Raquel was having difficulty breathing as she felt her throat constrict painfully. She wanted to scream loudly but her throat was too parched despite all the drinks she had earlier. She wanted to cry but tears refused to form in her eyes. Her legs shook as she paced around the room, their bedroom, she thought painfully.

Only seven months had passed since they got this home. After the Bank of Spain heist, Sergio told her that Europe was no longer off-limits now and they won't be going back to Mindanao. In fact, if ever someone chased after them (She still feared that Alberto would come after them for Paula), then the Philippines would be the last part of the world they should go to. Raquel had agreed so they settled in a small fishing village in Bulgaria seven months ago.

And in those seven months only, this house felt so well-lived in. She looked around her and thought, 'so much memorabilia. His books, his origami figurines, her flower vase, the seashells she kept on collecting every time they went on a walk on the shore, the portrait Paula had made of them was stuck on one of the walls with masking tape. Raquel had been so happy to see that Sergio had made it into the portrait of 'My family'. Her biggest fear while leaving Spain for good was that Paula and Sergio wouldn't get along, and that simple drawing had abated it. All these things indicated a good relationship, right? Was Sergio truly in love with her or was it just an illusion? She wasn't sure anymore.

So, she paced around the room, wringing her hands in her hair, until she fell on the bed, exhausted, and that's when the tears started.


As an avid fan of origami, Sergio had folded and unfolded many papers over the years, and had gotten many paper cuts in the process. The weirdest thing about them was, as he always mused after cutting his finger, was that one harmless cut can cause so much bleeding and pain. Now, Sergio wasn't a stranger to human anatomy. He knew that hands are densely packed with nerves and capillaries. And yet, even after taking utmost care, he kept getting paper cuts every once in a while. Naturally, he got better in treating them effectively and knew by heart that you should never leave a wound untreated otherwise it could fester, causing unnecessary trouble.

But maybe he wasn't as smart as everyone thought he was. Because he let this wound fester and now the poison was threatening to spoil his relationship, and he had no idea how to treat it.

Sergio was still staring at the spot vacated by Raquel when Monica's angry voice caught his attention.

"I can't believe you didn't tell her", Monica said incredulously.

He looked around the table and all of them seemed pissed off with him. Great, first Raquel and now all the gang was angry at him.

But he didn't have the energy to deal with their anger. He wasn't good at handling emotions after all, and he was surrounded by a lot of emotions.

He was a planner, a chess player. He did well in situations where he could predict a person's next move.

Emotions make people unpredictable. They made them do things they would never dream of doing if they were thinking rationally.

Like sleeping with a cop while you are on a heist, his mind supplied unnecessarily. He quickly pushed the thought at the back of his mind. He wanted to quickly get away from the dinner table and sort it out with Raquel.

"Look, it's none of your business." He said coldly," It's a lover's spat and I'm sure we will resolve it soon. In fact," He paused to down his glass of patxaran in one big gulp and continued, "I am just about to call it a night. You should do the same."

"While I admire your confidence in your relationship, you should leave her alone right now." Martin said with a sneer and Sergio was sure he was far from admirable for anyone at that moment. He slumped back in his chair.

"I'm sorry professor, I didn't know." Marseille whispered. He looked pretty hammered, though, his eyes were unfocused. It didn't look like he was really feeling anything at that point.

"The one saying sorry should be him." Monica accused, pointing her finger at Sergio. She was glaring daggers at him, and he knew she was right.

"Baby, it's not our place to say anything. It's none of our business, remember?" Denver said with a hint of sarcasm, and tugged at her arm. "Come on, let's go to bed." Monica seemed like she had to add more to the matter but Denver practically dragged her by the arm and walked her to their assigned guest room.

"Umm... I should also leave…" Manila whispered awkwardly and Sergio simply nodded.

Bogota, who had fell silent since the bomb had dropped, sighed heavily and pulled Marseille in a standing position. Then he swung Marseille's arm around his own shoulders and supported his body weight. Within two steps, Marseille stumbled and began to slide off to the ground again.

"Jeez, how much did you drink tonight?" Said Rio, quickly getting up and swinging the drunk man's other free arm on his shoulder, making him stand once again.

"Look mute, I don't want you to freeze yourself out here, so I'm going to help you walk to your room and throw you in there. But the least you can do is make some effort." Bogota growled out and they started walking towards Marseille's room.

Which left him alone with Martin.

