seconds ago.

     “Run!” I shouted at him.

     Romeo looked like he was hesitating, so I stood up and ran on the opposite direction. Romeo had no choice so he ran away as well.

     I quickly hid under another car and looked at my bleeding hand.

     I silently cursed and took a broken mirror on the side to help rip my shirt. Then I took the cloth and quickly wrapped it around my hand.

     I took a deep breath and used the mirror to find who was shooting us. On the second floor, I saw Dario Alfonso hiding behind a gas tank. It would be smart to shoot that gas tank, but since he’s hiding there, I’m pretty sure he knows those tanks are empty.

     “ Where could Romeo be? “ I asked as I looked around, but I couldn’t see where Romeo was at all.

     “ Fuck. “

     I let go of the mirror and quickly went out of the car.

     The moment I stood up, Dario went out and started shooting me too.

     I ran as fast as I could, trying to dodge the bullets that Dario was lousily shooting at me.

    “You call that shooting?!” I shouted at him, trying my best to provoke him.

     When he looked a little annoyed, I took it as an opportunity to look back to shoot him. And with just one look, I pulled the trigger and shot the side of his stomach.

     Dario shouted in agony, then someone on the left shot him on the shoulder.

     “Romeo!” I shouted, finally seeing him.

     Dario fell on the floor, then Romeo pointed upstairs and both of us ran to where Dario was.

     “Y-you fucker!” Dario shouted at me as he sees me approach him.

     Then Romeo arrives and looks at him too.

     “Not very smart to be alone here Dario,” Romeo says as he kicks Dario’s gun away and points his own gun at him next.

     I immediately looked around and positioned my gun in case someone suddenly pops out and shoots us. It was pretty obvious that the warehouse was empty, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

     “I always hated you, and I genuinely thought you hated the Valentino Family too. But who would have known that you’d be sided to one,” Romeo continued.

     Dario was now coughing blood as he looked at us, “W-We don’t have…e-enough men. N-Nor do w-we have…resour…resources. I-It was clear…t-that we would be…de-feated.”

     “Then why still side with Antonio?!” Romeo angrily shouted at him.

     “I…I l-love Elizabeth…I-It was…the o-only way…to m-make sure…A-Antonio spares…h-her,” Dario struggled to say, shocking us.

     “Lies!” Romeo angrily shouted again, trying his best not to shoot Dario already.

     “I loved her!” Dario shouted with all his might, his blood still oozing out of his mouth.

     “B-but she called out…C-Claudio’s name…all the f-fucking time,” Dario says, then he starts laughing.

     “Antonio…he’s at the office on the…f-far end,” Dario says to us.

     Romeo and I looked at each other.

     “I-It’s not a trick…we…we know…we a-already know…that we l-lost,” Dario continued.

     I thought Romeo was going to shoot Dario, but instead, he puts his gun down and says, “I will spare you…because even with all the shit that you did, Diana grew up to be a great woman,” Romeo tells him. Then Romeo nods his head, and we start walking away. But as soon as we walked away, we heard a loud gunshot.

     I quickly turned around and looked back at Dario. My eyes widened when I saw him lifeless on the floor, a different gun on his hand.

     Even though Romeo spared him, Dario ended up killing himself.

     “W-why?” I asked as I stared at him with shock.

     Romeo quickly grabs my arm and says, “We gave him a chance; but he ended it. Now let’s go before Antonio escapes.”

     I stared at Dario for the last time before following Romeo to the room where Antonio would be in.

    We stopped in front of the door and looked at each other.

    I smirked as Romeo leans forward to kiss me. Then, he kicks the door open, revealing Antonio peacefully sitting on a chair with an intravenous tube on his hand.

     “So it is you,” Antonio says, not even moving from where he was seated.

     I looked at Antonio confusingly, but then I remembered that Jiyong’s men attacked him a few days ago, and he practically just woke up from a coma. He has no strength to even fight us.

     “So you really have accepted defeat,” I say as Romeo and I approached him. But we still didn’t put our guns down. Antonio has done so many dirty tricks; I don’t trust him at all.

     “I’ll hand it to you Romeo. I really thought you were stupid like your parents. Sadly you’re like your grandfather, which was why I hated you even more,” Antonio calmly explains.

     He coughs for a second before looking back at us, “I’m dying, and I’m sure my death is what almost everyone wants to witness. I betrayed many people, but I did what I had to do to gain the power that your grandfather, my own father, had selfishly denied to me.”

     “My father was the rightful godfather to the Valentino Family,” Romeo tells him, making Antonio laugh.

     “You have no idea don’t you,” Antonio says as he stops laughing.

