Chapter 12

Alejandra returned to her house, she took off her jacket that was covered in blood. "Another jacket destroyed by those animals" Alejandra said to herself.

Her television began to make a funny noise. She picked up the remote and pressed a button. Her mother appeared on the screen. "Mi amor" Quin said. "Mami, how are you?" Alejandra asked softly.

"I'm doing great. I heard what happened, are you alright?" Quin asked in concern. "I'm fine, there's no need to worry" She replied withy a smile. "Was any of your employee injured?"

Alejandra sighed in exhaustion. "Didn't Abuela tell everything already? I mean if she's able to tell what happened to the restaurant today, i'm pretty sure she wouldn't leave out that important detail" Alejandra said with a hint of anger in her voice.

Quin coughed awkwardly. "She did mention few details but not all mija" Quin said as awkward smile spread across her face. "Like i told Abuela, i'm not going to fire the poor besides i owe her that much" Alejandra said.

"You're getting soft amore" Abuela said. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd show yourself" Alejandra said with a smirk on her face. "Why do i have a feeling that there's more to this girl than we know. Why are you defending her?" Abuela asked. "She is my employee" Alejandra said. "Do you defend all your employee or is it just her?" Quin asked.

"Like i said before, i am responsible for her current situation, so i'm not going to fire her just because she's in the hospital" Alejandra said. "We can pay for any damages caused. Ten million, twenty million or even thirty million as compensation and then you hire a new one" Abuela said.

"Abuela i'm not going to fire her and that's my final decision" Alejandra said. "Alex we want what's best for you I don't want you to get hurt again. Remember what happened last time?" Quin asked.

"Who could forget? She was sent on an assignment to assassinate an enemy but you ended up falling in love with the son. What's his name again?" Abuela asked. "Mateo" Quin replied. "Ah yes, Mateo. You trusted the boy a lot and you ended up getting betrayed by him" Abuela said.

"Actually he died, madre {Mother}" Quin said. "Oh that's right" Abuela said. "What your abuela is trying to say is, you have an opportunity to get rid of her incase she's a spy" Quin said. Alejandra remembered what happened in the hospital. Everything Sunny said in the hospital flashed through her head.

"Chef..... I don't need your money and i don't want to quit my job. I love my job, I love working in your restaurant, i love working with you but if you want to compensate me then all i ask for is your friendship" Sunny said.

{You're a strange one Sunny, do i really trust you?} "Don't see me as an enemy chef. {Sigh} there are people who are worried about you and are willing to comfort you, if only you let them. i'm aware you don't like me but that doesn't mean i'll like you any less. Look chef all i'm trying to say is, let me be your friend, that would mean a lot to me than money" Sunny said with a weak smile.

{All she really wants is my friendship? She seems harmless but can i really trust her that much?}

"Alex..... Are you listening?" Quin asked. "Mami i'm listening" Alejandra said. "Very well i wouldn't pry but if anything goes wrong i wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger regardless what you say" Abuela said with a serious tone. Abuela left the room.

"¿Estás herida querida?" Quin asked. "Mami i'm won't get hurt i promise" Alejandra replied. "Were you able to kill the bastard who did this to you?" Quin asked. "Yes i did. Now they won't mess with anymore" Alejandra said in an assuring tone.

"Anyway i have to go, your brother went on an emergency trip and he says he would get your restaurant ready in two weeks" Quin said. "Alright, thank mami" Alejandra said. "I'll talk to you soon mi sol" Quin said. The call ended.

Alejandra collapsed on the couch. "What a day" She said to herself. Why did i defend Sunny? Is it because i feel guilty? Or could it be because of what she said?

I would admit she kinda innocent and cute. "Hold up why did i just think about that?" Alejandra asked in surprise. "Maybe it be the alcohol i took earlier"

Could all of this be part of her plan to trick me? I need to be careful around her, i have to keep my guard up anytime i'm around her.

It's been four days since the accident. Alejandra didn't return to the hospital. Today Ariana got a day off so she could take Sofia and Sunny for an outting. Audrey came up with the idea of going to the beach for a nice relaxation.

Sunny made Audrey cover herself so she won't be recognized by anyone. They got to the beach, Sofia ran to the water. "Are you alright?" Audrey asked. Sunny who was too busy watching Ariana chase after Sofia so she could put on sunscreen.

Audrey's voice made her snap back to reality. "I'm good" Was all Sunny could mutter. "Do you feel pain anywhere?" Audrey asked. "No, actually not in any pain" Sunny said. "Sunny, i'm not Ariana that you could lie to. Tell me the truth" Audrey demanded.

Sunny sighs in defeat. "Actually i've been in a lot of pain lately. It's like my insides are outside and it hurts like hell" Sunny replied. "It seems to me like the stitches are loose, why didn't you just go to the hospital than coming outside for a beach day?" Audrey asked.