"Aren't you leaving?" He said, barely reigning all his frustration and anger over the night's proceedings, "Or I imagine you have something to say about the situation?"

Martin simply chuckled, but there was no amusement in his eyes, only some strange emotion which felt like pity to Sergio.

"Oh, believe me, I have a lot of things to say about this situation, but I'm not going to say it. Because, you know what? It's none of my business!" Sergio flinched as his own words were thrown at his face for the second time during the night.

"I didn't mean it that way. It's a personal matter and we as gang members shouldn't…"

"For god's sake Sergio," Martin cut him off with a frustrated cry, "Stop talking about your bullshit rules. We are not in a heist. And it's too late to reinstate your 'No personal attachment' rule. Because we all are attached to each other, whether you like it or not. Even Raquel." He declared.

"I know. I'm sure you all trust her now. More than you trusted her during the planning of Bank of Spain heist-"

"It's not that you know." Martin interjected holding his gaze, "It's not just trust. Obviously, I trust her, but I admire her too, hermano. She is a woman of honour, Sergio. She is a fighter, and a survivor. She was abused by an asshole but she refused to let her life get destroyed by him. She could have sworn off all the men for that one reason, but she didn't. she chose to love you." Martin said it with such a passion that Sergio couldn't look away, even if he tried to. "…and look where it landed her. You turned out to be an asshole after all, only a different kind."

Martin's words fell on his head like a bucket of ice water. Surely, he wasn't like Alberto. He could never hurt her the way Raquel's Ex-husband hurt her. He kept a secret from her, a secret that was of significance to their relationship. But if he were to go through the promise he made to Nairobi, he would have told her. Unfortunately, Nairobi got executed, and he then thought the secret had lost its significance. But that wasn't abuse. He wasn't going to have an affair out of their relationship, it was all scientific. A little donation was all it was. Helping out a friend. He didn't do it to hurt Raquel.

"I'm sure you didn't do it to hurt her", Said Martin and Sergio realised that he had spat it all out in his drunken haze. "But regardless, she ended up hurt, Hermano!" He said as he squeezed Sergio's hand on the table, imploring him to see reason. "From her viewpoint, you abused her trust in you."

"I was just looking out for my friend, a friend who had risked her life for me several times. Whom I knew even before I knew Raquel." Sergio looked deflated as he said this, and Martin knew even he realised the flaws in his reasoning.

"Angel Rubio and Raquel," Martin started, "how long have they been together…" Before Sergio could interrupt, he added hastily "As partners of course, colleagues."

"8 years," Sergio whispered in a small voice. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Hmm... and rubio's wife left him, right?"

Sergio just nodded.

"He must feel really lonely, no? No wife, no kids, not even a friend he could hang out with." Martin was testing Sergio's patience and he knew it.

"What's the point of all this conversation?" He spat out.

"I'll soon come to my point. But before that, I need you to answer a hypothetical question." There was a small smile on Martin's lips and Sergio knew that hypothetical question was going to uproot his feelings. But too curious to know about Martin's point about Raquel's friend, he sighed and braced himself for the worst.

"Ask away!"

Martin had a twinkle in his eyes, "Suppose, Rubio gets fed up of living alone, and wants a child of his own. And being such a good friend of Raquel's…"

"He can very well adopt a child if he wants."

"Don't be so naïve, it's so hard to adopt a child for single males, don't you know it? But anyways, let's consider for the sake of our hypothetical situation, that he wants a child of his own genes, his flesh and blood. He would need a womb, which naturally brings him to Raquel. Let's just assume being the matured one, Raquel consults you about this. And with great difficulty, you support her in her decision. Even if they do it in a lab, her belly would remind you about it for 9 months."

Sergio's blood boiled at the thought. Raquel, pregnant with Rubio's child! His rage was so great, he couldn't speak. He could see his face warm up and loosened his tie, inhaling and exhaling rapidly. Only one word rang through his mind. Mine! Forever Mine!

"Calm down Sergio. It's never going to happen. It was a hypothetical question" Martin chuckled, much to Sergio's chagrin. "But I hope you get my point."

"Clearly!" Sergio spat, taking a few calming breaths. He now knew what a blunder he made. "I'm an asshole."

"Your sense of self-realisation is impeccable. Now that you know where you went wrong, I hope you can correct your mistake." Martin said while getting on his feet. "Now stop moping around here and go get your girl! When I see you tomorrow, I should see a happy couple!" he started to walk away, then turned and added, "and don't screw it up this time."

