A mafia like him, who oozed of danger, shouldn’t use the word cute in his vocabulary, but who fucking cared. Jay was adorable and cute, and if he had to choose between a sexy siren and an adorable, cute person like Jay, he would choose cute anytime of the day.
Thinking back to the dining table, he sensed she wasn’t comfortable in her surroundings. He saw her glance at Kimberly a few times. He hoped she didn’t think he found Kimberly desirable.
Fuck! Was that why she decided to drink herself silly? Did she even know Kimberly could never hold a torch to her?
Prior to meeting Jay, he had to admit Kimberly was hot as fuck, but she never really made his blood boil. But Jay. She did that. Especially to his cold heart. And that was what made her so special to him.
Never before had he felt this thrill running through his veins. She unleashed this pheromone that intoxicated him and consumed him, and he thought he could never live without her again. She completed him in ways no other woman had ever done before.
Did she know she was beautiful in his eyes?
Fuck! Bobby was right. Maybe all the name-calling, like coffee machine, had cemented those negative thoughts in her head. Of course, she would think she was undesirable and plain when he constantly called her coffee machine all the time. He was the one who had caused Jay to have these negative feelings.
This was all wrong. Jay was everything to him. No, she was more than everything to him. She was the oxygen he needed to survive. She was the heart he needed in order to stay alive. She was the soul that brought life into his being. Without her, he would be nothing but an empty cold shell.
Did she know how special she was to him?
Maybe he didn’t show her enough how special she was to him. Well, he had better show her, because to him, action spoke louder than words.
He got up, shifting his feet, and walked to the bathroom, bringing back a bowl of warm water and a cloth. He moved a chair, edging it beside the bed, sat, and dipped the cloth into the water, wiping away the dirt and makeup from his lover’s face.
She was sweaty from the musty air outside and her drunken state. She was already asleep; he hadn’t the heart to wake her up to wash herself. He did the deed for her, cleaning her up with the warm towel.
She had an innocent face without makeup. So delicate and youthful-looking. By blaming Kimberly for corrupting his lover, was that just his guilt speaking out loud? Because it was he, in fact, who had corrupted his lover. She was a young girl from nowhere, but he had brought her into his underworld, forcing her to wear makeup and clothes that she didn’t feel comfortable in, and pushing her to meet his friends. Was that who she wanted to be? Did she really want to be in his world?
What was her life like before coming into his world? Did she have friends, and what of her family now?
The thought of her family brought a sour taste to his mouth. Whatever happened in the future between them, he’d never wished for her fucking family to return. They had abandoned her, and he had saved her from the brink of poverty. Even if they were to offer him back that three million dollars in exchange for Jay, he would never give in. Because Jay was worth more than three million dollars. She was a true gift that her shitty family would never value. It was only a person like him who was capable of distinguishing this gift. She was the jewel among the rocks, his precious emerald stone.
After finishing cleansing her, he put the bowl away, took a shower, and settled down beside Jay in bed. He reached his arm out and positioned her at the crook of his neck. He closed his eyes, her breathing lulling him to sleep.
His lover was tired. It was his fault. He didn’t even give her time to rest since their arrival this morning. Instead, he took her straight to the salon, followed by a shopping trip, and then straight to their gathering.
He was such a bad lover. Maybe because he was too excited to show her off to his friends, he had neglected her essential need. He leaned in and kissed her forehead.
Tomorrow, he promised he’d be a better lover. Tomorrow, they’d go to the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest in Garden by the Bay. They’d enjoy the full day without any interruption, because Jay deserved all the happiness in the world, and he’d use whatever power he had to make it happen.
Chapter 15
Illusion
“ G et up!” A loud boom crashed into my ear.
What was that sound? So loud. And soon came the mini earthquake, my body tremoring in seismic activity as something shook me.
