22. Desperation

HUGO'S POV

It had already been a week and I hadn't heard from Alexandra. I was desperate to know something. I should have known she would leave without us. Despite the fact both my mother and Analissa told me Alexandra would return, every day I lost hope she would return. 

On the other hand, Megan was fuming over what Alexandra had done. It's not I'm angry about it, because to some extent I understand why she did it. She didn't want us to follow her, and the only way to do that, was to get drug us have standing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. 

It was night, and since we had arrived on this ship and I had woken up, I had not been able to fall asleep. I was too worried something had happened to Alexandra, because there was no way she would have taken her daughter away from herself. She adores her to do that. 

At some point in the night I must have fallen asleep, because when I wake up I'm not on deck, but in the cabin and I hear as if someone is banging on the door, so I get up and open the door and see Fabio stood up in front of me, which doesn't make sense, because he was with Alexandra, so I must be hallucinating. 

"First of all, let me tell you, you are not hallucinating or anything like that. I'm here." He said and I quickly got up "Does that mean..." I asked and he nodded "She's here too... and if it wasn't for the fact, I don't see her looking good, I wouldn't call you at this hour of the morning... but she doesn't look good... rather she's not well and I think you're the only one who can talk to her." He said and now I was even more worried "Where is she?" I quickly asked, "On the deck." 

I no longer waited for him to answer me anything else. I quickly left the cabin and headed towards the deck. I wanted to make sure for myself he wasn't kidding, that she was here. Once on the deck I looked everywhere to see if I could see her, but I couldn't see her anywhere, so I went to the bow where I could see the silhouette of a person sitting on the ground, it gives me the feeling she was crying, so I slowly approached her and when I was close enough, I could see it was Alexandra, so I went carefully until I sat next to her. 

"You…you shouldn't be…here. Fabio shouldn't… shouldn't have woken … woke you up." He said between tears that made my heart break into a thousand pieces "It's what he had to do. Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" 

"I don't want to talk about… about that… right now." She said and I nodded, because it's the least I could do right now, "Okay. Do you want a hug to calm you down?" 

She nodded and I wrapped my arms around her waist. Alexandra goes to hide her face in the crook of my neck and cries. Not long after, she ends up on my lap and hugging me I must say a little tight, but I didn't care, right now all I wanted to do was make sure she was okay, and if this was a way for her to be okay before, I would gladly do it. We held each other for quite a long time when she separated from me and wiped away the tears had fallen down her face. 

"You shouldn't be up." She said in a whisper, "It's the place I'd rather be right now." I told her giving her a kiss on the temple "You shouldn't..." before she could continue, I stop her, because I have an idea of where she's going "I worry... and do you know why?" I asked "Why?" she asked "Because I love you and you are my beautiful girlfriend, or at least I hope it is true." I said unsure of what she said that day. She looked up, a small smile on her face. "Unless you don't want to, that's right." She said with a shrug, and my smile came back on my face. 

"So, for those reasons this is the place I want at this moment." I brought her closer to me again "I don't know what I did to deserve you." She said practically in a whisper, and I kissed her on the temple again " I have to ask myself that." I answered and she denied, probably didn't agree with that "Can I ask you a question without you getting upset?" I asked, "I highly doubt it would bother me, but come on." 

"How did you know you loved me?" I asked, because it was something I hadn't been able to find the answer to these days. "I really don't know. I think before they tried to kill you, I was in love with you." 

"So what was stopping you?" I asked again "Fear. I know you wouldn't do anything to me, but as I told you that day in the park, I have very ugly things on my mind. Thousands of demons to put it in some way, which gives the feeling they wait for the moment in which I'm a little happier to show up and make me bitter." 

"I don't see you bitter." I said seriously. It may be Alexandra is many things, but she isn't bitter "It's not that I am… it's that everything scares me. I'm afraid everything will come back… I don't want to go through that again." I gave her a little squeeze on the arm and nodded, because I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. "And that won't happen to you again... I wouldn't let something like that happen to you, or to anyone else." 

"I know you won't let any of that happen, but that doesn't mean I'm not afraid. I hate being afraid." She said looking at me "Being afraid isn't bad, love. Nobody likes to be afraid, but it's not bad." I knew I wasn't going to convince her otherwise, but at least I wanted her to be clear it wasn't bad "Considering whenever I was afraid it was because something bad was happening… I can't help but be afraid. I even have it at this moment." 

"To what?" I asked curiously again "A lot of things. To be in Los Angeles again, to someone finding out we're not dead, to the stupid Russian wanting to take Alison away… there are a lot of things to be afraid of." 

"Well, don't worry, I'll always be here to protect you. Trust me when I tell you I won't let anything happen to either of you. Nobody in your family." That was one of the most serious things I'd ever said in my life. In this time I had spent with her and her family, I had grown fond of all of them, but especially Alison, and I knew each and every one of them meant the world to Alexandra, and my number one mission was to make her happy, which It made me not let anything happen to anyone in her family. "I don't want you to have all that weight on your shoulders, Hugo." 

