Ezra’s POV.

THE SCORCHING sun was dotted with fluffy blue clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze. I was awakened by the barks of the stray dogs fighting outside.

“What time is it?” I asked myself, opening my left eye while rubbing the other.

I glanced at the alarm clock above the side table next to me. As soon as I figured out the time, I immediately jumped off the bed and headed straight to the bathroom.

I hurried to take a shower and get dressed before going downstairs. It’s late in the morning. I wondered if they had eaten yet. I’m embarrassed to show up because I’m afraid they think I’m acting like a VIP in their own house.

Why didn’t I wake up early?!

When I came downstairs, I was dazzled that I didn’t find any of them at home. They weren’t in the kitchen, not in the living room either, not in the garden and in their bedrooms. I roamed around every corner, but I didn’t get a glimpse of their shadow.

Where did they go?

I turned to look at my phone in my hand, in case they texted me. But then, I remembered I don’t have their numbers saved on my contact list. I concluded that maybe they hadn’t eaten anything yet, so I decided to cook lunch. I’m going to wait for them until they are home, so we can eat together.

I’VE BEEN watching television for almost an hour now, but they aren’t still coming back. I was even more puzzled but I just kept watching to draw away the questions that started to form inside my head.

Then, I had the bright idea of looking for gas in the garage. I’ll fill up my car because it could be completely broken and I won’t be able to use it when I need it.

When the fuel gauge was full, I headed back inside the house to get the car key, but I stopped walking when I noticed there was a letter stuck in the vase on the table near the entrance door. I picked it up and read the letter.

Good morning, Ezra. We’re sorry for leaving you alone. Don’t worry, we’ll be back home later.

I raised an eyebrow after reading the letter. They didn’t include in the message where they were going. It was kind of suspicious and I couldn’t help but get curious. I want to know where they are.

Why didn’t I notice this paper earlier?

Before getting in the car, I grabbed my phone and keys. I opened Google Maps to find their exact location. As luck would have it, we are mutual friends on social media platforms.

It was only a matter of time before I finished tracking the location, but my brow furrowed in puzzlement when I realized where it was.

Why are they there?

***

I drove to the location where they were. I also had to drive for an hour to get there. I got out of my car and parked it a long way away. I covered my nose after a few steps because I inhaled a pungent smell.

What kind of place is this?

I roamed around. The area was surrounded by frail wood, galvanized rusting, an unpleasant odor, and strewn garbage. I walked slowly inside, unable to ignore the noise. Someone must be in there.

“You are indeed fearless…”

A man’s sarcastic voice could be heard. I moved closer to them in order to hear what they were talking about.

“Enough of your chatter. Let’s start, so we can end this fast,” said another.

That voice sounds familiar to me. Where did I hear it again?

I took a step forward. My intention was no longer to hear their voices more clearly, but to discover who they were. My eyes widened as I noticed Hyde and the six men behind him, as well as the other men I didn’t recognize. The seven looked different today than they did in the house.

What are they doing in this place? By the tone of their voices, are they fighting?

My chest trembled as one of their opponents raised a sharp steel. I suppose he is the leader of their group because when he sent a signal to his allies, they grabbed thick woods as their war munition.

“Even back then, you didn’t change at all, Hyde. You’re still impatient,” the fat man with a snake tattoo on his arm teased.

He motioned with his finger to his forty backups, and they started fighting. My mouth hung open in astonishment and concern. I was astounded by how fast the seven moved against their opponents. On the other hand, I was concerned because their opponents were armed, and with just one blow to the head, the seven could be in a coma.

No! Erase! What foolishness am I thinking? It won’t happen! I won’t allow it!

Their opponents seemed to be targeting Hyde rather than the six. They were coming after him to knock him down, but they knew they couldn’t do it alone, so they joined forces. Fortunately, Hyde was able to deflect their punches with his right forearm and seize their weapons. He jabbed his fingers into their eyes and threw them to the ground.

