*SILIA*They seem slightly shocked at my outburst, not prepared to hear me respond in that manner but my stress was getting to me.“Watch your tone!” Draven warned me in a sharp voice making me gulp my spit as I backed away from him.“Don’t scare the poor woman,” Alfeo said coming to my aid from behind and cupped my shoulders. At this gesture I turned to look up at him to see that he had already been smiling at me. I usually didn’t like his flirty smile but this one was imparting comfort and I let myself dwell in it for a small moment until I could grasp my nerves again.With Draven’s grey eyes out of my sight I felt myself calm down slightly even if the duration had only been a few seconds and then looked back towards him to see that they had only worsened from before.Why was he so angry today?“You said that you won’t tell us how you know about their base but don’t you think this raises a lot of suspicion? Why should we trust you?” Draven asked making it sting even though I should

*SILIA* My steps felt weighted, it was almost as if rocks had been tied around my ankle to stop me from going back to my doom. I appreciated the defense work that my body was doing but honestly it was only making me feel more nervous and scared.Why did I agree to that stupid deal?‘That’s what you get for playing around with men from the mafia.’ A small voice inside my head seemed to be saying that to me making me all the more aggravated as the time passed.Whether Alfeo was disappointed, excited or nervous was hard to say because except for the tight grip he had on my hand I couldn’t see a single expression on his beautiful face that would betray his thoughts.“Alfeo…” I tried calling to him but his grip tightening on my hand made me aware that he wouldn’t answer just yet. Looking up at his face I saw his brown eyes fixed on someone and foll

*SILIA* A loud smack jolted me out of my reverie. The stench of blood filled my senses making me gasp as I watched the red fluid splutter out and drip from Leo’s nose. I knew that this was the most minimal punishment that he could have received and yet watching him get punched and slapped repeatedly wasn’t a pleasant sight for me. I wondered why he couldn’t just say the truth. Were all these sufferings worth it? But one thing that I liked about the Mafia was their loyalty to their group. It was almost as if they were a tight knit family that would do anything for each other. In that sentiment I could understand why Leo still persisted even though this slow torture must have been messing with his senses. Although it was unpleasant to watch this scenario I couldn’t sympathize with this man as I believed that whatever had come his way had been a result of his own actions and decisions. It might seem bad timing to bring this up but he did give me one lesson and that was that people can

*SILIA*“I hope you are aware that I am a very busy guy,” Nick grumbled as soon as I sat inside the passenger seat of his cab.“Yeah I know and that’s why I am even going to pay you for taking out time for me,” I smiled back through pressed lips, “No, but seriously I am grateful you came to my apartment even though it’s your business hour.”That made him smile in satisfaction and switching off the engine he faced me. I could tell that he was relieved to be getting this free money and leisure time off as well and that did make me feel slightly happy. For all I knew anyone who lived in this wretched city must be have a tough life with their own share of problems, financial being the biggest one.“By the way, where have you been? I have no clue about anything that is going on in your life. At some point I almost thought you might have been dead or something,” Nick said, his lips turning up in a crooked smile. I knew he was joking about this but his eyes were clear and careful. He was wor

*SILIA*I think this was the third time I had ran out in the middle of the night and I know like every time there won’t be anyone following after me.The first time was when I had been bullied by the kids in school for being an orphan followed by the warden scolding me for crying too much. I was six then, barely smart enough to understand why I was being discriminated like this and why I didn’t have any parents. My little heart hadn’t been able to take the pain and had therefore sneaked out into the garden where I had sat all night crying in the daisy bushes.The next day I was found by the very same warden, passed out because of the cold and instead of kind words that one should have given to me I had yet again been scolded.The second time was when I was living in with a toxic boyfriend who had tried to force himself on me. Running out then was an act of survival and that was the day I had met Lisa for the first time. She could tell from my tattered clothes that something was wrong