Chapter 288

Elena Hours slipped into days, and I had yet to receive a phone call from Panther. It was the only thing keeping me awake, but nothing had happened. Money didn’t grow from a tree, so despite everything. I was back at work.

Exhausted, I leaned my head against the bar as I took in the silence of the empty space. Personally, I thought opening the cocktail bar in the morning didn’t even make sense, but it was whatever. Not my business, not my rules.

“You’re haunting away the customers.” Rona tapped my shoulder. I raised my head with a lazy expression in my eyes. “Customers?” I yawned. “It’s morning!”

“My god.” Rona giggled. “It’s good to see you’re slowly getting your personality back.”

“Right,” I mumbled. That was probably because this was the only time of the day where I did not have to be serious. My dad and Alex were both on my ass, ordering me around as if it was nothing.

I couldn’t talk to Victoria, who had been heavily brainwashed by her dad and failed to see my side of the situation, and 1 couldn’t stop thinking about the officer who treated me as if I was a Castillo myself.

While all the other employees moved on with their lives, it seemed like mine was only getting more complicated.

“Today is the funeral of Anya Castillo, who was “Nope,” Rona spoke as she turned off the screen of the small TV. The tragedy at the wedding had become local news, and for some reason, it followed me everywhere I went. Not being able to attend Anya’s funeral felt like a crime, but I didn’t want to interfere. It wasn’t my place anyway.

How would Tiago be doing? Did he even go to the funeral?

The last time I saw him, he was not in a good state which was understandable.

“Elena, I told you you’re allowed to take a break from work-

“No, I don’t want to.” I shook my head. “I told you about my family, Cyrus, and Victoria..I don Especially Victoria had been bothering me with questions for days, but she wasn’t any better. I coul take the double standards anymore and could not understand her telling me to stay away from Marvin while she and her dad represented someone from the Hernandez.

I was tired of all the nagging, and seeing their faces only reminded me of the key I had yet to give to Marvin. I knew I promised them I wouldn’t see him again, but I had to fulfill Anya’s last wish and would not fail her. Even Rona didn’t know about the key, and I would like to keep it that way.

The only thing stopping me from erasing Marvin from my life was the key. “Are you still thinking about Marvin?” Rona asked. I could not forget the look on her face after I told her that Tiago’s brother was my Marvin.

“Come on, just drop it.” Rona spoke. “It’s not as if that guy with the animal name could walk through the door any second and tell you that Marvin’s awake-”

“Marvin’s awake!”

Shocked, I turned my eyes to the entrance and watched as Panther walked through the door.

“Never mind…this is crazy.” Rona brushed her hands through her hair.

I placed my hands behind my back as Panther stepped closer until he was right in front of me.

Unlike my expectations, Panther turned out to be a soft person who had been texting me about my wellbeing every single day, which made my feelings more complicated. The same man who I had been so frightened of turned out to have a personality of an angel-but his actions clearly said otherwise.

“Marvin’s awake,” Panther repeated. This was the news I had been waiting for.

“Did he wake up today?” I asked Panther, who scratched his neck. “No, a while back-but he asked me to come and get you.”

So that was it. He had been awake this entire time. The reason Panther hadn’t told me must’ve been because of Marvin. After all, Marvin was his boss.

Rona coughed loudly and pushed herself in front of me. “If he wants to see her, he can come here himself.” She snorted. Panther laughed at her confidence and raised his hand. “Nice to see you too, seaweed.”

“I…that…” Rona stuttered, brushing her hand through her dark green curls.

“So, can I go and visit him?”

The sooner I could visit, the sooner I could give him the key and put an end to whatever was going on between us.

Panther nodded. “He requested you.”

Of course, he did because that’s what these people did. They ordered others around like it was nothing and expected everything to go their way. I grabbed my jacket and my handbag. “Okay, let’s go!”

“Uh-hello?” Rona called out. “You have work?”

“Work?” Panther frowned, scanning through the place. “Use your eyes, the place is empty.”

“Come on, Elena, let’s go.”

Panther grabbed me by my arm and pulled me out while I looked back at Rona and shot her an apologetic look. “Sorry.” I mouthed before Panther pushed me out the door. A few days ago, I would’ve thrown a tantrum and forced Panther to let go of me-but my opinion had changed. He was dangerous, but he was not a threat to me, at least-I would like to think so.

After hearing the sound of an engine, I turned my head to look across the street and noticed a black car with tinted windows. I released myself from Panther’s grip and stepped back in fear as every scenario. crossed my head. Was I getting followed? Was he getting followed?

“Is there something wrong?” Panther wondered. I smiled upon seeing the startled look on his face and almost smacked myself for overthinking the smallest things.Not everything was about me.

“No, let’s go.”

