Walking in, the first thing I saw in Asher's room was a new paperweight. I skipped to his big cushiony desk chair and sat down.

This one was a cuboid, different from the other one in colour. While the other one was transparent and had a different pattern at the sides, this one was black.

I picked it up and look at it carefully, putting it before my eyes to see the light coming in from the window.

"You have a liking for these." I nearly dropped the paperweight when Asher suddenly spoke that.

He was leaning against the doorway, with his arms and legs crossed.

I put it down cautiously and stood up from the chair awkwardly.

Asher moved into the room and waved his hand motioning me to come closer.

"Can I first check to see what I'd need?" He asked.

"Can we skip this please?" I muttered, keeping my annoyance inside.

"Sorry, sweetie. But I have to check," He said, before motioning for me to sit on the bed. I sat down and fumbled with the hem of my shirt nervously.

"What if I say I'm not comfortable?" I said, quietly.

"It will just take a moment. I won't touch you while checking, if that helps. But if it needs some medication, I'd have to," He said, smiling sweetly. The smile was slightly assuring. "I have a female friend I can call, if you want to have it checked by her."

"N-No," I said, shutting my mouth quickly. Did I just stutter?

"Not someone else?" He asked, crouching down before me. I shook my head.

"Alright. Then let me check please."

I nodded and turned my back towards him. I lifted my shirt and stopped just where my sports bra started becoming visible.

"Should I go get Rose to check if there are any more bruises on your upper back?" He asked, from behind me. His voice was colder than I've ever heard it.

Why is he getting angry about my bruises?

"No," I said, quickly. She can't see this. I don't want her to be scared or disgusted.

"C-Can I go change into something that makes it easier?" I asked, almost stopping when I stuttered again. He frowned when I started the sentence but nodded.

I jumped up and rushed out of his room.

"Is it okay?" Rose asked, as soon as I entered. She was pacing around.

"Yeah. I just need to show him my upper back, so I came to change," I said, moving towards the closet.

Getting the baggiest Tee I could find in the closet, I pulled off the shirt and the bra and put it on. This will do.

I walked out and found Rose standing by the door.

"Can I stay with you now?" She asked. I shook my head, watching a frown appear on her face.

"I'm okay," I said, looking at her frowning face, then moving out of the room.

Asher was sitting in his desk chair which he had moved to the side of the bed. He stopped staring at his clasped hands and looked up when I entered.

"Lay down on your stomach here," He said, adjusting a pillow. Taking slow hesitant steps towards the bed, I sat down first. Asher turned around so his back was turned to me.

A smile almost tugged at my lips, as I raised the tee to reveal my back fully and adjusted it at the front, then laid down turning my head towards Asher.

"You can check now," I muttered. He turned the wheely chair back around and his eyes darkened more, if that was possible.

"There's a long bruise running across your upper back," He noted, sounding much like Jayden.

I released a breath, when he took a deep shaky one in.

"These need to be treated, okay? I'm going to apply something now," he said. I nodded my head in response.

I flinched when I felt the cool cream on my back.

Asher was silent as he applied two different ointments on my back. One for scars and the other for bruises maybe.

"So you and Muff- Beau became doctors," I stated, breaking the silence.

He smiled a little and nodded.

"He recognized me when he saw me that day," I said, turning my head back to stare at the headboard.

"Yeah. He's always been sharp," Asher said, amusement in his tone.

"Are you not in contact anymore?" I asked, turning my head back to look at him. He shook his head, with a sad smile.

That's my cue to shut up.

That's what I did.

"Is it done?" I asked, after he stopped and didn't apply anything else.

He sighed and muttered a 'yes'.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through this," He said, leaning back in his chair. "We're sorry we couldn't be there."

"Not like your sorry changes anything." The words left my mouth, before I had the time to register it. There was an automatic spite and coldness in my tone.

He let out a loud sigh again and looked up at the ceiling. I turned my head to bury in the pillow, wanting nothing more than for it to engulf me completely.

I got up silently, my shirt adjusting itself on its own and sat on the bed, looking at my feet.

"Are there anymore bruises or scars on your stomach?" Asher asked, his voice was quiet and sad.

I nodded, silently lifting the shirt to reveal my stomach.

There was a particular bruise circling me like a ring, from my stomach to my back.

"When did he hit you last time?" He asked, applying more of the ointment there.

