Rudy jerked and turned back at the sudden sound, ready to roar at the interruption only to see something that drained all the blood from his face.

The Dante Twins.

Faces full of fury.

Why would they be here? Why? Unless ... it couldn't be.

The words she had said before. That when her beloved came, he would regret it ... she couldn't be ...?

He regretted not clarifying with her. He regretted not getting more information. He regretted not clarifying the identity of the woman. He regretted giving the task to such greenhorns that they didn't even recognise the Dante Twins (whom he assumed had visited the woman).

Before he could say a word to defend himself and beg for mercy, a knife was flung and embedded into his shoulder. He grunted from the pain and then found one twin in front of him.

"M..mister Da.." he stuttered but was effectively shut up when he got punched in the face, breaking his nose. He was repeatedly punched and Rudy could feel the bones of his entire face cracking.

"Alive, Zack," Yuri reminded gently while carefully taking Beatrice.

He took off his shirt and wrapped her up tenderly, barely able to keep his anger in check upon seeing her bruised and swollen face and the red marks upon her neck and arms.

"You're late," Beatrice whispered hoarsely as he gathered her into his arms.

"I'm sorry," Yuri said, carrying her carefully.

Zack stopped punching Rudy, who was now unconscious and took off his shirt as well. He tied it around her waist and made sure Beatrice's legs were covered.

Beatrice snuggled into Yuri's arms, feeling safe and secure. Now that they were here, she stopped fighting trying to stay awake.

Yuri held onto her even tighter upon seeing she had fainted, his heart twisting in pain. Zack, too, was holding back as he gently caressed her bruised cheek.

They glanced menacingly at the unconscious man.

Zack ordered his men that were waiting by the door, "Give him Drug X. Strip the girls and tie them up before putting them in the same cell."

"How strong a dosage, boss?"

"Enough for the effects to last a week," Yuri answered.

The twins walked out then, passing through the corridor that was littered with dead bodies. Once they left, the team started cleaning up, glad that the Dante twins had left.

The moment the twins had gotten word that their beloved had gone missing, all Hell broke loose. The King even let the twins use whatever resources they had to locate her.

It wasn't hard for the twins to find out where she was. All they needed was to track her phone. However, it had taken a bit of time; plus, the twins had to divide the manpower to also capture the girls.

They left the capturing of the girls to the men while they rushed to the location that Beatrice was at. Seeing her car there just set them off even more. The moment they entered, the Dante twins swept the entire place clean, not sparing a single person as they headed towards the room where Beatrice was.

Everyone that allowed this thing to happen didn't deserve to live.

After getting rid of the dumb gorilla-man that was guarding the entrance, they had smashed the door open, only to see a sight that made them nearly lose their minds.

That sorry excuse of a man was not only about to violate their woman, but there also was not a shred of clothing on her. Yuri threw the knife, wanting to embed it in the guy's head but held back.

They needed to torture him first.

When they reached their beloved and saw the condition she was in, the anger nearly boiled over.

Death was too good for him. Thus, the Drug X situation.

Drug X was a powerful aphrodisiac that caused the one who took it to be a mindless beast. Not that Rudy really needed help in that area, but with it, he would become worse. Plus, it also had the same effect as viagra so that he could do it all day long.

The best part?

Prolonged use meant one would get severe withdrawal symptoms which caused massive amounts of pain.

It was only the beginning of what they will do to him - and the girls.

✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿

Beatrice's eyelids slowly fluttered open.

She felt like her entire body was like lead. She opened her mouth, only to find that her jaw was very sore.

She groaned a bit at the pain and immediately, concerned voices were heard, overlapping with each other.

"Beatrice, honey"

"Sweetheart"

"Baby girl"

Beatrice's eye twitched.

Baby girl?

Beatrice had her back to them, thus, they did not realise that she had woken up until she groaned. She turned over, to see the worried faces of Yuri, Zack, and Grandpa Anton.

