THE COUPLE

I'm out of touch, I'm out of love
I'll pick you up when you're getting down
And out of all these things I've done
I will love you better now

***

CHAPTER LVII

*****

THE CONVERSATION WITH Daniel about all the new changes about who was and what exactly I stood to gain had been long and exhausting but had gone surprisingly well. He was understanding and even though exhaustion and confusion was obvious on his face, he had only smiled and told me that we could deal with whatever me being a "Costillo" meant once I was fully healed and out of the hospital. I liked the sound of that.

Healing hadn't taken long, to my relief. According to the doctors, I would be fully up and running in no time. It turned out that Emma had a shit gun with shit bullets and the distance she had shot me at had only made it more shit. She had striking good aim though. Her bullet had hit me almost dead in the centre of my chest which would've have been worrying if my sternum hadn't been there to prevent the bullet from doing any critical damage. My main issue was just blood loss which would always be an issue with me considering the fact that I was fucking anaemic. Again.

They had been closely measuring my iron levels when I was pregnant with Teo but after I gave birth, I became too anxious to follow up treatment and so nothing was heard of it anymore. This time, as I got ready to be discharged a couple weeks later, the doctor had practically threatened me to make sure that I actually showed up for my follow up appointments; making me painfully aware of all the problems that could arise if I left my condition untreated. I made sure to take his words seriously. Not just because I wanted to get better but also because Daniel was there listening and if I knew anything, I knew he would be on my ass if I tried to skip appointments.

As soon as I had returned home though, I hadn't lasted an hour before I was making my way back out of the door, my bodyguard hot on my heels. Daniel had tried to convince me to stay home, sounding frustrated about "why I couldn't just stay in one place" according to him, but after I had explained to him what I was up to, he had reluctantly let me go and said he would join me in an hour or so.

That brought me here, in front of Pablo's apartment and unlocking his door with the spare key he had given me. Once the door had swung open, I had let myself in and narrowed my eyes on him sitting at the dining room table, seeming engrossed in his work with a glass of golden alcohol by his hands.

“Pablo,” I called out sternly as I walked in through his unlocked front door, leaving my bodyguard, Ruben, to wait for me outside. He had snapped his head up to meet my gaze at the sound of my voice, his eyes immediately filling with guilt as he stood up from his seat and just stated at me, not coming forward to give me a hug or anything.

“Araceli,” he said calmly as he averted his eyes instead to look out the window as if he couldn't bare to look me in the eyes. “You look well.”

“You never came to see me,” I pointed out instead of responding to him, deciding to skip the formalities as I let the door shut automatically behind me.

“I've been caught up,” he said, gesturing to the stacks of paper that messily lay all over his desk, making me raise an eyebrow at him.

It was so obvious that that wasn't the reason he hadn't come to see me. It was so obvious that the real reason was because he was probably blaming himself right now and had felt like I was blaming him too.

I carefully made my way over to the sofa in the sitting room, finding that standing after not being on my feet for so long was difficult. Pablo had followed even though I knew he'd prefer not to because he knew I was about to start interrogating him. Still, he was the type to put my safety before his comfort so he had carefully walked behind me, his eyes watching me like a hawk before helping me lower myself to the sofa.

After I had settled, he took a step back and stared down at me as I curled up and made myself comfortable as if I wasn't planning on going home any time soon.

“Why are you here, Araceli?” he asked as he put he downed the last couple sips of his drink, clearly feeling like he'd need it to get through this conversation with me.

“I came to see my friend because my friend refused to come and see me,” I said, making him roll his eyes as he took a seat next to me, much to my surprise. Usually, it would take a lot more convincing and puppy dog eyes to get him to willingly open up to me.

“How was I supposed to go and see you in the hospital, Ara?” he asked, his voice surprisingly full of so much anger. “I was there when you got shot. I held you in my arms while you slowly slipped away. I was by your side when they operated on you and hooked you up to all those machines and wires. I couldn't bring myself to see you like that again,” he confessed as he buried his head in his hands. “Especially when it felt like I was the one who had risked your life in the first place.”

“How did you risk ny life, Pablo, if you had been the one to save me?” I asked, unable to hide the anger from my own voice because it seemed that men never listened until you started yelling at them. “Emma didn't only deceive you. She deceived all of us! This wasn't your fault.”

