GENESIS
She had not seen Dante the whole day. It was already six o'clock in the evening, almost time for dinner, and he still was nowhere to be seen.
She left Elon watching cartoons in the living room and went to look for Dante in his home office. This was unusual. Before, she would not have bothered because he used to spend most of his time with the drug lords. Now, he spent most of his time in his home office and with Elon. 
She knocked on the door of his home office for a while and there was no response, so she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. And she was surprised to not have seen him in his seat.
She walked in, searching the office with her eyes. He was not there. She knocked on the door of the ensuite, and there was still no response. She thought against checking in there because she did not want to have to find him naked. But there was a chance that he had passed out in there for some reason, so she opened the door and checked. He still was not there. 
This was strange, very strange.
The only remaining option was to check his room. She did not know how to go about that because she was not sure if he would even want her there. He came across as a person that did not play with his personal space.
But she was too worried about him to refrain herself for too long, she soon found herself in front of his door, staring at the dark brown wood. She knocked and it was silent at first. Then she knocked harder and she heard a painful groan from the other side of the door.
That was Dante's voice.
Her eyes went wide and she panicked. Immediately, she burst through the door and found Dante laying weakly on his bed. She rushed to him and her legs knocked over something, she looked down and saw that it was a small trash can filled with used tissue papers in it.
She pushed it aside and sat beside him, a frown etched on her face. His eyes were closed and his breaths were heavy. On touching his forehead and neck, she discovered that his temperature was higher than normal. He was burning with a fever.
She saw his eyes flutter open when he felt her hand on his face. He sighed ij relief and tried to sit up but she didn't let him. She gently pushed him down and adjusted his pillow so that he was more comfortable.
“You're running a fever.” She informed him. And she wondered what must have triggered it overnight. Just last night, he spent time playing video games with Elon. Now, he was down with a fever and runny nose. 
It was a good thing that she knew a lot of home made remedies for these things. And she knew the perfect soup to make to help him feel better.
“I'll make a herbal tea for you.” She told him. “And some soup for you to have right after.”
He managed to nod and she hurried to the kitchen. It took almost an hour to have everything prepared and she told one of the staff to keep an eye on Elon as she attended to Dante. 
When she got back in his room, he had already sat up. He looked so weak at that moment and she felt bad for him. She placed the tray on his lap and told him to have the herbal tea first.
“Wait.” She said when she saw that his hand was shivering. He would have spilled it if she had kept him carry it. So she picked up the mug and took it to his mouth. As soon as he tasted it, he frowned but he forcefully swallowed the bit his mouth.
“What is that?” His voice did not even sound like his, but there was disgust in the way he spoke.
“Tea to help you feel better. Mint and moringa.” She explained to him.
“It tastes horrible.” He was still frowning. “I don't want it.” He reached for the soup but Genesis was quick to swat his hand away with her other hand.
“You will have this tea first, then you can have your soup.” She sounded like a mother, but she really needed him to have the tea. He looked very sick.
Reluctantly he opened his mouth a she made him drink it. He wiped his lips once he was done, looking at the empty mug with disgust in his eyes.
“Now, you can have your soup.” She said as she placed the mug on the night stand. She was going to have to feed him this too as it would be even messier than the tea if she let him eat by himself.
“Open up.” She said to him as she fetched some soup with the spoon she had picked up. And he gladly obeyed. Unlike with the tea, he cooperated with this one and in no time, the bowl was empty.
“That's my favourite soup now.” He croaked out as he leaned against the headboard of his bed. At that, Genesis blushed and she hoped that he did not see her. “Thank you.” He was looking at her gently as he said that.
She smiled softly at him as she helped him wipe his mouth. “You're welcome.”
She got up to leave but he held her back. Even in sickness, his grip was still strong. “I'll feel better now. But I'll feel worse again if I'm left alone.”
She knew what he was trying to say. But, out of her own selfishness, she wanted him to say it plainly. 
“Oh okay.” She played dumb. “I'll send one of your men to keep you company.”
“No, no.” He shook his head. “It's not them I want.”
“Who? El?” She was still playing dumb. “I can bring him up here if that's what you want.”
“It's your company I want.” He held her hand tighter, looking in her eyes. “Please.”
She softened immediately and her heart melted into puddle. So she smiled at him and sat down again. “Alright, I'll stay. Only for a bit though, I have to get back to Elon.”
“I'll take what I can get.” He smiled.
She watched him in admiration. She really liked him being like this: free, open, and happy. Not the hard and grumpy Dante that she had met. He looked livelier with a smile on and her heart almost exploded at the sight. She looked away soon, she she did not want it so obvious that she was gawking at him. 
“I don't really know much about you.” He said to her and she looked at him again. “I've not even met any of your family. Do they live here in New York?”
“No.” She shook her head. Her family was a touchy subject for her so she was going to be as vague as possible. “They're back home in Mexico.”
“Oh…” He paused for a while. “So what was it like growing up?”
“Tough.” She was honest. “My dad and elder brother were really strict, but I had my grandmother there to save me most times.”
“You seem to be really fond of her. Your grandmother, I mean.”
“Yes.” Genesis sighed, smiling to herself. “I really love her and I wish I could see her again.”
“Who says you can't?” Dante asked and she looked at him sharply.
What excuse was she going to give him as to why she could not return home? “Um… some personal family issues.” She did not want to tell more lies and that was her best retort. 
“Oh…” He nodded. “Me personally, I'll never step foot in Mexico again.”
She frown, tilting her head as she looked at him. “Why? It's a beautiful place.”
“I know.” He exhaled. “But just the mere thought of the country triggers some memories I don't want to keep remembering.”
The pain on his face kept her quiet and she watched him as he tried to fight his unpleasant thoughts away. Then he spoke.
“That was where Evelyn was killed.” He started. “We had gone to spend the holidays with her parents, me, her, and Elon. We had gone shopping together and as we were coming out of the store, a bullet went straight in her head. I could not believe my eyes. For a moment, I thought that it has been a dream, but as soon as she fell to the floor, my world went with her.”
Genesis stroked his arm as he paused to father himself.
“I rushed her to the nearest hospital and she was pronounced dead on arrival. I begged and begged for something to be done but the doctors insisted that it was too late. Evelyn was gone.” He breathed out heavily. “Her father was a mafia, he quit after she died. I later got to find out that she was killed by a rival cartel of her father's. Every day, I live with the anger that her killer is still out there, free and roaming on this earth.”
“That's horrible…”
“Beyond horrible.” He added with a deep frown on his face. “So I swore to myself to concentrate on Elon, no other woman was to take her place. Well, that was until…” He looked at her, and she looked away from him, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze.
“I should not be taking her place.” She said to him, still not looking at his face.
“And I am not saying you should.” She responded, his voice was gentle. “Somehow, you have created your own place in my heart. I don't know how that happened, but it did. Like I said, I'm not trying to force you into what you don't want. And if you don't want this, that's okay; I'm a grown man and I'll sort out myself. You have all the time in the world to decide what you want, I'll wait and hear from you.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. Going into this kind of commitment with him was going to be a huge step so she was going to take her time and weigh her options. She really appreciated his patience and she felt calm that he was not trying to rush her into it.
She opened her eyes and saw that he was still looking at her. “We can be friends while I decide.” She offered.
“That's cool.” He laughed.
She laughed too. She had just friend zoned a man that was legally her husband. Life really was a funny journey.
So they stayed there, chitchatting away until it was time for dinner. She went and brought Elon from his room and they had their dinner in Dante's room that night. Genesis felt so warm as she saw that having this family of her own would not be such a bad idea.