"And I won't have it. It is something I will do with pleasure because I love you, more than anything, and my main objective is to make you and your daughter happy, I don't care about anything else." I said "And what about your career? It's something you like to do too." She asked and I shrugged my shoulders "I'm not going to deny I don't like my career, but I'm tired. If I got into the DEA, it was to arrest my father and now to the Russians." 

"Did you want to take down your father for the mafia?" she asked, and I nodded, because I hated my father's mafia, and mafias in general until Alexandra arrived and all the projects, I wanted to do with her "I hated that mafia. Since I was little, I was involved in that world, but I always refused to be part of it." I said with a shrug, "Why?" she asked again. "I saw on the news everything they did to get what they wanted, and Amelia had lost half her family to my father's mafia. My mom hated the mob too, and I didn't find out until after I put my dad behind bars, he beat up my mom whenever he could." 

"It doesn't seem like..." she began and I nodded, because it's true my mother didn't let any of that show even though I know she didn't like being around people who were yelling or men who raised their hands with the intention of hitting despite that in the end they contained themselves "I know, my mother is a very strong woman. I didn't think there could be anyone like that in the world until I met you." 

"I'm not as strong as your mother." She said soberly "You are more. You may not see it, my mother doesn't see it either, but you are one of the strongest women I have ever met, your sister is also in that group. I admire you for that." I said "And who is Amelia? You have mentioned it before, but I didn't dare to ask." 

"Amelia was my girlfriend at the time. Let's say I was about ten years old. I loved her very much until my father decided it was better to kill her so I could focus on the mafia. He never thought it could take me further away than it could bring me closer." It was one of the reasons why I hated my father and why I had decided to join the DEA. "And that's why you hate your father." She said convinced and I nodded, because at least she was one of the reasons. 

"Do you still love her?" she asked and for a moment I was confused thinking who I could love besides her, but then I remember we were talking about Amelia, so I guess we were still talking about her "Of course I love her, but I don't love her anymore. It was my first love and everything, but I think at some point it would end." 

"Why?" she asked moving away from me a little and being able to look me directly in the eyes "I don't know, something tells me. Do you know that feeling you feel that something is missing from the person you love? I could see she was thinking for a while, and I would like to know what is keeping her so thoughtful. A lot of people I knew showed what they felt on their faces or their bodies, but neither Alexandra nor Megan did that, I guess to protect themselves in some way "I've only loved one person, and I hope that doesn't happen." She said after a few seconds thinking and I frowned. "How so?" I asked and she shrugged. 

"I guess I haven't had the chance to love anyone else. Before I met you, I was in charge of driving away anyone who I didn't trust. Then you came along, and you taught me I shouldn't get so into my mind and remember everything that happened in there, because that way, I will never be happy, and I want to be. For me, for our daughter." She said and a smile came back to my face, it always did when she referred to Alison as our daughter. "Well, don't worry, I'll always be there to make you happy, at least I hope so." 

"I know you will, I just want to ask you one thing." She said, "Whatever you want." I assured her, because for this girl I would do whatever it takes, "Can we go slow?" she asked with a small smile which I returned "We'll go slow as a snail don't worry. But I want you to promise me one thing." I answered remembering when a few months ago I had asked the same question "What?" 

"Whenever something I do makes you uncomfortable, you tell me. I said seriously and she nodded. I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable with anything is normal to me or a normal couple. "I highly doubt you would do anything that would make me uncomfortable." She said with a humorous smile on her face "I'm serious Alexandra." I said and she nodded "I will." 

We stood in silence looking at the stars, or at least she was. I couldn't take my eyes off her, she was too beautiful to do so. Alexandra had placed her head on my chest, and I had begun to run my hand through her hair, until I hear her breathing slow, which makes me realize she has fallen asleep. 

I decided it was better to put her to sleep in a more comfortable place, so I pick her up and carry her to the cabin where I slept these days. Once there, I pull the sheets off the bed and cover her. Before sitting on the floor and resting for a couple of hours, I leave the cabin to go to the one where Alison was. I opened the door slowly so as not to wake her up and I approached her to kiss her goodnight and went to the cabin where Alexandra was sleeping. I must say that once I sat down on the floor, I quickly fell asleep. 

ALEXANDRA'S POV

I don't know what time it was, but after Stefan's words were repeated in my head for the millionth time and having the paper confirming it didn't improve the situation. At this point, I know I couldn't fall asleep, so I got up to leave, but I realize Hugo is sitting on the floor asleep, so I go over to him, half-awake him, and have him lie down on the bed so he can rest properly, because from his face, I know he hasn't been doing it a lot this week. 

Once Hugo falls asleep again, I kiss him on the forehead and quietly slip out of the cabin and head up on deck so I can at least clear my mind before everyone woke up and my sister killed me for having drugged her. 

Before reaching the bow, I see a silhouette I would know anywhere, mostly because in those twelve years I basically only saw silhouettes. As much as I hated him both when we were in there and when we came out of there, I can't say I hate him that much now, at least with the same intensity. These days I have realized he's doing everything possible to help us and he regrets what he did to all of us in there. 

