《Ruthless》 Prologue I want to welcome you to my world, where some humans have been blessed with special abilities. A specialty is a human ability that ranges from something useless, like cat ears, to black holes. In this world, you can only be classified as a human or a demi-human. There''s also a god, but that''s so rare that it''s not even an option. My specialty is copying others'' specialties through eye contact. Now I''ve never deemed this as something special, but my parents thought so and allowed me to work with them in ''Popsart,'' a private intelligence agency in the form of an art company. I''ve trained for many years to work in this agency. It was kind of a dream of mine to work with my parents since they were my version of heroes. While I was in high school, training, my parents adopted my brother Max, who you could classify as the most cold-hearted human being whenever it came to his work. He was one year younger than me, and although we were siblings by law, we couldn''t truly connect because we were just too different. I was nice while he was mean, I showed too much emotion while he barely showed any, and I got B''s while he got A''s. Even at the agency I became a B rank while he''s an A rank damn near an S rank at this point. There was nothing for us to connect on when we had no similar interests other than working with our parents. I knew he cared for me, and I cared for him, but it was hard to connect with a pristine, perfect individual who was so artificial he could be seen as a robot. Sometimes I just wanted to be like him, to not care about anything but my work, to not be so emotional, to just be as perfect as him...Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Even though I''m older than him, I have to admit I idolize my younger brother, and he will always and forever mean everything to me. I''m truly happy we get to work together as a duo. I''ve been working here since I was in college, and honestly, it''s been a lot more difficult than I imagined. In the process of working in this company, I got a boyfriend, lost both of my parents, got married, got pregnant but lost the child, got divorced, and found out not even two weeks after my divorce my ex got some other ho pregnant now he has a child even though he was totally against the idea of having mine, so now I hate him. Working in this heavenly place hasn''t been living up to its name. I''m constantly stressed I''m going to die on every mission, and I have to see Dante, my ex, an A rank everywhere I go, and everything in that place just keeps on irritating me. I feel like punching the wall every day. Max decided, why not relieve the stress of getting a pet bunny? I thought, Oh wow, look at my amazing idol being amazing once again, but NO. With my strict schedule, I barely have time to come home, and without me, my pet will feel lonely and depressed. Who knew such cute, adorable little animals could feel HUMAN EMOTIONS? I thought, Oh, since my bunny was getting all human-like, why not get it a boyfriend so it can experience the happiness I need it to give me? But NO, God has never been on my side since high school and thinks it''s a good idea to kill off my bunny''s soulmate and leave it so depressed to the point it just died, leaving me with not one but two pets gone. Now we''re here, lonely, fresh out of a stupid relationship, fresh out of witnessing your pet die, and roleplaying as some kind of escort to get some information out of a MAFIA BOSS because he''s somehow associated with one of the most dangerous organizations out there. So I''m once again RISKING MY FUCKING LIFE FOR THIS JOB I''M NOT EVEN HAPPY IN. But yet I still kept on believing there was a pot of gold down that rainbow, but instead of getting gold, they left me with the fucking pot. How about that for a prologue? Welcome to my world M ...Welcome to my world... I think a perfect word to describe the situation I''m in would be hell. You know, the fiery place full of demons and ugly creatures that torture you. Yeah, that''s the perfect description for this. Let''s use the textbook definition of a prostitute. Prostitute: a person, in particular a woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment. That''s the noun definition of a prostitute since the word is both a noun and a verb. Now let me tell you the verb definition. A prostitute: offers (someone) sexual activity in exchange for payment. Both definitions of a prostitute are words you could use to describe what I''m playing as in this mission. A lady who''s selling off her body just so I could get paid as an agent. My brother Max, an upper-ranked agent, informed me I would need to get some guy''s attention, and I would have one week to practice before he came. I was told he was going to some strip club that was popular for having a bunch of rich old men and many oddly young-looking women there, including me. I''m damn near pushing 30, and I''m walking around in a high school uniform that barely covers my body while rubbing myself on this stupid pole. I was getting paid to fuck the information out of him or just straight-up kidnap him, and the other agents will do my work. Today was the day a member of our enemy organization, ''Apex'' would come. Ivan Petrov was his name. Apex is an underground organization against the idea of people having specialties. They believe society''s doomed because of it. They follow some leader, but no one knows who the guy truly is. All we know is the organization is a fucking cult that plans on getting rid of others'' specialties just because of their stupid belief. So it''s kind of ironic that the members of Apex are people with specialties only linked to apex predators in the animal kingdom. This makes it weird that Ivan, whose specialty is a beluga whale, is part of their so-called ''scary'' organization when not only is he the only arctic animal there, but beluga whales are friendly, so what makes this Demi-human so hardcore that he''s a part of ''Apex''? Ivan is a 26-year-old Russian who supposedly has no parents, maybe a sibling, and was just a man with a secret Mafia hidden within ''Apex.''. The problem is that we don''t know too much about his mafia or truly how anyone else in Apex looks or how the act only knows their specialty. Ivan is being pushed too much as the face of Apex to where I believe he''s the leader or some kind of scapegoat. Ivan supposedly just came back from successfully fulfilling some kind of drug-dealing operation. They said the drugs he''s selling feel incredible. It drives you to the brink of insanity, but the effects of taking too much of it is losing your specialty forever... Or dying... I see Ivan on the upper level laughing with other old men in suits who look like they could drop dead at any minute. Of course, pedophiles come in all shapes and sizes, but a pedophile who looks uncomfortable with a young-looking woman touching him sensually and kissing all up on him isn''t a pedophile. Just who the hell are you, Ivan? I''m losing focus. They say to get a man you have to look uninterested in him and it just makes them attracted to you more. The more you say no, the more they''ll say yes. Guess that''s why rape cases in America have been increasing lately. I honestly do not know what I was doing here in this club. I''m very flexible, but it''s not like I could do a backhand handspring in the middle of the stage like it''s some gymnastic class. I take off some of my clothes and start teasing the old men there, acting like an innocent child, which completely disgusts me.