"Two days before he ran away," I muttered, my hands automatically clenching into fists.

"I'll kill him when we find him," He gritted, making me clench my jaw and look away.

"You're not serious about that," I muttered. He looked at me, never stopping his hand.

"Lucian broke every bone in Vincent's arms, as a warning to never even look at you again. He couldn't guess which one he used to hit you, so he damaged both."

My head turned so fast, I had to check if it was intact.

"Just because of two slaps?" I asked, before I could stop.

"It was two?" He asked, stopping this time to look at me for confirmation.

"Didn't Father say anything?" I asked. He nodded.

"He was mad. But Lucian handled it," He said, putting his clean hand on my hands that had my shirt bunched in them and pushing them down. "Don't worry about it."

"Are there any on your shoulders?" He asked, moving back a little. His elbows rested on his knees as I sat between his knees on the bed.

"No," I said. He nodded and put the stuff away, cleaning his hand with a tissue.

He didn't look at me while he did, nor did he tell me to go, so I sat there unsure of what to do.

Finally he turned to me and looked into my eyes for a long moment. He grabbed my hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over them.

"I know my apology doesn't change anything. I still apologize for everything that happened to you and everything you're going through at present."

"All I asked for was one call," I said, feeling my eyes well up with tears.

A knock on the door made us both turn. I blinked the tears away when the door opened and Jayden stepped in.

"Lucian has requested her presence in his office," He said, failing to hide his sarcastic smirk.

I pulled my hands out of Asher's. He pushed his chair away, allowing me to stand up and walk out.

I walked past Jayden without giving him the satisfaction of seeing how scared I really was.

Walking into our room, I changed back to what I was wearing before. Rose wasn't here.

"Where's Rose?" I asked the first person I saw, which happened to be Damien.

"I just showed her the library," He said, hiding a smile.

"You?" I gave him a doubtful look.

"Well yeah. Lucian kicked my ass for what I did and I'm kinda trying to make up for it. I'm still taking you on the cool date," He said, struggling to keep his scowl on his face.

I thought he would cancel it after what happened today, considering Jayden and him are best buddies.

"Okay," I said, feeling something strangely warm in my stomach. I walked past him quickly towards Lucian's office.

I knocked on the door, wishing he didn't hear it. But the 'come in' that was heard a second later made me want to kick it so hard, it came off its hinges.

I entered the room, not daring to look up at Lucian.

I hope Asher calls for dinner. I looked at the big clock to see it was just 7.25. Dinner is in one hour. I sighed and made the mistake of looking down.

My eyes locked with Lucian's and my heart jumped out of my chest.

"Have a seat," He said, watching me closely.

"How're you feeling?" He asked, gathering up the stuff scattered on the desk.

"Good," I mumbled.

"I asked, how're you feeling?" He stopped picking up the stuff and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Good," I said, not mumbling this time. He hummed and resumed what he was doing.

"Your questions," He stated, putting the pile of papers aside and leaning back in his chair.

Oh?

"What happened between you and Father?" I asked the question bothering me.

"We fought and I moved away with our siblings. We haven't solved that fight," He said, still keeping it short.

"Why did you fight?" I asked.

"Because he's a bastard," He said, with so much hate and anger. These were easy to point out, despite his expressionless face.

I changed the question a bit.

"Why did you move away?"

"His second wife assaulted Josiah three years ago," He said, his eyebrow twitching a little.

Despite trying to feel unbothered, all I felt was anger.

"Why did Mom leave him?" I asked, looking down at the desk.

"He cheated on her. We found out much later, a month before moving out. His second wife's kids are actually his own. Our half-siblings. We found out and when we confronted him about it, he brought them home to live with us. Another reason why we moved."

My eyes widened at that. Those bitches are related to us? What a shame.

"Vincent is a year younger than me. So he was kinda cheating on her for more than sixteen years before they divorced," He said, clenching his hands into fists.

"Did you fight with him for it?" I asked.

"Most of the argument we had that day consisted of that. He hid why they divorced and when we somehow found out, he wasn't sorry."

"That's why Mom wanted no contact from him," I stated. Lucian nodded and frowned at that.

"Did he know Vincent slapped you?" He asked. I looked at him then looked down.

"Maybe. Maybe not. He entered just after the slap. If he didn't notice that, he definitely noticed Rose was sick," I said, frowning at the desk.