I approach carefully and stay next to him. I can tell he's looking at me, but I'm sure if I looked at him, the fact he was my uncle would become more real than it is and would end up emptying what little was in my stomach. 

"So you were the one who came in that helicopter." He said and I shrugged. "I had to get there somehow." I said like it was no big deal "Why did you go and drug Diego, Megan and Hugo?" 

I sighed, because I knew this question was going to come up at some point, the truth is I didn't give a shit what Dimitri thought, he wouldn't be the one to give me headaches, on the other hand, I know Megan won't maintain the same attitude. "I had to fix our kills, get my hands dirty with more kills, and I drugged them because I know any of them would follow me and I wanted them as far away as possible." He nodded and thought for a couple of seconds "So now we are dead to the world." 

"Yes, it's the best." I said hoping it would be enough for Stefan to stop looking for Alison "But you know Stefan will make sure to find out if you're dead or not, right?" I agreed, because I already knew that, and I had taken it upon myself to leave everything ready for when he went to make sure. "I know, and that's why before I had to kill the forensics, I made sure they said they were our bodies." 

"What is it that has made you want to leave the country? This isn't the Alexandra I know." He asked with some surprise in his voice, but curiosity more evident. I don't remember a single time when Dimitri showed his surprise so freely, "Would you like a drink?" I asked, because I couldn't talk about this sober, although on second thought, I've never gotten drunk, so I guess it's better to say with a drink on top. "I would, but why exactly?" 

"Because we have to talk about something serious." I said with a shrug, "So serious you need a drink?" I nodded, but it wasn't something a single drink would make me forget all the bullshit. "So serious I'd need to get drunk to forget it." 

"But you're not going to do it, are you?" he asked with more surprise in his voice. "I don't want Alison to see me drunk, so no." I said, because even though that was one of the most important reasons for not getting drunk, in this case it wasn't "Well, you don't have to go anywhere for the bottle." He stepped away from the railing and I could see he had a bottle of vodka in his hand. He took a drink from it and then reached out to pass it to me, but soon pulled his arm away. 

"If you want, I'll go get you a glass." I picked up the bottle and took a long drink. I handed it back and sat on the ground with my back facing the ocean. It didn't take long for Dimitri to do the same, and I thanked him for not sticking with me. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked, and I sighed to start telling the damn story "As you know, the DEA wanted to question me and let's just say Derek wasn't very happy I didn't give him anything." 

"It's too stupid to think you were going to tell him something." He said rolling his eyes "I know, I guess he thinks I'm like him." I said shrugging. Thinking he's my blood brother and above all else, he had threatened to rape me made my stomach do a thousand turns. 

"But that's not what bothers you, is it?" He said "Of course not, that asshole couldn't even lay a finger on me. I haven't been training for years, nor did my father send me to self-defence class for nothing." I said with a snort, I need to add I haven't been through everything I've been through for some stupid to bother me now "What happened then?" He asked. 

"Stefan." That was the best summary I could do, in the end, it had been him for whom I had decided to leave the country for a while. "What about him?" he asked, tensing next to me. "Stefan showed up there like it was all his. I don't care exactly what he said, except he wanted to take Alison, well, he said he wanted to reunite the whole family." 

"I don't understand. He has nothing to do with you." Confusion was evident in his voice. "I thought so myself, but he told me I would be the best to lead the mafia instead of my worthless brother." I said with a lump in my throat "Brother? Leave the mob to a stranger who isn't even his family?" 

"The thing is, I'm his daughter." I spat out the words, because I didn't know how to say it more delicately. I was still getting used to the idea "What the...?" he started, but I took the bottle from him and drank a couple of gulps before passing it back to him with the piece of paper basically said one of his brothers had to be my father, and since he only has one, well, there's nothing left but.  Stefan is my biological father. 

"I don't understand, why is my name on the paper?" he asked even more confused, if it were in another situation, I would be disgusted Dimitri was so confused "Do you remember before I left, I took your blood?" I asked, focusing my gaze on the calm ocean. "Yeah, what's up with that?" he asked with his gaze fixed on the side of my face. 

"Well, I had what your brother told me in my head, and I had to make sure it wasn't true." I said, "What?" he asked practically in a whisper "Dimitri... Stefan is my biological father." I could see how with each passing second, he grew paler, and out of nowhere he got up and turned towards the ocean to empty everything he had in his stomach. I knew this would happen, and I was close to doing the same as him. After a few minutes and emptying everything he had in his stomach, he turned and sat back in his place. 

"That can't be… Stefan can't be your father… Does that mean I was raping my own…? I have a daughter with you?" I didn't say anything to him, because one, everything that had happened disgusted me too, and two, I had no words to make him feel better somehow, even though it's something I'm not sure I would do "Being your father didn't stop me even once? What's more, he himself…" 

"I know, and as far as I can tell, you didn't have the slightest idea." I said, looking back at the ocean, "If I had any idea, I wouldn't have done any of that to you. I may be a degenerate like Stefan, but if they taught me anything, it's family matters." He said practically in a whisper, "I know, and that's why I knew you didn't have the slightest idea about this." 