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. It''s obviously not working because I look like I could legally drink, but I see I''m getting Ivan''s attention. I give up the childlike act and try something my age. I look innocent enough. Without force, I just need to possibly...be more sexually...normal. Look, I don''t know, okay? I''ve done this for a week. I''m not a pro at this. I take off my nipple covers and let the dogs out freely. I try crawling on stage to some random guy while playing off this act; suddenly I feel a guy slap my ass and another throw some money at me. ''Wow, I was really doing this,'' I thought, but no, they were the only ones who seemed interested. I completely suck at being a stripper. I looked up at Ivan, and he was indeed eyeing me down. Maybe I could get attention. I guess I wasn''t so bad. After my horrendous performance, I went backstage, sighing to myself, thinking that hopefully after today I''ll be done with this forever. A lady approached me and put her hand on my back, patting it. "Don''t worry, doll, everyone''s rough their first week. Trust me, you''ll get better over time." That lady was Kana. She was very popular among the men and a victim of racism. Like, come on giving a pale Singaporean woman the stage name Kana and making her dress up in a sexy sailor uniform. Then you old men in the audience being weird and saying things like "Say something in Chinese," or "Moan in Japanese," which is a perfect example of how scummy the men here are. But I do have to give her props she''s indeed a fantastic performer, the youngest-looking performer here tends to make the most. But Kana was indeed a great performer that you wouldn''t even focus on the other stuff. I put on a robe and sat in the back, going on my phone. My bag was right next to me with my gun and uniform buried beneath random stuff I''d thrown in there and in a secret compartment. A knock on my dressing room door got my attention. I opened the door to see men in black standing right in front. My boss was sitting there analyzing some stack of cash he got, and then his eyes suddenly went wide. "Aisha, go with them- and stay with them for a, really. Long. time." The man said, then ran off. There''s no way he just revealed my name to these randos. God, now I''m truly done for if these people are who I think they are. I follow the man upstairs to a private room with Ivan sitting on the couch. The place looked fresh, like it was just clean, like there was no one ever there to dirty it up. Ivan shooed off the men in black and closed the door behind me. "Come," Ivan patted his thigh, and I followed his order. I took off my robe and sat on his lap. "God, just look at you, so obedient for me," Ivan said, his hand sliding from my waist to my ass. ''And look at you falling for my plan, dumbass,'' I thought to myself while smirking. "Only for you, Daddy." I was mentally gagging at my words. ''Aisha, you are pushing 30 act your fucking age.'' "And look at these," Ivan grabs my boobs. "Never knew these could be so big. Who''s your surgeon?" ''Where''s your dad? I guess we both have questions we don''t want to answer'' I thought to myself, mentally rolling my eyes at his words. "That''s enough talking from you," I said, kissing him and practically making out with him. This felt weird. This kiss felt oddly good. The way we were both moving to the same rhythm and his hands moving up my body and touching me felt amazing. He touched my tits, making me let out a moan. "Wow, you''re pretty sensitive," Ivan chuckled at my reaction. "Only for you," I smirked at him, and he sucked on my chest. I moaned again, this time more airily, as he left many marks on my chest. "You taste amazing," Ivan continued to plant kisses going down my body. I kept on straddling him from how good it felt. "Shit, this feels amazing," I accidentally blurted out. "You''re talking like a virgin," Ivan said, looking up at me, and he could see the slight blush on my face. I only had sex with one guy, and that was my ex, Dante, so I''ve never really had the chance to truly branch out and find someone because I thought that was the one for me. "I''m not too sexually active, so doing this with someone is still kinda new to me," I admitted shyly. "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure you have the time of your life." Ivan planted a kiss on my mouth, and I looked at him in the eyes, bringing me back to reality. ''WAKE THE FUCK UP!'' That was my form of an alarm to take me back to my senses. This is a mission, not some date. I gotta get info out of him, and doing this isn''t helping at all. "Hey, let''s go to the bed. I got some toys for us." I seductively said, but mentally I was screaming. I brought him to the bed and took a blindfold and some rope from the drawer. "You into BDSM?" Ivan said, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. ''What the fuck did he say? What the hell is BDSM? well, let''s see, Bend dat shit more. Close enough.'' I turn to face him. "No, I just really like tying up guys and them being blindfolded," I lied. "It can enhance the experience." He gets on the bed. I tie his hands along with his feet to the bed and put a mask on his face. While he''s blindfolded, I put on some cuffs for some extra precautions. Now I''m done with this finally. "Hey Ivan..." I started . . . Wanna play a game? Lets play a game ...Let''s play a game... "Hey Ivan..." I started. "Wanna play a game?" "What''s the game? Interrogate the information out of me?" Ivan asked me, catching me off guard. ''The hell, how did he know? There''s no way I was this obvious.'' "I have my ways of knowing Blackdoll, so are you gonna ask or what?" Ivan was smirking at himself in such an evil manner. Blackdoll was my codename that only the agency knows and uses. How would Ivan, of all people, know my codename when I''m not even a top-rank agent? "Let''s talk about Apex. What do you¡ª" "I don''t," Ivan interrupted. "What?" "I apologize let me rephrase I know nothing about Apex," Ivan explained, which shocked me. Wait a minute, now what does he mean by ''I know nothing''? He works with Apex. He is a member, hell, the face of the organization. How can he, of all people, know nothing about it? "You''re lying." "I''m not." "If you''re not gonna answer, I''ll bring backup, and they''ll get you to answer instead," I responded, going into my bag and grabbing my phone. I dial one agent. "Then I''ll just scream out for help." "Don''t even try. The walls are soundproof. Which is very convenient for me," I bragged. I called Max and told him the location we were at and to bring backup because of Ivan''s guards. I noticed while I was talking to Max that Ivan was completely still or just knocking on the wall. It was weird, but it wasn''t too weird that it got my complete attention. "Ok, backup is coming for you, so don''t do anything stupid while we wait," I ordered. "Can we at least fuck?" "No," "Well, at least I tried." I started changing into my uniform with my back towards him, and I heard him catcalling me. After I finished changing, I looked back at him, and not only was his blindfold missing, but the cuffs and the rope that I used on him were all broken. I grabbed my gun and pointed it at him. "Guns don''t hurt me. I can heal quickly." Ivan cockily said, "If you don''t believe me, then shoot me." "No," "Why not? You scared? But I thought the room was soundproof." He caught me. The room isn''t soundproof. I lied so he wouldn''t scream, and he fell for it. I need an excuse quickly.