After half an hour, there was nothing left of the seven’s opponents, and the fat man with tattoos exploited the situation.

“Are you tired? When did the seven of you become weaker?” he continued to tease.

“By now, all of your men are unconscious and lying on the ground. Is that what you called weak?” Hyde boasted, a playful smirk on his face.

How can he be so brazen when he’s in the middle of danger?

The man was enraged. He was about to hit Hyde with the ridgy steel he was holding when I couldn’t help but meddle.

“Stop!” I closed my eyes and screamed.

Uh-oh.

I guess I made the wrong decision by showing up. I had their attention in an instant. The seven were perplexed as they looked at me. Perhaps it’s because they didn’t expect me to find them and come over.

“Ezra…” Clarence muttered.

“Who is this pretty lady?” The fat man asked the seven, and he was about to take a step towards me when the seven snapped back to their senses.

“Don’t you dare involve her…” Hyde warned his enemy.

“I’m not your servant, Hyde. You can’t order me around.” The man gave him a wicked grin before turning to face me.

“W-What are you going to do?” I asked nervously.

As I got further and further away from him, he got closer and closer. I was stiffened when he smiled sweetly at me and even stroked my cheeks.

Yuck!

I was annoyed. He kept touching me, so I twisted his arm and kicked him straight in the genitals. He knelt in pain and growled.

“You, brat!”

The fat, ugly man cursed me to death while dealing with the pain I’d caused by kicking his balls. He deserved it anyway. No man has the right to touch a woman without her consent.

He rounded his fists, ready to attack me in vengeance. However, before he could, a hand was swift to block him.

Hyde…

“Try to touch her once more and I will break your bones…” Hyde threatened the man.

I raised my gaze to him. He was serious, but his fiery eyes were filled with rage. His enemy refused to budge. Instead, he provoked Hyde by attacking me while I was dazed from the speed of events.

“H-How…”

My jaw dropped open, unable to speak after witnessing a mind-blowing scene. How is this possible? I feel like passing out.

“Too bad. I warned you, but you didn’t listen. It was your fault,” Hyde said lifelessly to the man who had just been knocked out.

I scanned the entire site. The seven defeated their enemies. I haven’t yet absorbed everything that happened in my mind when Hyde grabbed me and presented me to his flushed face.

“Are you out of your mind!?” he yelled at me.

I shut my eyes. I couldn’t keep up with his stare because I was afraid I’d melt in the fire he was emitting.

“Why did you come here?! How did you locate us?”

He asked me a series of questions, but I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth and respond. I was at a loss for words as I stared at him scolding me.

“Say something!”

The volume of his yell almost made me jump. It sounded like it was echoing in my ears. I guess I’ll have to speak up or he’ll explode like a dragon spitting fire.

“I-I came here to find you, guys. I used an app, and detected Axle’s location was open, so I located where you are,” I stammered upon speaking.

Hyde was enraged even more by my response. He pulled his hair like a lunatic who had lost his mind. He then turned to face Axle.

“Bullshit!”

Axle shrugged his shoulders innocently. “I had no idea. I must have forgotten to turn it off.”

“What if something bad were to happen to you? What if Rox harmed you!?” Hyde blurted out.

“Why are you so angry!?”

When I yelled back at him, he was taken aback. I just don’t get it. I understand why he’s upset with me for following them here even though I knew it was dangerous, but he’s going too far. I’m not assuming anything, but he acted as if he was concerned. He’s behaving strangely, as if he’s always worried about me.

“I-I’m just… Damn it!” He defended himself angrily before walking away without explaining his actions.

Did he lose it? Has he gone insane?

When Hyde was gone, I turned to face the six jackasses who were watching us. They averted their gaze as soon as I arched an eyebrow.

“Why are you here?” I was perplexed by what was going on.

They swallowed hard and sagged their shoulders. I have no idea what was going on, but the violence I witnessed today was not your average fight between strangers. I’m curious as to why they did it. I’d like to hear it so I can understand it. For certain, there must be a reason.

