Chapter 19: The Truce

Anastasia Honchar's POV

"Wait!" I called after Marco as he was heading toward the front door. I held his arm but he yanked it free.

"you knew all this time but you don't dare to tell me. I should have known better than expecting a Femme Fatale to tell me something," he said before he was about to walk. I shouted something that made him stopped on his track.

"I know where you can find Mia Duncan is,"

He turned to look at me before he frowned. He turned around again before I said something that would make Alfred put acid on my tongue.

"I know how to break us free from them," I said. Marco stopped as he was thinking for a second. He has every right to be mad but not with me. He should be made with Alfred and Val. they were the ones that were controlling our lives.

"if we wanted to defeat their leverage, we need to make ours better," I said as Marco was now turning his body to look at me. His scowl was there but his stand made all the difference that I need.

"Just hear me out, please?" I said as I was pleading to him. I don't care. I have something common between us that will make a difference in our future relationship if Marco still considers me as his friend.

"I will listen to your proposal but I will not tell you if I wanted to join or not," he said before I smiled at him, hope was in the air.

"yes, I just want you to listen. Now that every one of us has been out and about, I don't have anyone to talk to unless I talked to Val or Alfred but I rather drink acid than talking to them," I said as I was chuckling. Marco did not find it amusing. I cleared my throat before I mentioned for him to take a seat.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked me. I smiled at him before I went into my bedroom and I pulled out the plan that I have in advance before I headed out for their mission.

"here, I have located everything that was a weakness and a point that we can make a bargain out of our situation," I said as I laid out the details blueprint but it was not a drawing. Instead, it was information that I have in my hand that can be used against Alfred and Val.

"you made all this? By yourself?" He asked me. I frowned.

"why, you don't believe me?" I said as I was crossing my arms at him. He laughed. It was the first time that I heard him laughed so genuine and it quickly ended just like that. I wished for more of that masculine laugh.

"so, do you have anything on me?" He asked. I blushed as I cannot control my blood flow to my face, he smirked.

"show me," he said. I chuckled nervously before I looked at him. He was staring at me.

"Please?" He begged. I cannot let him begged and he gets nothing in return. It was nice that way. I sighed before I motioned him to follow me.

"come on," I said as I went to the guest room that I have turned into my laboratory. There was so much Pyrex that I cannot think I have not used and did not wash off the residue. I think I need to do that after this.

"woah, I believe you when you said a chemist but this," he mentioned to my lab,

"This is what a true chemist does. Not working for some company that would not stay away from you," he said as he turned to look at me. I was staring at him as I was blinking a few times before I cleared my throat. I went inside, did not wait for him to follow me.

"here," I said as I was pointing at the notes and drawings and all the files that I have on Marco Conti/Thorn. All his secrets and leverage that I can use to be my advantage.

"did you keep all this tab on me for how long?" He asked me. I gulped. Since I first met you at Mia's wedding. My mind said but I did not tell him that.

"When Val asked me to get under your radar when we first met on the train," I said as I was looking at him. He was smirking at me as he shook his head.

"you're one crazy girl, Anna," he said as he walked toward the apparatus. He looked around before he spotted the formulas and calculations to counterattack his drug.

"what's this?" He asked me. I went to his side as I was looking at my formulas and calculation. I sighed.

"my calculations to get the right dose for your illness," I said as I looked at him. He arched his eyebrow before he touched my work. I felt intimated when he did that. Not a single soul has seen my work and yet I let this man, the man I supposed to take down, all my life work and my thesis.

"I wanted to open a company, a drug company, to help the poor. I was raised in a good family but it did not last and when I was lost, I found my other one. But it was not always fortunate for people on the other side of the world.

"what are you, peacemaker?" He asked me as he turned to look at me. He was leaning against the table as I was frowning at him.

"well, we all can be that and not some psycho can hold me down," I snapped before I heard him chuckled. He was getting on my nerves when I wanted to share something private with him. Only to him and now he was making fun of me. I was about to leave before he talked to me.

"I have the same dream. I was raised in a good family but because I was blinded by love, I had killed someone that was closed to me and I almost hurt someone beloved to me as well," he said his deepest secret.

"Anyone, I know?" I asked him. Please, don't be Mia.

"It was my father and my sister. I have led them to their doom. I cannot forgive myself for that as I went to join the terrorist organization and when I realized I was on the wrong side, I helped Mia to escape that as well and bring justice to them," he said as he was staring at me. I don't know what to say. He has been doing some good shit with Mia and he has been long enough with her to develop feelings.

How can I compare myself to her? She was beautiful if you asked me. Her perfect brunette hair and her sterling grey eyes. Jealousy was on the edge but I cleared my throat to feel more at ease as Marco shared his thoughts with me. I guess this would be like if we have truce long before all this.

"I supposed you don't have anything else going on?" I asked him as I was trying to make conversation. It was much easier as I was talking with Marco than any guy that I ever had the fortune to meet. By far, he was the easy one to talk to.

"Well, there is something else that would jeopardize our truce," he said as he was looking at my formula. Did he finally see my mistake? Did he finally give the secret ingredient to his drug so that I can counterattack it?

"I did not take the drug," he whispered. All my hopes and dreams were shattered. He just confessed that he did not take the drug. It was a foul play all along. I blinked a few times to understand what he just said.

"wait, did I just heard you did not take the drug?" I asked him as I was looking at him. He turned to look at me before sighing. He nodded. Anger was rising inside me.

"so, you mean to say that—"

"I lied to you. I lied to Alfred and Val that I did took the drug," he said. I tried to clear my dry throat.

"did you or did you not complete the drug?" I asked him. He was about to say something before I cut him off.

"DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT?" I asked him as I was gritting my teeth. He was just staring at me before I scoffed.

"All my work, all my time, all the things that I have read and translated," I said before I went to sit on to my chair as I was rubbing my face with my hands.

"it was a lie, it was only a waste fo my time," I whispered as I was closing my eyes. I did not have the strength to shout or to scream. I just rubbed my neck as Marco spoke.

"Anna—"

I held out my hands as I was closing my eyes. After I recovered myself. I stood up and I was about to leave before Marco hold my wrist.

"Anna, you don't understand," he said.

"about what? About you lied? About the drug that was never existed?" I said as I looked at him. His hand was still on my arms.

"I never told anyone about this,"

"Maybe you shouldn't in the first place," I said as I was trying to get out of his hand.

"Let. Me. Go," I gritted my teeth as I hissed at him. He holds both of my arms. That was the opposite of letting go.

"Listen to me, Anna. We cannot let that fall to the hands of the bad guys, not even Alfred, not even Val," he said.

"and why you should trust me?" I challenged him. I might as well use this information to inform Val and Alfred. He smirked.

"because you never told them who I was," he said as he held something in his hand.

His real ID!