UNREQUITED LOVER

Sometimes the biggest and best things fail to bring happiness to the heart.

For Elliot, this moment was his happiness. Sage lying on top of him, examining his tattoos with all her attention. He held her with his strong arms, making sure she didn't hurt herself by falling over.

He ran his fingers through her hair, tucking a few strands behind her ear, without even catching her attention.

" Remember when I told you that, I'd sell you to any random dude on the street for a sip of water?" He whispers.

" I lied."

" Remember when I said, I don't love you?" Sage didn't understand him, she didn't even look at him.

" I lied."

" Aren't you a little too adorable?" he says, gently rubbing his nose against the tip of hers.

The door slams open as an angry, bloodied Hades marches in with anger written across his face.

His rage immediately doubles when he sees Sage tangled up with Elliot on the bed.

Were they fucking each other?

Did she just cheat on him behind his back?

Crazy thoughts ran into his mind, as his anger increased incredibly.

" You slut." He screamed, grabbing Sage's hair.

Sage screamed, clutching Elliot's hand when Hades yanked her up. He grabbed her jaw, looking into her teary eyes.

" Once a whore, always a whore. You fucking filthy bitch." He growls, giving her a backhand slap.

Sage falls on the floor, wailing her lungs out in pain. Hades turned around to deal with Elliot when Elliot punched him right in his face. He stumbled back, trying to gain his balance but Elliot didn't give him a chance to.

He punched him again in the face before digging two fingers in the wound on his abdomen. Hades screamed his lungs out as his blood ran down Elliot's arms.

Elliot didn't show an inch of mercy, he looked dead into Hades' eyes as if challenging him more.

Elliot kicked him onto the floor, looking at him with bloodshot eyes.

" How dare you hurt Sage? You dared to call her a sl. . ." He trails off, can't even getting that filthy word on his lips.

" I'll show you what you get for hurting her." Elliot mutters, walking to the fire place.

He grabs a firewood, slamming it agaisnt his thigh, breaking it in two. Taking the sharp end wood, he slams it down on Hades' palm.

" You. Dared. To. Slap. Baby. Sage." With each word, he pulled the wood back before piercing it back on Hades' hand.

Hades screams in the searing pain, trying to get up from the floor when Elliot punches him in the face again, knocking him on the floor.

He takes the wood, aiming for Hades' throat when Enrique runs into the room with Shawn.

" Elliot!" Enrique screams, stopping Elliot.

Elliot looks up at Enrique, who was panicking the hell out.

" Don't. Don't do it, brother please." Enrique screams, begging for Hades' life.

But it was not Hades he was begging for, it was Elliot. He gave up on Sage just so Elliot could live a good life, he can't let Elliot get blood on his hands now.

" No! This filthy bastard hurt Sage, he dared to question her purity! I can accept that God is wrong for once but not Sage . . . not Sage." Elliot growled, looking back at a barely conscious Hades.

" Kill him, Elliot. Go bestie!" Shawn screamed.

Elliot aimed for his throat, raising the wood but before he could slam it down, Enrique pushed him away, planting a punch on his face.

" Come back to your fucking senses! Murder is a fucking crime." Enrique screams, shaking Elliot violently.

" I DON'T GIVE TWO FUCKS ABOUT THE FUCKING LAW. YOU HURT SAGE, YOU DIE. SIMPLE!" Elliot screams, trying to go for Hades again.

" Enough! I won't let you be a murderer." Enrique growls, pulling the wood out of his hand.

" You don't know him, Enrique! He is an evil bastard. He abused Sage for months, he drugged her, manipulated her, raped her, physically abused her, played with her mind and at last gave her to his brother to play like a fucking toy. I've controlled myself enough but this bastard isn't regretting anything, he wouldn't raise his hand on baby Sage if he really was guilty for what he did." Elliot screamed, inhaling loudly at the end.

He could feel blood pumping into his ears loudly, his head felt warm and his throat completely dry. He was angry, really angry and all he wanted was to rip Hades into shreds.

" Enough! Shawn control this idiot." Enrique snaps, shoving Elliot back.

He helps a barely conscious Hades to stand up and drags him out. Shawn sat on the bed with Sage, consoling her as she kept bawling her eyes out.

Elliot runs his tongue on his dried lips, sighing loudly. He leans against the  wall, looking at Sage sadly before he looks away.

Shawn gives Sage a muffin to distract her, before he looks up at Elliot.

" Why is he still alive?" Elliot mumbles, clearly disappointed with Hades' entire existence.

" I was going to, but your brother loves being a saint. Hades also blackmailed me that he will take Sage away if I raise my hand on him one more time. And legally he can, we can't kick him out or else he will take Sage away." Shawn mumbles, feeling defeated.

" If I file for a divorce, it will take months and it might affect Sage's mental health more to be questioned so much. Plus, I don't think we will win the case considering Sage doesn't even speak." Shawn sighs, leaning on the wall beside Elliot.

Elliot clenches his fist, glancing at Shawn before he bites his bottom lip.

" Shawn, I have something to confess." He mutters under his breath.

