I walk through the mud and dirt, passing many homes that consist of crate boards, clad canisters, palm leaves and plastic bags. There are no roofs here, no real walls - nothing but trash and drugs. There's no water, toilets, electricity and transportation. Most people I've come across here don't even own shoes and their clothes were ripped. The alleys between the closely packed houses are so narrow that I wonder how anyone bigger than me can walk through here. The houses lack windows, dirt is on the floor. There are leaky walls and roofs, if there are roofs. The homes are overcrowded with up to twenty people living in the tiny one room houses. It's a maze full of horrific images. Child labour is common here, I'm sure. The kids here probably don't even know what a school is.

I feel sick.

I can't believe Oliver is from here.

After another 45 minutes and zillion steps, I reach a part of the favela that has houses with actual roofs and obsolete asphalted streets. Huge water tanks are placed on the roofs, so I'm guessing the people use the rainwater for showering, cleaning and perhaps even drinking. Problem is, we're in the middle of summer and the water tanks are almost always empty.

There is no rain. There hasn't been in months.

Some houses have satellites and I can even hear a few TVs as I continue with my walk. So this part of the favela has electricity. Maybe even toilets. But probably no internet. The electricity wires are hanging everywhere above my head and especially in one of the millions alleys that are between the houses. It's chaotic.

I walk past something the people here would call shops. There's even a hair dresser, so there must be some kind of water supply. Kids are playing next to the streets. Cars and motorcycles are rushing by me.

There are 763 favelas in Rio, 220 of these are getting controlled by the police. The rest gets forgotten, the people there are left on their own. Of course, this is a place without police. Why couldn't this be a bit safer?! Some kids are running around with weapons. Other places I walk by are making drugs to sell it to the rich.

I am so glad that the Bolton Foundation has decided to build three new schools and the first hospital here. The kids deserve an education and maybe a way out. Or at least have the hope. And the citizens deserve healthcare.

I even convinced my uncle to build a public swimming pool here.

I stop at one of the prettier houses after another 45 minute walk. The house is still plain, held in a light grey colour that's not paint but the concrete that the house is made of. It's also quite high because the citizens have to pay per square metre, so they try to keep the costs at a minimum to finance something that's not even worth called life. I don't even know if I can call it a house. It has no doors and the windows are just large holes that have been hit through the concrete. Yes, it looks better than the places I've seen but it's not... it shouldn't be called a home. These conditions he lives here are so badly that I want to cry. Actually cry. Just like all the other houses, there's no door here as well. I stop at the entrance, casting a shadow inside. There's a fire pit in the middle and a blanket that serves for a bed, I think. On tubes hang clothes and other stuff which they use on daily basis here.

My heart clenches at the image in front of me. I can't believe people call this a home. Suddenly, I feel bad for my wealth. How can I live in a penthouse with a view over the Thames when people live like this here at the other end of the world?

It's horrible. Scary.

Heartbreaking.

No wonder Daddy didn't let me travel to Rio without six security men. I thought he was being ridiculous but he had a point. This place is not for someone like me.

"Miss Bolton, I think we should go back." Ralph says to me. Just like his five colleagues, he is wearing civil clothes to blend in. His five colleagues are camouflaged so well that I wouldn't recognise them if I didn't know them.

"This is right address, isn't it?" I ask him instead.

"Yes, but no one's home. I suggest we come back at a better time."

"No, we'll stay." I insist. Now that I've found what I've been looking for for the last six months, I don't want to leave until I have what I want.

"Miss Bolton, I would politely appeal to that smart brain of yours. This is not a safe place. Being here any longer than you should, is a serious risk."

"Ralph," I hiss at my bodyguard.

He takes a step back and hides between the houses like the rest of my entourage. If I came here with six men surrounding me, the people would try to rob me, making the math faster than my guys could react. I know this is a very dangerous area. There are gang wars, rapes and armed robbery daily here. There's no hope of a better life here. You don't have these dreams when you grow up in this squalidness and misery of the favelas. You fight to stay alive. The many little walls that are here are full of graffiti. I saw a black angel on a pink background and superman. We're not just in any of Rio's Favelas, we're in the most dangerous. In Rocinha.

And Rocinha is bloody alive. Everywhere are people on motorcycles or people on the streets. Cars drive through like they own the streets. It's absolutely chaotic! Getting killed by a vehicle is probably the biggest cause of death here. There are tiny narrow alleys with hundreds of steps between the houses that look like they might fall apart any second. On my way to the better part of Rocinha people still stared at me like I don't belong here. And I don't.

I dressed down in jeans shorts, sandals and a white top. I've put off all of my jewellery except for my Cartier ring that has a GPS sensor built in. Ralph said I should put the ring into the pocket of my jeans so I've done that. I'm not wearing any makeup and I've left my hair open but I am wearing a hat to protect myself from the merciless Brazilian sun.

But I still look rich as fuck.

It's in my blood, in my genetics... in everything I do and say. In the way I walk, the way I talk, it's even in the way I breathe. I can't change my background.

Suddenly, a childish laughter fills my ears and I turn around at the sound. The man who owns my heart is standing in front of me with a little child sitting on his shoulders. His beach blonde hair has grown a little longer, his tanned arms and legs look a lot stronger, but his eyes are just as I remember. These pine green eyes...

