My legs trembled as Dirk and I left the tavern. I wasn't sure if I wanted to yell, punch him in the face, or cry... Only great options, right? Yes, I wasn't the queen of happiness at that moment. Although I wanted to listen to what the bastard had to say, I'd never fall for him again. I was determined to keep love away from my life forever... Don't judge me! You don't drink poison, do you? I didn't want to fill my heart with that toxic feeling a second time. My only wish was to hear Dirk out and say goodbye... Yes, you read that right! I still needed a goodbye despite everything the idiot had done. I wanted closure. Once we arrived at an alley behind the tavern, I remembered when Dirk and I were enemies... We should've stayed that way. Tess was one of the few joys he gave me. Not listening to my intuition and insisting on that relationship was the most stupid decision I'd ever made. I took a deep breath as Bosch stopped walking. I'd finally discover if Dirk had improved a little in two months or if he was still the same old idiot.

I crossed my arms, "What did you have to tell me?"

"I can't believe I'm about to say this!" Bosch rolled his eyes. "I came to apologize."

My eyes widened. No, that couldn't be true. A guy with Dirk's pride would never say those words. Something was wrong... It had to be. He'd never apologized, not even when we still loved each other. I rubbed my forehead, wondering if I was hallucinating.

"There's really a first time for everything!" I chuckled. "This will be fun..."

"How can you be so annoying?" Dirk let out a pronounced sigh. "Anyway, I'm sorry for pushing you against the wall. That was... probably too aggressive."

I raised my brows, "If you'd like my forgiveness, you'll have to do better than that."

Bosch's eyes bulged, "I already apologized! What else do you want? A word in Spanish to make you giggle?"

Would my ex-husband ever stop being ridiculous? Dirk never got over my fling with Miguel... Yes, I got pregnant from it, but that jealousy was insane! Besides, Gálvez and I had our little adventure way before I started dating Bosch. Dirk shouldn't care about that anymore. After all, the idiot said he didn't love me.

I took a step forward, "That wouldn't be such a bad idea. You never made me laugh."

"I regret apologizing already," Dirk huffed. "If I didn't need a stupid job, I wouldn't have stayed in that ship for so long!"

I gawked and controlled myself not to cry... Guess what? Besides breaking my heart, Bosch had to spit on it too! My back wouldn't stop sweating as I absorbed that information.

I forced a laugh, "Are you serious?"

"I liked you, but you had to ruin everything with your irritating personality!" Dirk narrowed his eyes. "I'm taking back my apology. I should've squeezed your neck harder."

Don't cry. Dirk is like a shark. If he smells blood, he'll come for it.

"You're a monster!" I panted. "I thought you'd recognized you were wrong once in your miserable life, but I was wrong again!"

I looked in every direction. Something didn't seem right... Why did I have that feeling? I gulped, regretting having come to that alley. Every word he said made it clearer I'd fallen for the wrong guy. If I'd admitted my mistake earlier, perhaps I wouldn't have spent so many years with a horrible man.

"I wasn't like this before marrying you, Eva. You bring the worst in me," Dirk ground his teeth. "It's your fault that our relationship ended!"

"Blame-shifting? This strategy is older than my great-grandmother!" I shot him a defiant gaze. "Can't you at least be more original?"

"Besides not being a real woman, you never stopped liking that Spaniard!" Dirk shot me a cold glare. "You smile like an idiot when he's nearby!"

Not this again!

Swallowing hard, I hoped the redhead wouldn't attack me. Although I wanted to answer, I was paralyzed. Bosch had destroyed me with his violence and disrespect, but he'd uncovered my lie. Gálvez never completely left my mind. I had to stop that conversation before it was too late. My feelings for Miguel weren't strong enough to affect my relationship with Dirk... or at least I thought they weren't.

"First, he has a name. Second, you tried to choke me after our breakup, and now you're jealous?" I laughed loudly. "This is crazy!"

The redhead crossed his arms, "You're dodging the truth. I bet you're in love with him already."

"I'll never love again after what you did, so don't worry," I smiled mischievously while walking closer. "I'm starting to think you have a thing for Miguel. You've always been obsessed about him."