     “Doña Victoria…she was the mistress, my mother was the legal wife. At that time my mother couldn’t bare a child, so my father ended up having a child with Victoria, and that was your pathetic father Claudio. But a year after, I was born, and since I was the son of the legal wife, I was supposed to be the heir. But my father said I was greedy. He said Claudio was a better son to him than I will always be. So he divorced my mother and married his mistress” Antonio explained, but I wasn’t even that shocked.

    This was what happened with Jiyong and me. Maybe not exact, but somehow similar.

    Jiyong was supposed to be the head of the gang, but since I was the son of the legal wife, I ended up being the head, not him.

     “And he was right. My father was a better godfather than what you would have been,” Romeo bravely said, and for the first time, Antonio didn’t look calm anymore.

     “Family affairs are a lot more complicated Romeo. You kill brothers and fathers and mothers and sisters just to have what your own family can’t even grant you. I did what I did, and I’m sure you will too if you were-”

     “Don’t compare yourself to me because I will never do what you disgustingly did,” Romeo angrily said as he walked closer to Antonio, “I am not like you Antonio, because not like you, I desperately hate this family. The greatest mistake life has ever given me was to make me a Valentino.”

     Romeo takes out his father’s gun and points it at Antonio’s head.

     “You forced my mother to kill my own father. You killed the man I considered family. You tortured Jiyong, used his men to hurt Julien. You turned my own men against me. And you even raped Mat’s mother!” Romeo shouted, tears forming in his eyes. But he made sure not to make the tears fall, especially when he’s in front of Antonio.

     “All these people were victims of your greed. But it’s time for you to face your end,” Romeo says, reloading his gun.

     “Killing you is like showing mercy. But I don’t want to be selfish. I’ll let my father, Mat’s mother, and Johnson, take care of you in the afterlife,” Romeo says as the gun now touched Antonio’s forehead.

     “You know you’ll regret this,” Antonio confidently says, but Romeo doesn’t say anything.

     “You killed so many mafia leaders Romeo. Others will come after you. So this might be the end for me, but this is only the beginning for you,” Antonio continued.

     Romeo didn’t look fazed as he smirked and said, “Then let them come. Because like you, this is what they will face.”

     Antonio’s eyes widened.

     He thought he was able to scare Romeo, but Romeo wasn’t the little boy who kept on hiding anymore. This was Romeo Valentino, the chairman and the once godfather of a very powerful family.

     This was a powerful man that Antonio did not foresee.

     And finally, Antonio looked genuinely afraid of him.

     I told Romeo that when Antonio faces his end, the last thing that Antonio should see is his strength. I’m glad that he made sure that it would happen.

     “W-Wait…Romeo let’s talk,” Antonio now started begging. But Romeo only chuckled; glad that he was able to see his uncle look pathetic.

     Romeo glances at me first before looking back at Antonio and saying, “As a traditional mafia. A brother who betrays his family…is sentenced to death ,” and without hesitation, Romeo pulled the trigger, blood quickly splattering the wall behind Antonio.

     I stared at Antonio’s lifeless body fall down from the chair.

     I felt nothing for him. Not pity, not hatred, not anything. Antonio doesn’t deserve any emotions from me. Because he felt nothing when he did what he did to my brother, and to the rest of the people that he hurt.

     “Romeo…” I called out when I looked at him.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything and suddenly lets go of his gun.

     I walk towards him and gently held his shoulder. He looks back at me, surprising me because there were actually tears in his eyes.

     “Romeo?” I asked, touching his cheeks.

     Romeo takes a deep breath, then, he starts smiling as he said, “It’s done. We did it…we did it Julien!”

    I finally smiled as I immediately draped my arms around Romeo and hugged me. Romeo carried me and hugged me tightly as we both laughed.

     Then the door slams open, revealing Mat, Eric, and Jiyong.

     Romeo immediately puts me down, and then Mat and the others looked at Antonio who was lifeless on the floor.

     “H-He’s dead?” Mat asked from shock.

     Romeo and I looked at each other and smirked.

     Jiyong starts laughing, then Eric and Mat followed.

     It was done.

     Antonio, the real monster, is finally dead. Romeo and I went down and saw our men’s victory as well.

     The war that has been ongoing for years was finally over.

     Everyone rejoiced.

     Romeo and I stood in front of everyone while the people who we now consider family as well, stood beside us. Matthew Luca , the old friend, Eric Kwon, the loyal soldier, and Kim Jiyong, the man who I now realize, was the real head of the Dark Saints. Because like Claudio, Jiyong will be a better head than I will ever be.

     Romeo looks at me, then, he holds my hand and intertwines our fingers together. We didn’t say anything to each other, but our smiles and the relief on our faces was the only thing we had to show to know what the two of us were thinking.

     “So what now?” Mat asked as he moved closer to us.

