Felix for a second felt like he was choking on words. Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke.
"I can't. The guilt would follow me to grave."
Felix finally had his answer. There was no way he was going to accept Alejandro's offer.
*************************************************************************
Aria had finally reached the comfort of her house. For the past few days, she had been chugging down food nonstop. After living in the desert for the previous nine months, she had developed a deep love for food.
To her, the moments she had spent with her family seemed like heaven. Joining the CIA wasn't an easy decision for her. Aria was raised by her single father after her mother had died at a very young age. Despite the huge loss, aria had never felt the absence of her mom just because her single father had perfectly played his role. To her, her dad and brother were the entire world.
But her happy, sweet world suddenly crumbled down when she found her dad dead in his bedroom on her first day in high school. It was a cardiac arrest in the sleep.
The two siblings were taken in by their paternal aunt. She had promised her brother long ago that if anything would happen to him, she would immediately take in his children under her shelter. It wasn't an easy task to raise two children. Her aunt had to bear the weight of the family by working multiple jobs in a day. Aria had spent her teenage years raising her younger brother at home while her aunt worked even on the weekends.
Things took a bitter turn when she finished high school. While her classmates were busy selecting colleges and making career choices, aria decided to drop studies and start working to help out her struggling single aunt.
But unlike her, aria's aunt had decided to get a loan so she could send her to the college of her dreams. She knew it was what her brother would have wanted. Contrary to her physical age, aria was a mature kid. She couldn't see her already struggling aunt getting chased down by loan sharks for the rest of her life.
So, she chose what seemed like the perfect option in the scenario. Aria had seen flyers around town about the military actively recruiting. With the growing political tension around the world, America was in dire need of young soldiers that would volunteer to fight in the Middle East, offering them a huge chunk of money in return.
Lying to her aunt about getting a fully funded scholarship in a far-off city, aria had signed up for the military. It wasn't an easy decision but it was the decision that seemed the most suitable. Saving her aunt from another financial burden, aria trained hard to prove her real worth. It didn't take long for her instructors to notice that she was different. And it was when her life completely changed.
Aria was referred to the CIA by her instructors after her military training had ended. Beautiful, young, smart, mentally strong, and trained in combat; she fit the best definition of a spy. Looking at her no one could have guessed that the fragile young caramel-haired girl that could melt a man's heart within seconds was actually the best combat agent in the CIA. One could say that she was the devil in disguise. It was why she was named Lilith in the first place.
A seducer of men but a monster in the dark. It was like she was a dangerous demon sent by Satan to give men impure thoughts.
Contrary to her physical appearance, she had repeatedly proved her worth in various important intelligence missions, wiping out enemies without leaving a trace behind. But back at home, she was still the same mischievous aria that loved messing up with her brother and whining out towards her aunt. Although her family wasn't aware of her secret, aria had turned their lives around.
With the money that she had made, aria had bought a home for her family in a much decent neighborhood. Her brother Sam was about to enter the best high school in town and her aunt no longer worked her spine off to earn money. Things were finally working out in her interest.
Aria was currently sitting on a couch with her younger brother, enjoying her hot chocolate early in the morning. She wondered how calm it felt to wake up early by the sound of the morning birds chirping and not bullets shooting. Her brother Sam was busy scrolling through TV channels, finding something interesting to watch.
His search came to an end when he finally found a channel telecasting wrestling. His eyes sparkled at the sight of wrestlers beating the shit out of each other. Aria on the other hand was frustrated. All she had wanted was a peaceful, violence-free vacation but to her dismay, her brother was ruining it.
"Don't you think this amount of exposure to violence isn't good for you?" she said lightly tapping the back of his head.
"Of course not. A man should be strong enough to fight in case of an emergency. I'm just taking inspiration." He made up the most ridiculous excuse that he could. Aria rolled her eyes.
"bullshit." She scoffed in response.
"What would you know? You don't even muster the strength to kill a fly." Sam smirked as he focused back on the TV. She shook her head upon hearing his words.
"Yeah... What would I know?" she mumbled with her brain falling into some deep thoughts.
***************************************************************************************
Felix had stepped out of the classroom after giving a long lecture and answering the questions that his students had. It was tiresome but yet a wave of happiness passed through him whenever he noticed his students taking an interest in his class.
Finally, he was free for the day. He was walking down the hallway when his phone suddenly rang. An unfamiliar number gleamed on his screen. Felix without a second thought answered the call and realized the voice on the other side immediately.
To be continued............…