I can feel how my heart starts beating faster in my chest and the butterflies start going crazy. I've found him. After six months of searching, I've found him two weeks before I have to fly back home.

I can't believe I've found him!

Suddenly, it all comes back to me. The memories that I share with him. Finland. The moments we shared on my rooftop garden. The moments we shared in a bathtub together. The moments in my kitchen. The moments when we sat on the couch and ate Mexican food with our hands. The moments when I played the piano for him... in a second it all came back to me.

And I realise what mistake I made when I pushed him away.

After all these months, after over a year of not seeing each other, I still feel everything when he is near. It's an explosion of feelings that I can't put into words even if I tried.

It's so much that tears start forming in my eyes.

I've found him.

"Josephine," his deep scratchy voice fills my heart with a kind of warmth that I've missed so much over the last year. His lion-like voice is like balm for my soul. The roar vibrates through my whole body and awakes parts that have been asleep since I pushed him away. He lifts his brother off his shoulder and puts him down. That must be Jonathan. Unlike Oliver, he has deep brown curly hair and mocha brown eyes. He walks into the house they call home. There were times in my life when I would have called it trash. "What are you doing here?"

"I want you back." I breathe out without feeling an ounce of shame.

His shakes his head, "That's not enough."

I should have known. Oliver is a very proud man and I hurt him. "I want to give us a chance. A real chance. No arrangement. No rules. Just us."

He shakes his head again. "How do I know you won't fuck with me again?"

"I guess you don't. But I'm giving you my word. I will give us a chance. A real one. I want to see where this leads to. I want you in my life."

"I don't belong there. This is where I'm from and I'm not afraid to admit that this is my home. Sure it's nothing compared to your penthouse with a view over the Thames but it's my home. It's where my brothers were born. It's where I raised my siblings after my Dad died."

"Oliver,"

"No, you are too late. This is not enough for me. I love you, I do but I need more than that."

More than that? What more can he want? "I don't understand."

"I can't go back with you. I have no papers. My family has not enough money for a flight back to London. It took me twelve years to save enough money for an illegal ticket to the UK and then I met you... and suddenly everything got mixed up." He says with a shrug before looking into the house behind me. "You see, I need more than just your words. I can't come back to you no matter how much I want to. I won't get through the border control even if I somehow collect enough money for a flight."

That's when the penny drops. "You want me to marry you."

"How else am I suppose to get back to you?"

"I can pull a few strings."

He looks at me with his pine coloured eyes. "You have connections to the British immigration bureau?"

I have connections to the King of Great Britain as my sister and brother are married into Royalty. My brother-in-law is a former FBI agent. My other brother-in-law is a Romanov. My father is one of the richest businessmen in the world. He knows people. He'll do anything for me. I have a lot of strings I can pull. I'm sure one of them will get him and his family legal papers. "Yes." I lie into his face. I'd say anything to get him out of here. Him and his family. "I can get you the papers you need. But you have to come with me right now."

"My Mum's not home yet."

"We can pick her up from work." I suggest.

"I'd rather wait for her here. She is going to be here soon."

"Okay."

"My other brother will be here soon as well."

I nod. "Okay."

"Okay." He echoes before walking over to me. As soon as he reaches me I expect him to touch me. But to my surprise he doesn't. He just stares at me with his pine green eyes and beach blonde hair that has reached his chin again. Over the last year he has gained quite a bit of muscle mass. He has also developed a tan, that's unavoidable from here under the merciless sun of Brazil.

I pull the rim of my floppy hat back to look at him properly. I am still in awe of his pine green eyes. I've never seen anything like this. "You look good."

"After all this time, this is what you have to tell me in the first moment when we're alone?" He asks me back.

I deserve that. He's still pissed and I don't blame him. I broke us up and after roughly a year ago, I am back at his feet, begging him to come back to me. It's pathetic. It's weak.

It's not me.

"Oliver, I did a lot of thinking in the last year..." I start and take off my sunglasses. "I did a mistake when I broke things off with you. You wanted more and I wasn't ready to offer you more. But now... I guess, now I'm more comfortable with the idea."

"And how many men did you had to fuck to get to this conclusion?" He hisses at me.

I eloped from my own wedding on my wedding day. A wedding to one of the wealthiest men on the planet but I decide to not tell him that. He doesn't have to know about Edward Rothschild. "Oliver,"

"15? 35? 50?" He starts throwing numbers at me.

"Just one." I answer as he narrows his eyes at me.

His bushy eyebrows shoot up, "One fuck?"

"One man." I correct him. "And roughly 60 fucks if you really need to know the number."

"That's not even half of what we did in three months."

We had sex multiple times daily - morning and evening sex was a must and sometimes we sneaked in a quickie in my lunch breaks. "Yes." I whisper. Looking back at it now, Edward and me were never really a good fit. Not as good as Oliver and me. With him, there are even sparks right this second, without him touching me.

I never had sparks with Edward. Not like this.

"What made you realise you want me back? Was the sex so bad?" He asks me. "No, that wasn't it. You don't settle for anything less than what you're worth... No, it must've been something else. Did he wanted more from you as well?"

He wanted to marry me - and I couldn't picture a future with him in it. Instead I saw Oliver. There was no way I could marry Edward, no matter how well of a fit we are on paper. "He did but I turned him down. I couldn't offer him more."

