"But the question is, do you love him?"

Do you love him? Her words ring in my head. And for a moment, I forget everything around me, processing the depth of the question that she has put in front of me. Do I love him? My breathing falters, repeating that question again and again in my head. I feel my throat getting dried as a weird knot builds in my chest thinking about that particular word. It petrifies my soul to the core, thinking about the potential harm that a single word can cause. Love? No! It's a scary territory that I don't even intend to step foot in. I don't love him. Hell! I can't love him. I mentally scold myself, not letting my mind even think of wavering on that dangerous path. No, you are not in love, Nicole. I have to be brave enough to admit it to myself before telling anyone else. You can do it!

Yes, Nicole, tell Martha that you don't love Christopher.

Before I can say anything to clear her doubt, Millie comes running towards us. With her arrival, the timer goes off and the oven starts beeping, indicating to us that our pudding is ready.

"Mhmm...I can smell cinnamon and apples." She grins, gawking at the oven as I take out the tray from it. I laugh looking at her innocent face lifting with happiness as she eyes the dessert up and down like a little kid. She is a kid, anyway.

"Dinner is ready!" I smile and announce to everyone, setting the delicious apple pudding on the dining table.

Millie's Chattering is the only thing that we hear during the entire dinner. She keeps talking about her fascination with Polaroid pictures, nature, and landscapes, making all of us listen to her carefully. While Millie talks I look at Christopher, He is sitting opposite to me listening keenly to whatever Millie is saying. Even though he is having a wide smile plastered on his face, I can still see a hint of grief brimming behind those bright grey eyes. I frown and arch an eyebrow at him silently asking him what is wrong, but he simply shakes his head shrugging it off. I don't know what it is. Why is he sad?

Millie then asks me about my first meeting with Christopher. For that I just had to lie to her making up a shitty story that we met in a coffee shop and then after a few more meets, we started dating. Okay, I know that was bad. But what can do? I am not at all good at making up stories. Finally, we move to Millie's room when it's her bedtime. I notice that her room is filled with Polaroid pictures, and it's mainly because of her love for photography. There were all kinds of pictures. They were mostly pictures of trees, flowers, birds and the rest were of her, Martha, and Christopher. They all seem so happy in these lovely pictures. It makes me smile, going through each of them.

It was already late, so we didn't want to trouble Martha. We inform her that we'll take care of Millie so that she could go back to her room and get some rest. She seemed to be tired, anyway. She first protests saying that she can't leave her guests unattended, but then eventually agrees when I convince her that it was fine. Martha embraces me into a tight hug before going back to her room, leaving just two of us with Millie. Meeting Martha and Millie really made my day. For me, it was like having family time together with them. I haven't been home in a long time, so coming here and spending time with them made me feel at home. They reminded me so much of my mother and sister. And I loved being here with them, I wish the moment could just stop so that I would get some more time to spend with them.

I stand at the doorway and watch Christopher as he drapes the blanket over Millie and switches off the night lamp. "You are not going to disappear while I sleep, right?" Millie tugs at his hand and asks.

He gives her a sad smile, shaking his head, and says. "I can't promise." And then leans forward to kiss her forehead. "Goodnight, Millie." In return, she just gazes at him without saying anything.

"Goodnight, Chris." She whispers softly before dozing off to sleep.

After Millie falls asleep, Christopher comes over and joins me. We stand at the door frame as we watch Millie snoring peacefully. A long silence engulfs our surroundings, after which Christopher speaks.

"It was a year after the accident when I met Oliver." The room is dark, but Christopher's face is still glowing under the faint strikes of moonlight coming from the window. His features emerge brighter with the serene radiance of the moon shading his face as he begins to speak. "Richard introduced Oliver and other men to me while I was recovering and getting acquainted with the business again. As I had lost my memory, I couldn't recognize him, just like how I couldn't recognize any of them."

There is a weird sternness in his voice as he looks in the window's direction on the other side and continues. "But Richard told me he was my brother, my blood. I got to know later that he worked in the other part of the country. And that was one of the reasons why he couldn't come to meet me before. Though Richard told me that he used to pay a couple of visits to my hospital when I was in a coma." He sighs and continues. "To be honest, our first meeting was weird. Something was off with him from the beginning. He didn't look at me as his brother. There was something else in his eyes. I don't know what it was." He lets it out in a low, dejected tone and looks at me. "Disgust or jealousy or hatred, I don't know."

"Richard mentioned later that Oliver would be helping me in getting back to work. He said he would guide me in establishing my presence back in the business." Christopher puts his hands into his pockets and leans against the door frame. "Soon we started working together. But that look was always there in his eyes. The look of resentment. At first, I thought it was just in my head. But as time passed, I only observed that feeling growing wilder from his side."

I listen to him carefully as he proceeds. "And Richard's attention, towards me, added fuel to his jealousy more. All the deals that we went to carry out, Richard used to assign me as the leader of the team. I still don't know why Richard did that. Oliver was elder to me, he deserved to be the boss." He chuckles dryly and says. "He was surely in a better place and a better shape than me."