Bosch breathed so fast that I thought he'd explode. I bit my lower lip as he clenched both fists. Although Dirk's face turned red, embarrassment wasn't the cause. He'd probably try to kill me, but at least I'd die laughing.

I raised my hands in surrender, "I'm not judging! I've had the full experience with him, so I understand."

Dirk glared at me, "Admit it! Your feelings for Gálvez never faded!"

"I won't talk about this anymore, but I can assure you my feelings for you are dead," I sighed. "Honestly, they've been gone for a long time."

"I couldn't care less," Dirk looked around weirdly. "I wanted to apologize, but I regret it. I shouldn't say things I don't mean."

"The saddest part is you don't even try to fix the damage you've done," I crossed my arms. "The one time I thought you'd admit a mistake, you ruined everything!"

Bosch rubbed his chin, "If you do what I want from now on and leave Ms. Annoying Voice out of my life, perhaps we can be together again."

"I was wrong to think you couldn't be funny!" I laughed hysterically. "That was an excellent joke, but I won't be stupid enough to choose you twice."

Dirk walked around me as if I was his prey. Although he shot me an icy glare, I didn't move. There was no way I'd show fear. I looked in every direction, hoping my friends wouldn't come after me.

Bosch's lips curled into a cruel smile, "I'm not interested in dating a man anyway."

"Since you're so convinced I'm not a woman, let's finish this like men!" I smiled defiantly while grabbing my sword. "Unless you're afraid I'll kick your ass..."

He bared his teeth and attacked me. I grimaced as his clenched fist almost broke my jaw into a thousand pieces. Spitting the blood, I attempted to injure his waist. Our cutlasses clashed like the angriest blades ever created. Each blow broke my heart more as my neck flooded with sweat. One attack, another piece of my heart gone, one attack, another piece of my heart gone... How delightful! I should've kept teasing Miguel about the food competition. At least I'd be smiling like an idiot, as my dear former husband said.

"Becoming a gunner really makes a pirate lose practice," I laughed and our swords formed a cross. "If you want to defeat the lady who sank the Royal Navy while pregnant, you'll have to try harder."

At that moment, it seemed Dirk had been possessed by an evil spirit... Never mind, he already had one. He started moving so fast that I could barely dodge and block his blows. I panted as the redhead struck his blade against my left thigh, spilling blood. Grimacing, I sliced his shoulder, almost ripping a piece of its skin off. Bosch screamed in pain.

"You're a coward, Dirk! You couldn't even apologize without taking it back!" I flinched as his blade bruised my left arm. "Not even your mistress wanted to stay with you!"

Bosch bared his teeth, "Don't worry. What's about to happen is much better than being with a stupid woman."

What the hell is going on?

I frowned, wondering what he meant. Was that about our duel or something else? I thought about it while our swords collided again. I gulped, hoping Dirk was referring to our conflict only.

I narrowed my eyes, "Whatever you're up to, I can assure you it won't end well."

Bosch grinned cruelly, "For you, it won't."

"You didn't come to apologize, did you?" my chin trembled. "Why did you truly want to talk?"

Dirk looked at me in a way he'd never done before. Not even when we had our worst arguments. His eyes screamed evil. I pressed my lips together to avoid crying as I remembered Sven and Hendrika. Compared to him, they were lovely. Besides being uncontrollably angry and violent, Dirk was cruel... Wasn't that amazing? If I won a gold coin each time someone disappointed me, I'd be the wealthiest pirate ever. I'd probably have more gold than Miguel when he was El Dorado before the British sank his ship.

"All I needed was to stall," the redhead tried to punch me in the face. "They're coming soon."

You've got to be kidding me!

My hands trembled so much that I thought my sword would fall... Guess what? The idiot was worse than I'd thought! Yeah, Dirk hadn't prepared a surprise party for me... Well, he did in a certain way. A tea party.

I laughed nervously, "You didn't..."

"How do you think I survived?" Bosch scowled as our swords kept slashing. "The SHA saved me in exchange for information. I'm getting my reward and you'll burn!"

"I can't believe you're a sellout!" I shook my head in denial. "You should've married Sven!"

"I'm glad I told you about my secret alliance. Your face made my day," Dirk smiled creepily. "You'll finally be punished for making my life miserable, Eva Van Acker!"

