Now, don't kill me (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

I've given you a chapter as a sign of my great love for all of you. <(￣︶￣)>

I hope you enjoy it and that it lessens your urge to probably kill me in my sleep.

Isabella was pissed.

And yes, she doesn't have the right to be pissed. Her father can't even be pissed with his own mother so how could Isabella be pissed at her grandmother when she doesn't have any rights in the first place?

Well, she is pissed.

Nobody could stop her now. It seems like her family won't be able to stop her. Dmitri won't definitely stop her just as long as she doesn't kill herself and that nobody kills her. Rafael's a mama hen, just like her Tony, so he'll definitely die just by stopping her.

By the time she reached the door, her abuela was already there, looking quite pleased at the moment.

It seems that she's pleased whenever someone's not.

Dmitri and Rafael stood behind her and bowed their heads quietly.

Beside her stood a boy who looked like the boy version of her, to be honest. He stood there like a doll, pretty and perfect. He wore a smile that seemed like he's excited to meet Isabella.

Isabella felt slightly bad because he probably got roped in on her grandmother's schemes. Whose child even is he? Was he kidnapped or something?

"Abuela." Isabella said through gritted teeth. "I'm... Surprised to see you."

Abuela smiles and ruffled her hair and Isabella grimaced obviously. "No seas asi, amor."

(Don't be like that, love.)

She gently slapped her hand away, causing her grandmother to frown disapprovingly. Bella looked like he wanted to say something but only shook her head.

Bella then looked at the boy with a prideful grin. "Ezri, this is the little girl I'm talking about." She said gently, eyes looking at the boy like he was her most prized possession.

Ezri looks at Isabella with no malice or hatred whatsoever. He even smiled softly at her when the little girl gave him a glance. He looked as if he wasn't the kind of boy who'd do something bad for the sake of keeping other people happy.

Ezri stepped forward and held out his hand for her to shake. Isabella glanced at her grandmother and saw the old woman looking at her intensely. Sh narrowed her eyes at Isabella, as if threatening her.

Isabella didn't hesitate to glare at her. She was smart enough to know not to fight her grandmother. She already knows who'll win and if her family isn't here at the moment to protect her then it's obvious who'll win.

Still, Isabella didn't shake the boy's hand for the sake of being rebellious. She could hear Rafael silently protest by her actions but Isabella honestly wouldn't shake the boy's hand even if Rafael begs her to do so.

That made Bella bristle in rage.

But for the sake of peace and fake formality, Bella smiled tightly only at her granddaughter. It seems that Isabella dear is in a bad mood, Ezri."

"Yeah, I wonder who's the cause of it." Isabella muttered to herself, crossing her arms in defiance.

Ezri retreated his hand back with a dejected look on his face. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry."

Isabella raised a brow but didn't say anything further. She feels guilty but can't she stay hurt? She was hurt. Her family's just a fart now, Nicolai's probably out there somewhere, doing stupid things without her and now this boy came in, looking like a kicked puppy while there's a monster behind him, looking like she'd kill Isabella in her sleep.

Does she have time to feel guilty? Yes. She's feeling guilty right now.

"Look..." Isabella pinched the bridge of her nose. "This isn't your fault, okay? I'm just not in the mood to play host."

"Oh, here we go again with your mood swings, darling. You seriously need to go to a real doctor. Not some... Quack doctor you got behind you." Bella said, pointing at Dmitri.

"Abue—"

Dmitri only snorted. "With all do respect, ma'am. I do my job very seriously when it comes to Isabella and the only reason I see as to why she's being like this is because she's with you."

"Dmitri..." Rafael complained out of fear.

Bella was beyond mad when she heard it. "Why are you even working here with my granddaughter? With a crude manner like that, no wonder she turned out like her mother."

"That's enough, okay? You don't get to bring up that woman into this!" Isabella exclaimed in anger. She hates it when someone brings up her mother into a fight like this. It was uncalled-for.

