17. Empathy.

557 31 15
                                    

★JANIE★

I waited for him to react to my brazen approach.  What the fuck is wrong with me though? Haven't I learned my lesson to stop daring him into doing the unthinkable? He is a fucking mafia king with a big dictionary. Yet the word remorse and sympathy were missing.

Continuously pestering him would only draw my death closer. And it won't be worth it if I died for something this stupid. Would it?

Still expecting him to react, Luciano surprisingly did not. Instead, he tossed me a warning scowl and then ordered;

“Start the jet! We don't have any more time to waste!” he instructed the pilot and went to take a seat then buried his head in his palm.

The door to the jet closed at once, and the sound of its engine igniting filled the atmosphere. Almost at once, I could feel the weight of being lifted off the ground.

I gawked at Luciano in disbelief, wondering what was wrong with him.

This wasn't the Luciano I became familiar with in a couple of days. He ought to warn my ass off, yell at me to stop testing his patience, or better still do something. Yet, he solemnly perched on a chair without uttering a word.

Has he grown tired of me already?

Suddenly, someone tapped on my shoulder and I snapped my head in that direction to see who it was. A young man with silvery blond hair stared back at me with no hint of amusement on his face.

“The master just lost his mother. So I'd advise you to stop trying to piss him off. It's going to be a 12 hours journey to Italy. Do take some rest.” He said in a calm but authoritative tone.

My heart shattered into a million pieces.

I felt so bad for Luciano losing his mother and my eyes drifted to him.

But my hurt feeling wasn't for him. Rather, they emanated because I knew how painful it was to lose one's mother.

When mine died, it was hell on earth.

Reflecting on the period when my mom was still alive, tears welled up in my eyes. She was the sweetest, most loving, and caring person in the world. We looked so much alike and our resemblance was striking.

Despite being poor, Mom never made it obvious. She would prepare my favorite dishes almost every day. Provide whatever I requested for school and also anything I craved.

We talked about almost anything. She taught me sex education right from the age of 8. What menstrual period was— that's why when I started my period three months after her death, Dad became frantic, thinking I got injured and was bleeding profusely from my anus until I informed him about what it was.

She was literally the best to me.

Truthfully speaking, the age, 13 was the worst of my life. I had to learn how to grow up so fast after Mom died. I had to learn how to take over the kitchen, wash dishes, and Dad's dirty laundry. I had to learn to switch between school, selling fish at the market, and doing house chores without getting tired.

My dreams of becoming a nurse were for Mom. And of course, they still are.

Sniffling repeatedly, I didn't even know that I was in tears until now.

Life is painful.

Life is unpredictable.

Life is hard.

My eyes darted out of the window, relishing those moments. If I could give anything in this world to relive those moments and get to see my mom's face one more time, trust me, I would.

A loud snore cut through the silent atmosphere.

I turned abruptly to look at the person snoring. Alas, it was one of Luciano's men and the other was pinching him to stop. With tears in my eyes, I stifled a laughter and then my eyes drifted to Luciano.

His head was no longer buried in his palm and I found him staring at me instead.

His icy gaze against my soft ones.

Almost at once, I tore my eyes away from him and then faced upfront.

Lowering my head, I sniffled back sobs, wiping off the tears from my face. Thereafter, I heard heavy footsteps coming toward me.

“Do you need anything?” Luciano's voice cut through my intrusive thoughts and I immediately responded.

“No."

I thought he would return to his seat and leave me alone. But instead, he sat beside me and started stroking my hair.

My heart skipped a beat.

What is he doing to me right now? I could not believe the mighty Luciano was trying to pacify me. His gesture of doing so seemed awkward, yet it felt so good. That's why I couldn't push him away.

“You cry, baby,” Luciano muttered, gathering me into his arms.

His woody scent filled my nostrils at once and I buried my head in his chest. Although I wanted to pull away from him, I couldn't. He felt so warm, so comforting. Perhaps, I could stay like this with him just for a minute.

Leaning deeper into his arms, I let out sobs all over again. Misery jabbed in my stomach as I thought of how Mom would feel if she found out what Dad did.

Will she ever forgive him? Does my dream of becoming a nurse end like this or do I still have a shot?

A lot of scattered thoughts raced through my mind as I wept bitterly. Nevertheless, Luciano didn't stop stroking my hair.

“I don't know what you are thinking about. However, I'm here to make sure everything will be fine. That's if you stop pissing me off.” He said.

Wiping off my tears with the back of my hand, I raised my head to look at his face. “Why are you lending your shoulders for me to cry on, when you need the comfort yourself?" I asked him.

His brows angled with a frown. He didn't seem to understand what I meant, so I enunciated further.

“Your mother just died. It's obvious you aren't okay inside. No matter what, I feel it's okay to spill your emotions when needs be than to keep it bottled in.”

A small smirk raised a corner of his lips and he stared down at me without saying anything.

Did I say something funny? I thought to myself and was trying to rephrase my sentence into a plausible meaning.

But then, Luciano's head leaned against mine, and everything I put together vanished from my mind. Before I could utter a word, his lips claimed mine.

The Ruthless Mafia King's Posession|18+|Where stories live. Discover now