Which left him alone to think about how to diffuse the current situation in the most effective way. Slowly, he made his way into the war-zone.


When Sergio returned to their bedroom, it was well past midnight. Raquel was sleeping, curled up on the bed in foetal position. She looked so small like that, so vulnerable, and Sergio couldn't help but feel angry at himself. He was the reason for her current state.

He sighed softly; the conversation would have to wait till morning.

Trying not to make any noise, he shut the door softly and took off his shoes, then he hung his suit jacket on the armchair by the window. He padded on the floor till he reached his side of the bed and crouched down, slightly looming on her side of the bed.

It was then that he noticed how deathly still she was, no movement, no sound of breathing in and out, it was like she was holding her breath. She wasn't sleeping, only pretending to be asleep.

"Raquel…" he breathed out softly.

No response.

He was in a dilemma. His head was pounding by that time, because of the stress of the situation or the onset of a hangover, he couldn't guess. She would be in the same condition, only worse. He didn't want to cause any more trouble than he already did to her. But he couldn't say nothing, as he felt if he waited till morning it could worsen the situation.

So, he began to speak.

"Raquel, I know you are awake. And I also know that I've messed up pretty badly. I am really sorry, Raquel. I didn't mean to hurt you." He tried again, but apart from a slight tremor in her body, he couldn't invoke any response from her.

"Raquel, please talk to me. If we don't talk about it, we will never…"

"Oh, so NOW you want to talk about it?" Raquel sat up so fast, he shrunk back, startled. "What do you want me to say, huh? What do you say to your fiancé who was planning to have a secret baby with a woman who had a huge crush on him for years?"

"Do you think I wanted to have a baby with her?" He asked sadly, "I only ever thought of having a baby with you, Raquel. Before that I didn't even think of any woman like that. No seriously, look at me…" he said hurriedly as Raquel let out a snort of disbelief. "Raquel, just look at me, please!" He said earnestly, trying to tug at her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted and got off the bed quickly. He held his hands up trying to placate her.

"Ok ok… but just look at me please, I need you to hear me out first" He scooted towards her side of the bed, till he reached the edge and stood up in front of her. "Just look at me." He implored again.

Still unconvinced, she let out a shaky breath, but still turned her eyes to meet his.

He could see her eyes were red rimmed and felt such a strong urge to kiss them better, to blow on them, to just take her in his arms and soothe her, if she let him. But she also had a glint in her eyes, a fire that told him it wasn't a possibility currently. Not in his wildest dreams.

So, he exhaled noisily and started, "Nairobi came to me with her idea, and I initially denied it. I told her it was impossible. But then she told me about all the times she missed having a family, a baby, and I could sense she longed for Axel, Raquel. His life was set by the time we finished the first heist and she wasn't sure he even had any memories of her. Because of this uncertainty, she couldn't risk subjecting her child to a life of exile and constant shifting to avoid detection." Sergio saw a tear rolling down from her eye and he knew she knew all this and was equally affected by Nairobi's misery over losing a child. Raquel was a mother Afterall. She would know how Nairobi felt.

"She said she only wanted me to make a donation, so that her baby could have good genes." Raquel snorted at that, but he ignored and continued, "she told me I didn't have to act as a parent to the kid. It was not going to be in a traditional way Raquel, we were planning to get an IVF…"

"Stop... stop right now... Just stop it, Sergio!" Raquel yelled suddenly looking away. She started pacing around the room like she couldn't stand still "I can't bear to hear about it. I can't bear to look at you while you spill out your plan."

"Raquel, I'm telling you the truth!" Sergio said breathlessly, "Please believe me"

"Oh, I believe you… alright! I really believe you Sergio. You are a man who plans every single conversation in your head. I know it. And what a great plan it was!" she broke into a laugh, clapping her hands like a madwoman, "kudos to you for creating such a great plan."

"Raquel..."

"Tell me where did I fit in your plan, Sergio. "She inched closer to him until her palm rested on his chest, "Tell me what role I had in this great plan of yours."

"Raquel…" He whispered as she began toying with the top button of his shirt.

"While making the donation…" she whispered equally softly, "tell me you would've thought about me, about me doing this to you…" she pressed a feather light kiss to his Adams apple, "you would've thought about doing this to me..." she grabbed his hands that went rigid with shock from what she was doing, and placed them on her breasts, rubbing them on her nipples. He avoided eye contact and hung his gaze low. He felt so disgusted with himself at that moment it was showing on his face.