“There were signs and I ignored them,” he said through clenched teeth as he raised his head and glared daggers at the mantlepiece ahead of us. “I ignored them because I loved her and I thought she loved me too.”

“Pablo...” I sighed as I scooted closer to him and gently rubbed my hand on his back to comfort him. “It's okay.”

“It's not okay.”

“It is,” I pressed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it in the both of mine. “Please stop beating yourself up about this. Emma deceived all of us,” I repeated, “there was no feasible way that you would've known. If anyone would've guessed, it would've been Daniel since he spent the most time with her, but he had been blindsided too,” I explained, hoping that he would see reason. I hated when he beat himself up for something that wasn't his fault. “None of this was your fault.”

Pablo let out an exhausted breath as he leaned back, shutting his eyes tight — I think — as an effort to prevent the tears from rolling down them. “I'm sorry,” he said, his voice coming out croaky. “For not visiting you at the hospital, I mean. I was being dumb,” he apologised before opening his eyes and shaking his head. “Like usual.”

“You're not dumb, Pablo. You're just hurt,” I said, smiling so he could see that I wasn't really hurt about him not coming to see me. I knew the help he gave Daniel with Mateo; the way he spent so much time with him when Daniel had to do something for me so Teo was always with someone he knew. “Thank you for taking care of Mateo,” I said, making him smile at the thought of him. “He's become really fond of you.”

“He's a joy to be around,” he said, making me smile sadly because it felt like Pablo was trying to make up for the relationship he wouldn't get to have with his unborn child with Teo. He had never wanted kids but after Emma got pregnant, he might have gotten attached to the idea of having one anyway and prepared himself to be a father only for it to go bust.

Speaking of Emma.

“How are you?” I asked him, making him let out an exhausted sigh.

“I've seen better days,” he said before letting us fall into silence which I didn't bother breaking because I wanted to give him the space and time to think his thoughts through. I didnt want to push him to open up to me. After a while, he had spoken up again. “He went to see her a couple days ago,” he said before clarifying who "he" was. “Daniel, I mean.”

“How did it go?” I asked because Daniel had told me that he had gone to see Emma but it hadn't been the topic of the conversation so I didn't ask about how it went. I assumed it was okay but maybe I was wrong. I wondered what could be so okay about locking your sister up somewhere for the rest of her life.

“He said it went bad,” Pablo revealed although I couldn't say that I was surprised. It was probably why Daniel didn't talk to me more about it. “I didn't go. I don't think I can ever face her again,” he confessed as he ran his hand through his hair, his eyes closed and his lips pursed. “I don't know how to deal with all this pain I feel,” he said to me, making my heart hurt in my chest for him. It seemed everyone I loved was experiencing so much pain. It was heartbreaking.

“It hurts?” I asked to which he only nodded. “Where does it hurt?”

“Right here,” he said as he pointed to his chest, his voice cracking as he fought back his tears. “Right in my fucking heart. It feels like it's going to burst any moment.”

“It won't burst, Pablo. The pain will ease in time,” I said softly, trying to soothe him but that seemed to be the thing that set him off as the tears he had been fighting began trailing down his cheeks. He couldn't even look me in the eye anymore.

“When?” he asked me, unable to mask all the pain he was feeling as his voice broke. “When will it go? I don't think I can do this anymore,” he confessed as he wiped away his tears, willing himself to withhold them. “I loved her with everything I had,” he said, his voice coming out softer as the tears continued to pour silently this time. “She could've asked me to jump off a building and I would've. I gave my everything to her and she ripped it up and threw it back in my face. She put all of your lives in danger. She almost killed you for fuck sakes. The woman I thought I would spend the rest of my life with.”

I could only lovingly rub his back as he let it all out, unsure of what else I could do. Maybe I could give him my therapists number. “I'm sorry, Pablo,” I murmured but he only shook his head and continued venting.

“I have nothing. No wife, no child. Nothing,” he lamented, making me frown at how hard he was taking it. I supposed I couldn't act shocked. If I was in his position, I would have taken it just as hard. “I loved and I lost everything,” he sighed as he shook his head as if to rid himself of his feelings.