“I’ll ask you all again, why are you here in this secluded spot? Why do you have enemies?” I repeated. “Who are you? What are you rather?”

I’m not sure why they’re fighting in this place. All I know is that those who riot in the underground or in vacant lots are gangsters or mafia organizations. Now that I think about it, I don’t fully know the seven. I don’t know them well enough based on what I know of them. I had no idea what their true identities were.

“We are bad boys, if you will call it…” Xavier confessed. “You have no idea of ​​who we are, Ezra.”

“We have many gangs, and Rox is one of the gang leaders with whom we fight, so we've come to account for a battle. Perhaps you believe we are not the person you expect us to be, but you are mistaken,” Joaquin added.

“Playing games isn’t everything we’re good at, we’re also skilled with using knives and guns. We can do such things to our opponent. We can hit them, beat them, and even kill them…” Iñigo stated solemnly.

I was unable to adapt to what I was hearing.I stepped back and shook my head, refusing to accept the truth. I couldn’t seem to put it in mind. My brain had stopped working, and my world had crashed.

“Now, answer me, Ezra…”

Hyde stuck steady in front of me. I didn’t even notice his presence appeared out of nowhere because I was spacing out. He fixed his gaze on me, as if he could see into my soul. It gave me chills all over my body.

“After everything you know and have heard about us, do you want to leave us now?”

A large, painful lump began to form inside my throat, making it difficult for me to gasp for air. Tears welled up in the corner of my eyes. I blinked it back, trying not to allow it to fall, but doing it won’t do because it still fell on its own, and there’s nothing else I could do but to just let it flow freely like a river.

I asked myself a question I never wished to have an answer, weighing the decisions I should and shouldn’t make.

Do I want to leave these bad boys?

Ezra’s POV.

“HEY, are you okay?”

I gasped when Kiana asked the most difficult question to answer on the other end of the line. Silence filled the call for the next five minutes. The only sound I could hear was my constant breathing.

How am I able to respond to a question I don’t know the answer to?

I’ve been imprisoning myself inside the guest room for several days. Ever since the day I found out about their real identities, I haven’t been out of the room yet.

Except for Hyde, the six were bringing me food every day as a form of compensation. I was moved to tears. Of course, I didn’t remain stubborn. I ate what they gave me because they made an effort to cook for me despite not knowing how to cook.

When they do that, I only feel so guilty. They didn’t have to apologize or explain their side to me. I’m nobody to them. I have no say in their personal lives, and they have done nothing wrong to me.

I was never mad at them, even after I discovered they were bad boys.

What does it matter if they are? Whatever or whoever they are, I don’t have the right to judge them. What I see and feel is what I believe. The only reason I didn’t talk to them was because I was pondering Hyde’s question to me.

“After everything you know and have heard about us, do you want to leave us now?”

To this day, his sentimental words replayed inside my head over and over again like a broken plaque. I couldn’t sleep for days because I was unable to choose what decision to make.

Where do I belong?

To the safer or to the more dangerous? To go home and continue the marriage or to stay with these bad boys who fight almost every day and have lots of enemies?

I was devastated. I couldn’t pick in between. Because even if they told me they were bad boys, a part of me didn’t believe it. If that were true, they should not have allowed me to stay here in the first place. If they are capable of doing such a thing, I would not have felt at ease with them.

“Ezra? Are you there?”

When I heard my best friend talk for the nth time, I snapped back to reality. I shook my head to get rid of everything that had been bothering me lately.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Tell me, what’s the problem? I’ve been asking you for a while, but you've never responded. Why are you drowning in your own thoughts?”

Oh, crap! I remembered Kiana was unaware of the revelation. I have no plans to tell her, and I’m sure she’ll just make me come back home.

“Perhaps I just don’t get enough sleep.”

“Hey, Ezra! Report to me if they do something bad to you! I won’t let them hurt you, no matter how attractive they are!”

