There was always a calming nature to palm trees that soothed Aurora. The docile nature of their leaves in the wind was something she fixated on when in a car. It slowed her heartbeat, calmed her heart, put her entire being at ease. Many times when she passed palm trees, she longed to be like them: free. It was one of her favorite things about California; Seeing them pass by in Nate's car made her relieved to be home. And made her feel all the more free.

Santiago drove the three in silence, Aurora's head resting on Nate's shoulder. She had soon fallen asleep when the two men had explained everything to her, their entire flushed out plan. The day Aurora was kidnapped, Nate had approached Santiago. He confessed Arlan's plan to kill Santiago, and helped swap out the poisonous alcohol with a normal bottle. He told Santiago to fake his reaction, lead Arlan to believe he was dead. Then, he helped assist Silver Crest to weaken Obsidian Wrath by stealing a deal from them, ultimately putting them in a two million dollar debt.

Nate had told Santiago to pretend to be a student at the community college and specifically seek out Aurora, to get her well acquainted. Aurora wasn't allowed to talk to any boys, so Nate knew she wouldn't tell Arlan, and Arlan would never suspect Santiago was alive.

He then plotted for Aurora to become suspicious of Santiago. He gave Santiago placebo pills to look as though he was drugging her. When in actuality, he never harmed her; Aurora was truthfully sick from swimming in the creek. And lastly, he told Santiago to threaten her life. It was all part of the plan. He had to convince Aurora he was evil so she wouldn't suspect Nate was working with him.

And lastly, Nate turned his back on Aurora so Arlan was convinced he was on her side. He went along with everything, lying that they were in Russia, even going as far as tattooing her - all the while texting Santiago there whereabouts, waiting for his arrival.

He had planned this since he met Aurora, never intending to let her stay in Arlan's wrath. He always sought to protect her, it was a matter of timing, logistics, and a poker face.

"We're here," Santiago spoke. He parked at the hotel they were staying at for the night. "Make sure you don't wake her, she needs sleep."

"I wasn't planning on it."

Another car rolled up besides theirs, Nate and Santiago looking over.

"That must be Elise, I sent a car for her," Nate spoke. He had also called her in the car and explained everything. She was free, all the Obsidian men were free, along with the other maids and young female chefs. With the money Jake and Obsidian Wrath left Nate, he was going to organize accommodations for all of them to live. The older maids would look after the young children, with the older men getting their own apartments to start real, ethical jobs. Nate would soon find his own apartment too, after a few nights in the hotel. "Are you staying here too?" He asked.

"No," Santiago spoke. "I'm going back to Argentina with my family, to start anew. My grandmother is ill and I'm going to care for her."

"Wow," Nate whispered. "Well, thank you, man. It's been a long trip, but we finally made it."

Turning from his seat, Santiago pressed his lips to a small grin.

"Take care of yourself, will you?" Santiago encouraged.

Nate simply nodded his head. "You too," He mumbled.

"And Nate," Santiago added, eyes shining with sincerity. "Get everything you deserve."

Nate had a lot of things he planned going forward, he was relieved to taste freedom and had a new life. However, something in Santiago's eyes made him feel like he was talking about something specific.

"I hope I do," Nate responded earnestly, before opening the car door.

He checked in with Aurora in his arms, and gently carried Aurora inside, laying her body on satin sheets. When he left and retired to his room, a knock had his head snapping up.

Elise stood at the doorway in a yellow sundress, her ginger tendrils loose to her waist. She was positively breath taking and other worldly, so stunning to the eyes. Nate sprinted up and the two hugged passionately, her head buried into his broad chest. He squeezed her small frame tightly as she cried, relieving her heavy emotions.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Elise choked, sobbing. "Thank you so much,"-

"Stop, it's okay," Nate rubbed her back, squeezing her tight. "You're free, shh, no need to thank me. Just be happy."

When the two parted, Elise had teary eyes, relieved with her newfound freedom, but looked nervous. A smile cracked onto her dry lips, her hands wringing together. She inhaled deeply, before exhaling the air slowly.

"Nate...now that we're here, I really want to tell you something."

"Me too," Nate's eyes lit up as he took hold of her hands.

She looked down to his hands warmly holding hers and grinned softly, then back to his eyes, exhaling a soft giggle. She loved his warm skin touch, his fingers were smooth and velvety. She stared at their interlocked hands once more, his tan skin against her paleness. He gently guided her to his hotel bed, where they sat next to each other.

"I'm...nervous," She admitted, chewing her plump lower lip.

"So am I," He exhaled, tightening the hold on her hand.

And with that gesture, she looked up and met his puppy dog irises.

How could you not feel safe around Nate?

