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👻Zoe's P.O.V

I let out a sleepy groan, my senses waking up and the feeling of my neck throbbing painfully couldn't be ignored any longer.

My brows knitted upon seeing myself wrapped with a blanket that I used on Aron and the frying pan in my ha–SHIT.

My body jerked up from the couch and glanced at the spot where Aron was and found it empty instead.

HOLLY SHEET!

How did he escape my rope? I smacked my head harshly when I realized that I didn't bind his hands.

Letting out a curse, I took the frying pan from the couch and looked around the living room in suspicion. My eyes squinted and the pan raised in front of me.

At the sound of footsteps, I quickly turned around and was ready to swing the pan but paused when I was met with a bewildered Aron who had a fork inside his mouth.

It seems that he had come out from the kitchen and was holding a plate filled with spaghetti. My spaghetti.

I took in his half-naked form and wasn't sure wether to laugh or be satisfied at the sight of the rope still tied on his ankle and was being dragged behind him.

That was such a good knot.

Thankfully, the bandage didn't have any bleeding. Seeing that I wasn't doing anything, he pulled the fork away and started to chew on my pasta.

"Who told you that you could eat my spaghetti?" I scowled, pointing the frying pan at him.

He gulped down his food and placed the fork on the plate before raising one of his hand in a surrender way.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I haven't had any food for a two days." He said through mouthfuls.

At his words, I felt a frown form on my lips. Now that he stood before me, I could make out every small lash that he had on his body and the bruises that were appearing.

I noticed the tired bags from his face and the exhaustion that was obvious in his eyes. He looked like he had an extremely rough two days.

"I demand an explanation." I cleared my throat, glancing at him briefly and taking seat on the beige recliner that was next to the couch.

"I'll tell you after I eat, its bad to talk when your mouth is full." Aron interjected, completely focused on eating his food.

"Who knew you had manners," I muttered to which he chose to ignored.

He might be an asshole but food is something that you shouldn't deny a person with no matter the circumstances.

I leaned back on the seat, the frying pan giving me a certain reassurance and waited for him to finish.

I straightened up in my seat when he finally placed the plate on the small coffee table and took a huge gulp from the glass of water that I placed there last night.

After that, he let out a satisfied sigh and stood up."That was one of the most delicious spaghetti that I've eaten. Thank you,"

Aron then proceeded to sit on the floor and gripped the end of the rope before bending down and tying it back to the couch's feet.

I felt myself gape, the fact that he was being polite and tying himself back so willingly made everything feel like a dream.

Yelping loudly, I glanced at the skin that I pinched and realized that I was indeed awake. He let out a small grunt and sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the couch.

"Spill it before I hit you with this frying pan," I threatened, throwing him a slight glare.

I'm not letting my guard down, who knows this might be one of his plan. There is no way I'd be that idiot who trusted so easily and dies in the end, nope, absolutely not.

Aron chuckled and crossed his ankle against the other."Considering you saved my life, I'll tell you everything." He announced.

I huffed, pointing the frying pan at him."Start. Talking." I firmly said. He didn't even bat an eye at this and stared at the cartoon character that was being played in the TV.

"You're all falling for his trap and it wouldn't take long before he kills you all." He said, not looking away from the TV.

My brows knitted at his words."His? I think the right term is my Aron." I corrected. Last time I checked, he was the one trying to kill us.

"This is all my dad's plan. Everything that has happened is because of him. His manipulation." He shot back, his voice firm.

I raised a brow, crossing my leg across the other."Do you seriously expect me to believe you? You tried to kidnap me and almost killed Tyrone."

Aron let out a sigh."I'm not expecting you to believe me but atleast try to keep your mind open to what I'm about to say." He softly said.

I huffed, nodding at him. This information is something that I could tell the police when I'm gonna turn him in, might as well try to listen to this villian's story.

"Tyrone was my bestfriend and yes, I'm not gonna deny the fact that I cheated on him with his girlfriend but I loved Audrey. I truly did." Aron said, his expression void.

Loved? That's past tense. Does that mean they'v broken up? Well, its not my business but I'm wondering how its connected to his story.

"Losing Tyrone was like losing a piece of me." He glanced at me briefly."I tried to talk to him and apologize but the wound was far too deep for him to accept me back." He continued, his voice saddened.

Losing a friend is worse than a break up. The commitment of both parties to one another is more present than being in a relationship.

That's tested and proven by yours truly. There was a time where Eliki and I got into a misunderstanding that led to us not talking for a week.