It must be a natural disaster. I should get up and find safety. But I was too groggy, and my head felt like it had been thoroughly grazed through by a bulldozer. Instead, I dug myself deeper under the blankets and pillows, in the guise of finding safety.
Bad move. The drill only shrilled out louder, and this time even closer to my ear.
“I said get up, Jay!”
I’d had enough! “Ahhh. Go away. Go away. I’m safe here.”
I floundered about in bed, picked up a pillow, and used it to smack the shit out of the object that made that awful sound.
“The fuck! You hit me with the pillow.”
Boss! I registered that voice and leapt out of bed like a zombie awakened from the dead, eyelids wide open to see the damage I’d done to Giovanni, when bright sunlight stabbed me like a million sharp knives jabbing into my pupils.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Oh, the pain...
This was no natural disaster. This was me experiencing a hangover for the first time. It wasn’t pleasant at all, and I fell back onto the bed again. What was I thinking, drinking last night?
Last night...
What happened last night?
All I remembered was asking Kimberly to teach me how to drink. And then I drank a few shots. And then I told my sob story to Kimberly. And then...
Nothing!
My memory bank was blank after that episode.
Crap...
How did I get into bed? Did Giovanni bring me here?
Thinking about Giovanni, I slid open one eye. And immediately shut it again, but the imprint of Giovanni’s spectacular face early in the morning kind of cured me of my hangover a bit.
“Get up,” he commanded, looking pissed ’cause I’d accidentally smacked his head.
“Morning, Boss.” I smiled cheekily at him to repent for the damage I did earlier. “You sure look handsome today.”
And it was the truth.
Gosh, he looked so sexy. Where was he going, dressing up to the nines like that? Some business meeting, perhaps?
“Don’t try to please me. Now get up. Now.” He tugged at my arm, and somehow, I ended up getting pulled up and up until our noses came so close to touching each other. He stopped there, and we locked eyes. At this distance, I got a close-up shot of his midnight pupils. Oh, my... I was feeling all jelly-like again. Sheesh, what beautiful soulful eyes, and a handsome man, overall. I was one lucky girl to have him as my lover. “Spacing out again? It’s past eleven already. You haven’t had breakfast yet. Are you going to skip lunch, too?”
“Past eleven already?” I somehow managed to articulate those words, even though my mind was half dazed from the hangover, as well as from inhaling Giovanni’s intoxicating pheromone. “How much did I drink last night? I feel awful.”
“You should. For what you put me through.”
“How mean.” I pushed him away and massaged my forehead. “If I’d known I would get these symptoms, I wouldn’t have drunk so much.”
“That’s your own fault for not doing your research first.” He berated me, flicking my forehead as punishment.
“Ow. I’m already in pain, and you do this to me?” I flicked him the evil eye and rubbed my sore forehead. “Evil person. Evil mafia man,” I muttered under my breath.
“I heard that.” He swatted my hand away and massaged my forehead instead. “Does it really hurt?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling a whole lot better when he applied pressure on my temple.
“You shouldn’t do stupid things
like that. If you can’t drink, you shouldn’t force yourself to. Nothing is more important than your health.”
“I understand. I’m sorry to make you worry.” Although I was feeling so blissfully happy inside.
What a divine feeling, having your lover massage your temples. A perfect start to the morning, minus the hangover, of course.
“And another thing, stop spouting out poetic crap about stars. It’s fucking annoying.”
“Stars? Poems?” I turned to him, confused by what he meant. “Did I recite some poems about stars last night? Was it movie stars or galaxy stars? Can you be more specific?”
Giovanni stared at me, flabbergasted. “You don’t remember what you said last night?”
“What did I say last night? My entire memory bank from last night was completely wiped clean after that one shot.”
Giovanni face-palmed himself. He glowered at me. “You’ve forgotten what we talked about, haven’t you? You’ve forgotten what I told you, haven’t you?”
