I knew it was unfair to push Liara to reminisce about the painful memories, let alone I was saving her culprits. Having them stay on the same roof, she obviously wouldn't feel comfortable. But she had to understand that Samira compelled them to do that. Watching them for days in the warehouse, I found how genuine the two boys were.

Watching her walk out of the room without hearing me out, I grew uncomfortable. Hurriedly, I said, "Lilly had an abusive father. Even if we rescued her, she had nightmares, and the doctor prescribed us to keep her in a safe environment. I couldn't find any place safer than Dima's care."

I knew she heard me as she stopped moving and stood just right near the door, unmoving. I took it as my cue to explain my reasons and explained it to her. "You've lived a lonely life, Liara. You know how painful it is. I just hope that Lily will recover quickly so we can go to Italy." Assuring her they would not stay permanently in this house. I wanted her to believe in what I was saying.

"Lilly staying here is fine but those criminals, I don't believe them," she said and walked away from me, not giving me any chance to argue.

"Damn it!." I cursed under my breath, as I couldn't find a solution to keep them hidden. Lilly will suffer if those two weren't near her. "I will not force you, but you have to change your decision," I murmured, watching her retreating figure.

Walking down the hallway, I saw how cheerful Lilly was. The boys were uncomfortable, sure, but Lilly kept them engaged. There was a heaviness in the air. Too much tension, so much so that we could cut it from a knife.

I knew why Liara was angry, but watching Dima's gloomy figure surprised me. I walked towards her, who kept looking at the kids and hid from the crowd.

"Dima, all well?" I asked, and she looked surprised, watching me near her.

"Yeah, yeah, all good." She gave me a fake smile. Liara gives these fake smiles when she's upset and doesn't want to let others know about it. I guess she learned it from her.

"Why don't you join us?" I asked.

"No, I'm good." She said, cutting me off and walking away from us. I looked at her retreating figure and then at the people in the living room. Sighing, I walked toward them.

"Zearo! You know, the pretty lady said she has a beautiful garden in this house!" Lilly said as she made her way toward me by jumping. I caught her midway and twirled her around and said, "Oh, yes! I will take you there."

"No, no! The pretty lady promised me she'd take me to the garden and braid my hair," Lilly said, shaking her head. I looked at her, confused, and asked, "Who is this pretty lady?"

"It's your wife, you dumbo!" She patted my forehead and giggled. Shocked that Ms. D'Waners will take a break from her work and entertain Lilly was too surprising for me. I turned towards Liara, who stared at Lilly and had a tiny smile on her lips. She looked genuinely happy.

"Okay, you stay with the pretty lady and I and the boys have to go somewhere else. "I said, making small conversations with Lilly to let her know the boys wouldn't stay with us.

"When will you bring them back? I have my homework and Adrick said he'd help me out." She said, pointing at Adrick, who was staring at Liara. Liara looked frustrated with their presence and I had to make it fast.

"They can't come back. They have to go to work." I said, and Lilly walked away from me towards the boys and hugged their legs.

"Wherever they go, I go." She said, Her eyes were gloomy, and I knew she'd cry.

"Be good sweety. You have so many people to take care of now. We will come to play with you sometimes. But we need to go now." Aiden said as he got on his knees and hugged her.

"You both are leaving me." Lilly cried, and I sighed. It was getting more and more complicated. I had to wrap this up as fast as I could.

"Let's go," Adrick said and gave a tight hug to Lilly. She wouldn't let them go, but they forcefully turned their heads away from her. Walking towards me, the boys looked at Lilly one last time and blew a flying kiss at her. She cried even harder, making my heart swell with the pain it had. I looked at Liara and she turned away from us, not caring about anything else.

I shook my head, as expecting more from her wouldn't be fair.

"They aren't going anywhere. Lilly and the twins are staying here." I froze, and so did all the other people. Liara looked at the source, surprised.

Turning my head towards the sound, I saw Dima standing in the corner and looking at the kids.

"They have a bond that shouldn't be broken. Zearo, let them stay as long as you want." She smiled at me and I was grateful to her.

"Dima!" Liara spoke through gritted teeth and Dima smiled at her.

"Zearo is your husband. That gives him the right to decide who will stay in this house as you do. He adopted these kids and now they are family. Family shouldn't be separated." She said, and I took a sigh of relief.

"Whatever." Liara huffed and walked away towards her room. I felt terrible that she must struggle on the inside. It was so unfair, but I had to keep them safe and Dima came like an angel. I smiled at the three kids, and they smiled at me with teary eyes.

"Dima, you just saved me from so much trouble." I genuinely thanked her, and she gave me a faint smile and said, "What is a family for?" and brought a plate full of brownies and cakes for the kids.

