Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
She was not keen on trusting and getting attached to people nowadays especially since the Cassie incident. Would getting to know this kind-looking elderly woman come to bite her in the ass later?
She Knows Enough Information About Lukas
The woman went on to say to her, “I’m sorry, dear, I didn’t intend to build our relationship based on lies but I heard your relationship with this little imp started on the wrong foot….”
Rhea was more than shocked when she saw that woman grab Lukas by the head and push his face into the bowl of warm, homely, comforting bean and sausage hotpot served with cheese toasts.
What the fuck?! Rhea was hanging on the borderline of laughter and disbelief.
Rhea took back her word from earlier, she was hundred percent sure that she would get along with this woman – if Lukas doesn’t kill her after this incident.
However, to her surprise, Lukas only lifted his head, a chopped sausage slipping down his face and she couldn’t help it anymore. Rhea burst into loud laughter that made Lukas’s lips form into a thin line as he wiped the tomato purée with the help of the napkin Beatrice boldly handed to him.
This was so hilarious, Rhea wished she had her cell phone by her side so she could snap this moment and turn the photo into a meme. God, this was the one time she got to see Lukas utterly embarrassed and he didn’t react. He and Beatrice must be much closer than she thought for Lukas to forgive her this easily.
“While you ladies laugh over my misery, I’ll go make myself presentable,” Lukas said wryly, pushing back the seat with his butt as he stood to leave.
When Lukas left, as if someone shouted, “Jack Robinson,” Rhea and Beatrice burst into another round of laughter that was much more savage than the previous one.
“That was so original,” Rhea told the woman, “For a moment there, I thought I saw smoke oozing off his head,” She deceived commically.
…..
This was the first time she was having this much fun since she arrived here. Finally, when the humorous ambiance eased, Rhea turned to the woman, stretching her hand, as she introduced herself to her, “I’m Rhea, Lukas’s captive.”
“Poor child,” The woman murmured with sympathy, and instead of accepting her handshake, pulled her into a warm embrace.
Emotions choked Rhea and she fought intensely to keep the tears down. She didn’t know if this woman was sincere but she needed her consolation at the moment.
She has been fighting this battle all alone, the burden weighing down on her so much it was suffocating with no one to share her experience, to lighten the weight in her heart. Hence, that simple gesture warmed Rhea’s heart especially coming from an older woman – it felt maternal.
“I understand how hard it is, it’s never easy in the first place,” Beatrice said, rubbing her back soothingly.
As she thought, the woman had an idea of what was going on here and seemed okay with it. For how long has she associated with Lukas for her to be comfortable with this twisted kingdom. Would there come a time when she possesses the same level of comfort about the underworld? The thought of that scared Rhea.
She was young and had dreams to achieve. Although if she thought about dreams now, Rhea couldn’t give a clear view of what she wanted anymore.
Back at home, her dream was to be independent, be free of her uncle’s family hassles, and live comfortably with her trust fund money. But now, all she wanted was to be free of Lukas’s clutches and run off to a place where he would never be able to find her.
She would live quietly and start a family with a responsible guy that would pierce together her currently shattered heart. And maybe, she ends up as a dance teacher in a local school – her dreams of being a famous dancer would draw too much attention since she wanted to be far away from that Mafia Lord, Lukas. She had to lay low in that situation.
“You should have your meal before it gets cold,” Beatrice brought it to her notice after they pulled away from the now awkward hug.
Sigh, Rhea, you can’t just open up to any stranger that looks kind. Looks were deceiving and Cassie’s betrayal should have taught her enough already. But she had this feeling that Beatrice wasn’t that kind of person, perhaps, because she was an elder?
Cassie wanted to murder her because she assumed that she wanted her lover, Kenith. Clearly, Beatrice was over that lively pleasure of life because an old woman trying to murder her over Lukas’s attention was a trauma Rhea wouldn’t want to experience. It even sounded ridiculous in her head.
However, just because Beatrice wouldn’t murder her for catching Lukas’s attention doesn’t mean she should be trusted. After all, Lukas told her they’ve known each other for a long time, meaning she’s his person and would likely never betray him.
Rhea had to be careful what she said around the woman in case she turns out to be a spy instead of a mother figure.
“Here, you should have this. The toast is to kill for,” Beatrice pushed the plate to her front, taking a seat beside her at the same time.
Rhea ended up accepting the food against her plan of starving. But what could she do? The food here was tantalizing and she was almost beginning to salivate like a dog. This was a perfect temptation.
The moment she took a bite of the toast, Rhea shut her eyes and moaned in bliss. The food tasted good, comparable to the ones Mimi’s mother used to prepare the both of them.
God, she missed her cooking.
“Do you like it?” The woman asked, her expression full of expectation.
With her mouthful, Rhea couldn’t reply, so she only gave her a thumbs up, her delighted expression telling it all.
“That’s a relief,” The woman breathed, “I thought I might have touched my magic touch with the long break,”
Beatrice, having been observing Rhea eat, poured her a glass of water seeing she was about to choke.
“You should slow down, the food isn’t going anywhere and there’s more,” Beatrice advised her while she drank the water.
Rhea set the glass down on the table with a deep breath. She then asked the woman, “How long have you known Lukas?”
“Since he was in diapers?”
Rhea raised a stunned brow, since he was in diapers? Wait a minute, didn’t that mean she has every necessary information she needed to know about Lukas.
This should be interesting.
What about your parents?
“That means you practically know everything about him,” Rhea asked hopefully, tactically prying for information.
Beatrice smiled, then leaned closer, asking, “What exactly do you want to know about him?”
What exactly does she want to know about Lukas? How to kill him? His deadly secret she could use to threaten him?
As if.
Now she thought about it, Rhea realized how pathetic her situation was; her future looked bleak.
“You’ve not asked anything,” Beatrice reminded her when she got lost in her reverie.
“Oh,” Rhea came back to earth pretty quickly but her mind was blank. Beatrice would likely not answer the kind of question she had in mind and she didn’t know the question to ask that wouldn’t draw suspicion.
Then it hit her.
“What about his parents?” She was curious about that. It was true that she and Lukas hadn’t interacted much, but she knew practically nothing about his background while he probably searched up hers. Rhea felt at ease knowing about him as well.
…..