Antonio raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "And why do you ask?" He asked Jace with a casual tone in his voice. “I have never seen her so uncomfortable with a person before. You see, my sister is a very easy going person, so seeing her so cold towards you made me worry”. “About what?” Anthonio asked dryly. “About her relationship with you. I'm not sure you really love my sister. If you do, what's keeping you from answering my question?” he said tartly. "You're just a kid, what do you know about love?" Anthonio said and looked away. Jace pressed on, his hands balled into fists. “You are yet to answer my question Mr Anthonio, tell me is there really a relationship going on between you two or is it fake? Is she doing it to pay you for something, did Kerry put her into this?” “Who the fuck is Kerry?” Anthonio asked frankly. “My other sister!” Jace snapped in frustration. “Oh the slutty one”. Anthonio muttered then turned to the furious boy in front of him. “You are a smart one ain’t you, no surprise, you are her brother after all, you talk just like your sister Freckles”. Jace raised a brow. “Freckles?” He muttered in confusion then frowned, tightening his fists. “Just so you know, I won’t have you hurt her in any way, so you better be careful”. Antonio's eyes narrowed, and he glanced towards Jace. “Is that a threat?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement. Jace's heart got heavier and pounded nervously. “You are just a kid, I can easily crush with my fingertips like a bug, you know”. Anthonio casually pulled out a cigar from his breast pocket and pointed at Jace to light it up for him. Jace hesitated but obeyed however. He took the lighter from inside the car and lit it. After his first pull, Anthonio addressed him. “You are a nice kid Jace, tell me do you have someone you admire”. Jace's eyes widened then looked away, he did not expect such a question in a time like this. “In…in what way?” Anthonio released a cloud of smoke and grinned. “A lover…” Jace's face turned red. “A girl? Or a guy?” “Why should I admire a guy?” He snapped in defence. Anthonio closed his eyes and shrugged. “Well, I have a girl I admire, what does it have to do with my sister?” He asked, a bit confused. Anthonio smirked then his eyes suddenly darkened. Jace noticed, it gave him chills. “Take your time to open up and protect the girl you love, for your sister, she is mine, I won’t let any man talk about her security and well-being as their responsibility, not even you her brother”. Jace was confused, he can’t tell if Anthonio was being over protective or toxic, the statement confused him. “So you are going to protect my sister?” He asked. He wanted to make sure of this. Anthonio smiled. “Of course”. “So you do love her after all?” Jace asked again. This time Anthonio's face tightened, he gave him a side glance. “Come here kid”. Jace swallowed and walked closer to the car, where Anthonio was sitting. “Give me your ear”. Anthonio said again. Jace lent him his ear, Anthonio whispered in his ear. Jace's eyes enlarged slowly as the words came to him. Afterwards he straightened up and looked blankly at Anthonio. Just then they heard the sound of the front door opening. They turned and saw Angela, standing in the doorway. "What's going on?" she asked, her eyes darting between the two, brows married in a frown. Jace opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out of his lips. "Nothing to worry about, just a little chat" Anthonio replied instead. Angela wasn’t convinced, not when Jace looked like he just saw a ghost, but she didn't press the issue. "Jace, come here right away" She snapped at Jace, who nodded and walked back towards their house. The twins ran over to hug Jace, their faces beaming. "Uncle Jace!" they cried, their voices full of excitement. Jace bent down to hug them, his heart was full at the sight of their smiling faces. "Hey there, you two!" he said, ruffling their hair. The twins giggled, their eyes sparkling with joy. Maybe he shouldn’t worry so much about Angela. He doesn't know much about Anthonio but when he said he will protect her, he sounds determined although those eyes freaked him out. As soon as Jace entered the house, Angela folded her hands with a tight frown. “I told you, don’t be too close to Anthonio”. “Why? He is your fiancé, tell me, do you have him so much?” Angela sighed. “He is not a good influence on Jace, please just stay away from him and tell me what you guys talked about”. She demanded. “Not much, just about my school and crush”. He said a bit shy. “So he gets you to tell him about your love life?” “Yeah”. That pervert! Angela cursed in her mind. “Did he ask if you are interested in men?” “Yeah, he kinda said something like that, is there any problem?” Angela placed a hand on her face in frustration. “No … no there’s no problem, I just need to have a word with Anthonio”. She said tightly, she turned to the door. “Sister?” Angela paused and turned to him. “You need to hear this”. Angela gave him a curious look then walked back at him. ***** Anthonio glanced towards the house doorway, he was expecting angry Angela to appear since Jace walked into the house but she didn’t. Meanwhile, Angela was cooking dinner as the night was fast approaching. “You are not going to sleep over?” Jace asked sadly. “I would love to ... but I can’t, the Monteros have a tradition and rules that should be kept. However I will visit regularly, I promise”. Jace nodded sadly then he peered into the pot on the stove, his eyes narrowed in concentration. "It's almost ready," he said in excitement, “I can't wait to taste it, I missed your cooking so much”. “Can you help me get the twins ready, please”. Angela requested, a smile playing on her lips. “Leave it to me”. Jace turned to the twins, who were playing with their dolls in the corner. "Lia, Liya," he called out. "It's time to wash your hands for dinner!" The twins ran over to the sink, giggling as they splashed water on each other. Angela handed each their personal towels to dry their hands, and then they all sat down at the table in the small living room. Finally, Angela added the cooked pasta and stirred it until it was evenly coated. She plated the pasta and topped it with fresh parsley and more Parmesan. "Bon appetit!" Jace snapped, his face beaming. Angela laughed. The twins' eyes were wide as they gazed at the steaming plate of pasta. "It looks amazing!” The twins shouted in unison and clapped their tiny hands. "Can we dig in?" they asked, again in unison. "Well, yes your majesties". Angela chuckled, passing out forks. The twins dug in, savouring the delicious meal. "This is the best pasta I've ever had," Lia said, her mouth full of food. "I agree!" Liya chimed in, grinning from ear to ear. Jace and Angela laughed heartily "I'm glad you like it”. Angela replied with a smile.