“Elias, listen to me; this will pass,” I said sternly, accidently using his given name instead of "Pablo" but it only seemed to get his attention; his eyes widening at the sudden use of his government name again when it felt like it was buried. That wasn't what I was focused on saying to him right now though. “Cry now, yell now, vent now. Get everything off your chest now with me because I'm here for you and then whenever you're ready, no matter how long it takes but as long as you do it, you'll pick up the pieces of your heart and you'll put them back together,” I said softly, making him shake his head but I remained firm. “I'll help you,” I offered as I took his face in my hands and made him look at me, “Daniel will help you. We'll all help you. We'll hold each piece together, perfectly slotted in place and we'll hold it there until the scars heal because it will heal.”

“I don't think I can,” he confessed to me honestly, making my heart hurt for him. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling his head into my chest as I used my fingers to very gently wipe his tears away.

I didn't want his clear skin to break out. God, I was still angry that all he had to do was wash his face with soap and water for clear skin while I needed a ten step skincare routine. How is that fair? Anna said it was the testerone that made men have clearer skin but I didn't believe that. They were just lucky. That wasn't the point right now though. I was mad about it, but it wasn't the point.

“You don't have to,” I said reassuringly as he peered up at me through my arms. “We can do it together whenever you're ready, okay?” He had slowly wrapped his arms around me, making sure not to squeeze me too tight since my chest still felt like it was under heavy pressure occasionally. “Poor thing, it's okay,” I said as I rubbed his back gently like Daniel did to me whenever I was sad. “I know you're going through it right now, but it's okay. I'm right here for you. I hear you.”

Pablo blew out a small contented breath as he relaxed against me, not doing anything else; just letting me talk to him. He was like Daniel in the sense that sometimes he didn't talk much, but he liked to listen.

“You know, this releases oxytocin,” I said after a long minute of silence, making him look up at me again as I shrugged ny shoulders. “I don't know what it does but it's good for you apparently. They say you need four hugs a day for survival.”

“Really?” he asked, sounding like he didn't believe me one bit but I only nodded my head in conviction. I didn't really think my information was all that true either but if it made Pablo go up to and hug more people, I would believe it in a heartbeat.

“So you're going to go up to Daniel and you're going to hug him—” I began to which he shook his head.

“I'm not doing that.”

“—Then you're going to go up to Jorge and you're going to hug him too—”

“I'm not doing that either.”

“—And then you're going to go up to Guillermo and you're going to give him an extra large hug.”

“Yeah, no, I'm not.”

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at him. Of course he was saying no now, but knowing Pablo he would at least give all of them a side hug. Guillermo would of course try and steal a huge hug because that was just how Guillermo was.

“I love you,” I muttered, making him hold me just a bit tighter. “We all love you, Pablo. Never forget that.”

“I won't.”

***

Daniel's P.O.V.

I WASN'T THE type to normally be on the verge of tears. I had told Araceli this plenty times; that when things started to bother me, I stopped caring. Somethings though? Somethings were hard to let go off.

My mother was one of those things. Her death rocked me; shook my entire world. She was one of the very few people who genuinely cared for me; who treated me like a human being and not a robot to help them line their pockets. I couldn't let go of her, but when I had to, aside from Araceli and Pablo, all I had was my family. My biological family I mean.

All I had was Lucien and Emma.

It felt wrong of me to mourn them after everything they've done, yet I mourned them anyway. Now I only had Araceli and Mateo and it made me exceptionally scared to lose them because if I did, I would be alone and I only now realised how much I actually didn't like being alone. If I lost them, I would tear the Earth in half just to find them. And if they died, I would do all in my power to make sure I joined them. They were my everything and without them, my life would return back to being meaningless.

“Why are you out here alone, Daniel?” her soft voice had broken the gentle silence of the night, making me smile subconsciously as she wrapped her arms around me. “What are you thinking about?”

“Is he asleep?” I asked instead of answering, making her sigh as she rested her head on my back in exhaustion.

“He is now,” she said, but it was obvious from the sound of her voice that she was upset. “It takes him so long to sleep now, Danny,” she said, bringing a smile to my face at her nickname for me. If anyone else were to call me that, I'd probably skin them alive but her? I'd make an exception for her. “You set him down, thinking his finally asleep and before you step out the door, he's crying again begging me not to leave him again.” She let out a sigh as she nestled herself more into me. “It breaks my heart every time I hear him cry.”

I can't help but let out an exhausted breath of my own because I understood her. Before she had come back from the hospital, I just buckled up and let him share a bed with me because we both would get no sleep if we didn't. Now we were trying to get him accustomed to sleeping on his own again, but things were much easier said than done. We had a child psychologist to help but even with him, things were difficult.

