If you were drowning at a sea, I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe. That's a song lyric. But I want you to know I've got you, little brother.

~notes from Axel's brother.

--------᪥-------

☘︎ Axᴇʟ Hᴇʀɴᴀɴᴅᴇᴢ ☘︎

The runaway is a walking disaster.

Nothing else could define the situation of being interrupted during reviewing an important case on my enemy, by an unlikely phone call at near midnight.

With the precise words, "This is Officer Groove speaking from Paris Police Department, on 525 High Street. We have a Mrs Eve Hernandez under arrest for act of disrupt in public, being caught having a fist fight with a group of thugs. Since she's in no condition to speak, we're contacting you as her listed attorney."

"Do I look like I'm in a coma? I'm in every condition to speak, mind you!" A high-pitched, slurred voice yells in the background, very much belonging to the woman I happen to have married. Furthermore, she sounds drunk.

"We request you to arrive at the soonest, she's very uncooperative and is creating a nuisance." The officer asserts in frustration.

"Uncooperative? Excuse me, I don't see you calling those idiots in the other cell a nuisance! I demand justice and then I will co-operate!" Her words are so dragged and drowsy, like how one would sound high on drugs.

The documents of various cases that had been filed on Michael Lee Voroski but somehow pushed under the rug during the legal procedure, remain sprawled over the Swietenia Mahagony desk in front of me. I'd been studying the cases thoroughly so when my grandfather finally hands over my inheritance a month from now, I can issue each of them for re-trial. With the help of the top-notch lawyers working in the law firm I'd inherit, attacking Voroski from all sides isn't a hard task. Only now my work has to wait.

A sigh escapes my lips as I rub the bridge of my nose. I'm not even surprised she didn't listen to me for once and remained back at home until I had her security team appointed. It just happens to be a universal fact at this point that Eve invites trouble wherever she goes. Regardless, I have no choice in the situation than to get her out of it.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes." I let the officer know before he could answer Eve, causing her to argue further and make bailing her out difficult. Officer Groove grunts in agreement, disconnecting the call.

Rising from the chair, I make a quick work of fixing the cufflinks on my wrist and buttoning the top buttons of my shirt I'd left open while working. Pulling on the Tom Ford suit jacket over my crisp black shirt after grabbing it from the leather chair it was draped on, my footsteps proceed to venture out of the office in determined strides.

There's no reason to lock the premise, considering no other soul than me is working in the entire skyscraper building. Not because the employees left early, but because I don't have employees. Or rather no one wished to work with me, knowing who I am.

But for the sake of precaution, I enable the digitalized lock system Tori created.

...

The journey of getting into the Aston Martin DBS awaiting in the parking lot, fastening the seat belt and driving onto the Paris streets happens in a sequence of actions where I constantly refrain myself from pulling my hair. Within minutes, I'm greeted by the tall, white-brick building with the words Préfecture De Police engraved in black marble.

In the packed, white-washed walled space, the sound of hustle-bustle follows. I make my way to the front desk, where the chief officer is seated eating a Soufflé. His fingers are crusted with powdered sugar, the particles spreading all over the files on his desk.

I hold back a grimace as he stuffs the entire chocolate muffin into his mouth, licking his fingers before addressing me with a questioning brow.

"Eve Hernandez, where is she?" I ask in a stiff tone, ignoring his unprofessional approach.

"Êtes-vous l'avocat?" The officer enquires in french whether I'm the attorney, observing with a pinched brow as if to pinpoint where exactly he'd seen me. His repulsed statement burns through me when he finally places who I am, "Hold on, you're the Hernandez heir."

My jaw clenches at the way suddenly every person in the police station turn to look my way, their judgmental gazes digging holes into my skull, making me want to dig out their eyeballs in retaliation. It's always the same disgust flashing in their expressions, the same enmity glinting in their eyes as if I and Tori were the ones who'd wronged them.

Only because I defended my brother and Tori defended her parents. Only because of whose son I am. While my grandfather became an instant hero amongst the society by cutting ties with each of his family members. I need to get out of here.

Instead of entertaining the fools, making sure my expression remains ever the unapproachable, I place a set of papers on the officer's desk, "These are the bail documents. Since Mrs Eve didn't condone any un-bailable offense, she can be bailed out."

I expect him to put every hurdle he can to make this task impossible, but the chief laughs tauntingly, "Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Even the latest mysterious member of the Hernandez clan, your wife, got herself in jail. The only difference is she bought more criminals in, instead of being a criminal herself. Violence though, must be a family trait."