"Yet, you're here making me the same offer."

I shrug because I don't know what he wants to hear from me. I don't love Oliver but I know whatever I feel for him is special and I want to find out where that leads us. "Oliver, I'm not here to say that I return your feelings - I mean if your feelings haven't changed-"

"They haven't."

He still loves me. Weirdly, that makes me smile. "Good."

"Good?"

"Yes. Because maybe I'm going to get there one day, too."

"It's not a feeling you develop when enough time passes by. Either you love me or you don't. There's no in between."

"That's where you're wrong. There is an in between and I am at the place right now. I don't love you but I also don't not love you. You're important to me. Very important. So important that I agreed to build one school, one kindergarten, one swimming pool, a hospital and a women's shelter in the Brazilian Slums just to have an excuse to fly here and look for you."

"You're the one building those here?"

"Yes. It's a project from the Bolton Foundation."

"I thought you were working for Bolton's Enterprises."

"I changed my career after we broke up. I decided to focus more on humanitarian work so the foundation was the better choice. I am very happy there. I enjoy working with my uncle very much."

"You seem happy when you talk about your work." He says, giving me his first smile. "You look a lot happier than you did when you were after your father's job."

"Yeah, well I've come to terms that work is not everything in life."

"And I am the rest in life that suddenly seems so important to you?"

"Not suddenly. You've also been important to me but I guessed I didn't show you that often enough."

"No, you didn't. You're a closed book with seven seals."

"Well, I vow to be more open now."

"Does that mean we can be seen in public?"

"Isn't this a public space right now?" I ask back with a smirk.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. And yes we can be seen in public."

"What am I suppose to tell my mother and brothers when they ask about you?"

He obviously can't tell them about our arrangement. "Whatever you want. You can call me a friend."

"But we're so much more than just friends. We were so much more than you let us be."

"I know! Don't you think I don't know that by now?! I made the biggest mistake of my life by pushing you away." I sigh and shrug, "Look, I don't know what we are and until we're both on the same page I suggest the term friend. It's neutral and free from any judgement."

"You still sound like that CEO job, you always wanted."

I shrug again. So much has changed since we last saw each other. I grew into a different woman. A woman with different priorities and values. "It was my dream but then you stepped into my life and my dream changed. Now, I'm building a school, a kindergarten, a swimming pool and a hospital in the Brazilian Slums. Things change."

"But people don't."

"No, but their feelings can." I whisper into his eyes. "You wanted forever and I wasn't ready to give you this."

"I never wanted forever. I wanted a chance."

"I'm ready to give you that now, too. I'm ready for you... this... us. If you still want me."

"I'll always want you. Only you." He promises me.

I feel the urge to grab his hand but I don't. Instead I put my hat off and run my tingling fingertips through my hair. "It's a hot day..." Why the hell am I talking about the weather?

"Not hotter than usually." Oliver says before looking at me. "Why are you here all alone? This is a very dangerous part of the town. You shouldn't be here without Ralph."

He still remembers him. I smile. "I'm not. In fact, Ralph brought his five friends."

Oliver furrows his bushy eyebrows at me. "Where?"

I point to the corners and alleys in front of us as well as to corners behind us. A few are reading a newspaper, others are talking to each other. Not one of them is looking at me directly but I know they're all wondering what the hell I'm doing here. "They're in civil clothes to camouflage properly."

"I would have never known that these men are your security."

"It's why they work for me." I tell him with a soft smile on my lips. "How have you been?"

"It was over and somehow my broken heart still found a way to beat. Nothing was the same after I walked out of your penthouse. The place where Finn and I used to live got sold without us knowing. Apparently the owner of the building died and her children sold the house to make private flats out of it. They had it cleared by police officers and as Finn and me wet there illegally we both got sent home."

"Oh no..."

Oliver shrugs, "As soon as I was back in Rio, I started working at a coffee plantage. Fourteen hours a day, six days a week. After about half a year I changed to a banana plantage. Ten hours a day but still six days a week. The extra four hours gave me time to pick up my little brother from school during the week and help him and Caio with homework."

Fuck. Ana was right. Oliver was really struggling. "Your Mum must've been happy to see you."

"She was very happy." He says with a smile on his thin lips. "But also very upset because she thought I would get her, Caio and Jonathan to London."

"You will bring them there now." I promise him. I will do anything to get him and his family to London.

Suddenly, Johnathan runs out of the house again. He stops between us. "Are you the woman who stole my brother's heart?" He asks me in Portuguese.

I knee down to be on eye level with him. "I don't know. Did I?"

"Well, you fit her description."

"Oh and what's that?"

"A brunette princess with sky blue eyes. But your hair is shorter. Oli said it would go down to your hips but it doesn't."

Oli? I've never called him that. I chuckle at Johnathan's words. "Okay to clarify, I am not a princess but I do know a lot of princesses. My nieces are princesses and my sister is one. Even my brother."

"But not you?" He asks me frowning. He has beautiful brown eyes that are full of warmth.

"No, not me. And as for the hair, I cut it very short a long time ago. After I stole and broke your brother's heart." I lick my lips.

"And now you're here to fix it again?"

"Yes."

"Will you get him away from here?"

"Yes but with you and your mother and your other brother."