"This must be a nightmare. My brother's granddaughter turns out to be my biological daughter." At that moment he got up and threw the bottle on the ground breaking it into thousands of pieces. I know at this moment he was hurt, if anything Dimitri cares about something, is his family, and it turns out I am part of that family. He was beside himself, that's clear to me, but I know he won't do anything to me. 

Diego, Fabio and Hugo appear out of nowhere, who soon stands in front of me to protect me. "SHIT FUCK, WHY IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING TO ME NOW? WHY ALEXANDRA? he asked "I'm sorry, but you had…" I started, but he didn't let me finish "I DIDN'T HAVE TO KNOW. I KNOW I AM NOT GOOD, BUT IF I HAD KNOWN YOU WERE MY NIECE, I WOULDN'T HAVE TOUCHED A SINGLE HAIR AND I WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU OUT OF THERE." He said and even though that should kind of calm me down, it made me even angrier because no girl should be going through any of this to begin with. 

"Don't you dare come one step closer to Alexandra, you fool." Hugo said with evident anger in his voice "Hugo, it's fine." I tried to tell him, but he denied "No, he isn't, and you can be assured I won't let anything happen to you because of this fool again." 

"And it's not going to happen." I said taking his arm "I'll take care of that." He said seriously "Go away. Please leave me a moment with him." Diego turned to see me with eyes twice the normal size and Hugo tensed up more "I'm not going to do it, it's crazy." 

"Nothing will happen to me. Do you trust me?" I asked and he turned slightly in my direction "Of course I trust you, but I don't trust this degenerate at all." He said through his teeth "ALEXANDRA IS RIGHT, LET HIM KILL ME AND SO ALL THIS SHIT IS OVER." 

"Nothing is going to end this way Dimitri." At that he picked up a piece of glass from the ground and raised it in my direction, causing Hugo to put me behind him. I know Dimitri wasn't going to do anything to me, I could recognize that look anywhere, mostly because at the time it was the one, I had, and I couldn't allow that to happen, so I got out from behind Hugo and started I slowly approached Dimitri, but Hugo once again pulled me behind him. 

"Hugo, it's not what you think. Let me handle this." I said pleading with my eyes "He's threatening you." He said without taking his eyes off Dimitri. Fabio approached where we were and came up to Hugo, who stared at me. 

"Dimitri, didn't you want to help us?" he began trying to reassure him "I WANTED TO, BUT HOW DO YOU PRETEND I STAY HERE LOOKING AT ALEXANDRA'S FACE AFTER KNOWING SHE'S... SHE'S..." Fabio nodded "I know it's not easy... I can help you with that." He said, "I DON'T NEED HELP; I JUST WANT TO END THIS." 

"Dimitri, this isn't going to end like this. We can talk about this." He tried again, but he denied it without taking his eyes off me "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND ALEXANDRA? YOU ARE MY NIECE AND I RAPED YOU FOR YEARS. YOUR DAUGHTER IS THE NEPHEW AND GRANDDAUGHTER OF STEFAN'S BASTARD." he yelled once more. I had never seen him so affected by anything. 

This time I did get out from behind Hugo and with a signal, I made Diego and Fabio hold Hugo so he wouldn't prevent me from getting closer to Dimitri. We may not be on the best of terms, but that doesn't mean I want him to die. 

"DON'T COME CLOSE ALEXANDRA. YOU CAN'T AVOID WHAT I'M GOING TO DO." He said holding the glass on his wrist "Listen... I know what you're going through, okay?... I know right now you want it to be over... I had it myself for years, and believe me, I tried a thousand times... but you know what stopped me?" I could see the question on his face. "Alison." Dimitri snorted and squeezed the crystal back onto his wrist. "Don't be a hypocrite Alexandra, you won't even let me near her." 

"That can change..." I started with a lump in my throat, because even though that wouldn't happen even dead, I hoped it would convince him to drop the crystal "Alexandra, what are you doing?" Diego asked astonished behind me "Diego, you shut up... Listen Dimitri... I know it hurts you not being able to get close to Alison, and I know it's because of me you're doing it... That's one of the many things that tells me you changed... I could let you approach her and talk to her…" 

"But you don't want her to know I'm her father…" I nodded, because that was the truest thing he had said in the last couple of minutes "It's not the best right now… but when she's older we'll tell her you're her father…" 

"For her, Hugo will always be her father." I nodded again "And that's how it will be, but she deserve to know who her biological father is." I said calmly "And what about you? I know you won't forgive me." It was true, I would not forgive him for anything he did to me even though I know he had no idea of our family relationship, what's more, it infuriates me he wants to do it just for that reason " It will cost me, I'm not going to deny, but I'm sure Fabio can help us with that, right?" 

"I'm here to help." He said nodding "Okay, ... can you leave me alone for a while?" He said "Sure." They all turned around, but something told me I shouldn't go. I was about to go down the stairs to go aft when I turn around and see how Dimitri cuts himself on the glass. 