"It's impressive how much you obsess over my family despite your workload, Officer." I keep my tone calm and expression blank. He looks up at me for a moment in wonder whether I'm insulting him before shrugging it off thinking otherwise.

Signing the bail documents once I pay up the money, the chief holds up a hand to one of his other subordinate officers, "Let that nuisance in Cell-3 out."

I follow the subordinate officer to the cell at the end of the short hallway.

Behind the bars in Cell-3, the runaway is seated on the floor. Her back to the cemented wall, boots discarded beside her on the floor and her legs splayed out in front of her. She's staring at her bare feet with googly eyes, holding a wine bottle to her chest as though it's a prized possession.

Eve perks at the sound of the cell's metal door opening, looking up from her toes to affix her gaze on me. A wide grin breaks across her lips, splitting her face into half in a way it looks downright creepy, "Hey honey!" She sing-songs gleefully, slurring over her words.

Honey?

I didn't sign up for this.

The officer drags Eve out of the cell, his hands holding her arms rough enough to bruise. My fist clenches by my sides, evaluating that he's treating her this way because now he knows she's my wife. Before I can step forward to escort her out myself and pry the filthy officer's fingers of off her, Eve pushes the man away from her with more force than I'd expect from her short self.

Glaring at him, she points her index finger at his nose, "Hold my arms any tighter and I'll break your nose. I know more than ninety-nine ways to torture a human."

Eve then stumbles over to me, holding the wine bottle in one hand and her boots in other. I turn to her with the full intention to pass her a displeased look upon getting arrested, but she trips and falls face-front on my chest. On reflex, my arms wrap around her waist before she drops to the floor in a carcass. Why is this woman always falling?

"Oops." Eve giggles, the rumble of her laugh vibrating against my suit-clad chest.

"Perhaps you wouldn't be falling so much if you drank less, Miss Eve." My arms tighten around her delicate form as she drops her entire weight on me, the soft curves of her body molding with mine. It's something I've observed in the little while I've known her, Eve drinks a lot.

I stiffen when she wraps her arms around my torso, still holding onto her boots and wine bottle that dig into my back. Eve's nose caresses the crook of my neck in drunk affection, freezing me on spot, "You really did get me out of jail, prince charming."

Ignoring her silly nickname and the pest of an officer staring at us, I lift Eve off her feet a little, guiding her outside the police station. It is a rather difficult task to get her into the car given how much she moves and rambles about random rubbish.

"You have bewitched me body and soul!" She hugs my torso firmer, mumbling in high-pitched british accent while I open the car's door, "Fine, make me your villain!"

Seriously, what is with the literature quotes?

"Oh wait, I'm a science student. I must behave like a scientific drunk!" Eve nods to herself vigorously resembling a miniature bobblehead, "Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell—"

"Shut up." The icy command cuts her off, once I've finally succeeded in dropping her onto the passenger seat and have gotten around to the driver's seat myself.

Eve scowls at me, "I won't."

"I must admit, I'm irrevocably surprised by the answer." My voice is as dry as it can get.

Ignoring me the way I always ignore her, "Do you think she made it back home on time with my container?" Eve asks the alcohol bottle sullenly, before her pout turns into a sly smile, "She owes me a favor for keeping her secret now."

It is my turn to turn a blind eye to her nonsensical statements. I lean forward to pull her seat belt from the other side so I can fasten it into the safety lock.

My focused movements pause when I feel her burning stare, "Have I told you how dreamy you look?" She drawls the the words lazily, making it sound like a whispered secret.

Gazing up at her face, I'm met by brown eyes sprinkled with a pinch of hazel in them. Eyes that resemble tiny stars splattered over a chocolaty sky, peering right into mine. A smile so soft graces her bow-shaped lips, it has a frown growing between by brows at the awe on her face. Does she really not know anything about my family? About what my parents did?

Annoyed by why I'm noticing the color of her eyes or the shape of her lips or why I'm even bothered by the fact she isn't looking at me with disgust like everyone does, I instantly retreat back to my seat, frowning harder despite telling myself not to show a single emotion.

Snuffing out the strange flames of feelings trying to cloud my senses, "You're drunk." I deadpan.

"I don't need to be drunk to admit you're handsome." Eve snorts, waving her hand in the air to ward off an invisible fly, "Besides, I have a very high alcohol tolerance. The wine bottle, I'm sure it had something mixed in it."

"Yet you went out of your way, abandoning your safety, only so you could buy the spiked wine? Is that it, Miss Eve?" I ask in a flat tone, prying for information on why she left. There's only the wine bottle she holds that's any slightest proof of what she might've gone for. A part of me wonders where she got it from, the other part doubts whether she even went for the wine.

