Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
And his doubt was evidenced when in the next minute, her expression became cajoling as she said, “Although I’m too stubborn to admit it, sincerely, you have been good to me. Even when I pissed you off….” She trailed off as if thinking of the right word to use, “You only educated me in your own way…” Seriously, she said that? Rhea felt like face-palming.
She went on, “And like you said, you are different from other lords. Since you have been doing good, continue with it,”
“What?” Lukas was seriously not getting her point.
Rhea grabbed both of his arms, keeping his attention on her and Lukas was honestly surprised she was the first to initiate contact between them. If it had been him, she’d probably scream assault! Well, not that he was complaining.
“You could let me go, Lukas,” She whispered and as expected, his face turned sour.
…..
“No, listen to me!” Rhea kept her grip on him when Lukas tried to move away. It was obvious that the issue of her leaving here was undebatable but she had to try.
“I would move away to a faraway place where Elijah wouldn’t be able to find me!” She suggested hurriedly knowing his patience was running out.
“And what about my weapons?!” He practically growled at her face. It was a miracle he hasn’t broken out of her grasp already with the way his body was vibrating beneath her touch.
“You can make Elijah believe I’m still with you, Lukas. You have the resources and you have the upper hand here as well and I can promise you that Elijah wouldn’t stop searching for me.”
“And what if he stops?” Lukas suddenly asked.
“W-what?” Her voice suddenly broke. That question came out of nowhere and took her by surprise – and was quite sensitive.
“What if this Elijah you have so much confidence in gives up on you?” Lukas asked her confidently this time.
She let go of him, shaking her head in denial, “No, he wouldn’t,”
But Lukas smirked, he found this situation interesting, “You are willing to ditch him just to secure your future, that shows how deep your love for him is….” He said ironically, “What if Elijah comes to that same crossroad and decides you’re not worth it. What happens to my shipment then?”
Rhea was in a dilemma, no, she was more confused than ever because Lukas’s question put her in a hot seat. She then said, “You saw what happened at the wedding, Lukas, it was all his doing. Elijah is not going to give up on me -“
“Yet you would,” Lukas said pointedly.
“He’s a mercenary and I’m still a young, innocent woman trying to find my footing in this world. He would surely understand.”
Rhea had a hard time swallowing after saying those words. She indeed sounded like a betrayal. But could you blame her? She has had enough already. All she wanted was her freedom and to rest. Surely, Elijah would understand why she had to make this decision if they eventually meet one day.
“Your speech is inspiring,” Lukas spoke up, “and you did make a lot of sense.”
Hope flared inside of Rhea, Lukas was really going to listen to her this time? She prayed so.
“However….”
At the mention of that word, Rhea knew things had begun to go downhill. Yet she still fostered expectation in her heart that Lukas would somehow grant her request. The anxiety ate deep inside of her.
“I’m a businessman and I deal with facts, not sentiments. The fact that Elijah would come for you means that he has his eyes here. In one word, I can’t let you go even if I wanted to, that is as good as delivering you directly to him. Or don’t you know this saying,’ a man who kicks a frog doesn’t deter it from its destination rather, he helps it arrive faster, “
Her face fell at once, he was not releasing her even when she suggested logically. Why had she even bothered trying to get to him? Her opinion doesn’t matter to him anyway.
Lukas was the one to step towards her this time, lifting her crestfallen face. He wiped away the tear that slipped down her face with his thumb gently, “Don’t be so sad, Rhea. It’s just your bad luck being caught in the middle and as much as I would love to give you that freedom you want so much, you’re my insurance. And you of all people should know what happens to a business without insurance?”
“But then,” Lukas went on, “If you promise to be on your best behavior, I could take you out of this pit hole…” He referred to this current room, “And you would be able to roam the grounds freely, although with security on you all the time,” He offered her a small portion of freedom.
But when Rhea didn’t respond for a long time, Lukas knew intuitively that it was a “no” and took that as a cue to his leave. On the bright side, he was able to have this conversation without threatening her.
Grabbing the knob, Lukas was prepared to rub his success at Victor’s face only for Rhea to say, “I would kill myself then if you don’t let me out of here,”
What Has He Done?
Lukas stiffened, his entire body going rigid and Rhea didn’t need to be told she just roused a sleeping lion. But what could she do? If she was going to spend her days in misery, she wasn’t going to let him be either. Rhea planned to torment him until he had no choice but to kill or set her free. He has just one choice.
Suddenly, Lukas straightened and turned around to meet her. He had a hard, cold, dead, look, that made her gulp hard.
‘He doesn’t scare her,’ Rhea kept chanting to herself even as Lukas walked purposefully towards her. With that look in his eyes, he looked like he would tear her into pieces with his bare hands. But she would stand her ground.
However, in the next minute, Rhea was treading backward as Lukas boxed her in. Yes, she was strong, but it was incredibly hard to stand a person with murderous intent. Lukas was scaring her.
And he proved that when he grabbed her chin and lifted it to his gaze, “Say that again!” he snarled at her face.
Rhea forgot how to breathe but she still managed to sneer at him, “Why? Are you going to hit me?”
His nostrils flared in warning, “Don’t push me, Rhea!”
She laughed sarcastically, “I’m just stating the obvious, Lukas. You can’t take oxygen away from a fish and expect it to live,”
But he was quick to correct her, “First of all, you’re not a fish. Second, humans are adaptational creatures with ability to survive in any environment they find themselves in. You are just the only one who doesn’t want to move with the wind of change!” He said to her, his temper flaring. Rhea would be the death of him.
…..
If she was someone else, he would have tortured her to submission already, but Rhea, sadly was not other people. First of all, she was a guest – who has crossed the lines several times and he wouldn’t be held accountable if he disciplined her – that was precious to his enemy, Elijah.
Sadly, he now had a soft spot for her as well. And as much as he loved her fighting spirit, it was beginning to annoy him now. Any woman who would be by his side must be willing to submit to his rule. But Rhea seems to be an alpha female and the both of them together was a destructive combination.
There can’t be two alphas in a pack, one had to renounce his title or they had to fight to the death to show dominance. And that was what Lukas was avoiding, the fight to the death. Can’t she see how much he was trying here? He already even compromised a little, what has she done? Nothing!
“I would rather live a short but happy life than a long, miserable, and meaningless one. So unless you are going to move in with me twenty-four hours, seven days, to supervise and stop me from ending my miserable life, I suggest you make a decision,” Rhea spat out at him.
She has tried reasoning with him to no avail, now, she would use extreme measures to get what she wants – even if that means putting her life on the line.
Rhea could already see the gears turning in Lukas’s head so she was quick to add, “And don’t even think of threatening me with the cuffs because there are lots of creative ways I could end my life and you are not going not like it one bit.” She threatened him.
A tick appeared in Lukas’s jaw which showed he was close to losing his temper but Rhea was not a chicken either; she could hold her own. They had an intense staredown that lasted for a while and this time, Lukas didn’t back out easily.
They stared at each other to the point that Rhea’s eyes were beginning to water, she couldn’t keep this up for long – and it means Lukas intentionally let her win the first time. It hurt to the point that she was close to taking her eyes off when Lukas pulled off.
When she says “pull off”, it means he released her chin and stepped back creating space between them and making this confrontation less awkward.
“Fine, go and die,”