My sweat clad white t shirt stuck to my torso and my body glistened with sweat as it dripped down my body after hours of intense training.

Reaching my room, I locked the door and pulled the t shirt over my head and dropped it on the floor welcoming the cool air against my body.

I decided to take a long cold shower when the ringing of my phone filled the room and I frowned on seeing Hector's name flashing on the caller ID. He only calls me on Sundays and he had already called me once yesterday. Now what happened?

Picking up the call, I pressed the phone to my ear. "Hector, is something wrong?"

Only the sound of his harsh breathing could be heard and I knew something was wrong. He only spoke after half a minute. "Aeron. Dad's dead."

Cold fury ran through my veins and I gripped the phone tighter. "What?"

"Dad's dead. Robert fucking shot him this afternoon."

"Why?"

"You know how fucking brainless he is, dad must have said something to provoke him and he shot him in the middle of his forehead. I wasn't there with him or else..." He broke off, his voice a bit shaky. In all these years, I have never seen or heard about Hector losing control over his emotions.

When dad was alive, years back he had made Hector somehow get inside the Calathan family and Hector is an absolute beast at pretending and has his way with words, gained Robert's trust in no time without him doubting for a second that he was a Caligo. That was ten years ago.

Over the years, Hector had been transferring important details of the Calathans to dad until now, where he failed to protect him.

"When's the funeral?" I asked.

"I am holding a secret funeral two days later. And I will be sending the jet for you tomorrow, come back."

Come back. Not for a week or so. But it was time for me to move back to DC. Dad had chosen me as his successor despite Hector being the eldest and now with him dead, I had to take over, whether I was ready or not.

"What about Robert? Are we going to forget what he did?"

"No." A dangerous glint bled into his tone. "I have a perfect revenge planned for him."

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.

.

He placed his phone on the desk in front of me, a picture of a young, innocent girl with a toothy grin on her face. "This is Farren Calathan, his daughter."

I lifted up my gaze. "And I am supposed to protect her?"

"Pretend to protect her." He corrected. "Robert cares for her a lot even though he might not show it. You are going to marry her so that you can keep an eye on her 24/7 and a month or so later when you have gained Robert's trust, you are going to execute her. And break him in the process and then, I am going to avenge dad's death."

I glanced down at her picture. "She looks young and... innocent. Why do we have to drag her into this mess?"

Hector leaned forward placing his palms on the desk. "She is his daughter, Aeron. She has his blood which makes her equally guilty and she is a Calathan, for how long we have been rivals with them? You should be honoured that you will get to kill them one by one."

My jaw ticked, my eyes fixed on her picture. Farren. Why does she have to die? But I didn't argue with Hector after all he was right, she had the Calathan blood, she was equally guilty.

"And you will need to change your name." Hector told me, keeping back his phone.

"What do you suggest?"

"Your birth name, Aeron. The one your mother gave to you. Elysian. And you can take my surname. Elysian Leonidas."

"Elysian Leonidas." I repeated to myself slowly. It's been years since I have last heard anyone call me this and that was my mother whom I haven't seen in twelve fucking years.

I stood up and adjusted my suit jacket. "I have to go meet mom first."

Hector pinned me with his sharp gaze. "No. We don't have time for that. Our plan will be executed from this moment onwards."

My jaw clenched but then again I didn't say anything and nodded, agreeing to him.

.

.

.

"What the fuck, Hector?!" I slammed my fist on his desk. "They were just supposed to follow us! Just supposed to scare her, the fuck did they attack?"

"That was a miscommunication." He answered slowly. "I instructed them carefully but I guess their dead brains got nothing."

"They fucking clashed the cars together. Something could have happened, something could have happened to me or even her!"

His eyes narrowed subtly. "Her?"

Fuck.

He walked across his desk and closer to me. "What do you mean by her? Why do you care if something would have happened to her?"

"You don't wanna kill her just now, do you?"

"Oh, no...I don't. But you seemed to be a lot more concerned about her than yourself. That day when you woke up you only asked for her. Why, Aeron? Should I be worried?"

Tension coiled my muscles. "There's nothing to be worried about."

He slightly cocked his head. "Hm... I hope not. You are the only best man for this job, it wouldn't be nice to replace you."

Just the thought of another man looking after her sent a shot of fury through my body and I trampled it down quickly.

I gave him a curt nod. "I know what I am doing. No need to worry."

Suspicion swirled inside his eyes but he said nothing more.

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.

