Chapter 318

Elena “My dad…he’s the boss of the Castillo cartel, and I’m…not any better than him.”

Shit, he really said it. I looked straight ahead, trying my hardest to control my facial expression.

#5 Bonus “I’m supposed to take over my dad one day. Our business goes beyond liquor, which is the main reason why we can afford all of this-and I understand that all of this is confusing,” Marvin spoke.

The expression: on my face must’ve worried him, but Marvin did not know that it was all for a different reason.

He ended up telling me the truth, meaning I had to do the same.

“I understand that it was wrong for me to lie to you.”

I kept quiet and stared into Marvin’s eyes, hoping he would just stop. Marvin, who had failed to read my eyes, was in the process of giving me answers which I had never asked for.

“All I wanted was to protect you, but now I know that keeping secrets from you is not the right thing to do.” He said. What he didn’t know was that he wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.

“Marvin…” I spoke for the first time, but my words didn’t seem to have reached him.

“With that being said. I do like you, and I do want to be with you.” He spoke.

Stay calm, Elena. This was supposed to be a moment to celebrate, but instead, all I could feel was guilt Marvin shook his head.

“No, I mean..I love you, and I can’t stop thinking about you.” He spoke nervously. It was clear this was a big step for him. “It was never my intention to reject you, but you should know that being with me comes with a price.”

And so does being with me.

“I…” I stammered, only to close my mouth right after. I was stunned and did not know what to do or how to react.

“I won’t always be able to give you the attention you deserve. I might not even come home one day.” Marvin continued. “There will be a lot of enemies who will try to use you against me-but I promise that I won’t let that happen, and I’ll protect you with my life.”

“Marvin-”

“I know it’s selfish of me to ask you to adjust to this lifestyle-and I know I shouldn’t have lied to you in the first place.” Marvin acknowledged, not allowing me to speak. “But Lwant to ask you to give us a chance.”

This time I waited as I expected him to continue his rant, but he didn’t. All he could do was stare at me with a soft look in his eyes. He had just told me he loved me right after telling me the truth.

I had the opportunity to tell Marvin the truth, and I was too afraid to do so. He had opened up to me and probably expected the same in return.Maybe Panther was wrong, and maybe Marvin would understand my situation.

“I haven’t been completely honest either.” I spoke softly. “There’s something I should’ve told you a long time ago….and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Why would I lie to the man I loved?

All of my confidence dropped after seeing the anxious look in Marvin’s eyes. I hadn’t even told him yet, but for some reason, he already seemed disappointed.

“Elena, what is it?”

I released a peal of nervous laughter and cleared my throat. “I need you to know that it doesn’t change anything between us and that you can trust me-”

“Just tell me,” Marvin demanded, not in the mood to wait any longer.

“I…” I looked into his eyes, knowing I was about to do something I would regret. Telling Marvin the truth could also mean I could lose everything I wanted because let’s face it-maybe he wouldn’t be that understanding at all.He was still a Castillo.

Those were Panther’s words, and what if he was right? Whatever I decided could end up in three different scenarios.

One, I could tell Marvin the truth and face the consequences like a boss, which meant I had to accept the chance that he would never want to see me ever again, Two, I could keep my mouth shut, continue my investigation, play with his feelings and wait until the truth would eventually reveal itself.

Three, I could keep my mouth shut and move on with my life. My dad had already disowned me, and there was no reason to fight for him. There was no point in investigating Maddens murder further or in making him believe Marvin was innocent because he had already made up his mind.

“Elena?” Marvin woke me up from my thoughts.

“I…uh…” I mumbled. I had to make up my mind, and I had to do it quickly.

“I already knew!” I blurted.I couldn’t do it. Maybe option three would be for the best.

“What?” Marvin raised his brow suspiciously.

“I already knew!” I repeated. “About the cartel and everything? It’s pretty obvious!”

At least I was willing to tell him part of the truth. That counts, right?

Marvin’s stared at me, his expression unreadable. “Is it?” He whispered, surprised. So far, so good, he believed me. I felt terrible for lying to him, but I could not hurt him. I was doing this for him, no. I was doing this for us.

“Yes, who the hell carries a gun to a wedding?” I continued playing my game. “And the prison thing and all?” I shrugged.