    “I want to rest. Like…a real rest,” Romeo answered.

     Jiyong joins in and stood on the other side, “You just read my mind Don Romeo.”

    “Its Chairman Val now,” Romeo corrected.

    “Alright, alright, I respect that,” Jiyong says with a smirk. Eric joins in too and looks at us, “So that’s it. All that bullshit just for this moment.”

     I looked at Eric and answered, “Well I couldn’t think of any other ending except this one.”

     “Agreed,” Mat says. Then he looks at the sun that was actually rising in front of us. Romeo and the rest of us followed, staring at sunrise like it was a sign that this was our new beginning.

     But what Antonio said still lingered in my ears. This was his end, but this was our beginning.

     Romeo just ended the most powerful Mafia Family and killed the rest of its household. Romeo broke the chain that has been strongly holding the families. And I know that someday…

     Maybe not today…

     But someday…

     We will face another problem again, and maybe even greater than what we faced now. But this time, Romeo and I won’t be weak like how we were when we started.

     This time, we will fight, and they will remember our story.

     They will remember…Romeo & Julien’s story.

     The story of how it painfully began.

     And how it victoriously ended .

• END OF JULIEN CHOI’S POV -

∙ DARK SAINTS ∙

“Blood means you’re related, it doesn’t mean you’re family.”

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/70db38a7dd6e3e96ccff7b03b6119c89e030ae57/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7769655773616f38315273665f673d3d2d3537383536303830332e313533313239376135376634356230613234373735353134383531302e6a7067)

• The Sinners -

     The Dark Saints, led by The Sinful , is a gang that is feared and known in South Korea, and even in Asia. They are gangs that handle the loansharks, prostitution houses, and drugs in the country. They are also a group of people who do not have to be related by blood, and anyone can easily join through a single initiation process.

     The Dark Saints is led by a head, and a group of wise men called The Elders. The elders are the only people in the gang who can defy the head. Heads are decided through bloodline. The son of the head will automatically become the next head while the daughters are trained to become women who will one day marry in a well-known family.

     Betrayal is not very common in the gang, not like Mafias. So there is no permanent punishment to those who betray their gang members.

     There is not much rules in gangs, because gang members are members who have honor and respect. Loyalty is something that Asian gangs are proud of, even though they are belittled by other higher groups like Yakuzas and Mafias.

     Currently, the Dark Saints is being led by The Dragon, also known as Kim Jiyong , the Sinner’s second son. He was declared head by the Black Angel after a year of being the head of the gang. The Daughter’s are also now the first daughters who have been given big positions in the gang. Choi Hana &  Park Minji was declared as The Elders by the Black Angel while he was the head.

     Also because of the Black Angel, the Dark Saints have acquired overseas assistance. 

     It was said that the Black Angel fixed the gang’s problems before leaving the gang for good.

     Now, the Dark Saints are as strong as they were when the first head ruled. But now, tradition has been completely forgotten.

---

∙ EPILOGUE ∙

💋

(Eight Years Later)

     “We are now standing in front of the main building of the Valentino Group of Companies, to celebrate their fourteenth anniversary”, the news reporter says as he turns around to look back at the camera behind him.

     “The chairman of the company, Chairman Val , has once again opened the doors of his great empire to let everyone see the progress of his company,” the reporter continued as he walks towards a man who was also answering questions from other reporters.

     “President Sterling! Just one question please!” the reporter shouted as he pushed the rest of the reporters in front of him.

     “Oh yes, of course,” the president answered as the reporter showed him the microphone.

     “I just wanted to ask if we’ll be able to see Chairman Val today,” the reporter asked.

    President Sterling smiles and shakes his head before answering, “No, unfortunately Chairman Val is celebrating something else today. An event that he made sure he will never miss ever again.”

     * Television turns off *

     I laughed and placed the remote on the side.

     “Enough with that, we still have a lot to prepare today little boss,” I say as I looked at the seven year-old-kid named Vinnie Bornello who was happily playing with his action figure.

     “But aren’t we just going to uncle Bryson’s birthday party? Why do I have to prepare for that?” Vinnie stubbornly asked as he puts his toy down.

     I walked towards him and shuffled his head.

     “If I tell you a story, will you take a bath and get ready little boss?” I asked, finally making Vinnie look interested.

     I smiled and pretended like I was thinking of something as I started, “Well, once upon a time, there was a very weak man called…lets say…R. R was a very weak man, but suddenly, he met J. J on the other hand was also weak like him, but both of them helped each other and became two very strong men. R killed all the bad guys so he and J could live happily ever after.”

     “Did they?” Vinnie suddenly asked

     “Did they what?” I asked back.

     “Did they live happily ever after?” he asked, making me genuinely smile.

     I shuffled his head and answered him, “They did, because there weren’t any bad guys any more.”