His icy blue eyes light up, "Will we go to London?"

I nod, "That's the plan, buddy."

He looks at Oliver, "Is this true?"

Oliver knees down as well. "How about you pack your favourite things in a bag while Josephine and me wait for Mum and Caio?"

He nods before running back into the house.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Josephine."

"I never made one that I didn't keep."

"You've hurt me worse than anyone else in my life. My father's death is meaningless compared to what you did to me."

That's a wrecking ball I didn't see coming. It hits me so sudden and hard that I can't breathe for a moment. "Oliver,"

"I love you, Josephine. I will always love you. That's my weak spot. My only weak spot." His pine green eyes lighten up into a grass green. "My mind drowned in the possibility of you and me. When we were together, nothing else mattered. I felt whole and complete. I felt home in a different country on completely foreign territory. You meant the world to me. You were my stars and sun. I don't know how you couldn't see that I was lost in the sea of you. That I'd rather drown in your shadows than swim in someone else's light?!"

Fuck, I didn't expect this confession on the streets of Rocinha.

"There were bloody miracles in your kisses. They were medicine in my veins. I was so caught up in you and me... but I'm a fool. Because it was a flawless flickering fake love. I loved you but you didn't love me back." He runs his fingers through his hair before sighing.

His words hurt me like nothing else before. Tears start welling up in my eyes and my throat tightens. I can't even gulp down my emotions.

"You still don't love me, do you? You still don't see what we have as special, as worth fighting for!"

"That's not true! I didn't know what we had was special but I know it's worth fighting for. Why do you think I am here?! Do you think it's easy for me to come back to you after almost two years, crawling on my knees and beg you to come with me?!"

"You didn't do much begging. You demanded me to come with you but I don't dance to your pipe, Josephine. Not anymore! I want realness!"

"Is this not real enough for you?!" I hiss at him.

"No, it's bloody not!" He yells back at me so loudly that I fear Ralph and his gang might interfere.

"What's going on here?"

I wince as suddenly a feminine Portuguese voice slices through our yelled words. I look to my right and see a woman about my height and size standing across us. She's dressed in a purple uniform from a hotel. A golden plate with her name is pinned to her chest. Mrs. Maria Rodriguez. She has her hands placed on her hips. Her dark brown hair is put into a ponytail. Her face has a few wrinkles but I make the connection immediately.

"Mama," Oliver breathes out.

"Why the hell are you fighting in the middle of the street?!" She asks us with raised eyebrows. "I heard you miles away!"

Fuck, were we that loud?

Oliver gulps before looking at me for a moment.

The fight has been delayed.

"Mama, this is Josephine."

I hold out my hand but she refuses to shake it.

"The women who made sure to send you back in a million pieces?" She asks me with a raised eyebrow.

Yep, she definitely isn't a fan of mine. I gulp and retreat my hand. "Yes." I admit. There's no way to deny that I've hurt Oliver and if his family has to run it under my nose every time I talk to them then so be it. I've handled worse situations.

"And what are you doing here? Are you here to steal him from us?" She sounds angry and hurt... and protective of her son. She's exactly as I pictured her to be.

"No, actually I was wondering if you all might come back to London with me."

Her brown eyes widen, "All of us?"

I nod, "Yes. I've already talked to Oliver and I will provide you with all the documents needed."

"Can you really do this?" She asks me again.

"I can." I promise her.

She eyes me in a way that makes me feel insecure for a moment before looking at Oliver. They step away from me to talk in private.

I don't think I've convinced her yet.

I look at Ralph who catches my gaze and understands it. He and his five men walk over to me. They're all tall, bulky and a bit scary looking. "If Mrs. Rodriguez gives her okay, I want you to help them pack up their stuff before we go back to the hotel."

Ralph gives me a puzzled look, "You want to take them with you back to London?"

Ralph's a smart man. "Yes."

He nods, "Good. We'll assist."

Oliver comes back to me while his mother Maria walks into the house. "She said yes."

I nod to Ralph and they follow Maria into the house. "They're going to help."

"We don't have much to pack. We'll be ready in a few minutes." He says before walking into the house. It's clear he doesn't want me to take a step into his home.

I watch Oliver eyeing Ralph on the doorstep. The men don't share a word but Ralph comes back to me a moment later. "Ralph, I don't need-"

"You're my priority, Miss Bolton. I will never let you out of my sight." He shuts me up with a dark gaze.

I nod, "Okay. Don't inform my family about this yet. I want to do that on my own terms."

"Good because they don't know you're currently here, Miss Bolton." He smirks.

I chuckle, "Have I ever told you how much I love you, Ralph?"

He blushes, "Don't let that hear the gentlemen who just walked into the house."

I chuckle again before embracing him with one arm. "Thank you for taking care of me."

Oliver

The ride from my home to the luxury six stars hotel was filled with silence on my side, excitement from my little brothers and my Mum, who still can't believe what's happening. She still thinks it's a dream. Josephine drove in a different car to the hotel. Her team came with three different Range Rovers.

It's surreal to be standing in a lift right now that's filled with my mother, my two brothers, six security men who are holding the little bags we packed - one is Ralph, I recognised him - and the love of my life. Josephine looks beautiful. Her flawless skin is tanned so now her skin colour matches mine. Her hair has lightened under the Brazilian sun to a honey blonde. It suits her very well.

