The Lost And Forgotten Memories

      The time is getting closer to the evening. Terrence, Peter, and Sammy are still spending time at the house of Rebecca, Jamie, and Edward as they are waiting for Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene to come. While the dog gets busy with a rope, which he bites so much that almost nothing is left of it, the men are sitting in the living room and eating what is offered by Rebecca walking from one side to another and doing homework, while Jamie holding a cup of strong coffee and a newspaper spends time with them.       “The girls are coming,” Terrence says quietly, finishing the phone call and putting his phone in his pocket.       “And how was it?” Edward asks, leaning back in the sofa and biting a piece of a cookie. “The foreigner is defeated?”       “They said nothing. They promised to tell us everything after coming here.”       “And what about their voices?” Peter asks, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and the same cookie that Edward eats in another. “Funny? Or not?”       “I thought the girls weren’t upset. Vice versa, they were funny!”       “So, they got rid of the foreigner,” Jamie assumes, taking a sip of coffee and putting the cup on the table.       “I can’t want to know what happened,” Peter says.       “We will,” Edward pronounces confidently. “I will surely make them speak.”       “Oh, your girls will have no choice,” Jamie laughs shyly. “Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene will surely tell you how they got rid of the Spaniard.”       “What if they want to be bad girls?” Terrence assumes with a laugh. “For trying to go against them!”       “We’ll ask Daniel, no prob!” Peter exclaims. “Or Anna…”       “I wonder how she behaved when she saw the foreigner?”       “I’m sure that she gave a hot to the Spaniard,” Edward assumes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that girl had wanted to get out.”       “If it’s so, I ain’t jealous of Dan.”       “Poor Perkins! I’m kind of sorry for him.”       “Yeah, the guy won’t control her if Seymour gets wild…” Peter assumes thoughtfully.       “Anyway, we can understand her,” Jamie notices confidently. “She loves Daniel and doesn't want to see another girl get stuck on him. Your beauties would also get jealous of you if they saw a girl handing out on your necks.”       “Oh, we’ve made sure about it,” Edward laughs quietly.       “Don’t doubt our dog loyalty, Mr. MacClife,” Peter says confidently. “We’re loyal to our beloved girls and won’t exchange them for anyone else.”       “Nobody doubts, Peter,” Rebecca says with a slight smile, moving some things on the table near the sofa. “We know you’re all loyal and caring.”       “Moreover, we are on the hook for each other,” Terrence laughs. “We won’t let each other do stupid things.”       Rebecca sits down next to Jamie and eats a couple of cookies from the plate placed on the coffee table. By this moment, Sammy gets sick of playing with the rope and starts listening to their talk closely and watching them, lying comfortably on the floor next to Peter, who sometimes pets his head or yanks him softly by the ears.       “So, the girls got jealous of you and the Spaniard?” Rebecca smiles mysteriously.       “Yes, Mother, our silly girls thought we’d look at Blanca, and she’d put an eye on us,” Edward replies with a quiet chuckle. “So, the beauties did everything on their own.”       “They did it right, Edward! I don’t think you’d like to experience what Daniel did. To be betrayers and blamed for cheating.”       “Come on, Mrs. MacClife!” Peter exclaims. “That girl can’t stand us! Well… Knowing how hard she was turning Daniel against us.”       “And we saw a photo of her,” Terrence adds confidently. “There’s nothing beautiful about her. Yeah, maybe, Spaniards are usually attractive, but that one has no beauty or charm. Just a chunky girl. A lover of eating a lot and lying on a sofa in front of a TV.”       “You know, Terrence, sometimes women find any homely girl an enemy,” Rebecca notices.       “Mom, I’m begging you!” Edward moans tiredly. “The foreigner only needs Daniel. Natalia, Raquelle, and Helene have no reason to worry. Anna must be worried.”       “Anyway, Daniel can decide who to be with, what to do, and where to go,” Jamie replies confidently. “And we know that he’s always wanted to be with Anna. And he will be with her. No foreigner will make him change his mind. Moreover, he never knew her before amnesia.”       “I hope the police will deal with that girl,” Terrence expresses hope. “Though, she’d better be in a mental hospital. It’s just a fan that is trying to make everyone sure that he’s her boyfriend, lover, husband, father of her children, etc…”       “Famous people often run into it,” Rebecca notices. “You know it well. And I’ve read about many cases in newspapers when celebrities are chased by lovesick fans.”       “We know…” Peter replies thoughtfully. “But let’s hope this event was the first last.”       “Now, your band is not so popular yet,” Jamie notices quietly. “But later, you will get more popular and need to hire the security.”       “Maybe, we’ll think about it in the future…” Edward says thoughtfully. “But now we don’t need it. Or maybe, we’ll be lucky and able to walk without some people, just like Raquelle always does.”       “At least, you will need security on major shows,” Rebecca notices confidently.       “Don’t worry, Mom, we’ll think about everything,” Terrence promises with a slight smile. “Besides, we can easily stand for ourselves if we have to. We’re protectors of ourselves.”       “As you want, Terrence…” Jamie shrugs.       Sammy barks confidently for the first time in a while as if he says, “I will be protecting the men instead of five guards! Everybody’s gonna be afraid of me if someone comes to them with bad thoughts!”       “We already have a perfect guard with strong teeth,” Peter says with a slight smile, petting Sammy’s head and tweaking his ears.       “Listen, why don’t you three think of getting your own dog?” Rebecca suggests. “You love pets, and the girls do… Teach a dog everything it needs to know, so it becomes a wonderful protector for you and your house.”       “Maybe, I’ll get a pet someday…” Edward replies thoughtfully, stroking Sammy’s hair. “I used to be kind of indifferent to animals. But when I met Sammy, I got a wish to get a puppy.”       “And I don’t mind,” Terrence confesses with a slight smile. “I guess it could really be a perfect protector for me. Even if the security of the house of Raquelle and me are doing their work fine.”       “Think about it, then,” Jamie suggests. “So, Sammy can meet friends. So, he becomes their older friend and teacher.”       Sammy barks happily, wagging his tail actively.       “Yeah, but first, we need to solve the band’s issues…” Edward says with a slight smile.       “And don’t forget to ask the girls for permission,” Rebecca laughs shyly. “What if they don’t like or wish to get a different doggy.”       “We will agree with them, don’t worry,” Terrence promises with a sly smile.       Sammy makes a sound, looking at everybody in the living room, while they fall into silence and look around. But a few seconds later, someone rings the doorbell, making everybody glance at the hall door, while Sammy sits up sharply and starts listening and watching closely, moving his head slightly.       “Meet your beauties, bandits,” Jamie says confidently.       Jamie gets up from the sofa and goes to the door, which he opens quickly. As he assumed, he sees Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene being cheerful and smiling.       “Good afternoon, girls,” Jamie greets.       “Hello, Mr. MacClife,” Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene pronounce.       “Come in. We’re waiting for you.”       Jamie lets the girls enter the house, closes the door, hugs each of them, and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek.       “So what, Mr. MacClife?” Natalia asks. “Our men are here?”       “And Sammy?” Helene specifies.       “Everybody is waiting for you in the living room,” Jamie replies confidently. “Go there now.”       Jamie makes a gesture to let the girls go forward and follows them. When Helene, Raquelle, and Natalia come to the living room, Terrence, Edward, Peter, and Rebecca get up from the sofa, and Sammy starts wagging his tail happily.       “Oh, hello, girls,” Rebecca pronounces with a slight smile. “I’m glad to see you.”       “Hello, Mrs. MacClife,” Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene greet.       Rebecca hugs the girls by one and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek with them, while Edward, Peter, and Terrence are standing and waiting for their reaction. At some moment, Helene gets down on her knees in front of Sammy, waiting impatiently for attention from his owner.       “Sammy, hey!” Helene exclaims, petting Sammy and yanking him by the ears. “Hey, my boy, hi! I missed you so much.”       Sammy shows his happiness too excitedly, not stopping to nuzzle the face of Helene, licking the tip of her nose shyly, and asking for hugs.       “Hi, Sammy!” Natalia exclaims with a wide smile, petting Sammy’s head. “Hey, boy.”       “Hey, Sammy!” Raquelle pronounces happily, yanking Sammy by the ears. “Hi, sweetheart!”       Sammy gets surrounded by the beautiful girls for a few seconds, behaving very gently and worthily, while the men look at each other and start to get a little jealous of them and the dog that got all their attention.       “Here are our gorgeous horses!” Raquelle pronounces with her head proudly raised, looking at the men.       “The trio was put under a key by force and ended up under the view of the big, terrifying dog,” Natalia adds funnily.       “M-m-m, look at them,” Helene smiles slyly. “The boys are upset that the girls didn’t take them on the responsible mission.”       “I don’t get it…” Peter pronounces hesitantly, moving his eyes to Edward and Terrence. “Aren’t we gonna be kissed and hugged?”       “Indeed, girls!” Terrence exclaims. “We actually missed you, but you don’t even greet us.”       “Whatcha waiting for, beauties?” Edward wonders. “Attack! We’re so ready!”       “So what, Sammy, speak out,” Helene addresses Sammy confidently. “How did our gentlemen behave?”       Sammy barks loudly multiple times.       “Should we praise them or swear?” Raquelle specifies.       Sammy makes a quiet sound and barks confidently, wagging his tail amicably.       “So, do you wanna say they behaved well?” Natalia wonders.       “Very well!” Peter, Edward, and Terrence exclaim.       “We did everything you wanted,” Peter says.       “Maybe, you’ll hug us?” Terrence shows puppy eyes.       “What do you think, girls?” Natalia asks Raquelle and Helene.       “I don’t even know…” Helene says thoughtfully.       “Hey, are ya gonna torture us for two more days?” Edward wonders.       “We actually missed you!” Peter exclaims. “We didn’t see you for a whole day.”       “C’mon, beauties, stop pretending to be hard-to-reach,” Terrence suggests cheerfully. “Let’s be friends!”       Natalia, Helene, and Raquelle look at each other questioningly and smile widely.       “Alright, hooligans, come here!” Natalia exclaims confidently. “Caress you a little.”       Terrence, Peter, and Edward run happily to Raquelle, Helene, and Natalia and greet every one of them with a wide smile by hugging them tightly and kissing them amicably on the cheek.       “Good, Sammy, you worked very well!” Helene says amicably.       “Good doggy, good,” Raquelle smiles widely.       “We knew you wouldn’t betray us, fluffy!” Natalia exclaims.       Sammy wagging his tail gets some caress and attention from the girls and licks shyly the cheek or the tip of the nose of every one of them, while the men pout for fun.       “Alright, Sammy, stop,” Peter moans tiredly. “Stop walking around the beautiful girls and stealing their attention!”       “We’re just thanking the doggy for a good job,” Helene says confidently.       “Yeah!” Raquelle exclaims. “The long-eared one deserved it!”       “Hey, you better tell us how everything was,” Edward says cheerfully. “We’re dying from curiosity!”       After looking at each other, Helene, Raquelle, and Natalia leave Sammy alone, get up, and turn on their men.       “How was everything over, girls?” Rebecca asks. “Did you do what you wanted?”       “We did!” Natalia smiles slyly. “Yeah, folks! From now on, the foreigner is defeated!”       “Really?” Terrence gets happy with a wide smile. “You did it?”       “Some of you doubted it?” Natalia scoffs loudly.       “We said everything would’ve been over perfectly!” Raquelle adds with her head proudly raised.       “Alright, girls, let’s sit down, and you will tell us everything,” Jamie suggests confidently.       “Do you want to drink something?” Rebecca asks.       “No, thanks,” Helene refuses gently, and then Raquelle and Natalia do the same.       A few seconds later, everybody sits on the sofa, and Sammy installs himself on the floor next to his owner, Helene.       “Is the foreigner really defeated?” Peter asks.       “Really!” Helene exclaims with a slight smile. “Ms. Moreno went on a long, exciting adventure named ‘prison.’”       “How was everything happening?”       “Just brilliantly!”       “But we had to hear a lot of very ‘nice’ things,” Natalia adds thoughtfully. “The Spaniard spared no insults for Anna, the girls, and me. And she did it to Daniel when he rejected her for the millionth time and said he wouldn’t marry her, wouldn’t make her the owner of his property, wouldn’t let her family move into his house and live on his account, and wouldn’t put his life under her total control.”       “Oh, that girl insulted all of us!” Raquelle throws gloomily. “We thought we would’ve killed her!”       “She said many bad things about the men!” Helene exclaims. “She insulted them so much that our fingers itched to strangle her. She literally wished all of us to die…”       “Gosh, what a shameless girl!” Rebecca resents. “Didn’t her parents teach that girl good manners?”       “Come on, Mrs. MacClife!” Natalia exclaims. “Blanca treated her sister as if that girl was something disgusting. But that girl is very sweet and decent.”       “Unlike her psycho sister,” Raquelle adds. “Blanca was waving her hands like crazy and screaming so loudly that we could become deaf! The shouts were heard in the whole neighborhood.”       “She even threatened to kill all of us and herself…” Helene confesses. “She broke a vase in the living room and started to threaten with a piece. If Daniel wasn’t with her, he would be with nobody.”       “Yeah, Perkins stood in the way of the psycho…” Edward shakes his head with horror in his eyes.       “No, she got stuck on him like a leaf,” Raquelle replies confidently. “Daniel told her the same thing a million times, but Blanca didn't understand that she was rejected.”       “But do you know what’s the stupidest thing?” Natalia asks. “That girl thought that Raquelle, Helene, and I were Daniel’s lovers, whom he allegedly cheated on that hysterical lady with.”       “Daniel’s lovers?” Jamie wonders.       “Yes, you imagine! She sees danger in any girl! Even Daniel’s sister! You know how wild she got when he mentioned Cassidy!”       “Gosh, that girl should’ve bought a doll,” Terrence exclaims. “It wouldn’t look around and get a harem of lovers.”       “That girl called herself Daniel’s wife and pretended that his house was hers,” Raquelle confesses. “She entered it without an invitation, wanted to get coffee by herself, and talked about plans for a repair…”       “Ha, she’s become his wife!” Peter chuckles kindly. “But some time ago, they kind of concluded an engagement!”       “Blanca said many times that she was carrying a child from Daniel but lost it. And she screamed about it at the whole house when the police took her away.”       “Hey, that’s something new!” Terrence laughs.       “And she blamed Daniel for losing the child because of him,” Natalia says confidently. “He kind of tortured her. With jealousy.”       “Oh, damn, we missed so many interesting things!” Edward exhales sharply.       “Of course, we didn’t see the Spaniard’s face when she was revealed,” Helene replies quietly. “But Anna and Daniel said we must’ve seen that.”       “I’m sure that she was overwhelmed,” Jamie assumes confidently. “She came up with such a plan of marrying the young guy, but it got wrong!”       “And how Anna gave her a hot!” Natalia exclaims with a sly smile. “She was dragging her by the hair and giving her slaps in the face so well! Blanca was squeaking like a pig!”       “She is a pig!” Raquelle exclaims. “A fat, squeaky pig that can’t take care of her and has fat hips due to tons of food and a lying life.”       “Yeah, here’s what jealousy is doing to a person,” Rebecca says thoughtfully. “Though, we didn’t doubt that Anna wouldn’t have been silent and quiet.”       “You should’ve seen that!” Helene says confidently. “Daniel barely broke them up and couldn’t calm them down. The Spaniard’s sister helped him somehow, and the girls and I did it, but they fought like two buffalos.”       “I expected something like that,” Terrence confesses.       “By the way, her sister did know about Blanca’s plan and betrayed her today,” Raquelle says confidently. “She would’ve told Daniel everything earlier, but that girl was afraid of her crazy sister and thought that our friend wouldn’t have believed her.”       “And she was worried for a reason,” Natalia adds. “You remember that Daniel fought with us when that girl made him sure that we lied to him.”       “Oh, how much did she scare the girl that she was afraid of her?” Rebecca wonders. “That’s her sister! They’ll stay alone after their parents’ death and count only on each other.”       “The Spaniard didn’t need her sister,” Helene confesses gloomily. “She said she always wanted to be the only child of her parents. She needed that girl only as a translator and the one to know how to paste photos together and replace the face.”       Sammy whines quietly, putting his face on his paws folded in front of him.       “That’s how she got the photo that Daniel showed us,” Edward concludes.       “And I must confess that the photo looked true,” Terrence adds.       “Let her enjoy it in prison,” Raquelle smiles slyly. “It would be the only solace for the girl suffering from a lovesick and definitely having some mental issues.”       “No, if she has even a photo of Daniel, she will never get cured,” Jamie replies confidently. “She will always think of him and go crazy eventually.”       “By the way, girls, what’s gonna happen to Blanca?” Peter asks. “Did the police catch her?”       “Yes, she was taken to the police station along with her sister,” Natalia nods.       “That girl, too?” Rebecca wonders.       “Mr. Johnson said the parents of the Moreno sisters would also be called there. Mia, Blanca’s sister, confessed they lived here with fake documents for a long time and crossed the border illegally to go to Spain or leave it. So, her family is about to be deported.”       “But Blanca is also gonna get on trial because she refused to leave Daniel at her wish, as the order said,” Raquelle adds confidently. “By violating this, she will surely get punished. I don’t know where she will serve it, but she will not avoid it. And if she has to, she will be put in a mental hospital.”       “Will she no longer bother Daniel and meddle in the lives of him and Anna?” Terrence asks.       “Mr. Johnson promised to control this case and do his best for her not to dare to come to one of them,” Helene replies confidently.       “Ah, Victor is just a gem!” Rebecca exclaims with a wide smile. “He has helped us with such hard cases so many times!”       “Yeah, we always know who we can ask for help,” Edward notices cheerfully.       “And who could give us a piece of advice,” Natalia adds.       Sammy barks confidently two times.       “Sammy confirms it,” Helene laughs shyly, yanking Sammy softly by the ears.       “By the way, Helene, I must confess that you have a precious doggy,” Jamie confesses. “So shy and obedient…”       “Didn’t he give you problems?”       “Come on!” Rebecca exclaims. “Sammy was a good boy and was always next to us!”       “Yeah, I agree,” Terrence nods and crosses his arms over his chest. “Not saying that he’s barked at me and the lads about two hunted times for the whole day. And he’s tried to tear our clothes and bite our asses.”       Sammy whines quietly and barks shyly.       “There was probably a reason,” Natalia smiles slyly.       “Yeah, you likely tried to deceive my boy and run away from him,” Helene assumes confidently.       “He doesn’t understand jokes!” Edward exclaims. “We played with him, but he, silly boy, thought it was serious.”       “By the way, Mr. MacClife, Mrs. MacClife…” Helene addresses Rebecca and Jamie. “How do you think Sammy completed his mission? How did he watch our men?”       “More than just well, honey,” Rebecca laughs shyly. “When the men talked about a wish to come to you, this dog stood in their way and barked at them.”       “We wanted to play the fool!” Peter chuckles kindly. “But he believed!”       “You wanted to deceive him!” Raquelle nods energetically. “If you three thought that you’d deceive Sammy, you were wrong. This dog is way smarter and slier than you all. Including Daniel.”       “Hey, who else would have saved you from that hysterical girl?” Edward wonders.       “Yeah!” Peter exclaims. “Do you know we were worried and nervous that she could hurt you?”       “Ha, we did it well without you!” Natalia says confidently with her head proudly raised. “It’s okay that the Spaniard dragged us by the hair and broke my nail! Some effort before her fat body fell to the floor.”       “Hey, I think I’m starting to understand something…” Terrence says thoughtfully with a sly smile. “You wanted to play heroines! Your jealousy was an excuse!”       “Not quite, Terrence,” Helene replies with a slight smile. “Jealousy also has to do with it.”       “C’mon, beauties, we got it!”       “Ha, did you really think the girls and I would let you come to that fat cow? Who knows what she would’ve come up with when looking at you.”       “But confess that you really wanted to play heroines,” Edward smiles slyly.       “Well, maybe…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully, rolling her eyes. “Not only can you play heroes, who are afraid of nothing and can do anything. The girls and I can also give anyone a hot if we have to.”       “Yeah!” Raquelle exclaims. “I see you’re used to the fact that you always have to rescue us! No! We also wanna be heroines and get some praise.”       “By the way, boys, don’t you wanna thank us?” Helene smiles mysteriously. “Praise us for doing such brilliant work! We, you know, helped our friend out, but you’re silent!”       “Sure, our fearless beauties!” Peter exclaims, hugs Helene tightly, and kisses her cutely on the temple. “The men and I are madly grateful to you for what you did.”       “You’re good fellows!” Edward adds, kisses Natalia on the cheek, and caresses her head. “You challenged that hysterical girl so determinedly!”       “We knew you’d defeat her,” Terrence says confidently, kisses Raquelle on one cheek, and caresses another tenderly. “And help our friends out.”       “Yes, yes, guys, our girly team has completed our mission successfully,” Natalia says with a sly smile. “The mission of saving Perkins from the obsessed fan.”       “And it would be better if you didn’t have to save anyone and put yourself in danger,” Jamie replies confidently. “It’s time to live a quiet life and do your business.”       “I think we’ve officially gotten rid of our enemies,” Raquelle replies with her head proudly raised. “So, we can relax.”       “Yeah, but what about Daniel and Anna?” Rebecca asks. “Are they fine?”       “Absolutely,” Helene smiles slightly. “The girls and I left them at Daniel’s house. We talked to them a little and helped Perkins clean something that the foreigner broke when wishing to kill us. And then we said we needed to take our hooligans away and left them alone.”       “As I understand, we won’t meet these two until tomorrow,” Peter assumes thoughtfully.       “C’mon, let them be together!” Jamie exclaims. “They waited for this for too long.”       “Moreover, you’re gonna renew performances soon and have no time to give much attention to your girls,” Rebecca adds.       “Yeah, our first performance is getting closer,” Edward notices with a slight smile.       “I can’t wait to go on stage and sing,” Terrence confesses. “I don’t care what! I just wanna hear people whooping loudly!”       “Wait for a while,” Raquelle replies cheerfully. “Soon, we’re gonna sing along with you.”       Sammy barks confidently two times.       “Don’t hope to see our live performances, boy,” Edward smiles slyly and claps Sammy on the nose. “They won’t allow you to go on the stage and a concert hall.”       Sammy quietly whines with pity in his eyes and inclines his head, making everybody smile shyly.       “Don’t be upset, baby,” Helene says softly, petting Sammy’s head. “You can listen to the men on a TV.”       Sammy barks quietly and whines again, as if he says it’s not enough for him.       “Okay, my sweetheart, don’t be upset,” Helene encourages with a slight smile. “I know how to make your mood better. I have something that the girls and I promised to buy for you.”       Helene opens her black bag, while Sammy starts wagging his tail energetically, looking at his owner with his tongue out. Later, the girl finds a little plastic packet, opens it, and takes the delicious, fresh meat bone.       “Hey, Sammy, it’s for you,” Helene pronounces amicably, pointing the bone at Sammy. “You deserved it! For watching the men so well.”       Sammy takes the bone and goes aside, so nobody steals it, and Helene puts the packet in her bag. The dog lies down comfortably and starts biting it with his sharp teeth with pleasure, while the men look surprisingly at him and the girls, who just smile innocently.       “What?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “We promised him a meat bone!”       “And when we’re back home, he’s gonna have a super delicious dinner,” Helene smiles mysteriously.       “Ha, fine!” Terrence resents. “When the men and I offered him something tasty, he refused and didn’t wanna stand by us!”       “Sorry, Terrence, but Sammy listens to his owner,” Raquelle smiles innocently and graciously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “And the girls and I can use the charm we were given by nature.”       “Okay, okay, we got it,” Edward raises his hands. “But now when Blanca is defeated, will you no longer get jealous of us? Will you allow us to visit our friend?”       “Okay, the way to Perkins’ home is free,” Natalia approves with a sly smile. “And Sammy can listen not only to us, but also to you, guys.”       “Oh, thank you so much, sweet girls!” Peter smiles widely.       “But we’re watching you!” Helene warns, threatening with a finger. “You got it?”       “Got it…” Edward, Terrence, and Peter pronounce.       Everybody laughs shyly, while Sammy gets busy with his tasty bone and enjoys the incredible smell of the fresh meat while lying comfortably aside. And a little later, Helene looks at the watch hanging in the living room and opens her mouth.       “Oh, it’s time…” Helene pronounces thoughtfully. “I’m sorry, but sadly, I’ve gotta go home.”       “Are you leaving?” Edward asks. “Don’t you wanna stay here?”       “I can’t, Edward. I’m very sorry.”       “I have to leave you, too…” Peter confesses thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “I will go while the roads are free. Or I won’t be able to go quickly.”       “C’mon, guys,” Terrence waves a hand. “Stay for a while!”       “Maybe, you will stay with us for dinner?” Rebecca suggests amicably. “We’d be happy if you joined us. I’m planning to cook something delicious you all are going to love.”       “I’m sorry, Mrs. MacClife, but I can’t,” Helene apologizes with sadness in her eyes. “I need to feed Sammy and go somewhere with my grandmother.”       “I’m sorry that I can’t stay,” Peter shows regret. “I will lead Helene and Sammy home and go to do my business. My neighbor asked me about something this morning, but I said I’d do it tonight.”       “So, we will not hold you here,” Jamie shrugs. “Visit us next time.”       “Anyway, thank you for accepting us,” Peter thanks truly. “It was a pleasure to spend time with you.”       Edward, Jamie, Rebecca, Terrence, Natalia, and Raquelle get up from the sofa and say goodbye to Peter and Helene by hugging them tightly. Besides, Marshall shares an amicable kiss with everybody, and Rose says goodbye to the girls in the same way and claps the men on the back or gives them a five.       “Sammy, let’s go!” Helene orders, putting her bag above her shoulder and calling Sammy with a gesture. “We’re going home!”       Sammy looks at Helene questioningly and shakes his head with the bone in his teeth, definitely not wishing to leave this beautiful and comfortable house that he liked.       “Sammy, take your bone and get up.”       “No, if you want, you can actually stay here,” Peter crosses his arms over his chest. “I think Edward would agree to drive you to Helene’s home if you wanted to eat your dinner and lie on your soft mat in the quietest corner of the apartment.”       Sammy rounds his eyes, gets up on his paws with the bone in his teeth, and comes quietly to Helene and Peter, who stroke his hair or tweak his ears softly.       “Let’s go, naughty boy!” Helene exclaims.       After taking some things quickly, Peter and Helene look at everybody with slight smiles.       “Buy, guys,” Peter waves his hand. “Goodbye, Mr. MacClife, Mrs. MacClife.”       “We’ll call or text you tomorrow,” Helene adds.       “Bye!” Natalia, Raquelle, Terrence, and Edward say goodbye, while Rebecca and Jamie just wave their hands.       Sammy barks two times, gets some caress from everybody, and goes through the hall door alongside Helene and Peter a few seconds later. Then Rebecca closes it, while the others sit on the sofa again.       “So, will you stay with us?” Jamie asks. “Or do you have something to do, too?”       “Nope, we’ll stay with pleasure,” Raquelle replies with a slight smile. “At least, I don’t mind it.”       “I don’t wanna stay home alone again,” Natalia says quietly.       “Are your parents working?” Rebecca asks when she comes to everybody.       “Yeah. Later, they want to visit my grandmother and help her with something. They will come back home very late or stay with her for a night.”       “How do your parents do everything?” Terrence laughs shyly. “They’re in one place, but end up in another place two minutes later!”       “They’re used to running like hamsters in a wheel. And I quietly accept the fact that I can’t watch them.”       “Oh, I’ve lately been trying to do everything,” Jamie confesses, sighing tiredly. “I need to do so much work that I don’t have time. I even have to do something on free days.”       “The lads and I are gonna do this, too,” Edward says with a slight smile. “We’re gonna have less free time when we start performing on shows. And after the album is out, we’ll be performing around the whole world and having no time for a break. We’re gonna be lucky if we manage to sleep and eat.”       “Well, you chose this way, guys,” Rebecca throws her hands up. “Nobody said being an artist or musician would be easy.”       “We don’t complain,” Terrence shrugs. “We like this process. Of course, being far from the girls is sad, but we’re happy that they support us and understand our wish to be musicians.”       “Well…” Natalia thinks, putting her finger on her lip. “Knowing that you’ve been promising that your album will be out in the nearest time for a long time, I’m sure that your band won’t be touring soon.”       “Oh, yeah, you confuse us with the dates, lads,” Jamie notices. “You make us wait!”       “We did say the album would be released very soon,” Terrence recalls with a slight smile.       “When?’” Rebecca asks. “You don’t even wanna call a day!”       “What if we’d like to change something in the album?” Edward smiles mysteriously. “What if we wish to make a slow melody faster! Or sing a certain part in a different tempo!”       “You said you recorded everything a long time ago and were happy with everything and had a photoshoot for the album one or one and a half months ago,” Raquelle recalls.       “And what?” Terrence wonders. “Sometimes it might happen that someone decides to re-film a scene in a movie, even if there’s a little time before the release.”       “Then, we will not hear your album the next year,” Natalia sighs tiredly.       “Don’t worry, sweet girls, dear parents. We promise that you’ll be learning our songs by heart and discussing your favorites next year.”       “Yeah, we’re gonna renew our performances in a few days,” Edward promises. “And then we’ll make the announcement of the album release day and the day you’re able to preorder it.”       “We’ll remember it, guys!” Jamie shakes his finger. “When the time comes, we will all remind you about what you promised to do.”       “You know that we always keep our promises,” Edward replies confidently.       “I promise, we won’t betray you,” Terrence adds confidently. “Just wait for a while.”       “We’ll see it…” Natalia replies thoughtfully.       Edward and Terrence say nothing and just smile innocently, looking at everybody. And a few seconds later, someone rings the doorbell.       “Who is there?” Raquelle frowns slightly.       “Did Helene or Peter forget something?” Natalia assumes.       “I don’t know…” Edward shrugs. “I’ll see who there is.”       Edward gets up from the sofa and goes to the hall door. But when he opens the door, the man does not see Helene and Peter. He sees… Jeremy and William, the visit of whom gets him surprised.       “Hey, hi, bro!” Jeremy and William pronounce happily.       “Jeremy? William?” Edward opens his eyes widely and cracks a slight smile. “Erm… Hey, guys! What brought you here?”       “You invited us to visit you someday,” William recalls confidently. “So, Jer and I are here.”       “The house is really cool,” Jeremy notices cheerfully. “Of course, we got sick of finding it, but it was worth it.”       “Yeah, didn’t anyone teach you to warn about your arrival?” Edward wonders.       “Don’t be mean, Edward,” Jeremy pronounces, clapping Edward on the shoulder. “The battery of our phones discharged! And we, idiots, forgot to charge them this morning.”       “Oh, okay, damn you!” Edward waves his hand. “Come in if you’ve come.”       Edward lets William and Jeremy enter the house, closes the door, and hugs each of them amicably.       “Let’s go to the living room, I’ll introduce you to someone,” Edward points at the living room.       “Wow, what a cool house!” Jeremy gets delighted with a gloss in his eyes, following Edward along with William. “It’s more wonderful inside than outside!”       “Right!” William agrees cheerfully. “Even Mom’s house isn’t as incredible as this one!”       “I like it, too,” Edward replies amicably. “It’s light and comfortable… Far from the city life.”       A few moments later, Edward comes to the living room with William and Jeremy admiring the beauty of the house.       “Oh, hey, Jeremy, William!” Terrence exclaims happily, getting up from the sofa. “I’m so happy you’ve come!”       “Hey, Terrence!” William and Jeremy greet with a slight smile.       “We’re happy to see you, brother!” William pronounces cheerfully.       Terrence hugs Jeremy and William amicably and gives them a five, greeting them so warmly that it seems that he has known them for ages and is as close to them as he is to Edward.       “I didn’t expect you’d come here!” Terrence confesses with a slight smile.       “But here we are,” Jeremy throws his hands up with a mysterious smile.       “Aha, we found time and decided to come here,” William adds.       While Terrence and Edward are talking with Jeremy and William about something, Raquelle and Natalia being a little confused look at each other questioningly and watch Rebecca, who believes these guys are similar to her own sons to some extent. And Jamie opens his eyes widely and gets sharply white when he sees these guys, recognizing them as his youngest sons from his second marriage with a woman named Isabella Thorn and not being able to believe that one of his biggest wishes has come true. The man watches the young boys silently for a few seconds, but then he comes to them slowly and hesitantly and looks at them excitedly with a feeling of a fast heartbeat.       “Jeremy? William?” Jamie pronounces hesitantly in a little shaking voice.       William and Jeremy turn to Jamie and smile widely at him, recognizing this man, whom they have finally met after many years of separation.       “Hi, Dad,” William pronounces amicably. “Here we go again.”       While Rebecca, Natalia, and Raquelle start to understand what is happening, Jamie looks closely at William and Jeremy for a few seconds with widely open eyes and a heavy breath.       “God…” Jamie pronounces hesitantly, shakes his head, and throws a questioning look at Terrence and Edward. “I… It’s… It’s…”       “It’s right, Dad,” Edward nods with a slight smile. “It’s William and Jeremy.”       “Those you didn’t hope to meet,” Terrence adds.       “I can’t believe it…” Jamie pronounces in a much more shaking voice, shaking his head. “I can’t believe it…”       “We’ve finally met,” Jeremy says amicably with a wide smile. “So many years later…”       Jamie shakes his head for a few seconds, touching his face or pulling the collar of his home t-shirt with his shaking hands, while his dumbfounded eyes stop on his older sons smiling shyly or his younger sons, who barely hold themselves down. But then the man comes to William and Jeremy very hesitantly and looks at them for a second or two, not being able to believe that these guys are really standing in front of him.       “William…” Jamie pronounces with a heavy breath. “Jeremy… My children!”       Jamie takes William in a strong father hug with a wide smile and does the same toward Jeremy, not hiding his happiness as well as they do not and shaking slightly from excitement. While Edward and Terrence watch what’s happening with true smiles and look at each other at some moment, being happy that the dream of their father came true and not feeling any kind of jealousy. Although Rebecca, Raquelle, and Natalia are happy for Jamie, they are a little confused, judging by their little shocked, questioning looks that they share with the eldest MacClife brothers.       “I can’t believe it…” Jamie pronounces happily, looking at Jeremy and William. “I’ve finally met you! My dream has come true!”       “You can’t even imagine how much we missed you,” William confesses with a wide smile.       “We needed you so badly, Dad,” Jeremy adds with sadness in her eyes. “Much…”       “Gosh, guys, how much you’ve grown up!” Jamie pronounces with admiration in his eyes and claps Jeremy and William on the cheek or the head. “You’ve become so adult and mature!”       “Well, it’s been many years,” Jeremy shrugs.       “Yeah… I remembered you being too little boys… But you’ve grown up!”       “But you haven’t changed at all since when we were kids,” William notices with a slight smile.       “Come on, I haven’t changed!”       “I’m serious, Dad! It’s like you got the elixir of youth!”       “Yes, Dad, you look wonderful!” Jeremy notices cheerfully.       “No, guys, I got much older,” Jamie laughs shyly.       “We told you the truth! You look like you did a few years ago!”       “Just like Grandfather Manuel, who always looked great in photos,” William replies confidently.       “Yeah, maybe, people wouldn’t say that I’m gonna be sixty soon,” Jamie says thoughtfully. “But alas, I’m no longer a young boy.”       “Anyway, you keep yourself in good shape!”       “Oh, thank you!”       Jamie claps William and Jeremy on the shoulder and looks at both of them with a wide smile, admiring the way they have grown up. But after stepping back from his sons, Jamie throws a questioning look at Edward and Terrence standing next to them.       “Wait, guys…” Jamie pronounces thoughtfully. “But how did you find me? How did you know that I lived here? Did Terrence and Edward tell you?”       “They did,” William nods confidently.       “But where did you meet? When? Why didn’t I know it?”       “We met them a few days ago at the café,” Jeremy explains. “There were two guys with them. Their friends. The first was a blond, and the second was a brunet. They’re cool guys, though! We got on well with them!”       “And yeah, we just met Peter, the blond,” William adds. “There was a very sympathetic girl with him, whom he introduced as his girlfriend. We talked a little and specified the address, and then they went somewhere.”       “And there was such a good doggy with them!” Jeremy confesses with admiration in his eyes. “We liked him immediately. Samuel, I guess.”       “It’s his girlfriend’s doggy,” Terrence explains. “Sammy is a very good and smart dog that all of us adore.”       “So, did you meet at the café?” Jamie frowns.       “Yup, these two recognized me and came to Terrence and me while we were waiting for Daniel, Peter, and George,” Edward confesses. “They introduced themselves, and we talked a little. And then they had to leave ‘cause they were late.”       “But why didn’t you two tell me about it?”       “Sorry, Dad, it happened,” Terrence shrugs. “We were busy with the band’s business and the thoughts about how to get rid of the foreigner.”       “Terrence and Edward gave us this address and said we could come here and see you,” William explains. “Well, today, Jeremy and I thought, ‘Why not?’ We got ready quickly and went!”       “And I guess the surprise was good,” Edward assumes with a slight smile.       “It really was!” Jamie exclaims cheerfully.       “We’ve finally met our dad!” William adds funnily.       Jamie smiles much wider, not being able to believe that all of his sons are standing in front of him: Terrence, Edward, Jeremy, and William. All the sons he just adores. Who are what he is living for.       “Gosh, I…” Jamie pronounces excitedly, putting his hand folded together to his mouth. “I can’t believe you’re standing in front of me! All my sons! Gosh… A few years ago, I couldn’t think it would happen someday. I could only dream of seeing you together.”       “Sometimes dreams come true,” Terrence smiles mysteriously. “Even if you lose hope of making it come true.”       “Oh, we didn’t also hope to meet our father,” William confesses shyly. “Only a fortuitous turn of events and a meeting with our eldest brothers gave us a chance.”       “Oh, I actually lost hope of looking at you at least from far many years ago,” Jamie waves his hand. “But as Terrence said, sometimes dreams come true.”       “That’s right!” Jeremy agrees.       William and Jeremy clap Jamie on the shoulder, squeeze it for a moment, and take their father in a desired strong hug at the same time, and he accepts it with pleasure, caressing the heads of both of them and literally choking from a lack of air. While Terrence and Edward are standing aside shyly and watching what’s happening with slight smiles.       “But Father said he’d never meet them,” Terrence says with a slight smile.       “Yeah, everything really ended well for them,” Edward notices confidently. “And I’m really happy for them. I'm happy to see their happy faces.”       “I’m glad for them, too. Now, they’ll meet very often. And Isabella won’t tell them what to do, even if she still minds their communication with him.”       “Isabella can be mad at Father as much as she wants. But she must understand that she can’t ban her children from seeing their father forever. They’re mature and can decide if they wanna love him or hate him.”       “They’ve made their choice. They’ve decided to love Father.”       Two or three seconds later, Jamie steps back from William and Jeremy and looks at them from head to foot again.       “Oh, damn, I kind of got too excited,” Jamie exhales with a slight smile. “It’s hard to breathe…”       “Sorry, we didn’t mean to…” William apologizes shyly.       “Just breathe deeper,” Jeremy advises confidently. “So, you don’t feel bad.”       “I’m trying,” Jamie replies quietly.       At this moment, Rebecca, Raquelle, and Natalia come shyly to Jamie, Edward, Terrence, Jeremy, and William.       “So, are they your youngest brothers?” Raquelle addresses Terrence and Edward.       “Yup, they are!” Terrence confirms confidently.       “The boneheads you’ve heard so much about,” Edward chuckles kindly.       “By the way!” Jamie exclaims, moves his eyes to the women, and hugs Jeremy and William around the shoulders. “Rebecca, Raquelle, Natalia, I am happy to introduce my youngest sons to you. This is Jeremy, and this is William.”       William and Jeremy nod confidently with a slight smile when Jamie calls their names.       “Nice to meet you,” Jeremy and William pronounce gently at a different time.       “And you must be the mother of Terrence and Edward,” William assumes thoughtfully, addressing Rebecca.       “Yes, this is their mother, Rebecca,” Jamie introduces with his head proudly raised.       “Nice to meet you,” Rebecca says amicably.       “Us too,” Jeremy and William reply shyly and shake Rebecca by the hand, not feeling any awkwardness or disgust.       “My brother and I have heard a lot about you,” Jeremy confesses. “And your sons say warm things about their mother.”       “Aw, c’mon, you make me blush!” Rebecca smiles shyly.       “As I understand, are these two beauties beloved women of our bros?” William asks with a slight smile, looking at Natalia and Raquelle.       “That’s correct!” Terrence confirms, coming to Raquelle and hugging her by the shoulders from behind. “It’s Raquelle, my fiancée. But I think there’s no meaning in introducing her because you know a lot about her.”       “And this is my fiancée, Natalia,” Edward introduces with a cute smile, putting his arms around Natalia’s neck from behind. “The gorgeous blondie that I will marry soon.”       “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sweet girls,” Jeremy smiles widely.       “Us too,” Raquelle and Natalia pronounce with a shy smile almost at the same time.       William and Jeremy shake Raquelle and Natalia by the hand.       “So, now we can be happy that we know two gorgeous beauties, who charmed our eldest brothers,” William says thoughtfully.       “You’re talented at making girls blushed!” Natalia thanks with a shy smile. “As it turned out, our men have pretty sweet brothers.”       “Who got the honor to hear many good things about you,” William says confidently.       “And we heard a lot about you from your brothers,” Raquelle replies amicably. “Only good things, of course.”       “It couldn’t be otherwise,” Jeremy laughs shyly.       “We’re very sweet, shy, and fluffy,” William adds confidently. “If your men told you we’re bad, don’t listen to them. They’re idiots.”       “Oh, no piece of shyness…” Edward blunts under his nose, rolling his eyes, while Raquelle and Natalia laugh shyly.       Terrence cracks a shy smile, and Rebecca looks at Jeremy and William with a slight smile and suggests amicably:       “Listen, guys, stay with us for dinner. So, we can get to know you better.”       “We’ll stay with pleasure,” William agrees amicably. “Besides, we heard that your cooking skills were just wonderful, and everybody admired your dishes.”       “Yes, my family likes what I cook. And I love this business.”       “Great!” Jeremy rubs his hands happily. “So, we’re going to have a tasty dinner that we will surely be happy with. To be honest, we haven’t eaten anything truly delicious for ages. We’ve lately eaten dry food and seem-finished food…”       “Shame on you for asking for food!” Terrence chuckles kindly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’ve just come and met everybody, but you’re asking for something to eat!”       “Indeed, guys!” Jamie agrees. “I thought you came to talk to me and meet my family and tell me what you’re doing now…”       “No, come on, Dad, why do you have such bad thoughts about us?” Jeremy protests. “If Mrs. MacClife suggests we stay for the dinner, we will not just refuse.”       “We didn’t think of imposing!” William adds.       “It’s okay, guys, don’t worry,” Rebecca waves her hand with a shy smile. “Feel like home…”       “Thanks, Mrs. MacClife,” Jeremy thanks.       “You can call me by my name if you want.”       “Alright, Rebecca, as you want…” William shrugs.       “Excuse me for my curiosity, guys, but did you recognize your brothers shortly after you saw them?” Raquelle asks.       “Sure,” Jeremy replies confidently. “Edward hasn’t almost changed since when he was a teenager and remained the same pretty boy, the real age of whom people can’t guess. But now his similarity to Father got much stronger. And Terrence looks like his image. I’d say, these two are images of each other. So, William and I understood that it was our eldest brother.”       “Who was running from us for a whole life,” William adds.       “Were you trying to find not only your father but also your brothers?” Natalia asks. “Or did you wanna find your father more?”       “Of course, we were looking for the three! It was easy at first sight, ‘cause Edward and Terrence got famous thanks to their band. But we didn’t know where to find them. Though, we knew that our brothers would help Jeremy and me find our father.”       “Didn’t you have any contacts?” Rebecca wonders. “I thought you were supposed to have Edward’s number.”       “We tried to call him some time after Mother took us away from Dad,” Jeremy explains. “But he lost his phone or changed his number.”       “Lost,” Edward pronounces. “I lost my mobile phone. I don’t remember where, but it happened at my work time. I think I was delivering orders in the city. So, I had to block my old number and get a new one.”       “Hey, Dad, Edward said that he was gonna get married to this charming girl,” William says with a mysterious smile.       “Not only him,” Jamie nods confidently with a shy smile. “But also Terrence and Raquelle.”       “Hey, did Edward and Terrence invite you to the wedding?” Natalia asks with a slight smile. “If they didn’t, Raquelle and I are inviting you personally. We’d be happy to see you.”       “They’ve done it,” Jeremy replies amicably. “And we will come to congratulate you with pleasure. We can’t wait to become witnesses to such an amazing event as the wedding of our brothers.”       “But we’re sorry that we’re not able to become the groomsmen,” William confesses. “We did wanna give our brothers to their gorgeous fiancées. But we won’t do!”       “Alas, you’re late, guys,” Jamie says. “Edward and Edward have chosen their groomsmen.”       “Alright then! We will just come and have fun.”       “Anyway, we assure you that it’s gonna be an unforgettable party,” Raquelle says confidently.       “We don’t doubt it!” William exclaims cheerfully. “That’s cool we met Eddy and Terry at such a good time.”       “We’re sure that you’ll do your best to have a gorgeous wedding,” Jeremy adds with a mysterious smile.       “The guys and I will try hard,” Terrence smiles shyly.       “Yeah, both of your sons don’t get married every day,” Rebecca notices cheerfully.       “And we’re glad we have a chance to come to the wedding of our brothers,” Jeremy says confidently.       “Just tell us the wedding day, so we don’t have plans for it,” William says gently.       “Well, you better ask the brides and grooms about it,” Jamie laughs quietly. “But they don’t know when they’ll get married.”       “When the wedding day is picked up, Natalia, Terrence, Raquelle, and I will let you know it,” Edward promises confidently. “Nobody will miss such an important event.”       “Go, go,” William jabs funnily. “My brother and I need to know the day earlier to agree about anything and please some people.”       “Don’t worry, guys. You’ll know everything in time.”       Everybody shares a slight smile and says nothing for two or three seconds, glancing aside or down.       “So, I think I will go to work on dinner,” Rebecca says thoughtfully. “Or I will do nothing by the evening.”       “Oh, let’s leave Mr. MacClife and Jeremy and William alone and sit somewhere?” Raquelle suggests.       “Nice idea,” Terrence agrees with a slight smile. “I think they have something to talk about.”       “And they’ll have enough time before the dinner,” Natalia adds.       “Erm, let’s go to my room,” Edward suggests thoughtfully. “Find something to do.”       “Listen, girls, would you help me?” Rebecca suggests. “We’d do it much faster together.”       “Sure, no problem,” Raquelle shrugs with a slight smile.       “Great! Wash your hands and come to the kitchen.”       Rebecca hugs Natalia and Raquelle, turns to the kitchen along with them, and glances at Edward and Terrence two moments later.       “Guys, go with me, too. You’ll help me with something. And then you can talk to your father and brothers.”       Terrence and Edward shrug and follow Rebecca, who explains what everybody should do, while Jamie, Jeremy, and William watch them until all of them hide in the corner of the kitchen.       “That’s good,” Jamie says confidently with a slight smile. “We really have many things to talk about.”       “By the way, your house is fantastic,” William replies amicably. “We’re delighted with everything!”       “You haven't seen the rooms on the second floor. All of them are really beautiful.”       “Really?” Jeremy rounds his eyes. “Cool.”       “Oh!” Jamie looks at the sofa hesitantly. “Come on! Let’s sit down. Your backpacks are probably heavy. Put them on the sofa.”       “No, they’re light,” William waves his hand.       William and Jeremy take the backpacks off their shoulders, put them on the sofa, and sit on it in front of Jamie.       “Is your mother still mad at me?” Jamie asks with sadness in his eyes. “Right?”       “Yeah, Mom is still mad at you,” Jeremy nods, looking at Jamie with sadness in his eyes. “Even if it’s been more than eight years, she still believes that meeting you was her greatest mistake.”       “I tried to explain that I didn’t want to hurt Isabella so much. But your mother didn’t want to listen to me. She took her stuff and took you out. But she came back later and told me to leave the house.”       “We know…” William nods. “Mother and we went to her family. But when you left home, she brought us back home.”       “We barely understood what happened and always asked about you,” Jeremy confesses. “But Mother told us to say nothing. Not to meddle in adult people’s business. Not to talk about the one, who betrayed us. And do what she said.”       “Yeah, some time was gone before we found out that Mother kicked you out due to the story of your first marriage.”       “I tried to persuade her to let me see you,” Jamie confesses. “But alas… That woman was stubborn.”       “It was hurtful for Mom to kick you out, knowing that you had no place to go. But she was really insulted by your act. By lying to her that you canceled your marriage with Rebecca.”       “She was ready to close her eyes to the fact that Rebecca was always in our life,” William adds. “You often told Mother about her as the mother of your sons from your first marriage. Mother accepted it quietly and knew that she couldn’t strike an alive mother of a child out of life.”       “But she couldn’t accept that lie. And she felt that you weren’t happy with her. She suspected that you had always thought of Rebecca. At least, a few years later, after marrying Mother.”       “I decided to lie for Edward,” Jamie confesses. “He was too young and needed home, food, and clothes… But I wasn’t able to give it all. I was a pathetic beggar. A coward, who ran away from his first wife and left her and Terrence. Knowing she didn’t have money.”       “Anyway, she understood it. A revelation opened her eyes to many things.”       “I’m very sorry it happened. I’m sorry about hurting the woman, who loved me with all her heart. Sorry that you became the victims. That my older children were involved in that. When I was young, I made too many mistakes that I’m still ashamed of. Even if my family is with me now, loves me, and blames me for nothing, I think of the past sometimes and feel guilty.”       “Hey, where did you go after Mother kicked you out and annulled your marriage through court?” Jeremy asks.       “Well, I was hanging around the city like a homeless man… I had dirty jobs, earned pennies, and something like that… And I was trying to find all of my sons unsuccessfully… I wanted to explain everything to my eldest ones and didn’t want to separate from my youngest ones.”       “Didn’t you ask your friend for help? What’s his name… Victor Johnson?”       “Yes, Dad, you said he was your best friend!” William recalls.       “I lost contact with him for some time, but I restored it because I needed his help. Why? The reason is simple – my brother Michael.”       “We never approved of the fact that Uncle Michael hated you so much and used your conflict with Mother,” William confesses. “He helped her annul your marriage and ban you from meeting us.”       “Yes, I know… That man almost deprived me of everything I had… And I mean not only my house, money, and career… He could’ve deprived me of my close people and almost killed them with his pals’ help.”       “We know everything, Dad,” William replies with sadness in his eyes. “We used to treat Uncle Michael neutrally and tried not to get into his eyes and give him a reason to hate us. But when we heard about his attempts to kill you, we stopped treating him well.”       “And we’re so happy he didn’t kill you,” Jeremy adds with a slight smile. “If we met him, we’d tell him everything we think of him.”       “So, do you know that he got arrested as well as his whole gang?” Jamie specifies.       “Yes, we know the full story. When we heard about Uncle’s arrest for the first time on TV, we started watching the process of that case closely. We read every single article on the Internet and watched every single reportage…”       “We saw you, Rebecca, Terrence, Edward, their girls, and even their friends,” William adds. “We came up with the idea of meeting you at the courthouse, but we didn’t know how to go there. And we were sure that we’d hardly be allowed to go there. People say, there were many reporters and photographers.”       “Yeah, the case of your uncle had a major impact,” Jamie replies thoughtfully. “People discussed that trial for a few months. Even after it was over. But I think the reason was the popularity of Terrence and Raquelle. He acted in movies and started to sing, but she shoots for magazines and participates in fashion shows.”       “We know.”       “William and I prayed that Uncle was put in prison for as long as possible,” Jeremy confesses. “He deserved it for everything he did.”       “Yeah, that cad poisoned my life since I was born,” Jamie says thoughtfully. “I’m surprised that he didn’t do something for my mother not to give birth to me.”       “We were so happy when we saw the report about him getting a lifelong sentence for many criminals. Attempts, fraud, theft, kidnapping…”       “We were terribly exhausted after the trial of him…” Jamie confesses tiredly. “The reports didn’t say half of what happened in court. The real hell was happening. We were afraid that someone would run away, shoot, or kill everyone. That those cads would be found non-guilty.”       “And were you afraid that Edward would go to prison?”       “Do you know why he was on trial?”       “I know. And we’re glad he was found non-guilty.”       “He had the title of suspect in the murder of my best for a few years. And Michael used it and played with him as he wanted, threatening that he’d easily put him in prison.”       “Of course, Edward is a brainless bonehead,” William says thoughtfully. “But he’d never commit a murder. That guy would rather jump from the abyss with his head down than take a gun.”       “Thank God, the real killer got what he deserved. We were actually lucky that justice was restored. That the police took measures to keep safety in the courtroom.”       “You know, Dad, when we heard about the trial, we wanted to find you much more,” William confesses. “We wanted to support you and your family at such a hard time. But our searches weren’t worth it… We didn’t know how to find you.”       “I’d hardly be talking to you now if you hadn’t met Edward and Terrence. I really lost hope of seeing you. I thought… Isabella banned you from seeing me… And our contact was lost. We didn’t have numbers, addresses, or common familiars…”       “We’re no longer dependent on Mother’s opinion,” Jeremy says. “Yes, she’s angry that we want to speak to the betrayer, as she calls you. But Mother understands that we’ve grown up, and we’re able to do what we think is right.”       “Does she mind your meetings with me now?”       “Yes,” William confirms. “And she tried to make us forget you for some time after breaking up with you by banning us from calling your name and saying the word ‘father.’ Mother threw away all the gifts that you gifted her and us. She got rid of everything – nothing was left! Even our favorite things that we did not save!”       “Yeah, she took everything from us and threw them in a can,” Jeremy adds. “Despite our protests!”       “She also tore all the photos of you.”       “And she even changed our last name to hers through the court,” Jeremy confesses.       “That’s how!” Jamie exclaims.       “But we didn’t like Mother’s last name. And we told Mother about it. But she wanted to hear nothing and called us only Jeremy and William Thorn. But we got the last name MacClife back after we turned eighteen. We weren’t used to this last name and have always called your last name when meeting people.”       “We were born the MacClifes and will always be the MacClifes,” William adds.       “And Isabella minded?” Jamie assumes.       “She started a scandal when she found it out. But it was too late. We had documents, and she could decide nothing for us.”       “Didn’t she date anyone after breaking up with me?”       “She had an admirer. And after introducing that man to Jeremy and me, Mother told us to call him our father. And he asked us about it. But we couldn’t really call that man a dad and love him.”       “He was bad?”       “We disliked that man from the beginning,” William confesses. “He was too false. He seemed to be sweet, kind, and caring, but something was suspicious. Jeremy and I didn’t rush to establish our relationship with him. We weren’t enemies. We were just gentle. But we didn’t let ourselves get attracted to him and called him by his name or addressed him by his last name with the word ‘Mr.’”       “And Isabella?”       “Oh, Mother was terribly angry! She believed we behaved like that because we hoped she’d be back to you. She told us to respect and love that man.”       “Once, she didn’t speak to us for a whole week because we refused to spend time with her and her boyfriend,” Jeremy adds. “She always blamed us for allegedly wishing to ruin her happiness. That man also pretended to be an innocent lamb and wondered why we hated him. And honestly, seeing his face was disgusting to us.”       “Aha, call the man, who was five years younger than Mother, a daddy! He is literally of the same age as Terrence!”       “As I understand, didn’t you get a love for that man?” Jamie specifies.       “No! And our intuition didn’t betray us: that man was a gigolo, who wanted to live on Mother’s account and literally steal everything from her.”       “But how did you know it?”       “He was talking to a pal on the phone,” Jeremy confesses. “We passed by when that man was in the living room alone, waiting for Mother to come to him and go to another date on her account. So, he said he was gonna live well and get everything Mother had.”       “Did Isabella get married to him?” Jamie wonders.       “No, the wedding didn’t happen, but he proposed to her. And when she told us she’d get married to that fraud, we lost our yawls. William and I were determined and decided to do our best to cancel their wedding. Yes, we knew Mother would’ve hated us, but we did it for her. We were comforted by the thought that she’d thank us after finding everything out.”       “At first, we tried to talk to Mother and make her sure that the man wanted to steal everything from her,” William adds. “But she didn’t believe us first and thought of you. Stop thinking of the betrayal and get on well with our new father. We insisted upon it, but Mother said we were nobody to tell her what to do. We should’ve kind of obeyed her because we were kids.”       “It was hurtful, but we didn’t give up and protested against their wedding. We refused to call that insolent fraud a father and started to be rude to him openly and let him know that he’d not rule everything at our house. Though, we never said that we knew his plans.”       “Did Isabella find out the truth?” Jamie asks.       “She did,” Jeremy nods. “She made sure about it when she accidentally heard another talk of him and that pal, who was definitely the same lover of living on the account of a rich woman. Mother finally realized everything and started a scandal. He tried to say something. But she eventually kicked him out of home, threw the ring, which was, as it turned out, bought on the market for two dollars, and said she didn’t want to have anything in common with him. And from that on, Mother has dated nobody and been focused on working much more. She was disappointed in love.”       “What about you?”       “Mother realized that we were right and was very sorry about not believing us and blaming us for not wishing to see her happy. She realized that we did it for her.”       “Yes, she was apologizing to us for a long time,” William confesses. “She was crying for almost a whole evening on that day. Jeremy and I comforted her the way we could and didn’t leave her. Then we talked about everything until late night and had to sleep at daylight because we didn’t fall asleep.”       “Wow…” Jamie pronounces thoughtfully. “Isabella never cried… Even when she found out about me and Rebecca.”       “It was something new to us,” Jeremy sighs quietly. “Mother never cried, but she kind of broke down. She was crying and couldn’t stop. At first, we got confused and didn’t know what to do. So, we just sat down next to her, hugged her, and listened.”       “Poor woman…” Jamie shakes his head.       “My brother and I don’t actually mind if Mother meets a man. But we need to know that her man is good and decent. We minded her relationship with that gigolo just because he wanted to rob our mother. Not because she made us love him. We don’t wanna deprive her of happiness, and we would be happy if she got married again and gave birth to more children. It would be great if we got one more brother or sister. But no matter what, we will never call a stranger a father. We will respect and treat him well, but he will not replace you.”       “Do you think she’ll get married again?”       “At least, she no longer goes on dates. But now we can say that there’s only one man, whom Mother loved very much.” Jeremy looks at Jamie with sadness in his eyes. “She loved you, Dad. Very much. Mother was ready for anything for you and thought she'd live her whole life with you.”       “You know that I’ve always treated your mother well, and I wish her only the best,” Jamie replies softly. “Even despite all of her insults on that fateful day, I still respect this woman and am always open for a talk with her. If she wants to talk to me someday, I’m always ready.”       “We know, Dad, but you didn’t love Mother like men usually love women,” William notices quietly. “You had no fire in your eyes when you looked at her and talked about something. For you, she’s always been not less than just a colleague or a friend.”       “Sadly, it’s true, boys. Your mother is very beautiful, kind, and caring… I could always count on her and tell her everything. And I’m grateful to her for accepting the fact that I often mentioned Rebecca. As a mother of Edward and Terrence. But that’s not the woman I would love… I don’t feel attracted to her. I wouldn’t like to spend days and nights with her.”       “We get it, Dad,” Jeremy replies amicably. “You’ve just always loved Rebecca and thought of that woman, even when you got married to Mother. Your eyes shine when you look at her. And I think you have the reasons to love that woman.”       “It’s madly hurtful for me to say it and give you pain, but it’s true. I’ve always loved only Rebecca and seen myself with no other woman but her at old age. She couldn’t have forgiven me for what happened between us. But that woman did it… She’s got a very kind heart.”       Jeremy and William say nothing for two seconds and just smile slightly. At some moment, the younger of the MacClife brothers squeezes his father’s shoulder and claps on it.       “Don’t worry, Dad,” William encourages with a slight smile. “The fact that you love Rebecca doesn’t change our attitude toward you. We aren’t gonna blame our stepmother for not getting on well with Mother. Jeremy and I love you and Mother in the same way. Regardless of your hard relationship.”       “Many people divorce and get married again,” Jeremy adds. “That’s fine! Besides, are William, Edward, Terrence, and I guilty of the conflict between our parents? It’s none of our business! You’re the only people, who can solve this problem. We’ll just love you and Mother.”       “Anyway, I’m really sorry for what happened,” Jamie shows regret with sadness in his eyes. “You see, I… I was young and stupid… I decided to get married when I had a misfortune in my life. I was twenty-five, and Rebecca was actually twenty or twenty-one… We lived well, even if we were poor. When Terrence was born, it got harder, but we didn’t get upset. However, Edward’s birth made everything worse. Poverty, nights without sleep, tiredness, stress, and something like that led to the breakup of our family.”       “Please, Dad, stop… We don’t blame you for anything and love you, no matter how many mistakes you’ve made. Everyone gets wrong. There’s nothing bad in it.”       “I’m sorry for hurting so many people and showing the worst side of mine.”       “Stop, please.”       “We madly missed you when we were separated from you,” William confesses with sadness in his eyes. “Of course, having a mother is great. But sometimes she didn’t understand us and tried to impose her interests and opinions. Sometimes we could even fight with her and were mad at each other for a few days. Yes, we will never reject our mother. But we need a father.”       “It would be better to give up on her at times,” Jamie notices thoughtfully. “Isabella is quite a willful and headstrong woman. It’s hard to argue with her. Besides, she prefers doing what she wants and doesn’t ask for anyone’s advice.”       “We know,” Jeremy nods. “But sometimes talking to her is impossible.”       “Honestly, we couldn’t wait for the day we’d be able to do what we wanted and not to ask for Mother’s opinion,” William confesses.       “I get it, guys, but you’d better not argue with your mother,” Jamie advises confidently. “She wishes you the best and does everything for your best.”       “We try, but sometimes it’s hard…”       Jeremy and William say nothing for two seconds, inclining their heads and looking at their hands with sadness in their eyes.       “Okay, guys, don’t be sad,” Jamie says cheerfully. “We all don’t understand our parents and fight with them at times. Even I could protest against your grandfather and grandmother. But it happened very rarely, and I tried to listen to Mother and Father.”       “We just try to stand our ground,” Jeremy shrugs.       “Anyway, your mother will love you anyway. Regardless of your age and point of view.”       “Yes, Dad, we know,” Jeremy smiles shyly, moving a little strand of hair off his eyes.       “Okay, guys, let’s talk about something else,” Jamie suggests quietly, folding his hands in front of himself. “You better tell me about you. How are you doing? Are you studying? Working? Where are you living? Tell everything! I wanna know everything about your life!”       “We’re living in an apartment that we’re renting together…” William says. “The owner is good, never annoys us, and doesn’t bother us for little reasons… She understands everything when we aren’t able to pay rent in time and agrees to wait.”       “Do you pay for it?”       “Yeah, we usually both pay for it. But when one of us isn’t able to pay, one tries to pay the whole amount, and another does it next month. But if everything is bad, Mother may give us money.”       “I see… Are you studying? Or are you already working?”       “We’re studying at the university located not far from our home. And we work, earn money for food and some things, and pay for the apartment in our free time. Of course, it may be hard, but we’re kind of used to it. Jeremy and I learned to agree and solve problems.”       “Oh, yeah, we, so to say, got used to each other like old spouses living together for ages,” Jeremy adds funnily.       “Did you start your studies on your own?” Jamie asks. “Or did Isabella help you?”       “Nope, we did it on our own,” Jeremy shakes his head. “But Mother wanted us to study in a different one for what we didn’t like at all. She even protected against our choice for some time. But later, she accepted our choice, and she’s helping us pay for our studies. It’s too expensive. A whole life wouldn’t be enough to earn so much money.”       “And what are you studying?”       “I’m studying to be a programmer, and Jeremy is studying to be an engineer,” William replies confidently.       “And how do you work?”       “Well, we run errands!” Jeremy exclaims. “Delivering or getting something… But sometimes we work on the repair of computers.”       “Do you know it well?”       “At least, nobody has complained about our work,” Jeremy shrugs with a shy smile. “And computers haven’t exploded after our experiences.”       “Hey, guys, don’t you want to work at my company? We have a very good collective! You’d get on well with everybody quickly!”       “Work at your company?” William asks hesitantly.       “We always need computer experts. Computers get damaged very often. And the case isn’t always malware. Something may burn, for example… Or it may require a replacement of something… A reinstallation of software… An update…”       “Wait, what kind of company?” Jeremy frowns slightly. “Is that not the one, which belonged to Grandfather Manuel?”       “Yes, yes, that’s it. The shipbuilding company ‘The MacClife Shipping!’”       “Wow! We thought it was closed down a long time ago!”       “It is not!” Jamie exclaims cheerfully. “And it’s getting better every day!”       “So, didn’t Uncle Michael destroy it?”       “No, he didn’t. Of course, the business was bad, but everything got more or less better for a few months when I took control and hired new staff members.”       “That’s good!”       “So what, guys? Do you wanna work with me? First, I can hire you to serve a period of internship, and then we’ll see it. If you like it and are pleased with everything, I will find you a job. And I promise, I will pay you very good money!”       “Oh, honestly, we don’t know…” Jeremy gets confused, scratching the back of his head.       “We always need money. And you would be able to please yourself somehow.”       “But, Dad… If we worked with you, we’d have to be there every day. But we can’t! Our teachers at the university wouldn’t caress our heads if we didn’t finish the tasks from them. And some of them always make sure that everybody is on lectures.”       “You can start working after graduating from the university. It’s not a problem.”       “I don’t know, Dad…” William shakes his head. “We need to think if we can accept it.”       “I don’t insist upon it, I just gave you a chance to earn enough money for a good life.”       “Okay, we will think about it,” Jeremy promises amicably.       “Anyway, I can always find a job in my company for you. In your free time, you can go to my company. I would be happy to organize an excursion for you. Just like I did it for Edward and Terrence.”       “Thanks a lot,” Jeremy smiles shyly. “We’ll surely think about it.”       “Good,” Jamie nods with a slight smile. “Oh… And what about your personal life? Are you lucky to have the same worthy beauties, as your brothers’ ones?”       “Not yet,” William shrugs. “I recently broke up with a girl, who I just got sick of.”       “I’ve been single in a while,” Jeremy confesses. “And I don’t rush to make a relationship.”       “Don’t you even have a crush on any girls?” Jamie smiles mysteriously. “Nobody makes you get married. Just speak, date, and get experience.”       “Oh, Dad, c’mon! First, we should graduate from the university and find a good job. Then we’ll be able to think about a relationship.”       “Well… Actually… It’s wisely. Very wisely. You’ll date and break up with girls a thousand times.”       “Honestly, we aren’t actually ready to create our families.”       “But I don’t exclude that we’ll think about it when we are of the same age as Terrence and Edward,” William assumes.       “That’s right!” Jamie exclaims. “Don’t rush to get married. Early marriages often lead to divorce. Not everyone gets through it.”       “We know,” Jeremy nods.       “Don’t worry, guys, a reluctance to marry now is quite fine. At your age, Edward and Terrence didn’t also think about it. Though, Terrence treated marriage and children more responsibly and wanted it much more. And Edward… Edward cared about problems more. He’s our motor that can’t sit quietly.”       “We didn’t believe when we found out that Edward would get married. We can’t relate marriage and fatherhood to that restless bonehead.”       “Trust me, my dears, that guy has grown up and got smarter. And we just have to accept his love for trouble. And pray that he doesn’t suffer because of that.”       “Anyway, the two grew up to create their own families. Especially, Terrence. It’s clear that he doesn’t regret his wish to marry Raquelle. And he’s definitely ready to raise his own children.”       “He’s been dreaming of it for a long time. Terrence adores children and gets on well with them. He plays with Raquelle’s little cousin with great pleasure! His eyes are shining!”       “Who knows, maybe, Edward will also get ready for children after living in a marriage with his beauty for two years,” Jeremy assumes. “Though, it will seem like a fantasy.”       “You’re right, Jeremy,” Jamie laughs shyly. “I still can’t believe it, either.”       “Is that Natalia so good that he lost his head? I don’t mean her beauty! She’s obviously a gorgeous girl! I mean her character.”       “She’s a very good girl. Kind, caring, well-educated, and intelligent… I’m glad Natalia is gonna be my daughter-in-law. And I really like Raquelle. At first, that girl was obsessed with her job, but later, she changed her mind about it.”       “They’re sweet girls,” William notices with a slight smile. “And very beautiful.”       “I’m sure you’ll befriend them. Raquelle and Natalia are very kind and good and always open to meeting new people.” “It would be great to befriend the muses of our half-brothers.”       Jamie smiles shyly and says nothing for two seconds to clear his throat.       “Guys, I’d like to tell you something…” Jamie says thoughtfully. “One thing… About a family…”       “What?” William frowns slightly.       “Please, don’t separate your brothers into siblings and half-brothers. You're family to each other. Yes, you have different mothers, but it shouldn’t impact your relationship and make you wish to be closer to your sibling.”       “We don’t do it…” Jeremy shrugs.       “I’m asking you, treat Edward and Terrence the way you treat each other. All of you have my blood inside you. You’re a part of me. When you lose your parents, you will have only your brothers. You will only be able to count on them when you stay alone.”       “We know…” William pronounces quietly.       “I can’t make you love Terrence and Edward. But I want you to respect them. As your older brothers. It’s hurtful that my children could not get on well. And… I don’t want to let my children treat each other the way Michael treated me. Your uncle and I hated each other. And I swore to do my best not to let it happen in the case of my sons.”       “Do you think we treated Edward badly when we lived together?” Jeremy wonders truly.       “Sometimes I thought you hated him. At least because he’s my son from my first marriage. Edward always says he felt unnecessary. And I’m still ashamed of what happened. I thought I did everything for him, but I didn't give him the most important things – love and care.”       “No, Dad, it’s not true!” William protests. “We’ve always treated Edward well and haven’t hated him just because he’s not our sibling.”       “I always noticed that you didn’t treat him well when you were kids. As if you wanted him to leave our home. As if you wanted to get rid of the stranger.”       “Gosh, Dad, why do you think so?” Jeremy gets horrified. “We’ve never had any kind of hate for Edward and Terrence. We respect them and their mother. They respect our mother and have never said bad words about her. So, why should we hate Rebecca?”       “You never aimed to get close to him. Edward was a toy to you. A boy to mock.”       “Gosh…” William adds thoughtfully. “We were stupid! We didn’t know good things from bad. It was something like bad child jokes that would’ve made adult people knock at the temple and made children roll on the floor from a laugh.”       “I get it, guys,” Jamie says quietly. “But sometimes your jokes got out of the limits. Edward hardly felt good. And your mother and I didn’t approve of everything you did.”       “We know, but it all stayed in the past,” Jeremy replies confidently. “Now we’ve become smarter, and we understand that we crossed the line at times.”       “I don’t want what happened between my brother and me to happen between you. That’s not an example of the relationship between close people, who at least should show respect.”       “Don’t worry, Dad,” William says amicably. “What happened between you and Uncle Michael will never happen to us. Jeremy and I will aim to befriend Edward and Terrence and do our best for them to find us their close people.”       “You know how hurtful I was when they somehow almost became someone like their father and uncle. Because of Michael’s tricks, the guys had a big fight and almost struck each other out of their lives. Everybody thought they’d never establish their relationship. But luckily, my older sons made up and got much closer.”       “I hope we’ll befriend them, their girls, and their friends,” Jeremy smiles shyly.       “You will, don’t worry. Their friends are also very good and decent guys. They’ll accept you with pleasure.”       “It would be great,” William pronounces thoughtfully.       Jamie says nothing and just smiles shyly, glancing at the backpacks of William and Jeremy.       “And I hope I will meet you as much as possible,” Jamie expresses hope.       “No, no, Dad, I promise we will not leave your life,” Jeremy promises confidently. “We were looking for you for so long not to ask you everything we wanted and disappear. We wanna speak to you as frequently as possible.”       “The doors of this house are always open for you, my dears. And if you give me the address of your rented apartment, I will visit you.”       “Of course!” William exclaims. “We’ll give you our numbers and the address of our rented apartment where you can come at any time. Erm… Give me my backpack, Jer…”       Jeremy silently gives William his backpack, which his brother opens. The youngest son of Jamie takes the pen and the notebook, and writes something on it. Then he tears off the piece of paper carefully and gives it to Jamie, who runs his eyes quickly over it.       “Oh, I know where it is!” Jamie exclaims with a slight smile. “I will come to you when I have time!”       “And yeah, warn us about your visit,” Jeremy says quietly. “Mom usually visits us on weekends, but she may sometimes do it on different days.”       “I got it. I will do what you want.”       William closes his backpack and puts it next to himself, while Jamie smiles shyly with the piece of paper in his hands.       “My gosh, I still can’t believe that you’re here and sitting in front of me,” Jamie confesses, shaking his head with a shy smile. “All these years, I was dreaming about it. About having my family next to me… About my beloved woman by my side… About all my sons speaking to me… And being happy…”       “Nothing and nobody will tear us apart!” William promises confidently. “We will be together, despite nothing.”       “We’ve reunited with our family and will not feel lonely, speaking only to our mother,” Jeremy adds amicably.       “You’ll never be alone while you have me, your mother, your brothers, and your stepmother,” Jamie replies confidently. “We are a family and should support each other.”       “And we’re very happy everything ended well,” William says with a slight smile. “We only need to establish our relationship with everybody, so everything is okay.”       “You can do this! I believe in you, my sons.”       “Nice to hear it,” Jeremy pronounces.       “Remember, guys…” Jamie takes William and Jeremy’s hands tightly. “I will always believe in you and support your decisions, even if I don’t like them.”       “Us too, Dad. We’ll always be by your side, no matter how bad your actions are.”       “I ask you about just one thing – be happy and live in peace with your close people. If you can do this, I will be the happiest man in the world.”       “We promise, it will happen,” William promises with a wide smile. “We will do our best to make you and Mother proud of us.”       “Isabella and I will always be proud of you and your brother, William. And I will always love you and Jeremy not less than I love Terrence and Edward. I have four sons, and I love all of you in the same way.”       “We know,” Jeremy smiles shyly.       “God has finally heard my prayers!” Jamie exclaims happily with a wide smile. “Now I’m able to speak to all of my children!”       “We’re madly happy we reunited with our father,” William replies confidently. “And nobody can prevent our meetings!”       “Aw, my dear children…” Jamie gets up slowly from the sofa. “How much I adore you!”       “We love you, too, Father,” Jeremy and William pronounce at the same time, getting up from the sofa, as well.       “Come here!”       Jamie, William, and Jeremy take each other in a strong hug with wide smiles, being happy with their reunion like little children and barely holding down their wish to shed a tear at such a touching and emotional moment.       

***

      Daniel would have great pleasure spending the rest of the day with Anna. But closer to the evening, Lillian and Maximilian came to visit him at home to find out how he was living after their last meeting. Drinking a cup of hot coffee, the ex-spouses are sharing some details of the case of Julian and Norman Potter, who will have to pay for all their crimes at the nearest time.       “Those scoundrels will be on trial very soon,” Lillian announces confidently, holding a cup of coffee in her hands.       “Did they pick up the date?” Anna wonders, folding her hands in front of her.       “Yes, the judge has scheduled the hearing.”       “Do we have to be there?” Daniel asks with sadness in his eyes, holding the hand of Anna, who is pressing herself to him and keeping her head on his shoulder.       “No, our lawyers will be representing us,” Maximilian replies confidently, drinking some coffee from his cup. “We don’t have to be on the court.”       “Couldn’t they call us later?” Anna asks quietly.       “There’s no need to,” Lillian shakes her head. “All of us have testified and told them what happened. The lawyers know the situation very well and are getting ready for the first hearing.”       “So, when is the day of the first hearing?” Daniel asks.       “Early September. On the fifth.”       “So soon…”       “You have no reason to worry, my dears, we’re absolutely sure about the professionalism of our lawyers,” Maximilian says confidently. “We’ve known them for ages, and they’ve never betrayed us.”       “I hope it will happen,” Anna expresses hope. “They must get a punishment for Julian and his father.”       “We could apparel if we weren’t satisfied with the sentence within some time,” Lillian notices. “But your father is right, honey. There is no reason to worry. Those people will not get away with it.”       “If a man like Victor Johnson controls a case, you may have no doubt that he’ll get what he needs,” Daniel replies confidently.       “And all the clues will be taken by the judge,” Maximilian adds. “Nothing will go unnoticed. None of our words. No detail.”       “It gives me hope…” Anna says thoughtfully.       “It’s gonna be fine, daughter, don’t worry.” Maximilian caresses Anna’s hand softly, while Daniel hugs her shyly and caresses her shoulder tenderly. “Those people will pay for everything they did. We will get the harshest sentence for them.”       “I wish this case was closed as soon as possible,” Lillian sighs heavily. “So, we can forget that nightmare and tear this page from our life. Do our business and stop thinking about bad things…”       “I also want everything to be over so badly,” Maximilian replies with sadness in his eyes. “This is the only thing I’m worried about.”       “We can hardly forget that…” Anna replies thoughtfully. “Even if those people get the hardest sentence, it won’t strike out everything they did to us from our memory.”       “No, Anna, you will forget that hell,” Daniel says confidently, softly. “You must do it.”       “Maybe, I will not forget… But I know what could help me get a little better… Me… And all of us.”       “What are you talking about, daughter?” Lillian wonders.       “Forgiveness, Mother,” Anna replies quietly, looking at Lillian with sadness in her eyes. “That’s what can help us let the situation go.”       “Wait, do you want to say…” Daniel shakes his head.       “I was thinking about it a lot… About what would help me get better. And… I realized that forgiveness would be the best decision. So…” Anna sighs quietly, looking at her hands. “I decided to forgive Julian.”       Being a little shocked, Lillian, Maximilian, and Daniel look at each other questioningly.       “What?” Maximilian opens his eyes widely. “Forgive Julian?”       “I know you’re all surprised,” Anna says quietly. “Yes, I remember how that man almost killed me. But… After thinking a lot… I realized that being mad at someone with mental issues didn’t make sense. Julian is really ill. He’s got many psychological traumas. But he will never confess it and wish to work on them.”       “But, Anna…” Lillian pronounces with horror in her eyes. “That stink almost brought you to another world! You could’ve died because of him!”       “Yes, I know. But nothing will be changed if I’m mad at the Potters until the end of my life.”       “They don’t need your forgiveness, daughter. Your sympathy. They don’t need this kind of generosity. It will teach them nothing.”       “The case is not whether they need forgiveness. The case is about a different thing. Negative emotions drag us down, making us bend under the heavy burden of hate and anger. You can be super rich, be happily married, and raise wonderful children. But until you let all your offenses go, something will always torment your soul.”       “But, Anna…” Daniel pronounces hesitantly, shaking his head.       “I don’t be like them. I don’t wanna take revenge on anyone or hurt someone because of failures or offenses. I wanna live a quiet and happy life.”       “These people would just laugh loudly at your words about forgiveness.”       “I’m doing this for myself. I’d feel much better if I let my offense go and forgave my offenders. It would help me… Stop thinking about all of their tricks. I don’t wanna be mad, cry, and hate… Life is too short to spend it on negativity and people that can't give you anything good.”       “Actually… Yeah… You’re right to some extent…”       “I already got much better when I stopped being mad at you. And when I decided to forgive Julian and his father, I finally felt the easiness that I missed. I finally got rid of the feeling that something was pressing on me.”       “Daughter…” Maximilian pronounces with pity in his eyes.       “Don’t worry, Dad, it doesn’t mean they will avoid justice. If they are free, they will keep doing their tricks and bring us to death for sure one day.”       “He will not change, honey,” Daniel notices quietly. “Julian doesn’t care if you forgive him or not. That man needs just one thing – renege for his offenses and humiliations. He couldn’t accept the fact that he was bullied in childhood for his weight. He couldn’t accept your refusal to be with him. And his father made him think that women were evil all his life.”       “I don’t care about it now. I’m doing this for me.” Anna puts her hands on her heart. “I’m doing what my heart tells me. I don’t care about Julian’s opinion. He will pay for everything anyway. But I wanna live and enjoy my life.”       “Are you sure you want it, sweetie?” Lillian asks softly, taking Anna’s hands. “Do you really want to forgive the one, who did such terrible things to you?”       “Yes, I want to,” Anna replies confidently. “For a reluctance to poison my soul with offense and hate.”       “I think…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully. “It’s a wise decision.”       “The decision, which… Julian knows about…”       “Knows?” Maximilian frowns slightly. “What do you mean?”       “I personally said that I forgave him.”       “What?” Daniel, Lilian, and Maximilian get horrified, opening their eyes widely.       “Did you go to the station there and talk to that psycho?” Daniel wonders.       “Yup,” Anna pronounces quietly.       “Gosh, daughter, it’s madness!” Lilian exclaims. “What were you thinking of?”       “That man could’ve hurt you!” Maximilian gets horrified.       “I just wanted to get better,” Anna replies. “I should’ve said it to him personally.”       “But why did you say nothing to your mother and me? And Daniel? He didn’t know it?”       “No, I knew nothing,” Daniel shakes his head.       “You would’ve started to change my mind,” Anna says quietly. “But I decided that I wanted to go.”       “Alright, but you could tell me, and I would’ve gone with you. Not to let him do anything to you.”       “No, Daniel, I should’ve done it by myself. Alone.”       “And… When did you visit him?”       “Yesterday. Dad and Mom were working… I was home alone… I thought a little and… Decided to go. I went to the police station, found Mr. Johnson, and asked him to let me talk to Julian. At first, he refused and said I shouldn’t have done it, but I persuaded him.”       