He turns his head towards me for a fleeting moment and I notice his eyes getting darker. "It was during that time that we got assigned for a business deal here at LA. We were in a nightclub waiting for our client when I saw Millie for the first time." His eyes dart towards Millie as he lets out a tormented breath. "She was being dragged inside the club forcefully by a man. From the look on her face, I knew that something was wrong."

Christopher's body becomes stiff as he clenches his jaw roughly. "Leaving Oliver at the bar, I went behind that man immediately. I didn't know what was going in there but it clearly seemed like she was being trafficked." He looks back at me with his face appearing gravely serious. "I didn't know what to do, but I wanted to help her. So, I fought with the man and offered him money to let her go. I don't know if it was right to do, but he agreed to it."

"At first when Millie saw me, she seemed to be scared. She was skeptical about trusting me. And I wouldn't blame her for that. I know it wouldn't have been easier for her to trust anyone under those circumstances."

His eyes peer at me as I see a small smile creeping on his face, and it resembled like he was happy, remembering a faint memory relating to his first meet with Millie. "But the strange thing was.... the moment I saw her, I felt that weird connection with her. The kind of connection which I never felt with Oliver despite him being my brother. Looking at the innocence in her eyes, I felt like I found a little sister in her." He states with a peculiar sparkle in his eyes and I could sense the honesty in his words telling me that he genuinely means whatever he is saying.

"I wanted to be gentle to her. I knew I wasn't good with kids, but I tried my best, and eventually, she became comfortable around me. I got to know later that she was an orphan....just like me. She belonged from a poor family and after her parents' death, she was homeless. She went roaming around in search of food that's when the guy from the club got her and she was brought there." His voice seems to sink down, letting me know that something was surely not right with what he was going to say next.

He exhales slowly and says. "I decided to bring her with me to our hotel room where we were staying. But Oliver was not happy with it. He was angry because I left our client in the middle because of Millie." His gaze wavers to the ground as a shadow of regret covers his face. "When I brought Millie to my room. I thought she would be safe there because I and Oliver never used to spend nights at the hotel. We had meetings at night. The meetings were intended to happen in our secret warehouse. At night we wouldn't be at the hotel, so it was my decision to keep her there until I found a home for her."

"We had our stay arranged for a month here. And in those few days, Millie got really close to me. I couldn't help myself from growing attached to her day by day." His voice becomes barely audible as he closes his eyes for a slight moment. An immense extent of warmth suddenly floods my heart, knowing how much Christopher truly cares about Millie. From the moment I stepped in here, it didn't get unnoticed to me that these two shared a really special bond. "She became a little sister to me. A sister that I never had. I cared about her more than anyone. She became my family." He stops for a moment and I gaze at him worriedly, listening to his labored breathing. "I wanted her to have a home. I wanted her to have happiness because she became my happiness, and...I...I wanted to protect her at any cost." I move closer to him, being terrified by the unexpected dip in his tone. A thick tension lingers in the air around us as Christopher grows silent.

My heart begins to beat wildly against my chest and I gulp harshly, anticipating the worst to come out of Christopher's mouth. "Everything was going fine until one night..." He chokes on his words as he pauses to gather his wavered breathing. I sense the sheer pain in his voice as it becomes oddly hoarse. It appears like there is a tormenting image in the back of his head which is not letting him toss the right words through his mouth. An inflicting pain drifts in his eyes as he looks away, trying to hide it from me.

He curls his fists as he continues. "That night we had a meeting and as usual I was going for it. Oliver was meant to be present there too. But that day he prior informed me that he was going to be a little late as he had some other work to take care of. I was fine with it because I really never cared about his business. But I realized it later that I should have cared, I should have taken it seriously..." He whispers, letting it trail off as I gaze at him intently, not understanding what he was trying to imply.

"That night when I was driving to the warehouse, I realized that I left my phone back in my room. So I returned to my room to get my phone. When I got there and opened the door.....What I saw was..." He stops abruptly and sprints out of the room hurriedly without finishing the sentence.

"Christopher?!" I call and run behind him immediately. I see his crouched figure at the end of the hallway. He is breathing heavily and I can hear his faint sniffs. Oh, my god! Is Christopher crying?

I place my hand over his shoulder slowly and clear my throat. "What did you see?"

I feel his body shaking under my touch. And my chest sinks, not being able to understand the turmoil building inside Christopher's heart. What happened that night which led him to break like this? What did he see? My breathing hitches and I gasp when he slowly turns towards me with his bloodshot eyes. "I just can't tell you, Nicole..." His lips tremble as he sucks in a breath. "I saw...I saw Oliver above Millie...on the bed." He stutters as he catches a few lungful of breaths and gathers the courage to say the next sentence. "He was forcing himself onto her." I stare at him in terror as he utters it. Fuck! This is horrible. He doesn't have to say anything beyond it because I know what that line meant.

