"You have to get married to him, Lily.."
I watched him raise his glass and sipped from his wine, looking unaffected by the death sentence he just spilled on me.My throat suddenly went dry as my fingers began to dig into my skin; I fidgeted and stared at the familiar face in the portrait, the angry dark eyes, the raised chin, and the hollowed cheekbone.Enzo Dimitri, best friends with Greg, wasn't the kind of guy I liked to be around, and you guessed it, he wasn't the type of guy that wanted ordinary people around him.He wasn't the kind of man with marriage in mind; what happened?Greg saw the question in my eyes and answered them, "Dimitri needs one of his sons to fill in his position back in Russia, and the only way Enzo is getting in is if he gets married."With a shaky breath, I demanded, "And you thought I was going to be perfect for a devil-like Enzo, Greg? You know who he is! You know what he can do!"He leaned in and grinned in my face, his fingers under my chin, "Did you think it was going to come that easy, spitfire? A million, damn, you should be prepared for a lot of risks."My bottom lip began to tremble, "But Enzo?" he nodded, "Please, Greg," I grasped his hand feeling my lids getting wet, "Anything but Greg, I'll strip for you, hell, I'll even let you..." I cringed, "Sleep with me, but not Enzo, I beg of you."But Greg downed the remnant and, dropping the cup, he took the phone from the table and replaced it with a card where his number was written, "You make up your mind, you know where to find me spitfire." he snatched his hand from my grasp, before cleaning it with a napkin and stood up."Greg...""You have two days, just two days."I watched his back hurry out of the restaurant, arriving before a Limo opened for him, and he slid in.I turned to look down at the card on the table, trying my best not to cry at my fate in the form of a phone call.One phone call was all it took.But then it was Enzo. I knew who Enzo was. After getting his inheritance, I knew killing me was the next on his list.But my mum.I buried my face in my palms, feeling my tears drop in my hands, stiffening my shoulders so they didn't tremble.It was a relief letting it all out, but I was in public, and attracting attention wasn't what I needed right now.Biting my bottom lip, trying to keep the loud sobs at bay, when I heard the chair Enzo just left shift.Thinking it was the waitress, I said, "Please just give me a moment to get myself; I'll leave."Then came the male voice, "But I don't want you to leave, Grilletto."The sound seemed to come from the deepest part of his throat, surrounding me; it chilled me to my bone that he spoke carefully, taking his time and, at a calculated pace, piqued my curiosity.Ignoring that my mascara could be all over my face, I raised my head to see him, the man at the table behind us, and now he had a bizarre grin.Looking closer now, I noticed the green of his pupil was smoky, and there was a little spark in the once-lifeless eyes.His thick black hair was in a low fade, looking like he just rose from bed to take a walk, and with a straight nose, this man was attractive if he wasn't smiling at me like that.And what did he call me? Grilleto?When my staring began to get awkward, he held the collar of his black leather jacket and flagged it, "You don't like it? I can pull it off."My brows knitted in confusion, watching this stranger who had suddenly disrupted my quiet time call me the strangest name and now PULLING OFF HIS JACKET BECAUSE HE THOUGHT I DIDN'T LIKE IT.He dropped the jacket on the table, and now a black short-sleeved shirt was on display, showing tattooed muscular arms going all the way up.Shaking my head out of my trance, I rasped, "I don't believe I know you.""I know, the reason I stay in the shadows" his grin went wider; reaching into his pocket, he brought out a black handkerchief and passed it to me, "Here, you got some black streaks right there." he touched his cheek.The thought that he just told me he stayed in the shadows lurked in my brain, But collecting the hanky, I quickly stood up, dabbing my eyes, "Thanks for this."He stood up with me, the smile disappearing, "Are you sure you don't need anything, Anything at all?"Frowning, I approached him, touching him and searching for the microphone."Hey," he whispered, not pushing me away; when I reached his thigh, he laughed, "Try not to go south; it gets hard to get it down."I blushed profusely, pulling away from him."What were you even looking for?" He grabbed his jacket from the table, his eyes still smiling at me."This is a prank. Where's the mic? Where's the Camera?"He shook his head, and at that moment, he looked like a teenager being