"You know how to get things done your way." I heard an angry voice when I was just about to type a message to Marco about the status.

"Emma, look, I'm in no mood to argue with you," I whispered, even though my head throbbed.

"As if I'm dying to talk to you. I'm letting you know she is hurting and if you can't take care of your wife when she needs you the most, you fail as a man." She spat and walked away from me.

What a fascinating day it was. I sighed. At least these three found a haven for a few days. I smiled as I looked at them and walked towards Liara. I needed to know if she was alright.

On my way to her room, I felt my phone vibrating and picked it up absentmindedly without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" I answered, taking the stairs towards Liara's room where I imagined her to be.

"The great Alfredo, finally my ears are blessed with your voice." I heard a heavy manly voice on the other side. My steps halted as I was intrigued by who called me by my name after ages.

"Who is this?" I asked, furrowing my brows and caressing my beard.

"I heard Alfredo forgets no one he met even once. Alas, I guess our meeting wasn't that memorable for you." He sounded discontented.

"Barrak Luchellies," I mumbled his name.

"Finally." He announced and I could heed a chain clattering noise from behind.

"What made you call me?" I inquired as I took a detour and walked towards the balcony, expecting that it would be vacant. How did he know my number? Does he know that I'm here? No, this can't happen.

"You have kidnapped someone valuable to us. I had to call you about that. You haven't even considered meeting us after you've come to our territory and now have one of my people captivated. Isn't this unfair?" He said, making a tutting noise.

"How about, I wanted to stay away from trouble and live a happy life so it didn't bother you," I suggested.

"So humbled that you chose our territory to live a happily ever after life." He said in a mocking tone.

"Thank you for your kind words," I said and there was a pin drop silence and I thought he hung up on me, but soon after, I heard a female voice and that gave me goosebumps. "This can't be," I whispered.

"Zearo.."

"Samira," I said, confirming if she was on the other side.

"Yeah, it's me." I focused more on the noise and their voice finding any loophole or something that would let me know what exactly happened.

"What are you doing with him?" I asked, gripping the phone tighter, expecting her actions.

"We are in the middle of a deal and he wanted to ensure whether I was reliable." She said as a matter of fact. Her voice was void of emotions, making my blood boil.

"What kind of deal?" I asked through gritted teeth, my anger increasing every second, expecting her actions.

"That's none of your concern. You left me when I was in my hardest times and expect me to be loyal to you? How ungrateful for all the things I and my father did for you." She spoke as if I was the culprit. Worried if he tricked her, I asked her gently, "Don't jump to conclusions, tell me where you are and I will be there in a minute." I wanted her to know that I was always there for her, no matter what.

"I wish this was true." She sniffed and hung her phone.

"Bullshit." Irritated that I couldn't find anything, I threw my phone hard on the floor and saw it shatter into pieces just like my life. Taking my hands through my hair, I sighed, frustrated with her mindless actions.

"All well?" I heard a voice and saw a figure approaching me through my peripheral vision.

"I. I just need to get some air." I said, holding back all the frustration, but Liara didn't take my hint and sauntered toward me.

"I said I need some air," I repeated, expecting her to hear it this time loud and clear.

"And you can take as much as you can. I'm not holding you back nor clogging your nose." She said emotionlessly. I looked at her face which was expressionless making it harder for me to know what was going on in her mind.

"I'm mean to you," I said dejectedly.

"You are mean to yourself more than anyone." She said, surprising me. I looked back at her and she held her  phone in one hand and rested her shoulder on the wall.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously what made her think that.

"I heard you when you were on call." She said, shrugging her shoulders as if that's not a big deal.

"You know nothing about my world." I said, warning her to stop whatever she had in mind, but heard her say, "So do you about my world."

"What do you mean?" I asked, and she walked towards the balcony. I followed her as if I were a lost puppy. She had her hair tied into a bun and her shirt was a little wrinkled. The sky was bright in the night as the moonlight lit the area, giving her a very acoustic vibe.

"I know I deal with criminals." She said, and I looked at her, confused. Her back facing me and slowly she sat on the edge of the balcony railing and looked at the moon.

"I know what kind of danger I put my family into. Every day I face a new enemy and they hurt me." She paused and looked at me, staring into my eyes.

"But I don't run away from the fact that I have done something that might have hurt others. I might have ruined lives. I know my business tactics are cruel compared to others and I accept that about me no matter what." She said,

"What exactly are you implying?" I asked, not liking where she was heading.

"Stop hiding like a kid afraid of darkness and accept who you are." She said, Her hair blew with the wind and she just kept staring at me without wavering her attention as if she was hell-bent on having a not-so-healthy conversation with me.

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PS: I would appreciate it even if you give me a one-word review of the story so far. This will boost my will to further write the chapters which in stuck. 😓

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