Chapter 77 Beautiful lies
Lisa's POV
A promise to be with me from the man I adored more than anything brought tears to my eyes, I knew that I'd gotten that promise out of him through manipulative means but somehow it still melted my heart and made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world as he proclaimed it to me.
As much as I loved Axel, I was being manipulative because I had no other idea how to get myself out of the situation that had plagued me for days endlessly. Deep down, I knew that I would most likely end up regretting my decision to manipulate the man I love, but my moral compass had been dwindled dangerously by the winds of life that affected me recently and I just needed to fucking breathe for once.
I sincerely hoped that when everything was over, I would still be the one he chooses unconditionally and stick by even though he'd have been hurt by me. I knew more than anything that it was crazy and probably selfish to hope for that, but I didn't choose to fall insanely in love with my enemy neither did I choose to be my family's pawn, but fate had a funny way of pulling the wrong strings and fucking you up, right? Well, I was living proof of it.
Even though it hurt me and tugged at my heart bitterly to betray Axel this way, I didn't have any other option. If a third option could mysteriously appear at this very moment, I would take it without thinking twice but shit like that only happened in fairy tales and as much as I wished this was one, I was no Cinderella or fictional damsel in distress.
This entire charade might even end up being what would separate me and Axel but I tried not to let my mind dwell on that. I planned to manipulate him into thinking that I was vulnerable and weak and I needed a shoulder to lean on whilst my family constantly pressured me and made me feel alienated. I needed him to think that I was confused, and alone, and needed as much attention as he could afford to pay to me. That way, he'd end up devoting more time to me and also become more protective of me since he hated how my family stressed me out constantly.
I planned to get into his head such that he'd think I was too disconnected from my family to be of any use to them, this would make it easier for him to get closer to me and share information with me without bothering that it could possibly ever reach my family members. I knew it was fucked up, but what about life wasn't a shit show? Especially now, my life was a literal shit show and I needed to play my cards right to fix that as soon as possible, Axel being the most important card in the entire process.
We sat in silence for a while which had given me time to let several thoughts run through my mind as well as the possible scenarios that would be the end result after my plan had been fully executed.
"Red? Let's go to my place, I have something special planned for you and I'm sure you'll love it" Axel broke the silence and I smiled girlishly at him, I loved being surprised and he always pulled off the most amazing surprises so I was eager to see what he'd set up this time around.
"What is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" I smiled brightly at him and batted my eyelashes seductively in hopes that I'd get a clue or more out of him. I couldn't wait for the entire ride to his place to find out so I needed a clue to obsess over until we got there.
"No, Red. It's called a surprise for a reason, all you need to do is come with me" He smiled and shook his head after he declined my request but I wasn't about to back down so easily. "Baby, please. Okay, give me a little hint. I promise I'll stop asking if you give me a hint" I pouted and grabbed his arm. I shook his arm playfully as I waited in hopes that I'd get a favorable response. "Nice try, you're so adorable but No. You'll love it though, I can promise you that much" He chuckled as he declined my request yet again, he seemed to be enjoying the back and forth I guess. "Why? Just one hint, pretty please?" I said in a babyish tone and inched closer to him with every word as I tried to seduce him, that should work, right? "Red, you're being impossible" He threw his head back and laughed as I began to work my fingers around his skin slowly to get a better response out of him.
"You like that, yeah? Just give me a clue, okay?" My tone had become sultry this time around, I needed to get something out of him so I worked my fingers up to his beards and stroked them gently,
just how he liked it being done.
"Uhm, no." He replied quickly but I could see the goosebumps that had formed lightly on his skin from being teased by me and I felt closer to getting a much better answer
"Yeah? Even now, baby?" I said in a lower tone that almost sounded like a moan and I watched his eyes get darker with desire as I also used my thumb to seductively caress his lower lip.
"Fuck, no. Please stop, Red" He quickly got up and I knew that I'd weakened his defenses but he didn't want to give anything up despite that.
I pouted like a spoiled brat the entire car ride to his place while he tried to ignore me for the first few minutes.
"I promise you, you'll love it so much even though I didn't give you a clue" He assured me while focused on the road but managed to use his left arm to squeeze my thigh lightly.
"Mhmm-hmm, I know" I replied slowly while I sulked about my failed efforts to get a response from him despite my seductive efforts.
"You're so adorable you know?" He said I'm sure he thought a few compliments would help him water down the situation. "Sure, I know" I replied while I kept my gaze trained on my side of the window rather than sparing him a glance while he drove.
"Where'd you pick this teensy attitude from? We're almost home, okay" He teased me and chuckled lightly while I ignored him because I was only focused on imagining what surprise he'd put
together instead.
"We're here!" he announced as we finally arrived at his house and found a parking spot for his car.
I felt elated that we'd finally arrived and I practically leaped out of the car before he made his way over to open the door for me like he normally would. He got out of the car quickly and followed me up the stairs but he grabbed me by my arm immediately after we reached the door of his sitting room. I wondered why he'd stopped me just as soon as I'd reached out to open the door.
