"What are you doing in here? It's been a long time since the last time we saw each other here." Maximus and the guy fist-bumped and I wanted to smack Maximus because instead of getting embarrassed, he was boyishly grinning from ear to ear as if he was proud that someone just saw us doing it.

"Well, I've never had the time to come here for so long. I guess, it has been a yar since I last stepped foot in Costavia because I've been very busy. Anyway, I'd like you to meet my woman here. Her name is Karleen. Amorcita, this is Maximus Vázquez, one of my buddies." The guy took the girl's hand and pulled her closer to him before putting his arm over her shoulders.

To my amusement, I noticed the girl's sharp glare at him as if she was displeased of him being oveyly closed to her like that.

"It's nice meeting you, Karleen. Anyway, I'd like you to meet my beautiful fiancée. Her name is Athena. Mi hermosa, he is Xavier Van den Berg and he's one of my friends and according to him, Karleen is his girlfriend." Maximus said and chuckled after he said the last sentence. Even though I knew that my cheeks were blushing, I tried my best to act normal.

"It's nice meeting you, Mr. Van den Berg, Ms. Karleen." I answered politely. Xavier smiled.

"Are you perhaps Princess Athena Emilia Romano of Costavia?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh. It's nice meeting you, Princess Athena." He even bowed his head. Karleen looked surprise upon hearing that.

"You're a princess?" She asked in wonder and my smile widened.

"Yes, I am." I answered proudly. She did a small curtsy.

"I'm sorry, Princess Athena. I've never met any royals before and I don't know how to properly curtsy." She couldn't look me in the eyes as if she was embarrassed and I knew why. She wasn't comfortable maybe because of what she witnessed and I couldn't help but to get embarrassed even more.

"It's okay. I understand."

"What's happening to you, amorcita? You suddenly became shy. That's not like you. You act like the opposite of what you really are. Where's the feisty tigress that wanted to kill me just a while ago?" Xavier butted in with a smirk on his face as he pulled Karleen closer to him.

To my amusement, the latter lifted her foot and then stepped on Xavier's foot which made him grunt.

"Argh! What the heck was that? Damn it. I'm really going to get killed if I let my guard down in front of this woman." He said while holding his aching foot while sitting in a squatting position. Maximus and I looked at each other full of amusement before we laughed.

"I've never thought of seeing you like this before and it's actually fun." Maximus voiced out while laughing. Xavier glared at him. He was about to say something when Karleen spoke.

"If that's what you think about me, then let me go home already." She said and then looked at me. "I'm sorry for acting like this in front of you, Princess Athena. I need to go." She then walking away. Xavier grunted and then followed her right away.

He caught up to her a couple of meters away from us and stopped her by the hand.

"I was just kidding, amorcita." Xavier said like he was a lost puppy.

"Don't call me that!" Karleen snapped at him but Xavier ignored her glares and just hugged her.

"This guy. Since when did he actually stoop that low? It's very obvious that Karleen isn't interested in him." Maximus muttered while shaking his head and I chuckled.

"You're wrong." His forehead crinkled.

"What do you mean, mi hermosa?"

"Karleen obviously likes Xavier."

"Huh? She likes him? How come?" I laughed softly. I was about to answer when he continued. "Now that you mentioned it, you were like that to me before. You acted like a lioness and I really thought, you didn't like me. I nearly lost hope back then." He admitted.

"Now you understand how to be in Xavier's shoes, so don't make fun of him." I lectured him and he scratched the back of his head.

"Fine. I didn't say anything." That made me smile. Later on, Xavier and Karleen came back to where we were standing. Karleen finally looked calm.

"Hey, bro. Why don't you come to my place tomorrow so that we could bond together? I'm sure, Princess Athena here is getting bored being with you all day." Xavier suggested.

"You—" Maximus was about to retaliate when I cut him off.

"That's a good idea. We'll go, right, dolce metà?" I asked that but my eyes were telling him to just agree. He sighed in defeated.

"Fine. Whatever you say, mi hermosa." Xavier snickered.

"Pùssy-whipped, eh?"

"And look who's talking." I couldn't hold back my laugh because of Maximus' answer. I looked at Karleen and she was shaking her head.

"Okay. See you tomorrow then. We want to stay a little bit longer but we don't want to ruin your fun together. We'll go now and have fun on our own too." Xavier winked.