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "I don''t want to kill you. I need you for evidence." That''s pretty true, honestly. "Then shoot my hand. I don''t mind," Ivan insisted, and I kept on getting tired. Ivan stood up and started walking toward me. "If you keep moving, I''m gonna shoot you," I warned him, standing my ground. Ivan walked up to me and forcefully pointed the gun at his hand. Why is he so close to me? And God, why does he smell so good? He puts his face close to mine. My heart beats faster while it feels like we''re practically centimeters away from each other. I looked at his lips, feeling his breath on my face. "You wanna know something?" Ivan whispered to me. I looked Ivan in the eyes, and I could feel my heart beating even more quickly. "What?" I asked him. With how close he was, it looked like he was gonna kiss me. "You''re very gullible," Ivan smirked to himself, stole the gun from my hand, and jumped back, aiming it at me. I am gullible, not gonna lie. I don''t even know how I''m even a B rank when I fell for a trick like that. I should''ve known not to let my guard down as soon as he broke free. That was my mistake, and now I have to pay the price. I pull out a pocketknife and move swiftly towards him in a scattered manner, stabbing him in the side and throwing a kick at him in the stomach. "Ok damn, I didn''t see that coming," Ivan groaned while trying to keep his balance. I ran up to him, punching him in the chest and giving him a high kick to the face, knocking him onto the bed. "Fuck, give me time to breathe," Ivan begged and stole the gun out of my hands, then he grabbed me and pinned me on the bed. Ivan suddenly threw the gun away from us, making sure I couldn''t move my legs or my arms. "Stop, damn, I wasn''t trying to kill you. I was only joking. I was just trying to show you I heal quick," Ivan explained while I was squirming underneath him. I suddenly saw the wounds and bruises on his body heal quickly, which shocked me. I looked at him, breathing heavily, and realized he wasn''t lying. "But I don''t get it. What do you get out of not killing me? You are my enemy, so why aren''t you?" I asked him, and he looked away from my face. "Because I just don''t want to," Ivan admitted, and my face softened. So this guy is safe. He truly knows nothing and doesn''t want to harm me. Ivan isn''t the bad guy here he can''t be. Ivan lets go of my hands and sits next to me. I sit up next to him and sigh to myself. "Ivan, who are you?" I asked him, genuinely confused at this point. "Ivan Petrov," "No, not that." "Well, that''s who I am, and I know who you are, Blackdoll, or do you prefer Aisha?" Ivan asked me "See, you do stuff like that, and I question whether or not to trust you. How do you know my actual name?" I asked Ivan, skeptical about him. "I''ve been watching you for a while. I know about your brother, your dead parents, your ex-husband, your dead ki¡ª" "STOP!" I shouted at him before he continued. This man knows everything about me. I got screwed from the get-go. He knew I was coming here to get, so that makes sense why he came here. He wasn''t comfortable with the atmosphere or the people. Ivan has been spying on me and waiting to meet me here. That''s the only thing that makes sense if he''s been watching me for a while. I stood up, facing away from him to take a breather. "What do you get out of stalking me?" I was not ready for any answer he was planning to give me. "Simple. I kinda like you," Ivan confessed. Excuse me... Excuse you, actually... but did he just say he liked me? As in he has a crush on me or I intrigued him? Those are two different things and have two different outcomes. "I had a crush on you, so I thought about stalking you until I had the perfect moment I could lead you on here," Ivan continued, rubbing the back of his neck while looking away shyly. There''s absolutely no way that''s possible for him to lead me on here. Max said that he gave me this mission as any other mission he''d give to anyone else. There wasn''t any deliberation; it was just a pure coincidence. There''s no way to decide on a perfect moment like this to meet with him. Does that mean he was just... Really lucky? "Also, I know this might be a bad time to ask, but can you help me with something?" Ivan asked me, looking down as if it was something embarrassing. "What is it?" I facepalmed, not wanting to deal with his shit. I looked down in the direction he was and noticed his hard-on. "You don''t have to do this if you don''t want to. It''s just making me uncomfortable." Ivan rambled, and I was just so done with this world. And you think this wouldn''t make me feel uncomfortable? . . . Someone, please have mercy on me. Have mercy M Have Mercy Now I have to admit, I have done some very unholy things in the past. I was pregnant, and we all know how the birds and bees work. But this one here is the cherry on top. Not only am I sitting here sucking the dick of my enemy, I''m sucking the dick of my stalker, I''m sucking the dick of my secret admirer, and I''m sucking the dick of just some oddly nice guy. I always took offense when someone said the words ''suck my dick.'' I mean, hey, I used this slang sometimes, but to do it literally is just insane, especially since someone could always walk in and see me in this mess. Ivan lets out a loud groan as my mouth takes in his throbbing dick. My head went up slowly as I was teasing him, making his whole body tense up. I have to admit his cock was nice, and taking it wasn''t so bad, especially with a size like his. Sucking him off is making me question whether or not this was a decent idea. "F-fuck, Ai¡ªdo it like that," Ivan curses as he rolls his eyes back. I can feel his hand on my head as if he was about to grab my hair. Ivan moves his hips as I lick the tip and suck softly. "Damn, Aisha, stop teasing me." Ivan looks down at me, gripping my hair tightly. "Can I...?" Ivan asked, and I nodded, allowing him to bob my head at a fast pace. Ivan kept panting like a dog in heat, and he also kept complimenting me on my obviously amazing efforts. "Your... *gasp is* not so bad," Ivan groaned while making me take it all in. ''Shit, it''s hitting my throat. I don''t know if I could handle this any longer.'' His fingers get tangled in my curls as he quickens his pace. Ivan''s hand is gripping the bed sheets tightly. "Wait, Aisha, I think I''m about to cum," Ivan blurted out in an airy tone. I immediately took my mouth off after what he said. "Wait, what?" I exclaimed. Ivan leaned back, his face at the door as he let out a moan of pure ecstasy. Ivan came on my face, and I started spitting and rubbing my face. "What the hell? Why didn''t you¡ª " I stopped when the worst thing happened just now. Suddenly the door flew open, and I saw not only my brother but my ex there as well. Everyone was in total shock except for Ivan. No, instead he had to make everything just 10 times worse. "God, your mouth was amazing," Ivan said as he lay on the bed in pure bliss and happiness all across his face. Max was just sitting there shocked while Damian looked poker-faced as usual, only this time, you could tell he was angry. I grabbed a random napkin at the bedside and just wiped my face. I saw some of the crew members looking at me, whispering among themselves. I so badly wanted to tell them off, but I stayed quiet. Dante started laughing to himself while facepalming.