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Alette's POV

A loud meowing woke me up from my nap. I blinked open my eyes, rubbing them slightly as I yawned; I stretched my arms out, and opened my eyes fully, seeing Grasso kneading my stomach.

"Hi kitty, where's Reece?" I asked him, my voice full of sleep as I stroked his head. Of course my first thought was Aresius.

He meowed loudly and jumped off of me, starting to walk away. He then looked back at me, almost as if beckoning me. My eyes widened.

Did he understand me?

I giggled at the idea, and got up anyways, seeing where he was going. I stretched my body out a little more, and neatly folded the blanket and fixed the cushions on the sofa.

I started walking towards the direction that Grasso had walked; he strolled past the stairs, and the kitchen, and then out of nowhere, he hissed and ran away.

Uh...okay? Kitties really were too much.

I giggled at the cat, and looked around, still seeing no sign of Aresius. I turned around and found myself looking at a door at the end of the hall.

His office!

He had mentioned that his office was downstairs, and this was the only other room that I saw. I decided to take the chance and walked towards the door. Reaching it, I knocked softly, and waited for an answer. When I didn't hear one, I knocked again.

The house was blanketed in silence, and I didn't hear any signs of any movement.

When there was no answer, I decided to just go inside. I slowly opened the door, hearing it click as I did. I slid inside the door, not seeing Ares in the room. It was quite a big space, with a desk closer to the back, in front of the large window, and chairs in front of it. There was a small fireplace, and two soft sofa chairs on a rug in front of it. The walls were lined with built in shelves, and they were filled with books. I started at the shelf closest to me and there were a myriad of books that he had collected. There were classics, there was non-fiction, there was poetry, and books in different languages: Italian, Spanish and French.

I had somehow walked all the way over to his desk, as I was lost in looking at all of the books. Me being my clumsy self, I bumped into the side of the desk, sending a file, and a little cup of pens flying off of his desk.

"Oh darn," I grimaced, and bent over to pick the things up. I picked up all the pens first, and neatly placed them in the cup on his desk, then I bent down to pick up the file; its contents had fallen out, facing upside down. I picked up all the papers, trying not to look; it probably wasn't something I was supposed to see.

His work was top secret after all.

I arranged the papers, still upside down, and then I flipped them over to put them back into the file, but the photo on the first page my heart drop. I felt fear embrace my body so hard, that I shook. I let out an audible gasp, and tears gathered in my eyes. I dropped the papers down on the table, clutching my chest as I struggled to breathe. I felt paralyzed with fear.

How?

What was this doing here?

The door of the office bounded open, and I jumped back, hugging myself tightly.

"Alette?" Aresius stood at the door, "What are you doing he-" he stopped himself as he took notice of my teary eyes, and fear-stricken face.

"What's wrong Alette? What happened?"

He moved towards me, surveying the room, and I stepped back, finally finding my voice. He stopped in his tracks, as I pointed a shaking finger at the picture on the desk in front of me.

"H-how d-do you know t-this m-man?" I whimpered, not even being able to form a coherent sentence.

"Baby what...? What are you talking about?"

He looked genuinely confused and concerned as he walked over to me, to get a closer look at the picture he was referring to. When he set his eyes on it, his jaw clenched, and his eyes flashed in anger.

"How do you know this man?" he gritted out.

I looked down at the picture, scrunching my eyes shut as I saw the image again. I took a deep breath, and looked into his eyes when I spoke.

"T-that's..." I gulped thickly, "That's D-Dr. Nik...Kan," I said in a hushed voice, the tears steadily streaming down my face.

"Alette," he swallowed, seemingly trying to calm himself down, "How do you know this man?" I could hear the irritation in his voice.

"I-I..."I couldn't finish my sentence as a sob wracked my body. I felt myself falling to the floor, but before I could hit it, I felt him move forward and swoop me into his arm. He picked me up, and I sobbed into the crook of his neck. He walked us over to the sofa, and sat down; I still sat in his lap, clutching onto his shirt for comfort. He put his hand on the back of my head, and rubbed my back.

