Chapter 101 Comforting her worries
LISA
As I stepped out of the Uber that brought me home, my mind didn't do me any favors by replaying the past few days in my head through my mind's eye all over again. When I left Axel, it felt as though
my heart had gotten heavier as I got farther away from him, it felt as though all hope was lost for us and it hurt like hell.
My emotions had been on an unending rollercoaster from the minute Axel kidnapped me from my hotel room, and somehow even after leaving him, the rollercoaster ride was still in full motion. He might've thought that he didn't torture me, but being with him and yet being apart was definitely the worst form of torture.
I could hardly process everything that has happened and my entire mind was a chaotic mess as every day went by, even now I had no idea if Axel would ever forgive me for the unimaginable pain I'd
caused him.
After taking in a deep breath, I pushed the gates of the house open and walked gingerly. The truth is that I was hesitant because, with my family, you'd never know what was next. I wasn't ready for their endless shenanigans but I was certain they would tire me out anyway.
As soon as I opened the main door, my younger sister squealed happily and began to run toward me like I would vanish if she took a second longer. Her squeals didn't stop as she ran toward me and I
felt like my ears would burst, but I understood that she was simply excited to see me again.
In no time she'd reached me and enveloped me in her warmth before I could say a word, I hugged her back and she stayed in my arms quietly for a minute. The next thing I knew, I heard her stifling
sobs and lightly soaking my shirt with her tears and I rubbed her hair slowly to comfort her.
"You good, baby girl?" I asked her and she nodded while sniffing but she didn't raise her head to look at me.
"Your head is buried in my chest and you're crying sweetheart" I mentioned the obvious but she only held me tighter.
I comforted her for a while by running my hands gently down her back and through her hair simultaneously until her sobs slowed down and she went quiet again. I knew that she must've been
worried about me so I didn't ask her to stop crying, I allowed her to let it all out in the comfort of my arms instead.
"It's okay baby, look at me?" I waited for her to raise her head to look at me as per my request.
She finally looked up with teary eyes, I was so scared, Lisa. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No my sweetheart, I'm fine okay? Don't I look perfectly fine?" She ignored me and checked every inch of my body with her hands instead, as though she didn't trust what I'd said.
"Go upstairs, I'll be with you in a minute I promise," I told her and left a soft peck on her forehead as soon as I saw Angel and my father approaching us where we stood.
"Okay." She sniffed and gave me another quick hug just before she ran off.
I watched her leave and my heart swole with love, she was the best of my family, and her love made for all the love I lacked from other family members, it was sincere and overwhelming but so was the
love I'd always have for her.
My eyes wandered to Angel who was already standing in front of me and staring at me like I was an artifact she was observing in a museum. She looked over the entire expanse of my body without
saying a word and it started to creep me out after a few minutes of silence had gone by.
"I said it! I knew that those body parts they sent over were fake" she said in a high pitch so suddenly that it startled me a little.
She pointed at me to drive a point home, "I mean look at her, she's unscathed, not a hair on her head was even touched."
I stood as though I was frozen in the spot where I'd been standing and my dad stepped forward after she spoke. He equally observed my entire body closely as though Angel's observation wasn't
creepy enough. And just like her, minutes of silence went by and it irked me slightly that this procedure was a necessity.
"Hmm, just as we thought, you're completely fine," He said as his fingers rubbed his beard as though he'd been in deep thought.
"That Ivanov boy has proven once again that he's too in love with you to hurt you. You even look like someone who's just returning from a vacation" He continued and his last statement earned a
cheeky chuckle from Angel, the sound of it definitely ticked me off as one would expect.
"I don't understand him though, if he loves you so much then why did he decline the marriage proposal we offered through his father when we made the shipment exchange?" He asked seriously like
he'd racked his head for a reason and couldn't find one.
"Isn't it obvious?" I asked and paused because I assumed it was a rhetorical question, but the puzzled looks they gave me told me otherwise.
Did they really not know why he wouldn't marry me despite how much he loves me??
