I quickly got dressed in a sweat suit while Philip was helping Kevin get settled in the living room. When I came down, Philip was trying to clean the blood of Kevin’s shoulder with a towel and examine his wound. Once Kevin saw me he said, “I don’t think you should be here for this.”

  “Well, I’m gonna be.” I said quickly.

  “This is none of your concern!” Kevin shouted.

  “Someone hurting my brother-in-law is my concern.” I shouted back.

  Philip turned from his brother’s shoulder to face me. “It’s really dangerous situation, Ayana. You can stay if you want but it would be in your best interest to leave.” he muttered.

  “I won’t, I’m not scared.” I was lying. Seeing Kevin at our doorstep at 2am with a huge gash on his shoulder freaked me out a lot. I don’t find myself in situations like this but I want to be able to help if I can. I don’t want to be some helpless person in a situation like this.

  Philip sighed and continued to press a towel firmly against his brother’s shoulder. Kevin sat down on the couch and held on to his shoulder while Philip and I stood over him. “As you already know, Baek Chaek is a billion dollar company with many rivals right?” he asked and I nodded. “Well, I have many rivals but my only enemy is Dean Guerrero, the CEO of 4Titude. The man’s hated me ever since Baek Chaek was nothing more than me hacking into viruses for people and getting paid $50 for it. That man is twice my age but every time our companies progress his manages to fall behind mine. He’s been looking for a way to dethrone me and convince shareholders to give up their piece of my company to him for the past two years, the results have either been murders or injuries. This is all a game to him but I’ve lost some very good friends to his ruthless mafia. He tends to only go after members of my Korean mafia but tonight he decided to cut a little deeper.”

  “Why would he decide to come after Kevin? And aren’t you going to take him to a hospital?!” I asked.

  “If I take him to a hospital the police will get involved.” Philip said. “That’s not good for anyone.”

  “But once Guerrero had heard that Baek Chaek increased in sales after Philip’s marriage to you, he was pissed. Everybody loves a man who’s trying to get his together I guess...while Guerrero is someone without a soul..even the public can sense that.” Kevin explained.

  “What does that mean for you though, Kevin? Will he try to kill you now?” I asked.

  His eyes turned red and he put his head down. “Don’t ask about my well-being, ask about yours.”

  My heart skipped a bit when I finally came to that sick realization. If Guerrero is trying to come after Philip’s family then I’m definitely one of his targets. There’s no way I could hide from something like that when celebrity news and paparazzi always broadcast my location. I don’t have any training in weaponry and I don’t even know how to fight. Above all else, I don’t even know what any of Guerrero's mobsters look like. I’m screwed.

  I turned to Philip and saw this listlessness in his eyes, he wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. I wonder what things he’s gone through before I came in the picture. I couldn’t imagine the emotional pain he’s felt from seeing people he loved die for his sake. Now, seeing his brother like this, he must feel torn apart.

  “Ayana, we’re all going to have to go into hiding.” Philip muttered.

  “Hiding?! But what about running your company? If you let it slide because of Guerrero then he’ll get exactly when he wants. He’ll be able to prove that you aren’t capable of running your company and snatch it from right underneath you.” I nearly shouted.

  “But what am I supposed to do when my family is in danger because of me?” he asked.

  “You let us go into hiding. You have to stay and fight for your company. I know you aren’t just gonna let your blood, sweat, and tears go because some hatin’ old man is trying to take it away from you. You fight for what you love.” I said.

  Philip turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, “And what if I love my family more than this company? Then what? I love my mother, father, brother, and you. I can’t put any of you at risk just because of a dream I had when I was twelve years old. It’s just not worth it.”

  He dropped his head and quickly cleaned his face before bringing it back up. “We’re all going into hiding and that’s all there is to it. I can worry about Baek Chaek later.” Philip said firmly.

  I tried to persuade him but his word was final. We spent the last week preparing for our trip by packing, finding a place to stay, and changing our appearances. I helped Philip dye his hair a silver-grey color and I dyed my black curls and eyebrows a medium brown shade. I had cut my hair from waist length to shoulder length and add bangs that slightly covered my eyes. The two of us got a pair of matching glasses and went from wearing business attire to wearing extremely casual clothing. Kevin even grew out his facial hair and wore glasses as well. Even though most people didn’t really recognize him as Philip’s twin brother Guerrero’s mafia would be able to point him out and that was enough for him to want to change his looks as well. My mother and father-in-law didn’t have to change their appearance since Philip made sure to keep them out of the spotlight in the past. Lucky for them, they could still be who they were.

  The five us left our homes and bought a townhouse in New York that we would be living in for a what Philip called ‘a little while.’ I couldn’t even begin to guess what ‘a little while’ was and meant.

  I walked in the townhouse last, behind my mother-in-law, and felt like crying when I saw the inside of it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the townhouse, it was cute and the furniture that was put in it was a nice touch. I just couldn’t help wondering where I’d be right now if I hadn’t married Philip, if I hadn’t gone to that club so intoxicated. It’s the beginning of November so I probably would’ve gone to a club with my friends on Halloween and we’d be talking about how much fun it was. We’d be planning Thanksgiving at one of our homes this year. I’d be happy with them.

  “What’s wrong?” Philip’s mother asked. Her hand was on my shoulder and her round eyes gave me a soft look.

  “I’m fine, Mrs. Baek.” I said with a laugh.

  She pursed her lips together and sighed. “What do you say about the two of us going for a walk together while these three get our things settled?”

  “Sure.” I said simply. I glanced at Philip, who was talking to his father and brother in a different language