"I thought he changed," He said, his voice dropping to a low volume.

"What?"

"He's always hated you and Rose. I thought if he wanted to return into your lives, he had good intentions. Not that I could do anything. He is equally influential, if not more," He said, knitting his eyebrows together and staring at the window to his right.

"Why did he hate us?" I asked, confusion clear on my face.

His gaze flicked to me.

"You were kinda the reason Mom found out about his scandals," he said. "That's what he told me at least. That's why he willingly gave your custody to her. Since Dad was way powerful before her, she couldn't take ours."

"And you didn't tell us this before because...?" I gritted. His frown turned into a glare as he leaned forward.

"If you can't talk properly, we can have this conversation one-sided, with me speaking and you listening. Do you want that?" He said, in a low scary tone.

I shook my head and tried my best to put that question in a more respectful tone.

"Because you would have assumed I'm purposely turning you against him."

True true.

"Why were you suddenly interested in taking us in?" I asked. All of the expressions on his face dropped and his emotionless look returned.

"I was always interested," He frowned. "I just got the opportunity now."

"You shouldn't have," I muttered.

"I should have." He corrected. "I'm your brother."

"You weren't for the past eleven years." I gritted, feeling the anger gathered in me desperate to get out. "You didn't give two fucks about us."

My voice rose with each word I said.

He narrowed his eyes, instantly making me look away.

"We had our reasons-"

I cut him off.

"Then enlighten me. What reasons did you have?" I said, almost to the point of yelling.

"Dad told us you guys didn't want anything to do with us," His own voice rose. "Mom changed her number."

"No she didn't!" I snapped.

"Watch who you're talking to, Amira Levi. I'm not going to let it slide again." He snapped back, effectively silencing me.

I leaned back in my chair and bit the inside of my cheek to keep the tears inside.

"You never picked up either. I called every one of you every day. That turned into calling on birthdays or some occasions. I called before and after christmas, every time wishing I'd talk to any of you. You never picked up our calls, Lucian. Now you want to return like nothing happened." I wiped my cheek with my palm, to wipe the single tear that escaped.

My childish self thought, they will pick up to wish before Christmas and if they didn't then maybe Santa will grant my wish and make them pick up the next day. That's all I wished for.

"Mom called on birthdays. None of you picked up. And do you know who was there? It was my Dad, who wasn't even blood related to us. He consoled the three of us when we were sad because our blood family couldn't even pick up our calls."

"I didn't recieve any call," He said, his eyes widening a little. "I never got any calls from you."

I shook my head.

"But we called thousands of times. I called you when Mom was being buried, even though I stopped trying to get in contact with you for a year."

"I'll repeat myself. I never received any call," He gritted, his hand that was on the desk, clenched into a fist.

"But you picked up once. The first time I called you after leaving. You hung up just after you heard my voice."

He furrowed his eyebrows and seemed to be thinking hard about something. He seemed to get an answer as he blinked once, before a scary look formed on his face.

Picking up his phone, he gritted.

"Arrange a meeting with Alessandro Mazzanti." That's all he said.

He turned to look at me again.

"I never got any calls, nor did I ever hang up. We waited for you to call, but none came. Dad never let us call Mom and even if we did it behind his back, she wouldn't pick up. We were told she changed her number."

I clenched my jaw and looked away when another tear flowed down my cheek. Wiping it rather quickly, I tried to calm myself down.

We sat in silence for a long time, just with our thoughts trying to get the anger levels back to normal.

"When did you know about Mom's death?" I asked.

"A week later. Dad didn't let us contact you, because your stepfather didn't want us to."

"He would never do that." I said, my anger rising at Father. He was so keen on keeping us away.

"Then when he died," He continued. "I was living away from Dad so I knew about it the second the plane crashed. I was told Dad took you in and still didn't want us to contact you."

"What is with him and keeping us away?" I asked, without thinking.

"I don't know. But when Jayden found you in that house, that's when I knew I was lied to. We all believed you were living with Dad."

"None of it was my fault, nor was it any of your brothers'. What my fault was, I trusted Dad too much. I admit that and here we are," He admitted, looking down at the desk.

A nod was all he got in response.

This conversation had taken a rather rocky road but it ended peacefully. So I'm not complaining.

But the anger levels rose back up to extra high, when he started with his commands again.

This man and his orders.