     Vinnie looked happy as he started jumping on the sofa, “I want to kill bad guys too!” he innocently told me.

     I laughed and stood up from my seat, “You’re still too young to think of that Vinnie.”

     “But I’m going to be a police! I’m going to kill the bad guys!” Vinnie declared, making me laugh again.

     “ A policeman? The irony. Wait till your father hears that, “ I whispered to myself. Then suddenly, the door opened, revealing a very strong man named Choi Julien.

     “Vinnie? Why are you still not ready?” Julien asked as he saw the boy happily jumping on the sofa.

     “Dad!” Vinnie shouted as he ran towards Julien to give him a hug. Showering him with the child’s sweet kisses. 

     Julien kneeled down and hugged his dear son, or to be exact, the surrogate child of Romeo Valentino.

( If you are not aware, a surrogate child is when the man injects his semen inside a volunteered woman through medical procedure. The woman carries the child, and will be paid before and after the child is born. )

     “Didn’t I tell you that we’ll be heading to uncle Bryson’s house today?” Julien asked, making Vinnie pout.

     “I won’t get mad. Just go to your room and get ready,” Julien says, and just like that, Vinnie ran out and went straight to his bedroom like how his father wanted.

     “And I had to say all kinds of shit just to make him stand,” I say as I approached him.

     Julien smirked and patted my shoulder, “He’s like Romeo isn’t he? Very stubborn and hardheaded. He really is, no doubt, his son.”

     “And I ended up being his Johnson,” I say, making Julien laugh.

     “Well at least you’re doing a good job with it,” Julien answered back, making me laugh this time.

     “Anyways, Romeo called us. He needs us in his office,” Julien says, and I immediately knew that we were going to have another serious discussion about something that we have been worrying about for the past eight years.

     Antonio died, but the outcomes of that war remained.

     “Alright then, let’s go,” I say as Julien and I went to Romeo’s office.

     I knocked three times before going inside the room. Romeo Valentino was sitting in front of his desk, signing papers that I clearly did not know about. He was even using the pen that he has always held onto for years for some reason that I might never know about.

     “Hi hubby,” Julien sweetly says as he appears behind me.

     Romeo looked stressed. But the moment he sees his husband, he quickly smiles from ear to ear; honestly making me cringe a little.

     “Am I even supposed to be here?” I joked, making Romeo and Julien laugh.

     Julien goes inside and gives Romeo a quick kiss before standing on his side like how he always does.

     “So, what seems to be the problem?” I asked as I sat down on the seat in front of his desk.

     “I’ve been receiving death threats again by an unknown source. I don’t want to be paranoid here but I’m scared our son might end up being affected by it,” Romeo says.

     “But I thought you dealt with some of those death threat?” Julien asked.

     “I have, but it just keeps on coming. It’s been years, we’ve been trying to secure Vinnie’s identity to make sure he lives a normal life,” Romeo says with a worried tone.

     “You didn’t give him the Valentino surname, nor a Choi surname. And no one in the public knows you have a son with Julien. Vinnie will be safe as long as we’re here,” I told them.

     “That’s it, “ as long as we’re HERE “. What if there will be a time that we’re no longer here?” Romeo asked.

     “Rome, we talked about this didn’t we? You wanted a child even though you knew about the consequences. You promised me you’ll keep him safe, so thinking like that is not helping your promise with me,” Julien says, squeezing Romeo’s shoulder to help him relax.

     Romeo sighs and finally nods his head.

     “Maybe you’re right. As long as we’re here, we’ll make sure Vinnie grows up to be a normal man. A man who will not end up having the same problems as we did in the past,” Romeo says.

     “And besides, Eric and Jiyong will fly all the way here with one call. So there is nothing you should be afraid of,” Julien assures him, then suddenly someone knocks on the door.

     “ Master Val, “ one of the maids called out.

     “Yes, Come in,” Romeo answered.

     The maid opened the door, revealing Vinnie all dressed up for my dear cousin’s party.

     “Papa!” Vinnie shouted as he ran towards Romeo.

     Romeo laughs and carried him so he could sit on his lap.

     “Look at this little Romeo. You look really handsome with that suit. Uncle Bryson will end up pinching your cheeks again,” Romeo joked, making Vinnie pout.

    “Dad wanted me to wear this,” Vinnie says, making Romeo look at Julien.

     Julien smirked and pinched Vinnie’s nose, “You said you loved it remember? Why are you complaining now?”

     “I’m not!” Vinnie quickly defended.

     I cleared my throat, ruining their moment as I said, “Well, shouldn’t we head out now?” 

     Romeo and Julien nodded their heads. Then Romeo stood up from his seat, carrying Vinnie in his arms.