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Of course, you''re like this, what, 2 months after we broke up?" Dante responded sarcastically. I looked at him pissed the fuck off because Dante had no right to speak to me like that, especially since I caught him in a worse decision. "Excuse me," I said, putting my hands on my hips, completely irritated. "You''re excused." "Need I remind you of the time you had to ''fuck a girl for a mission'' and instead got her pregnant? Besides, how''s Joseph? I heard he''s having a great time with the woman who won full custody of him." I crossed my arms, and I saw his eyes twitch with my words. "You don''t know what it''s like to lose someone so dear and close to you. I thought I was gonna go crazy once I lost him." Dante blurted out. "Guys," Max tried to intervene, but to no avail. "Oh, so I guess OUR son meant nothing to you, huh? Well, of course, he didn''t, cause you KILLED HIM!" I stomped over to him. "Guys!" Max said, getting louder and also handcuffing Ivan, who was interested in the drama. "It was you or the baby, and at the time I would do anything for you, but honestly, that was my biggest mistake." Dante got in my face, making me back up. "GUYS!" Max shouted. "Choosing a selfish bitch over an innocent child¡ª" Dante said, but Max caught me before I punched him. "BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP NOW!" Max shouted at us. "You two stop fighting and listen up!" Max snaps, his gaze sweeping over the assembled crew. "We need to move fast. Grab those power-defective cuffs and get Ivan secured. NOW." The crew springs into action, two of them roughly grabbing Ivan in the special cuffs Max used. The cuffs, designed to suppress and neutralize the specialty a human has. "Aisha, baby, I''ll see you later. Bye." Ivan waved happily while still being cuffed. "Alright, let''s move out," Max orders, jerking his head towards the door. "Kendall, Damian, you two ride with me. The rest of you, get Ivan back to the van. Now." As the crew left, the rest of us followed slowly after and left the room. The shocking thing about this was that the bodyguards weren''t dead. They were just standing as if they were soldiers and just watched us till we left the building. Kana and the other strippers watched us in shock as we left, but my manager had some thoughts about me leaving. "Babydoll, you can''t leave. Come on, after everything I''ve done for you and even offered extra for your first day, you stupid¡ª" The manager stopped his words as soon as I threw a stack at him. "Take it and shove it up your ass. Maybe that''ll keep you quiet," I responded, and he for sure kept his mouth shut. "Visit when you can," Kana said right before I closed the door behind us. We saw Ivan and our crew get into the car and ride off immediately; that was when Max blew up on us. "Listen up, both of you," he says, his voice low and dangerous. "I need you two to stop this bullshit, ''cause this ends NOW! We have a job to do, and I won''t let you fuck it up because of your shit. So grow the fuck up and act like adults." He points a finger at me, his eyes flashing with fury. "And YOU," he snarls, his gaze cutting to me. "When I said fuck the information out of him, I wasn''t being literal. But that''s a problem for another time. Right now, we need to focus on getting Ivan back and finding out what the hell he knows about the Apex." Max takes a step closer to them, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "So put your fucking differences aside and let''s get this done. Before I''m forced to choose between you and the job. And trust me, you don''t want to test me on that." "Wait, but that''s the problem. He doesn''t know anything," I informed them. "Did he fuck your brains out, too?" Max asked sarcastically. "What the hell do you mean? He doesn''t know anything?" "First off, fuck you second off, he''s actually clueless, and to be honest with you, I don''t even think he''s even our enemy," I revealed to them my true opinions on the matter. "Explain." Dante chipped in. I let my guard down, and he easily had the chance to hurt me. Hell, even kill me, but he never did. He never even used his specialty on me, either. "So you''re telling me Ivan is useless? Then why even be a part of Apex if he''s not gonna act like what he is, a predator?" Max asked. I don''t know, but I trust him. "I don''t trust him. Luckily, we''re not taking him to the agency. We still don''t know what he''s capable of if he hasn''t acted out by now," Dante worriedly exclaimed. "But let''s think of it this way. Apex has been pushing Ivan as the face of the group, sometimes even the leader, so that anytime you think of them, you''d think he''s the main bad guy or the main villain," I started. "Think about it when you think of Ivan, you think of Apex or his stupid business, but have you ever seen Ivan actually do anything bad, or at least heard anything?" I theorized maybe Ivan isn''t a threat to us at all. "No, there''s not even pictures or videos of him killing anybody. There''s truthfully no evidence that he''s a problem besides the whole Apex thing," Dante realized. "If he isn''t the problem, then what is he?" Max asked both of the boys, looking at me, curious about my answer. Simple. . . . A scapegoat Aunt Sally ...Aunt Sally... Aunt Sally: a game played in some parts of Britain in which players throw sticks or balls at a wooden. Because of this game, the term Aunt Sally became known as a person who''s a target for something not good. Which is the perfect word to describe Ivan as of now? The info given to Max about Ivan was the truth, but that was pretty much it. Since Max thought it was the perfect time to seize the opportunity to at least get something from Ivan, everyone thought he would at least tell at least me something or just anything. These are just things I was thinking about while in the car with Max and Dante, hoping that maybe when we get there, an answer will come to us. I looked out the window to see many murals of religious leaders on different buildings. ''Come on, God, at least give me some kind of sign. At least one of you can.'' "Aisha," Dante called out to me, and I turned to him. "I''m sorry for everything I said to you in there. I just got mad when I saw the predicament I was in," Dante apologized. "I was just being an idiot and acting on my emotions." I looked up at him, confused. "Acting on emotions?" "Yeah, I was acting a fool when we needed to be serious, and I let past drama influence my work," Dante further explained. "Oh, I get it. You''re not sorry for what you said to me, you''re just sorry that it could''ve impacted your work," I confirmed with him and just leaned against the windowsill, going back to looking out the window. Everyone was quiet. Even Max was looking through the rearview mirror, thinking we were about to fight again. "Aisha... you have said it before. You won''t ever forgive me no matter how many times I apologize, and that I should just give up," Dante recalled the memory of what he said. ''Here, this lady, this one actually listens.'' I didn''t know it was even possible for me to get pregnant, but then she was there, my little miracle. She was something I didn''t even know could exist, and there she was, growing inside me, and then that stupid mission happened, and I got hurt. Dante saved me and chose to get rid of the child. I don''t know how my baby will ever look, how my baby will feel, or how her hair will smell, just who my baby will become in general. I wanted to have fights with her, see her rebel, go through the stages, watch her grow up, take her to prom, watch her get married, and just be able to see her kid, the life that I could''ve made successfully, the beautiful and joyous life I made for her. Even if I died then, I would''ve lived to be a happy woman, watching over her in the afterlife, seeing her beauty while she was with Dante. But no... He took it all away from me. I would rather be dead right now than experiencing this pain right now that I have to deal with forever, never knowing if it''s even possible to get pregnant again. "Would you rather me and your baby experience the pain instead of you then? Did you want us to be miserable because we both lost someone so cherished to us to have our baby believe they caused this, causing everyone to be depressed while you are gone forever? For me to become a maniac, all cause I couldn''t choose between both of you, only one," Dante sternly asked under his breath. This was the first time I''d ever seen this robotic man crack like this. I''ve never thought of it like this. Was I really the selfish person here? I was the one who carried the baby, no, he has no right to cry. I''ve already had some kind of bond with her before he ever could have.