"And you don't get to raise your voice with me, young lady. You should know your place. Oh, when did you grow up to be a crude person?" Bella reprimanded severely before clearing her throat, giving a warm smile again. "Isabella, let's not fight, okay? You have a guest. I brought you a friend that you wanted. Greet him."

"My friend's gone!"

"What are you talking about? Your friend's right in front of you, dear." Bella persuaded, pushing Ezri closer to the little girl in hopes that he would be accepted. It feels like Ezri's a human sacrifice for her and that made Isabella slightly feel bad for the poor boy.

"That is not my friend, abuela. You know that." Isabella pleaded, getting upset by the minute. "You did something to him."

"I did no such thing. That boy left you on his own accord." Bella defended herself before  chuckling at her own words. "He left you. Is that what you call friend? Now, Ezri won't leave you. He's here solely for you and your needs. Like how a friend should."

She's like treating Ezri like a doll. Like a toy that she thought that Isabella would enjoy. She's talking as if Ezri and Isabella were friends already.

"But abuela——"

"Oh, look at the time, dear oh my. I must go. I've got plenty of things to do. I'm leaving Ezri to you now. Keep him safe and well-fed. He's your friend now and he's your responsibility, Isabella."

Isabella couldn't believe it. She's leaving that boy with her? She's leaving a boy, that Isabella has nothing to do with, with her. That's seriously messed up.

"Ezri, be good now, like I expected you to be." Bella said, looking at Ezri like he's her pride and joy.

Ezri nodded obediently at the old, crazy woman. "Yes ma'am."

Isabella would never, not in a million years, think that Bella would deserve to be called ma'am. She doesn't deserve the respect.

Bella then looks at the little girl. "And Isabella, do behave and fix that attitude of yours and fix the attitude of your guards. Next time, I don't want someone butting in our conversation."

Isabella didn't say anything. She was just staring at Ezri with a pained look on her face. Now, she's got an uninvited guest in the house.

With that, the witch left, leaving Ezri all alone with Isabella and her guards. Isabella sighed in disappointment and in disbelief. This can't be happening. It's unfair.

"Hi, my name is Ezri."

I know.

"I'll be in your care, Isabella. I was so excited to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from Bella that I couldn't sleep last night."

Isabella winced at the nice personality that the kid has. "Yes, yes. I'm sure I was my grandmother's favourite topic to talk about."

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Oh, great. That makes things more better."

"Isabella." Rafael chastised softly. "Don't be so rude to the poor boy."

Sure, she shouldn't be so rude to the guest but this particular guest was an uninvited one plus she doesn't know this boy and she doesn't know if he's genuine or a spy.

Great.

"I'm sorry." Isabella said, sighing in defeat. It wasn't worth throwing all her anger to a boy who probably got roped in all of this.

"Oh, Isabella." He shakes his head. "Isabel, esto no es tu culpa. It was surprising to seem me come here uninvited all of a sudden, sí?"

(Isabel, this isn't your fault.)

Isabella looks at him, not surprised. If it's Bella, who knows what she did to this boy to make him the perfect person that she's been bragging to Isabella.

"I know what you're thinking and that's a no, okay? I grew up with a mother who very much talks to me in spanish so your grandmother didn't scheme this one behind your back."

The boy then looked around the house and nodded in satisfaction. "You have a beautiful home. I wasn't expecting this when I came in."

Isabella raised a brow. "And what were you expecting, Príncipe?"

(Prince?)

"I expected it to be less of a home. But it's pretty homey." Ezri said and then looks at her apologetically. "Lo siento mucho, Isabel. My house isn't homey like yours since my mamá is not always at home and my biological father... Well, I don't know where my father is at the moment. All I know is that he bailed on me and my mamá."

(I am very sorry.)

That made Isabella feel bad. She has her family and her family loves her so much that she sometimes suffocate in it. Which is not a bad thing. She's got a friend who equally loves her as she does.

