𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 | 𝟏𝟖+

LILY

030. LOVE LANGUAGE

"Thank you so much," I say to the flight attendant with a gentle smile. She returned a bright one and went to the front of the plane, but not before sneaking glances at Royce. I tap a manicured nail on the glass of the mimosa, listening to the fizzing.

I also snuck glances at him as the plane took off and laughed at how big he was compared to the private plane and everyone in it. He was silent on the way here, besides a few phone calls.

We left soon after being informed about Celeste. I became haywire; the thought of Celeste with Xavier chilled me. The thought of Xavier being alive made me want to throw up; How he managed to survive being cut up, beaten, and stabbed is unbeknownst to me. Maybe he was the devil in disguise.

Trying to deter my thoughts, I turn to Royce. "You speak Spanish quite well."

His form was still, but his eyes moved to mine after trailing over my body slowly, stopping at my waistline. "My mother spoke it around me when I was young," Royce states.

"I know, Kim told me."

He grills me with his stare. "You and Kimberly seem awfully close."

I don't disagree. "We are. It's nice to have someone to talk to once in a while."

His lip twitches, shifting his gaze from me to the floor. I wince. That must have sounded like a jab when it wasn't, but I don't bother correcting myself. "Kim told me some stuff about your family history."

"And what stuff would that be, la mia bellezza?" His lips curl, his pearly whites peaking through as rubs his jaw.

I pause, plotting my next words carefully. "Your parents."

Royce clicked his tongue, getting up to sit beside me. "And what exactly did she tell you, Lily? And don't lie to me."

I swallow, looking at his hands that are clasped together in his lap. "They were once in love, but then not..."

Royce scoffs before abruptly lifting me onto his lap. I yelp in surprise and accidentally latch into his shoulders, pulling myself closer. I gazed into his eyes that held underlying wrath and a certain coldness that had me frozen. His hands trail to my thighs, squeezing tightly.

"Obsession is not love; it's a curse," he says.

I squeeze his shoulder, a part of me wanting to empathize. "It's a small part."

His eyes become lost. "To my father, it was everything, and in the end, it destroyed my mother."

I hear the self-resentment in his tone and knock my knuckles to his chin and press a finger to his frown lines. "You're mother was resilient. I'm sure she'd be proud of you," I mumble, grimacing when the armrest diggs into my lower back.

Royce seemed lost in thought, unconsciously fidgeting with the shirt I wore. "lei avrebbe paura di me."

"Or you're scared of what you can become," I concur thoughtfully, remembering what Kim told me.

He snaps out of his daydream, pinning me with a death stare. "Don't let Kim put ideas in your head, Lily. She's not as innocent as you think."

I pressed a stray hair away from my face; my fro was abnormally frizzy today. The glint in his hazel eyes made me twitch, a weird feeling pounding in my chest. "Royce..."

"I already know."

What?

"You think I wouldn't know what happened to my own mother? You underestimate me, flower," Royce says, knocking my chin with his knuckles.