     “Let’s go meet your uncle Bryson and President King,” Romeo says as he and Julien got out of the room first.

     I followed behind them and took a deep breath.

     We went through a lot, but there are more things that we have to face. Sadly, we might not be able to face it ourselves. Vinnie might end up facing it, and if I’m right, Julien is planning to have a surrogate child as well.

     I looked down at my middle finger, glancing at the washed-out V tattoo that showed that I am a Valentino Family member.

     I don’t want to sound negative here, and I don’t want to sound like I don’t want Romeo and Julien to have a family. But our past cannot be erased so easily.

     Once a mafia…

     Always…

     A Mafia.

• FIN -

Dear Readers,

     It’s not over yet 😉

Your author,

-  N

Special Chapter: Kisses & Roses [m]

💋   (&)   🌹

     “Secretary Choi?” one of the employees suddenly called out.

     Julien’s eyes were glued to the screen in front of him. But when the man cleared his throat to finally get Julien’s attention, Julien immediately stopped what he was doing and glared at the man in front of him, making the employee flinch because of his intense stare.

     “What?” Julien simply asked.

     The employee gulped and answered, “Uhm…c-chairman Val. He’s at the rooftop and he wants you to be there…ASAP.”

     Julien stared at the employee like he was crazy.

     “Now? At the rooftop?” Julien asked back, and the employee quickly nodded his head as an answer.

     “You do know its fucking 10pm right?” Julien asked again, and the employee slowly nodded his head as an answer again.

     He sighed and accepted defeat.

    “ This better be good Romeo, “ Julien says as he stood up from his desk. Then he went to the elevator and found out that it was sadly out of order.

    “You gotta be fucking kidding me! It was fine a few hours ago!” Julien shouted from anger.

     He aggressively scratched his head and started using the emergency stairs to walk his way towards the rooftop where Romeo Valentino, his boss, and apparently lover was.

    “ You made me finish all these fucking documents today then you ask me to fetch you at the rooftop? What the hell do you even think of me?! “ Julien angrily told himself as he finally arrived at the rooftop.

     He was catching his breath as he angrily pushed the door open. But the moment he opened the door, his gasped from shock.

     The roof was covered with lights. In the middle were a sofa and a small table that had wine and fruits.

     “What the hell is going on?” Julien confusingly asked as he slowly walked towards the sofa.

     As he was inches away from it, someone suddenly clears their throat behind him.

     Julien was startled, but he slowly turned around and saw Romeo kneeling on one knee.

     Julien’s eyes widened from shock as he stared at his “ already“ fiancé kneeling in front of him while holding a bouquet of roses.

     “Romeo! What are you doing?!” Julien confusingly asked as he slowly walked towards Romeo.

     Romeo couldn’t help but smile as he looked up at Julien.

     “I have never done anything as romantic as this in my entire life. I made you do so many things today because I didn’t want you to notice that I was preparing for this,” Romeo revealed, making Julien laugh.

     “Are you serious?! And the elevator?” Julien asked further.

     Romeo grinned and answered him, “Well…using the elevator will bring you at the back of the rooftop so I asked someone to put an out of order sign there.”

     Julien laughed even more as he kneeled down in front of Romeo, “You are too much Mr. Ego.”

     Romeo smiled as he asked, “Do you like it my love?”

     Julien immediately kissed Romeo as he said, “Like it? Baby I love it!”

    Julien quickly stood up and looked around the mesmerizing place Romeo personally arranged for him.

     Julien’s heart was flattering just by imagining Romeo doing all this for him.

     “I can’t believe it. You seriously outdid yourself this time Romeo,” Julien says, still looking around.

     Romeo cleared his throat again, making Julien remember that Romeo is still kneeling on the ground.

     “Babe, can you look at me first? My knees are hurting and I seriously did a speech for you,” Romeo suddenly says, making Julien blush for some reason.

     “Oh my god I don’t deserve you,” Julien says, but Romeo ignores that as he looks back at Julien. He cleared his throat for the third time as he started, “Julien Choi…I have been in love with you for two years now and I have never fell out of it even once.”

     Julien listened to his lover as tears slowly poured out of his eyes.

     Romeo was always been sweet to him, but Romeo has never done this to him before. Even give out a speech for him.

     “I promise to give you the world. But we have gone through so much that giving you the world feels like its not even enough anymore. I don’t really remember what I was rehearsing earlier anymore but…”

     Romeo paused and placed the rose on the side. Then he suddenly puts out a velvet case and shows it to Julien.

     “Happy birthday Julien Choi…will you marry me?” Romeo suddenly asked.

     Julien was laughing, but tears were pouring out of his eyes as he looked at Romeo.

     “Are you seriously asking me that right now?” Julien asked, kneeling in front of Romeo again and touching his cheeks.

