"Alora didn't come?" Max asked, still disappointed in himself because of the punishment that I chose to give Alora.

Carlo shook his head, huffed a little and sat on my right side. "She must have fallen asleep. I knocked a couple of times on her door but no reply came from inside.”

We were in the dining room, seated on our chairs as it was dinner time. Alora didn't come downstairs since she had gone to her room. So, Carlo went to call her for dinner.

"She must be tired, that's why." Carlo said.

I kept looking at the empty seat on my left where she would sit. She would keep jumping and running all the time while eating, that's why to keep an eye on her I have asked her to sit beside me so that she doesn't disturb anyone but yet she does.

"We can't do anything if she is asleep. Let her sleep...if she gets hungry at night, she will eat something from the kitchen." I said to them because they were not eating anything. I didn't even feel like eating at all.

Since we could not eat much at dinner anyway, we sat together in the living room and started talking about that unknown boy who had stopped those seven men from killing us. Did he already know that they were here to kill us? Or did he just help like that?

But why would anyone do that?

If Domenico's men managed to break through our security, would the unknown boy have come inside before them or after them?

But those goons also said that due to heavy rain, nothing was visible properly.

"Hey, guys, what could have happened if Domenico's men had seen Alora." Rome said, capturing all our attention at once.

I was still feeling anxious about that thought. What if...?

They all released a sigh of relief thinking that she was safe.

"No matter if Domenico has joined hands with William, he still could have done anything to her. Alora was never a part of the family to William, so he wouldn't have cared at all." I breathed out my anxiousness.

"We shouldn't have let her go outside at that time while it was raining heavily." Galen said, looking at me disappointedly.

"Enzo! We know that the rules should apply to all of us here in the mafia but just think about it once. When we saw her for the first time in William's house, all three of us noticed that she wasn't okay there. Since she came here, I have always seen her happy lately...and that means she feels safe around us. We should be proud of ourselves for saving and protecting a girl just like we do for those girls who Domenico tries to sell." Carlo explained all that in one breath while glaring at me with upset eyes.

"Carlo...maybe you are thinking I am against her or I am trying to torture her, but it's not true. And about those rules–"

"What if those people came to know about Alora? What if something happens–"

"Nothing can ever happen to her. No one can harm her. I have made a mistake once but will not do it again." I said cutting him off. "I will always protect her no matter how dangerous the situation is."

Their faces were filled with amusement. By the time I realized what I just admitted in front of them, it was too late to cover up my words.

I cleared my throat and took a glance through them. They were still staring at me with eyes wide open.

"Got it." Max broke the silence first.

"What about you three?" I tried hard to break the awkward silence.

"Yeah! We also got it. Right, Rome?" Galen said by nodding his head while pinching Rome to reply to me too.

"Oww! I also got it that you want to protect Alora, alone. I can understand." Rome immediately spoke.

I rolled my eyes at him and faced Carlo to know what he was thinking.

"I also want to protect her. She is my best friend. It's also my responsibility to look after her safety." Carlo spoke.

"Best friend? When did you two become best friends?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Um...yeah, I mean we have each other's side." He admitted. "I don't know the exact moment when we–"

"Then what about us? What are we?" Max asked dramatically, putting his hand on his chest while acting like betrayed.

"I don't know." Carlo shrugged his shoulders.

"They have become best friends and I didn't even get the news?" Galen also joined the drama.

Neither did I. They also never showed me that they became best...friends. I was probably missing a lot of important news these days.

"You should ask her yourself. Tomorrow!" Carlo said the last word in a voice full of protection.

"Alright then, I will ask her tomorrow what she thinks of me." Max huffed dramatically. "Am I not her best friend?" He wept and faked a sobbing face.

Carlo and I wrinkled our noses at him in disbelief.

"Let me join too. I also want to know if I am her best friend or not." Rome said to Max.

What should I ask her? What does she think...no, I already know the answer. It's official for us as enemies.

I let out a soft chuckle at the memories of our arguments and most likely fighting.

After finishing this discussion, all four went to their respective rooms. We had decided to talk about what could be Domenico's next move and all, but ended up talking about who was Alora's best friend. This is what happens when someone mentions her in any conversation. It ended with fighting over her or fighting for her.

She had become a precious part of everyone's life.

I had some work, so I went to my study first, and I completed my work in those few hours.

When I looked at the clock, I came to know that it was already midnight. I came out of my study and walked towards my room. As soon as I turned the doorknob of my room, I noticed that the door of Alora's room was slightly open and the light was coming from inside.

I know where she was and what she had gone to do. A mischievous smirk formed on my lips and I headed to the place where she would be found.

I don't know what fun I thought because I came down the stairs laughing like a child and slowly sneaked towards the kitchen. Maybe later I will regret doing this by thinking about why I did it.

The kitchen light was on and some creaking sound was coming from inside.

I stepped to the door and took a sneak peek at what she was doing. I spotted her and there she was, sneaking inside the fridge and looking for food like a mouse. She released a frustrated sigh, hopped onto the counter and lowered her head, which meant she didn't find anything to eat or maybe didn't like what she found.

She must be really hungry. I gave up on my plan to do the mischief with her which I had planned on. And then I also remembered that she might have been angry at me. So, I was hesitating whether I should show up or not. But I decided to go to her.

I came inside the kitchen but she didn't look towards me as her head was still lowered down. So, I cleared my throat to get her attention.

She quickly looked up at me and gasped heavily.

"God! You scared me." She said, placing her hand on her chest.

"I am not a ghost." I said to her, noticing she sighed out in relief. She doesn't look mad at me.

It was such a relief.

"Hahaha...not so funny." She wrinkled her nose.

After that, she stayed silent for a few moments.

"You got scared thinking of me as a ghost, didn't you?" I smirked at her and when she saw it, she rolled her eyes at me to look away.

Then she again turned to me with a sarcastic smile and said, "Please, don't insult them. You cannot be a ghost. They are way more...better-looking than you–because you are a monster."

Do ghosts look better than me? Do they even look good? What was she saying? Maybe she had gone crazy due to hunger, I couldn't blame her.

"You are admiring their beauties which they do not even have." I commented on her reply trying to figure out how she could say ghosts are beautiful.

"I understand, boss. You are probably jealous.” She said, giving a full grin of mischief.

I huffed out all the annoyance and tried to end it as soon as possible because I couldn't tolerate it anymore.

"Do you see nothing in ghosts except their good looks?" I asked sarcastically of her comment while showing a poker face.

She raised both of her eyebrows, gestured her hand in the air and started to explain. "Actually, I also like their appearance...like how they stay behind us when we feel lonely although we are never alone as they, you know always..." She again gestured her hands here and there to explain to me that ghosts were present around us.

I tilted my head in a fake sarcastic agreement and said, "Absolutely right. Thank you for removing my loneliness by letting me know that they are always present around us."

She chuckled at my words of affirmation even though I guess she knew that it was full of sarcasm.

"I am glad that you are thankful to me and guess what? You give me the same vibe as them." She said, showing a broad sarcastic smile. "Dead vibes."

I rolled my eyes at her by looking away and sighed.

"Yeah. Okay. Now end the conversation about ghosts here."

"Why?" She asked, narrowing her eyes on me and suddenly released a dramatic gasp. "Are you scared...monster? How can you be afraid of ghosts, you are also in their category, aren't you?"

There was suddenly an annoying yet sweet sound of laughter filled in the air. She started swinging back and forth on the counter while laughing very hard at her joke and I didn't even react to it.

*****