She instantly felt comforted. She loved how tightly he held her hands, it told her: 'It's okay, Elise, you're safe! Just say it! Admit your feelings!' With a deep breath, she pushed away the heavy feeling in her chest and decided to simply trust her instincts. She was now free, why wouldn't she take the opportunity to be with Nate? She knew Nate liked her back, there was nothing to lose - and only new romance to be excited for.

Nate would have his own apartment, and the two would have movie nights, order takeout, sleepovers. Maybe even down the line Elise would move in. She'd love nothing more than to spend sleepy mornings with him and be wrapped in his embrace to fall asleep come night time. There was so much to envision for the future, it had her heart fluttering and stomach abuzz with rapid butterflies.

Elise laughed nervously, her grin widening. She was now sure of it; It was time. She was ready.

"I like you."

"I got married."

Elise's smile froze on her face, she'll shocked. She held it for a moment longer, unsure if she heard what she think she did. Then, her smile gradually dissipated. Had she heard him correctly?

The two simply stared at one another. Her giddy expression she held before was gone. Confusion, hurt and rejection slammed her conscious at once. Her heart fell to her stomach and her face fell to a deadpan.

"What?" Elise whispered in disbelief. She felt crushed. An elephants foot to her chest. "But...I never saw any woman with you in the house."

Nate licked his lips and formed his mouth to speak. Yet, no words came out. In exasperation, he released a soft sigh.

"She had been confined to my room and she is in another suite right now. And how it happened, well...I told Aurora that Arlan was in debt..." Nate released an exasperated sigh, rubbing his eye harshly, "...and she drunkenly told Arlan she knew about it after the Fall Back. Arlan was...mad, so when we went to Russia," Nate paused and shook his head, looking towards the ceiling. His eyes shone with bitterness. "Arlan...he forced my life if I didn't marry their boss's daughter."

Elise's eyes helplessly watered.

"The Russia mafia had a rule that if a daughter marries outside their mafia and into another, she is disowned. So this girl..." Nate released an even louder sigh, rubbing at his left eye, "is married to me and forever banned from her family," He concluded. "Her name is Milenna."

Elise's lips wobbled dangerously fast and an accelerated heart rate had her feeling like she just finished a triathlon. What was she hearing? How could this be true? Her eyes dropped from his as her chest tightened with a hollow and empty feeling.

"Oh," was all she could muster beneath a whisper.

"B-but Elise, this doesn't change anything," Nate quickly said, taking her hands. He eyed her sincerely while her eyes stayed glue to the bed. "I like you, I want to be with you. This girl, she's not really my wife, just on paper."

"How could you say that?" Elise implored in disgust, meeting his eyes in shock. She coiled away from his touch, her cold arms trembling furiously. She eyed him in disdain, wide eyes full of tears. "How could you say she's not really your wife? She is your wife, of course the marriage is real."

"But I don't want her!" Nate beseeched in frustration.

The rage in his face was clear. His eyes quickly softened as her realized how loud he was being. Whispering vehemently, he continued,

"I don't want her to be my wife, Elise. I was forced into this."

"So what are you going to do?" Elise whispered incredulously. "Throw her on the side of the street and sell her to someone else? You can't, Nate. She's yours forever, now."

"I...I don't know!" Nate sputtered softly, blinking harshly. Admittedly, he had expected Elise to be on his side - so this was pissing him off. He rubbed his eyes hard and clamped his hand over them. "I can try to get the marriage annulled, or something, maybe try to get her her on place,"-

"So you're going to take a girl who speaks no English and has never lived in America and force her to live on her own? Nate, this is a terrifying situation for her - her family has abandoned her, she can't understand what anyone is saying here. How will she stay afloat living on her own? How will she get a job, or communicate with people? She needs your protection!"

"This isn't my responsibility," Nate icily snapped in a whisper, throwing his hand off his eyes. He glared at Elise. "I don't know this girl, okay. I'm not obligated to do anything with her, not be married to her or make sure she's okay. I was forced into this, I don't want this, and I'd really just rather go on pretending she doesn't exist! So can you just be with me?" He shouted lividly.

Elise gave him a pointed look of hurt and disappointment. His rage was doing nothing to make her feel safe with him anymore. He stuttered for words and sighed.

"Elise, I'm sorry, I meant," -

"No, Nate. You have a wife. I can't be with you. And like it or not, she is your responsibility now."

Nate's eyes glossed over with tears as he painfully looked away as Elise continued.

"She's a foreign girl thrown into a marriage in a new country in a mafia home - you need to make her feel safe, whether you want to or not. Or at least let her get back home. But I can't imagine being her right now, and what could only make it worse is having an angry husband."

The last word felt so foreign on Elise's lips. She could hardly believe she was calling Nate that. Nate's lips were tightly pursed as his face was growing red, brows tightly knit together.