Eve slants her eyes to me in confusion. Before something clicks in her expression and she goes along with what I said, holding the wine bottle closer.

"What can I say? I love alcohol. On that note, I really want to test what drug they used in this wine. My chemical obsessed self is intrigued." She slumps back against the velvet seat, "Electrons, I feel so. . .light. Am I floating, Prince Charming?"

This time I can't stop the roll of my eyes, "Sure you are."

I start the car, intending to act like she doesn't exist for the rest of the ride. Fortunately, by the time I make it past the security checks and within the Hernandez estate's hundred acres land, she is fast asleep.

...

Stranded outside the villa's entrance, once I've disabled the laser system, I contemplate what to do. Eve is dozing inside the car, soft breath blowing past her lips, her lashes framing her face, transforming her into the picture of a serene woman when she's anything but that.

For a moment, I consider leaving her to sleep in the car. I wouldn't have to get close to her, neither will she be disturbed from her sleep. But my niece's voice interrupts my decision.

"Don't you dare leave her there." Tori states blandly, approaching me with sneaker-clad feet and crossed arms. Her snake is slithering from her left shoulder to right, it's beady eyes taking me in.

"You still haven't slept?" I ask, arching a brow in what I hope is parental intimidation.

My niece shrugs, not bothering to answer. Her eyes though, divert to Eve, "So, are you going to leave her in the car's cramped space the whole night?"

Phrased like that, she makes it sound terrible. I sigh, a headache nicking me.

Giving up on maintaining distance from the runaway, I open her car door and lean in. My arms go behind her back and under her knees, lifting her off the car seat and into my arms.

Eve instantly stirs, half opening her eyes. When she spots me, she blinks drowsily before plastering her cheek on my chest and dozing off again. So much for hoping she'd wake up and walk on her own.

Tori follows quietly behind me, petting her snake's leathery skin, as my silent footsteps enter the villa and make their up the stairs.

"Did you talk to great-grandfather about the law firm?" Tori questions when I reach my suite.

"Arthur Hernandez will sign the handover papers at the party he'll be throwing the night before the election results." I push open my suite's door with my feet, making sure Eve is still carefully tucked against me and not toppling over, "It's a month from now."

"I see." Tori seems to be in her own thoughts as if calculating something, "I'll go to sleep then. Night, Uncle Xel." She doesn't wait around, opting to walk in the direction of her room.

I find her behavior odd. Given Tori's reclusiveness, she wouldn't have even bothered to acknowledge a stranger. It's questionable why she stuck along till I carried Eve upto her room. I don't have much time to ponder over it because of the troublesome woman in my arms.

Entering Eve's room, I carefully place her down on the foam mattress, rousing her from her sleep despite trying not to. Eve smiles when I begrudgingly drape a comforter over her body, not out of any deep care but to prevent her from catching a cold.

A slightly uncomfortable sensations creeps onto me at how she's staring with an intrigued curiousness. I move over to switch off the bedside lamp to block her sight of me with darkness.

Eve circles her slender fingers around my wrist, her small hand not even being able to wrap around the whole wrist. But still managing to refrain me from turning off the lamp, "Why do you want people to think of you as a villain?"

Her question takes me by surprise. The uncomfortable feeling from moments ago rushes stronger through my system. I don't like people reading me, especially not someone whose barely known me more than a few interactions. And yet. . .

"When all your life you've been called a villain, you learn to be one." The words are out before I can think them through. I don't find myself regretting it. She wouldn't remember this conversation tomorrow, it provides me a liberty to speak my mind.

"But you're not." Eve slurs, her chocolate brown eyes staring up at me intently.

Returning her stare, I ask without an emotion in my voice, "How can you tell?"

"Because. . ." Eve smiles mischievously, her eyes glinting with unspoken secrets, "I'm the villain of this story."

The next second, she bursts out laughing at my unimpressed expression, "I swear on Darwin's theory of evolution, I really wanted to say that dialogue at least once in my life, completely immersed in the role! You can't blame me!"

Ofcourse she did.

Internally rolling my eyes, I don't bother lingering any longer to listen more of those soap opera dialogues and turn around to leave the room. She's weird as fuck.

Yet the tiniest flicker of amusement sticks to me way into the night.

--------᪥♔︎᪥-------

Longer chapter for y'all,
now tell me I'm great😂

Also also my tiny, bootiful hoomans, I want y'all to know the updates will be every Monday. If I manage to squeeze in time, I'll try to update on Friday too, okay?👀🤝

What do you think Axel's parents did?

Lemme know your thoughts on the chapter <3