MONALISA
“How did you find us?” Mum hissed out the second she laid her eyes on Lucius.
“Please leave” mum added, not giving him a chance to say a word.
“I am here to see Lisa” Lucius stated, unmoving. He had a firm and almost stern look on his face.
He was bent on seeing me. That was very obvious.
“Mum, please let him in” I quickly said, hurrying towards the door.
“I am here to see Lisa and I won’t be leaving until you’ve let me speak to her” Lucius said.
“I am going to call the cops on you” mum threatened.
“Alright” Lucius didn’t budge a bit.
“But once they see who is standing at the door, you can be sure they are going to turn back and leave” he added as I got to the door.
The hard look on his face softened immediately his gaze rested on me.
“Lisa”
“Lisa, get back into your room” mum said authoritatively but I remained by her side, not leaving the door.
“Cupcake, come here” Lucius took a step into the house, ignoring mum who was fuming with rage.
“Lisa, you heard me” mum seethed but rather than do what she just asked me to do, I hurried past her and threw myself into Lucius arms.
His strong arms wrapped around me instantly and I felt so…. So relieved, so much better.
“I… I missed you” I buried my face in his chest but in a few seconds, I felt mum grab my arm.
“Lisa! Are you out of your….” Before she could complete her sentence, Lucius had pulled away from the hug and pulled me to stand beside him.
“Diane, don’t raise your voice at her”
“You don’t tell me what to do with my own daughter!” Mum retorted.
“She’s an adult now. She can make her own decisions. She’s not just your daughter anymore, she’s a being on her own.”
“Listen, I don’t care about what you have to say. Just let my daughter be. I won’t leave her to you. I am going to keep her safe myself!”
“Mum, I want to be…”
“Not a word more from you, Lisa” mum cut me off.
“You don’t care about what your daughter wants?”
“I care about what my daughter wants but I care more about making her safe”
“Mum!!” I screamed, stepping away from Lucius.
Silence fell in the room and their eyes turned to me fully.
“I am tired of being cut off! This discussion is about me, isn’t it?!” I asked, still maintaining my raised voice.
“I want to be with Lucius! He is not a saint, I know! But I am tainted already too! I am not a saint too! So if you can’t accept Lucius, then you shouldn’t accept me too! And Lucius didn’t just kill dad. He killed dad because he was misinformed! And he regrets it! He regrets it and for the past seventeen years, he has been trying to get rid of that guilt so can we just… Can we just live on? I know you loved dad a lot and you still do in fact but dad wasn’t a saint too! He… He also put an end to the lives of others! I am not a saint and I am not craving one. I just want to be with… Be with him” my voice cracked at the end as the emotions overwhelmed me.
Mum stared at me, her lips slightly open in disbelief
Lucius only took two steps to me and held my shoulders.
“Cupcake, look at me” he said soothingly and I raised my head to meet his gaze.
His thumb gently brushed my cheek, wiping away the tears that had rolled down.
“It’s okay” he whispered.
“Why don’t you go into your room and let me talk to your mum better?”
“But…”
“I love you.” He pulled me close, kissed my forehead and let go of me.
I walked towards my room slowly, turning several times to look at the both of them. They remained unmoving until I was in my room.
“Oh god” I sighed, shutting the door.
LUCIUS DEVINE
Diane was seething as she sat on the sofa opposite the one I was seated on. Seething but at least she was seated and willing to listen to me.
The moment Lisa had that outburst, I could have picked her up, carried her into my car and leave with her but I would be ruining her relationship with her mum. I didn’t want that, at least if I could have Lisa without that happening.
“We both want the same thing, Diane…”
“Oh please, we definitely aren’t going after the same thing. I do regret entrusting Lisa to you. I thought you would just…” She threw her head back.
“I could not control my feelings for her. That has happened already. I am in love with her and I can’t stop it. I would continue loving her even after my death. The point is that Lisa is going to be happy and safe if she is with me.”
“Safe? I can keep my family safe” Diane scoffed.
“Not from Sandro. You can’t handle the bastard who is after Lisa. I can keep her safe and you know that”
Diane stared at me for some seconds without saying a word.
“This is all your fault! No one would be after my daughter if it weren’t for you”
“I know you hate me right now but keeping Lisa safe is the priority. And while keeping her safe, I will try to make her the happiest woman.”
“Oh my” she messaged her forehead for a while.
My gaze remained on her, waiting for a response.
“If anything happens to my daughter even once while she is with you. If she gets kidnapped or gets a hit in the head of even worst gets shot…”
“None of that would ever happen.” I said, matter of factly. I was going to keep Lisa safe with my very life.
“If any of that happens to her, I will take her away and I will hide her from you till the end of the world. No… If she calls me one day and tells me you made her sad or made her shed a single tear, I swear on my life, I would tear you apart” she swore and got up on her feet.
Hurting Lisa? Making her sad? That would never happen. Not in this life and not in the next.
“You win. Leave with her”