Raquel noted his expressions, because she slowly dragged her palm that was resting on his chest up until it was resting on his cheeks, making him look at her.

"Why carino, aren't you liking this?" she whispered cruelly, brushing her lips to his earlobes, "Because I know this always turns you on."

"Please don't be like this." Sergio begged, a lone tear escaping his eyes. He knew she was hurting a lot and she wanted to hurt him too. He felt such shame and guilt for awakening this spiteful side of her.

"Ok... ok... don't cry baby. It's ok... I get it" she caressed his face with both her hands now, wiping the tear from his cheek, bringing more shame to Sergio. "I get it you didn't want to think about me then" Sergio began to shake his head but she held onto his face, making him stop the movement. "Look in my eyes and tell me you at least would have thought about the lies you told me." She spat this with such a venom, Sergio felt it pierce through his heart.

"Raquel… "tears flowed freely from his eyes now and she flinched back, taking off her hands from his face and wiped them on her shirt, like they were acid rain, burning holes in her skin.

"You know what hurts more Sergio?" She suddenly spat out, "the fact that you kept it a secret. Forget about asking, you didn't even tell me. Why?"

"I'm sorry…" He said helplessly.

"Sorry!" Raquel scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Don't deflect my question with a simple sorry Sergio. I deserve more! I want to know. I have to know why you kept it from me."

She gave a hard searching gaze at his face, which was currently hung in shame.

"Was it because you didn't think I would support you? That I would not let you do it?" she asked when he didn't show any sign of speaking up. Because I assure you, I would have let you do it…" He gulped at her declaration. "I know what Nairobi went through Sergio! I am a mother! I would have supported you and assured you that it was for a good cause."

Sergio met her eyes and knew instantly that she would have. He thought back to his reaction to Martin's hypothetical situation and felt even more ashamed. This woman here had offered her heart to him and he trampled on it. He stared down at his toes in disgrace.

"Hell, I even celebrated the possible birth of that child." Raquel's voice hitched as she said this, and he knew if he looked up, he would see tears in her eyes too. But he couldn't look at her. "I danced and sang and drank with her that afternoon. I was happy for her… you have to believe me I was happy for her…" She said it so earnestly he had no other option than to meet her eyes.

"I believe you…" he spoke softly, but he wasn't sure she heard him. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she was lost in the memory of that afternoon.

"Friends with benefits!" she said suddenly.

"What?" Sergio's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"Tokyo said it was a Friend with benefits! When I asked Nairobi about the father of the child…" She said shakily and let out a strangled sob. "She lied to me, and Nairobi lied to me and I can't even get mad at them, because they're both dead."

The pounding in Sergio's head was worsening by the second and had synched up with the pounding in his chest. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and soothe her ache, kiss her hurt away. But he knew he wasn't worthy of that privilege.

He saw her gaze hardening and shrunk back slightly.

She took a few calming breaths to try to control the tremors in her body.

"I want you to tell me the real issue, Sergio." She said determinedly. "About why you didn't tell me."

"I thought you'd be opposed to the idea."

"That's not it and you know it very well" she shouted, then again breathed deeply, regaining her self-control. "I want you to tell me why you don't trust me." She said calmly.

"What made you think that?" he said, shaking his head slightly.

"This..." she gestured at the space between them, "This issue that we are discussing, is a classic demonstration of your distrust of me. But if you need some more examples, I can give you more." She said in an accusatory tone.

When he didn't speak up, she continued," How about the time you told me during the heist that I wasn't there for the right reasons, that I wanted my revenge and didn't care for the plan? Or the time you called me a weakest link? You thought I'm of no use to you in the control room, didn't you? that I was hampering your concentration? Did you think I did it on purpose?"

Sergio was shaking his head remorsefully now. Those weren't his best moments. He was executing a plan that wasn't his. He was under immense pressure and he was worried the plan would fail and he could lose the lives of his beloved gang members. And he just took it out on Raquel, like a punching bag. How different was he from Alberto really?

"You said you 'got me' last time. You said it like you tricked me into letting you go."

"I am really sorry Raquel. I was abominable in those moments. I will never forgive myself for saying those things-"

"You are not as smart as you think, professor. Because you got caught again, by Alicia…"

Her eyes glinted as if she found some important piece of the puzzle.

