“Aaliyah, since when you were standing here?” Laura asked, and Aaliyah leaned on the window sill with a smile.
“Since the beginning, mom. I kind of guessed you would call dad as soon as I mentioned leaving the idea of joining the gang,” Aaliyah smirked.
“So it was all a lie to test me?” Laura didn’t like what she was hearing.
“No, mom. I was serious. I just wanted to see what kind of relationship you guys have. Seriously? You were hiding your love just to keep me at bay? You could’ve just said that. Stop staying away from each other for our sake, mom. We, kids, will leave and get busy with our lives, but the only person who will stay with you till eternity is him, mom,” Aaliyah jumped inside through the window.
Hearing her daughter’s words, Laura felt bad. Honestly, Harry has not been returning home because of her atrocious demand to stay away from Aaliyah. She didn’t want his profession to affect Aaliyah since she was the most short-tempered among all of them.
No one can describe how much they have been missing each other all this time. Laura bit her lips.
“But can you tell me why the sudden change in plans?” Laura asked, and Aaliyah nodded.
“I want to live my life. Look, this gang and stuff is all good, thrilling, and exciting, but what about my freedom? I can’t live cautiously all the time that someone would recognize or attack me. I always envied dad because of how cool he looked doing everything, but when I saw what happened today, I don’t think it’s so cool anymore,” Aaliyah said, and Laura smiled.
This was so Aaliyah-like. If Aaliyah had said something like she got scared of blood and death or she was doing it for everyone’s happiness, Laura would’ve had second thoughts, but she can believe this reason.
“Taking over a hidden gang is no joke, mom. You will have to wear a mask during meetings, and let’s say I would change the rules once I join, but then what? If I go to the mall, I have to keep bodyguards who would follow me everywhere like parasites, and if not, there would be a constant fear of being caught. I don’t think I can live like that,” Aaliyah smiled.
“That’s why you don’t need to worry about me taking over the gang. I love my freedom more than anything else. Also, my extra tutoring sessions for the Olympiad will be starting soon,” Aaliyah deliberately added the last line right now so that her mother doesn’t question her too much.
“Olympiad? Weren’t you out of it? Your school is starting in four days, right?” Laura asked, and Aaliyah hummed.
“People cheated on that, mom. Mr. Dominic was helpful enough to make a wildcard entry for me for the third round. You know that it’s not a regular Olympiad, don’t you? There will be four rounds before the final candidates take that national test,” Aaliyah said, and Laura nodded.
“He is a kind man,” Laura said, and Aaliyah grinned.
“Oh, he is. No doubt about that,” Aaliyah walked out of the room with the biggest grin.
“Aaliyah? Why are you coming out of there? Didn’t you -”
“Come on, aunt Lily. You are a cop. Use your brains,” Aaliyah winked, and Lily raised her brows when she saw her niece so happy.
~~~~~After three days~~~~~
“Son, are you not going to talk to me?” Nathan asked as soon as he saw Dominic descending the stairs, and the latter looked at him before raising his brows.
“I am not angry at you, dad. I knew something like this would happen once you know. It didn’t come as a surprise to me. Anyway, enjoy your lunch,” Dominic walked towards the door.
“What about you? Aren’t you -”
“Do you think I would have the heart to eat in peace after everything?” Dominic asked Nathan, and the latter felt guilty, his spoon stopping mid-air.
“You don’t worry about it. I will think about something to pacify her. There has to be something. I am going home. I hope no one disturbs me while I am thinking things through,” Dominic left before grinning as soon as he got inside the car.
He knows he was deliberately making his father feel bad, but it was better to hide things from him rather than have him go around and do something funny again. Aaliyah has only said she likes him.
She has not made any declaration or demand of being his girlfriend, and it wasn’t a good sign yet.
Stopping the car in front of the cafe where Aaliyah works, he looked at the girl talking to the boy with a smile and couldn’t help but feel content.
“Can I get a cold coffee?” Dominic’s voice made Aaliyah look up as she placed the trays with people’s orders on the counter.
“Mr. Dominic?” Aaliyah raised her brows, and he hummed before sitting on the table.
After an hour, when Aaliyah’s shift was finally over, she walked to his table before sitting in front.
“What are you doing here?”
“Nothing. I was just craving,”
“Cold coffee?”
“No. You,” Dominic smiled when he saw a slight red tint on Aaliyah’s cheeks.
“Your shift is over, no? Want to hang around?” He asked, looking unbothered.
“What’s in it for me?” She asked as if they were some strangers striking deals.
“I will cook something delicious for you,”
“In that case, I don’t have a reason to deny it,” Aaliyah said before they chuckled.
