“SARA, Auntie Wendy will take you to school today, okay? Doc Connor will come with her to give you a ride,” Maria told her daughter. “Is it okay with you?”
Sara’s brows furrowed. “How about you? You’re not coming with us?”
Maria cupped her daughter’s face. “Mommy has to go to my new work,” she whispered, fighting her tears. “I’ll wait for you here in our house, I promised.”
Her six-year-old daughter studied her face. “Why are you sad, mommy?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not, baby…” she hugged her daughter. “I promised, I won’t take long. I’ll come home before your classes end.”
Sara pulled free from her. “Are those guys taking you?”
Maria looked up at Euclid and Fred on her back. “They’re my new boss. They gave me a job that doesn’t require me to leave at night.”
“Really, mommy?” Sara looked at them. “Uncle Euclid said that you knew each other since you were kids.”
Maria paused. Euclid has talked to Sara, and that’s how he found out about her heart problem. “He’s not your Uncle,” she told her daughter. “And, I told you to not talk to strangers, right?”
“I am not a stranger, Maria,” Euclid said from her back. “Unless you’ve forgotten about me.” She heard his footsteps come forward. “After all those memories?”
Maria stood and faced him. “It’s not the right time to talk about that, Euclid.”
“When will be the right time to talk about the memories that we left in Balesin Island?” Euclid asked in a hoarse voice. He stepped closer at her until their just inches away from each other. “When, Maria?”
She stepped back, clearly putting a space between them. “Like what you just said, those memories were left behind. So there’s no need to look back at it, right?”
“No,” Euclid said in a stern voice. “Because you know what? I brought mine.”
“Don’t make my mommy cry!” Sara shouted and hit Euclid’s legs repeatedly. “You’re a bad guy!”
Maria stopped her daughter. “Sara, I’m not crying, baby…”
Connor took Sara in his arm to calm her. “They’re just talking, sweetie. You don’t have to worry about, mommy.”
When Maria looked at Euclid, she caught him clenching his jaw while looking at Connor and her daughter. She pulled Euclid away from them and begged for him to leave her daughter out of it.
“I’m not doing anything, Maria,” he said.
“Please, Euclid. Sara’s heart is weak, and she might not survive another heart atFredk…” Tears stung her eyes. “I have promised you that I’ll tell everything—”
“Stop making too many promises that you can’t keep, Maria,” Euclid cut off. “Especially to your daughter.” He looked at Sara, who was now exchanging a laugh with Connor. “Broken promises from her mom hurt much than any other harm in this world.”
Maria bit her lip. “I will never break my promise to my child,” she said. “She’s the only person that I have—”
“How about me?” he asked, staring into his eyes. “Am I not important to you anymore, Maria?”
Maria looked away. “Euclid—”
“Call me Euclid… like the way you used to call me,” he said between his teeth. “Look at me like the way you see me before, Maria.”
Maria looked around at their house. Fred was shaking his head as he watched them talk in the corner. While Wendy and Connor are doing their best to distract Sara’s attention at her and Euclid.
“Is it hard to do, Maria?” he asked again, now in a calmer voice.
She pressed her lips together. As much as she wanted to tell him how she feels, she knew that she can’t do that. Their lives are far different from each other now. Euclid is on the right side, while she’s buried in the grave of her sin, and there’s no way that she can pull herself out from the mud.
Maria did this to herself. The only person that should be blamed for her miseries is her. And now that she’s stuck in the mess that she did, the only choice left to her is to give her trust again at the man she believed has betrayed her. But, Maria also knew that once she let Euclid be involved in this, he will soon be killed.
“Trust me, Maria…” Euclid said. “I know it’s hard for you to give your trust again, but believe me, this is the only way that you can ensure your daughter’s safety.
“If I leave Sara and Wendy here, they might get them,” she said. “They’re everywhere, Euclid—”
Euclid held her shoulders. “I’ll send my agents to guard them discreetly.” He beckoned at Fred. “Call some of David’s men to guard this house.”
Fred nodded, took out his phone, and went outside. After a few moments, he opened the door and peeked inside at them. “They’ll be here in a moment,” he said. “And we have to return to the station, Euclid. We only have thirty minutes—”
“I know,” Euclid cut off, then looked at her. “Tell your friend and that doctor that they should keep their mouth shut about anything that happened now.”
Maria nodded and walked towards the kitchen where Connor and Wendy kept Sara busy with her school books, but Euclid stopped her hand. He pulled her to face him again.
“Maria, I want to make sure that you trust me,” he said, looking straight into her eyes.
Maria met his gaze. “I trust you, Euclid.”
“You do?” he asked, stepped closer, and lowered his head to her without taking her eyes off her.
Maria’s heart skipped a beat when his lips were just inches away from hers. “Euclid, don’t—”
“Euclid,” Fred pushed the door open and was surprised to see them. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but Miranda called. She said that the Chief of Police was on his way to the station to check on the detainees.”
“Fuck,” Euclid hissed.
“Dude,” Fred stood close to Euclid’s side and spoke in a low voice. “We have to return Maria now, or else we’ll both kick out from this job.”
***