It was past six o'clock in the evening and they all were sitting in the living room as they watched a rom-comm.

Emily was sitting between Simon and Daniel while Leo was sitting in front of her on the ground with his back against her legs, and Crist was sitting beside Daniel.

The small coffee table in front of them was filled with boxes of popcorn, chips, drinks, and even five empty boxes of pizzas.

Domenic and Shadow were not at home while Mark was still in the hospital. He won't be getting discharged before the weekend and there were still two days left in that.

She could tell that her brothers were trying to show her their support, and love as they surrounded her with their warmth.

The one thing that made her respect them even more, was the fact that none of them tried to question her about why she was currently so detached from everyone. Though they tried it in the very beginning but when they realized that she did not want to share anything at the moment, they all decided to give her some time.

It had been more than two weeks since she became so silent and lifeless around them but they were still giving her time, waiting for her to open herself to them on her own accord.

Little did they know that they were in for a huge surprise, a surprise that was about to ruin their happy family.

-

By the time credits started rolling on the screen, it was already past seven past thirty in the evening.

"I don't think I've any space left in my little tummy for dinner," Simon commented as he stretched his muscles.

It was true, they had been constantly munching in the snacks as they binge-watched three movies back to back. They started in the afternoon and it was already night.

"What about the r....."

Daniel stopped speaking when they all heard the loud bang of the front door of the mansion opening and the sound of loud heavy footsteps followed it.

"What's happening?" Leo asked as he stared at Domenic and Shadow who entered the living room.

The aura that his eldest brother was emitting at the moment was so cold and deadly that even he could not help but shiver as he realized that for some unknown reason, Dom was in a very bad mood.

Not only that but even Shadow's usual calm and indifferent expressions had changed into a deep frown as he stared at someone beside Leo.

The boy followed his line of sight and his eyes landed on Emily who was standing beside him with her hands clasped in tight fists as she looked back at both the men standing at the entrance of the living room.

"Emilia Alessandro.....follow me!"

Domenic said through gritted teeth as he tried his best to not scare the girl even though he was in a really bad mood at the moment and could barely care about anyone else's feelings.

"Dom, what's going on?" Simon asked as he looked at his brother and Shadow before passing a quick look at Emily.

"Not now, Simon. I need to talk to her first. In the study, Emilia. RIGHT NOW!"

This time Domenic's voice was way sharper than before. Though he saw exactly how his brothers stared at him in shock he did not pay them any more attention as he just turned around and walked away.

On the other hand, Shadow walked into the living room and stopped right in front of Emily. His answer eyes stared at the girl in silence, without displaying any emotions in them.

"You seriously amazed me this time, Princess. I can't believe that you succeeded in keeping all this a secret even from me. I don't know whether to praise you or...Nevermind! You should not make him wait. He's already not in a good mood."

Saying that he took hold of one of her hands and started pulling her out of the living room as he headed towards Domenic's study.

The rest of the brothers could barely do anything as they just stood there in silence as they watched the two of them disappear from their sight.

To say that they were left shocked and completely taken aback by whatever just happened, would be an understatement.

The mere fact that Domenic was so angry at the moment and the anger was actually either towards or because of Emily, spoke volumes.

***

As soon as Emily entered the study, she was pulled towards the center of the room by her brother who had been waiting at the door.

For the very first time in the past year, his hands were not holding her with any sort of softness. And she could tell that he was actually struggling to keep his anger in check.

"Don't hurt her, Domenic," Shadow spoke from behind them as he too noticed that Dom's hold on Emily's arms was pretty tight.

"Leave us alone."

That was all that Domenic said as he kept his eyes closed. Though his hold on her arms loosened a little.

Shadow stood there in silence for a few seconds before he just let out a soft sigh and then left the room.

The two of them, Emily and Domenic, stood there in silence as the first one just watched her brother struggling to keep himself in control while the latter tried his best to handle the current situation as nicely as he possibly could.

With a deep breathe, Domenic finally opened his eyes and this time rather than anger, there was a kind of urgency and helplessness in them.

"Why, Em? Why are you doing this? If there's something you are struggling with then you can share it with me or the rest of your brothers. We will try our best to solve it. I'll do anything to help you. Then why do you have to choose such a harsh way?"

Domenic asked her as he stared at her, waiting to hear the reason that made her take such a harsh decision.