Chapter 322

Elena I pouted my lips, staring at the big diamond around my finger.

I want to give you this ring…but it’s not an engagement ring Those were Marvin’s words when he gave me the ring yesterday. I mean, I wasn’t completely stupid, so I knew he wouldn’t propose to me-but still. Was it really necessary to embarrass me like that in a packed restaurant?

As if things couldn’t get any worse, we just had to run into his ex’s parents. Misty’s mom and dad were just as nosy as her and had no issue digging their noses into our relationship. At least I knew where she got it from.

“Anyway, it’s time to get ready for work.” I took a deep breath and sat behind the vanity table before taking the ring off my finger. The ring was nice, but the last thing I wanted was for people to make their own conclusions.

I reached for Anya’s music box, which was right in front of me, and opened it to hide the ring. To my surprise, I noticed a small opening at the bottom and picked up the little piece of wood.

“A keyhole?”

Who knew? Maybe Anya was into puzzles. The thought of Anya’s fate made my stomach turn. Just when I thought I could finally give it a place, it brought me back to my very own fate.

Anya lost her life for just being with Tiago, and here I was playing mob wife for some man who had just gotten out of prison. Not to forget, I cut off all contact with my family-but it was all worth it.

I did it so I could be with Marvin.

As crazy as it sounded, I was eager to get to work and didn’t mind a change of environment. Being in this house was nice and all, but being without Marvin made me realize that I enjoyed my everyday life.

My dad’s house was not the biggest, but there weren’t any maids giving me dirty looks either, so there was that. At least I had Marvin to keep me company, but it wasn’t always like that. He was a busy person, which I had to live with.

I grabbed my phone to send Marvin a text.

Elena:

You left early this morning.

I forgot to tell you I love you!

Offended, I frowned my eyebrows as a blue checkmark appeared on my screen. Marvin left me on read? Who the hell is he leaving on read?

Elena:

Are you alive?

Are you Breathing!

A loud huff escaped from between my lips. “You know what, never mind.” I rolled my eyes.

+15 Bonus Amelia was not here today, meaning I could leave the house without greeting anyone. I bet the maids had already begun their daily discussions about how rude I was, but I didn’t mind. So were they.

Moments later, I had arrived at work, which made me remember that it would only be a matter of time before I didn’t have a job. What would Marvin even think of me?

“Hey, guys!” I walked through the door and greeted Rona, who stood behind the bar. Several heads turned to me.

“Hey, Elena!” They all spoke in unison.

“You’re smiling.” I pointed out the grin on Rona’s lips. I couldn’t remember the last time I got to see her in a good mood.

“I am.” Rona ran towards me and pulled my arm.

“Come on, sit down!”

I was left with no choice as Rona pushed me down on a chair. “I’m sitting.” I giggled. “What’s the big news? Why are we happy?”

Rona took a breath and clapped her hands. “We get to keep our jobs!” She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

“What?” I gasped. “Wait, are you serious?”

Well, it seemed like money did grow from trees.

“Yes!” Rona nodded, slamming her arms around my shoulders. “This anonymous buyer bought the bar and ended up saving this entire place!”

“Anonymous?”

I shot Rona a suspicious look but played it off as a curiosity. The last thing I wanted was to ruin her day with my negativity.

Rona rolled her eyes. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m not asking any questions-and neither should you.”

“Okay, but what’s the catch?”

“Catch?” Rona commented. “There is no catch.”

“Really.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Apparently, this buyer will collect their debt when they feel like it.”

“I don’t know, Rona.” I gave her my honest opinion. It was just too good to be true. “This entire situation is giving me…cartel slash mafia”

“Ooh, it is indeed.” Rona winked unbothered. “Speaking of cartels, how are you and Marvin doing?”

I got up from the chair and forcefully covered her mouth with my hand. “Shut up, not that loud!” I hissed.

“And we’re doing fine, thank you.”

Rona’s worst quality was most definitely the one where she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why I didn’t want to tell her about the ring.

“I’m sorry.” Rona muffled while all I could hope for was for her to drop the subject. How were things going between Marvin and me? Well, yesterday he took me out to nice dinner and gave me this massive ring, and today he left me on read. But oh well, it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe he was dead in a ditch or maybe back in prison. Who knew?