***

      Yesterday.       “Here, please…”       The middle-aged policeman leads Anna to a small room where prisoners and suspects are usually questioned and have a meeting with friends, relatives, and lawyers. There are no windows. Only a small chandelier on the ceiling lights up this dark room, in which there is a rectangular mirror. And a small table and two chairs placed in front of one another are placed on the dark parquet in the middle. A man at the age of thirty-five wearing an orange prison robe is sitting on one of them and slouching. The handcuff is put on his hands folded on the table, and his dead eyes are looking into the distance. His hair is slightly disheveled, and his face is covered with a dark bristle. It’s impossible to say that this man looked much better and watched his appearance closely some time ago. Though, it’s still possible to recognize him as Julian Potter, who ended up here after he almost sent the girl to another world.       Entering this room slowly, Anna locks her fingers tightly and pulls nervously her black jacket, the sleeves of which are half rolled, and which perfectly fits her skinny pants of the same color and a white blouse with a couple of top buttons unbuttoned. And after every single step, the heels of her pointy shoes knock quietly against the dark parquet. The girl sees the prisoner sitting at the table from behind, but she understands that he is definitely not as confident and sassy as he was before.       “Prisoner Potter, a visitor has come to you!” the policeman announces harshly.       Julian moves his eyes up and looks at Anna, who stands slowly in front of him, squeezing tightly the belt of her small purse with both hands. The man gets sharply white and starts twisting around the chair nervously, looking at the girl with pity in widely open eyes.       “Anna?” Julian pronounces quietly and hesitantly.       “You have five minutes, Miss,” the policeman says. “Then I shall ask you to leave.”       “Thanks, Mr. Policeman,” Anna thanks.       The police staff member leaves the room and closes the door. Then Anna, swallowing up nervously, moves her eyes to Julian, who looks at her with some despair, as if he hopes that she came here to save him.       “Anna, y-y-you…” Julian pronounces in a shaking voice.       “Hello, Julian,” Anna says quietly, looking at Julian confidently from the up to the down.       “Y-y-y-you… C-c-came…”       “I know my visit is unexpected. But I’m going to warn you that I came here at my wish.”       “You… Came… To s-s-save me? Would you get me out of here? Yeah?”       “No, I came for a different reason. I want to talk to you.”       “Please, Anna, help me,” Julian begs with pity in his eyes. “Get me out of here! They want to put me in prison for several years.”       “No, Julian, don’t hope!”       “Please, sweetie, don’t leave me here! I promise I will get better and will never dare to insult and raise a hand on you. But I’m begging you, save me! You’re my only hope! I have nobody to count on.”       “Save this show for your cellmates.” Anna comes quietly to the chair, sits in front of Julian, and puts her purse on the table, looking at her offender with her head proudly raised. “I will quickly tell you what I want and leave.”       “Nobody loves me here,” Julian complains. “Everybody says bad things about me and calls me a stinker. Any attempts to talk to someone led to nothing. But I want to talk to someone. Reveal my soul. Even my lawyer is definitely against me and doesn’t want to save me! I’m lonely! All alone! I have nobody!”       “What did you want, sweetheart?” Anna folds her hands in front of her. “Do you think your nasty actions could be excused?”       “I did not want it! I swear, I am not guilty of all of that. That’s my father. He made me do all those terrible things to you. I didn’t want it and just did what that man told me to do.”       “Of course, your father is naughty. But don’t blame him for everything you have done to me.”       “He is the only one, who should pay for everything he has done to you and your family. These ideas belonged to him. I tried to change his mind, but he shut me up and told me to do what he said.”       “Do you think you’ll avoid a punishment if you blame your father for everything?”       “Please, Anna! I’m guilty of nothing!”       “Stop, Julian!” Anna cuts off sharply. “Whatever you say, nobody will save you. You will pay for your dirty tricks.”       “No, sweetie, don’t do this to me…”       “I have a little time and do not want to spend it on senseless talks.”       “Don’t you feel sorry for me?” Julian raises his hands put in the handcuff. “Look! I’m here! They put this handcuff and this shirt, which smells disgusting, on me! And a judge is going to sentence me soon! Minimum for twenty years!”       “That’s what we need.”       “Please, Anna… You are not heartless! You’ve got a kind heart… I know it’s hurtful for you to look at me now. See what those cads brought me to. If you don’t help me, I shall die. They will kill me, or I will kill myself.”       “Stop, Potter.”       “I will not bear it! I will not survive if I get a sentence! The condition is terrible, but I’m not used to that.”       “It’s okay, you will tolerate it. Live among those you’ve despised your whole life.”       “But I don’t want it! I don’t want to leave this place, being an old man! I’m thirty-five! I’m no longer young!”       “Everyone gets old. You aren’t special.”       “Anna… Anna, my sweetheart…” Julian takes Anna’s hand, looking at her with greater pity in his eyes. “Please, listen to me…”       “Move your hands off, Julian,” Anna says quietly, getting her hands off Julian.       “I’m really sorry about behaving so terribly toward you. That’s a great mistake that I will never forgive myself for. I hate myself for hurting the girl that I still love very much.”       “You would’ve better thought about it when insulting, humiliating, and beating me.”       “Give me a chance! Please, honey, don’t let them tear me apart. I will die in prison. They will eat me. And living far from you is going to be unbearable torture for me. To me, happiness is just seeing your beautiful face. Hold your hand. Look into your incredible green eyes.”       “You’re telling your tales again…” Anna sighs tiredly.       “No, I still love you! You mean a lot to me! And I can’t imagine my life without you! I swear on my mother’s grave!”       “Aren’t you ashamed of swearing on that woman’s grave? The woman, whom you never loved. Who died because of your shameless father!”       “Just give me a chance! I promise you will not be disappointed. I will do everything for you! I will become your silent slave!”       “I’ve already said you wouldn’t give me what I really need.”       “You will have anything! All you want!”       “To give some things to someone, you should get them and know what they are. But you don’t know what I want.”       “No, that’s not the truth! I know what you want!”       “I would get nothing if I was an idiot and believed you again.”       “Anna, sweetie…”       “Will you let me say why I came here?”       “Please, Anny, sweetie, forgive me…”       “You will not avoid the punishment, Julian. You and your father will pay for all your tricks. Nobody is going to save you.”       “No, I don’t believe it…” Julian shakes his head and swallows up nervously. “You can’t…”       “But there’s a thing I want to tell you. What you should know.”       “What?” Julian rounds his eyes.       “I think you’ve understood that you disappointed me a lot. Yes, I knew that something wasn’t right about you. But I didn’t think you were so cruel and terrible.”       “I can’t be soft. I’m used to being cruel. Caress and tenderness are strange to me.”       “It doesn’t matter.”       “I will get better, I promise… Help me. Teach me to be kinder and softer.”       “It’s too late to change you, Julian. You will not change. Never.”       “I don’t want you to have such a bad opinion about me.”       “I was very mad at you all this time,” Anna says confidently. “Because you treated me like that. Because you showed disrespect to me. Because you helped your father plan to take revenge on my parents. I had tons of reasons to hate you and curse the day I agreed to let the one to be the reason I almost died get closer to me.”       “I understand it…” Julian moves his sad eyes to his hands. “And I don’t judge you. You had the right to hate me.”       “But I recently began to think about that situation. And… I realized that there was no meaning in being mad. Cursing. Hating. No meaning in keeping my offense inside and poisoning my soul. It would change nothing. An evil person wouldn’t get kinder if everyone hated him or her. Someone actually loves people cursing them. It’s kind of energy for them.”       “No… I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t want you to blame me for all my sins.”       “So, after thinking much, I made a decision that I thought was right.”       “Will you get me out of prison? Oh, Anny, my sunshine!” Julian takes Anna’s hands again, cracking a slight smile, but she lets them go with a tired sigh. “I will love you much more if you do it.”       “I want to tell you that…” Anna says nothing for two seconds and looks at Julian confidently. “I’m forgiving you. For your disgusting actions toward me. For almost killing me. For everything.”       Anna’s words make Julian a little discouraged and fall into a stupor. But on the other side, it gives him hope that the girl may get him out of prison and save him from prison.”       “F-f-forgiving?” Julian asks hesitantly.       “Yes, I am,” Anna cracks a slight smile. “I don’t want to be mad at anyone. I don’t want to keep offenses and evil inside. I don’t want… To be poisoned by negativity. And become cruel and vindictive. So, it would be better if I let my offense go and let you know it.”       “Do you…” Julian rounds his eyes. “Do you…”       “No, Julian. Just because I’m forgiving you doesn’t mean you have a chance to leave this place. I’m forgiving you, but I don’t refuse to restore justice. With the hope that you will learn a lesson.”       “No, Anna…” Julian shakes his head, closing his mouth with both hands. “No, it can’t be the truth. You can’t do this to me!”       “Please, let’s do this without a drama.”       “You’ve known me since you were eleven! A bigger part of your life! Would you dare to do this to the man, who has loved you so much and treated you with respect all these years?”       “You don’t know what love and respect are,” Anna replies quietly. “Especially for women.”       “You’re my only hope!” Julian exclaims with despair. “Nobody else can help me!”       “I forgave you not because I’m sorry for you. No, I’m not sorry for you. You deserved it all. I did it for myself. To make my life quiet. I should’ve let this situation go.”       “Yes, sweetie, I know you’ve got a pure heart! How big your heart is! You’re the most generous and kindest person I’ve ever known. And I’m sure you will not forgive yourself if you don’t help me and let me die in a dark, dirty cell.”       “I’m not going to torture myself and suffer because of the one, who hurt me so much, for the rest of my life. I’m only twenty-four. I’m too young to waste my life on hate, envy, and evil. My life should be full of positive emotions. Care. Love. Tenderness. I need people, who can give me all of that.”       “Then, you need me! I know you as well as my five fingers. Nobody else knows what you need. Nobody can love you stronger. I’m the only one, who needs you. I’m the only one to be ready to accept you with all your shortcomings.”       “You’re wrong, Potter. There are those, who really know me as well as five fingers, and don’t consider me some kind of ugly and worthless creature.”       “Do you think your parents will give you that? They don’t know what that is! Because nobody from their family showed emotions.”       “Maybe, that’s true. But they recognize it and are now trying to fix it. And give me as much as I got from my dear man.”       “Do you mean the deadbeat, who betrayed you?” Julian smirks quietly. “What does he know about you? You’ve known him for the third Monday!”       “He knows everything about me and literally sees me through. I don’t have to tell him anything. He just looks at me and makes my dreams come true.”       “I don’t understand what you found about that poor deadbeat! How could you prefer such a perspective man like me over that pathetic creature? Who can be sassy only with his fucking pals!”       “Yes, I preferred love and care over humiliations and hits,” Anna replies with her head proudly raised. “And I don’t regret it. I am grateful to fate for our meeting.”       “You will understand you made a mistake by deciding to mess up with that deadbeat. Now you’re too young. Naive. You believe in tales. You dream of a prince. But you will not need it soon.”       “No, Julian, I didn’t make a stupid thing. I got much happier than ever. I felt like a little girl, who feared nothing because she had a loving man by her side.”       “A man is a dream because of a good job and a thick wallet, not because of heroic actions and tender feelings.”       “By the way, I almost forgot to say something,” Anna tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I came back to that man.”       “What?” Julian opens his eyes widely. “Come back? To that bastard?”       “Yes, Julian, I found the courage to forgive him and become the girlfriend of the one I love, despite nothing.”       “No!” Julian shakes his head sharply. “No, it can’t be the truth! That bastard stole you from me again!”       “I forgave him for making the mistake. And I understand that he didn’t really want to hurt me.”       “Did you, stupid idiot, succumb to his pathetic words of love and loyalty? Don’t you feel that the idiot lied to you again?”       “I think he was absolutely true. After seeing everything I needed, I reflected on the situation for a long time and decided to forgive him. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to live without him.”       “That man will betray you again, Anna. He will find another girl soon and sleep with her secretly from you, while you’re at home and serve him. Please, don’t listen to him! He's using your naivety!”       “Everything’s decided, Julian,” Anna replies confidently. “I forgave that man and came back to him.”       “You must belong to me! Father promised you to me when we just met! I love you! We must be together and raise our children!”       “And I want to be with my sweetheart.”       “Please, Anna, don’t break my heart. Again. I will not take it.”       “I chose the one I want to be with.”       “I don’t want to hear it…” Julian grabs his hair with both hands. “I’ve suffered from one-sided love for you all my life… When I was told you started to date someone, I was ready to cry. Knowing that you were kissed and hugged by another man was unbearable.”       “You’re playing on pity because you hope that I’ll feel sorry for you and get you out of prison. But it will not happen. I got a good lesson and realized that I should not have believed you.”       “No, don’t say it,” Julian begs in a shaking voice with pity in his eyes. “I am not pretending… My feelings for you are absolutely true.”       “Say this lie to someone else. I’m done with your tales.”       When Julian wants to say something, the door of the room opens, and the policeman, who brought Anna here, shows up on the doorstep.       “The time is up, Miss!” the policeman exclaims. “I am asking you to leave the room.”       “I said everything I wanted,” Anna addresses Julian. “I hope prison will teach you just something. For example, being softer and kinder. Maybe, you’ll be lucky and live without hate and envy in your heart when you’re old.”       “Anna…” Julian pronounces with pity in his eyes. “Anna, sweetie…”       “Good luck to you,” Anna cracks a slight smile. “I wish you all the best. With all my heart. Stand in the right way and live it with easiness in your soul. Goodbye.”       Anna caresses softly the hand of the sad Julian, takes her purse, gets up from the table, and leaves the room quietly.       “Anna…” Julian pronounces with despair, watching Anna with sadness in his eyes. “Anna, no! Don’t go! Stay! Please! Anna! Don’t leave me! I love you! I will die if you’re not near me! Please, Anny!”       Julian starts breathing heavily enough from excitement, looking white enough, and his widely open, little wet eyes are full of horror and fear. At the realization that he is now alone, and nobody is going to help him.       “Anna…” Julian pronounces with despair. “Don’t leave me… I need you… I’ll die without you. A-a-a-a… Dad! Daddy! Save me! I don’t wanna stay here alone! Dad!”       Julian literally starts crying and calling Anna or Julian with despair, while the policeman takes him under the arm and takes him somewhere. His hope for salvation died. As well as his hope of being with Anna – the girl he truly loved. Maybe, nobody believed that it was the truth. But this man has never been indifferent to this sweet, red-haired beauty, who chose the man that Potter will be cursing until the end of his life.       

***

      “And after I told him everything I wanted, I got much better,” Anna confesses. “Letting offense go is hard, but I told myself I should’ve done it. For my best. And I did it.”       “And how did Julian react?” Lilian asks.       “He begged me to get him out of prison and swore that he loved me. Julian tried to blame his father for everything. He kind of just did what he told him.”       “And swore on his mother’s grave?”       “Yeah. But I clearly let him know that my forgiveness wouldn’t give him hope of being free. And after saying I forgave him, I left with a smile on my face. I truly wished Julian luck and expressed hope that prison would teach him something.”       “Well, I doubt it,” Daniel says thoughtfully. “As they say, a tiger doesn’t change his spots.”       “Anyway, I don’t regret doing that. Julian heard that I decided to forgive him for everything, and I got better. Forgiveness is one of the strongest antidotes to anger and negativity. One of the strongest guns against your enemy that wants to break you down with their hatred and dreaming of turning your life to hell.”       “You’re supposed to have great courage to forgive your enemy,” Maximilian notices with a slight smile.       “Maybe, I used to refuse to believe that it happened to me and blamed myself for everything. But now I’m ready to confess it and accept the fact that I can’t change the past. I understand I’m not guilty of it. Julian and his father are. And if it’s so, I don’t want to let what happened make me unhappy and refuse my wishes because of fears and doubts. What’s done is done. Now I want to move on. I wanna live among those, who truly love and respect me.”       Maximilian, Lillian, and Daniel say nothing and smile widely, showing that they completely support Anna.       “Alright, sweetie, if it can help you get better, we only have to support you,” Maximilian says with a slight smile, caressing Anna’s hand. “Anyway, you did a very wise thing.”       “That’s very good you did it for you, not for them,” Lilian adds. “You should think about your comfort, not your offender’s.”       “Life doesn’t stop after the violence, rape, or tragedy,” Anna shrugs. “Everyone overcomes something. If they did it, I can do it, too. And first, I let the situation go and forgave the one, who almost killed me.”       “You know, you’re a good fellow!” Daniel notices thoughtfully. “Potter was waiting for you to scream, cry, and beg for help. I mean, he knew it would happen. But you did a different thing. You gave the reaction that the man didn’t expect.”       “You’re right, sweetie,” Lillian agrees. “Remember when Anna gave Julian a slap in the face and let coffee out on his head. You all saw his face, which said he was deeply shocked and didn’t expect anything like that.”       “I just said goodbye in a ‘beautiful’ way,” Anna smiles shyly. “And I can’t hide that I liked it.”       “All of us like it, my sunshine,” Maximilian laughs quietly. “I could say you showed him where he belonged.”       “But now I’ll be waiting for the sentence with easiness in my heart. Let him all of his dirty things be on his conscience. Whatever Julian says, he’s guilty of everything.”       “Wise decision, Anna. Very wise. You think just like an adult wise woman.”       “There are those, who helped me realize a lot.”       Anna glances at Daniel with a slight smile, and he answers her back and takes her hand, while Lillian and Maximilian do not hide their admiration for their daughter’s partner and drink some coffee from their cups that they put carefully on the coffee table.       “Alright, my dears,” Lilian says amicably. “Let’s not make each other’s mood worse and talk about these sick stinkers.”       “By the way, Daniel, what about the foreigner?” Maximilian asks. “You said you got rid of her.”       “Yes, Mr. Seymour,” Daniel replies with a slight smile. “Anna, Natalia, Raquelle, Helene, and I came up with something. While I was meeting the Spaniard at home and pretending that nothing happened, the girls went to the police. In one hour, they came, and the policemen took away the girl and her sister, who she came with.”       “Sister?” Lillian wonders. “But for what?”       “The family of the Spaniard has document issues,” Anna explains. “Her sister confessed that they originally lived here on a visa, but later it expired, and her parents didn’t wanna work with documents again. So, they’re now about to be deported to Spain. And the foreigner will be put on trial for meddling in Daniel’s life, threatening him many times, and trying to get into his house.”       “So, did you make a report on that girl?” Lillian asks Daniel.       “She didn’t wait to leave me at her wish,” Daniel shrugs. “So, I had to take measures. At first, I doubted, but the girls persuaded me to go to the police. When the police arrived, they showed her an order and told her to leave my house, but she kept being hysterical and pretending to be my wife or the mother of my allegedly dead child.”       “And she had started such a wild show that all the neighbors almost came here,” Anna adds. “The girls and I even wanted to call a mental hospital because she acted like crazy. She threatened to kill herself and us and screamed so loudly that she lost her voice.”       “It looks like a sick obsession,” Maximilian notices thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “She made herself think that Daniel was her destiny. And started to chase her, making everyone sure that she dated him.”       “It’s correct,” Daniel confirms. “That girl knew about me thanks to my band that she hated. Her sister said the foreigner tried to get into my house one day but got caught by the police called by my neighbors. And she was kicked out of shows because she didn’t have a ticket.”       “Didn’t you know she was here before?” Lilian wonders.       “Nope, my neighbors told me nothing, even if they testified at the police station.”       “It’s weird they didn’t say.”       “I will talk to them later and find out more about all of it. Maybe, I could’ve actually ended it all much earlier if I had known about her before.”       “So, did she know everything about you?” Maximilian concludes. “Your home address, your phone number, and everything about your personal life?”       “Yes, everything. She saw many interviews of mine and always knew what to answer my questions about, for example, meeting or starting our relationship. That girl got ready well and lied to me without blinking her eyes.”       “Wow…”       “And her sister helped her… Against her wish, however… That girl was afraid of her… So, she had to lie and make fake photos on a computer that allegedly proved that the lie was the truth.”       “Gosh, what an insolent girl!” Lillian resents.       “She is! She lied to me and aimed to isolate me from the whole world. That girl created a perfect dream in her mind and tried to reach it in any way. She would’ve been lying on a sofa like a queen, eating, and watching a TV, and I would’ve been sitting near her and singing praises about her alleged beauty.”       “Wow… She must definitely get therapy.”       “She will probably be brought somewhere in a mental hospital,” Anna assumes. “Mr. Johnson promised to control this case.”       “Yeah, why were only the girls a part of this plan?” Maximilian wonders. “Where the men were?”       “It’s easy, Mr. Seymour,” Daniel replies with a slight smile. “The girls were jealous of the men and the foreigner and took everything under their control. They didn’t want them to meet her, even if they knew she hated them. And today, she showered them with the mud again. And the girls suffered a lot. That hysterical girl dragged them by the hair and broke the nail of one of them.”       “That’s how…”       “However, the girls behaved not worse than the men did during the arrest of the Potters. They didn’t miss a chance to drag her by the hair and gave her a couple of slaps.”       “Anyway, the girls had no reason to be jealous,” Lillian smiles shyly. “I saw well that the guys were in love with them. They had shining eyes when looking at their sweethearts and talked about them.”       “They can be understood, Mom,” Anna notices with an innocent smile. “The lads would also be terribly jealous if they got an opponent. And the girls’ promises about not looking at that one wouldn’t calm their men down.”       “Anyway, you’re all good fellows!” Maximilian exclaims. “The men have done very much for you two. And the girls have never left you in trouble.”       “Anna and I are grateful to them for everything they’ve done for us,” Daniel replies with a slight smile. “I’m actually very lucky to have such wonderful friends. Without them, it would be much harder for me to overcome something bad or do what I wouldn’t do on my own.”       “My friends are better for me than any psychologists,” Anna smiles shyly. “I can tell them anything and get what I need. They impacted me a lot and made me think of something differently. Their help and support helped me survive that horror and stay strong.”       “Your friends are very good and wonderful people,” Lilian notices with a slight smile. “Now it’s rarely possible to meet such loyal and decent people. Many of them can’t be friends at all. Many of them just use people and look for a benefit from them.”       “No, Mrs. Seymour, our friends are not,” Daniel shakes his head confidently. “For their close people, they’re always ready to sacrifice something. You can ask them anything, and every one of them will do everything. Sometimes even much more.”       “That’s why you must appreciate those people.”       “For such amazing people, I would even die.”       “I hope you will not have to sacrifice your life,” Maximilian expresses hope. “We don’t want to lose such a wonderful partner of the daughter of Lilian and me.”       “It’s my duty. A matter of honor. If I have to, I’m ready to give my life for my close people.”       “I hope you will not have to do it,” Lillian replies amicably.       Daniel shrugs silently with a shy smile, while Maximilian takes a sip of coffee from his cup.       “Alright, what about your band?” Maximilian asks. “When are the men and you going to renew your performances?”       “Very soon,” Daniel smiles widely, hugging Anna around the shoulders. “Yesterday, the men and I talked to the people from our team and agreed on participating in one popular show.”       “And when will you make us happy?” Lillian shows interest.       “On August, 20th. Right on my birthday.”       “Great!” Maximilian smiles slightly. “Think it’s your gift!”       “Yeah, it’s funny. We stopped performing because of me… But we will start doing this again on my birthday.”       “But when are you gonna celebrate it?” Lillian asks.       “We’ll celebrate it later,” Anna shrugs.       “Yeah!” Daniel agrees. “Choose a free day and have some fun.”       “Will you be celebrating it at home?” Lilian asks. “Or are you planning to go to another place?”       “Home. I’ll have a pool party. There will be not only the men and the girls but also some of our good friends.”       “And your sister?”       “Sadly, my sister is now at a clinic and getting therapy.”       “Is Cassidy getting therapy?” Maximilian asks.       “Yes,” Anna confirms. “Daniel said he drove her there one or two days later after the arrest of the Potters.”       “And how long will she be there?”       “Two or three months, surely. And then we’ll see it.”       “I wish that girl healed,” Lilian expresses a wish. “Cassidy is such a good and sweet girl. Very young. She hasn’t lived enough.”       “She can overcome it, I believe in her,” Daniel replies confidently with a slight smile. “Moreover, Cassidy has a strong wish to wean herself away from her dependence and start living as people of her age do. Befriend, fall in love, speak…”       “A wish is the most important thing in any case,” Maximilian expresses hope.       “We’ll do our best for her not to feel lonely,” Anna promises amicably. “She doesn’t have close people except her brother. But it’s not enough. Cassidy needs friends. The same age as hers, preferably.”       “She can befriend the friends of you and Daniel. And then she’ll meet someone of her age.”       “Actually, there’s one boy…” Daniel confesses thoughtfully. “He’s working as an assistant for our band… He’s also nineteen. I could introduce them to each other, but I don’t want to do it now.”       “Why?” Lillian wonders.       “The men and I don’t get on with him. He insulted and humiliated us because of jealousy. But he recently apologized and asked to give him another chance and not to get him fired. Well, the guys and I aren’t evil. We’re ready to give a second chance to someone to ask it.”       “If you gave him a chance, everything is not so bad.”       “I don’t know, Mrs. Seymour. That man makes us have many questions. At first, he should prove that we could trust him, and then I will think of introducing him to my sister.”       “Listen, wouldn’t you like to introduce her to Ryan?” Maximilian suggests a little hesitantly.       “Ryan?”       “Why not?” Anna smiles shyly. “Ryan is very good and decent! He wouldn’t even dare to hurt Cassidy. Moreover, he’s also very lonely because he doesn’t have friends. Real friends.”       “Hm…” Daniel frowns slightly. “I don’t even know… What do you think? Mr. Seymour? Mrs. Seymour?”       “I believe Maximilian’s idea is wonderful!” Lillian smiles widely. “Let the boy meet someone to respect him and not to blame him for being a family member of the Potters.”       “I don’t think he’ll talk about being a part of them,” Anna assumes. “Ryan said he wanted to forget it!”       “And he’s determined about it.”       “Ryan even decided to change his last name to stop being associated with the people, who treated him like a mat.”       “Really?” Daniel frowns slightly. “So, was Ryan serious?”       “He said it when he visited us one day,” Maximilian confesses.       “He visited you?”       “Yes. He looked very scared and hesitant… Looked at us with guilt. He was ashamed of what he wasn’t guilty of. He's ashamed of everything Norman and Julian did.”       “Is he guilty of having the brother and the father, who did such terrible things? Ryan doesn’t have to do with it. He wasn’t a part of their tricks and shouldn’t pay for the actions of those people.”       “We told him about it,” Lillian replies with sadness in her eyes. “But the boy was afraid to look into our eyes. Yes, maybe, he got better, but not quite. However, I don’t exclude that he will forget it after changing his last name.”       “Anyway, nobody will blame him for anything. Neither you nor the friends of Anna and me.”       “He knows everything.”       “By the way, what last name does Ryan want to accept?”       “Clayton, the maiden name of his late mother,” Anna replies quietly.       “I was sure he’d take her last name,” Maximilian says confidently. “And I was sure that Ryan wouldn’t wish to be Potter after what his family did. He will never forgive them and will easily strike them out of his life.”       “Anyway, he needs friends,” Lillian expresses hope. “People, to whom he’d speak quietly about everything, and who wouldn’t blame him for what his family did, even if someone knew about it.”       “The men and I would be happy if he wanted to speak to us,” Daniel says with a slight smile. “Every one of us would be happy to give Ryan a chance to befriend us.”       “He’d like you to do it,” Anna smiles shyly. “And he’s sure that we’ll not accept him as Ryan Potter, the son of Norman Potter and the brother of Julian Potter. We’ll accept him as Ryan Clayton, the son of Genevieve Clayton, who always loved him with all her heart and never treated him like a mat.”       “We would be happy to try to befriend him.”       “Excellent!” Maximilian notices with a shy smile. “His life can’t be focused only on his studies. He needs to relax and spend time with his friends. And of course, fall in love and meet girls.”       “Ryan would forget about his studies for a while with pleasure,” Anna assumes. “He just has nobody to spend time with.”       “But now he has a perfect chance to have some rest,” Lillian says with a slight smile. “And I’m sure that he will use it for sure.”       After sharing a slight smile with each other, everybody falls into silence, and Lillian and Maximilian drink some coffee from their cups.       “Oh, thank God, life is getting better,” Lillian exhales with relief. “I think I never felt such a great relief that I feel now.”       “I agree,” Daniel agrees with a slight smile. “I feel much better, too. Though, I still can’t believe it.”       “It’s your merit, Daniel. If you’d folded your hands and waited for things out, you would’ve solved nothing.”       “Without the help of my close people, I would’ve hardly gotten over half of what happened.”       “Don’t say it, Daniel,” Maximilian says amicably. “You’re a strong man. In all senses. And you have a great sense of purpose: if you want something, you will get it. No matter how hard it is.”       “Again, I wouldn’t have done it without my close people. Their support helped me overcome what happened.”       “Anyway, it’s mainly your merit,” Anna smiles shyly.       “Sometimes we need to make some efforts to make our wishes come true,” Daniel notices.       “You made very many efforts,” Maximilian replies confidently. “Not only for getting forgiveness from my daughter, but also for getting love and respect from Lillian and me.”       “Thanks, Mr. Seymour…”       “Oh…” Lilian sighs quietly, takes Daniel’s hands, and smiles shyly at him. “You know, Daniel… We were unfair to you… It hurts that Maximilian and I didn’t even want to try to get to know you better. And we started to say that you weren’t a good partner for our daughter.”       “Mrs. Seymour…”       “We are truly sorry about treating you like that when everything started happening between you two. That was wrong. Wrong to listen to the people, who knew nothing about you and made conclusions just because you were not a familiar of our friends and close people.”       “I completely understand it,” Daniel replies softly. “As loving parents, you wanted your daughter to have a good life. You can’t be judged for that.”       “But the meaning of a good life was different to us,” Maximilian confesses. “Money, status, contacts, and power… That was what we called a good life. And that was what we wished for Anna. Our opinion was similar to the Potters’ one: feelings aren’t important, but wealth decides everything. We thought so because we never felt that feeling. We never felt true love. We didn’t know how good it was. We just realized that we missed it for our whole life.”       “But we’re glad that our daughter is lucky and will not suffer because of a lack of love,” Maximilian adds. “Not getting love and warmth from their parents, many people become evil and lock their feelings away. But Anna didn’t do. Living where everybody, saying softly, gave a damn about her feelings, she managed to remain a kind and sweet girl, who had love and tenderness in her heart.”       “We were under the pressure of everybody: our parents, our familiars, the Potters, who didn’t need Anna to speak to you.”       “Listening to the older people and obeying them, we didn’t hear Anna and wanted to know nothing about what she wanted,” Lillian adds. “But our daughter refused to obey and decided to fight for her love by moving into your house without permission. If we’d found her quickly, we would’ve punished our daughter cruelly. But now we’re very happy it happened. We would’ve made a great mistake if we had made her do what she didn’t want and forced her to forget about her ‘I want’ and ‘I don’t want’ and silently obey older people. Who don’t always know what would be better.”       “Anna and I know well that you did it for the best of your daughter,” Daniel replies amicably. “You just wanted her to live well and not to know what a lack of something was. Any parent wants the same for their child.”       “But it almost led to a catastrophe,” Maximilian notices with sadness in his eyes. “We were unconsciously pushing our daughter to the hole. Her father, her mother, and anyone else wouldn’t have saved her. If Anna had become a part of the Potters, her life would’ve turned to hell. They would’ve mocked her in all possible ways and brought her to death.”       “Father, please, don’t say that you and Mother are guilty…” Anna begs with pity in her eyes.       “We’re really guilty of you, daughter,” Lillian says with wet eyes, taking Anna’s hands. “Your mother and father almost killed you. They could’ve lost the only happiness in their lives.”       “Mom, stop. I’m asking you…”       “This story turned everything upside down,” Maximilian says thoughtfully. “Your mother and I looked at many things differently. And now we understand that we were stupid people when trying to give you the life we want. When we didn’t care about your opinion because you were a kid.”       “And we looked at Daniel differently,” Lillian adds confidently. “We wouldn’t have thought this man would be much better than we wanted. He is far from Potter thanks to his kindness, honesty, loyalty, and politeness. These features are real, not false. When Daniel is mad, he is really mad. When he loves, he loves with all his heart. When he hates, he madly hates. He doesn’t aim to be the one people want to see him and remains himself.”       “I don’t like falsehood and would rather tell the truth than have someone wrapped around my finger and lie with no shame,” Daniel explains shyly.       “That’s one of the reasons why we love you so much. Guys like you are a really rare thing nowadays. A real gem. My daughter is madly lucky to get this treasure. We can be quiet about her if she is with you.”       “Thanks, I’m glad I didn’t disappoint you,” Daniel smiles shyly.       “We’re so lucky you agreed to help us save our daughter from the Potters,” Maximilian says confidently. “Even despite the conflict with Anna, you promised to do your best to give her a quiet life. Thanks to you, my daughter is alive and healthy and sitting with us now.”       “Now I’m grateful to you for making me accept his help,” Anna confesses with a wide smile. “Who knows what would’ve happened if I’d refused to hear and see Daniel. If I hadn’t had the people, who let me know that it would be better for me.”       “In this case, we would’ve done it, no matter what you thought,” Lillian confesses. “Your life was at stake, and we couldn’t risk it.”       “And I’m so happy it happened. I’m glad you understood that my wedding with one of the Potter brothers would’ve been the end of my life.”       “Aw, sweetie, we’re so ashamed of insisting upon it,” Lilian sighs heavily.       “We’re ashamed of not being good parents for you,” Maximilian adds with sadness in his eyes, taking Anna’s hands. “Especially, me.”       “Gosh, Dad, what are you talking about?” Anna wonders.       “I was a terrible father, honey. Because I couldn’t see those sighs for help that you gave me when that stinker was torturing you shamelessly. I’m really ashamed of noticing nothing and dooming you to suffering by making you spend a lot of time with that bastard.”       “Don’t blame yourself, Dad,” Anna says softly. “You didn’t know what he was and thought he was good for half of your life.”       “No, daughter, we actually thought he was suspicious, but we tried not to show it,” Lilian confesses with sadness in her eyes. “Though we didn’t think Julian could do such terrible things. We believed a good person was hidden underneath a cold appearance that could cause fear. But we were deeply wrong…”       “There’s no meaning in regretting the mistakes we made. I forgave Julian and Mr. Potter and decided that they should’ve paid for their tricks.”       “We’re really regretting it. I didn’t give you as much love and care as I should’ve given when you needed it so badly. Even if I was shaking at the thought that I could’ve lost you after giving birth, it didn’t make me tender.”       “Mom, please…”       “When being a child, you didn’t know what caress of parents for a reason or without was. The only thing you could get for your merits was something like, ‘Well done, daughter! You’re so talented and smart!’ That’s all! That was our attention. Though you needed it so badly. I know you were terribly upset when your mother and father didn’t come to you to hug, kiss, or tell you something nice.”       “Maybe, I really wanted much more love and caress…” Anna confesses thoughtfully with sadness in her half-wet eyes. “And sometimes we argued over misunderstandings. We weren’t as close as I wanted. But it didn’t change my love for my parents. This love is selfless. I love both of you for nothing. Because you raised me.”       “We’re very sorry about not giving you enough attention.”       “Anyway…” Anna looks at Lillian and Maximilian with a slight smile, wiping tears under her eyes. “I’m grateful to you for educating me. I have no regret about what I am now. And I’m proud to have such wonderful parents. Despite nothing, I’ll always love you. You’re my mother and father. And it will never change.”       “We could’ve been much better if we hadn’t listened to what the old people told us,” Lillian sighs quietly. “But alas… A person often realizes their mistakes too late. We just recently exhaled with relief. We recently got a chance to control our lives and do what we want.”       “Without the older people, you wouldn’t have become such amazing parents. Despite that kind of harsh education, they made you worthy people.”       “Are you trying to find good things in everything?” Maximilian smiles shyly.       “And I find them even in the story of the Potters. For example, we got much closer to each other. And you finally understood that Daniel isn’t as bad as you thought.”       “He is the treasure that you must appreciate and care about,” Lillian replies confidently. “You will never find the second one.”       “No, no, for God’s sake! I will no longer make this stupidest mistake.” Anna presses herself close to Daniel with a wide smile and grabs his arm, not stopping to look at him cutely, while he gives her a shy smile and a tender look, locking his fingers with the fingers of her free hand. “One time was enough for me to realize what kind of treasure I could’ve lost.”       “With him, you’ll always be safe and surrounded by love and care,” Maximilian smiles widely. “Daniel will surely do his best for you to live like a queen and feel beloved and imitable.”       “I am ready for anything to see her smile and shining eyes,” Daniel replies confidently with a slight smile, hugging Anna around the shoulders. “I need to know that Anna has everything she dreams about. If she doesn’t have something, I will give my everything to make her dream come true.”       “I think she has everything she wants, judging her happy smile and shining eyes that make us so happy,” Lillian smiles shyly. “We’ve never seen Anna much happier.”       “Because I’m really happy,” Anna assures with a wide smile, pressing herself cutely to Daniel. “Next to the man, who I love.”       “And who loves you,” Maximilian adds confidently. “Now I see the real happiness in his eyes. He kind of got the strength.”       “And how he looks at you, m-m-m-m!” Lillian admires truly, glancing at the hands of Anna and Daniel locked together. “I didn’t meet those, who would look at someone they love so tenderly. You two kind of got the strength by coming back to each other.”       “That’s right,” Daniel smiles widely. “I just needed to come back to Anna to get peace and happiness. I didn’t ask for anything unreal. Just wanted to have my beloved girl next to me.”       “And we hope that nothing will ruin your happiness,” Maximilian expresses hope. “Lillian and I raise our hands up for you. We will not ruin your happiness and tell you how to live. But if you ask us for a piece of advice, we will surely find a solution to your problem.”       “Even if we have to run into a problem, we’ll solve it together,” Anna promises confidently. “I will do my best to become the girl that my man has always wanted. I’ll do my best not to make him regret choosing me.”       “No, my sunshine, Daniel will never regret it,” Lillian laughs quietly. “Your man literally cleans up your feet.”       “I can’t refuse to show my care for her and defend her like a child,” Daniel replies shyly.       “We trust you,” Maximilian smiles widely. “I’m sure you’ll take care of her much better than her mother and father.”       “Dad, don’t say it,” Anna says softly. “You and Mother cared about me wonderfully.”       “Your man really takes care of you better than your father and I, daughter,” Lillian notices shyly. “You needed caress and love, and Daniel gave it to you.”       “Every one of you took care and take care of me in a different good way. Everybody just had their own opinions on it.”       “Anyway…” Maximilian pronounces thoughtfully. “Your mother and I want to ask you for forgiveness for not giving you enough attention and telling you not to go against us.”       “And we especially want to apologize to you, Daniel,” Lillian adds with sadness in her eyes. “Forgive Maximilian and me for treating you terribly and not approving your meetings with our daughter. We are very sorry about not even trying to get to know you better. And we did a bad thing by running to you when our daughter was in trouble.”       “Yes. When everything was fine, we didn’t accept you. But when we got problems, you became a good man. Maybe, it insulted you to some extent, and you were mad at us for creeping up to you on our knees when we could’ve lost our child.”       “Mrs. Seymour, Mr. Seymour, please, don’t apologize to me,” Daniel says quietly. “I’ve never been angry at you and didn’t think about it. But I’m very happy you accepted me and realized that I wasn’t so bad. I’m glad we found a common language.”       “And don’t apologize to me,” Anna says confidently. “I can’t and don’t wanna judge anyone. Let’s forget that misunderstanding and be friends. I’m not mad at you, and Daniel didn’t think about it. So, you can be absolutely quiet.”       “So, do you agree to give us a chance to live in peace and love with you?” Lillian asks with hope.       “I’ve personally lived in love and peace with you from the beginning,” Daniel smiles shyly.       “And I’ve never meant to start a war with you,” Anna says with a wide smile.       Maximilian and Lillian get up from the sofa and take Anna in their touching hugs by one. While the woman caresses her daughter’s head and kisses her on the cheek, sniffing quietly and often blinking to get rid of the tears that make her vision a little worse, the man hugs Daniel amicably and claps him on the back.       “Take care of my daughter,” Maximilian says, stepping back from Daniel. “And take care of her like a real man.”       “With me, she will be as happy as she has never been,” Daniel promises confidently, raising his head proudly.       “And don’t make any stupid mistakes that might have a great cost. If you betray my daughter again, you will hardly get her back. And Lillian and I will not believe you deserve to be with Anna.”       “I would bet my arm if I made that mistake again. Though, I’m ready to bet my head!”       “Don’t do it. You will need it.”       “Anyway, I will not betray Anna.”       “I believe you, Daniel. Do what you think is right to make her happy. Her mother and father are giving our daughter in the trustworthy hands and aren’t afraid to leave her with you.”       “Thanks for the trust, Mr. Seymour.”       “And yeah, here’s my advice. Hug my daughter as often as possible. She loves it very much. The girl lacked hugs so badly, and she appreciates them a little more than nice words.”       “Alright, I will remember,” Daniel nods confidently.       At this moment, Lillian comes to Daniel and hugs him amicably with a wide smile and wet eyes full of happiness.       “Don’t forget about the promises you gave us,” Lillian says. “Try not to disappoint us and our daughter and to make her happy.”       “I will do my best to be the best version of myself,” Daniel promises with a slight smile, stepping back from Lillian.       “You better be yourself. This is the most wonderful way to be the best version of you.”       “I want people to love the real me, not the image that I created. Me is me. Daniel.”       “Wonderful words. You think like a very smart and wise man.”       “I try to fit the family of my girlfriend,” Daniel smiles shyly.       Lillian hugs Daniel again with a shy laugh and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek with him. While Anna and Maximilian watch them for a few seconds and then turn on each other.       “Don’t forget to take care of your man,” Maximilian advises, caressing Anna’s cheeks. “You should take and give.”       “I’m gonna take care of him like my child,” Anna promises, folding her hands in front of herself. “The baby that will always live inside Daniel. Who needs permanent care and a lot of love.”       “Remember, Anna, seeing that you answer him back and knowing you appreciate his efforts is important to him.”       “He does know it well. But I will not get sick of reminding him that I appreciate everything he does for me.”       “I think you know what to do. So, I will just wish you luck and say I always want to see you as happy and smiling as you are now.”       “It will happen, Dad, I promise,” Anna smiles widely. “Now I have a lot of reasons to be happy.”       Maximilian caresses Anna’s cheeks with a wide smile and kisses her tenderly on the forehead, holding her face in his hands. And then the man hugs his daughter touchingly, and she answers it with great pleasure.       “I love you, sunshine,” Maximilian says softly.       “I love you, too, Daddy,” Anna replies quietly. “Very much!”       Anna kisses Maximilian on the cheek with a wide smile and stays in his arms for two more seconds before Lillian comes to them and takes her daughter’s hands.       “Be happy, sweetie,” Lillian wishes with tears in her eyes. “Your mother will always be by your side and come to help you shortly.”       “I know, Mom,” Anna smiles shyly and sniffs quietly, feeling she is ready to cry. “I know…”       “But your father and I are going to insist on something for your best. If you wish to get married someday, you will only get married to Daniel. We will not accept another man!”       “If I put on a wedding dress, I will do it only for the only one. But it only depends on him. I want to insist on nothing. And I’d be madly happy to be next to him as his girlfriend.”       “Enjoy your life and establish your relationship with Daniel. You’re gonna make a long way to forget and forgive everything.”       “I know…”       “Oh… Come to me, sweetheart…” Lillian takes Anna in a hug with a shy smile, caressing her head and kissing her on the temple. “Your mother loves you very much.”       “I love you so much, too, Mommy,” Anna replies softly, not being able to keep her emotions inside and starting to cry quietly.       Daniel watching what’s happening does not hide his wide smile, being truly happy while seeing Anna so happy and smiling. And when the girl hugs her parents, she comes to the man with a wide smile and finds herself in his tender, touching hug, smiling blissfully when feeling the warmth of his body, while his soft hand caresses her head.       “Alright, Lilian and I will better go…” Maximilian says thoughtfully. “We need to go somewhere before it’s too dark.”       “I have no right to hold you,” Daniel replies amicably. “Thanks for coming here.”       “We will not bother you,” Lillian says confidently and smiles mysteriously. “I am sure you have something to do.”       “We’ll think about it…” Anna promises shyly.       “And yeah, if you want, you can stay here for a night without warning,” Maximilian says amicably. “We don’t mind it.”       “We will see it, Daddy.”       “Alright, my dears, we’re leaving you alone,” Lillian says with a slight smile, taking her purse from the table. “Stay happy…”       “I will walk you out,” Daniel says.       Maximilian and Lillian say goodbye to Anna and Daniel and go to the exit along with the man, while the girl watches them with a shy smile, folding her hands in front of herself. Perkins opens the hall door and lets the girl’s parents leave his house. Then he closes it, looks into the distance for two seconds, and smiles widely, understanding that he is going to have a whole evening to spend with his sweetheart. Then Daniel returns to the living room with his head proudly raised and spread shoulders, while Anna comes to the table placed near the stairs and takes a small thing that she wraps in her hands with a slight smile on her face. But when the man comes to her from behind, hugs her around the waist with both arms, and rubs his cheek against hers, she pays attention to him.       “Is this thing so interesting?” Daniel asks with a slight smile.       “It’s just really beautiful,” Anna replies shyly and places this thing in its place.       “I can gift it to you if you want.”       “No, thanks. May it be here.”       “Okay. But if you change your mind, you can take it.”       “You better think of something different…” Anna smiles mysteriously. “What are we gonna do for the rest of the evening?”       “I’d be just happy to be with you,” Daniel replies confidently with a wide smile. “But I’d listen to your suggestions with pleasure. And take a note about them…”       Daniel kisses Anna cutely on the cheek, still hugging her from behind and pressing her to himself. But two seconds later, the girl turns on the man with a slight smile.       “We will be together,” Anna says confidently. “Did you think I’d miss a chance to spend time with you?”       “Obviously, no, princess,” Daniel purrs quietly. “I was sure that you’d stay.”       “What if I didn’t stay?”       “I would’ve insisted!”       “You’re stubborn!”       “You wouldn’t have rejected such a wonderful idea.”       “We could hardly do something if someone else wanted to come here.”       “Don’t worry, nobody will come,” Daniel replies confidently. “Your parents left for their business, my neighbors have something to do, and the girls are busy with the men. They won’t surely remember about us, at least until tomorrow.”       “Yeah, poor men,” Anna chuckles kindly. “The girls were so mad at them, and Sammy was barking at them constantly.”       “I think these pretty boys can now agree with the girls and the long-eared hooligan. Your friends will not be able to resist the strong charms of my brothers.”       “Yeah, you all are good at that!”       “Well, I will not have to agree with you.” Daniel presses Anna softly to himself, puts his arms around her waist, and rubs his nose cutely against the tip of her nose. “Because you’ve got no reason to be mad and jealous of me.”       “Well…” Anna shyly laughs and smiles mysteriously. “I don’t even know…”       “Don’t tell me you’re also still jealous and mad at me!”       “Maybe…” Anna softly steps back from Daniel and looks at him with a sly smile. “Maybe… May… Be…”       “But, beautiful…” Daniel whines quietly, caresses Anna’s cheek tenderly, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “My beloved princess…”       “Don’t rush, sweetheart,” Anna purrs, moves Daniel’s hand off her face with a mysterious smile, and caresses it softly. “Don’t rush…”       “Are you teasing me?”       “No. I'm just telling you to hold yourself down.”       “Would you refuse the love and care of your beloved man so easily?” Daniel asks in a low and nice voice with a mysterious smile.       “What I can do!” Anna pronounces playfully.       “C’mon, sweetie, don’t play hard-to-reach.” Daniel hugs Anna around the waist again with both arms and gives her a short kiss on the lips and corners of her mouth with a wide smile. “Would you dare to torture me for a little longer? And struggle with your affection for such an irresistible man like me…”       “Maybe, I would,” Anna replies in a low voice.       When Daniel wants to give her a cute kiss on the cheek, Anna puts two fingers on his mouth and runs them softly over his lips, looking at him with a sly, careful look.       “You won’t do this,” Daniel says confidently.       “Don’t be so self-confident,” Anna advises.       “Relax, baby.” Daniel grabs Ann by the waist with both hands. “I know what to do.”       “You know, pretty boy…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully with a sly smile, sticking her breasts out proudly. “What if I really torture you a little? For your bad behavior.”       “Is my behavior so bad?” Daniel asks quietly, getting close enough to Anna and letting his forehead contact her forehead.       “Very bad, my sweetie. Very bad.”       “Maybe, you won’t punish me?”       “I will, sweetie, I will.”       “What if we agree?” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheeks with both hands and runs his lips tenderly over her forehead.       “Agree?” Anna frowns slightly. “With you?”       “I would do anything for my only one.”       “You say, only one…” Anna steps back from Daniel with a sly smile, runs her hand over his hair, and caresses his cheek softly, but grabs him by the collar two seconds later and presses him to herself, looking into his eyes confidently. “By the way, you made me nervous while that shameless, insolent gal harassed you.”       “My sweetie…” Daniel pronounces with a guilty look. “You know that I was dreaming of getting away with her and hugging and kissing you at last.”       “Yeah? I don’t think so!”       “What?” Daniel rounds his eyes.       “You were too true in playing that role. And… I was really afraid that I’d lose my sweetheart. And be alone.”       “It seemed to you, beauty.” Daniel caresses Anna’s face with both hands with a shy smile. “I would’ve gone crazy if I hadn’t thought of you every time that girl felt me up from head to foot.”       “There were moments when you acted very truly.”       “I had no choice. But now everything ended. And I’m finally able to make my beloved girl happy. My true love…”       Daniel kisses Anna on the cheek with a wide smile and leaves a tender kiss on the curve of her neck. The girl smiles shyly with a feeling that goosebumps run over her body, but she steps back shyly from the man at some moment.       “Nevertheless…” Anna pronounces confidently and, blinking her eyelashes innocently, fixes the collar of Daniel’s blazer. “I was super nervous because of you.”       “I know, princess…” Daniel replies with sadness in his eyes and caresses Anna’s head. “I’m really very sorry.”       “It was so hurtful for me to watch that girl hugging and kissing you.” Anna crosses her arms over her chest. “That bitch thought she had the right to feel everything about you up! And she was happy when seeing you answer her back. While I watched all of that and choked with terrible jealousy.”       “I was terribly ashamed of you at that moment. I apologized to you a million times for having to tolerate all of that.”       “Sometimes I doubted. I doubted that you… Would keep your promise and… Wish to be with me.”       “No, don’t say it, sweetheart.”       “I didn’t believe you until you revealed yourself. After this, I calmed down a little. But I kept being nervous when that girl harassed you anyway.”       “I swear, Anna, that was the last time you saw something like that,” Daniel promises confidently, grabs Anna’s face, and caresses the curves of her neck with his fingertips. “No girl will dare to harass me. I will immediately reject her and say confidently that I have a beloved girl, whom I will not exchange with anyone.”       “I had to apply a lot of effort not to show myself earlier, pull her hair out, and let her know that she had no right to get stuck on you. Call herself your girlfriend, your wife… The mother of a child that has never existed.”       “I’m very sorry for what happened.”       “I think… I was never so mad before. Nobody made as irritated as that insolent gal.”       “Believe me, sweetie, I would tear anyone to get stuck on you.” Daniel takes Anna in his strong hug and presses her close to his chest, caressing the girl’s head. “If I see any man harass you, he will immediately regret it.”       “I don’t need anyone but you.”       “And I will not exchange you with any other girl.”       “Really?”       “Really, princess.” Daniel kisses Anna cutely on the top of her head. “I’m very sorry about what you had to see, and I'm asking you for forgiveness with all my heart. I promise it will no longer happen.”       “I’m not mad at you,” Anna smiles shyly and puts her arms around the small of Daniel’s back. “You didn’t get stuck on her. You didn’t touch all of her good and bad places.”       “I know, but I’m ready to apologize a thousand times for the actions of that psycho, who made me really sick.”       “It’s okay, Daniel, don’t worry.” Anna steps back from Daniel and looks at him with a cute smile. “We did agree that it would be just an act that we needed to play time.”       “I wanna forget all of that and never come back to this.”       “Sure. I promise I will reproach you for nothing.”       “Let’s think it was a scene from a movie?” Daniel suggests with a shy smile. “You just saw a scene where my character kissed and hugged an actress.”       “But… I must confess that you prepared for this role very well. You showed your emotions so truly… You spoke and did it confidently enough. Not saying about a couple of moments.”       “Maybe…” Daniel pronounces with his head proudly raised.       “Did you ask Terrence to give you a couple of lessons of an act two days ago?” Anna hits Daniel playfully on his forearm. “Huh, pretty boy? Confess!”       “Why do I get Terrence’s lessons?” Daniel chuckles kindly. “I believe I did it perfectly without lessons from the pale-faced. And I could compete with him for the title of the best actor.”       “It would be an epic competition,” Anna laughs shyly.       “In which you would support me.” Daniel grabs Anna’s face with both hands with a wide smile and kisses her cutely on the forehead, cheeks, and the tip of her nose, while she laughs shyly. “Right, my shoot of the sunlight?”       “My duty is to support my man in everything he does,” Anna replies with a shy smile.       “I didn’t doubt your answer,” Daniel whispers in Anna’s ear and runs his lips slowly over Anna’s hair falling off her shoulders.       Daniel hugs Anna tightly, presses her to himself, puts his arms around her waist, gives the girl a couple of tender kisses on her lips that make her heart tremble nicely, rubs the tip of his nose against the curve of her neck, and leaves a couple of short kisses on it. It makes the green-eyed beauty laugh shyly and breathe a little heavier.       “Damn, it’s so good when you can hug and kiss your sweetheart,” Daniel purrs in a low, bedroom voice with a shy smile, running his half-open lips over the curve of Anna’s neck. “How much I missed these moments… How much I wanted to press you to myself and kiss you…”       “Are you gonna disarm me for a few seconds?” Anna asks in a hoarse voice with a mysterious smile.       “I’m just doing what you like. What’s gonna give you no chance very soon.”       Running his warm hand tenderly over the temple of his sweetheart to the curve of her neck, Daniel kisses Anna on the cheek and leaves cute and tender kisses on the area behind her ear, close to her neck. It makes her feel a sweet tension somewhere in her abdomen and a wish to close her eyes.       “Quiet, Daniel, quiet,” Anna pronounces quietly with a sly smile. “Hold yourself down.”       “Why?” Daniel wonders and runs his lips over Anna’s ear, while his hands slide slowly over the curves of her waist. “I have the right to show love for my girlfriend. And nobody will ban me from this.”       “M-m-m, how sassy you are…” Anna steps back from Daniel and looks at him with a challenge. “You aren’t afraid that it might play an evil joke with you.”       “Confidence has never betrayed anyone.” Daniel leaves a couple of kisses on the curve of Anna’s neck, running one hand over her back and putting another hand on her thigh. “Besides, I know what you’re gonna love.”       “You know, sweetie, I thought a little…” Anna says thoughtfully with a sly smile, stroking Daniel’s hair down and fixing the shoulders of his blazer. “And… I decided to kick you. Let you know that joking with me is bad.”       “But I did apologize for what the foreigner did!”       “It’s not enough for me! I wanna do something that you would not forget even if you lost your memory again.”       “No, beautiful, I will not forget you even if I want it.”       “What if…” Anna starts walking slowly in circles in front of Daniel. “What if I give you a little punishment and… For example… Ban you from getting closer and touching me?”       “What?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “Ban?”       “You’d have no right to touch me, but I would have a lot of fun and feel you up…”       “No…” Daniel shakes his head confidently with a sly smile. “You will not do this. It would be too cruel. I suffered enough.”       “Well, you’ll suffer for a little longer.”       “No, Anna, don’t do this…” Daniel comes to Anna from behind and presses her to himself, snuggling his nose into her shoulder. “Please… Pity me…”       “So, Perkins, are you scared?” Anna chuckles.       “Would you dare to deprive me of pleasure?” Daniel runs his half-open mouth tenderly over the nape of Anna’s neck, keeping his hand on her belly.       “M-m-m, I would do.” Anna steps back from Daniel softly, turns on him, and grabs his face with a mysterious smile. “You violated one of the most important rules of the man – not to hurt a girl. Those, who violate it, run into terrible consequences.”       “But I thought I had already made amends.”       “Not quite, honey. Not quite.”       “Maybe, you won’t do it?”       “I will do! But I’ve just come up with an idea of setting the rule, according to which you are not allowed to hug and kiss me.”       “No… It would be unbearable for me.”       “It’s okay, you will wait.” Anna brings her face close to Daniel’s face, feeling his little heavy breath. “I think one month would be enough for you to learn the lesson.”       “What?” Daniel opens his eyes full of horror widely. “Month? One month?”       “Just four weeks of seven days.”       “Erm… C-come on, beautiful! I will not survive it! I spent one and a half months without you and almost went crazy from loneliness. From a lack of your hugs and kisses.”       “Aw, how tender you are…” Anna laughs kindly. “It’s been one and a half months, but you’re whining.”       “My Anna can’t be so cruel.” Daniel runs the back of his hand over Anna’s cheek. “My princess is very tender and sweet.”       “You know your Anna badly. She may be a sweet cat purring on the laps of its owner. But also a heartless tiger that can be stopped by nothing.”       “Please, sweetheart, don’t do this to me…” Daniel whines with pity and presses Anna close to himself, grabbing her by the curves of her waist, over which he runs his hands. “I felt so bad without you…”       “But it’s gonna be a good lesson for you,” Anna, grabbing Daniel’s face, gives him a little assertive kiss on the lips, breaks it two seconds later, and kisses the man on the tip of his nose. “Which is gonna make you remember that I’m not gonna share my man with any other gal.”       “I’ve already learned it. And I will no longer make my little girl disappointed.”       “I prefer to believe.” Anna caresses Daniel’s lips with her thumb and goes two steps back from him. “But it’s not enough for me. I demand a much harsher punishment.”       “Wouldn’t I even get a kiss on my cheek?” Daniel asks with pity in his eyes, pointing his finger at his cheek.       “Nope! No kisses!”       “But I love kissing you so badly…” Daniel caresses Anna’s ear with his lips and kisses tenderly the area behind it, breathing on it with hot and cold air and seeing that the girl shakes, and her skin gets covered with goosebumps. “I’d survive anything except a life without kisses and hugs of my beloved girl.”       “I know nothing,” Anna smiles innocently.       “Please, baby…” Daniel tucks a strand of Anna’s hair behind her ear with his poured mouth and runs the back of his hand tenderly over her cheek. “I was waiting for this magical moment for too long.”       “It’s so naive to believe I’ll give up after getting my cheeks caressed and my neck kissed.”       “You’re my good girl,” Daniel looks into Anna’s eyes much more confidently. “I got a shy and obedient girl from a good family.”       “Stop playing with your eyes, pretty boy,” Anna says with her head proudly raised. “Of course, they’re charming, but I don’t advise you to count on their magic power this time.”       “No, my eyes have never betrayed me,” Daniel smiles slyly, caressing Anna’s cheeks with both hands. “And you’ve especially never been able to resist them.”       “It’s gonna be different tonight, Perkins,” Anna softly pushes Daniel playfully off herself and puts her hand on his chest, over which she starts running it, feeling how fast his heartbeat gets and how every muscle gets tense. “Maybe, not only tonight but also always.”       “Your ideas are starting to scare me.”       “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna strangle you with your socks and underwear. But nobody’s gonna get you rid of your punishment.”       “Don’t do it, Anna, please…”       “I must confess that I decided to punish you when that shameless gal was here.”       “Can I pay the penalty with the most amazing kisses in your whole life?”       Caressing her neck with his fingertips, Daniel gets close to Anna’s lips and starts caressing them so tenderly that she makes a sensual moan at some moment and presses herself to his body tightly with a feeling of slight dizziness.       “Pay if you want it…” Anna says in a hoarse voice, running her fingers through Daniel’s hair, while he covers her face with kisses. “But it will not help you anyway.”       “I’d stand for any price,” Daniel smiles smugly and pulls softly both of Anna’s lips with a heavy breath. “Just tell me how long I need to drive you crazy with my caresses.”       “Okay, kiss me for the last time. And then get ready to hold yourself down.”       “Never!”       “Stop, Mr. Perkins, from now on, you aren’t categorically allowed to kiss and hug me for one month!”       “No, no, no, don’t do this,” Daniel jabs excitedly. “Please… I don’t want it…”       “One month will be gone quickly, don’t worry.”       “I want you so badly.” Daniel comes closer to Anna and runs his fingers through her hair at the roots, barely touching all the parts of her face. “I wanna feel your smell… Touch you… Kiss you…”       “I get it, but that’s the rule.”       “Ah, baby… Did you forget the name of my band? ‘Against The System!’ Against the system! As a true rebel, I follow this rule. I don’t care about rules and stereotypes.”       Daniel only leaves a couple of teasing kisses on the curve of Anna’s neck, running his hands over her waist and thighs, before she makes him step away from her and puts her finger on the lips of the surprised man with a quiet “Sh-h-h,” as if she tells him to get cool.       “Hey, hey, quiet,” Anna says in a low voice with a sly smile. “I understand that the image of a bad boy is preferable to you. But your tricks will not work this time.”       “I just started my operation of seducing my baby.” Daniel, holding Anna’s face, leaves a few kisses on the curve of the lady’s neck and the front of it, chuckling smugly when he hears a quiet, sensual moan from the girl. “We just need a little bit of patience and some time. And then you will be begging me to take you.”       “I can’t be bought with beautiful eyes, nice words, and dizzying kisses,” Anna says confidently in a low voice.       “Wait, baby. Soon, you will only think about me giving you pleasure.”       “My decision is out of the discussion!”       “I hear nothing!” Daniel gives Anna a continuous kiss on the lips with a quiet, heavy breath. “Nothing…”       “Hey, hey, you’re violating the rules!” Anna breaks the kiss and pushes Daniel off softly, so that he lets her go. “I did say you weren't allowed to touch or kiss me! You can only watch!”       “Please, sweetheart…” Daniel moans with pity in his eyes. “I can’t live if I don’t kiss and hug you!”       “You lived during amnesia somehow.”       “I felt very bad. Though, I didn’t understand why. But when I got my memory back, I realized I lacked your caresses.”       “At that time, you had someone to get better with.”       When Anna turns around and wants to go aside, Daniel comes to her shortly from behind, hugs her tightly, nuzzles her shoulder for a moment, and kisses tenderly the area behind her ear.       “I’d prefer to be all alone than have time with that crazy lady,” Daniel says in a low voice and runs his lips slowly over Anna’s auricle and the curve of her neck, while she feels that her heart misses a beat.       “Violating the rule would lead to a cruel punishment!” Anna says harshly, doing her best to pretend that she does not care.       “Which?” Daniel smiles slyly, running his fingertips over Anna’s neck and feeling her fast heartbeat immediately.       “Erm… I… I dunno! I haven’t thought it up! I can’t think… While…” Anna exhales powerlessly. “You’re here…”       “Don’t waste time on stupid things, beautiful,” Daniel pronounces in a low voice, letting his arms wrap around Anna’s waist and starting to caress her hips and belly confidently and tenderly, as he sniffs the smell of her soft skin and breathes on the curve of the girl’s neck, the nape of it, or the area behind her ear with hot and cold air.       “Oh, damn…” Anna moans blissfully and sticks her breasts out, while every single part of her body shakes strongly. “Damn…”       “I know, princess, I know.” Daniel leaves a kiss on the curve of Anna’s neck and the nape of it, while his hands caress her shoulders and forearms, and she swallows up nervously and breathes heavily and deeply. “Ah, Anna… My green-eyed beauty…”       “It’s okay…” Anna pronounces in a little hoarse voice, rolls her eyes, and closes them. “It’s okay, I will end it… End…”       “Yeah?” Daniel wonders, running his fingertips over the front of Anna’s neck. “Do you think it’s possible to be indifferent when you’re next to such an attractive beauty and not to pay attention to her?”       “Well, think that I’m super mad and don’t wanna see you. Or that I may give you a slap in the face if you dare to kiss me and insolently start to feel me up.”       “If you do this again, you will wake up a stronger fire inside me and make me want you much more.”       “Well, I will keep the fire for one month.”       “Is the pay for what I did going to be so high?”       “Next time, you will think much better before letting a bitch jump in your bed.”       “Maybe, there's a chance to get mercy?”       Daniel moves Anna’s hair on her shoulder, leaves a couple of kisses on the curve of her neck that he has not covered with the prints of his lips yet, and runs his half-open mouth over it slowly, making her whine from the tormenting tension in her abdomen.       “Ple-e-e-ease, baby…” Daniel moans with pity in his eyes, caresses the nape of Anna’s neck, and puts his hand between her scapula. “Don’t torture me…”       “A chance to get mercy?” Anna smiles mysteriously, biting her bottom lip slightly.       “Give me a few minutes, so I can drive you crazy.” Daniel kisses tenderly the area behind Anna’s ear, which he caresses with his lips, while his hands confidently slide over the curves of her waist and her tense belly. “Your body is gonna bend after one touch of my finger. My voice is gonna make your skin get covered with goosebumps. And a look into my eyes will make you obey me.”       “As you see, you can’t do this so far.”       “It’s okay, I don’t rush. I’m ready to kiss and caress your whole body until the morning.”       Daniel keeps leaving very tender kisses on all the parts of Anna’s face, giving special attention to the super sensitive areas. At some moment, he gives her a continuous kiss on the lips, to which she answers powerlessly, pleasing the man’s ear with her quiet, sensual sighs and giving herself to this sweet, eternal pleasure that gets through every single cell of her shaking body.       “And yeah…” Daniel smiles slyly and runs his finger over Anna’s hair, while his second hand caresses the lady’s belly. “What if there’s no punishment? What if you just decided to play with me?”       “My main goal is making you whine like a hungry dog and die from a wish to touch me,” Anna says confidently and shakes when Daniel kisses her tenderly on the area behind her ear.       “Okay, try. Make me whine.” Daniel runs his fingertips over the curve of Anna’s neck and brings his face to her ear with a wish to say something. “Make me wish to tear these clothes on you. Which irritate me a little, to be honest.”       Daniel kisses Anna on the lips again, caresses them, squeezes, and pulls them tenderly but confidently, while the girl sinks her nails into the nape of his neck and runs her free hand slowly over the man’s back up and down, understanding that she is much weaker for the skills of this man. However, when Perkins just caresses her shoulders and arms with a smug smile and kisses her cutely on the cheek, Seymour gets the opportunity to think soberly again.       “So…” Anna pronounces with a sly smile. “Since you’re begging me so hard, I will give you a chance to get forgiveness. But on the condition that you will obey me immediately.”       “Anything for you…” Daniel replies with a heavy breath, kissing Anna on the temple and breathing in the smell of her soft, red, wavy hair. “I’m ready to be your slave… Do anything my princess says.”       “The rules are very simple…” Anna steps back from Daniel and turns on him with a sly smile. “You have no right to touch and kiss me before I give you permission.”       “Interesting… What are you gonna do?”       “I will do anything I want to you. And punish you if you want to stop holding yourself down.”       “You want the impossible, beauty,” Daniel shakes his head. “Impossible! Do you think it’s possible?”       “Don’t worry, sweetie, if you’re a good boy, you’ll like what I’m gonna do…” Anna smiles slyly. “But you’ll like what I’m gonna do if you touch me with a finger.”       “Oh! So, as it turned out, I will…”       “Sh-h-h…” Anna closes Daniel’s mouth softly with her hand. “Be silent. Just silent. Say nothing.”       Looking at Daniel with a mysterious smile, Anna runs her free hand over his chest and caresses his cheek with the one, with which she closed his mouth, while he looks at her closely like charmed.       “You’re playing a dangerous game, babe,” Daniel says confidently. “If you don’t stop it, you will get off me.”       “I will not get off you so easily.”       “M-m-m, as it turned out, my little girl is risky!” Daniel presses Anna to himself, grabbing her by the curves of her waist and caressing her back, while his eyes closely examine the girl’s face. “Very risky…”       “Just relax and think of something good,” Anna moves Daniel’s hands sharply off herself, seeing that his pupils are dilated, and his eyes have some kind of fire. “And don’t loose your hands. Do this later. When I tell you to.”       Anna takes Daniel’s hand with a sly smile, comes to the sofa, and asks him to sit down with her look. He does it obediently, looking at her closely like a loyal dog and being very interested in what the red-haired beauty came up with.       “You know…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully and looks around quickly. “We should add some spice. I have something in my bag.”       Anna comes to her bag placed on one of the sofas, takes a black, silky, light-tight scarf, and ties Daniel’s eyes with it. While he twirls nervously on the sofa with a sly smile and breathes a little heavily, looking forward to something very interesting.       “Hey, whatcha gonna do?” Daniel wonders.       “Don’t worry, honey, you’re gonna love it,” Anna replies in a low, seductive voice, looking at Daniel sitting on the sofa with her head proudly raised. “Just don’t dare to take off the scarf. So, you can feel this moment much better.”       “Great! My girlfriend mocks me at my own home!”       “Don’t be so tense.” Anna brings her face to Daniel’s face and looks at his lips, while one hand of hers slides slowly over his tense torso. “You need to relax enough.”       “Relax?” Daniel resents with a heavy breath. “You’re definitely kidding me!”       “Just enjoy what you feel. And I will do my best for you to feel very good.”       Anna sits down next to Daniel with a slight smile, caresses his face, and strokes his hair with both hands. Due to the tied eyes, the man cannot see the pretty face of his sweetheart, but he feels the smell of her body and her perfume and enjoys the tender touches of the warm, female hands that relax him more and more every second. At some moment, Anna runs her hand confidently over Daniel’s chest and runs her lips slowly over his cheeks and chin, on which she leaves a short kiss. Then she moves close to him and, putting her hand on his cheek, barely touches his lips with her lips, and gets him involved in a continuous kiss, which makes them feel a slight shake and a feeling that their hearts literally stop for a moment. Being deprived of vision, his other organs get two times stronger: the attractive female smell clouds his mind much more, his body shakes much stronger and gets covered with goosebumps, and every sigh and moan of the girl is the reason why his heart misses a beat.       Getting a lot of pleasure from the process of taking control of the situation, Anna does everything very slowly and remains tender and soft at first. But at some moment, she changes her behavior and becomes much freer, driving Daniel crazy with passionate kisses and letting her hand slide confidently over the whole male body, touching which makes her feel hot and make a sensual moan. Despite the ban, the man wants to press his sweetheart to himself when she slowly runs her tongue over his palate, holding his face with both hands. But the girl immediately prevents it, moving the male hands off her waist as she says:       “No, honey.” Anna runs her finger over Daniel’s lips with a sly smile. “It’s a ban.”       Daniel wants to say something, but Anna makes him fall into silence by putting her hand on the back of his head and continuing to caress, pull, and bite the man’s lips. At some moment, the girl puts her hand on the inside of his thigh and makes her boyfriend moan quietly when she slowly runs her tongue around his tongue. Anna does not hide her happiness when seeing how much Daniel suffers without the opportunity to touch her. How nervously he twirls on the sofa, how heavily he is breathing, and how much all his muscles are tense from any kiss and touch of the red-haired girl.       “M-m-m, yeah, good boy,” Anna whispers in Daniel’s ear with a smug smile and runs the tip of her tongue slowly over the area behind it, running her hand underneath his t-shirt. “You can do anything when you want.”       “Oh, damn, Anna…” Daniel pronounces in a hoarse voice, breathing heavily enough. “You’re driving me crazy…”       “Gosh, how handsome you are…” Anna gives Daniel a short kiss on the lips. “Freaking sexy… You make me wish to undress…”       “It would be better if I did it.”       “Hey, don’t get so tense.” Anna runs her hand confidently over Daniel’s stomach underneath his t-shirt. “I don’t do anything bad to you. Don’t hurt you.”       “You’re definitely mocking me…” Daniel exhales sharply, spreading his legs widely and clenching his hands tightly into fists. “You wanna kill me…”       “Hold on, pretty boy,” Anna smiles slyly and gets Daniel involved in a continuous kiss on the lips, during which she works her tongue actively, runs her fingers through his hair, and pulls it slightly. “I haven’t played enough…”       “M-m-m, you smell so nice…” Daniel notices with a peaceful smile, breathing in the sweet smell of the flower perfume that Anna spreads. “So attractive…”       “And you’re freaking hot.” Anna runs her half-open mouth slowly over all the parts of Daniel’s face, leaves a couple of kisses on the area of his ear, which she caresses with her lips, and tickles the curve of his neck with her eyelashes. “So hot that I can’t hold myself down.”       “When being next to a man like me, you can’t even think about anything like that.”       “But I will control it…” Anna pronounces in a low voice, breathing on the curve of Daniel’s neck with hot air. “I will not succumb to this temptation… I want to make you whine…”       “A little bit before I piss all your bans off and do what you will never forget.”       “It’s just the beginning, my lion. Just a warm-up. I’m just recalling how wonderful caressing my beloved hot man is.”       “You’re kidding me!” Daniel exclaims. “It’s like teasing a dog with a fresh, meat bone!”       “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’re gonna feel very good soon. Just don’t be so tense.”       “How do you imagine it?”       “Do you want to get your punishment cancelled?”       “Yeah, but…”       “Shut up and relax, then!” Anna pronounces in a seductive voice, squeezing Daniel’s jaw.       “I wanna touch you! And kiss! And hug!”       “No!” Anna leaves a short kiss on Daniel’s lips and pulls them slightly. “If you do it, you will delay the moment of forgiveness.”       “Can’t I even touch you with a finger?”       “You’ll have a chance to caress me with your finger, hand, and even tongue. Any area you want.”       “Please, sweetheart…” Daniel moans with pity and tries to find Anna’s face by feel. “Where are you? Anna?”       After listening to her heavy breath, Daniel feels Anna’s face, grabs it softly, and leaves a few short kisses from her cheek and chin to the hole in the throat and collar. It turns the girl off for a while and makes her fall into the abyss of incredible pleasure. She moans sensually, feeling her fast heartbeat, which echoes somewhere in her head, and understanding that the tension in her abdomen gets stronger. But she comes to herself quickly enough and bites slightly the skin on the man’s neck. That’s why he shakes slightly and starts laughing.       “Violating rules is bad, Mr. Perkins,” Anna says in a low voice, shaking her head. “Bad.”       “Ah!” Daniel pronounces with enjoyment. “You’re gorgeous, babe! I’m ready to kiss you over and over!”       “Save your skills for a better moment. Now I am giving orders.”       “I can’t wait!” Daniel leaves a couple of short kisses on the curve of the neck of Anna, who bites her lip with closed eyes, trying not to betray herself so hard.       “Hey!” Anna steps back sharply from Daniel. “I said you are not allowed!”       “I don’t know the word ‘stop’!” Daniel smiles slyly. “And I love being a bad guy!”       Daniel buries his face in the curve of Anna’s neck without hesitance, leaves a couple of excited kisses on it, and runs his open mouth over the skin on it, burning this area with his hot breath. She cannot hold down a quiet moan with a feeling that she gets an electrocity through her body. But two seconds later, the girl gets her clear mind back and gives the man another “penalty”, biting tenderly the most sensitive area of the skin on the second curve of his neck.       “Hey!” Daniel laughs shyly.       “Oh, oh, what a bad boy!” Anna clatters quietly, shaking her head with a sly smile. “He went so loose…”       “How long are you gonna torture me?”       “As much as I need for you not to even think of leaving me.”       “I will not leave you, even if you irritate me to death and wash my brain every day.”       “I promise I shall be a very sweet and fluffy animal.” Anna leaves a couple of kisses on the curve of Daniel’s neck, while her hand slides over his torso and ends up on his abdomen, which she caresses with her fingertips. “After I torture you enough.”       “Oh, Anna, you…” Daniel runs his hands over Anna’s forearms with a heavy enough breath and moves them to her thighs and buttocks. “You…”       “Hey!” Anna moves Daniel’s hands softly off herself. “Keep your playful hands with you before I tie them up!”       “Oh, yay! Tie me up! Tie me up, babe!”       “Stop talking, Perkins!” Anna demands confidently, running her hands over Daniel’s torso after getting underneath his t-shirt. “Do what I tell you!”       “Wait, girl, I will kick you…” Daniel pronounces in a low, hoarse voice. “I will take revenge on you for this torture! You will be begging me loudly to take you!”       “In this case, you will be begging me.”       Anna gives Daniel another continuous kiss on the lips, running her hand through his hair, letting her free hand slide underneath the male t-shirt, and caressing the nape of the man’s long neck. She can clearly hear the heavy breath and quiet moans of the man and feel how strongly he gets every single muscle of his body tense, while it’s spreading the heat.       “Oh, Anna…” Daniel pronounces peacefully and runs his tongue over Anna’s palate after she does the same thing. “Hellcat! M-m-m… Damn…”       “Gosh, you’re so gorgeous…” Anna whispers in Daniel’s ear with a wide smile and leaves a kiss on the area behind it, letting her hand slide over his naked torso and caressing his shoulders and arms. “What a six-pack… Arms… Smell… I feel dizzy… And hot…”       “You will forget everything if I show you everything I can do.”       When Daniel breathing heavily tries to hug and caress Anna again, he gets a slight clap on his hands from the girl smiling slyly.       “Don’t make me tie your hands up,” Anna says confidently in a low voice. “Or are you, impatient pretty boy, asking for this?”       “Maybe…” Daniel smiles slyly. “The punishment… Is so sweet… So wonderful… I can’t call it the one.”       “For a while, Daniel, for a while.” Anna grabs Daniel’s face with both hands and leaves a short kiss on every part of his face. “I haven’t started a dessert. When I do it… M-m-m… I’m afraid what will happen.”       Anna snuggles her face in the curve of Daniel’s neck and covers it generously with kisses that are different by the pressure and tempo, combining them with slight bites and caresses with the tip of her tongue.       “Oh, damn…” Daniel exhales sharply, leaning his head back. “I think… I forgot… Something like this…”       “Don’t get used…” Anna smiles slyly, putting her hand on the inside of Daniel’s thigh. “I will not do this too often.”       “But I like it so much!” Daniel makes a quiet moan, squeezing the edge of his blazer with a heavy breath. “Madly… I feel so good…”       “I get it, sweetie, I get it…”       Since his eyes are tied, Daniel cannot guess the next actions of Anna. But it does not scare him. Vice versa, it gives him new, brighter, and more wonderful emotions that get him much more excited. Any kisses and touches make his heart tremble nicely, make him feel hot, and wake up a wish to get them again and again.       “Oh, yeah, babe, keep doing…” Daniel pronounces in a low, hoarse voice, putting his arms on the back of the sofa and spreading his legs, while Anna keeps covering his neck generously with kisses and caressing his face, hair, shoulders, and torso with her warm hands. “Keep doing…”       “Relax, sweetie, don’t be so tense,” Anna whispers, kissing tenderly the area behind Daniel’s ear, which she caresses with her lips. “It’s okay… I will not hurt you…”       “Again… Again… I want more!”       “Patience, Daniel… Patience…”       Anna caresses Daniel’s abdomen with her fingertips above his t-shirt and underneath it. Then she moves her hand up sharply and runs it over his cheek and throat, breathing in the smell of his skin.       “Damn, do I really have to pay so much for a wish to caress you?” Daniel wonders.       “I’m doing nothing special…” Anna smiles innocently and leaves a short kiss on the hole in Daniel’s throat and his Adam’s apple, noticing how he shakes slightly and makes a quiet moan. “Just kissing you. And caressing a little.”       “Oh, Anna… Keep doing… Keep doing…”       “As you wish, my lord.” Anna leaves a couple of short kisses on Daniel’s soft lips, squeezes every one of them, and pulls them tenderly. “As you wish…”       “Can I know…” Daniel exhales quietly. “When did you become so hot? So… Sassy… Confident… You’re my tender and wonderful flower… Innocent creature… How is it possible?”       “Next to you, I always become the one.” Anna runs her hand underneath Daniel’s t-shirt with a wide smile and runs it over his torso, feeling every single muscle of him. “And I just missed you. I decided to refresh our relationship by adding a little bit of spy.”       “If you call it ‘little,’ I’m afraid what’s gonna be ‘much.’”       “I must fit my freaking hot man.” Anna runs her hand slowly and tenderly over Daniel’s torso from his neck to his stomach, stops on it, and starts walking her fingers over it, not stopping to look slyly at the man, who only feels her hot breath, sweet smell, and exciting touches. “I can be not only romantic and sentimental.”       “Yeah…” Daniel smiles slyly. “Any shy girl gets wild next to me.”       “Yeah, how many good girls have gotten worse because of such insolent and self-confident men like you. You teach them bad things, and then they’re ready to do anything they would not even dare to think about.”       Anna’s hand slides down over Daniel’s body and stops on his groin. And when she touches it tenderly with her fingertips and squeezes it slightly, the man shakes sharply with a quiet moan.       “Ah, fuck!” Daniel pronounces with a heavy breath, leaning his head back. “It was hard! Too hard!”       “Quiet, quiet, baby, it’s okay,” Anna whispers in a velvet voice, caresses softly Daniel’s cheek, which she kisses, and slightly fixes the scarf on his eyes. “Okay… Good boy… Good…”       “I can’t take it anymore…” Daniel exhales with a shake. “I can’t do anything. It’s unbearable!”       “No, sweetie…” Anna pronounces with a sly smile, walking her fingers over Daniel’s torso. “I haven’t ended it…”       “Please, Anna… Stop this madness…”       “Patience, Daniel. Train it. When you’re kissed a couple of times and caressed, you already get restless.”       