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. And he got another woman pregnant while I was pregnant because of him. We''re divorced right now. It was never my fault, to begin with, it was always his. "We''re here," Max stopped our conversation at its climax. The silence that followed his words was deadly, especially the one between me and Dante. When we all came out of the car, it was like a breath of fresh air. The way the wind blew on my face was very comforting compared to the situation I was in just now. The building we were going to interrogate him in was an abandoned warehouse practically in the middle of nowhere. As we entered the building, some lights were on leading towards the back room, and there we saw Ivan talking with the other B-ranked agents and all of them listening so intently. "I''m telling you guys, Blackdoll was so good her mouth was incredible, and when she was¡ª" Ivan stopped his past conversation as soon as he saw me. "Blackdoll, hey, we were just talking about you," Ivan waved at me with heart eyes. I was in shock cause he was just sitting there having a full-blown conversation with the other agents and was blatantly talking about me sucking him off. "We''re kinda dating now, so like¡ª" I interrupted him. "What the hell is wrong with you? Even if we were dating, why would you just say something like that?" I asked Ivan, completely disturbed. Ivan put his cuffed hands to his face in shock and ran over to me to hug me. He threw his arms over my head and pulled me into his embrace. "Oh baby, I''m sorry. I''ll learn to keep those things to myself. I cherish this moment to the end of time," Ivan apologized, while I tried to push him away. "Get the fuck off, my sister," Max ordered, and Ivan obliged. "Oh right," Ivan got flustered and went on one knee, bowing. "I, of course, need your blessing before we get married. Will you accept me as your brother-in-law?" Ivan had his hand out as if Max was actually going to give him his blessing, but Max slapped his hand away. "Get back to your fucking seat!" Max said loudly, and Ivan apologized to his seat. "And everyone else LINE UP!" Max ordered Dante tried to ask if I was ok, but I threw his hand away from me. I don''t need his fake comfort, anyway. Max stands before Ivan, arms crossed, his expression grim and unforgiving. He looks at him with disgust in his eyes. "Listen up, you Russian fuck," he growls, his voice dripping with disdain. "You''re going to tell us what we want to know. Now." Ivan was rocking from left to right, barely listening to him. "I''ve already told you I don''t know anything," Ivan says with no emotion, still rocking. Dante shifts forward, his fists clenched at his sides. He takes a step towards Ivan, his eyes showing his annoyance at his arrogance. "Don''t test us, Ivan," he fiercely started. "If you do not negotiate, we will use force to get whatever we can out of you." As I watched the scene unfold, I crossed my arms and sighed to myself, thinking this would not end well. Ivan lifts his cuffed hands to tap his chin as if he were thinking about something. "Hmm," Ivan hums, "Maybe I''ll tell you something if... Blackdoll gives me a massage." ''EXCUSE ME!'' I thought to myself at his words. "You''re pushing it." Max stopped Dante. Max holds up a hand, silencing Damian. His gaze remains fixed on Ivan, not in the mood for this at all. Max starts by sighing and looking at Ivan sternly. "Blackdoll, give him a massage," Max ordered. Of course, this man wants me to massage him. He''s my fucking stalker, so he''ll never leave me alone. I went to him and massaged him, and I could see the anger in Dante''s eyes. Was he...jealous? He wasn''t jealous when I sucked a man off, but he''s jealous now that I''m massaging him¡ªor maybe he was and he was just hiding it well. "Your hands are incredible." Ivan looked back at me. "Of course they are. I''ve always been incredible with my hands," I said to him seductively. "Yeah, in more ways than one," Ivan agreed. You could practically see the heart''s eyes while he said this. The guards were eating this up, and I was eating up Dante''s reaction. "God, all of you are annoying," Max says, his voice low as he rolls his eyes. "Tell us what you know about Apex." Ivan thinks to himself about what he should admit and what to keep quiet. "So the only thing I can say is that no one knows how anyone looks because, for some reason, I honestly forgot. I''m the only one who doesn''t have to wear a mask because they use me to blame for stuff or whatever, but I knew that coming in and... oh yeah, something about getting rid of everyone''s specialty, I think," Ivan told us absolutely nothing. The only thing we learned from this was that nobody in Apex knows how anyone looks except Ivan. Their scapegoat. "If you''re not of any use to them other than as a scapegoat, why even join?" Max asked, making Ivan''s smile go away. I pulled away from Ivan as he changed completely. "Because at the time I thought they were spreading the gospel, but they were manipulating us," Ivan started. I noticed one agent had their heads down, among the others, with their heads straight. "Because of me, someone I love right now is being held captive, and the only way for them to not get hurt is... to keep on getting hurt myself," Ivan admitted. I kept on looking at the agent. I noticed he was crying. I saw a string underneath his vest. "Aisha," Ivan called, making me look at him. Ivan grabbed Max and Dante''s hand while he was leaning his head on me. "Let''s all go to a magical place together," Ivan suggested as the agent pulled on the string, making everything go white. "BOMB!" I shouted and went to run, but Ivan bit my wrist. A magical place, huh? . . . . A Hellish Paradise Hellish Paradise M ...Hellish Paradise... Being a kid was pretty fun, especially in the summer. There was no school, no problems, and straight-up nothing but fun. I used to play with the other kids in my neighborhood and head to the park, since it was close to my house. Everyone there was smiling, happy, and doing something that entertained them, since going outside and touching grass was an actual thing people did. I remember specifically that I was playing with a girl in this sandbox, and we were playing pretend with our dolls. The girl''s brother was sleeping on the bench while my parents were watching me at the park. I remember everything like it was yesterday. .?©b©b? ?©b©b?£® "Aisha, look! This doll looks just like me," Kristin said, enamored by the resemblance between my doll and her. Kristin''s specialty was looking like a cheetah, and my doll was one of the Cheetah Girls. It was a pretty popular franchise. "I can look just like her, too. Watch me." I looked Kristin in the eyes. Suddenly, I had two ears at the top of my head and a tail. "Wow, Aisha, guess that''s why they call you a copycat," Kristin joked since We both laughed together, and suddenly we heard an explosion go off. It was a firework from one of the boys. "Max, what are you doing?" My mother called out. Max? Who was he? "Sorry, Mom, we''re just testing out his specialty," Max explained, turning back to her. Oh right, that''s my brother Max. How old was he again, 5 or 6? One of them? Max threw a can in the air, and instantly they turned into fireworks. The girl next to me screeched, covering her ears. That''s right, Kristin is sensitive to the loud sound of fireworks since she''s a cheetah. "Max, stop with the fireworks. She''s sensitive to those," I commanded, but he didn''t listen. "Too bad," Max said and threw another can for the boy to turn into a firework. The girl covered her ears in pain. This time, I noticed they were turning red. "Max, stop being a meanie and listen," I yelled at him. I''m pissed off at him at the time because Max was being a smart ass and ignoring me. "Max, listen to your sister," My father chimed in. "That''s unfair!" Max had a fit. "Fine then, here, take this." Max threw a water bottle at me and Kristin. I knew what was coming as soon as he threw the bottle. I grabbed Kristin and rolled away with her. "NOW JACK!" Max shouted, and Jack created a big