"I betrayed him and threw everything we'd shared in his face like I was nothing, there's no way he'd ever want me as a wife after that shit I pulled" I finished speaking and my father looked at me like I
hadn't given a good enough reason.
"Oh, that? That's nothing, Lisa. Betrayal and games are all part of the mafia, I'm sure he knows that by now. It's nothing worth taking to heart" He remarked nonchalantly as though he was certain.
His attitude towards my getting married to Axel greatly confused me, less than a month ago he'd treated me hatefully because I was in a relationship and he'd backed me against the wall with so much pressure until I betrayed him and ruined what we had.
So why on earth did the thought of us getting married appeal to him suddenly?
"Why are you suddenly so hell-bent on getting me married to Axel? You hate his family and you've been rivals for years- what suddenly changed?" I asked sincerely, I couldn't figure it out no matter
how much I racked my brain.
"Rivalry is natural in the mafia, it's unbecoming to be without a rival. A mafia family without a rival doesn't hold enough authority to be a threat to anyone" He began explaining and I listened intently, I
needed to know where it was headed.
"But most importantly, as I grow older I've realized that there's no beauty in war. We've lost so many good men, and I'm not looking forward to losing any more"
I mentally rolled my eyes in my mind as I realized that it wasn't even about me, it was about him and his men.
"I'm also wise enough to know that we'd achieve so much more if we joined heads as a unit rather than remain as warring partners" He finally finished speaking and I shook my head at his line of
reasoning.
It might've been a reasonable way to go about a truce, but he should've thought of that when he first found out that we were in love. The fact that he'd just come around to thinking this way after he'd pushed me to ruin everything and belittle Axel annoyed me, in fact, I was irritated for fuck's sake.
I laughed bitterly, "Well, you should probably forget about all of this very moment. I'm certain that Axel would never marry me after I've betrayed him and fucked up everything we shared."
"Of course, he will, he'll come around to it eventually" Angel scoffed and piped in.
"If he loved you enough to keep you blemish free after kidnapping you and holding you hostage, then he loves you enough to let go of it and marry you," She said with so much conviction that I almost
believed every word that left her lips.
But nobody saw how hurt Axel looked when he'd explained the amount of pain he'd experienced from my betrayal, no one but me saw how bitterly he complained to Prince about how much my
presence had frustrated him.
No one but me saw how angry and cold he'd been towards me even though he couldn't hurt me, so there was no way I'd believe what Angel was saying but I listened as she rambled on even further
anyway.
"I'm dead certain that he must've helplessly doted on you while you were there as well. You look so well rested, much better than you did after the mission" Angel spilled out her observations, and it triggered a replay of memories from when we were together. I remembered how angry he'd been that I was rejecting all the meals that were brought to my room. I'm sure that he'd done it from a place of care because even I could attest to the fact that I looked
like I'd been starved for days before I even got there.
He's gone back and forth with me until he decided to make me eat as an order, and I eventually gave in because I selfishly loved that he cared enough about me to worry about my appearance despite
how much I'd hurt him.
I didn't deserve him, not one bit.
The memories of how he'd covered me in a blanket after we had sex also haunted me with a vengeance at that moment. I'd started feeling chilly after he'd left the bed and I was slowly awakening
because I was uncomfortable.
In no time, I heard him ruffling through his closet and he gently placed a warm blanket over my body so that he wouldn't disturb my sleep. As if that was thoughtful enough, when he was stepping out
of the room, he made sure that he closed the door gently to avoid startling me in my sleep because he knew I was a light sleeper sometimes.
A smile had crept over my face after he'd done that, even when he was mad at me he was still a perfect gentleman and he put my needs before his. Despite that, I knew that he was still fucking pissed
at me for breaking his trust, so I doubted he'd ever agree to marry me because of that.
"Even if no one knows it, you should know a way around getting him to forgive you if you truly want to marry him" Angel started speaking again when I didn't respond.
"No matter how high up his defenses are, you're the only one that can make them crumble- you just need to know how" She finished speaking and my father nodded at what she said to express his
approval.
Did I still have that much effect over Axel? I'd love to find out.