Despite that, we tried to remain optimistic and patient which were two of the things I never was, but Teo was an exception. He'd have to be. I did everything in my power, every single day just to make sure I ended up not being the same man my father was to me. I even went to therapy regularly. I hated it, but I did it anyway.

“He'll be okay,” I said, taking her hand in mine and kissing the palm of it before turning around so I was now facing her. “He takes after me so of course he'll be alright.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at my words. “Yeah right he takes after you,” she said sarcastically, “He's more like me and we both know that.”

I can't help but chuckle, pulling her tight into my chest as I leaned against the door. “He is like you, isn't he?” I agreed, making her nod her head in my arms to my amusement. “Just means he's even stronger than we think.”

She raised her head to look up at me, her pretty brown eyes mesmerising me as I can't help but stare back at her. God, I was a lost man. The way this woman made me feel; the way she had so much control over me and didn’t even know it. That was scary.

“I love you, Daniel,” she said, her voice coming out so soft and sweet that I almost crumbled to my knees. How does she have me weak in the knees with just her voice? I was so far gone. Funny thing was I wouldn't have ever imagined ever being so enraptured by her. I used to see her just as Pablo's annoying, but tolerable little sister. Now, she was the woman I would move mountains for.

“I love you too,” I replied, hoping that she could see just how sincere I was. I didn't mind if she didn't. I said I would show her that I did and now we had the rest of our lives to do so.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her soft, plump lips against mine, making me almost melt as I bring my hand to the back of her head. Obviously, in the back of my mind was a firm voice reminding me not to get carried away. Technically, we could still have sex. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with that but I didn't want to risk anything. I could wait however long it took for her to heal fully.

Slowly, pulling away, she smiled up at me, letting me admire how fucking gorgeous she was under the moonlight before my eyes flickered down lower to her chest. Her scarred chest. Before I could even stop myself, I had began unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing — the shirt that was mine — until the upper part of her chest was exposed to me. I couldn't help but stare at the bullet wound, tracing my thumb over it as I considered how close I was to losing her. I didn't want to imagine a world without her in it.

“Do you like it?” she asked, displaying the healing wound on her chest as if it was something to be proud of. On her face was a wide grin, her eyes twinkling with delight. Of course she was happy about this. She always found a way to be happy about the worst of situations and it was weird. She was weird. No wonder she got along with Guillermo. Weirdos. “Maybe I can get a tattoo just like you and then we can do up matching.”

I rolled my eyes at her words, letting my hands drop to the side. “You say the weirdest things sometimes,” I said, making her frown up at me but I knew her enough to know she wasn't actually sad. She knew she was weird too.

“What do you mean?” she asked, feigning confusion. “You agree. Don't act like you don't.”

“No, I don't,” I said, trying not to let the smile appear on my face. “You're weird.”

“Don't say that,” she pouted up at me before finally giving into the smile she wanted to give me. “You're too nice to be mean,” she said, making me raise an eyebrow at her.

“Nice?” I asked, “I'm called many things, mi amor, but 'nice' is not one of them.”

She pursed her lips as she thought before smiling up at me again, this time giving me a much softer smile. “I'm sure you were called nice when you were younger. You were so nice to me when you were seventeen,” she said, making me smile at the memory of us back then. My feelings for her were purely platonic back then but I liked her. She was sweet; quiet but sweet.

“I'm not seventeen anymore,” I pointed out as I pressed my forehead to hers, making her peck my lips briefly.

“Mm, maybe not,” she shrugged, “but you're still nice. At least to me.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.” She gave me a sweet smile, her eyes staring up at me with so much love that I had almost been knocked off my feet. That was what surprised me; that she loved me so much. Surely, someone like me didn't deserve her. She may have said that I was nice but everyone knew the truth. “You know,” she said, getting my attention again. This time her gaze was trained somewhere else as she pressed her face to my chest, “after you came back — you know, from the mental health place thingy — and then after Morgan did what she did, you started acting so different. It was like you had forgotten me,” she said, making my chest tighten in pain at her words. All I wanted to do was explain myself; quell her sadness.

“I didn't. I just—”

“I know,” she said, cutting me off. She gave me a small reassuring smile to show me that she understood and I didn't have to explain myself. “You were going through a lot and back then you meant more to me than I did to you. I'm not upset about that.”

