Dove's POV

"What do you want in return?" Gabriella asked.

"I will tell you about it after I bring your grandson back. Just to make sure that we both are talking about the same person, do you perhaps have a photo album with your grandson's photographs so I can take a look?" I asked.

She nodded as she got up. She disappeared into one of the rooms and came back after a while with 2 albums in her hand.

She placed the album in front of me and I turned the pages of it. Aries does look like Mammon, there is no mistake that Mammon is her grandson.

"What is his full name?" I asked.

"Aries Rivera," she said. Aries Rivera, that has a nice ring. Who would have thought someone like that brat would have such a nice name?

"Well looks like we are talking about the same person," I said. She gasped as she took my hand.

"Please bring my grandson back!" She begged. I was going to do that anyway, your grandson is such a reliable asset that I can use against you.

"I will do that, don't worry," I assured her. I took my phone out of my pocket.

"I need to make a phone call first," I said as I got up. She nodded.

I went outside the house to call Leviathan, it was too early in the morning but I have no other choice. I would have called Mammon directly but 'the sins' never give anyone their private number. I was only given Leviathan's number cause Lucifer allowed it.

I dialed Leviathan's number, and he picked up my call after a few rings.

"Chaos... is everything okay?" He asked in a groggy voice. He was sleeping for sure.

"Sorry Levy, to call you so early. I need to talk to Mammon urgently, is it okay if I talk to him?" I asked.

"He's probably in the gym right now. I will forward this call to him," Leviathan spoke. I hummed in response as the call got directed to Mammon. After a few seconds of ringing, he picked up the call.

"Hello," he spoke, his deep voice vibrating. I chuckled.

"Brat," I said. He took in a deep breath.

"It's too early in the morning for your bullshit, brat," he said.

"I didn't call you for that anyway. I want to meet you today, tell me when you are free?" I asked.

"I'm not. Goodbye," he said.

"Okay, we'll meet at 1 in the noon near the river bank, you know my and Leviathan's usual spot. If you don't know the way, you can ask Leviathan," I demanded.

"What is this about, Dove?" He asked.

"I can't tell you about it on the phone call," I replied. He huffed.

"I'll be waiting, brat," I said as I hung up the call. I am not quite sure if Mammon is going to show up at the designated spot or not, because that man is unpredictable.

I went back inside, I have to let Vinter know that I will be going back for a few hours. It's my God luck that this place is just a few hours away from our home, or else traveling would have become a pain in my ass. When I entered the room I realized Vinter was still fast asleep. So I decided to take a shower and then inform Vinter about it.

I searched for clothes in my bag and after getting my clothes I went to the shower room. I took my time to clean myself up properly, and when I stepped out of the shower I saw that Vinter was up. His eyes fell on me as he smirked, reminding me of what happened last night I scoffed at him. Just a few days ago he was cautious about not stepping past his boundaries, and now he's behaving like a playboy. Does this guy have two personalities?

"I am going to go and bring Mammon here," I informed.

"I'll go with you," he demanded.

"No, you stay here. If Mammon sees you, he might not agree to come here," I said. He scowled.

"When will you be back?" He asked.

"As soon as I convince Mammon," I replied.

"But will you be okay? I mean you haven't slept the entire night," Vinter worried. I shook my head.

"I'll be fine. I had plenty of sleep before coming here. Having Twilight beside me helps me sleep peacefully," I said.

"Of course," he mumbled. He sounded distant which made me look at him. He stared at me with an unreadable expression. He should have been disappointed or jealous, but I don't see any of those emotions on his face. He just looked so distant and hollow. It was the same look that I saw the other day on television during his concert.

"Hope Mr. Mammon agrees to go with you," he spoke as he proceeded to unpack one of his shopping bags.

"I got this coat for you. Here," he handed me a plaid patterned overcoat. Oddly it was matching with my current outfit, dark high-waisted jeans, and a black turtleneck full-sleeve t-shirt.
I wore the overcoat and looked at him.

"It looks good," he replied. "Wait."

He took off the gold chain that he was wearing. He walked up to me and put the necklace around my neck. He clasped the necklace and then looked at me.

"This looks good," he replied. He gave me a small smile and stepped back.

"I'll return it to you when I get back," I said placing my hand on the necklace.

"Keep it," he said. "It looks better on you than it did on me."

Why does this man randomly gives me an expensive gift? Cause this coat sure is designer, and this is a gold necklace for crying out loud. I know he's not trying to bribe me, but what exactly is he getting out of all these efforts?

"Alright then, I'll take my leave," I said. I picked up my handbag and turned to look at Vinter.

"I'll try to be back as soon as possible," I said.

"I know," he replied. He smiled and waved at me. What's with him smiling all the time?

I went out of the room after bidding goodbye to Vinter. I walked outside the house towards my car. I got inside the car and turned the engine on, and drove off.

~~

I reached the river bank sooner than I thought. It was only half past noon. I asked Mammon to meet me at 1, even though I am sure that he will come later than that. So I just sat there on the grass near the river.

I didn't realize how much time passed by while I was sitting there alone with my thoughts. I heard someone approaching me and they sat beside me.

"Didn't expect that you would be here so early," I spoke as I took a look at my wristwatch. It was 1, Mammon was on time for the first time.

"Well I like doing things out of ordinary," he spoke.

I pulled one of his childhood photos out of my handbag. I stole it from the album when I was going through it. I passed it to Mammon.