"Shit, DIEGO BRING YOUR BACKPACK." I called out to him again, "What…oh crap?" With that we both ran off, but in different directions. It didn't take me long to reach Dimitri and the first thing I did was to make a tourniquet with the sleeve of his jacket. Both Hugo and Fabio soon arrive at my side, the first looking at me with a face not understanding what was happening, but I didn't have time at this precise moment to explain why the hell I don't want him to die. 

"Shit Dimitri... I'm going to kill you." And I meant it more seriously than ever "I deserve to be more than dead." He said and I denied, because even though he did, I wanted him to tell me everything about Stefan's safety first "Don't say stupid things... We have to kill Stefan." 

As soon as Diego arrived, he made us all move away and began to heal Dimitri. Luckily for all of them, the wound hadn't been too deep and would be able to keep it closed unless Dimitri tried again. Between Fabio and Diego, took him to his cabin, and I remained planted there without moving an inch, but it didn't take long for me to feel arms hugging me. 

"Love, are you okay?" Hugo asked in my ear. "Dimitri shouldn't have done that." I said trying to think of what I could have done to stop this from happening "He seemed convinced he wanted to do it, but what happened to make him start screaming? Why doesn't he want you around? he asked curiously "Can we sit down?" I asked placing my hand over his and he nodded. 

We moved away from where the little pool of blood was and didn't sit down. Hugo had stayed behind me hugging me and I lay on his chest. "Talk when you're ready... in fact, you don't have to tell me now." He said reassuring me, which I appreciated, but after everything he'd seen, I think he deserves to know. 

"Dimitri doesn't want me around right now because he's hating himself so much for what he's done to me for years." I said squeezing his hand a little more, I didn't like talking about this "I may sound like a bad person, but why now?" 

"Let's just say in the family Dimitri grew up in taught him family is everything. No matter what happens or whatever they do, they should always support the family. Stefan must have forgotten all that, because after all he wants to kill his brother, but the point is, now we're family... Dimitri has realized everything he's done... he was hit like a train and if he felt bad for having done what he did... now he knows the truth it hurts him..." I said the last thing practically in a whisper. 

"Do you think he's sorry for everything he did to you?" he asked after giving me a kiss on the temple and squeezing my hand "He's helping us catch his brother even though he knows we want to kill him. And his body speaks for him, he doesn't have to tell me a thousand times he's sorry... I can see it myself." 

"If you trust him, I will too... but what is that about family?" he asked curiously "Let's say I heard somewhere Stefan was my father, that he's saying it himself... I was sure that was a lie and I wanted to prove it, so I took Dimitri's blood and took the test... Clearly, it came back negative." 

"Then why do he say it if it's a lie?" he asked confused "Because it came out negative Dimitri was my father, but my father had to be one of his brothers... As far as I know it's just the two of them... So, Stefan is my biological father..." 

" Since when do you know that?" he asked as calmly as he could, but I could tell his annoyance "They gave me the results before I came here." I said with a shrug, "Is that why you were crying when you got here?" 

"That's why… because I had to get blood on my hands again to make sure no one knew we were alive… Stefan threatened to kill Alison…" I started but had to stop because otherwise I'd start crying. "When did he tell you?" he asked pulling away from me a little "That doesn't matter." I said trying not to focus on it "Of course it matters... At what point Alexandra?" He insisted, but I denied, I don't want to talk about this anymore. 

"I don't want to talk about this anymore Hugo... Can we talk about something else?" I asked and he nodded "Okay. What do you want to talk about?" he asked "Anything but can we stay here as we are now?" 

"Do you think if we come after breakfast? I'm sure Alison will be glad to see you." He said, probably with a smile on his face, "I've missed her all this time. How was she during this time?" I asked looking into his chocolate brown eyes. "He was happy to be on a ship again. She told me you did it when your father was still alive…" 

"Yes, and I must say we adored it. She liked to watch the dolphins. What else?" I asked holding back the tears as best I could "She was also sad because according to her you were taking a long time, and you had promised her it would be a short time." I nodded and some of the tears escaped my eyes "I'm a bad mother." I said and Hugo denied with saddened eyes. 

"You're not… You're doing everything possible to protect her… to protect all the family you have…" he said and even though that was true, it didn't make me a better mother "I don't know anything about what I'm doing anymore." I said in a whisper and a small sad smile appeared on Hugo's face "Well, I'm telling you… you're doing everything you can to protect your family. Very few people do nowadays." 

"Thank you, Hugo." Confusion appeared on her face, but he still had a small smile. "You're welcome, but why exactly?" he asked. "For being with me when no one else would." I said convinced of it and his smile increased in size "Well, those are crazy people. They should give themselves the opportunity to get to know you to give their opinion." 

"If I were someone else, I wouldn't." I said shrugging. In part, I understood why no one approached me and I was happy with that "You would, but you don't realize it." He said giving me a kiss on the temple "I don't know, are we going to have breakfast?" I asked noticing the hunger after a couple of days, I hardly ate much "I was going to ask you the same thing, because I don't know about you, but I'm starving." 