accused of breaking a window with a ball, "It's not a prank," he took a step close to me, "I won't lie; I was watching you, I mean it's hard not to."What was he blabbering about?"Did he do anything to you? Do you need help? Maybe an angel shot or something?" He squeezed my shoulders gently, then whispered breathlessly, "Damn, I can't believe I'm touching you again."I found the situation so funny it was taking all of my willpower not to laugh; sad that this fine-ass man was crazy.I turned to go, but this time he held my wrist firmly, but his fingers were still gentle; he turned me around to face him, then looking into my eyes, he muttered, "If you need help, call this." he pushed a piece of paper into my hands.Looking down at the paper, written *ADLER* on it, I frowned, but so he left me alone; I nodded, "Fine, I'm leaving."Walking to the door, I laughed, feeling the paper in my palms; the hilarious situation had me forgetting my problems for a short while.Reaching the door, I turned, hoping to spot him for the last time, but he wasn't there any longer.I looked around at the restaurant but couldn't find him. My forehead creased; was that all in my head?The paper in my hand told me it wasn't.Looking down at the squeaky handwriting, I laughed again before getting into a taxi.But in the Taxi, when I raised his hanky to clean up my teary face, I discovered the hanky smelt like Lilies.I stepped out of the Taxi to find my landlord next to the blue building with peeling paint that was my abode which I shared with my mum and little sister.Seeing him, my first thought was to get back into the taxi and flee that Arena; maybe returning when it was almost morning or sleeping back at Lucia's place tugged at my mind.But then he immediately turned, spotting me on the sidewalk, and his face turned a shade of red, and it wasn't the cold.Squaring my shoulders, I scaled past running bicycles of rebellious teenagers before dodging balls of children trying to hit their goalpost made of piled stones; then finally, I stopped before Squalo, my landlord Squalo wasn't his real name, but few people knew what it was, and most of his Tenants weren't one of them, but I heard the reason he was called Squalo was because of his ability to instill fear in his debtors.And now I was one of them.Standing before him, I jumped into action, "Signor Squalor, things have really been tight lately
Hoodies had some way of making me feel safe. That it had been the clothing I had worn when Greg almost took advantage of me was the reason.It had taken him a lot of minutes trying to pull it off, giving me a chance to slam a kick into his groin—the best moment of my life.But now this gigantic hoodie was doing nothing to shield me from the coldness in Enzo's eyes, blonde hair slicked back just like Greg's, and his grey eyes held all the disgust he had for me.Surely Greg would have told him about me, and this had to be Greg's way of punishing me.Standing before them, hoodie cap over my head, eyes to the floor, but a few times raising my lash to stare at them, to see Greg's doting eyes on Enzo, whose heated gaze was on me.This was Greg's office, where his father's Art and photo frames were stuck to the wall. When I worked here with my mum, this was my favourite place to clean, intentionally spending hours in here but making sure not to touch any ammunition.The last time I had been
Losing the most important person in my life was my breaking point. Remembering back, it was at this time I lost the will to leave.Nothing held meaning anymore, not the urge to continue moving on when there was nothing to live for anymore.The beautiful house, bright lights, floral gowns, and made-up face.Speaking of a made-up face, there was a lot of mess streaking down my face, soiling the white gown I wore. My shoes had been kicked off my feet as I lay on the rug on the floor, sobbing with my hands wrapped around my knees.I couldn't fathom how many minutes or even hours I had been lying down here, blocking the outside world out. The girl who helped me dress looked helpless, trying to get me up and to the car.All she received was a teary stare before she scurried for.There was no use going to the church to continue this mess. The reason was dead; the cause could have been alive if two men who owned so much had just helped me out.𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒈! A burning sensation filled my chest at