.

"So that's what your important work was? To see a doctor?" He leaned against his desk and folded his arms across his chest.

"Have you been keeping tabs on me?"

"I had to the moment you started acting suspicious. Leaving her with me to go somewhere."

"Don't do that again, Hector. I don't like you keeping tabs on me. I can go wherever the fuck I want."

He pushed back his spectacles. "Of course you can but going to a doctor only to be diagnosed as to be in love... that's concerning."

My fists clenched and suddenly I wanted pummel that doctor's face. Why would he tell this to Hector? "The doctor has lost his mind, that's what I told him. I am not in love with her."

"So what about that 'burning sensation' in your heart?" He air quoted.

I lowered my gaze and gritted my teeth. "Nothing. It will go away soon. I am not in love with her."

"Fucking harden your heart, Aeron. You are turning soft, this is not how you will be able to lead the Caligos."

"I am not turning soft. Trust me."

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.

"I am seriously starting to hate it when you call me to meet you so late at night?"

He was pacing back and forth around his office, hands behind his back and his head snapped to me. "Why? Did I disturb you in between the sex that you were having with your wife?"

The tips of my ear burnt. "That's not true. I am human so of course I feel irritated when I have to abandon my sleep to come meet you. What is it this time?"

"You took her to meet your mother? Are you insane? Why would you do that? She's not your real wife that you introduce her to your mother."

"I wanted to meet mom, I was missing her and besides I couldn't leave Farren alone considering how well the last time you looked over her went." I omitted the part where she had requested me to take her somewhere and my mother's home was the only destination in my mind.

"You could have dropped her at her parents' house." He raised his voice.

I was losing patience. "Why is it a such a huge issue if I introduced her to my mother?"

"It is a huge issue, Aeron because you have started to think of her as your real wife! The line between reality and fiction has started to blur for you."

"Well, we did get married so yes, she is my wife! We are officially husband and wife."

"Only on paper. Get that thing inside your fucking head. She is just your wife for the name sake, stop treating her like an actual one."

"Don't teach me how to treat her, Hector. I know what I am doing."

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His unamused chuckle was the first thing my brain registered when I woke up, my bicep burning with pain. "You have fucking lost your mind, Aeron."

I refused to acknowledge him as I laid, staring at the ceiling.

"When the Italians joined this game I thought this will be much easier. If they kill Farren, it would make our task much easier but guess what, my brother just couldn't let them do their work. He had to take the fucking shot for her."

Her fear filled face flashed across my mind and I clenched the bedsheets.

His voice turned dangerously low. "Why would you do that? Why take the shot for her? Why not let her fucking die? What if he had shot you somewhere fatal, Aeron? Then what?"

I refused to answer him.

"Should have let her die instead but no, you had to jump in between."

When I didn't answer he got up and his face came into my view. "Do your job, Aeron. Or I will. Kill her."

I closed my eyes not wanting to see his face.

And I heard the door opening. "Do it soon." And then he was gone. And I fell back into a deep sleep.

.

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"How does it feel to be in love, huh? Is it awesome? Are you loving it? Do you want to give up everything for it? Everything? Even revenge?" He slammed down his phone on the desk, a picture of me and Farren, sitting together in my mom's garden, kissing.

"Didn't I tell you not to keep tabs on me?" I growled lowly. "Don't invade my privacy."

He ignored my warning and pointed to his phone. "This is what I fucking warned you about! I told you not to fall in love with her and you had the audacity to do the one thing I asked you not to do?!"

I scoffed loudly cutting him off. "Do you think I really love her? Are you that naive to believe a single picture? To believe that I am actually in love with her?"

His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"It's an act, Hector. Tell me wouldn't it be nice to break her heart like that. To make her suffer more like that. She told me she loves me and she believes that I love her too. I am going enjoy seeing her reaction when she realises it was all a lie."

"It's an act."

"Of course, it is. I have never been in love, Hector, do you think one single woman can change that?"

"You better be not playing with me."

"I don't love her." I stated more firmly this time. "She just believes that I do."

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What are they doing here? I thought seeing Hector's men in the parking lot.

Only when I heard a thud behind me, I realised why. They were here for Farren.

Farren who now laid on the ground unconscious as Hector had hit her head with the back of his gun.

"Didn't I tell you to wait for my command?" I kept glancing between Farren's unconscious form and Hector.

"I am the mastermind in this game, Aeron."

And he re holstered his gun. "And I say, it's about fucking time."