Once my crying had subsided, I hiccupped, rubbing my eyes with my fists. He grabbed my hands to stop me; taking a tissue from the box on the table, he wiped my eyes gently. Once he finished, he cupped my face, looking even more troubled.

I swallowed, soothing my aching throat, "I-I...have to tell you something."

"You don't have to," he replied immediately, speaking gently.

I shook my head, "I want to, I have to," I told him, willing my voice to be strong. I cleared my throat and began:

"Mama and Papa met each other when they were very young, and Papa told me that they fell in love very quickly. He eventually proposed to her once he was out of school, and they build a little cottage, and lived in the countryside, about four hours away from here...my home. Papa worked at designing new tech for companies, and I realized when I got older, that his work was more than that," I played with his fingers as I spoke, not looking at him.

"Government officials would sometimes come to the house and they would talk about weaponry, and hacking into criminal databases; I just knew that was he did was serious work, but it didn't matter to me. Mama, Papa and I stayed in our little home, where Grams or Uncle Syl would visit us, as well as more of Papa's side of the family. I never met my mom's parents, they passed away before I was born, and she didn't really have any extended family or siblings. We lived a happy life, I went to a school nearby, and I only had one or two acquiatences when I was younger, kids didn't really like me, mainly because I spent a lot of time with my parents. I liked to garden and bake, and read, and play with Mama or Papa," I sucked in a breath, the happy memories of my childhood bringing tears to my eyes because I knew I would never experience them again.

He grabbed my hands tightly, kissing them softly, "You don't have to continue," he said, his voice low.

I shook my head, "Um...we lived a quiet life, until one day, when I was 13; we were on a drive, back to our house. We had just celebrated by 13th birthday at Grams' house, with her and Uncle Syl. We were about an hour away from our house when I saw that Mama and Papa looked panicked, I asked them what was wrong and they told me everything was fine, and not to worry. I heard Papa accelerate and then next thing I remember is our car being crashing into from behind, and it spinning on the road before finally breaking the barrier on the side of the road. The area was hilly, so we rolled out of the edge of the road and down a steep hill. I can't remember much else, but when the car stopped, I remember being in pain, but the adrenaline kicked in, so I moved to find my parents. I saw them both holding hands, their eyes fluttering shut so I went to them, as they lay covered in blood and debris. I cried for them to wake up, to come back to me, to hug me and tell me it was okay, b-but they didn't w-wake up...they both gasped out a final 'I love you' to me, and my Papa told me to be brave. And when their eyes shut, I knew t-they were g-gone," I let out a shaky cry, laying my head on his chest, and he put his arms around me, squeezing tightly.

I wish the story ended there, but I had more to say, and I was worried about how he would feel about me after he heard what was next.

"I-I pushed a panic button that Papa had installed, and I didn't even know if it would work because the car was so wrecked, but I remember laying across their bodies, crying, for hours until I felt myself being picked up. When I opened my eyes, it was Uncle Syl, and he was crying too. I thrashed around, yelling for my parents, but he just held me," I took another breath, my tears falling silently, "I remember waking up in a hospital bed, and the doctors talking about how it was a miracle that I was alive. I later found out that Papa had installed extra safety precautions in the back seat, and the passenger side, for Mama and I. I had broken bones, a head injury, and a lot of wounds all over my body. I was covered in stitches."

I put my hand on Aresius' heart, feeling it beat underneath my small palm, basking in the comfort he brought.

"After that, I moved into Gramma's house, with her and Uncle Syl. I spent a lot of time recovering, it was a lot of physical therapy and motivation from Uncle Syl and Grams. I left school, not being able to go in person anymore, in a brand new place. While physically, I was starting to gain strength, my mental health declined horribly. I felt awful. S-so Uncle Syl's f-friend recommended a p-psychiatrist. This man was supposedly the best in the city, and extremely exclusive, and because Uncle Syl wanted me to be okay, he paid mountains of money for me to get sessions with this man."

I felt his whole body tense under my touch, almost as if he knew what was coming.