     “Even when you ask me a thousand times, I will still have one consistent answer,” Julien paused and quickly kissed Romeo before a shouting, “Yes!”

     Romeo cheered like he genuinely didn’t know what Julien would answer him.

     He carried him up and finally stood up. Romeo carries Julien as they spin around like how you see in a romantic couple montage.

     “Thank you so much Rome. You really made me happy today,“Julien tells him.

     Romeo smiles and kissed Julien again, “You don’t let me spoil you, so I made sure I could at least do it on your birthday.”

     Julien smiled and told Romeo to put him down. When he did, Julien pointed at the velvet case and asked, “Don’t tell me you actually bought a ring this time.”

     Romeo looked at the case and suddenly laughed, “Why? Were you expecting a ring?”

     “Why? Is that not a ring holder?” Julien confusingly asked. Romeo laughs even more as he opened the case, and to Julien’s surprise, the case was empty.

     “Didn’t we talk about having a tattoo for a ring?” Romeo asked; making Julien hit him.

     “Then why the velvet case?” Julien asked, now laughing too.

     “Well I wanted it to look romantic when I kneel down with that ring case,” Romeo answered. But before Julien could even say anything, Romeo carries him up and brings Julien to the sofa.

     He gently lays Julien on the sofa and starts kissing him.

     Julien’s face was turning red as Romeo continued to kiss him in an open area in the middle of the night. When they parted from the kiss, Romeo looked straight at his eye and said, “I wanna fuck you right now Mr. Choi.”

     Julien’s face turned redder as he looked back at Romeo’s hungry eyes.

    “May I devour you?” Romeo suddenly asked, but before Julien could even answer, Romeo leaned forward and kissed Julien again.

     “ Baby… “ Julien called out when he had the chance, making Romeo stop kissing him.

     “Hmm?” Romeo asked, but he continued to kiss Julien’s neck.

    “ Not here, “ Julien simply says, making Romeo automatically stop.

     Romeo looked at Julien and smiled, then he leaned forward and quickly kissed Julien’s forehead.

     “Of course,” he says, “Anything for my baby,” Romeo continued.

     Romeo stood up and was about to help Julien stand up too, but Julien suddenly grabbed his arm and said, “ B-But Daddy…it’s hard d-down there. Ease it for me. “

     Romeo’s eyes widened as he looked down at Julien’s crotch. And to his surprise, there was a bulge visible on Julien’s pants.

     “I thought you didn’t want to do it here?” Romeo asked with his right eyebrow raised.

     Julien pouted, automatically making Romeo be enslaved by his lover again.

     “Do you want daddy to suck it then?” Romeo asked, making Julien shyly look away, but deep down, both of them knew what Julien really wanted him to.

     “Like I said…” Romeo stated as he made Julien sit back up. He went in between Julien’s thighs and unzipped his pants.

     “ Anything for my baby, “ Romeo whispered, finally pulling the pants down for Julien.

    Julien’s cock sprung out, inches away from Romeo’s mouth.

     Romeo smirked and touched Julien’s cock with his tongue. Julien shivered by the sudden contact, making Romeo want to tease his lover slash fiancé even more.

     When Julien was closing his eyes, Romeo started licking on Julien’s hard cock. He gives it quick licks, but afterwards, Romeo opened his mouth and devours it.

     Julien moans and grips on the edge of the sofa.

     It might not sound weird but this was Romeo’s first time to give someone a blowjob. Julien was somehow used to it, and he knew that Romeo wasn’t the man he’d end up writing in his top ten best blowjobs list. But since it WAS Romeo, it felt like this sloppy blowjob was the best blowjob Julien has ever had.

     “Ah shit baby…your tongue is so fucking hot,” Julien says, now opening his eyes to look at Romeo’s tantalizing gray eyes.

     Romeo looked like he was somehow enjoying it, but at the same time, he looked somehow confused with it.

    Julien chuckled and held Romeo’s head, “No teeth,” he tells his lover, “G-Go deeper,” Julien continued.

     Romeo doesn’t say anything and just did what Julien told him to do.

     It was funny how Romeo has always the dominant one. But now Julien’s the one who’s teaching him ( blowjob ) lessons.

     Romeo went so deep that he thought Julien’s cock would touch his throat.

     “T-That’s it…that’s it…baby I’m going to cu-”

     But before Julien could even bust his seed inside his lover’s mouth for the first time, Romeo pulled out.

     “Ehhh?” Julien asked as he quickly looked back at Romeo.

     Romeo smirked, then he wipes his mouth and stands up.

     “You’re only allowed to cum when my dick isn’t inside you,” Romeo says, shocking Julien.

     But instead of laughing, Romeo winked, making Julien blush.