Elise's lips wobbled as a pearly tear was streaming down. "But...this can't work unless you aren't married anymore."

Nate clamped a hand over his eyes and rubbed his tears aggressively away, nudging the back of his hand on a rolling tear on his cheek. With a sniffle, his blank eyes stared ahead of him.

"Does she even understand what's happening? Why she's here, that you two are married?"

"Yes," Nate grit out in irritation. "Her father explained the circumstances to her, took the money from Arlan and allowed it."

"She had no say?" Elise whispered.

Nate's leg began rapidly bouncing, his knee jerking up and down anxiously.

"She had no say," Nate murmured.

"God..." Elise trailed off, sickened. "What if she becomes pregnant, Nate?"

"What?" Nate instantaneously pivoted his body, gawking at her. "We aren't going to have sex."

"She will be in your bed every night, Nate! What do you think is going to happen between you two?" Elise whimpered helplessly, her heart clawing with jealousy.

"When I get my own place, we will sleep in different beds," Nate concurred.

Elise scoffed, sputtering incoherently.

"And alienate her even more?" Elise seemed offended for the girl. "She is already isolated enough from everyone else in the country, now her supposed husband won't even sleep in the same bed as her? And you think that's going to make sense to her?" Elise challenged.

"Well...I don't know!" Nate snapped, his upper lip snarling. "I don't have the perfect answers here, Elise. What do you want me to do? I'll do anything that makes you comfortable and makes us able to work," He pleaded.

Seeing the desperation on his face, Elise's features softened with sympathy. With a lick to her lips, she sighed, her shoulders dropping. She was quick to judge Nate for a situation in which he was entirely faultless and helpless in; Nate was not the villain here. He was in his total rights to not want this marriage forced upon him, that was clear.

"I'm sorry," Elise finally said, hating to see Nate look so pained. "You don't deserve this, Nate."

"Can we make it work, please?" Nate begged exasperatedly. His velvet fingers took hold of her small, smooth hands. That safe feeling flooded Elise's body. He smoothed his thumbs gently over the valleys of her knuckles, back and forth.

"We're free, beautiful. We're free," Nate whispered incredulously, a dry laugh slipping from him. Elise laughed subtly with him, tears pushing her eyes. An all consuming feeling of long awaited freedom overflowed her. She was free, it was nearly impossible to grasp, but unbelievably deserving and relieving. Maybe she could ignore Nate's wife and allow herself to be with him.

"I want to be happy with you," Nate's lips petaled the knuckles of both of her hands in ginger kisses. "Can we make it work?" He whispered, peering up through his lashes and continuing to kiss her knuckles. "I would risk anything for you, anything to make you and I work. I want nothing more, Elisera Rosemary Leaumont."

She had never heard Nate say her full name, and it made her feel fully seen for the first time in years. She had long forgotten her French identity, and it made her heart grow warm to hear her last name again. Elise bit her lip, growing increasingly emotional.

"I don't know, Nate. I'm not comfortable with you having a wife," She whispered earnestly.

"I promise, I am going to get rid of the marriage; In an ethical way, of course. I won't just leave her stranded, but she won't be staying the rest of her life with me," Nate insisted desperately. "Would it make you feel more comfortable if you met her?" Nate asked of Elise, turning to her. He wanted to simply rip the bandage off. "She may be more comfortable here seeing another girl," His left shoulder weakly shrugged. "She just cries around me, and you have such a comforting presence, it may ease her anxiety."

Elise's heart clenched. This whole meeting was supposed to be Nate and Elise coming together, not Elise soothing Nate's new wife. Did she even want to see the new beautiful Russian girl who was Nate's wife? The girl who would be with Nathaniel forever, instead of Elise even having a chance with Nate for a little while?

Her nurturing and empathetic heart made it impossible for her to say no. She was known to coddle people and make sure they were okay, she could not deny Milenna that.

"Okay," Elise softly agreed.

The two rose and pushed open the door, entering the hotel hallway.

Sauntering through the hallway, Elise's hands wrung together nervously. She had not expected things to go this way whatsoever. She was finally free, and ready to jump into Nate's arms and ride off into the sunset. The two would have their first kiss, first date, and more. Now, that perfect illusion seemed shattered. Elise was hanging on a small string of hope for the two of them. And once she saw what his wife looked like, it would determine if Nate was sincere about leaving her. Even if this young Russian girl barely spoke English, and Nate didn't have feelings for her yet, Elise had insecurities that her beauty would be enough to lure Nate to her side, especially if she was supposed to be there forever, anyway. Nate turned a key to the room door, before slowly turning the golden door knob. With sweatied palms, Elise huffed out a breath, mentally preparing herself. When the room revealed, Elise's breath halted. Nate gulped, hesitantly gesturing towards his hotel bed.

"Elise...meet Milenna."