firework that gave me a scar on my arm. Kristin cried in pain after I rolled away with her, and I noticed her ears were bleeding. Kristin''s brother woke up after hearing her cries and went to her. "Kristin, what the hell happened?" Her brother worriedly asked, pushing me away from her. When I rolled her away, she accidentally sprained her ankle. Kristin was in pain and crying loudly because I tried to protect her. "What the fuck did you do to her?" Her brother yelled at me as if I weren''t the one who tried to save her. My parents stopped the boy from attacking me and started an argument with him. I looked at Max and Jake, who were fleeing the scene, and I knew I wasn''t gonna let them get away home free after what they''d done. I grabbed a rock and ran up to them, tackling Jack in the process with the rock in hand. I kept on hitting him with the rock until I saw blood coming from it. The rock kept scraping the flesh on his face to the point he became an indistinguishable bloodied monster. "LOOK AT ME!" I shouted at him as he kept on closing his eyes tightly, pulling his head away from me. I wanted to use his own specialty on him but kept on closing his eyes. Max tried to pull me off of him, but I pushed him back, making him trip and fall, hitting his head on the rocky stairs and knocking him out. Both Jake and I stared in silence, and I took that opportunity to make him forcefully look me in the eye. Tears formed in Jake''s eyes, but I successfully copied his quirk.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Next to me was a rock about the same size as my head. I grabbed it and put it onto Jake. "No, please don''t do it. It''s too big it''ll kill both of us," Jake pleaded, snot and tears coming from him. "Too bad," I repeated the words Max told me and made it into a firework. An explosion went off, and it blew me away. I landed in the middle of the park bleeding and many parts of my body burnt. Max was missing a leg, my parents were missing half of their faces, Kristin was missing both her legs, and her brother''s entire head was missing. Jake''s entire body scattered around the park because of the explosion. The park was on fire. I was the only one left alive. However, something didn''t feel right. Something seemed wrong with everything that had happened. Everything seemed odd. Kristin, my parents, the fireworks, Max. Once again, who was Max? He''s supposed to be my brother, and I just played along, but I never had a brother named Max when I was 7 years old. A fire never occurred in no park, and my parents.... They never died in an explosion...They died in a car accident. When I was 20. Ivan promised me a magical place, but this isn''t a magical place. This is pure hell. Ivan...That''s right, Ivan, Apex, the mission. I was in a warehouse, I remember now, and suddenly there was an explosion, and Ivan bit onto me. None of this is real. Everything here is a figment of my imagination. This isn''t a magical place. I''m in hell, and I need to be free. I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my fist. "I need to go back. Send me back. NOW!" .?©b©b? ?©b©b?£® I open my eyes and hear I am standing during this chaos. Dead bodies surrounded me in a circle. Dante was fighting with Ivan. Many agents were dead, with many body parts scattered or brutally injured, and Max was... "Oh my god, Max," I said and ran to his unconscious body. His leg was missing. His body was burnt, a quarter of his face was gone. Is he even breathing? Please tell me he''s alive. "Max, wake up," I shook him frantically. Max could only open his left eye to look at me. He couldn''t talk, he just looked at me, barely alive at this point. "Come on, Max, let''s g-" A sudden surge went through my body, and I fell onto Max, stunned. The B-rank agent was tasing me while Dante finished Ivan, his hands bloodied, looking back grimly. I''m knocked out, confused, and did not understand what was going on or why whatever happened, happened just now. I wake up in a gown on a bed hooked up to an IV. However, that was the least of my problems because, as of right now, I''m trapped in a giant cube. There were many guards in front of the cube monitoring me. I tried to get out of bed, but I rolled out of bed and fell on the ground, alerting the guards to come to me. "Alert the boss that she''s awake," one guard said. The boss...Could they mean Max? I know he was pretty high in the ranks, so these guards must be lower ranked to call him boss. Last time I saw him, he was severely injured. I''m glad he''s better now. As the guards helped me get back into the bed, I saw someone enter the room. The person came closer to the light and approached me. "Max," I exclaimed happily. Instead, I became disappointed with the person I saw. It was Dante. "W-wait, where''s Max?" I asked Dante as he entered the cube. Dante''s face had a scar across his neck, going to his chin. His face was completely unrecognizable. At this point, he wasn''t even human anymore. His face was. Cold, there was nothing there, no life, no anything. "Agent Max is in the hospital currently recovering from our last mission. The doctors have informed us they don''t know when Max will wake up. As a result, I am taking Max''s place and working with what I can so that last time won''t occur EVER again." Dante robotically explained to me, and I was in shock. Max is still in the hospital after what happened. God, if only I''d said something sooner, we could''ve stopped him, and no one would be in this predicament right now. "Wait, but that doesn''t explain why I''m here. What''s going on?" I asked impatiently. The whole room looked at me as if I had said something wrong. Dante took a breath before he started. "You and many other B-ranked agents attacked us," Dante started. Wait, what? That makes no sense. "Ivan put us in a protective shield because half of the B-ranked agents with us that night were double agents working with Apex, one of them being a suicide bomber who planned to kill us. Supposedly Ivan betrayed them..." Ivan leaked information that was too critical to where absolutely no one who heard could live on afterward. That''s why Ivan grabbed all of us to put us in a protective shield. The problem was that what went off was a flashbang, not some regular bomb. After that went off, someone exploded a firework my way, knocking me out. Afterward, I suddenly got up and attacked everyone using someone''s fireworks specialty, not helping the situation at all, and being the reason Max is in the hospital right now. Everything he told me was a clear sign of me being potentially mind-controlled or manipulated in some way. So why does he believe this even though he saw me get attacked? "Dante, how does it make sense that I was one of those double agents? Not only did I warn everyone about the flash bang, but you said yourself you saw me get knocked out, and oh so suddenly I''m killing people," I asked him, wanting a further explanation. "Max and I were the only ones who saw, but Max was unconscious, and there was smoke everywhere, so I couldn''t see too clearly. The S ranks wanted you dead be glad I negotiated with them to keep you alive," Dante informed me, shocking me. Once again, Dante saved my life... but at what cost? Me being held hostage here till when? We''ll never know. Speaking of which, how long have I even been here for? Whatever happened to Ivan? God, I have way too many questions. Dante turned away to leave. "If that''s all your questions, then¡ª" I interrupted him. "How long have I been here, and how long will I keep staying?" I asked him. "You''ve been here for 2 weeks and will continue to stay here until the other S ranks deem you trustworthy. Then you will continue your healing process at your home," Dante informed me, his back still towards me. I''ve been unconscious for half a month. Just the thought sends a shiver down my spine. "And