He's Mine - How to 'illegally' tell people HE's MINE in 99 ways

Chapter 12

"I just need to remember who I am."

~~~

After everything that happened in Alessandro and Luca's room last week, I had to retreat from the world for a while. It's been more than a week now, and today, Dad called to inform me that I'll be accompanying him to a gala on Saturday, tomorrow. He also mentioned that Darius and his family will be there, but from our side, it's just Dad and me—no Jared, Matteo, or Maa. Good.

While my parents have been staying at a hotel, Matteo and I remain in Maniac Mansion. I'm sprawled face down on Chiara's bed, groaning loudly.

"What is with you and groaning, boss?" Chiara throws a pillow at my head. I sit up, glaring at her, and she rolls her eyes before lying down beside me.

Chiara Marino—the diplomat's daughter who's had a suffocatingly strict upbringing. While other kids her age were playing and attending school, she was homeschooled and dragged to boring events with her parents, like some kind of accessory. I found her sitting alone at one of those events, hiding from her parents who wanted to parade her around like a human trophy.

Chiara has always had a sharp tongue, knowing exactly what to say and how to extract information. She was the fifth person I recruited, and I'm glad I did. The only downside is that my brother has taken a liking to her. Not because she isn't worthy, but because I really don't want to get stuck in the middle of a breakup.

"I don't get why you all keep calling me 'boss' when I've told you to just call me Maia," I say, turning to face the ceiling.

"We do call you Maia. It's just that, when we're working or teasing you, 'boss' feels more fitting. Besides, you are our boss." She flashes a smile before returning to her phone.

"You know my brother's in Marco's room, right? You could just walk in, Chiara." I tease, watching her blush.

"Yeah, that's what I felt when you guys did it," I mutter, rolling my eyes.

Chiara glances at me like she wants to say something, then shakes her head and focuses back on her phone.

"Spit it out, Marino. We've known each other long enough for you to talk to me about whatever's going on in that little head of yours," I say, sitting up straighter.

She hesitates but then softly says, "Matteo told me about Raze's situation."

I nod for her to continue.

"How are you feeling about that?" she asks gently.

I chuckle, though I can sense her genuine concern. "With all the drama, that's your main question?" I raise an eyebrow, and she nods.

"We know how you feel about your mother, the bomb blast, and how you've been working twice as hard to give Matteo the chance to pursue his dreams. But Raze... Raze is the one bright spot in your life. He's become distant with you, yet still close with Matteo. You must feel hurt."

Her words cut deeper than I expected. My team knows everything about me—my feelings are practically an open book to them, just as theirs are to me. But Raze... we never really talked about him.

"It's more than hurt," I admit, after a pause. "He's part of Matteo's 'normal' life. But is he really? His father is trying to kill me. His mother is... something else. He's friends with one of the most skilled hackers in the world, and not in a legal way. And me? I'm just his stalker. He doesn't even know."

I glance at her before looking away.

"When he first approached me that Friday, it felt like I could be normal. With him, normal wasn't hard. But then that same night, he found out I'm connected to his father's illegal friend. He was okay with it because he thought we were both just the children of criminals—nothing more. But then at the diner, he saw me. The real me—or at least a glimpse of it."