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"Hi, I'm Skylar... Aquila Skylar Jaye. And you must be... Javier."

Javier was intrigued by the friendly and easygoing nature of the person standing before him.

He had heard of him, listened to him several times. Yet, it wasn't until Aqui had recently told him about her brothers that he found out.

He could see the resemblance.

"That I am, it's nice to meet you."

Skylar entered in and Javier offered him a seat at their hall.

"Would you care for anything?"

"No, I'm good," Skylar replied.

It was a slight feeling. Javier had never met him in person but, he felt there was a difference between the Skylar he saw on the screen and this Skylar.

Something had changed. And he felt he would find out sooner or later.

————

Aqui hadn't known what to expect when she showed up at the address Suzy had given to her.

She had requested that she track down the address of Lady Alba. And Suzy had found out in record time.

The house had a certain quality to it, which showed that the owner had put thought into every little detail. It wasn't grand, but it looked very comfortable. And beautiful.

Aqui hesitantly rang the bell and straightened herself.

How am I going to start this?

The security at the entrance had given her way into the Estate (one of Vladimir's), after checking her WACO ID.

Yet, she didn't have a clue of how she was going to start the conversation.

It didn't take long before a young woman, clearly, a worker there, opened the door for her.

After explaining she was with the WACO, Lady Alba granted her an audience.

"What a lovely place you have," Aqui looked around and said politely.

She was trying to avoid the urge to stare at the woman before her. Her eyes reminded her so much of Javier's.

Violet, and beautiful. Yet, it felt as though it once had a shine that no longer was.

"Why thank you," Alba said with a pleasant look on her face, though she seemed a bit confused about the reason for the visit.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? May I offer you anything? Something to drink, perhaps?"

"No, thank you," Aqui took a deep breath before exhaling. She had to get straight to the point.

"I'm here about your son, Prince Javier."

—————

"Do you know when she will be returning?" Skylar asked his host.

"Not really. She said she had something to handle after leaving the office."

Skylar had joined Javier in the kitchen as he continued to prepare the final dishes.

"Those are my sister's favourites." Skylar noticed after a moment of watching him.

"You really love her, don't you?"

The question took Javier by surprise. But he wasn't unprepared. He slowly straightened and met Skylar's indecipherable gaze.

"I do, with all my heart."

Skylar stared at him for a long moment, with Javier staring back.

Finally smiling, Skylar replied, "Good."

——————

"I'm willing to help you whatever way I can."

Aquilina was glad Lady Alba had agreed with her plan. And she was further moved when she heard her reason for leaving.

She hadn't gone by her own will. But had been forced by the now late Mafia king, Popov, father of Vladimir.

The man had claimed to love her while she did not.

"He threatened to destroy my son. I had thought I could protect my Angelo, then. But, his father was away, seeing to the country's affairs," Lady Alba had explained earlier on.

Her eyes had filled with tears at the recollection. Indeed, those eyes had seen much sorrow.

"The throne was shaky then, too. With threats coming from every angle. When one day... it happened. Smirnoff attacked my son and I almost lost him."

She had begun to weep at that moment. Aqui drew closer and patted her back gently.

"Shhh... it's okay," Aqui whispered softly.

Reaching for a handkerchief in her bag, she handed it over to Lady Alba. She took it gratefully and blew her nose.

"Thank you," she smiled sadly at Aqui.

"You don't have to continue if it makes you uncomfortable."

"It's alright. I am glad to finally... shed off this weight. I haven't had anyone to tell all this while, you know?"

Aqui smiled politely and nodded.

"If you are sure..."

"So after the attack, I knew I had to leave or else my son's life would be in jeopardy. And I did. 15 years later, Smirnoff died. I knew I could return, but... I didn't know if I would be accepted."

"So, they don't know where you are?"

"They don't, as far as I can tell. And Vladimir..." She seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Vladimir's father was once part of the King Makers."

That had Aqui shocked. But thinking about it, she thought she faintly remembered hearing about a man that was taken out of the group years back.

"You can imagine how hard it was for Vladimir. Growing up, he never had his father's approval."

"So, is that why? He's bent on honouring his father's memory?"

Lady Alba sighed and nodded.

"He wasn't always this... cruel. And I know deep down he has a soft spot."

"Can you tell me anything more? I already told you about their meeting that will be held very soon. We have to find out their next plans."

"It will be very difficult to tap into that location."

"Why is that? It's a public place, is it not?"

"Vlad's very careful about these things and scans about a 5-mile radius of every one of his meetings. So you can't bust in with guns, they will know you are around."

"I see..." Aqui furrowed her brows, thinking deeply.

"But... someone can infiltrate."

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I'm so sorry for the delay. This was supposed to be up some days ago. But I wanted to post it with other chapters.

This is dedicated to SiSiLoves2read  and @EloperElf. I'm so grateful for everything and your support.

Stay blessed,
Phela.