Anna gives Daniel a passionate, continuous kiss on the lips with a loud, heavy breath, squeezing his chin slightly and caressing the man’s neck, wide shoulders, or tough arms with her free hand. She runs her tongue into his mouth without hesitation and slides over his palate and around his tongue confidently. When they contact, both of them can feel that an electroshock gets through their whole bodies and make moans full of enjoyment. After kissing the man on the corners of his mouth and the area behind his ear, which she bites slightly, the girl leaves a few tender kisses, bites, and pinches on the most sensitive areas of his neck. While Perkins is literally dying from a wish to at least touch his sweetheart, twisting on the sofa nervously, whining with pity, and moaning quietly. He just cannot hold down not a very loud shout when the red-haired beauty massage his penis a little and moves her hand sharply to the bottom of his stomach.       “No, stop, stop…” Daniel pronounces quietly with a heavy enough breath, while Anna is caressing his face, head, and shoulders. “I can’t take it anymore!”       Daniel kisses Anna greedily on the lips, pressing her much closer to himself by the back of her head. The girl loses attention for two seconds and moans with enjoyment, but then she steps back from the man sharply and closes his mouth with her hand.       “No, no!” Anna pronounces harshly. “Too early!”       “I give a damn,” Daniel replies confidently. “Your bans can go to hell! I’m giving up!”       Daniel takes control of the situation without hesitation, giving Anna a few slight, innocent kisses on the neck and then much more assertive and passionate ones mixed with slight bites and pinches. The girl tries to resist for the first few seconds, but later she gives up under the pressure of the man, who impacts her most sensitive areas persistently, making her moan sensually and feel a slight dizziness, a fast heartbeat, and a feeling of heat.       “Damn…” Anna moans with pity, while Daniel kisses her on the area behind her ear, so that she cannot hold down her moan. “But… I wanted to…”       “Stop, beauty, you played a little, and it’s enough,” Daniel replies confidently and runs his lips slowly over the front of Anna’s neck, while his free hand massages her breasts tenderly. “Of course, you were imitable, but I don’t wanna do anything.”       “Were you… Allowed? You haven’t… Served your sentence…”       “I understood everything well,” Daniel says in a low, hoarse voice, running his lips over the curve of Anna’s neck. “And I promise I will be a good boy.”       “Alright, Perkins, stop… Stop, I said!” Anna claps Daniel playfully on his arms and shoulders, while he does not care about her attempts and leaves a couple of kisses on her collarbones. “Hey! Perkins! Whom I address!”       “Oh, how sweet you are!” Daniel pronounces with enjoyment, breathing in the smell of the skin on Anna’s décolleté. “And delicious… Ah… My flawless flower of a lily… Your favorite flowers…”       “You’re violating the rules! It’s not…”       Daniel does not let Anna speak and gets her involved in a continuous kiss on the lips, during which she starts moaning quietly two seconds later. However, when he breaks it, the girl tries to say what she wants again:       “It’s not honest! I…”       Seeing that one kiss was not enough, Daniel leans Anna softly on the back of the sofa and gives her a much more assertive kiss on the lips, during which he caresses her throat with his fingertips and lets his hand get down over her body slowly but confidently: from her shoulders, collarbones, and chest to the curves of her waist and her belly. And later, he places it on her thigh, which he caresses tenderly, but later he moves it to her knees, which also get some caress.       “Damn, I didn’t know that kissing and caressing you with tied eyes is so cool,” Daniel says with a wide smile, covering Anna’s neck generously with kisses and running his hand confidently over her thigh.       “You’ll be really surprised when I tie up your eyes and your hands next time,” Anna replies in a hoarse voice with a sly smile.       “Do what you want!” Daniel moves his hand to the inside of Anna’s thigh, feeling a strong heat between them. “But don’t ban me from kissing you…”       Daniel breathing heavily bites Anna’s auricle, kisses it tenderly, and caresses this area with his half-open mouth, seeing that her skin gets goosebumps because he breathes on it with hot or cold air. And when she leans her head back with a quiet, sensual moan, the man leaves an exciting kiss on the hole in her throat and a couple of ones on her collarbones.       “No, please, stop…” Anna begs with a heavy breath.       “I don’t want to,” Daniel says confidently and runs his hand over the curves of Anna’s waist.       “Please, Daniel, please…”       “Do you think you’re the only one to be able to torture me?” Daniel smiles slyly. “No, Ms. Seymour, you’re wrong! I can’t just sit when such an attractive girl tries to seduce me.”       “Okay. Next time, you will have to spend some time with your hands tied up. For one hour.”       “M-m-m, sounds good… You’d look so incredible.” Daniel runs his fingertips over the curve of Anna’s neck and leaves a couple of kisses on her décolleté. “You’re lying on a bed, and your hands are tied… You’re moaning loudly… Bending backward like a cat while I’m quietly caressing and kissing any part of your body…”       “M-m-m… How wild your imagination got after you got your eyes tied up.”       “I already feel that you’re interested in it…”       “You’ve always been crazy. But you inspired me for one thing. About what I could do to you.”       “You’ll think about it later. But now I am controlling the situation. It’s time for my sweet revenge for all my sufferings.”       Daniel takes the scarf off with one movement, puts it aside, shakes his head, and blinks quickly to get used to the bright light spreading in the living room at the time when it’s getting darker. It’s enough for Anna to get up sharply from the sofa and go aside. But the man follows her, runs to the girl, and, hugging her by the waist with one arm, presses her to himself, finally getting a chance to look at his sweetheart’s cute face and bright green eyes full of gloss and fire.       “Though, I like looking at your cute face much more,” Daniel says with a wide smile, holding Anna’s face in his hands and caressing it tenderly.       “These words are like something sweet to me,” Anna smiles shyly.       “You’re gonna hear them several times every single day. And you won’t have to do anything for it. I just won’t be able to go by you and be silent about how attractive you are.”       “Daniel, sweetie…”       Daniel hugs Anna tightly, pressing her close to himself, kissing her on the top of her head, and caressing her head, while she just presses her hands to his chest with a cute smile, feeling like a little girl in his strong, trustworthy arms.       “By the way, Anna…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully. “Do you remember that I promised you something?”       “Yeah?”       “You had a birthday. And I got a gift for you.”       “Ah, yeah!” Anna smiles shyly. “I forgot about it…”       “I’m sorry for not giving it to you. I was busy with the foreigner.”       “But it’s not too late to show it…” Anna steps back from Daniel with a mysterious smile. “I’d madly love to know what you got.”       “Do you really wanna see your gift?”       “Much!”       “It’s in my room. I’ll bring it now.”       Daniel kisses Anna cutely on the cheek, goes to the stairs quickly, and gets up to the second floor, while the girl stays in the living room and watches him until he hides. Then she takes her scarf from the sofa, unties it quickly, folds it carefully, and puts it in her bag. Later, she moves her eyes to the small mirror in the living room and comes to it to make sure that she looks good. Of course, her hair got a little disheveled after fighting with Blanca, but she managed to make it better after her enemy got arrested. The girl smiles truly at her reflection, which she has lately started to love. The bruises on her body are now yellow and less noticeable, and some of them are gone with no tracks. Her eyes are not red and tear-strained, and her appearance is fresh and gorgeous enough.       Some time is gone before Daniel goes downstairs to the living room, holding a sparkling middle-size box. At this moment, Anna pulls down her white shirt and denim jacket and checks how her décolleté looks. And when the man shows up, the girl turns on him and comes closer, folding her hands in front of herself.       “I know it’s too late to give gifts…” Daniel says a little hesitantly. “Still… Happy belated birthday, princess.”       Daniel gives Anna the box, which she takes with a slight smile on her face.       “Wow!” Anna wonders truly, looking at the box from all sides. “What is this?”       “I hope you’re gonna love it. It’s usually hard for me to choose gifts, but this time, it found me by itself.”       Anna unwraps the sparkling paper quickly and easily, seeing the box made from dark velvet.       “Gosh, is that jewelry?” Anna wonders.       “Open and check it,” Daniel shrugs with a mysterious smile.       Anna opens the box impatiently and sees a whole set of silver jewelry: a plaited necklace and small hanging earrings. The jewelry is decorated with pink stones that shine brightly under the light and framed with much smaller silver ones.       “Oh, wow…” Anna opens her mouth with eyes full of gloss. “It’s so beautiful!”       “I liked this jewelry set shortly after I saw it,” Daniel confesses. “And I didn’t think a lot. I decided that it would be a gift for my girl.”       “I don’t know what to say!” Anna runs her fingertips over the necklace with pink hanging stones framed with silver stones. “I like it so much! I’m delighted!”       “I’m glad I pleased you,” Daniel folds his hands in front of himself with a slight smile.       “Daniel, it’s…” Anna moves her eyes to Daniel. “It’s magnificent! I can’t believe it’s for me.”       “Of course, it’s for you, my princess.” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheeks with both hands. “For my sweetheart, who I could not congratulate earlier, sadly.”       “This set is incredible…” Anna closes her mouth with her hand for a second. “I… I’ve never had such flawless jewelry.”       “Would you try it on? I wanna see how you’d look with them.”       “Only if you help me.”       “With pleasure, my love.”       Daniel takes the necklace, opens the clatter, and helps Anna put it on and close it from behind, while she raises her hair with her free hand. And the girl puts on the earrings by herself, replacing them with the pearls that she wore before, while the man takes the box and puts it on the table near the sofa. Then she comes to the mirror and starts looking at her reflection.       “It’s magnificent,” Anna pronounces with a wide smile and admiration in her eyes, running her fingertips over the necklace. “I yell like a child from happiness!”       “I think a pink color fits you well,” Daniel notices with a slight smile, standing behind Anna. “These stones fit your hair so well.”       “And I really like simple jewelry like this.”       “When choosing the jewelry, I imagined how you’d look.” Daniel takes Anna by the shoulders, kisses her on the top of her head, and moves her hair back to open her décolleté. “And I chose this set…”       “It’s fantastic… Really…” Anna turns to Daniel and smiles widely at him. “Thank you so much, sweetheart. I really liked your gift.”       “Everything for my beloved princess.”       Anna gives Daniel a continuous kiss on the lips, holding his face in her hands. And then she hugs him tightly, wrapping his waist with both arms and putting her hands on his back while the man caresses her head and presses her close to himself.       “I love you, sweetheart…” Anna pronounces with a wide smile.       “I love you, my sunshine,” Daniel replies softly.       “It’s so nice.” Anna steps back from Daniel and takes the hanging stone from her necklace. “I promise I will wear it as often as possible.”       “I think this jewelry set would look good with a beautiful dress.”       “M-m-m, you’re actually an expert…”       “It’s just my opinion.”       “And…” Anna smiles mysteriously. “I think I know where I could put on this set…”       “Erm… Don’t ya mean a party dedicated to my birthday? A pool party!”       “No, for this party, I will pick up the best bikini that I have. And I will put on the jewelry for another event, which’s gonna have to do with your birthday.”       “Another event?” Daniel frowns slightly. “Which one?”       “Wait, sweetie, you’ll know it soon. I will work on everything.”       “Okay… And what do I do?”       “Nothing. Just be ready at any time. Look good, smell good, and be ready to show your best manners.”       “You’re intriguing me.”       “I can say one thing: there will be only two people at the place where we will go: you and me.” Anna runs her hands over Daniel’s torso with a sly smile. “And nobody else.”       “Maybe, you will hit where you wanna drive me?”       “You can guess it by yourself, knowing that I wanna go where I’d put on a long dress and your gorgeous jewelry set.”       “As I understand, do I need a suit?”       “You understand it right.”       “So, okay…” Daniel smiles shyly. “I will be waiting.”       “Anyway, you’re gonna love it.”       “I’m gonna love anything if you’re with me.”       “Aw, honey…”       Anna hugs Daniel tightly again, putting her hands on his back, while he presses his beloved girl as close to him as possible. The lovers just stand and hold each other for a few seconds, enjoying the warmth that they share with each other. And then the man steps back from the girl slowly and fixes her hair lightly, looking at her face with a tender smile.       “Erm, beautiful…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully. “Can I ask you something?”       “Of course, you can,” Anna shrugs with a slight smile. “What do you wanna know?”       “Listen…” Daniel says nothing for a few seconds and smiles mysteriously. “Don’t you wanna… Return here? To this house?”       “Return to this house?” Anna smiles much wider.       “Living here without you makes me sad, Anna.” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheeks with both hands. “For one and a half years that we lived together, I got used to that. And I felt lonely and unhappy when you left. We woke up and had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. But now I have to do it alone. With a TV or a music system turned on.”       “So, do you want… Me to stop you feeling the loneliness?”       “Yes, I want. Besides, this house is not only mine but also yours. No matter if you live here, you have the right to do anything you want and feel like home in this place.”       “And your sister?” Anna asks a little hesitantly. “Will Cassidy like the fact that I will live in this house?”       “My sister would be happy if you lived here,” Daniel replies confidently. “I’m sure that you’ll become friends when Cassidy ends her therapy and comes back home.”       “And…” Anna smiles mysteriously and glances aside, biting her lip slightly. “How much do you want me to come back here?”       “Very much,” Daniel replies confidently with a slight smile. “I want to have my beloved girl next to me, with whom I would never feel so lonely.”       “That’s how!”       “Please, sweetie…” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheeks softly with both hands, looking into her eyes with a slight smile. “Come back here… I will take care of you well.”       “M-m-m…” Anna rolls her eyes dreamily. “I don’t even know…”       “Erm… Of course… I… Don’t make you do it if you don’t want it. But I’d be very happy if you lived with me. While you’re not with me, I will not be one hundred percent happy.”       Anna says nothing for two seconds and just smiles shyly, being happy that Daniel suggested that she do it because she dreamed of coming back to this place that had become so close and nice to her.       “I want it more than anything,” Anna says confidently, caressing Daniel’s cheek with a much wider smile and running her fingers through his disheveled hair, while her free hand holds the man’s. “Since you asked me about it, I will come back here with pleasure. Come back to the place, to which I got so used that I started to consider it my own home.”       “I haven’t gotten used to living alone after you left it,” Daniel replies with a shy smile. “And I will hardly do it. After living with my beloved girl, I realized that it was what I needed so badly.”       “It didn’t get used to it, either. I fell asleep and woke up next to you some time ago. But now I open my eyes and feel sad. Because I don’t hug and kiss me. Because you’re not near me.”       “If you agree to come back, I will do my best for you not to regret any minute spent here.”       “You know… Telling the truth… I haven’t started to consider Father’s apartment my own home. Because my home is here! This place is the only one where I managed to feel free and happy.”       “Its doors are always open for you, darling.” Daniel takes Anna’s hands. “Come back here at any time. I will be waiting for you with impatience. And help you bring your stuff here.”       “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to come back.”       “The important thing is that your parents don’t mind. They don’t like when unmarried people live together.”       “Don’t worry, sweetie. My parents would be madly happy if I lived with you. Nobody will stand in our way anymore. We’ll no longer have to hide.”       “No, I don’t wanna hide! I wanna tell the whole world that you’re mine. That I am not interested in any other girls.”       “Me too, sweetie, me too.”       Daniel takes Anna in a strong but tender hug with a wide smile and covers her with kisses in happiness. She presses herself close to him and runs her hands over his back, finally feeling truly happy and believing that everything is going to be alright now. By this time, the fire of passion gets weaker, but Daniel, not minding to continue this thing, glances at the curve of Anna’s neck at some moment, breathes in the flower smell that it spreads, and leaves a couple of slight, tender kisses that make her smile blissfully with closed eyes and feel how her heart trembles nicely in her chest.       “So, what if we start from where we ended?” Daniel purrs with a wide smile, running the tip of his nose over the curve of Anna’s neck and leaving a couple of kisses, while his hands confidently slide over the curves of the girl’s waist.       “But when did we finish?” Anna asks thoughtfully with a mysterious smile.       “You know it well…”       “Ah, yay! You begged me to give you a chance to get mercy.”       “And you decided to torture me and drive me crazy.”       “And I liked it so much. I’d do it again.”       “Aren’t you afraid that I might not take this?”       “Do you wanna get a mercy?”       “Didn’t I deserve it?” Daniel runs his hands over Anna’s back and places them on her buttocks, keeping his shoulders spread and his back perfectly straight. “I was a good boy and recognized my fault!”       “Well, I don’t know… You actually violated my rule several times. And you gave a damn about it at the end.”       “This is the only thing I can’t do.” Daniel moves some strands of Anna’s hair off her face and kisses her cutely on the cheek. “I can’t keep calm when my beloved girl uses my weaknesses so insolently.”       “Watching you was funny,” Anna confesses with a sly smile. “And I liked controlling everything.”       “You’re crazy, Seymour,” Daniel asks in a low, languid voice, whispering it in Anna’s ear. “Crazy…”       “I told you that resistance would lead to a cruel punishment.” Anna puts her arms around Daniel’s neck and runs her fingers through his hair, looking at his dilated pupils. “But you didn’t listen to me.”       “Because I couldn’t take it anymore.”       “Yeah, you don’t have patience. At all.”       “But I liked it!” Daniel presses Anna to himself with a sly smile, putting his hands on the curves of her waist. “Madly liked! And… I wouldn’t mind asking for one more punishment…”       “So, pretty boy, wasn’t it enough for you?”       “Not enough!” Daniel runs his hands over the curves of Anna’s waist and gets underneath her slim tight white blouse, starting to hold the girl by the back or running his hands over it. “I want more!”       “More?”       “C’mon, babe, punish me harshly.”       With these words, Daniel bites Anna’s ear, kisses the area behind it, caresses it with the tip of his tongue, and blows on it with cold air, seeing that she shakes slightly with closed eyes.       “Oh, no,” Anna says with a sly smile. “That’s not interesting!”       “Please, beautiful…” Daniel begs quietly, while his hands slide over Anna’s thighs.       “I shall let you taste one more piece of the sweet next time.” Anna runs her hands over Daniel’s hair and moves them to his shoulders. “But I doubt that you’ll survive a second torture easily. Now it was just a train run. But next time, it’s gonna be much hotter.”       “M-m-m, that’s how!” Daniel smiles smugly with a bright fire in his eyes.       “I don’t wanna get you shocked. So, I will be doing everything slowly. Quietly.”       “Your patience surprises me. I’m surprised that you can be so quiet. Could you resist such a gorgeous man like me?”       “And if you’re so gorgeous, should everyone lie at your feet and look into your eyes?”       “Girls would dream of it if I just looked at them.” Daniel caresses tenderly the nape of Anna’s neck with his fingertips and its curves, looking confidently into her eyes. “If I used my natural charm.”       “I will not do what you want!” Anna says.       “Will you not?” Daniel pronounces in a velvet, low voice with a mysterious smile, runs his half-open mouth over the area behind Anna’s ears, and slides to her chest and collarbones, breathing on them with hot air, while his hands slide over the girl’s back, thighs and buttocks, and his fingertips caress the small of her back underneath the blouse.       “Don’t even dream, pretty boy…” Anna makes a sensual moan with closed eyes.       “You will do everything, babe.” Daniel leaves a few tender kisses on the curve of the neck of Anna breathing deeply and caresses her ear with his lips. “I should only give some effort.”       “Oh, damn, Perkins, please, stop…”       “If you agree to make me happy.”       “Well… Erm…” Anna bites her lip with a mysterious smile. “Actually, I could do some nice things to you…”       “M-m-m, it’s just something…” Daniel caresses the curves of Anna’s neck with his fingertips and runs his hands over it and the girl’s décolleté.       “But you’ll have to try too hard to make me want to do just something for you at my wish.”       “So, are you resisting?”       “So, you don’t think you’d get everything on the first order.”       “M-m-m, do you want me to tie up your eyes and do everything you did?” Daniel moves Anna’s hair aside with a sly smile, comes to her from behind, and leaves an exciting kiss on the nape of her neck, over which he runs his fingertips. “So, you whine from a wish to touch my gorgeous body.”       “Be careful, ‘cause I may scratch your pretty face with my nails.”       “Do what you want. I’ve been waiting for this magical moment for too long.”       Daniel caresses the nape of Anna’s neck with his lips and slowly takes the way from short, tender kisses to its curves and the area behind her ear that he bites slightly. In parallel, the man caresses the girl’s little tense shoulders and lets his hands caress the curves of her slim waist and belly, which he caresses with his warm hands, gets underneath her clothes, and enjoys touching the soft velvet skin.       “Oh, gosh…” Anna makes a sensual moan, breathing heavily enough and getting every single muscle in her body. “Oh…”       “It’s okay, sweetie, relax,” Daniel pronounces with a sly smile in a low voice, leaves a couple of kisses on the area behind Anna’s ear, grabs her softly by the throat, and runs his lips slowly over the tender skin on the curve of the lady’s neck, which spreads a dizzying smell. “You’re very tense… It’s okay…”       “It’s your fault…”       “Enjoy, baby…” Daniel caresses tenderly the front of Anna’s neck with his fingertips, while his second hand slides over her belly and starts holding her small breasts from the bottom. “Enjoy what you’re getting from the professional…”       Anna says nothing and shows her delight with sensual moans and a loud, heavy breath, aiming to press herself close to Daniel’s hot body. Any touch of the man with his lips and hand, even a slight one, makes her feel an eternal pleasure and deprives her of the wish to resist the one, who definitely knows all of her weaknesses and tries to reach his goal of driving his sweetheart crazy.       “So, beautiful?” Daniel pronounces in a low, charming voice with a mysterious smile, kissing Anna on the cheek, caressing her thighs tenderly, and massaging her breasts with both hands. “Don’t you regret deciding to give me a chance to drive you crazy?”       “How do you dare to ask me something like this?” Anna wonders in a hoarse voice, shaking slightly with a quiet, sensual moan from the long-lasting kiss of Daniel on the front of her neck.       “It’s just a warm-up, princess.” Daniel runs his hands underneath Anna’s blouse and caresses tenderly her belly, which she sucks in with a heavy breath. “The sweetest is still waiting for you…”       “Kidding me? A little bit before I’m not able to stand on my feet!”       “Don’t worry, baby, I will pick you up in time.” Daniel leaves a couple of kisses on the curve of Anna’s neck, holding her softly by the shoulders. “You’ve got no reason to be afraid.”       “I know… You’re my brave hero!” Anna turns slowly to Daniel with a sly smile, puts her arms around his neck, and runs the fingers of her free hand through the man’s chocolate hair, while he just puts his hands on her hips. “Who got so blush…”       “You know, you’ve also got red checks,” Daniel notices, tweaking Anna’s cheek. “And you’re breathing heavily…”       “It’s your fault.”       “And how much your bright green eyes are shining!”       “And your hazel ones are still charming and attractive. And they’re full of fire…”       “And you still can’t keep calm when they look at you,” Daniel pronounces in a low voice, looking confidently into Anna’s eyes.       “I’ve gotta confess…”       “Your heart always knows the answer. If you ask it for help at the right time, it will show you your real dreams, wishes, and feelings.”       “And…” Anna smiles shyly and puts her hand on Daniel’s heart. “What does your heart say?”       Daniel says nothing for two seconds, putting his hand on Anna’s hand placed on his heart with a slight smile, and thinks about something before he says confidently:       “My heart says I’m very happy. You’re the only one to be able to keep my fighting spirit and not to let the fire inside me fade away. Not to let me turn into an unhappy vegetable. You’re the only one to be able to give me happiness and calm.”       “Let it know that I’ll always keep this fire burning,” Anna promises with a slight smile.       “Sometimes we need to hear so little to feel inspired.”       “And sometimes we’ve gotta fight for our happiness.”       “Right. And I’ve gotten it.”       “Daniel…”       “Anna, my Anna…” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheeks with a slight smile. “Sweetheart…”       Anna says nothing and just smiles widely, looking confidently into Daniel’s eyes with her head proudly raised. At some moment, the green-eyed beauty looks down and aside to distract the man, who, frowning slightly, looks at the girl closely.       “Are you okay, beautiful?” Daniel expresses anxiety.       “Yes, yes, I’m okay,” Anna nods and runs her hands over her face. “Just…”       “Are you sure?”       “Yes… I… Erm…”       After making sure that Daniel loses attention, Anna starts falling sharply. The man being scared to death reacts immediately, picking up the girl in time.       “Hey, hey, hey!” Daniel jabs with widely open eyes full of horror. “Anna, Anna, what’s wrong?”       Two seconds later, Anna starts laughing quietly, looking at Daniel holding her suspended.       “Scared, silly?” Anna keeps laughing.       “Hey, what kind of joke!” Daniel resents.       “Look, you didn’t lie! You picked me up in time!”       “Damn, you scared me!” Daniel exhales sharply. “Don’t do this anymore! Hear me!”       “What’s wrong?” Anna smiles innocently. “I was just gonna fall.”       “Why?”       “I wanted to play!” Anna leans her head back for a second with a sensual moan. “My legs got weak after your caresses!”       “You’re gonna put me in the grave because of these games."       “I knew you’d pick me up. I trusted you and wasn’t wrong.”       “What if you had hit your head against the floor? What if I hadn’t been near you?”       “You’re a hero, Daniel! Everyone knows that heroes always end up in the right place, at the right time. Wherever I am, you will surely save me.”       “Undoubtedly, my red fox. But let’s agree that you will not scare me like this anymore.”       “Okay, okay, pretty boy, I will not do it again.”       “Much better.”       Daniel places Anna on her feet and holds her by the hips for two seconds. Then the girl starts hanging on the man’s neck, putting her nose in his chest.       “Oh, what did you do to me?” Anna wonders with a playful smile. “You relaxed me so much that I can barely stand… My legs don’t hold me…”       “Let’s sit on the sofa,” Daniel suggests, caressing Anna’s back and head. “Sit… Talk…”       “No, let’s go to the bedroom… I wanna go there.”       “M-m-m, what a brave girl you are… You wanna go to the man’s bedroom at your wish…”       “And it would be wonderful if you carried me there.” Anna, biting her lip lightly and blinking her eyes with an innocent smile, runs her hand slowly over Daniel’s chest. “Wouldn’t you refuse to give me this pleasure? Yeah?”       “M-m-m, what if I tell you to go by yourself?” Daniel asks with a sly smile, running his hands over the curves of Anna and her back. “On your legs?”       “You’ll have no choice.”       “Yeah? Why?”       “Because I wanna fall again! In your arms with a sensual moan, pretending that I may faint.”       “Do you like to make me nervous so much?”       “But you’ll do anything I ask you about,” Anna smiles slyly, running her hands underneath Daniel’s t-shirt. “Because I mean the whole world to you…”       “M-m-m, as it turned out, you’re too self-confident,” Daniel smiles mysteriously.       “I have someone to learn from.”       “Sorry, babe, but I won’t do this.”       “I’m giving you the last chance, sweetie…” Anna walks her fingers slowly over Daniel’s torso, looking into his eyes confidently. “Last… Otherwise, you will do it again.”       “It’s not gonna work, sly fox…” Daniel slaps Anna playfully on the nose. “I’ve revealed your plan.”       “You did it, but you’ll do what I want anyway.”       “Yeah?” Daniel pronounces surprisingly. “And what will you do to me?”       “I won’t allow you to kiss and touch me! For an indefinite period!”       “Babe, I give a damn about any rules and bans! When I wanna kiss and hug a girl, I do it! Grab her…” Daniel grabs Anna by the waist and gives her a short kiss on the lips. “And do it!”       “Okay, then…” Anna shrugs and steps back softly from Daniel. “As you wish.”       Anna waits for a few seconds, watching Daniel smiling slyly, while he does not stop looking at her and waits for her actions that he actually foresees. The girl looks confidently into the man’s eyes and keeps calm when he comes closer to her and brings his face to hers to tenderly kiss her on the lips. But when it’s a few centimeters away from her, the red-haired girl starts falling on the floor with a sensual moan. Perkins picks up his sweetheart in time, while she relaxes her body, leaning it back and pretending to be something like a doll, like which unconscious people look. To be much truer, she even closes her eyes and tries not to show any emotions on her face.       “Oh, these girls…” Daniel laughs shyly, looking at Anna with interest. “They are born as sly boxes, who know how to get what they want.”       