“If you don’t mind, I would like to get back to work now.”

“Get back?” Rona scoffed. “You haven’t even started.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

Before I knew it, my day of work had already come to an end, and I was back at the mansion with only one thought going through my mind. Would Marvin be home already?

I entered the mansion and followed the sound of laughter making my way to the kitchen.

Full of excitement, I fastened my pace, but I could not hide the disappointment upon seeing the face which belonged to the voice. “Panther…hey.” I blinked, stunned. Seeing Panther without Marvin was still something hard to get used to, but according to Marvin, it was nothing to worry about.

It would only be for a while to restore his friendship with the other men. Those were his words.

My eyes traveled to the man beside him Lucas Nunes, or should I say, Castillo.

Lucas lowered his head and placed his hands behind his back while Panther slammed his arm around my shoulder. “Hey, Elena-nice timing!” He greeted me. “You know, Lucas.”

I gave Panther a nod and smiled at Lucas. Of course, I knew Lucas. He was the same officer who gave me a hard time befriending Marvin. Who knew he would end up being a Castillo instead?

Not to forget, this man supposedly knew my dad…

I felt my throat go dry as the realization had finally hit me. Lucas Nunes was a Castillo, and Lucas Nunes knew my identity.

The smile on my lips had vanished, and I took a step back, avoiding his eyes. Would he have told the Castillo’s about my identity? What if Marvin was just playing with me and knew about my identity all along!

How could I be this stupid, and most importantly-how had this not crossed my mind. What if this was all some crazy plot to get rid of me?

“Elena, are you okay?” Panther chuckled, waking me up from my thoughts. “Y-yes, fine-perfect!” I reassured him. I was most likely just getting ahead of myself.

Nothing was going on, and I had to calm down.

“H-hey, Lucas,” I tried sounding as casually as possible, Lucas, who kept his hands in his-pockets, gave me a nod of acknowledgment, meaning he clearly wasn’t all that interested in me. That was a good thing.

“So, what are you guys doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” Panther scoffed jokingly. “I live here, Mrs. Castillo.”

“Y-yeah, of course, you do.”

Panther laughed and nudged Lucas. “I didn’t know she was the gatekeeper of this household.” He mocked me as Lucas laughed along. So Lucas was capable of laughing? Shocker.

Just as I was about to apologize, Panther’s phone went off. “I have to take this one.” He said.

“Please keep him company while I take this call.”

1-

There was no point in stopping him because Panther was already gone. He left me alone with Lucas, and. even though I loved company-I did not feel comfortable around him.

After all, this was the same manipulative man who had almost forced me into exposing Marvin. I looked at Lucas and could not miss the apparent resemblance. I should’ve known. Anyone would’ve known.

The two were like a reflection of each other, with the only difference being their eyes. It wasn’t only in color but also in how they carried themselves. Marvin was quite good at hiding his feelings, whereas Lucas made it clear that he had no desire to get to know me.

“So you and Marvin, huh?” He started a conversation. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know why we were having this conversation because it was clearly one we were both not interested in.

“So you’re a Castillo.”

“Just by blood.” Lucas shrugged uncomfortably. If awkward were a person, it would’ve probably been him, He took a step forward. “I’m sorry for our previous encounter.” Lucas apologized as I stared into his eyes “I was just trying to get some information out of you.”

“I know.”

“And don’t worry about your little secret,” Lucas stated. “I’m just here to spend time with my family.”

I felt an uncomfortable lump in my throat. He knew I hadn’t been telling the truth. Of course, he knew. Yes, Lucas also works for the authorities, but that was different. I was the daughter of George Torres, former partner of Stevie Maddens.

“What secret?” I quickly recovered myself and played along. A breath escaped from Lucas’s lips as he walked past me and placed his bare hand on my bare shoulder.

He brought his lips to my ear. “Exactly, what secret.” He whispered before pulling away. I didn’t know what game he was playing, but all I knew was that he would luckily keep his mouth shut.

Just when I couldn’t take the tension anymore, Panther walked back in. “Elena, we’re going to the back and have some drinks!” He spoke. “Are you joining us?”

Well, you know what they said. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, although I still had no idea what to think of Lucas “Sure.” I smiled. “I’ll join you.”