what about Ivan?" I asked him, and Dante went quiet, leaving the cube, and the other agents followed to stand right outside the cube as well. "I will send you your dinner. You must eat to recover well, and I''ll be sending you a psychologist to check up." Dante left me with useless words as I sat on the bed, barely able to sit up anymore. I lay back down on the bed with my legs hanging off of it. I''m too tired from forcing myself to stay up. I can already feel myself going to sleep. I''m being held captive until I''m trustworthy, and then Dante never answered my question about Ivan. Damn it, this man is useless at this point if I want to get out of here. Wait, no, he''s not... I have a plan to get out of here, and he''s the only one who could free me. It''s risky, but I have to try. As the iconic Steve Urkel once said . . . . Did I do that? D.I.D I do that? D.I.D I do that? I love Dante. Simple as that, I''ve always loved Dante. He''s someone who''s been there for me when I''ve needed him. Dante treated me with some love, care, and respect. He''s shown me how much he values me and how much he loves me. but that''s about it... If you were to ask me what his favorite color was, I wouldn''t be able to answer. If you were to ask me who his favorite artist was, I wouldn''t be able to answer. If you were to ask me why he ever became an agent, I wouldn''t be able to answer. If you were to ask me why he loves me, I wouldn''t be able to answer. If you were to ask me why I love him, I wouldn''t be able to answer. Coral. Whoever the hell painted ''The Birth of Venus.''. He became an agent because he thought he''d be free from taxes since he worked for the government. The agency is a non-governmental organization. Dante loves me because I''m a good cook. Even though I burnt ramen, he also loves me because he thinks that no matter how imperfect I am, I''ll always be perfect in his eyes, and that''s why he loves me. There were more reasons, but these were the main ones. Now this one... I don''t know why I ever loved him. I know everything about this man. I''ve seen him through and through. Dante is perfect in every way, and he''s the ideal guy, so why can''t I see what makes him special like he could see in me? I think this was why we were falling apart. He''s worked so hard to achieve happiness for a girl that he could never make happy. I wonder how long our marriage would''ve lasted even if my baby was born. I''d give it a year or two. Maybe the question shouldn''t have been why I love Dante. It should''ve been...what isn''t there to love about Dante? Of course Because what isn''t there to love about a perfect man? Did you know I hate robots? .?©b©b? ?©b©b?£® Day 1... First day here and I''m already bored. There''s nothing to do in here, and that little TV they gave me barely has anything good on. The Kids Network might become my new favorite channel if I keep watching Nickelodeon shows or Cartoon Network. Here I am sitting here waiting for my so-called psychologists to come in and check up on me. Honestly, I wonder how they look and who they are, to begin with, so I''ll know whether I can manipulate them or somehow make them join me. The door to my cube suddenly opened, allowing me to see my dear old guardian angel. Oh, to be loved by God, a dream of mine finally coming true. S-ranked agent Caroline Brooker codename: Agent Brokie "Look who it is, my favorite bum from the slums, and I heard you recently became an S rank," I said, waving at her while she rolled her eyes at me. "You know, I could always keep it simple and fire you," Caroline says, bringing a chair to me and sitting down. Caroline''s codename is Brokie because she was born in the ghetto and worked her way up to the top, like where she is now. Your classic rags-to-riches story, but there are some rumors that Caroline did something funny for that little bit of money, but if Carol claims she didn''t, then it''s false. "So, what you just asked about my day and if I see demons?" I asked her, crossing my arms and leaning on the glass. "Well, yes, but I have other questions, too. Like... do you still like Dante?" Caroline asked me, intrigued about our love life, "Look, I''m long over Dante. Me and him could never work, and it''s on him if he can''t see that." I scoffed at her words. "And besides, why do you care about our relationship? Weren''t there rumors of you wanting to get with Dante lately?" I asked her, and she went quiet. "Oh, I see you have a crush on¡ª" "You need to learn to let rumors stay exactly as they are. Because words can be deceiving, everything you may know can all become false," Caroline says menacingly. "You know you''d make for an amazing villain in a TV series or just play the role of a hot mom either works well," I told her. "You know where I think you''d look great in," Caroline started. "An Erotica," I finished, and she agreed, Caroline. Caroline packed up. "I believe it''s time for me to go. You''ve told me enough. I have enough insight today." Caroline stood up and prepared to go. "We barely even talked. Was that even 5 minutes?" I''m shocked our little session was over so quickly at that point. Why even have this session to begin with? "Also remember what I said don''t trust everything or everyone. But you should already know that, especially with what happened with the B ranks," Caroline smiled at me and then left the cube. I don''t trust her at all. Nice people don''t become S ranks. No, you become an S-rank when even hell thinks you''re too horrible for them. I can''t trust someone like her. Day 3 "Carol, tell me what happened to Ivan." I asked, making Carol spit out her coffee. "Who''s that?" Caroline asked, as if she didn''t just make a scene. "Hey, can one of you clean the mess up?"You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. An agent watching from outside cleans up the mess with his jacket. "Stop lying and just tell me." I got irritated with her words. "No, seriously, who''s that?" Caroline asked while putting her feet on the agent while he cleaned her mess. "How the fuck do you not know, Ivan? He''s the whole reason I''m in this fucking situation right now," I cursed at her for not complying. "I don''t know. He''s not my problem, was he?" Caroline said with no care in the world as she poured the rest of her coffee on the agent. "Who even said it was a good idea to make an E rank?" Caroline laughed while kicking her feet on the agent. "At that point, why are you even here? E ranks are so bad that they don''t even go on missions. They just sit there and watch us do the dirty work." Caroline kicked the E-rank agent to the ground and stood up. "Hey Aisha," Caroline started, "Why don''t we dispose of all the E ranks since they''re all useless waste?" Caroline smiled at me, then started laughing maniacally. God, why does this bitch have to be like this? Caroline kept on kicking the E-rank agent, so I just turned away, going back to sleep since I wasn''t gonna get anything out of the crazy one. I thought God gave me her for a psychologist, meant tea getting spilled, not coffee. Day 5 I sat up, looking at the ceiling with Caroline, both of us just staring at the sight above us. There lay the same E rank Caroline was abusing a few days ago, hanging from the ceiling fan. "So what did I do?" Caroline asked, looking at me. "Isn''t it obvious you abuse her to the point of suicide?" I answered. "Look, she said that she wanted to be free since she didn''t have too much free time the day before. I went to sleep thinking she would be out for 12 hours, but I guess it was 24," Caroline explained. "Have you ever thought of taking pills or seeing a doctor to stop this?" I asked Caroline, still looking at the hanging agent. "We both made an agreement that she wouldn''t interfere with my work unless it was in the middle of a mission and I needed her craziness." Caroline further cleared