Seconds later, we were on the road, on our way to Marvin. Surprisingly enough, it was not as silent as it had been a few days ago, and we seemed to be getting along just fine. “So, do you still live with your family, Elena?” Panther asked another question.

I released a nervous giggle as I tried to come up with the correct answer. I couldn’t tell him that my dad and my brother were DEA agents. That was out of the question. “I do. It’s pretty lame-isn’t it?”

“Lame?” Panther smiled. “I’m close with my family, so I can only admire you.”

Admire? For some reason, that compliment made my day. While others were confused about why I still lived with my dad, who was too overprotective, Panther did not judge me.

I was supposed to be afraid of him. I was supposed to dislike him-but he wasn’t making it easy.

What was wrong with me? Was I really as mentally unstable as Cyrus Schmidt made me out to be?

“So, how are your dad and your brother doing with all of this?”

Dad and brother?

My heart nearly beat out of my chest as I realized I hadn’t told Panther anything about a dad or a brother. Was his nice personality just an act because he was onto me? Was he driving me to the hospital or to the woods to kill me?

“I mean, those two people at the hospital were your dad and your brother, right?” Panther explained himself. So that was all it was, an assumption. “Y-yes.” I sighed, relieved.

“So, what were they doing at the hospital?”

I fought through my nerves to keep the calm expression on my face and looked out the window.

“Let’s just say…they’re very overprotective.”

An awkward moment of silence followed while I waited for Panther’s reply. “I understand, I mean-

look at you!” He spoke.

“Thanks, that kind of you.” I blushed. It was not uncommon for me to get compliments about my good looks, and it was bound to happen someday.

“They must be overprotective because you’re so clumsy and probably can’t even tell left from right.”

Panther continued. The red flush on my cheek had quickly changed to a blush of embarrassment.

He wasn’t talking about my looks. He was talking about my pitiful personality.

“I’m just playing, don’t worry.” Panther chuckled. I couldn’t help but laugh at his way of embarrassing me and shot him a pleased grin. “Yes, I knew that.”

After a while, we had finally reached the hospital and found ourselves in the parking lot. “So we’re here.” Panther looked at me. All I wanted was to run upstairs to give Marvin the key and put an end to this entire situation. “So we aren’t getting out of the car? Okay.” I spoke awkwardly while Panther made himself comfortable in his seat.

“What are your intentions with Marvin?” He asked without warning. “Just wondering.”

Panther leaned closer and stared into my eyes as if he was waiting for me to tell him a lie, but I couldn’t. He was looking out for his friend, and I couldn’t blame him for that.

Just like my dad would blow up the hospital if he found out I was here, Panther would undeniably blow up anyone willing to hurt Marvin.

“I want to thank him for what he’s done, and that’s it,” I told Panther. It was a small part of the truth because the keys weren’t my only intentions. Marvin saved my life, so thanking him was the least I could do.

“You’re a good person, Elena.” Panther bumped his fist against my shoulder. I almost yelped at the pain and forced a smile on my face. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Come on, let’s go.”

Our walk through the hospital hallways was nerve-wracking as I slowly began to process that it would only be a matter of time before I would see Marvin. The infamous Elena syndrome had quickly spread through my body as a thousand useless thoughts went through my head.

Was this really a good idea?

What if he would choke me to death for leaving him? He went to prison for several years, so would it even matter to him?

Was he even in a conscious state?

What if Mario Castillo was in the room with him?

What if I smelled like a drunk because of the cocktails?

What if-

“We’re here.”

Panther placed his hand on my shoulder to stop me from bumping my head against the door and laughed for you.” in disbelief. “You’re so clumsy. It almost makes me feel sorry “W-what?”

“Never mind.” He smiled, moving his hand from my shoulder to my back. Before I knew it, Panther had pushed me through the door. I didn’t even have time to prepare myself and lowered my head in an instant while the cold air of the hospital room had suddenly hit me.

“You’re back. “I heard the sound of Marvin’s voice. With shaking hands, I reached for the key in my pocket and kept looking at the floor. “I am, and I brought company.”

“I see.”

Yes, of course, he could see me, and I probably looked like an idiot.”Do you want me to stay?”

Panther asked. 1 wasn’t sure whether the question was directed at Marvin or me, but I wasn’t given the opportunity to answer.

“No, I can take it from here.” Marvin decided. Panther removed his hand from my back, and I could feel him disappear without saying another word.

A second later, the door slammed. I was too frightened to take another step, and just like my eyes, my feet were glued to the floor. The only two people in the room were Marvin and me.

I knew what I wanted to say, but the worst thing of it all was that I didn’t know what he was going to say. Was he going to blame me for all that happened? Was he going to vent about the day I had walked out on him?

“Elena,” Marvin called out my name.

“Please, sit.”