Relationship Status: Mafia

Chapter 44

Matsuo POV

Shortly after having a door slammed in my face, I spent my time downstairs waiting for Alice. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, that soon became days. A total of three long days, to be exact, have passed by entirely too slowly for my liking.

Every time Alice happened to walk into a room that I occupied, she ran in the other direction without a word. She didn't even spare a look in my direction. I don't blame her one bit, and this is something I can't force her to do. I could never really force that woman to do anything she didn't want to, nor did I have that intention.

Alice is headstrong in every decision she makes even if the odds aren't in her favor. Hell, I believe Alice could've pulled off escaping my father's men before I showed up, from what Zhen told me. They were pretty close to doing just that.

The other night, I was too rash and thinking ahead of myself when I kissed Alice. For hours, I thought about the feelings that had surfaced for Alice since then. She had become important to me when I least expected, now I find my days boring without her around, and I even notice my mood perks up from just the sight of her.

Among the agitation this woman gives me, she also has given me a brief glimpse of happiness. It's like some sort of balance that I lacked for all these years. I liked the confident and sarcastic way Alice spoke to others, including me. The bold way she stood up to me was thrilling when we bantered. She brought out a side of me that I thought I lost years ago.

"Toma," Zhen walked across the back porch, seeming worried. "Are you okay?"

Zhen arrived this morning still covered in bandages; my father's men did a number on him the duration they held him captive. Took him a while to recover, yet here he is alive and well. He is one of the toughest and most ruthless men I know, but still, he doesn't know how to fight. He mentioned to me that Alice was the one who rescued him.

She somehow killed one of the men in her room before freeing Zhen. She still hasn't told me how that happened, and I don't want to make her relive those moments anyway.

I remain silent as I flip through the files, I asked Zhen to bring from the archives of the Jade Dragons. While waiting for Alice to come out of that room, I've been monitoring a few upcoming business transactions in my father's name. Even though he is retired, my father still held onto a few clients in America. Many businesses and properties remained in his name, which was just taking up space. I think it's about time to do something about that.

It's all about timing with my plan; I want to properly destroy whatever deals my father is planning. There can be no mistake if I am going to completely sever ties with him. I can't hit my father the way he hits me. The emotional terrorizing route won't work on him because he has no emotion to harm. The only thing that will hurt my father is the only thing he cares about, money. Damaging his reputation will be a bonus as well in Japan. His descent down the food chain will be his ultimate demise.

"So, you and that cop have been getting along, I assume, since neither one of you isn't dead. I count that as a miracle." Zhen stuffed his hands into his pockets.

I give no reply to his annoying, prodding comment. There's no telling what I'll say to him in this state I'm in. Zhen wore a knowing grin that I could spot from the corner of my eye.

"I might stop by Alice's room before leaving to see how she is doing." He pressed on succeeding in triggering my anger.

"You will do no such thing." I roughly put down the files next to me on the bench and glare at Zhen. "She's....she's sleeping."

I look away at the trees, watching the trees sway in the afternoon breeze. It was apparent that I was lying, and my long-term friend knew it. Even if he is second in command, Zhen is the closest thing to a brother I have. Being that said, he knew how to read me just as I knew how to read him. Zhen is doing this on purpose to push my buttons.