Christopher gazes at me with raw tears filling his eyes. And it seems unbelievable for me to witness him crying in front of me. I always saw him as a confident, powerful man who would always hide his emotions behind a tough case of being the pretentious bad guy. But here he was unfolding in front of me, showing up the vulnerable side of his horrible past. "I was shocked. For a second, I couldn't comprehend what was going on. My hands were shaking, Nicole." His voice comes out in short pants as he explains. "I didn't know what to do. I would have never expected something like that from Oliver. I was frozen in terror at that moment." He pauses for a moment closing his eyes and I gently squeeze his shoulder conveying that I am there for him. I wish I could do something to lessen his agony because I know I couldn't even dare to imagine what he has gone through. From looking at Millie, I didn't even have the slightest idea that she went through so much in her life at such a tender age.

The silence hardly lasts for a moment, after which Christopher opens his eyes. A ghostly eeriness takes over his face, this time with his eyes turning threateningly cold. "But then I realized that I had a gun in my pocket. Without wasting any time, I took it and shot Oliver in the back."

He sighs and I see his face crumpling in distress. "My only mistake was I didn't stop with a single bullet. I shot him five bullets until his body was swimming in a pool of blood." He announces in a dangerous tone which sends chills through my spine.

I blink for a moment and when I look at him, the look on his face was gone. He stares at me as I peek into his suffering soul. " She was just a 13-year-old kid. How could he do so? That fucking bastard! He can't be my brother. He was a fucking monster, Nicole." I hold his hand as he shakes his head violently, trying to erase that memory. "Why the fuck he did that? He knew what Millie meant to me, and he still did that." I don't realize that I am crying too until I find my cheeks soaking with hot tears.

"Millie witnessed everything. She was in trauma. That incident affected her so terribly that she wouldn't dare to come near me." I see his lips quivering as he whispers. "She was afraid that I would...I would do the same thing. But I wasn't like Oliver. I wasn't a monster, Nicole. Trust me."

"I trust you, Christopher," I say, wiping the tears that were blurring my vision.

"It was the time when Martha came to help. She was the attendant for our room. I had to tell her everything to get help for Millie. And she was kind enough to understand everything and help me. I am still grateful to her for that." Christopher tells in a soft tone. "She brought Millie here to her home to take care of her."

He pauses for a minute and looks straight into my eyes as he says. "I lied to Richard when he came to know about Oliver's death because I didn't want to risk Millie's life. I told him that he was the first one to attack me, and whatever I did was just in self-defense. Richard never asked the reason behind Oliver attacking me because he was aware of his indifference towards me from the start." His grey eyes shine in grief as he lets out a humorless chuckle. "Instead, he appreciated saying that he finally saw the leader in me. The leader who was needed for this business, who was willing to go to any extent to prove his supremacy. Even if it meant killing his own blood."

"Everyone thought that I became the devil by killing my brother. They thought I did that to establish my superiority in the business, but the truth was different." He blows wearily. "I did that to save Millie." I look at him and see his worn-out face gazing at me. I wish I could just hug him at this moment and make him feel better. But I know that wouldn't be enough to take away the excruciating pain he has gone through.

"That incident traumatized me just as much as it did to Millie. I was in a recovering phase, my mind wasn't in the right place and it messed everything." He sighs heavily and speaks. "It became too horrible for me to see her in that state. After that, she wasn't the same Millie. She wasn't the cheerful and bubbly Millie that I have known. I wanted her to be happy like she was before." He looks at me and I notice the tears on his cheeks drying up. "She wouldn't meet anyone or talk to anyone. We made every possible try to get her to open up. Martha even consulted a psychiatrist for her." He closes his eyes, trying to gain back his composure, and says. "And with everything, it took almost a year for us to get her back to normal." I feel a sharp sting in my heart as I hear Christopher's heavy voice, and it seems impossible for me to control my tears anymore.

"And it was the time when I discovered her fascination for photography. That was the reason I bought her that Polaroid camera. She would always spend hours in the garden clicking pictures on it. She loved taking pictures. It was something which brought happiness on her face." I send him a small smile and clasp his hand into mine, trying to comfort him.

"I love to visit her, but I try keeping it to a minimum because I don't want to risk her life, Nicole. I don't want Richard or anyone to know about her. I don't want her to experience again the pain that she went through." He says in a tortured tone and I bite my lip, trying to suppress the tears that I was holding back. My blurred vision darts away from him for a moment as I notice something behind him. It's Martha peeking from her room, she has tears in her eyes too. For a brief moment, our eyes meet and she gives me a small nod indicating that she knows what our conversation is about.

"It's late we should head back. I don't want anyone to know about this place." Christopher's straight voice causes me to look back at him. He wipes his eyes, tugging at my hand, and puts on a serious face again.

"Don't you want to meet her before leaving?" I hesitantly ask him, gazing at his sad eyes.

"I do, but it's always hard to say goodbye to her."

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Thank you for reading!

Janny❤