We laughed and went to the other side of the ship, where my mother and Hugo's were already having coffee. When they see us, they smile at us, but my mother's smile soon fades when she sees me. I guess I can't hide anything from my mother. 

"I thought you would be asleep after the time you arrived." Analissa said getting up and giving me a hug "I wasn't sleepy mom." I said trying not to worry about me anymore. "Everything is alright?" she asked, and I nodded "Yes, don't worry." I said trying to convince her, she kissed me and went to sit where she was a couple of seconds ago "I will always worry, you are my daughter, you understand what I want to say." 

"I do, but it's not necessary, I'm fine." I said with a smile on my face "Love, I'm going to clean that up, I'll come in a bit." I turned in his direction and was met with a big smile and a glow I practically only saw when he was with Alison, which made my face break into a real smile. "Weren't you the one who was starving?" I asked hesitantly "Yes, but someone will have to clean it up." 

"I can do it myself, after all, I'm not that hungry." And even though it wasn't true, Dimitri was my prisoner, and I was in charge of what happened on the ship "I'm going to do it myself; it won't take long." 

"Okay, I love you." I said with a smile "I love you too." He gave me a small kiss on the lips and went forward to clean up the blood. I turned to pour some coffee into one of the cups on the table when I notice my mother and Hugo's mother are looking at me with a big smile on their faces. 

"What's happening? Why do you have those smiles on your face? I asked confused by the big smiles on the faces of both Analissa and Hugo's mother "Love? A kiss? At what point did you become a couple? Because you two are, right?" Analissa asked with joy evident on her face. "Yes mom, we are." 

"When?" asked Hugo's mother "Before you came to the boat." I said as if it wasn't a big deal, my mother was already doing enough "So I don't understand how my son was so sad if you were his girlfriend." Rose said, frowning. "I don't know honestly." I said shrugging, because I had no idea why he was like that. 

"Rose, it's probably because he was worried." Analissa said giving her a gentle elbow "That must be it." She agreed with a smile on her face "Better tell me why you accepted, if as far as your sister told me you didn't want anything with him." 

I sat in the chair and rested my chin on my hand with a small sheepish smile on my face. I wasn't used to talking about these things, especially not with the woman I considered my mother. "It's not I didn't want something with him mom, I was just scared, that's all." 

"And now you're not?" she asked, making sure I was really comfortable with my decision, which reassured me since I had Analissa and Megan made sure nothing happened to me "It's hard not to be, considering how my life was, but with him I feel safe. He makes me feel loved." 

"Hugo is an expert in that. When I was with Amelia… Oh crap, I shouldn't talk about that." Rose said putting her hand over her mouth "Don't worry Rose, he told me about her." I said with a big smile "Did he tell you about her?" she asked surprised, and I don't understand why. "Yes, I would have liked to meet her." I said with a shrug, "That's new. It's not something he told anyone since it happened." 

"Well, he told me about her." I said, "Who is Amelia?" Analissa asked curiously. "Do you remember the girl who always went with Hugo to your charity galas?" Analissa nodded and waited for Rose's response "Well that was Amelia, she was Hugo's girlfriend." She said, "And what happened to her?" Analissa asked with a frown. "My ex-husband, that's what happened." 

"Don't tell me he…" she said covering her mouth, and now she was a bit lost "Exactly. For a drug dealer, your husband was very good." She said "Francesco was a drug trafficker because he got his father's. Why do you think he did those charity galas?" Analissa asked, and Rose shrugged. "He felt bad about what she was doing, and that's why he did it. " 

"Then why did you stop doing it?" Rose asked, and Analissa turned her gaze in my direction. "We stopped when they came into our lives." She said with a big smile, "Is that why we didn't find out you were doing charity shows until Rose said so? You didn't have to, we'd be fine." 

"Maybe we could keep doing it, but we felt it was for the best." Analissa said with a shrug and the smile didn't fade from her face. "So, you stopped doing something you liked for us…" 

"We stopped doing something we liked for something we liked more." Her smile grew bigger, and I had to hold back tears for a second "I thank whatever you found us; I really mean it mom." 

"That should be said by me and your father, in the end it was you who saved us." I turned my head slightly to the side, not understanding what she meant. "We didn't do anything. What's more, you would still be safer without us around. I gave you a hard time the first few years." 

"We had a bad time because we saw you were not well. Neither you nor your sister, and we love you too much to see you like this. I am sure your father would be happy to see that smile you have more often on your face." And at that moment, she began to cry. I know I wasn't quite right after Francesco's death, but I was coping better than anyone. I got up from where I was sitting and went to her to hug her. 

It doesn't take much longer for Hugo to appear, and he stares at us strangely. I don't know if it was because my mother was crying or because I had shed some tears. It didn't take long for him to come over and hug us both. 

"Girls, you're too beautiful to be crying. Why are you crying? he asked with a small smile on his face "Nothing, I'm just emotional, Alexandra I have no idea why." Analissa said with a small smile "You know I hate to see people cry. Why do you think I disappear every time someone cries?" Surprise was evident on Analissa's face. I don't understand how she hadn't noticed this before. 