“Wow.” Marvin chuckled, relieved. His reaction made me believe that I had made the right decision.

“So all this time I’ve been worrying over…nothing?”

I giggled to ease the tension and gave him a nod. “Marvin, I like you because of you-and I couldn’t care less about your family or your job.”

“But Elena…I’ve done some really bad stuff-”

“Yes, you played me, and you rejected me. That was really bad of you.” I mocked him. I knew he wasn’t an angel, but there was no reason for him to give me a detailed explanation about his sins. “I don’t need to know everything, Marvin.”

Just like you don’t have to know everything about me.

Marvin smiled gently as he reached for my hand across the table. “So?”

“So?” I blushed, looking down at our hands, I finally got what I wanted,Marvin-but for some reason, I could not celebrate.I won his heart, but it wasn’t fair.

Marvin squeezed my hand. “So, what do you say?”

“About us?” I asked.

“I’m done giving chances, and I’m done with you leading me on-and on top of that, there’s the cartel thing and everything.” I teased. No matter what, I would never miss out on a good opportunity to poke fun at him.

“So…I’ll have to think about it.”

I held back my laughter as Marvin took in my words with a serious expression on his face and gave me an understanding nod. “Sure, no problem.”

“I have to think about how the hell I’m going to move my stuff to the master bedroom!”

Marvin looked up with a surprised expression on his face, making me laugh. He jumped up and rushed around the table to pull me from the chair.

“You joke around too much!” Marvin pulled me into his embrace. I rested my head on his shoulder and took in the smell of his fresh cologne. “I know.”

Marvin moved his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, staring at me with a gentle smile on his lips. “What?” I stared back at him.

“Nothing…just looking at your boogers.”

I covered my nose with my hand, but before I could turn around, Marvin stopped me. “I’m kidding.”

He laughed. “I’m just appreciating what’s mine.”

Way to embarrass me.

“Who said I was yours?”

A laugh escaped from between Marvin’s lip as his finger moved to my chin, forcing me to look at him. My heart fluttered as I felt the same butterflies in my stomach as the first day we had met. For me, it was love at first sight, and the moment I knew I could not just forget about him.

“I did,” Marvin whispered, right before closing the gap between us. He pressed his soft lips against mine as all I could feel was guilt.I lied to him. I deceived him. I didn’t deserve this.

“And scene!

Flustered, I pulled away from Marvin’s lips and turned around to face the familiar voice, which belonged to no one other than Panther. He stepped forward with clapping hands and nodded his head in approval. “Was about damn time.”

For how long was he here?

How much did he hear?

Was he here to keep an eye on me?

For the first time, I could laugh at Panther’s joke, but nothing could beat the annoyed expression on Marvin’s face. “What are you doing here?” He attacked his friend.

“Watching the show, of course!”

“The urge to kill you just grows bigger and bigger every day.” Marvin almost growled.”Panther, out!”

“Yes, boss.” Panther flinched before he turned on his heel and hurried out of our sight. “I’m sorry,”

Marvin apologized.

“Sorry for what?” I reassured him. “You can’t control him.”

Marvin shot me an impressed look. “You need to stop being so understanding.” He pressed a soft kiss on my forehead and rested his head against mine. “Thank you…I love you.”

There it was again, that word.Love. He loved me, which was I couldn’t hurt his feelings and was determined to make this work.

“I love you too,” I confessed with a shy smile on my lips. I loved him so much that I was willing to forget about my family-just so I could be with him.

Marvin sighed, relieved. “I was hoping you’d say that “Also, I don’t want anything to change between us,” I spoke. “I still want us to be best friends, and I don’t want you to treat me that much differently.”

After everything, I still wanted him to remain the same man I fell in love with. The calm, charming, but funny Marvin.

Marvin brushed his finger against my cheek.”Elena, don’t worry…I’ll always bully you, and I’ll never stop making fun of you.” He said. “How else would I entertain myself?”

I pushed his shoulder. “I never said anything about bullying me!”

“I know,” Marvin chuckled. “But I promise you that you’ll still be the same Elena to me, and so will our memories.”

“Really?” My mind traveled back to our promise in Amsterdam. It was one he should’ve never made in the first place, but he did it anyway.

“Yes, really.”

In that case…” I playfully tilted my head. “When can I shoot you in the leg?”