The doors of the lift open before I can look at her any longer. The security men rush out first to check the suite for any intruders.

"All clear!" Ralph says to Josephine after a few moments.

Josephine nods, "Thank you. This will be our home for the next two weeks." she says to my family and me. "There are two guest bedrooms for you." She announces before stepping out of the lift. We follow her into the luxury suite that she has called home for the last half year. It's big and probably too expensive but that's Josephine's standards. There's a full kitchen, a powder room and a huge living room that has access to the balcony which overlooks the beach. It's a stunning view but nothing compared to the view of Josephine's penthouse.

I dreamt about it every single night since we parted ways. I dreamt of her and I dancing in her living room. Night after night...

"Wow! This is like a palace!" Johnathan breathes out.

"The guest rooms are to the left." Josephine says. "They have en-suite bathrooms."

"Johnathan is sleeping with me." My Mum decides. "Oliver, you will sleep with Caio."

I nod, "Okay."

Caio is too stunned to say a word. He has never seen anything like this. Unlike my Mum, who worked as a cleaning lady in a two stared hotel.

"I want this room!" My little brother says as he opens the first door. It's a pretty bedroom held in neutral colours. It's quite big with a closet and an en-suite bathroom. I expect the other room to look the same.

"We'll take the other room then." I smile as Jonathan starts climbing up the bed. He jumps up and down the bed.

"Johnathan, get down!" My Mama hisses at him.

Josephine's chuckle creates goosebumps all over my skin. "Don't worry about it. What do you guys want to eat?"

"Can we have anything we want?" Johnathan asks as my Mama tears him off of the bed.

"No sweets." My Mama reminds him.

"Anything savoury then." Josephine says with a smile.

I look at my sixteen year old brother. He hasn't said a word since we left Rocinha. His dark brown eyes stare out at the beach. "Everything okay?"

He nods, "It feels surreal."

I place my hand on his left shoulder and squeeze him softly the way Daddy did to me when he was still alive. "I know. That's Josephine's super power. This feeling will never go away but you're going to get used to the looks."

"Really?"

I don't know. I haven't been long enough with her to find that out. But this time things will be different. It has to. I'm risking everything I have, I put my family on the line - it has to work out. "I don't know. I'd like to believe so."

He nods before turning around to face Josephine. "Anything that's eatable. We're not picky eaters."

Josephine nods, probably sensing the question of food has put her on thin ice. We're used to maybe one meal a day and even that wasn't a big one. "I'll order a little bit of everything and then we can find out what you like and what you don't like. And while that's getting delivered, I'd like you all to take a shower. When you're finished there're going to be some fresh clothes waiting for you." Josephine decides in her old-manners. Some things really never change.

"We don't need-"

I stop my Mama by placing my hand on her shoulder. If there's one thing I learned from being with Josephine than it's you never say no to what she offers. You can't shut down her humanitarian side. She loves to give without asking for anything in return. It's in her blood.

"Thank you." I whisper as my brothers and my Mama walk into the two guest bedrooms.

She tilts her head slightly to the right and bites on to her lower lip as it starts shaking.

I don't know what that means. She's never done that in my presence but I suspect it means no good. "Josephine,"

She shakes her head, "I'm okay."

"You don't look okay."

"I've spent the last six months looking for you. I was dreaming and wishing for this moment right here. It's surreal for me, too."

I want to embrace her, feel her in my arms again but something stops me. Maybe my awareness of how awful I must smell. Just this morning I went to work at the banana plantage the whole day but now I'm here. It's a contrast I can't wrap my head around. "I'm going to take a shower."

She nods, "Do you still like Argentine steak?"

I can't believe she remembers that. We usually hate Argentina because we always loose against them in soccer but we love their food. "Yes, yes I do."

"I'll order two for you." She promises me with a small smile that makes my heart go haywire. She's the only woman on this planet that is able to do that.

My hand wraps around the door handle of the guest bedroom but I can't seem to make myself push it down. Her sky blue eyes start glowing in a royal blue as they focus on my hand first before slowly moving up, until they meet my eyes.

She has never ever given me this look of love before. Not this clearly.

"Thank you for coming with me." She whispers.

I'd follow her to the other end of the world. I'd follow her everywhere. "Josephine,"

"You wanted to shower and I have a food order to make. Enjoy your shower."

She really has changed.

"Oliver,"

"Yes?"

"Could you shave off that beard, please?"

I laugh at her question. I didn't have the supplies to shave off my beard, so I had to let it grow out whether I liked it or not. "Yes. Yes, I will shave off that beard."

She shows me a small smile that makes my heart skip a beat. She changed but she's also still the same.

She's still that enigma I met a year and a half ago.

Josephine

I have never seen so much food getting eaten by so little people in such little time. It shouldn't surprise me given the fact that Oliver told me his family sometimes didn't eat for days and I've worked at homeless shelters all my life, yet... Yet, seeing this breaks my heart. No one should suffer from such a hunger.

They ate everything. This is probably like paradise for them.

It breaks my heart.