Least to say, it was the worst week of my life and the pain in my chest at not being able to talk to her was hella intense.

"I was young at that time hence why I couldn't imagine the extent of pain that I've cause him but his dissmisal of our friendship was something that made me bitter. It made me angry." Aron said, his lips in a grim line.

Huh, I'm kind of surprise that he willingly admits to his wrong. Some people would try to hide their shit with dirt but only ends up being exposed in the end.

"My father, he saw that bitterness in me and used my anger to manipulate me. His words made me hate Tyrone, it deepened the anger that coursed through me." He confessed, leaning his head back to stare at the cieling.

His Father?

"One thing you should know about my dad, he's not the guy he seems to be." Aron's expression hardened at his words.

"What do you mean?" I asked, his words made me perk up and my curiosity slowly starting to burn.

"My dad's a business man and a good one at that. People who rise like him would surely be eaten by greed for power and money. The illegal business that he runs is the sum of that." Aron revealed, his voice somber.

"Illegal business?" I repeated, my eyes widening in surprise.

I recalled meeting his dad at the hospital when he visited Tyrone. He was friendly and seemed to be a decent man. There's also the part where he willingly volunteered to help the police in finding Aron.

He nodded."Drugs. He's a big time business man in the morning and a drug lord at night. That's the truth in his identity." He firmly stated.

"Someone who's a drug leader wouldn't be an idiot to help the police. It could risk the exposure of his true line of work." I pointed out.

I leaned back in my seat, my eyes observing his movements to see any signs of habits that could indicate he was lying.

Aron was completely relaxed, although his voice had a lit of certain anger to it. There wasn't anything that could give away his true intentions.

He's either telling the truth or he's one heck of a liar.

"That kind of thinking is the reason why you're all fooled. He used me to trick you guys into thinking he's a good person." He pointed out, meeting my eyes.

"Used you? How?" I questioned, leaning slightly forward in my seat.

"I've told you he manipulated my emotions and he was the one who suggested that I teach both of you a lesson," Aron said, his voice deep from anger.

"Which means that his manipulation and your reactions of it were part of his plan," I said, earning a nod from him.

"It was and I didn't have any idea, well, not until I accidentally eavesdrop on his conversation with one of his men." He scowled, staring at his bruised hands.

"I'm guessing that's the reason why you look like that," I nodded to his state, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

Aron bobbed his head,"I got caught and he made his 'men' beat me up and had me locked up in my room for two days."

"You couldn't even gather information without getting your rich ass caught," I joked, sensing his gloomy aura.

I couldn't help but feel confused though, Why do people let themselves be consumed by greed? By power?

It does nothing but cause pain and bring destruction to our world.

Aron cracked a smile."It was worth it though, I'm now aware of his reason and plan." He said, turning to look at me.

"And what is his reason?" I questioned, meeting his stare.

"To protect his underground kingdom. It seems that the police have caught wind of it and are doing an investigation." He answered immediately.

"So you're attack on Tyrone was a diversion for him to buy himself some time," I thought loud, somehow finally seeing the pieces.

"He knew that the sherrif wouldn't take it lightly if his son got hurt and prioritize his case first," Aron nodded, pushing his hair back.

"And your dad's willingness to help the police is a way for him to secretly spy on the paused case about him, am I right?" I said, turning to look at him.

Now that he revealed these details, I could make out the possible solutions that would could help his dad turn the tables towards him.

"He's killing two birds in one stone. The police wouldn't suspect him easily and he could lead them to a dead end about his case." Aron had a serious look on his face and I couldn't help but somehow believe him.

"If you knew about his illegal business then how come you didn't report this to the police in the first place?" I questioned, a frown slipping on my lips.

His words sunk deep, my brain twisting and trying to weigh out the possibility of all his words being true.

This isn't something that can be easily made up and besides, why would a son expose his dad for doing such unlawful deed when it could cause him his reputation and money?

"I've only known about this last year. I wanted to tell the police but," He hesitated, his brows furrowing.

"But?" I repeated, catching his gaze.

He looked down, fiddling with his fingers and I could sense the vulnerability he was trying to hide from me.

"My little brother," He started off, his voice almost in a whisper. I kept quiet, waiting for him to continue.

Aron's jaw clenched, his hands turning into tight fists."He's gonna hurt my little brother if I tell the police," He angrily said.

I leaned back in surprise, my eyes widening slightly at his confession.

"What?" I stammered."How could he do that? You're both his son!" I pointed out, raising my voice slightly.