"Now that I think about it, you tricked her too! You tricked her into letting you go once again. Oh god, how could I be so blind not to see it before?" She said grimly.

"Raquel, that's not true. You are miscalculating everything…" He cried out breathlessly. She was hurt, and she wanted to hurt him. That's it, she doesn't believe in this shit she's talking … he tried to reassure himself.

"Nope!" she said while popping the P, "I'm not miscalculating, professor! Because I'm not a calculative person. But you gravely miscalculated, isn't it?" She said with sneer, a fire in her eyes, a fire that threatened to burn him alive, "tell me, how does it feel to be bested by a woman, a disgraced Inspectora, at that, who's taken too many blows, but still managed to find out your location, when an entire police force couldn't find you? Does it hurt your ego? Was Palawan your revenge?

" Raquel…don't say that!" he whispered, horrified at the idea, "I love you… You know I do."

"Do you remember the time when you drove me to the House of Toledo?" She continued ignoring his declaration of love, "The first time you drove me there, when I knew you as Salva?"

Sergio slowly nodded. The house of Toledo brought back many unpleasant memories for him, especially when she was like this- bereft, and ready to hit the rock bottom.

"I told you that day, that I was not good on the field, where all the action is. That I feel much more comfortable in the tent, negotiating with the head of the heist, even if that means facing all the uncomfortable questions." She suddenly came close to him and asked a little forcefully, "I told you that, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did" he said, slightly startled by this change of subject.

"Do you know why? Do you want to know why?" she paused to catch her breath, and she looked so vulnerable that Sergio wanted to hold her in his arms and rock her to sleep.

Not getting any answer from him, she started talking again, "Because I hate violence! I hate excessive and unnecessary violence. It triggers me, all the painful memories… all those years spent with-"

Alberto! It suddenly dawned on him… It reminded her of her days with Alberto.

She was reeling now, rocking back and forth on her toes and heels, as if to soothe herself. His heart lurched at the sight. If only she'd let him soothe her. He was about to reach out to her when she exhaled loudly and continued.

"I hate violence and yet I followed Plan Paris! Knowing that it will be a blood bath after that!" Sergio felt like she punched him in the gut, "I fought a fucking war for you, because I believed in you. I trusted you, Sergio!" He hated how her voice broke when she took his name. "But look where it landed me."

"I am sorry, Raquel. I …" what could he say that would make it better, he thought.

She had fought like a soldier in the Bank of Spain. No, not a soldier… a commander, a strategist. All because she trusted that he would save them all. Her trust in him was an extraordinary gift, a gift he wasn't sure he deserved anymore. All the while she had loved him so freely, so completely. And he was busy building trenches and bunkers around his heart so that no emotional attachment could hurt him. The way those emotional attachments destroyed Andrese…

she slumped back, sitting heavily on the bed. Suddenly all the fight left her.

Sergio stood there, frozen on his spot. It could've been a moment or eternity. Then she was moving again, trying to take off her engagement, and that spurred him into action.

"What are you doing?" He asked in disbelief.

"I don't know who you are anymore, Sergio. There are too many masks." She said in a small voice. "I tried to peel them off and get to the real you. But every time I peel one, there's another underneath." She said mournfully.

"No. Please don't..." Sergio said as she struggled with the ring. He kneeled in front of her, coming eye to eye with her and begged, "Please, I'll do anything"

"Then show me who you really are, Sergio! because I can't marry a stranger!" She said heatedly, trying to pry the ring off her finger, but not able to do so as her vision blurred with tears.

"No, please don't take it off…" He cried, taking both her hands into his, "tell me... just tell me what to do... I will do it Raquel… please I beg you!"

She looked at him for a moment like she wanted to hug him. So, he pressed on, "Raquel, I love you. You know I do… Please give me a chance." But the next moment, he saw a resolve forming in her eyes.

"I believe you." She said with steely eyes, "I believe you love me, but what I need is your trust. And if you can't give it to me freely, then I don't think we should marry."

With great difficulty, she managed to free her knuckles from his hands, and slowly walked to the door. Once at the door, she turned and gave one last mournful look to his frame, bent on his knees, in front of the spot-on bed that she vacated, and she exited the room.

Sergio sagged to the floor in disbelief over what had happened. Then he shut off his logical side and let the sobs overtake his body. It took him a long time to realise the cold pressure he felt in his palms was a golden band with a single diamond.