Daniel exhales resignedly, puts the arm of the relaxed Anna around his neck, takes her in his arms, and goes upstairs to the second floor. The girl keeps pretending to be a lifeless doll, leans her head back, and lets her free arm wave in the air, enjoying the moments when the man carries her in his arms. But when Daniel finally comes to his room, places her on the bed, and sits down, Anna puts her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly, while he puts his arms around the small of her back.       “I said you’d do anything for me,” Anna says with a sly smile.       “You gave me no choice,” Daniel excuses.       “I know.” Anna takes off the necklace gifted by Daniel and puts it carefully on the table near the bed. “That’s what I needed.”       “Oh, gosh…” Daniel chuckles kindly. “How sly and ingenious women are!”       “And you, silly boys, believe us!”       “We don’t believe you! We know all your sly things! We just have no choice but to make your wishes come true.”       “The important thing is that you make them come true,” Anna whispers in Daniel’s ear in a low, nice voice with a sly smile, kisses him cutely on the cheek, runs her fingers through his hair, and caresses the front of his neck with her open mouth. “Other things don’t matter…”       “Okay, my red-haired fox, let’s think you won this time,” Daniel replies confidently and leaves a few kisses on the curve of Anna’s neck, while she sighs sensually with closed eyes and a peaceful smile. “But in other cases, the win is gonna be mine.”       “We will see, pretty boy.”       “Yeah, see…”       Daniel keeps caressing Anna’s neck with his lips, running his fingertips tenderly over the nape of it and letting his free hand slide over her back up and down, while she enjoys every single moment with a heavy enough breath.       “Oh, gosh, Perkins, what are you doing?” Anna laughs shyly and makes another sensual moan.       “Quiet, beautiful, quiet,” Daniel whispers with a sly smile, caresses Anna’s head with both hands, grabs her face, and gives her a continuous kiss on the lips, during which she gets her thighs tense from the feeling of the sweet tension in her abdomen. “Think of nothing and relax.”       “Please…”       “Be silent. Say nothing.” Daniel leaves a couple of kisses on the curve of Anna’s neck and caresses it with his lips while the man’s hands slowly slide over her shoulders, arms, the curves of her waist, and thighs. “Just enjoy.”       Daniel covers Anna’s neck with short kisses and caresses the front of it tenderly with his lips, while his fingers squeeze the lady’s buttocks, slide over her back, and reach for the girl’s long hair.       “Anna, sweetheart…” Daniel pronounces with tenderness in his voice, kisses Anna on the lips, leaves a short kiss on the area behind her ear, and caresses her earlobe with his mouth, running his fingers through the girl’s hair. “The light of my life…”       Anna says nothing and just enjoys this moment, getting rid of all her thoughts and focusing only on her feelings. She sometimes makes quiet moans, feels a little dizzy, and literally hears the beat of her heart in her head. But even though Daniel seems confident, the man is kind of afraid to go further and show a little bit of aggression and pressure. All of his actions are very tender. His hands touch the girl as if this is the only way not to hurt her, and his lips caress the lady’s skin a little hesitantly and very tenderly. It’s like Perkins has a barrier in his mind, and it does not let him be freer in his wishes. And Anna feels it clearly.       “Daniel…” Anna pronounces quietly, running her fingers through Daniel’s hair.       “Yes, my gorgeous beauty,” Daniel says, leaving short kisses on Anna’s décolleté and running his hand tenderly over her chest.       “I want you.”       “I know. Not wanting me is impossible.”       “I’m serious, Daniel. I want to make love with you.”       Daniel being a little confused steps back slowly from Anna and looks at her questioningly.       “Make love?” Daniel wonders.       “Yes,” Anna nods confidently. “Please, take me… Drive me insane with everything you can do.”       “Erm… I…”       “Are you surprised by what I said?”       “No… Just…”       “Don’t tell me you don’t want.”       “No…” Daniel pronounces hesitantly. “I want… Much… But…”       “What’s wrong, Daniel?” Anna smiles shyly and caresses Daniel’s cheeks with both hands. “You’ve never been confused by my wish to sleep with you!”       “It’s… Hard to explain…”       “The problem is me? Don’t I… Get you… Attracted?"       “No, no, my sunshine, come on! You get me very attracted!” Daniel moves his eyes on his hands. “The problem is not you… The problem is me…”       “You know, Daniel, sometimes I think you’re afraid of me,” Anna confesses hesitantly. “As if you don’t wanna get closer to me.”       “Me?” Daniel rounds his eyes.       “You’re acting discreetly. As if you’re banning yourself from being yourself. Doing what you really want.”       “So… Is it so clear?”       “I’ve noticed it since the day we reconciled. At first sight, it seems like there’s nothing bad about it. But… But I know you well. I know what you can do. I know you’re not yourself now. You don’t wanna show me the real you. You wanna be too shy, too tender, and too careful…”       “You don’t like it?”       “It’s not you, Daniel. It’s not the real you. You’re not the guy I knew before. The former Daniel was freaking confident and knew what he wanted… He was a little insolent and shameless. But now… Now you’re not the same. I… I don’t feel what I got before.”       “Does it bother you so much?”       “Yes, it does.” Anna takes Daniel’s hands, looking into his eyes confidently. “Where’s the former Daniel? What happened to him? Why are you trying to be not what you are? Why do you hold yourself down? Why do you ban yourself from something?”       “I just don’t wanna scare you,” Daniel confesses quietly. “I don’t wanna do what may get you shocked.”       “The problem is about Julian? What he did to me?”       “You suffered so much because of him.” Daniel puts his hand on Anna’s laps. “I completely understand what you felt. And… I can’t behave like I did before… I can’t show passion… I can’t be aggressive and stubborn…”       “Listen, sweetheart, I understand that you’re doing this for my best. But I don’t want you to be not what you are because of that. I don’t want you to hold yourself down. I wouldn’t have paid attention to that if I’d met you now. But I’ve known you for more than one day. I lived with you for a long time. I know what you really are. I know you’ve always been a little insolent and very confident. You never asked for permission to hug or kiss me. Because you knew I’d agree. But you knew when I wanted it, and when I didn’t want it.”       “I’d never do something against a girl’s wish.”       “But now you’re afraid. Afraid to be yourself. Afraid to show the other feelings to me, expect tenderness. It’s wonderful, without a doubt. But I wanna something more. You can call me crazy, but… I want… Some pressure… I would endure any pain for you. No matter what it is. I’d take anything when the case is about you.”       “I understand, sweetie, but…” Daniel shakes his head. “I can’t… A barrier… It’s in my head… It doesn’t let me cross the line.”       “But do you want to cross it?”       “Very much. But I can’t.”       “Do it, thinking of nothing.”       “I can’t. The thoughts about your sufferings stop me. I… I’m afraid… Afraid to hurt you. Make you suffer… From pain…”       “But, Daniel…”       “When I think of what you tolerated when that stinker was beating you, insulting you, and humiliating you, I feel bad. Sometimes I… I don’t wanna touch you from fear of scaring and hurting you.”       “But you know well that I’m not afraid of you.”       “I know… But I… I’m afraid of you…”       “Gosh, Daniel, what are you talking about?”       “Sorry, Anna, but…” Daniel throws his hands up. “I can’t… Sorry… I can’t do this…”       “Hey, where’s the confident man, who wasn’t really afraid of bans?” Anna grabs Daniel’s face and looks into his eyes confidently. “What happened to him? Why is Daniel, who is sitting in front of me, literally afraid of me? Me! His own girlfriend!”       “I know I sound stupid!” Daniel moves his eyes aside. “But it’s the truth.”       “But you got through the fear of kissing and touching me, which you got after my slap! So, you can get through this, too.”       “I dunno… Maybe, I just need some time to get through this fear. But now I can’t do it…”       “You will never fight off your fears if you don’t face them. If you don’t fear your face and do what makes you feel horrified.”       “I am scared…”       “Let’s try. Kiss me now. With some pressure. With a wish to control the situation. Let me know that you decide everything here.”       “I will… Try…”       After keeping a short look in her eyes, Daniel gives Anna a continuous kiss on the lips, to which she answers with pleasure. He starts it very tenderly and does not aim to attack the girl like a hungry wolf. She is patiently waiting for him to add passion later, but it does not happen. Perkins wants to succumb to his instincts, but he thinks of what Anna tolerated because of Julian. It makes the man hold himself down and fail another attempt to become himself.       “No…” Daniel shakes his head, stepping back from Anna. “I can’t… I can’t do this.”       “You can do this, sweetie, I know it,” Anna encourages with a slight smile, caressing Daniel’s cheeks. “Try again.”       “It doesn’t work. I think about what Potter was doing to you.”       “So… You need a stronger push.”       “I don’t know what it could be.”       Anna says nothing and thinks about something for two seconds with a slight smile on her face, deciding to try something else to get what she wants.       “Okay, I don’t insist if you can’t…” Anna says with sadness in her eyes.       “But don’t be mad at me,” Daniel says softly. “I’m really trying.”       “It’s okay… You’ll do it when you’re ready…” Anna sighs quietly, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and glances aside with a sly smile. “I’ll just think about the man, who knew how to drive me crazy. Who did some things so well that I literally lost consciousness.”       “Man?” Daniel frowns strongly, feeling that every single muscle gets tense. “What man?”       “He was the best thing that happened to me. Best…” Anna rolls her eyes with a slight smile. “With him, I felt like a goddess… M-m-m… I felt as good as I never did… After unforgettable sex, I literally counted the minutes ‘till the next time.”       “Hey, I don’t understand…” Daniel gets straight sharply and looks at Anna with suspicion. “What men are you talking about? Answer now!”       “About those, who’ve always been confident. Who fear nothing and are shy of nothing. Who always remain themselves.”       “Are you provoking me? Do you wanna make me mad?”       “Not at all!” Anna blinks her eyelashes with an innocent smile. “I’m just thinking about how good I felt when that man was doing what I would have never thought.”       “Who is that man? Huh? Confess now!” Daniel lies Anna on the bed with one movement, raises himself above her, and looks into her eyes, breathing heavily enough and feeling that his muscles are shaking from the tension. “Who is he? I wanna know! Who’s that stinker?”       “The one you’re far from,” Anna replies confidently in a low voice, looking into Daniel’s eyes closely. “Too far…”       “I’m going to give the heck you to nobody.” Daniel raises Anna’s hands above her head and presses them tightly to the bed, squeezing her wrists strongly. “You are mine! And nobody else! Take a note!”       “Hey, why are you so nervous, tiger?” Anna laughs shyly. “Relax, breathe deeper… You better kiss me again. Or fuck me and make me scream.”       “Don’t avoid the answer, beautiful. Tell me who that insolent one is who dared to put an eye on what belongs to me.”       “It happened a long time ago!” Anna bites her bottom lip. “But I still remember how he drove me crazy and made me moan loudly. With him, I felt much sexier than ever. I won’t be shy about pronouncing this word… I felt like a whore.”       “What?” Daniel pronounces in a rude bass.       “I couldn’t hold myself down from screaming.”       “Who is he?” Daniel demands an answer determinedly. “Who is that stinker? Speak!”       “Why do you care?”       “I do care!” Daniel brings his face very close to Anna’s, still raising himself above her and holding her hands tightly above her head with a loud, heavy breath. “I will not stand another man next to you! I will not s-t-a-n-d!”       “Don’t get excited, Perkins,” Anna keeps provoking with a sly smile. “A fact is a fact. You can’t be compared with that man. I haven’t met anyone better than he.”       “You say, better? Better?”       “Yes, better!”       “So, doesn’t it get you excited?” Daniel leaves a few kisses greedily on the curve of Anna’s neck in the most sensitive areas. “Doesn’t it get you excited?”       “Nope…” Anna lies in a shaking voice with a sly smile, biting her lip strongly with the hope of holding down a wish to moan. “It doesn’t…”       “You say, I can’t be compared with that deadbeat?” Daniel says into Anna’s lips in a low voice and gets her involved in a passionate kiss, during which he confidently caresses her palate with his tongue. “Do you wanna say I’m not so good for you?”       “C’mon, stop trying! You can do nothing. You will not outstand him. Whatever you do now.”       “We will see it, bitch.”       Daniel breathing heavily and loudly covers greedily the front of Anna’s neck with short kisses and caresses her ears, the area behind them, and her open collarbones with his lips. While the girl notices that the man is getting much more confident, and his actions have some pressure and a wish to control everything and be a boss.       “Remember, you are mine…” Daniel says with a threatening look and leaves a couple of kisses on some parts of Anna’s face, locking her fingers tightly with his fingers and moving her arms, so that they are lying next to her and bent. “I’d tear anyone to dare to put an eye on my treasure!”       “I’m sure I’ll find another man, who will charm me much more,” Anna replies.       “Don’t even dream!” Daniel gives Anna an assertive kiss on the lips. “I’ll give you to nobody!”       “The question is if I wanna stay.”       “You will stay…” Daniel runs his hands over the curves of Anna’s waist and her breasts, which he squeezes tenderly but tightly with his fingers. “I will not let you go…”       “You can’t give me the pleasure that I’m dreaming about.”       “Ar-r-r, don’t make me mad!” Daniel growls quietly, gets his hands sharply underneath Anna’s shirt, and caresses her naked belly with pressure, leaving a couple of short, greedy kisses on the bottom of it. “Don’t make me tear your clothes…”       “Do what you want!” Anna sighs quietly. “You won’t make me feel what that man made me feel.”       “Hellcat!” Daniel starts covering Anna’s neck passionately with kisses with a fire in his eyes, grabbing her tightly by the hair with the fingers of one hand. “If you haven’t been told that… You must not provoke an animal… I’m very sorry.”       After making several quiet and sensual moans, Anna sharply tries to get out of Daniel’s grip with a heavy breath and a feeling of slight dizziness.       “Quiet, quiet!” Daniel exclaims, grabbing Anna tightly by the wrists again and looking into her eyes with his bedroom look. “Don’t move, I said!”       “Let me go!” Anna demands confidently. “Let me go now!”       “What’s wrong, babe? You decided to take your words back?” Daniel runs his lips confidently over Anna’s collarbones. “You wanted me to give you pleasure!”       “When did I say it?”       “Some time ago.”       “I said you couldn’t give me a more wonderful pleasure than anyone else.”       “Yeah, but your body doesn’t agree with you. It reacted to my kisses and caresses immediately. Started to shake…”       “Of course, you were good, but it’s not enough. Not enough to feel satisfied.”       “You’re getting me mad on purpose?” Daniel smiles slyly.       “Me?”       “No, me!” Daniel gives Anna a little greedy, continuous kiss on the lips, during which she does not hide her quiet, sensual moan and runs her tongue tenderly over his palate. “Make me dream of doing what I would never dare to do to you.”       “Yeah?”       “Yeah! So, you realize that playing with me is bad.” Daniel raises Anna’s hands above her head, still pressing them to the bed with a heavy, loud breath. “That I don’t wish to see another man next to you! I will let nobody steal you! And I will not let you go!”       “Wow…” Anna squints her eyes with a slight smile. “I didn’t know you looked so sexy when being jealous. Everything inside me is literally shaking. You got such a bright gloss in your eyes!”       “I’m not kidding, Anna. If I know you have another man, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”       “Listen…” Anna chuckles slyly, looking into the eyes of Daniel breathing heavily, who literally burns from jealousy. “I think I should do it at times. To shake you up. And… Get a little excited when looking at such a sexy man.”       “So, did you make me jealous on purpose?”       “I had no choice! I should’ve shaken you up! You kind of became too shy!”       “Ah, you, sly fox!” Daniel chuckles kindly and claps Anna playfully on her nose. “You found my weakness and used it!”       “Yeah, I had to play with your emotions.” Anna sits up slowly, bending her back with a sly smile. “But it was worth it. I got what I needed from you. Almost.”       “And that man? You thought him up?”       “Nope, I didn’t do. He exists.”       “Would you say who he is? Who do I have to explain that you only belong to me?”       “Yourself,” Anna pronounces confidently.       “Myself?”       “That’s you, silly! You are that man!”       “Me?”       “Yeah, the one you were before. Who didn’t act like a virgin, who saw a girl for the first time and didn’t know what to do.”       “Are you comparing me from the past and me from the present?”       “If you became what you were in the past, it would be so incredible.”       “But I haven’t changed. I’m still the same! I’m the Daniel that you met for the first time.”       “Maybe. But I want you to be real toward me.”       “Real?”       “Be yourself. Be who you’ve always been.” Anna grabs Daniel’s face softly. “Even if you’re too confident and a little insolent. It’s all you. And I want you to be the same. I want to love the real you. Not the one, who hides something or pretends somehow.”       “No, I’m not pretending,” Daniel protests. “I just don’t wanna hurt you.”       “I know you’ll never hurt me. You’ll never do what I don’t like. But it doesn’t mean you should hold yourself down and ban yourself from getting pleasure.”       “I know, sweetie.”       “So, pretty boy, if you want us to be satisfied, break all your barriers to hell.”       “You want it so much?”       “Much.” Anna walks her fingers over Daniel’s chest with a mysterious smile, not stopping to look into his eyes. “You know that I’ve always liked bad boys. Little sassy… Active… Confident… It gets me so excited… Or… I will have to find another boy.”       “Hey, don’t even dream of other men! Hear me!” Daniel grabs Anna by the throat tightly but tenderly and looks into her eyes with a look full of fire. “I did say I would not take another man next to you.”       “It’s not a threat or a warning. Just the information to reflect on.”       “I don’t care what that is. Just remember that my girlfriend is my girlfriend. She only belongs to me.”       “Be mad, pretty boy, be mad,” Anna smiles slyly. “Show your character.”       “If you haven’t realized it, I will make you do it.” Daniel gives Anna a passionate, greedy, continuous kiss on the lips, breathing heavily enough and still holding her by the throat. “You’re mine… And only mine.”       “As well as you’re only mine.”       Anna takes control and keeps kissing Daniel on the lips not less passionately than he does, grabbing his hair tightly with her fingers and pulling it slightly, while his hands slide confidently over her back and get underneath her t-shirt. What’s happening makes both of them breathe heavily, feel a little dizzy, and realize how fast their hearts are beating, and the sound of them echoes in their heads.       “Yeah, you need to get rid of something…” Anna says thoughtfully, leaves a few short kisses on Daniel’s lips, and takes slowly off his blazer that she puts aside, leaving him in a t-shirt. “It’s much better.”       “You say you love bad boys,” Daniel smiles slyly. “And I madly love girls that could be shy and quiet and seductive and fateful.”       “I know.” Anna leaves a couple of kisses and bites on the curve of Daniel’s neck with a heavy breath, while her hands slide confidently over his chest underneath his t-shirt and above it. “For you, I’d be anyone, babe.”       “M-m-m… If only you knew how wild my fantasies are… If only you knew what I wanna do to you right now. Right here.”       “Whatever you want, I agree to everything,” Anna replies confidently in a low, seductive voice.       “Think well, beautiful.”       “I’ve already done it. And I understand I want you to death.” Anna runs her hands over Daniel’s chest and pulls the edge of his t-shirt, looking into his eyes with a bedroom look. “I wanna feel like a woman. Beloved… Desired… Attractive… Sexy… I lack this feeling so badly…”       “What if I say I won’t give you what you want?” Daniel asks in a low voice. “I won’t give you the sweet dessert you’re dreaming about?”       “You want it, too,” Anna says confidently, caressing the nape of Daniel’s neck with her fingertips and the area between his scapula, while her free hand is placed on his chest, through which she can feel the man’s strong heartbeat. “I know it…”       “Think better, babe. I don’t want and can’t force you to do one or another thing or do something against your wish. It’s not my…”       “Shut up, Perkins!” Anna grabs Daniel by the collar, looking closely into his eyes. “And remember that you can do anything you want to me. You can make all of your fantasies come true.”       “Are you sure you want it?”       “Do I undress myself to prove it?”       “You have a chance to change your mind, baby,” Daniel warns in a low voice, running his lips slowly over Anna’s cheek and one of the curves of her neck. “If you don’t refuse now, you’ll hardly get away with me. I can’t promise I’ll let you go.”       “I won’t even think of refusing such a wonderful chance to be with my sweetheart,” Anna replies confidently, caressing Daniel’s head. “I missed him so badly. Now I need a man. A man, who would give me great pleasure.”       “So… If you want it…” Daniel touches Anna’s forehead with his forehead. “Get ready to moan from pleasure, babe.”       “Show everything you can do.”       “From now on, nobody and nothing will tear us apart,” Daniel says into Anna’s lips, caressing her cheeks with a slight smile. “We will never break up. Never.”       “I will not survive our second separation.”       “It will not happen. I promise.”       Anna smiles widely, caressing Daniel’s face with both hands, while he runs his fingers through her hair and caresses the skin on her head with his fingertips. The lovers share a tender look for some time, and then the man shortens the distance between him and the girl confidently and gives her a short, innocent kiss on the lips that makes her take a breath away and her heart stop for a moment. He teases his sweetheart a little by leaving a few similar kisses on some parts of her face and barely touching the tender skin on it with his lips. But then Perkins grabs the face of his beauty with both hands and gives her a more continuous kiss on the lips with a wide smile, not attacking her too passionately at first and trying to stay tender and soft. Anna runs her hand through Daniel’s hair, caresses softly the nape of his neck or the area behind his scapula, and scratches them at times.       Later, cute and tender actions become more passionate and a little crueler, kisses get deeper, hands get much freer, the heart starts beating much faster, and the dizziness gets much stronger. The lovers pull each other’s hair slightly, run their hands over the whole body of the partner more confidently every second, and let them slide underneath their clothes, waking up a strong fire inside each other. It’s impossible to hold down the wish to moan quietly. Every single muscle gets tenser, and the anxiety and all the problems are forgotten. The mind is only obsessed with thoughts about giving the partner as much pleasure as possible. After catching a good moment, Daniel still kissing her passionately on the lips takes Anna’s denim jacket and puts it aside. Then he puts his arms around the small of her back and presses her close to himself, while she runs her fingers through his hair and caresses his head chaotically. At some moment, the man slowly but confidently takes the way from the corners of his sweetheart’s mouth and her chin to all the sides of her beautiful and graceful long neck. When Perkins barely touches the tender, sensitive skin on her neck with his lips, Seymour rolls or closes her eyes with a feeling of all-embracing ecstasy, bending her back when his soft, warm hand gets underneath her white blouse.       At first, Daniel tried to hold himself down not to hurt Anna, but now he has become more confident. And he undoubtedly likes it so much. Because he feels himself and can do anything his heart tells him without fear. What his instincts tell him to do. The man fully enjoys what’s happening, finally feeling truly happy next to the one, who does not let him feel lonely. Next to the one, who does not even think of resisting him. Anna keeps calm when Daniel lies her softly on the bed with one easy movement and looks confidently into her eyes for two seconds. Then the man raises himself above her, keeping his weight on his arms, bites her ear slightly, kisses tenderly the area behind it, and leaves super exciting and hot kisses on the curves of his sweetheart’s neck and its front, paying much more attention to the hole in the throat. The girl’s quiet, sensual moans give him great pleasure and make him feel proud and make sure that he is very good at making love.       The man slowly but confidently runs his half-open mouth over the whole neck of the girl and bites it tenderly in some especially sensitive areas. His hands slide confidently over from the top of her head to her thighs or underneath her shirt and caress tenderly her belly, which he covers with incredible kisses after unbuttoning a few bottom buttons slowly. Daniel also covers Anna’s breasts with kisses and massages them tenderly with special pleasure. And a little later, he moves his hands down and slides over her thighs and the inside of them. While his girlfriend bends her back with a heavy breath and closed eyes, leans her head back, or grabs the blanket tightly and squeezes it strongly with her fingers. Every single muscle in Anna’s body gets tense enough, and it gets hot and super sensitive to any kisses and touches from Daniel. Whom she does not leave without her caresses.       The green-eyed beauty runs her hands over the man’s tough chest for some time, takes the t-shirt off him determinedly, and caresses his naked torso and back, feeling every single muscle and breathing in the natural male smell that makes her feel dizzy. After he covers the female neck with short kisses and caresses it with his lips with a heavy breath, while his hands squeeze her small breasts tightly, she puts her arms around his neck and gets him involved in a passionate, continuous kiss on the lips, to which he answers with pleasure, putting a hand on his cheek. At some moment, Anna lies over Daniel and caresses the most sensitive areas in his mouth with her tongue. He hugs her tightly by the waist, caresses her back tenderly, and runs his hands over her thighs and buttocks, which he squeezes strongly. The man does not miss a chance to slide underneath her blouse and let his hands run over her soft skin, while the girl gives her boyfriend a few exciting kisses and tender bites on his neck, rubs his chest confidently, and caresses his naked torso, which she starts covering with tender kisses at some moment. It makes Daniel feel a slight shake and tension in every single muscle and start to breathe heavily enough, closing his eyes at times, moaning quietly, and enjoying these truly paradisiacal minutes.       Feeling her tender hands and soft lips on the body is truly amazing. Breathing in the smell of the sweetheart that clouds the mind is magical. And her great confidence makes him nicely surprised. It’s impossible to say that this girl was educated in a harsh family that always taught her to be shy and obedient. Who would have hardly been a fateful girl. But now she only thinks about how to give pleasure to the man and listens to the sound of her heart, which tells her what to do. Anna tries not to stay in the same place for a too long time, following the rule that the less, the better. After covering the male naked torso with teasing kisses and caressing his tough nipples with her lips and tongue, she runs her hands confidently from his legs to his knees. And by caressing the inside of his thighs, she makes the man shake slightly from the goosebumps on his whole body and make a quiet, continuous moan. That’s why the green-eyed beauty smiles slyly at first, but then, looking into her boyfriend’s eyes confidently, she brings her face to his face and gives him a continuous, passionate kiss on the lips, during which she actively uses her tongue and caresses his face, hair, and ears with both hands. He starts running his hands over her back and the curves of her waist, squeezes his girlfriend’s thighs and buttocks confidently, unbuttons her blouse without hesitation, takes it off her shoulders, and puts it aside. In answer to this, she breaks the kiss to leave a couple of short, exciting kisses on the front of his neck and the area behind his ears she caresses with her lips.       After using a good moment, Daniel places Anna sharply on the bed, raises himself above him, and takes control of the situation, starting to kiss her on the lips with a greater passion and caress the most sensitive areas in her mouth with his tongue super skillfully, while she moans sensually, bends backward like a cat, and scratches his back tenderly with her nails. His kisses literally bring her to the top of the world and make her forget everything in the world. He knows well how and where to kiss, bite, and pinch her neck, ears, and collarbones to drive her insane. He knows how to caress the lady’s breasts, so she is not able to hold her moans down. He never forgets about her belly, which he covers with kisses. He knows how much caressing of the knees and thighs may impact the girl if everything is done right.       By this moment, Daniel stopped being shy and excited and holding himself down. He drives Anna crazier and crazier and makes her moan sensually and shout quietly. No, not from pain. From the wave of incredible emotions that get obsessed with her over and over after every single action of her beloved man, who makes her feel beautiful, beloved, attractive, and happy. She would endure any pain and torture for the one, without whom she cannot imagine her life. Anna and Daniel start to realize that the separation was good for them and kind of refreshed their relationship. They looked at each other in a new way and began to appreciate their beloved person much more. Also, the lovers found the courage to accept the shortcomings of each other and promised to give mutual help in weaning away from some bad habits and at some hard moments. Do their best to stay strong, brave, and happy.

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THE END OF BOOK FOUR