After moment's pause, I spoke again, my voice small, "At first, everything was fine. I had never been to a psychiatrist before, so I didn't know what to expect, but he asked me about my childhood, about what I liked to do, my favourite colour, food, books...stuff like that. I thought it was fine, that he was just trying to build a rapport with me, which is just standard procedure. But then..." I trailed off, feeling fearful again. I shut my eyes, forcing the bad memories away.

"He s-started c-complimenting me, about how smart I was, how beautiful I was, how m-mature I was for my age, and he w-would start sitting closer to me as the sessions went on. I felt numb for the most part because of my parents, and I was young, so I didn't see any signs of it being so wrong."

I heard him exhale sharply through his nose.

I was at the top of the rollercoaster now, and I knew that I had no choice but to finish.

"H-he would start touching me d-during sessions more. It was little touches at first, like patting my shoulder, but then he became more bold; be began placing his hand on my thigh, he asked me to hug him, and he would call me so gorgeous and well developed for my age, accidentally brushing up on me, though, I knew it was on purpose," I sucked in breathed, "So I started wearing pants to sessions instead of the dresses that I usually wore," I stilled, "B-but I was a kid Reece, w-why did I have to be the one that covered up because of a disgusting m-man? I asked, feeling helpless.

"It started to make me feel icky, it made me feel so scared, but when I didn't answer his inappropriate questions, or if I moved away from his touch, he would get upset and yell at me, say he was trying to help me. He made me swear not to tell anyone, that it was illegal for me to tell my family or anyone else what happened in sessions. He said it would end in trouble, and with the continuous threats, I stayed silent."

The tears came back full force as I neared the end of the story, "On one day, when I walked in, everything felt different. He was extremely excited, and ready to start our session. He handed me a drink, and I didn't want to have it, but he tipped the cup closer to my mouth, and forced me to sip. I immediately felt off after I drank it, and I could feel myself getting drowsy. I don't remember much, other than him locking the door, come to sit beside me, but Uncle Syl must have been tipped off that there was something wrong with this man because he burst through the door and yanked that m-man away from me. He was fighting him but I called for him because I was so out of it, and when Uncle Syl came to help me...he r-ran."

Aresius wiped my tears, when I finally looked up at him.

"I overheard Uncle Syl talking to a colleague on the phone a a few months afterwards, and he said how the man, while he started off as a psychiatrist, he got involved in exploitation rings, and with the people who ran them and other traffickers, and auction houses. I suppose he must have always had those urges, and just used his career and position of power to engage in the urges. I found out that usually he would take on a client, and sell their information to someone in the rings, or traffic houses, and then those people would then kidnap this person, and I assume he was going to do the same t-to me, but U-Uncle Syl said h-he had taken a liking t-to me," I couldn't see through all my tears, "T-they haven't ever f-found him since he ran, and I k-know that Uncle S-Syl blames h-himself for all this," I finally finished and laid my head on his chest.

He let me cry again, wrapping his arms tightly around my body, making me feel so small and safe.

I felt as though nothing could touch me in this moment.

I sniffled, and lifted my head up to look at him. His eyes scanned my tear stricken face, and while his eyes were soft when they looked at me, I could feel the anger radiating off of his body.

We stared at each other in silence, until finally he spoke, his voice low and dangerous.

"I'm going to kill him."

I shook my head no vehemently, not wanting him to do something like that because of me.

"Alette...I'm so..." his voice sounded distressed, "I'm sorry someone took advantage of you after going through what you went through. And I'm..." he swallowed, "I'm sorry for your loss. Your parents sounded amazing," he said, with sincerity.

I nodded, a small fond smile making its way onto my face. My parents kept me going, even through all the darkness.

"They were wonderful people," I told him softly.

We were both consumed by our thoughts for a moment; until I remembered the initial reason that I had told him about my past.

"A-Ares?"

"Hm?" he asked, still looking deep in thought.

I played with the rings on his fingers, "H-How d-do you know him?"

