THE MAFIA’S CAPTIVE ANGEL

I went into the library in search of a book to read, and after selecting a romance fantasy novel, I took a seat at the far end of the library, close to the window with the marvellous view of the garden. I started reading, getting lost in the world of fantasy, until I was disturbed by a knock on the door and Zoey coming in.

She looked around the library as if she were searching for something before she settled on me, and she walked towards me with a smile on her face. I smiled back at her with my eyebrows raised, wondering why she was here.

“Hey Mani.” She greeted me.

“Hi, Zoey,” I replied.

“It’s been a while,” she says again, taking a seat opposite me with her legs crossed.

“Yeah, it has.”

“I was planning on going out for groceries and other things; do you want to tag along?” she asked, staring directly into my eyes.

“I think I will pass; I’m just going to stay here and read.” I told her, I wasn’t really in the mood to go anywhere right now.

“Please, we will be back before you know it,” she says again, not willing to take “no” for an answer.

“I’m just not in the mood to go out; maybe next time,” I replied sternly, and I felt bad for talking to her like that.

“You always spend time with Samantha, and we never get to spend time together. I guess you don’t need me anymore.” Her eyes watered, making me feel even worse.

“It’s not like that, Zoey; you are my friend too. It’s true that Samantha and I spend time together, but that’s because you aren’t always around, and when I ask you why, you say that it’s because you’re busy. You won’t tell me. So I thought maybe you needed time to yourself.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I am not ready yet, but like I said, I promised to tell you when I feel like I can handle it.” She says this, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“okay.”

“So, would you go with me?” She sends me a sheepish smile. I sighed

“Sure, no problem; let me get change. I will meet you downstairs.” I told her, and she responded with a quick okay before going out of the library. I stood up from my seat, placing the book back where I found it, with a promise to come back tomorrow, and continue from where I left off.

I walked to the door and out of it, going to my room to change out of the gown into blue jeans and a shirt. I packed my hair up into a ponytail, leaving a strain on each side of my face. I walked downstairs to the entrance of the house, where Zoey was waiting.

“Come, let’s go; we are taking my car.” I stopped in my tracks, facing her with my brows raised.

“Sin won’t like it; where is Mateo?” I asked, looking around the premises to see if I could spot him.

“Oh, he went to get something inside. Why don’t we go ahead and have him meet us there?

Was she even hearing herself? If Sin ever finds out I left the house unprotected, he will flip, and the last thing I want is for him to be mad at me.

I shook my head, disagreeing with her. “No, let’s just wait.”

“Come on, Mani, it’s going to get dark. We need to go so that we can get back early.”

“No, Zoey, let’s wait till Mateo comes out, or I’m not going with you.” I told her sternly, this time not regretting it.

I heard the door open, and Mateo stepped outside. “We are taking one of Sin’s cars.” I said to Zoey, leaving no room for arguments. She huffed but walked forward behind us as we walked to the car.

I got in with Zoey beside me and Mateo at the front with one of the Sin’s men. It was just like the day Samantha and I went shopping for dresses-there was one car in front of us and another at the back.

The cars drove out of the compound in the direction of the grocery store, and I just trailed behind Zoey as she got the things she needed for the house. After she was done, she passed the bag to two of the men, and they took it from her to put it in the truck.

“Are we going home now?” I asked her, shuffling out a yawn.

“No, we are not; it has not been up to an hour since we got here,” she says, taking my hand in hers as she dragged me out of the grocery store to Starbucks, which was next to it. Mateo and two of Sin’s men followed us in while the others waited outside, guiding us around the premises. I was already used to them being around me and was almost getting used to the stare.

Zoey dragged us to a seat at the window, where we could see the perfect view of the outside. I took a seat and watched her walk to the counter to order us a drink or something.

I looked around the place, waiting for her to come back. She came back with our drinks and burgers, placing mine in front of me, and I sent her a quick thanks in appreciation as I unwrapped my burger and started eating. I didn’t even realize I was this hungry.

“What’s up, since we haven’t been hanging out for some time? What have I missed?” Zoey said it in a chirping way.

“Well, nothing really.”

“Come on, it can’t be nothing; I heard about Sin showing you off at the party that you followed him to,” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

A blush crept up my face-how did she know this? “Yeah, you could say that.”

She smiled.  “I can see things are going great with him.”

“Yeah, it is.” I told her, smiling along with her.

“So you aren’t mad any more at the fact that he threatened you, kidnapped you, and took away your life.”

I looked at her, surprised by her question. I thought she was happy for me. Her face looked like she was, but her tone and her words said otherwise. “I know things between Nikolai and me started off bad, with the kidnapping and everything, but you told me he was a good person, and I believe you. Back then, when you told me, I didn’t know if I should trust your words or not, but now I have seen the real Nikolai, and I am happy to be with him. ”

“So, what you are saying is that you fell in love with your kidnapper?” she asked again, her voice stern.

“Why do you sound like you aren’t happy?” I questioned her, looking sceptically at her and trying to figure out her point.

“Of course I am happy for you,” Zoey says, smiling. “I just want to know if what you feel is real or if it’s lust. It is possible that your feelings may be clouded by lust. That’s all, Mani; I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She stretched her hands on the table to grab a hold of mine.

I pulled my hand away, taking a big gulp of my drink, before replying, “It’s not lust, Zoey; I think I am mature enough to know if what I feel for him is either love or lust.” I told her this blankly.

“good.  Does Sin feel the same way?”

Why does it feel like she is interrogating me? She was the one who suggested I go out with her because we hardly spend time together anymore, and here she was interrogating me about my relationship with Sin, trying to pick up one fault or another.

“He hasn’t said it yet; none of us have. But we don’t need words to tell us how we feel about each other: ” My tone raised a little bit; I was getting tired of her negative feelings.”

“Okay, I just…” She started off, but I cut her off, tired of hearing anything negative she had to say.

“Can we go?” I asked her, getting up from my seat.

“Oh, but we aren’t done eating,” she whined.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I rolled my eyes at this: “I lost my appetite and am tired; I just want to rest, so let’s go, Zoey.” I walked out, not waiting for her, and got into the car. I looked out the window to see Zoey typing on her phone before getting into the car, and Mateo drove off back in the direction of the mansion.

“I’m sorry if I pissed you off.” Zoey says beside me: “I just don’t want you to get hurt, Mani; I consider you my little sister.”

I turned to her, giving her a little smile before replying. “I understand, but you don’t need to worry.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. I will always look out for you.”

“Thanks,” I told her, giving her hand a little squeeze before facing the direction of the window.

We were close to the mansion, and I closed my eyes for just a little bit, trying to get rid of the dizziness I was feeling. That was until my eyes shut open at the sound of a gunshot, and panic rose through me.

The gunshot continued, followed by the screech of the car. I lurched forward out of the car and placed my hand forward, trying to avoid the heavy impact on my head. I was pulled back by Zoey before I could crash into the car door. I looked in front of me at Mateo, who had an expression on his face that I had never seen. The man beside him in the front seat was not moving and had a bullet in his forehead. I clapped my hands against my lips to stop myself from screaming out loud.

What the hell is going on?