“Ara, I'm so sorry,” I tried to say, but she only looked up at me, an amused smile playing on her lips.

“You've apologised to me about this already,” she pointed out, but I really didn't care. No amount of apologies could ever show just how regretful I was about my behaviour towards her. I was selfish and neglectful and careless. She had given me everything; her loyalty, her heart, her care and I had used all of that to my own benefit and left her with nothing. Even the small bits of affection I did show her back then made me angry because the only reason I had done that was so she would stay with me. Manipulating her.

“I know, but—”

“It's okay,” she said even though it very clearly wasn't. “I forgive you. I forgave you ages ago.” She placed her head on my chest again, almost muffling her voice yet I had heard what she said next loud and clear. “When I saw that you were different.”

“Different?” I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows at her words.

“Changing,” she filled in, hoping that it would clear up her words a little more. “I won't lie, there were points where I thought I couldn't do it anymore. That I was in way over my head with you and I was just lying to myself,” she said, making me frown at the idea of her leaving me even though I knew I didn't deserve to want to have her if I couldn't treat her the way she deserved. That's why I did all I could to not hurt her again. “I had fallen in love with you when we were so young and you were so much nicer and I had stayed in love with you even when you weren't the nicest because I truly did love you through everything and I wanted you to know,” she confessed, making my eyes widen in susprise. I knew she loved me for a while but I hadn't known just how long it had been. She had loved me since she was fifteen. Now she was twenty-four. She spoke again. “Then things started getting really difficult and I lost hope for us but then, you started changing.” She smiled up at me, making me smile back at her without even thinking about it. “And every day that passed — every day that continues to pass — when I look in your eyes, I see more and more the boy I had fallen in love with all that time ago.”

I couldn't help but freeze at her words, my eyes trained on her but my mind somewhere else entirely. She saw me as the person she had fallen in love with? Why did that make my heart swell? Why did that fill me with happiness and satisfaction? Why did those words mean so much from her?

I had a lot of good traits when I was younger, I supposed. Apparently, I was nice to be around; pleasant. I liked being around people. I was quiet but people liked me. Obviously after what happened had happened, things changed. I didn't really know how or why. It hadn't been a gradual change either. It had been more like something had snapped. Like a realisation that being nice and loving wasn't going to get me anywhere. Remembering my childhood and knowing that if you kept people away from your heart, there was no way for them to break it. And I could do that because Lucien had finally put the power back in my hands. If anyway had an issue with me, they could talk about it with the gun I was pointing to their face. The more control I had, the more control I wanted and so I went and I got it because nobody could stop me. Not even death scared me anymore. That's what most people found so terrifying about me; I was wreckless. I had nothing to lose. I did anything I wanted because no consequence was enough to deter me.

At least not until I had fallen for her. I guess I played God too fucking much; thought I was too powerful to actually let myself fall in love and that was what ensnared me in the horrible traps of love. Usually, I didn't keep the girls I fucked around me just to avoid situations like this. But she was Pablo's sister and she was the one I had decided I wanted to marry and all that time spent around her with how lovable she was, it was fucking stupid of me think that I wouldn't be in love with her. I didn't mind though. Being in love with her was the best thing that had ever happened to me. And her loving me back was just a step better.

“You're such a blessing,” I couldn't help myself from saying as I brought my hand to gently caress her cheek, not wanting any harm to come to her in anyway.

“I know,” she said as she grinned up at me, her pretty plump lips enticing me to kiss them... and then do more things to her as well. Was it okay if I just ate her out? I didn't want to over-exert her but I did want to see her writhing beneath me. Araceli had different plans though. “Come with me. I want to show you something,” she said as she took my hand and began leading me away much to my confusion.

“What do you want to show me?” I asked, but she only smiled back at me before looking forward again, leading me out of our bedroom and down two sets of stairs until we had reached the basement.

“I'm surprised you never found him by now,” she said, again confusing me even more. “With how much he's smelling now, I'm surprised the stench didn't lure you down here.”

“What are you talking about, amor?” I asked, making her come to a halt in the middle of the room before pulling away from me. I made to follow after her, but she had pressed her hand to my chest, making me come to a halt as she walked away. The way this woman controlled me.

