Ellise stared blankly at the walls of her matrimonial bedroom, several thoughts surfacing in her mind. The look of anger on her husband's face, which stemmed from his helplessness made her worried. She felt like there was something he was not telling her and it was frightening her.
"Ellie?"
She looked up at the sound of her husband's voice. There was a slight frown on his face and as he placed his hands on her shoulder, she felt herself slowly relaxing.
"I know you're worried and anxious about Nadia's appearance into our lives, but you don't have to be. She's just another challenge we need to overcome" he said, his tongue swiping over his lower lip. It was a distraction which she nearly fell for. Staring at him, she knew he wasn't just stressed.
Something was bugging him, something big. She could tell by looking deep into his emerald eyes. It felt like déjà vu once again. There was so much similarities between Olivia's visit and Nadine's visit. It seemed he'd known the both of them at certain points in his life.
Secondly, their visits both spelled nothing but trouble for the couple. Olivia's plan had been to tear them apart and Ellise was pretty sure it was the same for Nadine.
As far as she was concerned, it was a little different from Olivia's visit, because this time they were actually married.
She could try to bring mistrust in between the couple. She could try to steer them to divorce each other.
'Our marriage hasn't even lasted for a year, why won't she let us be? I really can't stand her, but what do I do?' Ellise thought, feeling upset.
"Stop thinking too hard, Ellie. You shouldn't stress over nothing" Dre said.
She rose to her feet, their gazes locked.
"Don't pretend as if I'm the only one in this. If I shouldn't be stressing, then you shouldn't, either" Ellise said in a stern voice.
"It's just-"
"Dre, we'll figure this out together. Until then, please get some rest" she whispered, pressing a kiss to his jaw. He sighed, watching her as she started to head towards the door.
"I'll make dinner" she said and left the room. As soon as she left, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Dre asked.
"It's me, Dominic"
"Come in"
"Are you alright?" Dominic asked after he'd walked in.
"I'm fine"
Dominic knew his friend was anything but.
"What are you going to do about Nadia?" Dominic asked and Dre sighed.
"I'll have to get rid of her one way or the other. I quit the mafia, Dom. I don't want to go back to it. But, why do I have a feeling that I have no choice in this matter?" Dre said and Dominic shook his head. "You have a choice, Dre. You always do. You just have to make the right one"
"I know you are stubborn and you always carry everyone's burden. But, I want you to be careful with Nadia. Don't shut everyone else out. Let us help you in the way we can" Dominic continued.
Dre looked away, his eyes blank. "I don't want anyone to get--"
"You're my bestfriend, Dre. You can't handle everything all by yourself. Is the bitch blackmailing you? Is she making you do things you don't want to? Please, Dre.... don't get caught up in trying to make things right. Don't hurt Ellise, you know she will always support you in whatever you do"
Dre let out a sigh and ran his fingers through the dark strands of his hair.
Hurting Ellise was the last thing he wanted to do, but what if the situation couldn't be helped?
.....
"I'm starving. Aren't you hungry?" Noelle asked Valentino as they exited the parking lot together. "Well, I'm not hungry. I just don't have an appetite" he replied. Noelle sighed.
"Your anorexia is getting worse, Val. Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor about it?" She asked. He shrugged.
"It's not that bad, Noelle. You're just overthinking" he replied.
Even if he was trying to cover it up, Noelle could tell that he had lost weight. He looked weaker too.
"Okay, fine. Let's eat something" he said. She gave him a smile and followed him into the restaurant.
They ordered Italian meals and as they ate, they had a long conversation.
"No, Cheerios is way better than gummy bears" Noelle insisted.
"You really like gummy bears, don't you?"
She chuckled.
"Yeah. When I was little, I used to steal them from the kitchen counter whenever mum wasn't looking" she said and Valentino laughed.
"Alright, I'll say you're obsessed with them"
"Hey!"
"It's a fact"
Noelle rolled her eyes playfully. She looked up in time to see a man dressed completely in black walking towards them. He had a lot of tattoos and he was apparently smoking.
"Val?" Noelle said with a tone of urgency in her voice.
"Yeah?"
"There's someone walking towards us right now"
A frown creased his brows and he turned to look at the man who was now standing behind his chair. Val went pale, his eyes going wide.
"What do you want, Hammer?" He sighed, maintaining eye contact with him.
"Just wanna say 'ello to my good ol' friend. That a crime?"
The man said, grinning. Noelle shuddered at the sight of his yellowing teeth.
Boy, did he reek of cigarettes.
"You still Baron's bitch?" He said
Val gritted his teeth, his grip on the table tightening.
"I have nothing to do with him"
"No, I don't care about Baron, but some other guys are interested in you. They know you were a part of Baron's murder. An eye for an eye. See, I wasn't a fan of that fucker. You were his lil' side kick, now I want you as my own lil' lil' side kick. What d'ya say pretty boy?"
"Val, we've got to get out of here. I can see some other people in black" Noelle whispered.
"Who's the pretty lady? She looks freaking hot. Dude, where on Earth did you get this chick? I want her for myself"
Val stood up and grabbed Noelle's hand.
"I'll appreciate it if you quietly moved out of my way, jerk face"
The cigarette man grinned, his gaze on Noelle
"Hey, I remember you! Don't worry sweetie. I'll let Lucas know you're in town. He'll be pleased"
She stiffened when he made the statement. Val made to punch him but she held him back "Val, let's go" she said, her voice shaky.
Without sparing the cigarette man another glance they both walked away and got into Val's Benz.
'Lucas....How is he here?
Why does my past still hunt me? I'm sick of it. I can't let him find me' Noelle thought, trying not to panic.
"You seem to panic when Skull mentioned Lucas. Who's he to you?" Val asked. She swallowed hard, her heart thudding madly.
"He's no one.... He's nothing to me, not any more"
Valentino watched her from the frontal mirror in the car. She was still trembling and this made him concerned.
She was a huge mystery.
She had always seemed so tough and formidable. But, now, he realized that they might actually have something in common. Battle scars that were bone deep.