Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
Those Three Special Words
“Lukas is on his way here,” Rhea could not recall the number of times she went over her mother’s announcement in her head. So the instant she heard and confirmed his car driving into their lawn through her blinders, Rhea broke into a sprint.
She practically flew over the flights of stairs in her haste to go see Lukas. Nearly running into the staff who were busy putting everything in place to make the guest’s stay as comfortable as possible according to Natalie’s orders.
Rhea nearly kicked the door out of her way and there she saw him. Lukas was outside, speaking with Victor and her heart leaped in joy. He was here? Lukas was really here! In flesh and blood. It was a miracle!
Without a second thought, Rhea ran over to him.
“We are toast if this goes wrong.” Victor reminded Lukas, eyeing the number of Eric’s soldiers guarding the residence and the possibility of them making it out of here alive if push comes to shove.
“For once, you should learn to trust -” Lukas did not get to finish the rest of his words because he felt something coming his way and lifted his eyes only to see Rhea leap into his arms.
Dear God.
It had taken Lukas a great deal of effort to catch Rhea and maintain his balance at the same time. Even at that, he still staggered back from the impact; she nearly brought him to the ground.
Stunned by her action, Lukas wanted to scold her seriously. She could have injured herself had he not caught her on time, but when Lukas looked at her and saw the genuine happiness on her face, no words came out of his mouth. Was she that excited to see him?
…..
“You’re here,” Rhea breathed, smiling at him widely. Her beauty was so radiant that it could have shamed the sun as well, not to talk of Lukas who was held spellbound. If Rhea was Redhead, she would be wagging her tail at him right now.
Lukas’s anger dissipated without Rhea doing much and she put the cherry on top by kissing him on the lips in front of everyone. Rhea’s action shocked everyone in the vicinity – including Lukas – who saw them. Even the guards had to force their gaze away from the scene.
“Urm…” Victor cleared his throat beside him, “We still have -“
But Lukas turned his cousin’s face the other way with his hand while his lips were still connected with Rhea’s. If his girl wanted to kiss him, who was he to refuse such a privilege? So he wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing her flush to his body, and kissed her thoroughly.
Lukas’s lips curled up at the corners, he loved kissing her and her lips tasted so sweet he was practically addicted to it. Not to mention that Rhea claimed him in front of his enemies and Lukas found the move so hot that he decided to reward her by kissing her as if the world was ending and it was merely the both of them left in existence.
She moaned as he kissed her harder, her head reeling from the sensations. Rhea fisted her hand in the inside of his shirt, dragging him to her body till there was not a single space between them and she was practically grinding on him.
It was at that point that Eric decided he couldn’t take it anymore and he cleared his throat loudly enough for the both of them to pull apart reluctantly. The both of them had silly grins on their faces when they broke the kiss, their breath coming in pants.
But then, Rhea didn’t give Lukas a chance to recover from the surprises she gave him already because she confessed to him, “I love you, Lukas.”
Lukas stiffened at once, his eyes going wide at what he just heard while Victor sighed. Had he known everything would turn out this way, he wouldn’t have worried too much and returned to the base. But now he had to watch and swallow down this public display of affection by the couples right in front of him – even though he was happy for Lukas.
“W-what did you just say?” Lukas was shaken up by her confession. No, he wanted her to say it again because it felt like he didn’t hear her say those three special words.
“I love you Lukas Xavier Luciano from the bottom of my heart,” Rhea said to him. She was sure of it now. She loved him to the moon and back.
But then, the reaction Rhea received from him was not what she expected.
Lukas let go of her and then paced up and down, looking confused, if not, disoriented for a while. And then, he drew his head back and screamed at the top of his lungs, shocking everyone. When he was done, he turned to Rhea and carried her off her feet, causing a squeal to leave her lips.
He then began to twirl her around while Rhea screamed in both excitement and surprise, his reaction was so over the top and unexpected – and she was getting a little embarrassed. Especially when he put her down and began to shower her with loud, fluttery kisses.
“Lukas….” Rhea tried to hide her face from him but was unsuccessful. His enthusiasm was overwhelming. If only she knew what those words meant to him and what they did to him.
