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I glanced after her as she quickly disappeared back into the bathroom and then took a deep breath.

I couldn't tell her the truth. Not yet. I didn't know her well enough for that and I just wanted to avoid causing any more chaos between us than there was already.

Eyes on my gun, I quickly put it on the small table next to the couch and then took off my pants so that I was only in boxer shorts and started unfolding this old sofa.

Although there was another bedroom, I would certainly not enter it, no matter how uncomfortable the yellow fabric here seemed to me.

"Can I help you?" I heard Isalie's soft voice and looked over at her to immediately see how she couldn't take her eyes off my chest. She seemed intrigued, but not in the way I was used to from Alba. There was something else in her eyes. Something that almost made me blush under her intense gaze, but I pulled myself together.

What was the matter with me?! I didn't like at all how weak she made me towards her, but on the other hand I liked it so much that I didn't want to let go of this feeling.

"No, I'll be fine," I let her know, but apparently she wasn't the type of woman to watch others at work. She immediately came to the other side of the couch and pulled on the rusted underside with me, which made her jump out and we finally had a place to sleep.

"You say thank you," Isalie suddenly said and looked at me expectantly, whereupon I shook my head with a grin and briefly admired my white t-shirt on her petite body.

"You should only say thank you if you asked for help beforehand," I replied and grabbed the red decorative cushions from the sofa to throw them neatly onto the folded out couch.

"I still wanted to thank you again," she grabbed my attention again, sitting on the edge of the couch with her eyes on the floor. I could see how difficult it was for her to find the right words and I was incredibly sorry that so much was probably on her shoulders and wasted her.

She didn't deserve that...

I gently lowered myself down next to her, our hips nearly touching, and no matter how much I wanted her close, I gave her space.

"I don't know myself why I was in the water, but that doesn't matter either. I'm more interested in why you're being so nice to me?"

She looked over at me questioningly and tried to see through me, but she quickly turned her gaze back to her hands, which lay quietly on her knees.

"Am I supposed to be angry?", I wanted to know with a shrug and she put on a really beautiful smile, which unfortunately disappeared far too quickly.

"Well, you have a certain reputation and shouldn't all people be treated equally?"

She looked back at me with those beautiful eyes and my heart was beating like crazy at the sight of her. I even briefly forgot what it was all about until she raised her eyebrow, demanding an answer.

"I don't think so," I replied. "A traitor deserves death in my eyes. A loyal friend deserves only the best."

"What does traitor mean to you? Do you also mean liar?" She suddenly wanted to know and looked at me intently. "So you think liars deserve death too?"

"If that were the case, then no one would be alive anymore. After all, you've already lied to me," I replied, slightly menacingly, since it made me angry again that, looking at her bruise, I couldn't even guess what who did this to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at me so intently that I had to avoid her gaze and get up. If she were someone else, anyone, I would have yelled at her or just forced her to tell me the truth, but I didn't want to make mistakes with her.

"You've been to that beach, but you're from downtown. Your shoes were there on the edge. Judging by your smell, you've been drinking. Tequila, right?"

I looked at her questioningly, and as she bit her lip nervously and began to play with her fingers, she gave the slightest nod and immediately avoided my gaze in embarrassment. I was sorry to analyze them, but I wanted the truth. Otherwise the anger inside me would eat away at me from the inside out.

"So you were drinking, alone, in the middle of the night. You probably didn't want to be home since the marks of the pain you still carry with me were done to you there," I continued, walking slowly toward her to crouch directly in front of her. "The bruise is several days old and I'm pretty sure it happened the night of the fiesta, but I just don't know who-"

I stopped looking into her glassy eyes and had a sudden brainwave that it must have been that son of a bitch from the beach. He was definitely after her and I could see in his eyes that he didn't have good intentions. How could I have missed that?!

I got up in a hurry and was just about to grab my clothes because my entire body was already shaking with hatred and anger, but then I felt her hands on my arm and turned my angry gaze directly to her.

"What are you up to?" she asked with wide eyes and glanced at the gun on the table only to look back at my face in panic.

"Whoa!" I hissed beside myself, not wanting to let my anger towards her come to the surface, but this bastard would suffer!

Her face! He had dared to mess up her beautiful face like that! Even one shot was too good for that and he will still wish for the coup de grace if I inflicted the pain of his life on him for days.

"No," said Isalie suddenly and snatched my shirt from me that I was about to put on.

"Isalie!" I warned her, pulling my shirt out of her hands again with a tug. "Don't provoke me when I'm angry!"

"You have no right to fight my fights!" she yelled at me and I couldn't understand why she was doing this. Shouldn't she be glad I was taking care of the bastard?

"Why shouldn't I have the right to?!" I demanded angrily, putting on my shirt, which made her shake her head wildly.

"Because you're not supposed to take care of me! I have to take care of this myself and maybe you should take care of your fiancé instead!"

She glared at me and my jaw dropped in shock as I felt like I was in the wrong movie. Did she really just say that?!

"What are you talking about?"

When she suddenly flopped back down on the couch and buried her face in her hands, crying, I was sorry for everything I had done before.

Her delicate, gentle aura made me sink to my knees in front of her and very carefully I took her hands in mine.

"Isalie, what do you mean by that?" I asked a little more gently, letting go of one of her hands to carefully wipe away her tears, she seemed so fragile to me.

"I-" she started stuttering, but then started sobbing again, which really tested my patience, but she should take all the time she needed now, no matter how much it was tearing me up.

"I called you," she said in a trembling voice, pointing her fingers at the bruise on her face. "Right after that happened."

"I didn't have a call," I replied, looking at her sympathetically. It was the worst feeling ever that she needed me but I couldn't be there for her. How am I ever going to get over this?!

"A woman answered. She said she was your fiancee and that you were taking a shower."

My eyes widened in disbelief at her words and I looked at Isalie stunned.

Alba... She had denied me the opportunity to assist my butterfly. Because of her lie, my butterfly almost sank into the depths of the black ocean...

... and that's what she would die for!