I got to know Jonathan and Oliver's Mum, Maria, a little more over dinner. But Caio has been as quiet as a mouse. He's fifteen, he should be a chatter box or a boy in his hormonal climax but he is neither. Instead, he was grateful for the dinner and the clothes I bought him. He reminds me of Oliver. Maria has raised her boys with so much appreciation. A lot of people could learn from her. She's a wonderful mother despite the situation she and her family was in - or maybe because of it. I know she wants more for her children, a Mum always wishes the best for her children, and it pains me that I haven't been here earlier. I could've been here a year ago, but instead I was wasting my time with Edward. A man I love but hurt in the end.

"I think it's time to get ready for bed." Maria announces while looking at her two younger sons.

Caio and Johnathan both sigh before rising from the table and tottering into the guest rooms. Maria follows Johnathan.

It's the first time Oliver and me are alone.

I don't know what to do or say. Suddenly, the situation - that he is really here with me - hits me so hard that I can't breathe for a moment.

"Thank you for the steaks. They were delicious." Oliver says after a moment of silence.

"I really don't want to talk about food right now." I breathe out.

"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

I lick my lips. I don't want to fight with him again. Not today. Today has been eventful enough. "No talking. At least not right now... Could you... I mean, would you like to dance with me?"

His pine green eyes soften at my question. "I'd love to."

I get up from my chair and grab my iPhone off the coffee table in the living room. I put on the love song that my Mum originally wrote for my wedding with Ed. It was that song, among with other things, which made me realise Ed and I can never have a future. Not when my feelings for Oliver are stronger than my feelings for Ed.

The moment our hands touch, I feel fireworks exploding within my whole body. I never had that with Ed, not in this intensity - I never could no matter how much I wanted it. Oliver and I start swinging to the music in the open living space. Time and space around us seem to vanish. This feels so right on so many levels...

I press my forehead against his and stare deeply into his pine green eyes, which slowly transform into a sea foam colour. My sea foam colour.

His hot breath clashes against my face as we dance in silence. I don't want to ruin this moment... this perfect moment. I've spent the last six months imagining this and I can't... I can't believe it's real!

Suddenly my throat tightens and tears start streaming down my face. Shit. This is not how I imagined our first dance after the breakup to be like. "I'm so sorry..." I whisper with trembling lips. "I never wanted to hurt you as much as I did."

Oliver lets go of my hand and shoulder and cups my face. "Josephine,"

"I was dishonest with myself. I pushed you away because I couldn't handle your love. I couldn't live knowing you loved me. I kept telling myself you didn't knew me at all, but you did... you do. You know me. Without the masks. Without the labels. Without all these obligations. You know my core... and it scared me. You scared me, so I hurt you and pushed you away. I wasn't ready for you, so please forgive me for what I've done. I didn't mean for you to get caught by the feds and sent back to Rio. I didn't want any of it to happen. I didn't-"

"I forgive you." Oliver's lion-like voice interrupts me. "I forgive you because I love you. You are my weak spot. You and my family. I'd do anything for you. It's why I left. I could've stayed and pushed you until you came to the realisation but I didn't because it would have hurt you more than it hurt me to leave you. So, I left, knowing you'd come back to me. I knew it wouldn't be tomorrow or in a week. I knew it could take months, maybe even years but I was willing to wait for you. Because I love you. I will always love you." He says as he wipes away the tears that are streaming down my face.

And then the feds came and screwed everything up. "I can't believe you're here with me. I've been fantasising about this moment..." I inhale deeply, "I dreamt of you. Dreaming of you was my great escape."

"I dreamt of you as well."

"Really? What did you dream about?"

"This right here. Us. Dancing."

"In my living room." I finish his thought.

"We had the same dream?"

Of course we did. "Yeah..."

"I tried to talk to you. For months, I tried to communicate with you in my dreams but you didn't seem to hear me."

"Until six months ago." I whisper as I remember the night before my wedding day. It was the first time he had talked to me - or so I thought. Turns out, it was the first time I heard him talk to me.

"Yes. But then the dreams stopped so abruptly that it almost made me go nuts."

"Probably because we weren't divided by an ocean anymore. Our subconsciouses brought us back together, the rest had to be done by us." I say with a shrug. "But now that I have you, I won't ever let go of you. Because truth is, I need you in my life. I want you. I want this. But I'm also still scared of the emotions you make me feel. I'm afraid to get too deep. To lose myself in you."

"You won't." He promises me as we still swing to the music. "And if you fall, I'll catch you."

I believe his promise because he has never lied to me. He's one of the little people in my life that have never lied to me. "Okay." I whisper back with a nod.

He runs his fingers through my hair, "You should sleep. You look tired."

His words make me smile. "Okay."

"I'll be here when you wake up. I won't go anywhere, Josephine." He reads my mind like no one before.

Oliver

I watch Josephine walking into her bedroom and closing the door. She's right across the guest bedroom that I share with Caio. I turn around and stop at the open door of my mother's bedroom. She's standing in the doorway. She saw us dancing. "Mama,"

"She's in love with you." My mother breathes out in Portuguese. "I may not understand a word you exchanged but I know the look of love. She loves you as well."

So, I'm not the only one seeing this. "I know."

"I don't understand why she pushed you away then. I don't understand how she's so cold-"

"She is not cold. She's careful." I interrupt her.

"Careful then." My Mum says with a nod. "I don't get Josephine and why she does what she does. She's a puzzle I can't seem to figure out."