“I haven’t forgotten it. It’s just I don’t remember it. Was it something important? What did you tell me?” I went into panic mode, trying to remember what we spoke about last night, but nothing came to mind. “Boss, tell me what it’s about.”
“Forget it. It’s not important,” he finished off sarcastically.
“When you put it like that, I feel like it must be important. I feel guilty now for not remembering.”
“You should. If you hadn’t drunk yourself silly, you would have remembered what I said. Now, get up. Didn’t you say you wanted to go to Garden by the Bay, today? It’s getting late. There’ll be fucking loads of people by the time we get there.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No, I’m not mad at you.”
“Then can you tell me what you said last night?”
“I said forget it. I’m not going to tell you again. It’s your own bloody fault for drinking yourself stupid. That opportunity only comes in once in a lifetime, and now you’ve lost it. Now, get up and go take a shower. I’ll wait for you in the dining room.”
“You’re bossier than usual, Boss.”
“I’ve always been bossy. It’s you who has changed.”
“Really?” Maybe Giovanni was right. Before I was his maid, and now I was his lover, so maybe how I react had changed too. I decided to be a little rebellious, to see what his reaction was. “If I don’t go, what will you do with me?”
“If you don’t go, I’ll take you in there myself. I’ll have mindless sex with you in the shower, both of us naked.”
“You can’t. I have my period.”
“There are other ways to have mindless sex, Jay. I could use your mouth while—”
“Okay, okay. That’s enough. I’m going. Don’t make me all giddy early in the morning. I’m already half dazed as it is now. I don’t need to expend my energy on those activities,” I muttered, throwing him a backward glance, annoyed at seeing his smug look, before walking off to the bathroom.
I went for a quick shower and felt fifty percent refreshed. After donning some casual clothing—jeans and a white top—I hurried out to the dining room and saw a sight that made my eyeballs almost drop to the floor. Giovanni was busy setting up the table.
Now that was a first. Back home in New York, I was always the one to set up the table. But boy, was I going to enjoy this. I wasn’t going to ask any questions. Not at all.
Take it as it comes. Enjoy it as it passes, is what I say.
“What’s this?” I took a taste of the porridge, and my face immediately lit up in delight when that soft texture touched my tongue and the infusion of the berries’ flavors melted in my mouth.
“It’s porridge.”
“I know it’s porridge, but it’s not the regular porridge I used to eat at home. There must be some sort of special ingredient in it. Like nuts. I can taste the nutty flavor. It’s super delicious, Boss.”
“Damned right it should be super delicious. It’s not often I go into the kitchen.”
I dropped my spoon, and my mouth hung open.
“No way,” I said. “No way,” I said again, this time with more emphasis. There’s absolutely no way Giovanni could make this dish. I mean, he’s the mafia boss. He’s so well refined, so well made, so put together. Setting up the table was already hard to imagine, but cooking porridge too... Now that was definitely unimaginable. “You made this porridge, Boss?”
“You think I’m only good in bed?”
I went into a hacking cough, my face bright red as soon as he said those words.
I asked about the cooking, and he had to insert the word ‘bed’ into our conversation. Why did he always manage to inject our sex life into every conversation. Just because he knew I had a vivid imagination. Was he trying to make me combust this morning?
“Thank you for the meal,” I said once I’d scooped all the porridge into my mouth and finished the bowl. “I enjoyed it very much.”
“I’m glad.”
“You should go into the kitchen more often,” I suggested. “The guys would love to taste your cooking.”
Giovanni cleared his throat and slyly grinned at me. “That porridge was a limited edition. Only a select few will get to taste it.”
“Oh. So, it doesn’t happen often?” I felt compelled to ask.
“Once in a blue moon.”
“Wow. I guess I must be one of the lucky ones, then.”
“You are.” He smiled at me, and suddenly he extended his hand to wipe the corner of my mouth clean. My heart slammed against my chest, and I froze. “You had a bit of porridge stuck on your lips.”
“Thanks,” I said breathlessly.
