Sheer happiness was what Romulus felt when his brother, Apollo Villin agreed to visit Doctor Benjamin's lab for treatment. He had been suffering from DID (Dissociative identity disorder) since a very young age. The mental trauma he had been through made him a complete psychotic person.
Romulus felt extremely thankful to Clarissa for being with him and supporting him, because of her, he agreed to get help. He knew Apollo was in love with Clarissa, and that made him want to be with her and compelled him to get treatment. He wanted her to be safe since he was a threat and problem here, he was willing to do whatever it takes to be with her.
All Romulus wanted was for his brother to be happy and Finally, after so many years of suffering, Apollo was going to be happy.
Romulus was sitting on the couch, checking the mail he received while leaving Clarrissa and Apollo, he walked out of the room.
"Apollo, We are getting late," He yelled, still checking the phone.
He could hear Apollo groan and he chuckled in response. As he heard the sound of heels hitting the floor, he looked up to see Clarrissa grabbing his arm and hooking her with his, dragging him with her with a proud smile on her face.
Looking at them, Romulus shook his head.
Romulus along with Apollo and Clarissa were sitting in the car, driving to Doctor Benjamin's lab. Clarissa was watching the road, and she noticed it had some patches of snow, but mostly it was just wet. Clarissa glanced at Apollo and noticed his tensed expression, she held his hand and squeezed it gently. Apollo glanced at her, her soft smile eased his nervousness and calmed him a bit.
She stared into his eyes and mouthed him, I love you.
He smiled and took her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand. Looking at them, Romulus felt a kind of relief and happiness mixed. He couldn't tell how grateful he was.
She leaned her head against the car window, watching the scenery zip by, a tableau of dark green fir trees dotted with snow, wispy strands of white fog, and heavy gray storm clouds up above. It's so warm in the car that the windows keep fogging up.
***
Clarissa glanced at Romulus, "Where is Benjamin's lab, I mean we had been traveling for an hour, Romulus,"
Romulus glanced at her through the rare mirror, "We will be there soon, in an hour, I guess,"
"An hour more," She groaned,
"Just relax," Apollo said calmly, placing his hand over her shoulder and drawing circles on her skin. She glanced up at him and smiled while placing her head over his shoulder.
"Romulus, Can I ask you a question?" She said, winking at Apollo.
Apollo shook his head, noticing the hint of mischief in her eyes.
"Yep, Shoot," Romulus replied,
"Where is Lydia?" She asked,
Hearing Lydia's name, Romulus cursed under his breath. He completely forgot about her.
24 hours earlier
As Lydia was walking on the road escaping from Siman, her ex-boyfriend forcefully tried to take her with him to his place. She noticed car sounds and headlights coming behind her, she turned around and saw that the car was going to hit her. she widened her eyes while headlights were blinding her vision, as the loud horn hit her ears she shut my eyes in fear and waited for the impact.
"Lydia?" A deep male voice came with the sound of a car door being shut. She opened her eyes and when she saw the person walking towards her, she hurriedly stepped back in panic. Even though she couldn't see who he was, she was afraid and didn't want it to be Simon.
"Lydia!" That person called her again, she turned around and began running while turning her head back and looking at him. Her heart was beating rapidly against her ribcage, and tears were streaming down.
"Lydia! It's me Romulus," He screamed and hearing his words her legs stopped abruptly and she turned around, he was looking at her with a worried expression on his face while walking towards her.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips while looking at him, her legs automatically moved and she found herself running to him, she launched herself on him, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his hands around her while she placed her face against his chest and cried her eyes out.
She cried and cried, the fear of him coming back for her made her cry more,
"I hate him," she said while sobbing hard,
"Shh...It's okay," he whispered while stroking her hair. She continued to cry and slowly her eyelids felt heavy and she found herself losing consciousness.
***
The sound of horns and headlights of something flashed on her making her open her eyes, she saw a car passing past them. she blinked her eyes and suddenly panic took over her thinking that Simon caught her again. She quickly turned her head and sighed when she saw Romulus's calm face.
"Relax, It's me," he said without looking at her,
She leaned back and took a deep breath closing her eyes, "Thank you,"
She said, opening her eyes and looking at him. He was quiet for a while, she doubts he heard her at all. She didn't say anything much to him and just stared at the road and passing trees.
"Who were you running from?" he calmly asked, she sighed and didn't look at him nor did she answer his question. Simon's past wicked actions flashed in front of her eyes. She wiped a lone tear which slipped from her eyes and looked away.
"Lydia! You need to tell someone about him, someday… and I don't mind being the first person," He said, she turned her head to look at him and something about him always made her feel different.
"I will, but not now," she simply said, he nodded his head at her and didn't say anything more.
The drive to London was quiet. They didn't say anything to each other till they reached London.
"I'm taking you to my place, I think it's safe for you," he said driving to his place, she opened her mouth to say no but he cut her off.
"He doesn't know where I live and I don't think he would dare to come there, so.. Just… don't argue now!" he said, she shut her mouth and let him drive.
****
"This is your room," he said opening a guest room in his condo, she stepped inside and turned to him.
"Take rest and I'm going out... if you need anything call, Oscar," he said, showing her the man standing beside him, he was tall but not taller than Romulus and had a mustache. He was manly and looked a bit aged with strands of gray hair.
"Oscar!" he said looking towards him and he nodded his head at Romulus.
"Can you please not tell anyone about what happened? Especially, Clarissa, she would be worried if she knows and she had enough on her plate already, Please," She requested,
"Okay, I won't," he said and without looking at her, he turned and walked away. Lydia closed the door and sighed deeply.
Present
"I don't know," He replied.
Clarissa knew Lydia was attracted to Romulus and something was happening between them from the day when they came together to rescue her from Cyrus.
"Oh, Okay, I thought you would know, My bad," She replied,
"Why would I know where Lydia…." he was suddenly cut off when his phone rang. He stopped and grabbed his phone and glanced at the caller. Lydia Miller was flashing on his phone screen and a small smile appeared on his lips. Before he could answer the call, Clarissa screamed.
"ROMULUS!! WATCH OUT!"
The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour and ploughing straight towards the car had the force of an atomic bomb.
The car was flipping and was soon off-road, facing upside down.