"It takes a while for Josephine to open up but she's got a heart of gold. She's a good soul."

"I know that because you wouldn't be in love with her otherwise. She's hurt you. You came home in a million pieces. Over a year has gone by but you were still in a million pieces and then this woman appears out of the blue and you... you're all whole again! You're her puppet and she's playing with your heart!"

"Mama,"

"Oliver, I don't want you to get hurt. I'd rather stay in Rio than move with this woman to London if that means you end up with a broken heart again. I am your mother and if protecting you means we're poor, than we will stay poor. You-"

"I love her."

"I know that."

"And she loves me. You saw it yourself. She loved me back then but she pushed me away because she was scared. Give her a little time. This is a whole new situation for all of us. Tomorrow, we will talk and make a plan but for tonight... let's just get to bed and have some sleep."

"Oliver, she's not worth getting your heart broken again."

She's worth so much more. "Mama, get to bed. You need rest. Today has been a long day."

Finally, my mother nods. "Okay."

"Don't worry too much. Everything will be fine." I promise her. I trust Josephine. She's got a solution for us. She always does.

I can't sleep. I am in a 50,000$ suite, in a bed that costs more than a year's worth salary - not that I made a lot this year. Ever since I came back to Brazil, I worked on as many banana and coffee plantations as possible to make as much money as possible. The payment is not as good as it was when I was still in London, but it works. I know going back to the UK is not an option if Josephine doesn't live up to her promise, but maybe Portugal or Spain. Anywhere in Europe would be better than this.

Some people have an American Dream but I... I've always had an European Dream. England to be precise but that dream blew up in flames when the feds caught me. I had lived in London for almost two years without any problem so I knew I couldn't push my luck further.

But being back in Rio wasn't as good as I thought it would be.

I sigh before climbing out of the bed that I'm sharing with little brother. I can't believe I actually agreed to coming with her - and bring my family along. I wasn't ashamed when Josephine saw where we lived but the look on her face... the look was what sold me. She didn't show pity but she gave me the same look she did when she broke up with me.

She loves me.

She just doesn't know it yet. Or maybe she does and this is why she started looking for me. But we didn't get a chance to talk in private about whatever this is now between us.

I walk out of the bedroom and into the wide living room that has an open kitchen. It's a huge suite here in the Sofitel Rio de Janeiro Ipanema hotel. It's right on the beachfront road between lifeguard towers nine and 10; this is the heart and soul of Ipanema, where TV stars, former international footballers and teenagers alike mingle freely. Of course Josephine would stay in something like this while she builds a school for the poor in the Slums.

She's still an enigma.

I walk over to door that leads to the balcony and get out. Maybe some fresh air will help me fall back to sleep. The fresh ocean breeze is blowing through my hair as I enjoy the view of the night. The Ipanema beach is right in front of me and the Copacabana is visible from up here. I've never been to this beach but I've heard a lot about it. The sugarloaf mountain is across us and Cristo is to my right. It's glowing like the London Eye at night. The stars and moon are so big and they shine so bright. It's a beautiful night.

Suddenly, there balcony door of the master bedroom opens. In the light of the moon and stars, the most beautiful woman on earth steps onto the balcony. Her chestnut hair is glowing. She's wearing a white silk kimono over the navy silk dress that she usually wears to bed. Her long toned legs look magnificent in the light. Even her feet are beautiful.

God, I've still got it bad for her.

"Hi." I greet her.

Her sky blue eyes widen as she notices me. She was clearly busy with her thoughts. "Oh, I didn't... I didn't realise you'd be here. I thought you were fast asleep with your brother."

"Yeah, well I can't sleep."

"Does he snore?"

"What?"

"Your brother. Does he snore?"

"No... no, he doesn't."

She nods.

"I can't sleep because I keep thinking about what happened today. The events keep replaying in my mind."

She walks over to me and wraps her hands around the railings of the balcony. "Then you're feeling just like me. I can't seem to find any sleep either. Actually, I slept very bad since a year now..."

Since I left her but she doesn't say that. I confessed my feelings and she pushed me away. She told me she didn't love me, that all she wanted from me was sex and yet... yet she's here a year later, asking me to come back to her.

I stare at her profile and feel how my heart starts skipping a beat at the sight. The hairs on my neck start rising and goosebumps start covering my arms. I let my eyes move further down and notice that her arms are covered in goosebumps as well. She feels the same.

I know it. I can feel it.

But her hand doesn't touch mine. Instead, she just stares at the Ipanema beach in front of us. Her smell starts filling my nostrils. It's a mix of a magnolia and her very own scent. It's the most wonderful smell I've ever smelled. "Josephine,"

"Would you sleep with me?" She asks me before I can say another word.

She came to me for sex? "Josephine, I won't have sex with you." I can't believe we're right where we started! She acts like the three months between us didn't happen - and the last year as well.

She looks at me. "I'm not talking about sex. I just want to lay next to you again... I want to share one bed with you. I want to rest my head on your chiselled chest that's somehow more comfortable than any pillow. I want to listen to your heartbeat until it has lulled me to sleep. I want to hook my leg over your body because your body shape is more comfortable than the bed underneath us. I want my nose to fill with your scent because it makes me feel safe and peaceful. I want... I want to have a good night's sleep. The first in a year." She whispers the last sentence. "I'm not asking for sex. Sex is the last thing on my mind although I must admit you somehow have gotten hotter in the last year. Especially with the chin-long hair. I always thought it made you look sexier. I don't know why you had cut it after we met."