"It's because he thinks only of himself that he can do that." Aron answered coldly.

"What about your mom? Can't she do anything?" I questioned, somehow feeling panicked.

Aron looked away."My mother's dead, she died giving birth to him." He gulped, his voice wavering slightly.

My shoulders sagged at his words, my mouth opening a few times to find the right words. I feel the guilt coursing in me at my lack of sensitivity.

"I'm sorry." I softly said, feeling the frown on my lips deepen.

Aron waved a hand off."It's okay, you didn't know." He dismissed.

"But where is he now? Is he with your dad? We have to save him!" I stood up abruptly, earning a surprised look from him.

If what he said is true then that is such a cruel thing to do to your own son. This just proves that money does change people and having power intensifies that even more.

The doubt that has been lurking in the back of mind has faded and was now replaced with mixed emotions.

Shit. This is gonna be a sleepless night for me later. Thoughts were swarming in my head but I immediately pushed them back and focused on our conversation.

He shook his head, a small smile gracing his lips and I couldn't help but pause, somehow taken aback at how genuine it looked despite being barely there.

The green irises weren't the familiar dark shade that usually made me uncomfortable but rather it was the shade of light green that lightened his features up.

Huh, now that his head is somehow out of his ass, he looked rather humane and somehow easy on the eyes.

He gently shook his head at me."He's somewhere safe. I managed to fool my dad into thinking he went off to some kiddie's camp."

"Oh," I replied, feeling embarrassed at how determined I sounded."How did you managed to escape then and how'd you know where I live?" I asked, those questions burning since yesterday.

He let out an amused snort,"I fooled his men into thinking that my dad and I were finally in good terms but somehow half-way failed when his right man arrived and stabbed me to prevent me from fleeing which of course, didn't end well for him." Aron smirked cockily.

I rolled my eyes."Yeah and it almost didn't end well for you too," I shot back, wiping the smirk off of his face.

His cockiness somehow made me feel relieved, it wasn't showing off like before but somehow it made him the Aron Thompson the I knew.

"As for your address, I obviously did some research on you." He honestly answered, throwing me a slight glare.

I pointed the pan at him."That's against my rights." I deadpanned, a scowl gracing my lips.

He shrugged in a careless manner."Everyone does that."

He was right but I wasn't gonna tell him that.

Ignoring his comment, I leaned forward in my seat."I don't understand though, why would you ask for my help when you have your own friends."

I remembered the time where we first met and he was with two other guys. The second time was when he tried to kidnap me, the guys he was with looked like his age well, our age.

A guy with a reputation like him would surely have lots of friends and females that are eager to be with him. I could even bet that he's famous in his school because of it.

The smirk slipped off his face and was replaced with a stoic expression."When you tend to have a reputation that involves lots of dollar signs, its hard finding real friends." He shrugged, looking away.

I frowned, his comment somehow made me sad. Not only did he lose his mom and have a manipulative dad left behind but he also doesn't have any friends that he could lean on.

It somehow made me understand why he grew up like this. Beneath his overbearing and cocky attitude, he was suffering loneliness and lack of guidance and love from a parent.

I nodded quietly."But we aren't friends though, far from it." I told him, earning a nod from him.

"I knew we aren't friends but you were the only that I felt I could trust." He answered awkwardly, briefly glancing at me.

"Well, you should listen to your instincts more, it could help improve your shitty ass attitude." I smiled sassily, trying to lighten up the mood.

He let out a soft chuckle, completely sounding different from his previous one."Thank you for saving me," Aron genuinely said.

I felt my cheeks heat up at the reminder of my good deed and quickly looked away. It's not something that I'm embarrassed but it just makes me feel shy.

"You're still an asshole Aron," I huffed, crossing my arms defensively.

An amused grin morphed on his lips,"And you're still a bitch Zoe."

This chapter was quite a challenge for me to write, I had to remake it literally so many times because I didn't like the way it ended.

I'm sorry I made you wait hehe but it was worth it though! You are reading a piece of Aron Thompson and a glimpse of truth? I don't know, let's not put our down guard yet cardishes.

I'm not sure how Zoe's gonna handle this though but let's see in the upcoming chapter! Can you guys like comments on how the book is so far for you guys? Like is the story okay? The characters? I need teensy bit reassurance hehe

I hope you're all doing okay and let's not forget to spend our quarantine time by doing something productive!

Also, let's continue to use our social media platforms and support the #BlackLivesMatter campaign and continue voicing out the importance of equality💚

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