up. Caroline finally looked away from the sight and just sat down, holding a book in hand. "Besides, if I were to take the meds, I wouldn''t be here anymore since crazy me is the original," Caroline revealed, shocking me so much that I looked away from the dead body. "Really? How is that possible?" I asked her, interested in her story. "My doctor says once I experienced the slight taste of being financially safe, I created a normal personality that could adapt better instead of doing so myself," Caroline told me. "Why else do you think I made Brokie my codename? Because I''ll always be more of a Ragatha than a Richie." Caroline, of course, had a crazy backstory. story. Why wouldn''t a literal definition of a Gemini have one? "Wow, why are you so interesting?" I asked, falling onto my pillow dramatically. Caroline laughed at my dramatic moves. "Everyone has their own story. People just tend to listen more to those who look interesting," Caroline informed me. "Perfect example is Jessica here," Caroline pointed up to the hanging girl. Not gonna lie. I didn''t even know she had a name. "She''s actually the daughter of an ex-senator and a government official, but she came here because she wanted to help save the world and fix the current standards, though it looks like she couldn''t even handle the one here," Caroline held back a laugh. "You know, before I saw this, I was gonna try to escape by manipulating Dante into the point of making him seem like a horrible person," I let Caroline know of my old, beautiful plan to manipulate my way out of here. "If you''re thinking about doing what I think you''re doing, you''re kind of manipulating him in some way. Though let''s hope you don''t drive him to the brink of insanity," Caroline smiled at her own words, but I stayed quiet. "...And why would he go insane?" "You know why," Caroline smirked at me. Of course, I knew why I wasn''t stupid, but admitting it was something I never wanted to do. I didn''t even want to think about why he would ever do that. I wanted him to abandon me, but yet he never does. I want to stop thinking about how inhuman he is and just how fucking annoying. Damn, even now he won''t leave my head. God, free me, damn it! Day 7 It''s my final day here, and I learned nothing about anyone or just anything, but when I leave, I want something, some form of new information. After talking with Caroline, she ordered all the agents facing us to turn the other way, and then she left the cube. Dante entered the room, and Caroline ran to Dante, but not before looking me straight in the eye. There game set. Caroline gave me a few of her lanyards, and I made it into a makeshift noose. I was gonna use her specialty to make myself float to the ceiling fan and hang myself. However, there were two problems. One I''m hooked to an IV machine, I don''t know how far I''ll be able to float without passing out. Two the ceiling fan is on, unlike before when the girl hung herself, so it would be significantly harder to hang myself. Three floating takes a lot of energy (Words of Caroline), so once again I might pass out before I even make it to the ceiling fan. Wait, that was three reasons. Damn it, I''m beyond screwed at this point. Whatever I needed to try something to get out of here. Caroline was distracting Dante currently, so I decided it was the perfect time to float up. I grabbed my lanyard and focused on making myself float, though as I was floating, I noticed the IV tube was reaching its limit. Soon they all came out, and I felt significantly weaker. I could barely reach the fan, but when I got my lanyard on, I couldn''t stay floating anymore, and I fell out of consciousness and was actually hanging myself. Caroline let out a scream and pointed to my hanging body spinning with the fan. I asked Caroline to play along, though she noticed something was off as she saw me hanging off the ceiling fan. Dante''s head moves towards the direction of Caroline''s hand, his heart leaping into his throat as he realizes the source of the sound. "Aisha," he roars, already sprinting towards the cell, the psychologist hot on his heels. As he bursts into the cube, Dante sees Kendall hanging from the ceiling fan, a makeshift noose made from the Caroline''s lanyard around her neck. Her face is a mask of terror, her eyes bulging and bloodshot, her skin a sickening shade of blue. Caroline realized I was actually in danger and sat back to watch. Dante doesn''t hesitate. He rushes forward, leaping up to grab the lanyard and pull it away from her neck. He wraps his arms around her waist, holding her close as he works to untie the knot, his fingers shaking with fear and adrenaline. "Hold on, Aisha," he pants. As Dante freed me, he saw the marks the lanyard left behind and held me tightly in his arms, his hands shaking. He turns to the psychologist, his expression hard and unyielding. "Tell them I''m taking full responsibility for Aisha''s care. I''ll be the one to watch over her, to make sure she''s safe and getting the help she needs." Caroline frowns, her brow furrowed in concern. "Dante, I must advise against this. I''m not sure the council will like this. They already don''t trust her as it is. The council may not approve of your decision." Caroline was leaning against the glass with her arms crossed. Damian scoffs, a harsh, bitter sound. "Fuck the council. Fuck their protocols. I''m not going to let them use Aisha as a pawn in their power games. She needs help, not imprisonment." Caroline sighed to herself, smirking. "Suit yourself. Hope you don''t get demoted." .?©b©b? ?©b©b?£® To be honest, I still don''t even understand how that plan even worked. I mean, yeah, it looked believable, but that was because I was actually dying otherwise. Would Dante have fallen for my trap? Doesn''t matter, anyway. I''m free from that stupid cube, and I get to have a little vacation till I get better. Sadly, I have to live with Dante for a while, but he promised me a room and a caretaker to watch over me when I''m out. Dante took me in the elevator to his apartment. I was in a wheelchair with my own IV machine. The elevator ride was awkward since no one was talking, so I started some small talk. "So, um, you know Caroline. She''s cute, isn''t she?" I started nudging him a bit. "I guess¡ªwait, wait, wait. Hold up, no. Caroline is lesbian, absolutely no." Dante got disgusted, and now I''m shocked. "Well, good," I blurted out. Whoa... First off, what the hell was that? Why did I just say ''good''? Second off, how the hell is Caroline a lesbian, but the rumors¡ª ''You need to learn to let rumors stay exactly as they are.'' ''Because words can be deceiving, everything you may know can become false.'' Also, third, I haven''t seen Dante react so strongly to something in a hot minute. "So I see you''re glad Caroline doesn''t like me," Dante teased, and I rolled my eyes. "Why''s that?" "Cause Caroline''s mentally insane," I explained as the elevator door opened. We leave the elevator. "You know she kinda has a second specialty since usually, most people with her disorder don''t create schedules for when their personality," Dante informed me. "You seem to know a lot about her," I said sarcastically. "Jealous, we''re not talking about you," Dante teased me as we made it to his door. Dante unlocks the door. "Am I constantly on your mind or something?" "Want me to answer that?" "No," Dante opened the door to his apartment, which felt like opening a core memory because this was where I lived when we were together. As we entered his apartment, I heard a familiar voice. "Danny Boo Boo Bear, do you have any water?" A familiar male voice said. There''s no way "Come on, I need something to dri¡ª" The mysterious voice was, of course, Ivan. "IVAN!" I yelled as soon as I saw him. "Shit!" Ivan cursed Shit indeed. This was all a bunch of bullshit. . . . . If you seek it, why owe you?