My hair is now just as long as when we met because I couldn't afford to go to the hairdresser and I didn't trust my brothers enough with a scissor. In addition, I didn't have the time to worry about my looks. I was busy earning and saving ever penny I made. Anything for my European Dream.

"So what do you say? Will you join me in the bedroom?"

"Josephine," I let out a sigh although she has me under her spell already.

She nods, "Okay. I understand-"

"Jo,"

"Don't ever call me that again." She says with a sinister look. "If you don't want to sleep with me then fine but don't ever call me by that nickname again."

Wow, I really touched a nerve there. "Okay."

"Okay." She says with a nod before turning on her heel.

I grab her wrist and feel sparks between us. "Josephine, I said okay."

She stares at my hand around her wrist before looking up. "Okay?"

"Yes. I'll sleep next to you because I couldn't sleep in the last year as well." Maybe she wasn't as heartbroken as me but she has feelings for me. I know it and she does now as well.

"Thank you." She whispers with a small smile on her lips.

I let go of her wrist and follow her into the master bedroom. It's much bigger than the room I'm sharing with my brother. The bed is wider as well. I turn around as she closes the door of the balcony. I watch her slip off the white silk kimono. She looks gorgeous in that navy silk sleep dress. It has thin straps and stops at the middle of her thighs. Her voluminous tits look even better than I remember.

My cock awakes in record time.

Shit and I thought we could go a night without sex.

I watch her pull back the sheets before she climbs into the bed. She looks absolutely gorgeous in that bed.

"Get in. I'm not very patient." She demands in her usually bossy tone.

God, I love that tone. I missed hearing that tone. With a grin on my lips I walk over to the other bedside and get into the bed that's much more comfortable than the bed I shared with my brother.

"Closer." She whispers.

I slide closer to her.

"Closer." She says again.

I move closer until my hips meet hers.

"That's not close enough." She says before pulling me closer to her. She hooks her left leg over my hips and rests her head on my chest. Her chestnut waves are tingling on my skin. I missed this feeling. I missed the weight of her body on mine. It feels so good.

"If you just wanted to sleep on me than you had to say so."

"I'd like to sleep on you." She says before resting her chin on my chest to look into my eyes. "Better?"

Her sky blue eyes are sparkling into mine. I run my finger through her hair that feels like silk. Then my thumb turns down her cheek before brushing over her plump lips. "What are we doing here, Josephine?"

"Trying to sleep."

"That's not what I meant."

She sighs, "I told you what I wanted. I want you back in my bed."

"I'm not a sex toy. You can't throw me away when you're tired of playing with me. Not again."

"I won't throw you away. I've realised my mistake." She licks her lips. "Oliver, I want you back in my life and I don't care what I have to do for it. I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

"Yes. Right now, we will stay here in Rio. Until my brother-in-law has gotten papers for you guys but then... then we'll hop onto my jet and fly back home."

"Home..."

"Yes, home. Home with me."

"And where shall we live in London? I barely made enough money to bring us three meals on the table per day. We can't afford a flat in London. We can't even afford going grocery shopping there."

"Then you will live at my place. I have enough space. You guys can choose between ten bedrooms. I'm sure you'll find something you like."

"I don't want to be your charity project."

"You aren't and you won't be. Your brothers can go to the Bolton Academy."

Bolton Academy. It already sounds too expensive and posh for me. "I can't afford that either."

"Your brothers will get scholarships. That's how my sister's boarding school works. Half of the pupils there are orphans or people out of troubled families and the other half are people... people like me."

"Rich."

"Yes. The rich finance the school for the poor. It works really well. All pupils live under one roof and there's a lot they can do."

"But my brothers and mother don't speak English."

"They teach Portuguese at the school as well plus kids adapt fast to their new surroundings. As for your Mom, she can take some lessons from a private teacher until she feels comfortable enough to start looking for a job."

"Speaking of jobs, where am I suppose to find one?"

"I'll ask my uncle."

"You want me to join The Bolton Foundation?"

"No, I actually thought you could work as a model. My uncle was a model back in the days so if he says you could do it then you definitely can. He can get you into a model agency. Or maybe, if you want, I'm sure I can find you at job at the foundation. If you want to do that instead."

"No, I think I could try modelling first." That will bring me more money. The more money, the quicker I can move out of Josephine's flat with my family. I don't want to be a burden to her.

"Okay. See? It's not as hard as you think."

"I still don't have any papers. That's the hard part. The rest will fall into place."

"I won't fly home without you. I'll stay as long as I have to until you have papers."

"What if we won't get papers?"

"Then we'll go from there." She says in a soft voice. "Where there is a will, there's a way and my will is pretty strong. You know that."

I chuckle. I do know that. She's the most stubborn human in earth. "I missed you."

Her gaze softens right in front of me and I watch her gulping. "I missed you, too." She eyes my lips but doesn't kiss me. Instead, she lays her head back on my chest.

That's when I know for sure.

She missed me for me.

Not for my body.

Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!

What do you think will happen next? Is Jo going to bring them to London?

Please review!

In gratitude,

Nicole