Before I could question what she was up to, the dark basement had suddenly been flooded with light, making me squint my eyes as I took in my surroundings. And then my eyes fell on him; the man who was tied up in the middle of the room staring at me in confusion.

Lucien.

He smirked as his eyes settled on me. “Ah,” he said, his voice coming out croaky as if he hadn't used it in decades. “The whore has finally brought you to see me.”

I wanted to respond, but I was just shocked to see him. Truth be told, I hadn't particularly questioned Lucien's whereabouts since I had been freed. It wasn't news to me; he was the type to just rock up and leave whenever he felt like it. Especially after pulling some fucked up bullshit like he always seemed to do. Now that I thought about it, how did Araceli manage to capture him?

As if hearing my every thought, she had given me an answer.

“Lucien rocked up at my doorstep to look for trouble after you left,” she said as she rocked up beside me, making me wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into my side. “Tried to get me to sleep with him in exchange for information about your whereabouts.” My hands had clenched into fists at her words, my mind racing about what she could've gone through at his hands. What if, in a bid of desperation, she had actually taken him up on his offer just so she could know that I and Mateo were safe? If that had happened, I would've killed him. I would've torn him to fucking shreds. “He even threatened to rape me,” she confessed, making me stare at her with wide eyes before turning back to glare at Lucien who only seemed to be glaring at her. “I decided to take the opportunity and lock him up so I could draw out information from him. He sang like a bird.”

“You're really going to take her word over mine?” Lucien had said, making me tilt my head to the side as I watched him. “Daniel!” he yelled as if trying to wake me up, “when will you see? All she wants from you is money. You think she loves you? After the way you've treated her, you think she still loves you?” That was a low blow. “She wants your money. I want the best for you. Everything I've ever done, Daniel, it's been for you; for us,” he said, making me raise an eyebrow at him. “You're my only son, Daniel. The only good thing in my life. All I wanted was for you to reach your full potential without a whore like her holding you back.”

“And he can die there for all I care,” the sound of Lucien's voice had traversed through the room. Except it wasn't this Lucien that was speaking. More rather, it was a recording of him. I turned to Araceli just to see her holding up her phone, playing a saved recording from it. A saved recording of Lucien. “He's only going to run back to you if I get him out. He's no longer of any use to me. He may as well die and do so knowing he accomplished something with his stupid life.”

“Turn that off!” the current Lucien had demanded, but Lee only smirked at him as she increased the volume on her phone and held it up for me to take from her.

“So then what after that, huh? Who's going to run this cartel?” This was Lee's voice, but it wasn't her that had made my eyes widening in shock. It was what Lucien had replied to her with.

“Emma's husband is a wimp,” Lucien had responded to her question. “He's very loyal to me. I know when it goes to him, he'll listen to everything I tell him to do.”

“I'm Daniel's beneficiary. He's already willed everything to me.”

The sound of Lucien's chuckle echoed back against the four walls of the dark basement. “You were Daniel's beneficiary, but you won't be for long. Not after I hand you back to your family. The people after you?” Araceli had switched off the recording and smiled up at me.

“That's all the important parts,” she said as she bit her lip, her eyes dilating slightly as she looked at me. “Unless, you want to listen to the parts before that as well.” She then looked to Lucien as if questioning if she should play it, making him scowl at her.

I let a low chuckle slip past my lips, handing her back the phone before narrowing my eyes at Lucien, my head tilting slightly to the side as I took him in.

“You really hate me, don't you?” I asked, my tone dripping with amusement despite how serious this situation was. I knew if I didn't laugh, I would end up crying and I wasn't a fan of crying in front of Lucien. “I wish I wasn't surprised, Lucien.”

“Don't listen to that wench,” he said, making Araceli burst out into a fit of laughter at the insult he had used on her. I couldn't help but chuckle myself. I mean, 'wench'? I'm sorry, were we in the sixteenth century? “Daniel, I love you. I cherish you. I mean, you're my son.”

“No, I'm your most successful financial investment,” I corrected as I took a step towards him and crouched in front of him, peering deep into eyes that seened so much like mine. Yet, they were so different. “You love money, Lucien. You cherish power and up until this point, that's all I've been bringing you. Now that things are changing, you feel threatened, dont you?” I asked him, narrowing my eyes at him as I analysed him. “You were willing to do anything in your power to make I don't stray from you. Even if that meant going against my best interest; the thing you apparently claim to care about. Am I wrong, Lucien?”