"Hey! Do you want me to poke your eyes?" Maximus threatened and I rolled my eyes at him. When he noticed my sharp stare, he sighed and Xavier snickered.

"We're going now, Princess Athena, Mr. Vázquez." Karleen said politely before they left.

The next day after that encounter, Maximus and I went to Xavier's place. Just like Maximus' property, Xavier's has its own beauty and unique landscape. My jaw dropped when I saw his house. It has a futuristic and unique architectural design but the thing that surprised me the most was its location.

It was nestled against a cliff as if it was part of it. If you were an acrophobia; you might don't want to step foot in it.

"Wow. This house is so beautiful." I complimented as we entered the house. Xavier was the one who opened the door for us from the inside. Now, I understood why we needed to use a car to come.

"Thank you for the compliment, Princess Athena. Come in." He answered proudly. Maximus and I went in and later on, Karleen joined us.

The four of us hang out at the pool and I almost didn't want to dip into the pool because it was hanging on the edge of the cliff not to mention that it was transparent.

"Are you afraid, mi hermosa?" Maximus teased me and I sneered at him.

"I'm not. Why would I be?" He laughed.

"My woman is really a lioness. A sexy and hot lioness at that." He whispered to my ear huskily before playfully biting my earlobe. I almost moaned if not I saw Karleen threw a glance at us. Because of embarrassment, I panicked and pushed Maximus.

Because of that, he fell into the pool. Xavier laughed loudly.

"That's what you get for trying to seduce the princess." I waited for Maximus to emerge from the water but he remained under water for some reason.

"Hey! Are you still alive in there?" Xavier asked but Maximus remained on his spot. That was when I got worried. I approached the edge of the pool, planning to dive in to check on him just to squeal in surprise when Maximus suddenly emerged from the water and pulled me by the hand until I fell into the pool.

"Damn you! You made me scared!" I hissed and then pounded his chest with my fist in anger after my head emerged from the water. He laughed and then kissed me.

"That's what you get for pushing me like that." I pinched him on his side which made him laugh heartily before hugging me sweetly.

"He's making fun of you, Princess Athena. Want me to drown him for you?" Xavier asked with a smirk. I was about to answer when Karleen butted in.

"Go ahead so that you would go to jail."

"I was just joking, amorcita. You're really hot-headed." Xavier pulled her by the waist and then kissed her.

"Kiss me too, mi hermosa." Maximus requested. I did as I was told. He groaned as our lips met and was about to deepen the kiss when someone suddenly spoke.

"What the heck. Did I enter a wrong house? Is this an orgy session or something?" Our lips pulled away as we looked at the one who spoke and I suddenly remembered Zayn Malik upon seeing him.

They have the same hair style and beard. But this man was more muscular and has that dangerous aura around him even though he was smirking.

His right arm was covered with a big tattoo which gave him the bad boy look.

"Why are you here?" Xavier asked irritably.

"Nothing really. I just thought of dropping by but I didn't expect this." He sat on the lounge chair. "That's too bad. I should've brought a girl with me so that I wouldn't look like an outcast here."

"Just happen to drop by or you're just spying on me again?" I heard Maximus asked with a hint of anger. The man laughed.

"Hey, relax. I am not. You know that I always come to X's place whenever I want to."

"Who's he, dolce metà? Why would he spy on you?" I whispered curiously to Maximus. He sighed and was about to answer when the man spoke again.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Your Royal Highness." He even bowed his head before looking at Karleen. "You too, miss sexy." He even winked at her. "I am Onyx Raven Frost and these two fùckers here are my friends." He said, referring to Maximus and Xavier.

He then approached Karleen and Xavier and extended his hands for a handshake just to be swatted by Xavier.

Karleen rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."

"Ouch. Too bad." Onyx said while chuckling before looking at our direction.

"Don't ever think about it, Nyx." Maximus' voice held warning. I rolled my eyes. To my surprise, Onyx suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.

"Damn. You two are so pùssy-whipped." Maximus and Xavier looked irritated and was about to attack Onyx but Karleen and I stopped them.

Later on, we were already enjoying each other's company. The three men were drinking beer while me and Karleen were having cocktail.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. It feels so awkward talking to you after what you witnessed." I apologized to her and then bit my lower lip. We were sitting on our respective lounge chairs while watching the guys having a swimming contest.

"To be honest, I just saw Maximus' naked back. I was just surprised to see a naked person at the river because I thought, no one was around aside from us. I really thought, it was a pervert intruder." She admitted and I almost sighed in relief. I really thought that she saw everything.