"That's why?" she asked "I don't know why another reason would be." I said "Oh, my queen is very sentimental." Hugo kissed me on the temple, and I agreed, because that was something nobody assumed. What's more, it can be said Megan is much more than me, which made me more overprotective of her "Although it may not seem like it, I am." 

"Don't worry love, I still love you." Hugo sat next to me, put an arm around my shoulders and kissed me on the forehead. I could see the smile formed on both my mother's and Hugo's faces. "Your father would have loved to see you this happy." Analissa said, wiping away the tears that had escaped from her face. "I know." 

"Hugo, you better take care of her, because then you'll know what an angry mother is." Analissa's face turned serious, a face I had rarely seen in my life "Don't worry Analissa, I'll take care of her with my life." Hugo said with a big smile on his face "Don't even think about it because I'll kill you myself." 

"Okay, but I'll take care of you with everything I have." He said, giving me a small kiss on the lips, but I frowned, because that had been the same, and I didn't want anything to happen to Hugo because of me. "That has been the same, Hugo." I said crossing my arms, "Can't I get one?" he asked with a big smile "I assure you not one." Analissa said laughing, because it was true "My mother is right. The only person who does and why I permit her is Alison." 

"And you can't make that exception with me?" he asked in a whisper "No, because we are talking about your life, and I appreciate it too much for you to do anything." I said with a small smile "MOMMYYIIIII!!!!" 

In no time I have Alison on my lap and hugging me, and it doesn't take me long to hug her back. I had really missed my daughter. I don't think since she was born, I was so far away from her and for so long. "Mommy, you're back." She said excitedly and I kissed her temple "I told you I was coming back. I wasn't going to leave forever without my princess, right?" 

"No, but you said you would take a short time and you took a long time. I missed you." She said making a big gesture her little arms "Ah princess, me too, but don't worry I'm not going to leave anymore, what do you think?" I asked and her face lit up "Yes. Now I can play with both you and daddy, right daddy?" 

"I do what my princess and my queen want" he said with a big smile and his arm around my shoulders "ALEXANDRA, I KILL YOU." I heard Megan say not far from where we were, and from here I could hear her anger, which made a big smile appear on my face, at least something normal after all this time "Hi to you too Megan." I said looking at her out of the corner of my eye and I'm completely sure my smile annoyed her even more. "DON'T PLAY INNOCENT BECAUSE YOU AND I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING VERY SERIOUS. HOW THE FUCK DARE YOU DRU…" 

"Alison, why don't you go with daddy for a while?" I asked before she finished saying what she was going to say. I don't want Alison to hear any of this, and I know Megan was upset about what I had done. "But I want to be with you." She pouted and I kissed her temple "I won't be long, I promise." I said, "Come here princess." I passed Alison to Hugo, got up and before going with Megan to talk somewhere else where Alison isn't, I kiss Hugo. 

"Wait, wait, wait. What's going on here?" Megan asked, her anger from less than a few seconds gone, vanishing. "Nothing." I said with a big smile and a shrug, "How come nothing? At what point did you decide to kiss the man?" she asked, more surprised and not believing what she had seen. "From the moment I want and can. Why do you ask?" 

"So, are you a couple?" She asked and I nodded "Alexandra, I'm happy for you. I thought you would never give the poor man a chance." She said coming closer and giving me a hug "You weren't angry a couple of seconds ago?" Analissa asked with a laugh. We both knew how Megan's mood was and how easily it changed, and I knew that would at least calm her down for a moment. "I'm still mad at Alexandra, but I'm happy for her." she said pulling away from me and crossing her arms with a frown. 

At that moment, Diego and Fabio appear, and from their faces, things weren't so good. It's not I cared too much for Dimitri, but to some extent, I can understand what he's going through, and I know he's sorry. 

"Mom, could you show Alison the view from where the wheel is?" I said without looking her way and Alison pouted again "But mommy, I want to be with you." 

"I'm going right now; I'm going to bring you something for breakfast. I don't think you want to miss out on some dolphin, do you?" I said trying to convince her "Are there dolphins?" she asked excitedly, and I nodded. I had no idea if there was or not, but it was the best way to keep her away from here for a while and I was going to need Hugo right now. "We'll have to see that, but if you're here you won't be able to see." 

With that, she ran to where the rudder was to see if she could see any dolphins and both my mother and de Hugo went after her leaving Megan, Hugo and me with Diego and Fabio. 

"How is Dimitri?" I asked them "The wound was not that deep so it will not be necessary to find blood anywhere, but I left him sedated so he would not get more upset than he was." Diego said crossing his arms in front of us and Megan frowned again "What happened to Dimitri?" she asked "He tried to commit suicide." Diego answered without further ado "He tried what? Why?" 

"Because of me." I said in a whisper "Love, it's not your fault, it's the guilt he feels for what he did to you." Hugo said approaching him "Why do you say it's your fault Ale? Can you explain me why the hell you blame yourself for something you don't have the blame? 

"I don't want to start crying again right now." I said getting up "Why would you start crying?" Megan's anxiety was rising, but I really didn't want to talk about this right now, especially not with her. Now if she could hate me "I can't, Hugo will tell you because I can't." 