“Let’s go?” Dominic asked, and Aaliyah nodded.
After twenty minutes of driving, they entered Dominic’s apartment.
Tired from her shift, Aaliyah was going towards the couch to sit and relax when Dominic held her hand and pushed her onto the wall.
“Damn, I missed holding you,” Dominic whispered with his face nuzzled in her neck as he inhaled her intoxicating scent.
“I missed you too, Dominic,” Aaliyah’s voice came more sensually than she intended, and it was enough to break the strongest resolutions as Dominic groaned with displeasure.
“Don’t say my name like that. It makes me want to do things to you,” he placed his forehead on hers.
Both Aaliyah and Dominic were panting just with this little touch, trying their best to control their urges that wanted to go way beyond what they had agreed on.
“A kiss won’t hurt, right?” Aaliyah asked before she pecked his lips as if teasing the beast inside him, and Dominic sighed.
“Have you forgotten how to kiss, Aaliyah? Should I teach you again?” Dominic asked with a smirk.
“Teach me, sensei,” Aaliyah blinked innocently, but Dominic could only widen his eyes.
Never in his whole life had he ever felt so aroused as he was feeling right now just by the use of this word and the innocent look in her eyes.
“Have you been practicing how to seduce me at home?” Dominic pushed her further into the wall, parting her legs with his knees as he pressed his abdomen to hers, gripping her waist tightly to let her know what kind of effect she had on him.
“I thought we were going to hang out and you would cook something for me,” Aaliyah suddenly said, and Dominic looked into her eyes for a second before nodding.
“Right, how can I forget? Besides, s*x feels better when your woman is fed,” Dominic whispered into her ears, and heat rose to her cheeks at the mention of ‘his woman’.
As she sat on the counter, watching him cut vegetables for pasta, Aaliyah leaned back, admiring his back.
“Dominic, will you always support and protect me? No matter what happens?” Aaliyah’s sudden question made Dominic pause.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just that, you know how I am,”
“I will. No matter what happens, and even if the whole world is against you, I will stand by you,”
Dominic said with a sincerity that even scared Aaliyah.
Meanwhile, they didn’t know that a man was watching them through the Kitchen window from above a building at some distance using binoculars.
He has been assigned the task to keep an eye on Aaliyah, and if it had been the earlier times when she was not with a man, it would’ve been an easy task, but seeing her getting involved with Dominic has been leaving him envied by that man.
His boss’s choice in the woman was indeed no joke. He picked a Spitfire, and falling for this Spitfire was bound to happen.
Seeing Aaliyah pouncing on Dominic’s back as she hugged him from behind, the man clenched his fists before turning around.
It’s been three days since he was asked to keep a look at her. He was an expert in this field and had done this work earlier too, but these three days with Aaliyah have been the worst.
Picking his ringing phone, he walked to some distance, waiting for the other person to speak.
“What is the update on her?”
“Nothing new. She is at her home, cooking,” The man gritted his teeth, not knowing why he always tries to protect her so much.
“Cooking? Has she gained some new hobbies?” The boss asked as a man cried on his feet for the mercy of life.
“I don’t know. I must say, she is doing an awful job at it,” The man replied monotonously.
“That’s okay. Once I get my hands on her, I will cook and feed her with my hands. I am sure she is going to love that. Don’t all girls dream of that? Let me know if you hear something about her going somewhere alone. We couldn’t talk last time because of the python gang, but I don’t want to leave any chance now,” The boss scoffed at the end.
The last time he was at Katherine’s fashion show, he had planned everything thoroughly on how he would meet and talk to her about the good times they shared. How he would pacify her to come with him. But as he was about to corner her behind the changing room, out of nowhere that lady appeared.
Then he noticed the presence of the guards of the python gang, and he had to retreat.
He still hasn’t seen the boss of the python gang, so he wasn’t sure if he was there either. Regardless of that, he needs to be careful among these girls now. From what he could gather, Katherine is dating the right-hand man of the Python boss, Bryce. The boss thought before ruffling his hair.
Meanwhile, the man who went back near the edge to see what Aaliyah was doing took a step back when he saw her standing at the window of the kitchen, looking back at him.
As if she recognized him, she smirked deviously, and sweat formed on his forehead.
He had never seen her looking at someone like that. It felt like his body had a mind of its own, as no matter how much he told himself to move, his legs weren’t shaking from their place.
“Aaliyah? What are you looking at?” Dominic asked when he saw Aaliyah looking at the distant building, and Aaliyah smiled.
“It’s nothing. I just like looking at the flying birds. It gives me a predatory feeling,” Aaliyah smirked, the double meaning behind her words making Dominic pause in his actions, though he didn’t say anything nonetheless.