"What's this?" He asked as he scanned the photo. I didn't have to reply anything because, in a matter of seconds, his eyes widened. He dropped the photo and grabbed my shoulders roughly.

"Where did you get this from?!" He asked.

"I met your grandmother. Turns out she's like a guardian of the sacred tree," I replied looking ahead.

"Ma-my grandmother? She is alive?" Mammon asked in a stuttering voice. I frowned.

"You had no idea that your grandmother is alive?" I asked.

"No— I... I can't tell you about it," he mumbled.

"Still trying to stay loyal to Lucifer, I see," I let out a dry laugh.

"Lucifer... he lied to me," he mumbled. I laughed. Of course, feels like Lucifer lied to all 'the sins'.

"I'm not surprised," I said. "What did he tell you? That your grandmother is dead?"

"Yeah... he said I have no place to go, and he was willing to take care of me... after all he was the one who saved me-" he abruptly stopped talking, like he didn't want to tell me the entire truth.

"If you want to go against Lucifer and make him pay for what he did, this is the first step, Mammon," I told him. He looked at me with a helpless expression, the horrors of his past reflecting in his eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, he removed his eyepatch. There was a vertical scar Starting from the bottom of his eyebrows up to under his eye.
I raised my hand and traced the scar with my finger.

"I always knew you had this," I said. He raised his eyebrows.

"How did you know?" He asked. I grinned.

"Back at the juvenile center I once peeped inside your room, you didn't have your eyepatch on at that time," I replied. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"There is this thing called privacy, you know?" He smacked the back of my head which made me chuckle.

"Tell me about it, Mammon. How did you get this scar?" I asked. He took in a deep breath like he was trying to gather enough courage to face his past again. I know about it, cause I do that too. His lips quivered as I placed my hand on top of his.

"It's okay," I comforted him. He looked at me, his eyes looked like glass.

"My parents died in a car crash when I was 11 years old. I survived the crash, but the people who crashed our car kidnapped me, so I won't tell the cops about it..." he paused as he tried to regulate his breathing. "They held me captive for some time and then they sold me."

"Sold you?" I asked.

"They were sex traffickers," he chuckled. My eyes widened.

"I lost count of how many times I got sold out and raped after that. This scar was a gift from my last 'owner'," he spoke with bitterness filled in his voice, yet he sounded so defeated. His eyes drooped, but not even a single tear fell from them.

He looked at me with such gloom, I didn't realize I was crying until his thumb wiped my tears. I choked on my tears as I sobbed uncontrollably hugging him.

"I'm so sorry, Mammon. I'm so fucking sorry. I always thought my suffering was the worse, not even once did I think of how there exist people who had it worse than me," I sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"

He rubbed my back not uttering a single word. He knows that if he speaks anything, he might not be able to control it. He won't want to cry over his past anymore.

After I calmed down a bit, he finally spoke. I was still hugging him.

"Lucifer was the one who found me," he mumbled.

"How did he find you?" I asked.

"I murdered the last perpetrator who bought me," he spoke. "I was around 15 at that time, and I ran away from there trying to save myself from the police. Lucifer found me when the cops were searching for me. Now that when I think about it Lucifer did save me."

"He saved you from one hell and sent you to another. He tried being your messiah but he failed at some point. Because look at you, don't you respect Leviathan more than you respect Lucifer?" I asked.

"I do but-"

"Lucifer is a murderer and a liar. He lied to you that your grandmother is dead so you won't go back to your old life. You deserve to live that old life, brat. Let's destroy Lucifer together so you can go back to your old life," I told him. He looked at me.

"Yeah?" I asked extending my hand. I got up from where I was sitting. "If you want to meet your grandmother again, take my hand."

He looked at me and then at my hand, back and forth contemplating if he should do it or not.

"Don't you want to meet your only family, Mammon?" I asked. "Or should I say, Aries Rivera?"

He looked at me with wide eyes.

"You know my real name?" He asked.

"Your grandmother told me all about you, Aries," I smiled. "I'm staying at her place. What do you say? Are you going to go with me and meet her?"

He finally placed his hand on mine which made me grin. Through all of this, not even once did I forget about my ultimate goal.

"Take me there, Dove. Take me to my grandmother," he replied.

"Gladly," I said as I pulled him with me toward the car.

We both got inside the car and I turned the engine on. Now that Mammon is here with me, Gabriella will have to listen to my demands. I first saved her life, and now I am bringing her lost family back to her.

"You went to my town so you can break your soulmate bond, right?" Mammon asked. Despite knowing his real name I would like to keep calling him 'Mammon'.

"Yeah, that seemed almost impossible to me though. Breaking the soulmate bond I mean. But, now I have you," I said. He didn't reply.

"You will help me with it right?" I asked.

"Does flower boy know about it?" He asked. I sighed.

"Yeah, he knows about it," I replied.

"Did he agree to it?"

Why does it matter? I don't want this bond, why can't things go how I want them to go for once?

"No... he did not and so what-"

"I won't help you," he said. I chuckled, and chuckled, and chuckled, and my chuckling turned into fits of laughter.

"You thought I won't have other ways to make this work?" I asked in between my laughter.

"I know you have other plans too if this won't work out. But just so to let you know, I'm not supporting you in this," he spoke.

"Typical Mammon, when have you ever been supportive," I taunted.

"I'm saying this for your good, Dove. Quit messing with the natural law, it always comes at a price," he said.

I wonder what price I have to pay for this. I'm damn curious about how this will end up for me.

♤♤♤

I think tragic past makes a person very beautiful...