I turned around and stared at him with a little frown, I'd waited so long and I was anxious to see the surprise he'd prepared so what now?
"Patience, Red. Close your eyes for me for the next few minutes till I ask you to open them, can you do that for me?" I nodded as soon as I heard his calming voice, he knew how to get to me even now.
I closed my eyes and his hands covered them gently as he led me into the house carefully while my excitement tripled at the thought of what I'd see once he opened my eyes.
As we walked, my curiosity built at the speed of light as well and I knew whatever he'd surprise me with would melt my heart completely.
He moved me to lean against a wall and walked away from me after a little while and I wondered if it was okay to open my eyes yet. "Don't open those gorgeous eyes just yet, give me a minute, okay?" He spoke and I was grateful that I waited for him to speak before I decided whether I wanted to open my eyes or not.
I nodded quietly and kept my eyes shut as I leaned comfortably against the wall, I could hear him move and it sounded as though he was making some last-minute touches, and that only made a million guesses run through my mind about what he'd possibly set up.
"You can open your eyes now, Red" He finally said and I let out a breath of relief I didn't know I'd been holding before I opened my eyes.
Right before me was the most beautiful candle-lit dinner I'd ever seen indoors and I could've sworn that my heart melted that very second. Everything looked so lovely, there were red roses in stylishly wrapped bouquets at different ends of the table and there were petals scattered adorably across the place.
I stood transfixed in a spot for a while as I took in the beauty of everything before me that he'd prepared. For minute, it didn't seem real that someone would love me enough to be this intentional
about making me happy.
My eyes had gotten teary and I didn't even notice the huge smile that was plastered on my face as I stared at every single detail.
I could feel Axel's piercing stare directed at me I as took in the beauty of the candlelit dinner and at that moment, guilt engulfed me without warning. I felt sad and guilty that I had manipulated him and I was practically stabbing him in the back while he had been nothing but sincere and amazing to me.
He must've set this up even before he knew I was feeling down and I played on his weakness instead of being completely honest with him. Parts of me regretted that I was on the verge of fucking things up with a man that loved me as wholesomely as Axel did.
The more I took in the amazing scenery before me, the more my heart fell because I didn't believe I deserved to be loved this way. I averted my eyes away from the dinner set up before me and shut my eyes tightly for a while. When I finally opened them they were brimmed with more tears and I sniffed a little because I felt somewhat shy that I was being so emotional in front of Axel. He chuckled lightly, walked towards me, and dropped a gentle kiss on my cheek before he stretched out his hands and used a thumb to wipe the tears that had managed to drop from my eyes. "Why's an assassin like you getting all emotional right now? Is this how you act in the line of duty?" he teased me while I sniffed and smiled shyly, I didn't care about anything he had to say because I
was so fucking happy.
"You're the one making me emotional, you know that. How else am I supposed to react to these beautiful and thoughtful gestures that you keep pulling out of nowhere?" I smacked his arm playfully while my focus was now focused on the table filled with food.
"Does that mean you liked my surprise and it was worth the wait?" He asked and I knew he was referring to the little teenage tantrum I'd pulled in the car because he refused to give me a hint
no matter how hard I'd tried.
"Yes, it was worth every second that my curiosity ate me inside out. I love every single thing about it, it's beyond perfect- it's unreal, thank you so much" I pulled him into a hug while I smiled like a
child with a bag full of candy on Halloween.
He pulled away from the hug and stared at my smile and the satisfaction on his face made me smile even more.
"Now I feel like I never do anything nice for you, you're always going all out to make me smile and I've never been able to match up to your gestures. In a way, it's unfair you know that yeah?" I said and pouted at him while he laughed instead and shrugged like what I said didn't bother him.
"Don't work yourself up over nothing Red. I don't mind, as long as you're willing to pay me back in kind, we're even okay?" He said in a low tone and shot a suggestive look my way and I knew that he'd meant something nasty, how typical of him while I was being romantic.
At first, I chuckled shyly as the meaning registered in my mind and I couldn't help the blush that spread on my cheeks either, I was like a helpless teenage girl with a huge crush when it came to Axel. "Yeah? I'd respond in kind with or without these gestures so that's just a plus but if that's your condition then we have a deal, mister" I mirrored the desire that brimmed his eyes earlier. "We've got a deal" He replied and held my gaze in a way that tempted every nerve in my body to draw closer to him.
My emotions got the better of me and I tip-toed before I could stop myself and drew him into a kiss. I'd planned to drop a light kiss on his lips but immediately he got over his initial surprise, he
deepened the kiss instead of letting me withdraw from him.
He wrapped his hands around me while we kissed and it felt like he'd poured his soul into mine, it was a gentle kiss and yet I melted into his arms. It didn't feel sexual or as wild as it normally would.
This time, it was as though our souls had become one.