Chapter 49

**LUCIANA'S POV**

We were in comfortable silence, the only sound coming from the clinking of the forks against the ceramic plate.

I dropped my fork and rubbed my belly,burping gently. It was an unexpected burp, so I covered my mouth and whispered an apology but just then,Jericho burped as well,his burp was loud and long and I flinched in disgust.

“Oh,so it's okay when a girl does it but becomes disgusting when it's a guy?”

“No,it's generally disgusting but it's worse,it's appalling when it's you.” Celine added.

“Feminism..” Jericho muttered under his breath.

“How could you say that? I believe in gender equality afterall, which is why you will be doing the dishes tonight as you're a man and the dishes aren't meant for the females alone.”

“Wahh.. just because you are slightly older than me doesn't mean you can treat me this way.” Jericho complained.


“My house,my rules..” Celine retorted with a triumphant smirk plastered on her face.

I took the dishes to the kitchen with my brother who ended up washing them as I stood behind,watching him.

“So,you got kidnapped,eh?”

“Yes..” I replied. Honestly,I had been surprised that he kept quiet and was calm about it but I also knew there was more.

“Do you know the reason why they kidnapped you?”

“I'm not sure..” I answered,itching my head.

“Do you think it was to get some money out of you?”

“I don't think that.”

“Why?”

I paused,unsure if I should tell him the truth and what really happened. I decided to speak the truth. “The truth is they wanted to use me for some sacrifice..” he dropped the plates in his hands.

“Sacrifice? What for? Also,who does that in this present day?”

“Yes,I do not know,that was my thought also.” I replied to all his questions. “I…I wasn't the only one kidnapped. There were other people there as well,they were killed.”

“How?”

My voice became quiet and pained. Remembering their gruesome death was heart wrenching. “The leader called up some kind of lightning that struck everyone dead. There was this girl…we share the same name… she was hit with lightning repeatedly, but did not die. I heard her screams of agony,and I was terrified.”

“You went through so much.. I'm sorry,baby.”

I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. “It's not your fault..”

His shoulders heaved. Those broad shoulders that looked like they could carry the weight of the entire world looked so small and broken.” I moved a few steps closer to him and gave him a hug from behind.

“Luci..”

“It's not your fault. If there's anything,it's safe to say that I am this alive because of you. The only family I have.”

“That's not true..” he commented.

“You're right,that isn't true. Celine and Jericho are my family now as well. And I am going to give it my all to make sure I don't mess it up.”

“I'll even let you marry Celine. She's a great woman and a good cook.”

“Luciana..” he turned to me,his lips in a small pout.

“What?” I asked, shrugging my shoulders.

“I cannot marry her,my heart is with someone else.”

“Right, who is this person? You also said that earlier before but I forgot to ask you about it. Who is this woman who has taken your heart?”.

He paused,and his gaze lingered on me.

“C'mon, you can tell me.” I assured him.

He still kept quiet. “You know her,she's a really beautiful and strong lady. She's perfect. She makes me forget all my bad memories the moment I'm with her. Around her,I feel alive.” He turned back to the dishes

“Aww.” I cooed. “What is her name? Have we met before? Or,if I know her,can you describe her, is she someone who has visited before while I was still there?” I refused to call that place my home.

He groaned. “You do know talking about your love life is embarrassing?”

I smirked. “You don't need to be shy around me. In case you don't know, I'm a romantic so I can relate to whatever you say.”

He scoffed. “Since when?”

“Since today..”I smiled and I heard his laughter echo around the room.

“Whatever you say..”

“At least,let me know her name. What is her name.”

“Her name means the daughter of light.”

“That is so cool!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah,so stop bothering me about her,when the time is right,you will know who she is.”

“Right,when the time is right? It might be when you get married, for all I know.”

“I wish that would happen.” He muttered under his breath but I heard him.

“Eh?”

“Is there anything you think I should know?” He asked,as he started rinsing the plates.

I racked my brain, trying to remember any detail I'd missed, biting my lips subtly in the process.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, clapping my hand because I had finally remembered something. “I have a fairy godfather. Be jealous.”

“You met him?”

“Eh?” I was confused. “You know I have one?”

He nodded his head. “I've known for a long time now.”

“How?”

“Well,it was one of those days when you were beaten up while you were still young. You were just twelve, yet you were locked up in the dungeon, beaten,bruised and hungry. I went into the dungeon to do something about it but I saw him there,treating you.”

I stared wide eyed.

“I was about to fight him when he informed himself as your god father.”

“So,that explains why no matter how much I was beaten and starved,I never died.”

He nodded again.

“Wow. Why didn't you tell me anything?”

“He told me not to,or else he would stop coming. I wanted to refuse but when I weighed the possible situations,I decided against it. There would be some injuries that first aid wouldn't solve, and there would be times where I wouldn't be available. So the best thing I could do was to comply. It was better for you.”

I was amazed.

“So,what did he do?”

“He brought some people to rescue me.”

Jericho poked his head inside the kitchen, and seeing the plates arranged,he gave Lorenzo a big smile. “We're about to watch the Inside Out 2. Wanna come join?”

“Yes,I want to watch it with you. “ Lorenzo stated, striding out of the kitchen. I followed suit,with a happy smile on my family. We were starting to look like a real family.