    “I love it when you do that,” Romeo says as he walks towards Julien. He leans forward and kissed Julien’s neck. Then he sucks it hard until a mark would be visible.

     Julien quickly touches his warm neck, “Did you just…give me a…hickey?” Julien asked with disbelief.

     Romeo smirked and shuffled Julien’s head like a kid.

     “Wine?” he asked instead so he could avoid Julien’s scary gaze.

     But even when Julien would act like that, Romeo knew, even Julien himself knew, that whatever happens, whatever they’d do to each other, it’s always going to end up with a good fuck.

• END -

∙ ABOUT ∙

💋

ABOUT THE STORY:

Toys For The Big Boys was the most complicated and even the longest story that I have ever written here in Wattpad. I was literally inches away from giving up on this because this wasn’t the usual vibe that I was used to, but since readers enjoyed it, I continued the journey, and I could proudly say that I’m glad that I did.

What inspired you to write this?

⌲  It’s not really complicated. I got inspired writing this when I watched a music video, and that music video is actually the one in Chapter (32) Unmask. After watching it, I suddenly had this crazy idea about mafias.

This is the video:

https://youtu.be/gBp31XaXO5M

What’s with the title?

⌲ Shockingly enough, while we were on our way to the airport, my father suddenly mentioned “ Toys for the big boys “ for some reason that I do not remember. I looked at my sister, and at that moment we knew, that THAT was the title that we’d be going for. 

Why a Mafia-related Story?

⌲ I wanted to make a spin-off of Romeo & Juliet that had a little vibe of Bonnie & Clyde. And as we all know, Romeo & Juliet had this family related problem, so what better way to make a complicated family problem than through a Mafia Family?

Characters?

Romeo Valentino

⌲  Romeo Valentino was a character that I have always been thinking about, even before I made this story. A lot mentioned it before, and yes, the manga Ten Count inspired me with his character. I read that manga and I suddenly thought that I wanted to create a character like him who is weak but actually very monstrous and powerful. it just so happened that I ended up placing him in THIS story.

Julien Choi

⌲  Because of the music video, I ended up wanting an Asian partner for my godfather. And since I already established Romeo at that time, I thought that a person who is a complete opposite of Romeo would be perfect. Romeo wanted clean things, so I decided to make Julien a man who looked dirty, AKA a man who was covered with tattoos. 

Romeo would find him dirty at first, but as time goes by, he found Julien’s tattoos to be beautiful, like it was a work of art.

Johnson Pollock

⌲  Not to complicate him. I just wanted Romeo to have a father-figure since his father died. I know you’re going to hate me for this but I NEVER planned on killing him off. But as I wrote the story, his death ended up being very necessary.

Matthew Luca

⌲ The “gardener” and Romeo’s friend. I really made him look like the bad guy because I didn’t want you guys to concentrate on the other characters. I knew that I was making it too obvious, but it was an option that I purposely gave you guys.

Antonio Valentino

⌲  Antonio was the man who I wanted everyone to like. He was going to be the cool badass uncle who will be beside Romeo till the end. Honestly when we were planning the story, Antonio was never going to be the bad guy, but since he showed such a good guy image, making him the bad guy would just be too epic.

Kim Jiyong

⌲  There’s nothing to say about this character. He’s just literally awesome and very fun to write. I imagined him as a brother that I wished I’d have. I made him look like the bad guy because we didn’t know much about Julien’s family’s back story, so Jiyong being the bad guy would look acceptable. But as we unfolded his story, we end up just simply liking him.

Other Characters

     Bryson King was a minor character but he had a very important role. And to make things clear, he didn’t know that his father owned the club, but President King ( A semi-minor character with an important role ) purposely made sure Bryson would see the coin because he knew Bryson brings Romeo to places like that. And another fact about Bryson is that he actually likes Romeo. If you noticed the time Romeo described the type of man Bryson likes, Romeo just literally described himself.

(

It was in chapter (2): Dirty

)

     Kwon Eric, another character who appeared in the middle of the story, was a character who also like the main character, who was actually Julien. Romeo wasn’t lying about how sure he was about Eric liking Julien, but I didn’t want to complicate it anymore so I never emphasized it.

     The last character that I will be talking about is  Elizabeth Roselli. Elizabeth genuinely loves her family, and she will do everything for their sake. I literally thought of her as Cersei Lannister in Game Of Thrones while I write about her. The problem with her was that I hated her when I was writing her, so somehow, the way I portrayed her ended up making her look bad. But, Elizabeth is a very selfless person, just not very likeable.

What Does Julien’s Tattoo on the face mean?

⌲ It’s actually the number 23. Twenty three is the official number of the Dark Saints. And the reason why Julien’s number in the club is 24 is because it’s a symbolism that he is no longer a part of the Dark Saints.