"I know, but Sofia seems so happy when she heard about today's outting, I didn't want to ruin it for her" Sunny said with a weak smile. "Bitch what's more important to you? Your life or Sofia's day at the beach?"

Sunny cupped her cheeks in confusion. "I'm going to tell Ariana ight now so you could go to the hospital" Audrey said as she made her way to Ariana but Sunny stopped her. "I would go to the hospital today but can i stay a little longer" Sunny pleaded.

Audrey scratched her hair in frustration. "You are joking with your life right now" Audrey said. "I... I know... i just don't want to return to the hospital, I can't afford it besides the wond would probably heal itself" Sunny said.

"How can money be the problem? I can handle that for you, whatever you need" Audrey said. "I know, i'm scared" Sunny said in a shakey voice.

"Alright, we'll stay a bit longer but the minute i sense that something's off i'm taking you straight to the hospital without hesitation" Audrey said. "Alright" Sunny said in agreement.

Ariana finally put on the sunscreen for Sofia. Few minutes later she joined their conversation. "What are you guys talking about?" Ariana asked. "Nothing" Sunny quickly replied. "Mama bear, aunty bear tried to kill me and you didn't say anything" Sofia said.

"Baby bear it's not like that. If you didn't put on the sunscreen then you would have to visit the hospital again" Sunny said. Sofia paused for a while weighting the idea of returning to the hospital. It doesn't sound like a bad idea, she would get free food, princess treatment and endless supply of attention.

"Sofia how about we look for treasures?" Sunny said. "Treasures on the beach? mama bear i don't think that's possible" Sofia said. "The beach has a lot of treasures, you'd be surprised at what we could find here" Sunny said.

"Could we see a pirate's treasure?" Sofia asked in excitement. "Yes, we could anything if you put your heart into it" Sunny said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go find some treasure" Sofia ran excitedly to look for treasures. "Sunny don't run" Ariana yelled from behind them.

Sunny just gave a thumbs up and murmured. "mm-hmm" Ariana sat down next to Audrey. "What were you guys talking about?" she asked in curiosity. "Um, nothing much, i just told her to take things easy" Audrey said.

"Ever since Melissa died she's trying to make everything work. It hurts to see her struggle" Ariana said. "Yea, the fact that her didn't show up after the incident pisses me off" Audrey said. "You can't blame her"

"I can't blame her? You seem to forget that she's the reason Sunny is in this state.That woman is part of the most dangerous mafia family that's feared by the entire world and you say i shouldn't blame her? If it was up to me i wouldn't let Sunny step foot inside that establishment again" Audrey said.

"Sunny likes her boss and she refused to change her mind about working for her. Trust me i've tried but she wouldn't listen" Ariana said. "I'm well aware that Sunny is a hopeless romantic but she needs to be careful around Alejandra Castello"

"Why do i have a feeling that you know her personally?" Ariana asked. Audrey paused, she contemplated the thought of tell her the truth. "It's a long story" Was a she muttered. "I'm listening" Ariana said. Audrey took a deep breath. "Sunny mustn't know about this" Audrey said "My lips are sealed" Ariana said.

"Well my family was the most riches family in all of paris. we owned companies, private businesses. My family was well known as the most resourceful family in all of france. My father did do illegal business that i was never proud of. The Castello family was interested in it but my father refused to let the in on it. It made them furious. Two months after everything went back to normal, that was when she showed up for the position of a body guard. She used the name Nella Larsen, she was good at the job but something felt off about everything. My brother chose her to be his bodyguard"

"What was the name of your brother?" Ariana asked. "Jack but Alejandra called him Matteo..... he was fond of her, it was like a spell that made him drawn to her. I tried everything to prevent my brother from getting hurt but days turned into week and weeks into months. i just accepted the fact that they were in love and i tried to bury the feeling of uncertainty. That was till we were attacked one night, they killed my parents. My brother gave me some documents and a briefcase filled with cash. I took it and hid myself somewhere, Nella or rather Alejandra walked in with a man. His presence felt like a predator suffocating its prey. His name is Antonio Santiago Castello"

"I watched my brother begged for his life but that heartless bastard was adamant. She stood there watching her brother as he pulled the trigger and killed my brother. I watched them search for the documents tirelessly but when they didn't find it, they left. That day I lost my family but I was left with a house filled with money and an empire to control. I changed my identity, sold the empire, took all my inheritance and left the country"

"Doesn't it bother you?" Ariana asked. "What?" Audrey asked in confusion. "The fact that you never got the chance to average your family" Ariana replied. "I would give anything to average their deaths but staying alive is more important. It would be a waste if I sacrificed my life" Audrey said.

"Well that's true" Ariana said. "That's why I'd do anything to keep you all safe. I've lost a lot of people already and I'm not planning on losing either of you" Audrey said in a sad yet serious tone.

Sofia runs up to Audrey. "Aunty orange, I'm bored..... I wanna go to the rollercoaster" Sofia said. "Alright get changed, we're going to the amusement park" Audrey said.