'ADLER.Whatever that meant was lost to me, just that it was what was written on the piece of paper, mouthing it out to the stranger, feeling stupid and silly. How could I believe shit like that, by the way? How desperate had this made me?I felt Enzo's hand under my chin, pulling me to face him; I met his eyes, shivers running through my body like electric shocks, waves upon waves. Tears filled my eyes again."What the fuck are you looking at, Huhn" he leaned, pushing the ring into my hands. Put it on; let's get this over with," I nodded, whispering, "I'll do it, don't just hit me again.""You better," he snarled, "Else," he raised the gun's muzzle to my face.But then.But then, I could hear footsteps striding towards us, but too scared to find out what because Enzo's rage had me focusing my attention on him."With this ring, I pledged thee..."Opening my mouth to repeat the words, when I began to hear the congregations murmuring words I couldn't fathom, but still, I couldn't divert
My mother told me and my sister, "When life changes, go with the flow." And I always did that, got the negative news, cried the night and the morning, with my head held high, I was ready to brace the storm.But now, I was a hare caught in a headlight, against a fence, with nowhere to run to, a murderer with the gentlest touch holding me close.Leaning down, he placed his forehead against mine so he was looking into my eyes, raising the ring that had stopped at his boot some minutes ago, "I ditched the jacket," he grinned, "there's a suit, your gown looks beautiful, wanna get married?"Huhn?He threw the ring away, "Ha, just kidding," but why was he looking disappointed, and why did that sound like false cheer?Shadows suddenly filled the church door, Don Adler turned, and his face straightened, "What does it take for me to have alone time?""Jesus Christ Adler." I turned to the door to find two more men entering. The one who the voice had come from was in a black polo shirt and blac
LILY'S POV.I stirred to the feel of my hair caressing my face, the strangeness immediately hitting me out of nowhere; for the last I remembered, I wasn't supposed to be alive.And why was the ceiling a beautiful white design, or was it just my sight blurring from all the pain dancing in my skull?I winced, shutting my eyes, and when I opened them again, thankfully, my sight had cleared, and yeah, the ceiling wasn't mine. This was a very, very strange place.Although My brain felt void, I knew I was in a place I wasn't supposed to be.What had happened? I looked down at the light blue floral dress that stopped at the middle of my lap; I drew myself up in a sitting position, puzzlement nudging as I looked around.This place, the air, seemed too expensive.Where was I?The last I remembered was the shooting in the church, Enzo's blood seeping out of the crimson hole at the side of his head to the floor, I felt my body tremble as I slowly dropped my wobbly legs to the floor, my fingers
AUTHOR'S POV (ADLER.)He knew she was recollecting, her face dawning in recognition as more minutes passed but still staring at him in unbelief.For a moment, he thought she couldn't remember that afternoon years ago because she was someone who would jump at any opportunity to offer help to just anyone.So maybe their case wasn't that special.But she did; she kept him in her memories just like he had kept her in his, but maybe not as much as he had held her, like seeing her in his dreams, having nightstands with girls that had her features.It never gave him that fill, that thrill he had gotten lying under the shed, his head resting against a pile of bags she had gathered, for him while she continued to try to pry the gun out of his hands."Stai per premere il grilletto su te stesso!" She'd chided. You're about to pull the trigger on yourself.And even as he lay there fighting for his life, he remembered the only reason he had refused to let the gun go was so she kept repeating that
LILY'S POV.The fear I had felt waking up and seeing this place was gone, in its place, was a worry for Eva, but immediately I had spat out my concern; Adler and Rune left the room. Adler returned an hour later to tell me he had dispatched soldiers to the house, and Eva would be okay till I came to collect her.I didn't know which I thought was weirder, a man who seemed to hold all the hardness in the world, being this gentle with me, or that he had searched for me for seven years because of a one-day save.The day I lost my father, which was my fault, was a secret I was willing to keep with me until I died.Rune was gone, and Adler, after receiving a phone call, left too. I was left alone with Salvatore, whose relaxed demeanour was the opposite of my continuous fidgeting."You're in safe hands, Lily, wouldn't be the case if it was another human," a faint smile appeared on his lips, "But once it's you, Adler loses all of his psychos."I drew my knees under my chin, watching him speak