"Thank God." I mumbled.

"Pardon?"

I smiled at her widely. "Nothing. Anyway, when did you arrive here?" I responded, changing the topic.

"We arrived the other day." I nodded my head. We chatted abut random stuff after that and later on, the guys joined us. The conversation was fun even though they kept on trying to piss each other off. I really enjoyed our time together. It made me feel closer to Maximus even more.

Slowly, I get to know the people around him and it makes me feel happy. I could tell that they're important people in Maximus' life.

After that, the guys barbecued the steaks and sausages while me and Karleen swam in the pool. The day passed by so quickly because it was fun hanging out with them even though Onyx kept deliberately pissing Maximus and Xavier off.

The next day after that, Maximus told me that he needed to go out because he received an intel that his enemies were planning to bomb the biggest mall in Santino and he needed to stop that. I insisted on coming. He didn't agree at first because according to him, it was dangerous, but I stubbornly insisted.

"Since Elisa is not here right now, I'll let you come with me."

"Really?"

"Yes, but on one condition." My forehead crinkled. "You'll stay in the car no matter what happens."

"What? But I want to come with you." He held me by the shoulders and then stared at me.

"This is a dangerous mission, mi hermosa. I don't want something bad to happen to you so you'll stay in the car."

I bit my lower lip. "What if you'd get hurt? I—" He place a finger on my lips.

"Shh...Nothing bad will happen to me. I just need to do something to stop this because I'm sure that they're going to pin the blame on me again. I can't stay here knowing that people are going to die if I wouldn't stop them.

"I couldn't do anything in the past as they ruined my reputation and name. Now, I'll make sure to give them their own dose of medicine." I could see the determination on his face and I knew that whatever I do, he would insist on going. The only thing I could do for him now was to listen to him and support him in his mission.

"Okay. I'll stay in the car but promise me that you'll come back unscratched." He smiled.

"Don't worry, mi hermosa. I'll be fine because you're here with me. Just be my strength and everything will surely be alright." I sighed and then slowly nodded my head. He leaned over until our forehead touched.

"Everything will be alright soon. I promise you that." It was my turn to smile.

"I trust you." His smile widened as he slowly captured my lips with a gentle yet passionate kiss. I didn't know why but hearing him say that gave me unexplainable feeling inside. It was the kind of feeling that something big was about to happen and it didn't sit well with me.

"Tell me the truth! What the fùck are you doing in here?!" I couldn't take it anymore and asked Onyx when we got the chance to be alone. He volunteered to get the steak and sausages so that we could barbecue it later and I followed him to talk to him.

He chuckled. "You really know me, huh?"

"Out with it already! You're irritating the fùck out of me!" He laughed.

"Impatient as ever, huh?" He took a breath. "But seriously speaking though. I came here to tell you something. I couldn't contact your number since last night that's why I decided to come here." He said finally became serious.

"I turned my phone off because I wanted to concentrate on Athena while we're here."

"You know that that's not a good idea. What about your mission? You're repeating the same mistake that happened almost two years ago. I don't want to say this but you failed before because of her. You forgot your mission because you acted all lovey-dovey with her and forgot about the world."

"Don't worry, I won't. I've already devised a plan. This is just for the moment." I assured him.

"You don't have time to act all lovey-dovey here, bud. Our intel reported something to me." My forehead wrinkled.

"About what?"

"According to him, your enemies are planning to blow up Santino Mall tomorrow. I don't know what's their purpose of doing this but there's one thing I'm sure about. People are going to die if we don't do anything to stop them." My jaw clenched in anger.

"They're desperate now, Nyx. My calculation was precise all along. Tomorrow, I can finally commence."

"We'll be there for you, bud. I guarantee you that." Onyx reassured me and I nodded my head. I gritted my teeth. Finally, after all the preparations, we could finally begin.

After talking about my plan, Onyx and I went back to the pool area as if everything was normal.

"What took you so long? I was about to check on you." Athena asked worriedly. I looked at her beautiful face. No matter how long I'd stare at her, I would never get tired of it. I smiled.

"Onyx and I just discussed something important. You don't have to be worry."

"Are you okay?" I was surprise of her question. I pecked her lips.

"I'm fine, mi hermosa. C'mon, let's just enjoy this day with them."

She nodded her head. "Okay."