I love him. Oh, dear Ma up in heaven, I love him.
I love it. I love it. I love it. This was so much fun. We’d been through the Flower Dome. I took countless pictures of all the flowers and plants, not to mention a few selfies of myself, and now we were entering Cloud Forest.
The first sight that greeted me was of the gigantic waterfall, at least three stories high. The sight was speculator.
Just when I tried to find more adjectives to describe this man-made waterfall, a fine mist shot out of nowhere. Now the waterfall was even more magnificent. It was mesmerizing. The mist made it look like the waterfall was on a cloud. No wonder they named this place Cloud Forest.
A perfect opportunity like this wasn’t going to come twice. I’d better capture all the memories I could for future storage. I found a nice vacant spot and took a selfie of myself in front of the misty waterfall.
Giovanni was some distance away, leaning against the railing, watching me. He was giving me space to do my own thing, and I was grateful for that, but now I needed him here, in the picture with me. I waved at him.
“Boss, come take a selfie with me, quick, before the mist disappears.”
“No. You go ahead. I’m good here.”
Playing nice just didn’t work for him. He needed to be dragged here. And so, I did just that, dragging him to my perfect spot, and before he knew it, I plastered my cheek next to his, and snap! The picture was taken.
I laughed at the image of Giovanni’s squashed cheek next to mine. Both of our faces literally filled the whole screen, with just a small amount of waterfall showing in the background. It was a great picture. I was happy with it. But Giovanni had a totally different opinion.
“That’s an awful picture of me, Jay. Delete it.”
“No. You look cute in it. I’ll cherish it forever.” I teased him, pinching his cheek.
“Delete it, Jay.” He swatted my hand away and tried to snatch the phone off my other hand. Too bad my reflexes were better. I moved and escaped into the oncoming large crowd, laughing to my heart’s content.
There were many people here. It would take him a while to find me, enough time for me to admire his picture. He looked so hot and cute in it. Maybe I shouldn’t tease him too much. I should go find him and make up for running away like this. I lifted my up gaze to search for hi
m...
When I saw her.
Just a quick glimpse, walking past me.
My heart pounded.
Dark brunette hair, so similar to mine. A beautiful smile that would make any guy fall for her.
My sister. Amelia!
I dashed after her, following that beautiful slim figure from behind. But there were just too many people between us. I shouted her name to try and stop her. “Amelia!”
The figure paused.
Oh my God. It was Amelia. She paused. Oh, dear Ma up in heaven, it was Amelia.
At last, I had found her. Those important questions that had been pounding in my head would now have answers. I’d get to know where Pa is. I’d get to know why he had left me with that three-million-dollar debt. And most of all, I’d get to know why she had left me without saying goodbye.
I wedged in between people to try to get closer to her, but there were still too many people between us. I didn’t give up though, squeezing my way through.
Just a bit more. I could see her back now. Just a little bit more. If only she’d turn around. I wanted to see her face.
“Amelia! Amelia. It’s me. Jenny. Your sister,” I shouted. But she didn’t turn around.
Suddenly, some big bulky guys from somewhere blocked my path. They were like brick walls; I couldn’t bulldoze through. I prayed my sister was still on the other side. Finally, when they broke apart, she still stood there, as if waiting for me. I was so happy, I rushed to hug her from behind.
“Amelia. Amelia. It’s me. I missed you so much.” I wept into her back. “Why did you leave me? Why did Pa leave me? I missed you guys so much.” I just couldn’t stop my tear ducts from producing salty water.
I hugged her so tight, I didn’t want to let her go. But something was wrong. She felt wrong. She didn’t behave like her usual self. She wasn’t touchy like before.
She turned her face slowly to meet me.
My heart dropped.
She’s not her.
“Did you lose your sister?”
She’s not my sister.
“You should go to the front desk to ask for help.”
She’s not Amelia.
“They can make an announcement there.”
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