Episode 17

Pietro

Valentim and I had spent an amazing night together; sleeping on his chest was a real dream. I woke up early to make breakfast for us. I was wrecking the kitchen when he arrived and hugged me. Everything was perfect, until his cell phone rang, and he answered it. I was distracted when I heard him saying:

"For God's sake, Dad, I just spent the night with a woman, but she's not the kind of woman you introduce to the family."

That destroyed me inside. Once again, Valentim was treating me like anyone else. I went to the bedroom, put on my clothes from the night before, and left his house. Enough, I'm tired of his little game. He was one person at night, and when he woke up, he was totally different.

I went home, upset about the situation. My stupid heart had to fall in love with an unfeeling ogre like him. When I got home, everyone was having breakfast. I was going to walk past when my father called me.

"Pietro, come have breakfast with us."

Since I hadn't had breakfast at Valentim's, I decided to join my family. As soon as I sat down at the table, Herminio commented:

"Looks like you had a good night."

"By the looks of the hickeys, it was much more than good," added Henrique.

"He takes after his old man here," Hugo said, laughing.

"Son, is this woman decent? Is it serious?" Debora asked, concerned.

"It was just a one-night thing, Mom. I won't see her again."

"Your mother and I were just saying the same thing."

"But I can tell you, she's complicated. We can't be a couple."

"I bet she's married," Henrique quipped.

"Are you messing with a married woman, Pietro? Get a grip, son!" Debora exclaimed, exasperated. "Hugo, knock some sense into your brother's head."

"Is she pretty? Gotta armor up the soldier, you know. I'm too young to be an uncle," Herminio joked.

"If she gets pregnant, tell her the kid's the husband's," Hugo chuckled.

Dafine, changing the subject, interjected, "Mom, I need money."

"What for?" Hugo asked.

"New clothes. I need clothes when I go to Brazil."

"I haven't decided if you're going yet."

"Please, Dad. It'll just be for a year," Dafine pleaded.

"Let the girl go, honey," Debora interjected.

"I'll talk to Heitor. Speaking of which, we have to go to the warehouse. He called an emergency meeting."

"I'm just going to take a shower," Pietro said, excusing himself.

"Don't be long," Hugo replied.

I went to my room and took a quick shower. I saw a few calls from Valentim but ignored them. I went back to the living room, where everyone was waiting for me. My mom went in the car with my dad, I went in my car, and Henrique, Herminio, and Dafine went on their bikes. It didn't take long to reach the warehouse.

The girls went to the training area, and we went to Vicente's office, the new head of the mafia. Everyone was there. It didn't take long for the meeting to begin.

"We have serious problems," Heitor announced gravely.

"What happened?" Vicente asked, concerned.

"Several women were found imprisoned in a warehouse. Unfortunately, our men were delayed in getting there. When we arrived, the women were dead, probably from hunger and thirst. The place reeked. But I have a glimmer of hope."

"Why?" Vicente inquired.

"There was one woman still alive. She was near death, dehydrated, and unconscious. We took her to the hospital. She's receiving all the necessary care. We hope she survives," Thiago explained.

"We can get information from her," Hugo said, grasping at the sliver of hope.

"My brothers and I are leaving on a mission today. We'll probably be out of communication," Henrique announced.

"I don't like this trip. Our men are unprotected in enemy territory," Valentim interjected, his eyes briefly meeting Pietro's before darting away.

"We're well trained," Herminio asserted confidently.

"Where will it be?" Pietro asked, curious.

"Mexico," Thiago replied.

"Couldn't be better," Valentim said, a hint of something unreadable in his tone.

"I have a friend there. We could stay at his house, pretending to be his relatives. No one would suspect a thing," Pietro suggested.

"Excellent. You always have great ideas," Vicente commended.

"When are we leaving?" Herminio asked, eager to get down to business.

"This afternoon," Vicente responded.

"This is very risky, sending only three teenagers on a mission like this is suicide," Valentim argued, his gaze flickering to Pietro again.

"We're good at what we do," Henrique stated confidently, unfazed by Valentim's concern.

The meeting went on for a while longer, and when it finally ended, Pietro saw his phone vibrating. It was a message from Valentim.

📨 Get your ass down to the dungeon, now. It's not a request, it's an order. 📨

Pietro looked at the message and deleted it. He wasn't going to be Valentim's puppet. He was tired of this game. He went to the training room to work out, and his phone started ringing again. It was Valentim. Pietro let it ring and continued his training. He was in the middle of a sparring session when he saw Valentim enter the training room, his eyes fixed on Pietro with an expression of anger. A shiver ran down Pietro's spine.

But he pretended he hadn't seen him. If Valentim wanted to be with him now, it was going to be on Pietro's terms. He wouldn't warm his bed at night only to be humiliated by him during the day.

When Pietro finished his workout, he went to the locker room to take a shower, and there Valentim was, waiting for him. As Pietro entered, Valentim locked the door behind them. Pietro went to one of the shower stalls, stepped in, and locked it from the inside.

"Are you going to keep avoiding me?" Valentim's muffled voice came from the other side of the stall door.

Pietro didn't answer and continued his shower. When he came out of the stall, Valentim was sitting on a bench, waiting.

"Can we at least talk like adults?" Valentim asked, his voice calmer now.

"No. In your eyes, there's an adult and an incapable teenager who's nothing more than a random slut," Pietro retorted, his anger and hurt evident in his tone.

"Here we go again," Valentim sighed.

"No, on the contrary, this is where it ends. Regardless of what happened or didn't happen, it's over. I don't want any kind of involvement with you anymore. It was all a mistake."

"Pietro, let's talk about this."

"No, Valentim, I'm tired. I'm tired of you constantly humiliating me."

"For God's sake, stop being so dramatic."

"Forget about me."

"Is this because you're going to Mexico to see your little friend?" Valentim asked, his voice laced with jealousy.

"No, it's because I deserve much more than you have to offer."

"I can't have a relationship with you, Pietro. You know that," Valentim said, his voice low.

"It's not about that. I just wanted to be respected. I have feelings. I'm not just anyone you can use and discard whenever you please, thinking you won't hurt me. So please, if you're not willing to give me what I deserve, leave me alone so I can find someone who will."

He looks at me and I take the key from his hand and go towards the bathroom door, I open the door and go out, if Valentim wants me, it will be my way.

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