"Are you sure you want me to tell them? We can wait if you want until you're ready." He asked and I nodded "I'll never be ready for that. You can tell them. I'm going to take Alison's breakfast." 

HUGO'S POV

Alexandra got up and left without another word. I know she wasn't feeling well right now, and I wanted to go to her, but she wanted me to tell her sister what was going on, so I have no idea what to do. 

"Can you tell me what's wrong with my sister?" Megan asked across from me, concerned about how her sister had left. "Megan, I think you better sit down." Fabio said, approaching where we were, "Why? Besides, who are you to make me sit down?" Megan asked, getting annoyed. "I recommend it." He said, raising his hands so she wouldn't do anything to him. 

"Do you know what is wrong with Alexandra?" she asked, and Fabio nodded "I know, but I'm not the one to tell you." He walked a couple of steps until he reached the table where until a few minutes ago we were all seated and in a good mood, but that soon passed. 

"Hugo, please, tell me what's happening to Alexandra and why she suddenly became like this. Why does she blame herself for Dimitri wanting to kill himself?" she asked with pain and concern, and I sighed "Let's just say in this week Alexandra was away, she found out Stefan said he was her father... She didn't believe it, so before she sent us to the ship, she took him out blood Dimitri to make sure." 

"But Dimitri wouldn't be the one to take it from if she wanted to know… Besides, that's the biggest lie he can tell… Alexandra told me her parents sold her for a couple of grams of coke." She said, remembering whatever Alexandra had told her about her parents, "And that's what she thought, but those studies showed Dimitri wasn't the father... but had to be his brother because of how similar their DNA were…" 

"So... is it true?" he asked in a whisper and with a lost look "It seems so." I said shrugging my shoulders, not knowing what her reaction would be "And that's why Dimitri wanted to end his life..." she said "Apparently he respects the family much more than Stefan does... so when he found out he went crazy." 

"That's true... Let's hope Alexandra isn't the one doing something stupid now..." she said with a frown. "Why would she?" I asked with a frown. "Let's just say at some point in her life after we got out of there, she wanted to end it all. She suffered a lot and her demons, as she calls them, followed her at all hours... I was the only one who could get close to her without her doing anything to me... After Alison was born, she tried to end everything, but luckily, I got there on time, and nothing happened …" she said, "Did she tried…?" I started, but I couldn't finish that sentence. I couldn't believe Alexandra was on the verge of ending her life so many times. 

"Yes, that's why I'm worried. If there's one thing I know about Alexandra, it's she won't take it anywhere near well... I don't want her to return to the dark place she was in until a couple of years ago, so I beg you not to lose sight if her for a single minute, Hugo... If I know anything It's that my sister loves you and you can help her so she doesn't have those demons with her all the time..." she said with hope in her eyes and I nodded, because I would do whatever it takes to prevent her from doing such a thing "I won't separate from her if necessary." 

"Thank you... for loving her like no one else." He said with a small smile, "You don't have to give them." I said, because it was true. Alexandra was an easy person to love despite all the layers she had on her body and heart to protect herself "Megan...it's not bad, but I think you should go to therapy, at least the three of you." 

"I don't have a problem but tell Alexandra that. She's the one who doesn't want to talk about what happened in there." She said with a shrug, and I was surprised Megan wanted to do therapy, like nothing, from what I understood, neither of them wanted to talk about what they had been through in there. 

"Well, we have to look at a way to convince her." He said, thinking about what to do to convince her, but I don't think anyone would change Alexandra's idea on it, she was quite closed and rightly so. "Hugo, could you talk to her?" Megan asked, focusing her gaze on me again. "She won't listen to me on that, I assure you." 

"Could you try?" she asked hopefully, and I nodded without being too sure what I was going to achieve with all this. I just hoped Alexandra wouldn't get mad "I'll do it, but I'm not sure I'll get anything." 

"All I care about is that you try. Maybe you can convince her. And by the way, who is the third person?" Megan asked focusing her gaze on Fabio again "Dimitri… right now he needs it more than anything. We could get Jennifer on it too, but the ones who need it the most are the three of you." 

Megan crossed her arms, and I could see how she completely shut down, she didn't like this at all, and I'm sure the same thing will happen to Alexandra "Well, I don't want to do therapy with Dimitri, no way are we going..." 

"I wouldn't bring Dimitri in with you right now either. He can't see Alexandra ahead." He said and Megan rolled her eyes and huffed, "As if she could…" She mumbled "I know, but we'll have to work, because I assure you, he's going to need your forgiveness." Fabio shrugged as if it were nothing. Sometimes I couldn't understand how he could be so cold about some things "I never was tortured the way Alexandra was after she talked to them." 

That information was new to me. Alexandra hadn't told me anything about how Dimitri had never touched Megan, what's more, I'm not too sure if she knew it herself "But you hate him for what he did to Alexandra." Fabio said convinced and Megan snorted again "Do you think I can be so calm after the things Alexandra told me? There's no way I'm going to forgive that guy… neither him nor his brother."