But this boy...

Isabella sighed. Maybe she was too kind like Dmitri had said.

Isabella held out her hand, causing him to flinch in surprise. "Well, for the meantime, I guess this is your home too." Isabella exclaimed. "I can't do anything about this situation anymore. It's getting out of hand and that isn't your fault. You're just a boy."

Ezri gave her a wobbly smile before taking her hand like a desperate boy in need of someone to hold. "You do know that we're probably on the same age, right?"

Isabella glared at him, causing him to laugh softly. "Okay, okay. Gracias, Isabel. I very much appreciate your kindness."

Isabella nodded and the boy moved closer to her, although hesitantly. "Were you having breakfast? Lo siento, I bothered you, didn't I?"

(I'm sorry.)

Isabella shook her head. "Wasn't hungry."

Dmitri gave her a pointed look.

Rafael shook his head. "Bella, you need to eat. You haven't eaten anything since dinner."

"Ay, Isabel. That's not good." Ezri said, frowning at her. "I know that this situation is not very favorable to you and it is not favorable to me as well but that doesn't mean that we should skip our meals. Those who cooked for it probably worked hard to keep you well-fed."

That made her feel bad. Of course, she appreciates Rafael and his efforts to cheer her up but at this point, he's forcing it. He's forcing her to think that everything would turn out okay when it's clearly not. Her family's not even in the house, her grandmother's so set to change her because, apparently, she doesn't fit the standard that her grandmother had set for her. Her friend's nowhere to be seen and now a boy has come to replace her friend's place.

There's various of emotions that she's feeling and Rafael wants her to calm down? How? How exactly can anyone calm down in a situation like this? Everything's piling up all at once. Dante's men are relying on her like she's the boss lady. 

Dmitri doesn't care just as long as she don't keel down and die.

She's just eleven.

How can she stay calm in a situation like this? She's already as calm as she could possibly be? What more does anyone want?

Isabella gave him a strained smile. "Yeah, you're right." She looks at Rafael apologetically. "I'm sorry, Raf."

Rafael smiled at her understandingly. "It's okay, love. This isn't your fault."

She's tired of hearing that. This isn't your fault. This is out of your control. It's going to be okay.

Is it? Is it really going to be okay? How can you be sure? How can you possibly be sure that everything would turn back to how it used to be?

Isabella turns to look at Ezri. "Accompany me at breakfast? I'm sure I'll find my appetite if I have someone at the table. I'm used to eating with my family so it's weird being the... only one at the table." Isabella said, hesitating to phrase her words.

Ezri nodded. "Okay." He said quietly. "Isabel. I'm not guilt-tripping you. Everything is beyond your control and you know that. The only thing you can control for now is taking care of yourself and keeping yourself calm, like right now. Focus on that, sí?"

"You're eleven, right?" Isabella asks jokingly before nodding. "I'm not entirely trustful of you. But it's also stupid to push a possible foe away, you know?"

He nodded with a reassuring smile. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. I understand. It's okay, Isabel."

"I'm going to cook breakfast for you too then." Rafael said to the boy kindly.

"Make that two." Dmitri piped in. "I'm hungry too."

"Make it yourself." Rafael narrowed his eyes at the doctor. "I'm sure you're talented enough to make your own breakfast."

"I'm just going to burn the whole house down, you know?" Dmitri pouted. "You won't allow that, right? You're to kind."

Rafael looks at him with a disbelieving look before sighing in annoyance, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "Fine. Fine! Okay, jeez."

"Thank you." Ezri said gratefully at Rafael. "I'm sure it'll be a wonderful breakfast.

Rafael smiled at the boy. "You're welcome."

_____

I hope you guys enjoyed it!! It's a pretty tame one, isn't it?

Well, I hope you're ready because we'll be in for the worst. And actually, I'll have to be saying sorry in advance <3<3