To Lukas, those three special words meant he wouldn’t have to force her to be with her; he wouldn’t force her to have his child; he wouldn’t force her to be his wife. She would be with him willing. Not to mention that Rhea was quite reserved about her feelings for him and for her to say it out loud in front of everyone, meant a lot to him.
So he answered, “I love you too, Rhea from the deepest part of my heart,” And his heated mouth was on hers again, kissing her with all that he had.
“Oh well,” Eric gave up on separating them again and went inside. When the lovebirds were done, they knew where to find him.
Break Away From The Cycle Of Hate
Lukas and Rhea walked into the house hand in hand with all eyes on them like they were some exotic species from another planet. Those who had no idea of the history between Rhea and Lukas were appalled at the sight of both of them together while the others were surprised that Eric let Lukas in. Nonetheless, all they could do was look and could not lay a hand on him.
Even though he tried to be positive and confident, Lukas was still nervous inside, after all, he was about to meet his mother-in-law for the first time officially and wanted to make a good impression. The both of them got off on the wrong foot because of his family’s history and a lot of misunderstanding, but now he hoped they got along fine.
However, with Rhea’s hand tightly intertwined with his, he felt strong and there wasn’t anything he couldn’t conquer. Moreover, even if the woman gave him consent or not, he intended on marrying her daughter. This was just him doing it the right and easy way.
Thanks to the butterflies dancing in his stomach because of Rhea’s life-changing confession, Lukas was not gripped much by anxiety until Natalie stepped into the foyer and he halted in his steps instantly.
As expected, Lukas did an investigation on Natalie and he had to admit that the pictures did not do her justice at all. Natalie was an extremely beautiful woman – no wonder Daniel could not take his eyes off her – but what caught his attention the most was the uncanny resemblance between her and Rhea.
The both of them could be almost mistaken as sisters. They were that similar.
However, Lukas was startled when he saw tears slip down the woman’s cheeks and his mouth opened speechlessly. What did he do? No, he didn’t do anything. So why was his mother-in-law crying? He didn’t recall his face being that scary.
“M-marcel…” Natalie’s voice cracked as she stared at the young man who resembled his mother and her best friend, Penelope. Even with all the mental preparation she did, it was still startling to see that familiar face.
She took slow steps towards the boy but each step Natalie took felt heavy like lead while the tears continued to flow down her cheeks, making her sight blurry. Lukas in question didn’t dare to make a move, entranced by the emotions playing out on her face.
…..
Having sensed that this moment doesn’t belong to her, Rhea let go of Lukas’s hands and wanted to protest against her gesture – he wanted her warm hands back in his. But he didn’t have the time to complain because Natalie was now standing in front of him.
Suddenly, Natalie reached out and took his face in her grip causing his entire body to stiffen up. He was not used to strangers coming up to him this close, not to talk of touching him, especially his face. But he didn’t sense any ill intent from her and let her be.
What does she want with his face? Lukas was curious. Fine, he was more than curious. The suspense was killing him! Or could it be that she was bewitched by his good looks too?
Oh no, Lukas swallowed numbly.
Natalie can’t fall for him too, how was he going to handle both mother and daughter? And did he forget to add that Eric would kill him for daring to seduce his wife? Not to mention wasn’t he a tad bit young for Natalie?
But then, when he looked into the woman’s eyes, Lukas realized that it wasn’t what he was thinking at all.
“You do look like her,” Natalie pointed out, tentatively tracing his features with her shaky hands. Aside from the eyes, Lukas looked nothing like Daniel. He took after his mother.
“H-her?” He choked.
Lukas realized that she was talking about his mother and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He didn’t realize that his mother was the first issue his mother-in-law would bring up on his first visit. Now he remembered, they had been best friends and if there was anyone that knew much about his mother, it was her.
“I’m so sorry,” Natalie began to apologize profusely to him, “I never meant to leave your mother behind, nor did it cross my mind that Daniel would be so cruel to her as to force himself on her. I wanted to come back for her, but I couldn’t. I was so selfish and occupied with preserving my own life that I cut her off. I’m so sorry, Lukas. I have been a very bad person. I don’t deserve your forgiveness but I just needed you to hear this. Your mother was a good woman. She didn’t deserve the hell that Daniel put her through and I failed her. I don’t deserve her forgiveness at all,” She cried, burying her face in Lukas’s chest while he stood there awkwardly.