I could feel my heartbeat increase. I hadn't ever been afraid of Aresius, and in my heart, I knew that he was a good man. Moreover, Uncle Syl trusted me with him, and that had to count for something. Though, the most important thing was how I felt when I was with him; I felt entirely protected.

But then, how did he know of Nikolas Kan?

He bowed his head, looking onto our hands, as I held his hand. He looked up at me, his eyes dark, and slightly...anxious?

"I..." his voice was gravelly; "I haven't been entirely honest with you about the work that I do."

I tilted my head in confusion, "W-what do you mean?"

He cleared his throat, his whole body tense, and he looked off onto a random spot in the room.

"I told you about what I did for work, but that's not all I do," he swallowed, his voice stiff. I gave his hand a squeeze, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb.

"I track people down, similar to a PI, as I told you, and I apprehend them, but sometimes...its not all legal. I don't always work with people that are working by the law, and sometimes, when I travel across the world to seize criminals...they don't make it out alive. But baby..." he implored, grabbing both my hands, "These monsters deserve it. I swear I try to make sure they get a trial and are imprisoned through the system, but most of the time, they resist and...whatever happens happens."

My mouth was slightly open, "D-don't you get in trouble for that?"

"The justice system turns a blind eye to a lot of things."

I let his words soak in.

He was right.

"I work a lot for private parties, as well as for the public system sometimes, and I collaborate with...groups of people that aren't exactly the most lawful. Your uncle is the one who brought this case to me, for obvious reasons. But my main caseload is with children. Apprehending missing children, kidnapped children, exploited children, all of that accord. I bring them to safety, and get rid of the people that harmed them," his voice grew heavy, as if something was lodged in his throat.

"All children should have loving families and happy childhoods."

My heart broke from the way he spoke, with so much conviction, with so much...experience. There was a lot more to Aresius that I didn't even know about.

He cleared his throat, his voice resuming its usual low and unmoving tone, "We have a security business as well. I also invest in other companies and properties, and theres some underground fighters that I sponsor, scholarships and athletes, mainly orphan kids, boys and girls who grew up on the streets, those who didn't have many to call their own. I do other work too, just...that's the brunt of it," he finished.

I leaned forwards, wrapping my arms around his neck, giving him the hug he deserved.

"You're not a bad man Reece, you're a hero."

I whispered into his neck, and then I drew back, looking at him, his eyes were calmer now, as was the rest of his body. I cupped his face in my hands; my hands looking tiny in comparison to how big his face was. My eyes darted all over his face, taking in all his features. I noticed faint pink and white scars; one over his left eyebrow, and on his left cheekbone, and one larger one that disappeared into his hairline. I felt his stubbly cheeks beneath my soft palm, and the curve of his cheekbone.

He was art.

I brought my lips to each of the scars on his face, giving them a feathery kiss, feeling his warm skin under my lips. I moved away from his face, and resumed my staring.

My soft cardigan fell off my shoulder slightly; his gaze became hyper focused on the exposed skin, and the scar on my upper arm. He brought his finger to my shoulder and with a light touch, traced the skin, his touch leaving fire on my skin.

I leaned forwards, and he met me halfway.

I felt a billion butterflies coursing through my stomach, taking flight for the first time.

Our kiss this time was different. No longer hesitant, or shadowed with softness. Instead, it was raw and it was real, fuelled by the intense honesty of our prior conversation.

We had laid down our truths to each other, and while I knew that there was more to read when it came to the Book of Aresius, I would wait until he was ready to tell me that.

His lips were gentle against mine, but the topography of the kiss was anything but. It was demanding, it was all consuming.

He held onto my waist, his fingers digging into my hips slightly, as I put my hands on his shoulders, steadying myself.

We both came up for air, and his eyes were dark, illuminated by the golden light of the setting sun.

My mouth was slightly agape, as I breathed heavily. My cheeks felt flushed.

"More."

It was a gentle command, the kind that I knew I could decline. He would never force me to do a thing. He respected me.

But I wouldn't ever decline.

I couldn't ever decline.

He claimed my mouth the moment I moved forwards, and the kiss felt like the blast of a cannon to celebrate a victory rather than gentle butterflies.