Before I could talk, Bosch grabbed me by the neck and pushed me against a hard wall. I flinched as my bones collided with the bricks. Once again, that crazy man had fooled me... Go ahead! Laugh! Perhaps the idiot was right and I deserved to suffer. My only consolation was Gálvez would take care of my daughters well if I died.

I can't believe I'll lose to this bastard...

Dirk pursed his lips, "Remember this? It's one of the countless ways I showed to be better than you!"

When I started losing hope, I sighed in relief. I never thought it'd be so great to have stubborn friends. I controlled myself not to smile as Miguel, Francis, and Maartje approached Dirk from behind.

"You drive everyone away. The difference between us is that I have people who'll always come for me," I grinned as my friends grabbed their blunderbusses. "Are you sure you're the best?"

Dirk grimaced as Miguel shot him on the right leg. Maartje did the same to Bosch's left one, making him fall to his knees and let go of my neck. Francis barked loudly, seemingly feeling the tension. I ran towards my family and hugged them like a desperate child.

Miguel narrowed his eyes at Dirk, "La cucaracha is back! Isn't that wonderful?"

I chuckled, "I could agree with you, but that'd be an insult to cockroaches."

"I thought you didn't know Spanish," Gálvez smiled. "How did you understand me?"

I raised my brows, "Luna says that word every time she sees a cockroach, so it's impossible not to know what it means."

Gálvez and I laughed. Limping, Dirk made one last attempt to win. When he was about to stab me, Miguel jumped between us. Bosch and Gálvez's swords clashed so loudly that I thought my ears would explode. Dirk attempted to hurt Miguel three times, but the latter dodged and kicked him between the legs. Bosch yelled in pain and Gálvez punched him in the face. Dirk and Miguel looked at each other as if they were about to fight again.

Miguel scowled, "Stay down! You've caused enough damage already!"

Bosch's face was so red that I thought the anger would kill him. He wouldn't stop glaring at Miguel. If stares could kill, Gálvez would've died. Despite Dirk's angry gazes, Miguel remained still as a rock. Francis growled at Bosch, apparently choosing the best place to bite.

Maartje crossed her arms, "Miguel, this wasn't fair! I wanted to punch him first!"

"I couldn't resist," Gálvez sighed. "His face is so... punchable."

Maartje and Miguel laughed. I couldn't help but chuckle. Francis barked as if he agreed... Yes, even my dog knew my former husband deserved that treatment after what he'd done.

My friends are unbelievably adorable!

"You bastard!" my cousin bared her teeth at the redhead. "Can't you just disappear?"

Dirk chuckled as the damn SHA men arrived. I couldn't tell how many guys Atkins had brought, but they were enough to make me tremble. Miguel and Maartje gawked. Francis whined. I froze as if I'd forgotten how to breathe. My enemies had enough weapons to kill a hundred Evas.

"Santa Madre de Dios..." Miguel's eyes bulged. "I hope this is just a bad dream."

"Get ready," I took a deep breath. "We're about to have some fun."

Bosch panted while still on the floor, "You're easy to distract, Eva. Now you'll get what you deserve!"

My cousin screamed and punched Dirk in the face fiercely. I wondered how his jaw didn't turn to dust. He spat a large amount of blood and Francis growled, seemingly ready to bite that sellout. I sighed, hoping Laurens and the kids hadn't been taken by the SHA.

Maartje raised her brows, "This didn't solve the problem, but I feel much better."

I chuckled and took a step back as the SHA men kept coming. Miguel gulped, apparently scared as well. What a ridiculous situation! I won't mind if you call me an idiot... I couldn't have predicted Dirk and the SHA had a deal, but I still felt dumb. Where was my paranoia when I needed it? I shouldn't have gone with Dirk to that alley! Thanks to my stupid curiosity, my family and I could die. I prayed those SHA guys were slower and weaker than they seemed.

****

Author's note: Hey! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone is well. Please vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter and follow the "Battles and Secrets" playlist on Spotify. All translations can be found below. Will Dirk and the SHA win? Keep reading and you'll find out... :-)

Foreign words/expressions in order of appearance:

1. La cucaracha means "the cockroach" in Spanish