Inaya's POV

There an aggressive knock on my room's door, making me almost jump off the floor.

Yes, I was sitting on the floor. Sometimes, the floor is a nice place.

I was sitting there and minding my own business, thinking about how I'm going to fulfill the promise I made to myself: survive this place, survive Dominic's torture, and fulfill my hopes and dreams.

I already have my hijab on. I always keep it on because some people don't knock and just tend to walk in... I'm sure everyone knows who I'm talking about.

I slowly open the door to find that it's Nicholas and I let out a breath of relief.

"Expecting someone else?" He smirks.

"Good morning." I smile at him, ignoring his comment because merely speaking about his brother scares me.

"I fucked up." He says abruptly.

I just blink, not knowing what he's talking about.

"I didn't show up yesterday. I probably left you waiting all day." There's a look of guilt in his eyes.

No, don't worry. Your brother took me out on a wonderful day instead.

"No! It's fine. I understand your line of work means random assignments." I say.

"That was still shitty but Dominic told me it was unavoidable. He wasn't wrong but I could've just sent someone else in my place—"

So, Mr. Belcastro was the one who planned this...

"Nick! Breathe!" I say as I unconsciously place my hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "It's okay. Trust me. I genuinely did not mind."

"Jesus! You're way to nice! Any other girl would've beheaded me by now." He says.

"Because you didn't show up? That's a little overdramatic, no?" I raise a brow.

"You have no idea how crazy girls around here can be." He grins. "You know what..." he grabs my hand and trails me along with him.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked Nick.

It's funny, I asked Dominic the same question yesterday, however, my voice was trembling with fear when I did and we ended somewhere that was t pleasant at all.

But with Nick, I don't feel like I'm walking into death.

"We're going out right at this moment." He smirks, playfully.

"Right now?! I didn't even change into something nicer!"

He stops and looks at me right in my eyes. His eyes softening as he stares, "You look absolutely gorgeous! Don't worry about it."

My cheeks begin heating up as I feel a blush creep onto my cheeks.

He chuckles. "You're so cute."

And with that, he takes me to his car, which, of course, is a bright red Lamborghini Aventador. It matches his loud, bright personality perfectly.

"M'lady," he says cheekishly as he opens the passenger door for me with a hand above my head so I don't hit my head on the car frame while going in.

"Thank you." I sit down and we head off for our promised adventure.

• • •

"Where do you want to go?" Nick asks. We've been driving around for about five minutes thinking about what to do.

"Um... maybe somewhere to eat?" I suggest.

Nick recommends a restaurant that sounds really familiar.

My eyes widen as it hits me. "Isn't that where you have to reserve a table a year ahead?"

"Yes, but Belcastros don't need reservations." He winks.

I shake my head. "That's too expensive!"

"Don't worry about paying!" He shakes his head.

I couldn't pay even if I wanted to... I don't have my wallet.

"Can we go to KFC instead, if that's okay with you? I'm craving some fried chicken." I smile.

He looks at me for a few seconds, then starts laughing.

I look at him in confusion. "Is something wrong? You don't eat fast food? We could go somewhere with healthier options."

"No, that's not it! My God, women die to go to that restaurant and you turned it down like it wasn't a big deal." He says.

"I guess we could go to that restaurant some other time if you'd like." But not today because I don't have my own money.

"KFC is completely fine with me." He grins.

• • •

"I haven't had..." Nick begins for say but I interrupt him.

"Commoner's food in a while?" I laugh as I finish his sentence for him.

He squints his eyes at me, "Who do you take me for?"

I shrug my shoulders with a grin on my face.

I haven't felt this relaxed in so long. It's so different around Dominic. It's either that I'm walking on eggshells or broken glass when it comes to him. Every muscle in my body is tense around him.

But with Nick, I'm so relaxed that I could float. It's crazy how polar opposites the two brothers are.

"No... not that. I haven't come out so casually in a while. Whenever I go out to eat, it's mostly for business, which means it's always at really luxury places. I forgot how casual feels like it." Nick explains.

"Welcome to eating on a budget." I tease him.

After talking about a few things, like what I studied and did before I ended up here, I slowly ask him about his and Dominic's life.

"Did either of you guys go to postsecondary ?" I ask out of curiosity.

He nods his head. "We did. Dominic has a Masters in Management and I finished with an undergrad in business administration."

"Oh! That's cool!" I'm glad even though their line of work is... different, they still used the luxury we have and got further education. I'm genuinely impressed.

"Yours is cooler! Helping out children in need of loving homes is such a nice thing to do. If only you were there for us when we were younger." A sad smile appears on his face.

"If you don't mind me asking... I hear Benny and Lenny talking about your father yet I've never seen him visit." I try not to sound nosey.

His face goes stone-like.

This can't be good.

"I'm sorry! You don't have to answer that. I was just wondering..." I quickly interject.

"No, no. It's alright. He wasn't very present in our childhood, neither was our mother. Our father was a bit of a... tough guy. Our mother... I don't remember her much. She left before I was old enough to remember anything." His frown turns into a small smile for the next part, "Dominic raised me, he gave me the love and care of both parents. I couldn't have asked for a better brother."

For obvious reasons, I can't imagine Dominic to be caring or loving or anything close to those two categories. But I understand that he might be different around people he cares about.

"I hate saying this but I wish I could say that Dominic is a good man at heart. He lost a big chunk of his humanity years ago because of our parents." He sighs. "Though he raised me to have a better conscious, he was never able to bring himself to be the same. Everyone, whether that's family or our gang members, see him as someone who will mercilessly torture and kill for his own good. Sometimes... sometimes I don't know if there's any humaneness left in him. As his brother, as someone who cares for him, it terrifies me..."

Nicholas' concern is a legitimate one. As brother who loves Dominic very much, he doesn't want to see Dominic crumble like this.

Everyone I crossed paths with after coming here... not one person said that he might have goodness in him.

Not one.

If it terrifies Nick, then imagine me every time I'm anywhere near this man.

But to tell you the truth, there are times when I'm not scared but some kind of other emotion runs through me. Maybe pity?

He hadn't received any love from anyone to begin with, especially from the main sources a child is supposed to receive love from: the parents.

In my line of work as a social worker, I've learned something important. The love of parents can shape a child in many different ways. A child receiving no love can either turn out to look okay outwardly but be broken from the inside or be broken from both the inside and out. I'm a better example of the first option, while Dominic the latter.

Dominic doesn't know what it's like for someone to love him unconditionally and that makes my heart ache for him.

He will destroy anything in his path without blinking because that's the mindset that's been embedded in him from his life growing up. He doesn't understand sympathy or compassion. And I don't know if anyone could ever change that.

One thing is absolutely clear: my chances of survival is thinning to the point where I'm holding on by a breaking thread.

- - -

A/N: and the story of Mr. Dominic Belcastro begins to unfold! 🕵🏼‍♀️

Next Update: in a few days? Maybe? I'm honestly becoming extremely busy nowadays. I'll try my best but don't worry, I will update, Insha'Allah! 🥰