He had stared at me silently, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something yet nothing had left them. Maybe he was surprised that I had read him so easily which surprised in fairness because it had been obvious to me why he valued me ever since I had started working for him. I let a chuckle slip past my lips as I raised myself to my full height.

“Amor,” I had called out, making her look to me with her mesmerising eyes. “I'm not deeling like putting my hands on him and I don't want you wasting your energy on him either,” I explained as I kissed her knuckles on both her hands. “Let me pull some strings and get him admitted into the mental hospital he had sent my mother to, hmm? I'm sure they'll be able to give him the treatment he deserves,” I said, making her smile up at me as she nodded her head in approval.

That was it. That was all I really needed from her; approval.

“Okay, my love, but don't take too long,” she said as she wrapped her arms around my neck, not minding Lucien sitting in front of us. “I don't like the way he's stinking up the place.”

“I'll have him out of your hair by tomorrow.”

Despite knowing all I knew about Lucien, finding out his true feelings for me had still made me feel betrayed by him. I guess I should've known. I mean, it was always obvious but I didn't think that I was that disposable to him. I was his son for fuck sakes; that had to have been something. Yet, it meant nothing. Lucien never cared about me. All he cared about was power.

***

Araceli had held me in her arms the whole night, her touch gentle as I stared out through the open curtains unable to find sleep. Usually, I could rest a little each night despite the nightmares. When I'd wake up, I'd find her in my arms and pull her tight to my chest like a teddy bear and that would soothe me back to sleep. With therapy I was getting better, but this night, I couldn't even find it in myself to close my eyes.

I felt numb. I shouldn't have but I did.

Araceli had tried to make conversation with me the whole night and I appreciated that because if there was one thing that helped take my mind off my problems, it was her incessant chatter. Yet, this night her chatter seemed less incessant.

I pinched her stomach. “Keep talking.”

She let out a small giggle, the sound sounding like music to my ears before she had let out a sigh and let herself relax beneath me. She ran her fingers through my hair, letting me hear the soft rhythmic beat of her heart as I rested my head on her chest.

“Raymundo says he'll show me around all the properties next week,” she explained, making me nod my head as she spoke. I made a mental note to make sure I came along just because I still shivered at the sound of the name "Costillo". Those people were fucking awful. I had never liked them; even before I knew her. Yet, she was one. “And the wedding planner is coming next week also.” I let out a low groan and buried my head into her chest, making her giggle.

She had gone quiet again, leaving me to let out an exhausted breath at the silence while my mind brought me back to how much of a mess my life was now; how much of a mess it had always been.

“I know you're hurt, my love,” she said after a long silence, making me blink long and slow to hold back the tears. I didn't want to cry here yet it seemed like it was inevitable. “I know you're trying to ignore the pain.”

“It doesn't matter—”

“It does,” she insisted, her voice stern. “You always matter. Always.”

“I'll be fine,” I said and to my surprise, she had agreed.

“I know you will,” her voice was soft and soothing as she so gently stroked my hair, making me almost hum in bliss. “But until then, I'm here for you.”

I let a smile come across my lips despite the way my eyes were blurring with tears threatening to spill over my cheeks and onto her chest. I placed a small kiss on the palm of her hand before burying myself more into her again.

I had lost a lot but it was all worth it in my mind because I had gained the most valuable treasure I could ever come across. I had gained everything. The most beautiful woman I had ever set eyes on; my everything.

My Queen.

*** THE END ***

LADIES! and gentlemen...

Here we are at long last!

Obviously, like I said, I've a epilogue for you guys. I also may have some bonus chapters up my sleeve so fo keep an eye out for that!

I'm so glad we made it here after so long. I know most of you don't really know but I had written His Woman in like 3 months. I tend to write and finish stories in 3-6 months but His Queen took so much longer and I think there's beauty I'm that because it marks how much I've grown as a writer.

I start the araceli story when I was about to turn 16 (really immature, I know) and I'm going to turn 19 soon so it definitely means a lot to me. If you think about it, you guys even watched me get into uni 💀

I will be rewriting this story as I do with all my stories. I most likely will be leaving this draft up to some extent butttt when I do start rewriting, I would highly implore you to go and read that because well... let's just say its very different to this book. But the same as well... hmm

Well, anyways that's all I have to say. I'm going to go write my lab report and be on my way