“You’re at it again. Stop it, Kiana. They’re not doing anything bad to me,” I laughed. “I’m sleep deprived because–”

I sealed my mouth. I must not tell Kiana about this. I know we swore we wouldn’t keep secrets from each other, but I needed to. I didn’t want to put her into trouble.

“Because of what?”

“Wait, what was it again? Oh, my bad. My signal is poor. I can’t hear you well, Kiana.” I pretended to stop speaking in the middle of every word I said in order to change the subject of our conversation. “By the way, how are you?”

“You know, the usual. I stop by your house every now and then to catch up on the news.”

“So, what’s the latest news I have to hear?”

“Your Mom continues to look for you,” she mentioned. “So, please, don’t come out of your hideout for the time being. Be extra careful.”

I heaved a burdensome sigh. I’m not sure whether I want to leave this house and the boys or stay.

“Got it,” I said as I hung up the phone.

I laid down on the bed and rolled over. I must be going insane. I froze when I heard a sudden knock on the door and Iñigo walked in.

“U-Uh, Ezra… Won’t you join us for lunch?” He asked.

He’d witnessed me acting crazy. I bit my lower lip in humiliation. Instead of being embarrassed, I mustered the courage to keep a poker face and respond to him with a steady tone.

“I will.”

The look of surprise on his face was evident. Perhaps he didn’t expect I’d agree with him because I hadn’t eaten with them in a few days.

“Do you have anything else to say?” I cocked my brow, intimidating him.

He shook his head. “There is nothing else. We’ll be waiting for you in the dining room,” he said as he exited the room.

I caught a glimpse of his hidden smile. He must be pleased that I am now speaking to him. How can I be angry with them if they are soft when it comes to me?

After getting ready to face them as if I hadn’t seen them in years, I went straight to the dining area. They were taken aback because I had finally escaped from my own prison. I casted a glance at Hyde, who was gazing at me. I sat down and cleared my throat to avoid his stare.

I felt uneasy when I noticed that I was in the center and they hadn’t finished their food because their gaze was fixed on me.

“What are you staring at?” I asked, self-conscious.

They appeared to have seen a ghost or a dead person who had resurrected. They immediately averted their gaze and resumed eating.

The vicinity fell silent. None of us attempted to speak or initiate a conversation in order to improve the mood. I’m not used to these morons keeping quiet. I’m missing their noises and silliness.

When I finished eating, I offered to wash the dishes without saying anything. It’s embarrassing for them that I’m not doing any chores in this house after begging them to let me stay with them for a short time. At the very least, I need to save my face.

I was on my way back to the guest room when I sensed someone watching me as I entered, but I ignored it. The six missed their chance to have a word with me when I came inside. I was about to close the door and lie down on the bed when I heard them talking.

“Do you think Ezra is still upset with us?” Clarence asked.

“Can’t you see? She’s ignoring us because she loathes us,” Jeremy replied.

“She spoke to me earlier!” Iñigo reacted.

“You shouldn’t have told her about our gangs,” Axle pointed out.

“Telling her the truth is the right thing to do. Besides, she needs to know who we are. We can’t always hide it from her,” Xavier lectured.

“Let’s just keep coaxing her until she starts talking to us again. This is our fault, so let’s not give up,” Joaquin suggested, to which they agreed.

To be honest, I was touched because they value me. They treated me differently, despite the fact that we had only been together for a month. They aren’t bad boys to me. They are far too delicate.

***

I slept the entire day because I had been awake for about a week. I had just awoken when I heard a knock on the door. I got to my feet to find out who it was.

“Did I disturb your sleep?” Clarence asked as I pushed open the door.

“No, not really,” I lied. “Why? Do you want to say anything?”

“A-Are you in for a movie marathon?” he stammered in nervousness as he invited me to watch a movie with them.

“All right,” I agreed.

His face lit up. “Really? Let’s go!”

We went into the living room together. The other five men were there, chit-chatting on the sofa, but Hyde was nowhere to be seen.

Why am I looking for him in the first place?