The plot-twists

⌲  Like Antonio, I wanted you to be in a state where you don’t even know who to trust anymore. I wanted to make everyone look like the bad guy, but at the same time, I wanted everyone to look like the good guy too. It was a fun process to make, especially when the secrets unraveled one by one, so I hope you guys enjoyed the guessing game too.

Explain the ending

⌲  The ending showed you guys that what Romeo and Juliet did still hasn’t ended but somehow, it did. Well, for them at least. 

I wanted to make the ending very easy and very…how can I say this…not so complicated…because the whole story is already complicated. Complicating the ending too will just be the death of me. 

And Antonio’s death was very easy to acquire because I thought that Antonio has been doing all these kinds of shit to everyone so on his last dying breath, he didn’t deserve to fight back.

Have you considered a different ending?

⌲ YES. I told you guys that I had so many endings in mind. One was the classic Romeo & Juliet death, but it was too much for me so I didn’t do it. One was the cliché reincarnation ending. Romeo and Juliet will meet each other after so many years but like a typical reincarnation ending, they won’t know each other, but they’d feel this connection because of their past life. It sounds stupid now but I guess I can put that in a different story later.

Were you supposed to kill other characters?

⌲ YES. At first I wanted to kill off Elizabeth, partly because I found her insignificant, and when she would die, Romeo would finally call her mother. BUT I thought that Romeo calling her mother is like a sign of forgiveness, and I knew that Romeo still couldn’t forgive his mother because whether it was Elizabeth’s fault or not, Romeo suffered for YEARS. So the hug on the end was the best thing Elizabeth could do for Romeo.

Mat was supposed to die too, but that also did not happen. Thankfully.

If you have any more questions about the book or about me, do not be afraid to ask. Thank you!

You may check some of my other stories:

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/8019380d69293f10400a59c27a3df3fd05e86af1/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4e4b7256366f53496c34366d6e413d3d2d3537383536343834322e313736656235313233306365303931643733303937383739343439332e6a7067)

…

AND, this is not mandatory in any way, but if you enjoyed the book and would like to give some sort of tip/donation, I would be very very thankful as it can help me continue writing. Pledging to my Patreon account will greatly help me as an aspiring author.

( The

link is in this comment line )

∙ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ∙

🌹

Alright, how do I even fucking start?

This was a crazy journey wasn’t it? And I am so so honored that you have stayed with me through it all. Honestly the past few months have been hell, but because of this, I somehow got through it all. Oh my god I’m crying like an idiot…I’m not even joking 😭

I love you guys so much and I don’t even know why I love you guys because I haven’t even met any of you in person. Let’s just say your kind words helped me though so much hardships.

This story was very new to me, and I was so worried when it came out. I wasn’t used to writing a story with such a dark vibe, but it ended well didn’t it? haha

Thank you to my sister who helps me with my stories and even with my crazy ideas. Even though you say my plots are stupid sometimes, you still help me with it. So thank you.

Thank you to those who was with me since the first few chapters. You guys are amazing. Like seriously.

Thank you to my boners who stayed with me in SSRO and EVEN in this story. Like, how did I deserve you guys?! You guys are freakin’ amazing!

Thank you too to those who came when the story was ending. Thank you for giving this long story a chance. I appreciate it.

Thank you to my readers who help point out mistakes and typos. Writing is very hard, and I’m thankful to those who help me out especially on days where neither me nor my sister could properly proofread the story.

And of course, Thank you to those who read this when the story was already complete. I might not be able to reply to the new ones anymore but know that I appreciate you guys so much as well.

If you guys want, you can give me a message in the comment section, or even a quick personal message in my inbox. I’d very much LOVE reading them. If you guys know me, then you’d know I fucking love personal messages.

Well, I’ll stop stalling.

After 45 chapters, this is my official goodbye to

Toys for the big boys!

This journey was crazy! And I am so thankful that you joined me through it all.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you guys so so much!

Until next time!

∙ January 28, 2018- May 24, 2018 ∙

CONGRATULATIONS TFTBB FAM

🌹

     Dear EVERYONE,

     HEY GUYS! This is your author, N .

     I miss my readers here so much!

     I know this update must be so sudden but I have good news!  Toys For The Big Boys  won on The Fiction Awards 2018 at the Best LGBT Category ! And that’s all thanks to you guys!

    This book was one of my greatest achievements so I’m glad to receive an award that appreciated it. This is not only for me, but for my readers who stuck by me in this story till the end as well.

     Again, congratulations guys! We were together when nominations and votings were open, so I just wanna say thank you because your votes weren’t wasted and now we’re winners!

      Boners ! Thank you so much!

Yours Truly,

WickedAuthor_N