Yuri and Zack both took one of her hand into theirs, while Grandpa Anton stood behind in a huff. He pushed the boys aside and started patting her head, "How are you feeling?"

"Could be better," Beatrice replied, "But I'm fine."

"Good girl," Grandpa Anton said with a smile, "Just focus on getting better, you hear me?"

Beatrice wanted to get up from the bed, but the twins didn't let her. She didn't want to lie down, so they put several pillows behind her to make it more comfortable for her to lean on as she sat up on the bed.

"Who were they and what did they want?" Beatrice asked, looking at the three of them.

Immediately, all three faces darkened.

Zack began telling her who was behind it and what they wanted. Beatrice listened intently.

"What about the fact that they thought I was Stephanie?"

"We already anticipated the girls may do something to you, so we put out the word on the street that you were to be untouched," Yuri explained.

"Ah," Beatrice said, catching on, "So they fooled the doofus."

Then she stared at them, "So, who are you then, really?"

Upon hearing this question, Grandpa Anton patted the boys on the shoulder and said, "I'll be going now. This is something you young ones need to talk it out."

"Thank you, Grandpa," Beatrice said, smiling at him.

He opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind. He nodded and walked out, closing the door.

"Well?" Beatrice asked, tilting her head.

She could sense their nervousness and she sighed.

"Come here," she commanded, patting the side of her bed. Zack and Yuri came obediently, standing on the opposite sides of the bed.

"Sit," she said, frowning at them.

They sat.

"Come closer," she said.

They did, and leaned down towards her.

Beatrice patted their cheeks and said, "Thank you for saving me."

Then, she took their ear and twisted it, saying, "So tell me, how come you could put word out on the street like that? Hmmmm? What is your connection to it?"

Faces grimacing in pain, Zack began, "We work for Nitocris."

"I know that," Beatrice said, "Get to the point."

"He's the King of the Underworld," Yuri revealed.

Beatrice blinked.

She let go of their ears.

"You mean to tell me that Xing Han's beloved is *the* King of the Underworld? As in, the big boss? Top? Not just the Head this City?"

Yuri and Zack nodded.

"Boss is Country Tz's Underworld King. The President may govern the surface, but Boss rules what's below," Zack explained.

"And you're his right-hand men," Beatrice said, taking it all in, "You're not just company employees. You're the mafia."

"Does it matter?" Zack asked softly.

Yuri had been quiet this whole time, not able to speak.

This was the one thing that they were worried about. They never intended to let her know of their world, and would have spent the rest of their lives protecting her from it.

"This is a lot to take in," Beatrice said with a sigh.

"We're still us," Yuri said, his voice low.

"We never pretended when we were with you," Zack said earnestly, his eyes pleading.

"We love you," they said together, "And we'd never hurt you or let anyone hurt you."

Yuri touched her face, looking so sadly at her as he said, "This will never happen again."

Beatrice looked down at her hands, not answering.

Having her suspicions confirmed was rather mind-boggling. She was a typical straight-laced law-abiding citizen. Who would have thought something like this would happen?

She thought having two men after her was already going against the norm, but two mafia men?

It's like a policeman marrying a criminal.

"Beatrice?" Zack called out worriedly, "Do you not want us anymore?"

Beatrice still didn't answer, and their hearts plummeted, shattering on the ground.

"It's okay," Yuri said dejectedly, "We understand. We won't bother you anymore."

The moment he said that, Beatrice reached out and twisted their ears again.

"Can't you give me time to sort out what I want to say?!" she hissed. She was so annoyed that she applied more force than expected, turning their ears red before letting go.

"It's too late to back out now, you hear? You made me fall in love with you, so you better take responsibility!"

The twins' were so overjoyed at her words that the pain didn't matter. They flung themselves at Beatrice immediately, hugging her tightly to them, their faces buried at the crook of her neck on each side.

Beatrice hugged them back, cherishing the love and comfort that they gave her.