I sat with them and took the snacks Axle passed to me. We watched a scary movie.

The show ended after an hour, but I hadn’t seen Hyde. I’m not sure if he’s inside his room or somewhere else.

Where else did he go?

I poked Clarence’s shoulder, who was sitting next to me. His brow furrowed when I motioned for him to come closer.

“Where is Hyde?” I whispered to him.

I had no idea if his smile was because I was talking to him, or if he was teasing me for bringing up Hyde out of nowhere, but I hoped it wasn’t the latter.

“Are you no longer mad at us?” he asked in a soft tone.

“Where is–”

I tried to amend the conversation, but Clarence cut me off before I could finish what I was going to say.

“I won’t respond to your question until you respond to mine.”

I rolled my eyes and let out a heavy gasp. I’m not going to win over him. He’s too persistent.

“Fine. I wasn’t mad at all,” I was forced to answer.

I froze in my seat when he just then hugged me tightly and summoned the five other crackheads.

“Bros, Ezra isn’t mad at us!” he exclaimed to them. “Group hug!”

Oh, no!

I was about to get up and escape before the disaster, but they rushed up to me and compressed.

“E-Enough! I can’t breathe anymore…” I struggled to say.

They smiled at me as they released the hug. I could feel my arms aching because they were too heavy.

“Going back to my question, where is Hyde?” I asked again as I straightened my messed-up hair.

They exchanged glances at each other and shrugged their shoulders at the same time. I gave them a death stare.

So they had no idea where he was? I was tricked!

“I’ll look for him.”

***

I HAD begun searching for Hyde in every space of the house. I don’t think he’s out and about because he always stays at home, except when they are clashing with other gangsters.

He was not present in the living room. He was also not in the kitchen. He wasn’t in the bathroom, the bedroom, the garden or the garage either. The only place I haven’t visited yet is the pool area. I wish he was there. I’d like to speak with him.

I went to the pool area, and I wasn’t mistaken because he was there. I was astounded to see him drinking for the first time. I exhaled a sigh before approaching him.

“Why are you here?” he asked as soon as I took a step in his direction.

How did he notice I was there the whole time?

I sat down across from him on the bench. He kept drinking from the bottle he was holding while facing the swimming pool. I paused for a few seconds and stared at his side profile before responding. I know the answer to his question now. I am now prepared to make a decision.

“I was looking for you…”

“What do you need from me?”

“You asked me last time if I would leave you and the six after everything I knew and heard about you,” I began, directing my attention to the point.

“So, what’s your answer? Are you planning on leaving? Will you choose to keep your distance from us?” His voice was as cold as ice.

“I decided to…” I paused for a moment and looked into his eyes. “Stay. I’m not going to leave just because you told me you’re bad boys. I don’t care if you told me you can kill. What I believe is that each of you has a good heart. Because if what I believe is a lie, you should have let me sleep outside that night when it was pouring buckets. You should’ve thrown me out of your house. You should’ve lied to me instead of telling me what you could all do and how honest you are. I shouldn’t have felt so happy and at ease with the seven of you. I don’t want to return to our house and force myself to marry someone I don’t love, Hyde. So, no, I’m not going to leave you. I’m sticking with the seven bad boys…”

He nodded and later bowed his head. I’m not sure if I saw his lips curved into a smile as a hallucination or if it was reality. It was the first time he had ever smiled. I could say he’s even more handsome when he’s smiling.

When he turned to face me, I pretended to be distracted by something else. Those eyes of his seemed to be implying something. Those eyes of his that will melt you in no time. Those eyes of his that you will never be able to take your gaze away from. His eyes were screaming various emotions that he never shows to anyone.

“Good, so you’re staying… Don’t you dare leave us,” he said, looking into my eyes as if he was peering into my soul. “Don’t ever leave me because I’ll find you wherever you go…”

I nodded and averted my gaze, a small smile escaping my lips. I’ll do my best to keep my promise for as long as I can.

I will never leave you…