" Mmhmm, are you a secret undercover cop?" Shawn chuckles as Elliot chuckles with him.

" I hope I was but it's quiet the opposite. When Sage got married, I was devastated. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat and barely could look at myself. I tried going on dates but nothing worked. I even went on dates with some guys, thinking my sexuality has changed due to my lack of interest in females." Shawn shoots him a proud look, knowing Elliot was coming out to him.

" I'm not in guys. That didn't work out either. At that moment, I realized that the heart falls for someone once. No one can replace it, you might fall in love again but you can never love it to that extent. At that moment, I begun drifting it on the dark side. I met bad people who taught me bad things, I worked with them and became my boss's favorite." Elliot says as sweat beads appear on his forehead.

" Then he died. And they all gave me his position. I-I'm a mob boss, Shawn. But I'm not evil or stupid as Hades. I don't kill people, no . . . Actually I do but I only kill the bad ones. Please don't distance me from Sage just because of my profession. I would never hurt her." Elliot begins ranting, as the fear of losing Sage again grips his heart.

" Elliot, I know you and I understand your bond with Sage." Shawn ensures him, patting his shoulder.

Elliot sighs in relief, letting out a little chuckle. He could've hid the fact about his job, knowing how protective Shawn is but he didn't want to keep them in the dark. He knows the worth of someone's trust.

" I knew something was off about you. You gave me dark mafia daddy vibes." Shawn says, causing Elliot to laugh.

" I never planned to be where I am but it all just happened and I went along with it. I opened dessert company as a cover and also cause . . . Someone close to my heart loves candies." Elliot mumbles, looking at Sage trying to fit the entire muffin in her mouth at once.

He knew she'd do that the moment Shawn handed it to her. Some habits never die, even if the memories do.

" You know that's not even the shocking part! While working, I got to know about Hades' gang. I got know that Sage wasn't with him and when I learnt about Sean being his brother, I lost my shit. I dug deeper and got to know what all he did to Sage. My men spread all around the country, looking for Sage, while I destroyed Hades. I teamed up with the Russian mafia and fucked Hades' entire gang up. My men couldn't find Sage anywhere, at last I decided to go there myself to find her when I got to know that you found her." Elliot says, sharing a look with Shawn.

" Your men aren't at fault, Sage was barely recognizable when I found her." Shawn reassures him.

" Shawn, we can't trust Hades. Now, I know this all might be hard to digest but you're the only one I can talk about this." Elliot says, cracking his knuckles nervously.

" Go ahead, I'm listening." Shawn mutters.

" Isn't it weird that Hades is so powerful yet he didn't know of the truth for so long? He isn't a fool, he surely pretends to be one to avoid us being suspicious. I think he knew about Sean all along yet he played along. Why would any man in the right mind dump his wife in the asylum when her condition can be treated at home with correct pills!?" Elliot says, igniting a river of suspicion in Shawn's heart.

" He led Sean to the hotel room that day, and when Sage attacked Sean, his men walked in the exact moment. They weren't there to save us, they came inside to save . . . Sean. And when Enrique tried to catch Sean, Hades hurried us all out of the hotel." Shawn mumbles, joining the pieces together.

" That motherfucker." Shawn curses, realizing the trap they've been all falling in.

" Shawn no. It's not the time to overreact, we can't let him know that we've found the truth. Maybe it's not the truth, I just suspect him. We cannot act on the basis of a suspicion." Elliot says, his voice heavy and confident like a mob boss.

" I lost my control when he hit Sage, but we cannot let him suspect us. Let him play his cards peacefully while we prepare for the war. Let him think that we trust him and he can do whatever he wants without being cautious. Rule one, don't underestimate your enemy. Rule two, catch them by surprise. Till then, don't let anyone know of it, not even my brother. Enrique is an idiot anyways." Elliot rolls his eyes as he explains it to Shawn.

" Yeah, I got it Mr. Mobby Boss. But, we have to make sure that Sage stays safe and away from whatever shit Hades is going to pull. I'm not putting her as a bait, I can't risk her health in any way." Shawn says, looking at Sage.

Sage was knocked out on the bed, snoring softly. A half eaten muffin, gently clutched in her hand while the other was cuddled to a pillow.

" I'll-um. . . I'll go now. Have a good night." Elliot rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, glancing between Sage and Shawn.

Shawn nods, as he begins taking off Sage's sandals. He adjusts her head on the pillow before covering her with the warm comforter.

Elliot takes slow steps towards the door, his hand on the knob when Shawn turns back to him.

" You know what, Elli? I think it would be safe if Sage had us both here tonight, if only you don't mind." Shawn has a gentle smile on his face as he looks at Elliot.

A huge grin breaks on Elliot's face at that. Shawn is letting him be near Sage even after knowing his profession, he trusts him.

" I would love to." Elliot chuckles.

" Great then, I'll order some food, you go have a shower then we can both sit and catch up, eh?"

" On it, sir." Elliot gives Shawn a flying kiss before he dashes out of the room.

Shawn looks at Sage, gently taking the muffin out of her hand. He leans down, planting a little kiss on her forehead.

" We won't let them win this time."