The Mafia King's Rebel

Chapter 10:

Scarlett:

“He's such an asshole.” I repeat again and again while angrily scrubbing the table that a customer just left. Maybe if I say it enough, it will become my new slogan: Malakai Lorenzo is such an asshole.

“I mean, he can't be that bad?” Sadie gives me a half-smile, and I turn towards her, pointing the towel at her face.

“Oh, he is that bad. He's the incarnate of the devil himself, he's poison and he sucks all the good out of you!” My chest is heaving badly. Honestly, I don't even know why I'm concerned this much. Yes, Kai’s behavior last night did send a punch to my gut but isn't that part of the contract I signed? His routine outside of fake dating is none of my business.

I should have stuck to the contract agreement and went to bed, but it was 3 in the morning and he was nowhere to be found. Isn't that why we are humans? Because we tend to show empathy?

“I shouldn't let him dictate how I act at work, sorry.” I wince at Sadie and she smiles. I take a look around the restaurant, thankfully it's almost empty and my shift ends soon, then I can go back to Kai’s mansion. Damn it, I hope we don't pass each other in the hallway.

“Can we just literally talk about your new bodyguard?” Sadie elbows me, her gaze fixated on Shadow who's seated on one of the chairs facing the window. He looks completely normal, but we both know he isn't.

Shadow isn't exactly the type of person that just ‘blends’ into the background which is weird because his nickname is actually suggesting he's the type of person that blinds in. At 6’4 with a well built physique, he got the whole ladies in the restaurant ogling him.

“He's not my bodyguard.” I can feel my cheeks heating under Sadie’s intense stare. “We don't even talk that much.” I will admit that Shadow isn't much of a talker, even when he drove me to work this morning, he didn't say a single word. I tried engaging in talks about the weather but it is either he hates talking about the change of the climate or he just doesn't want to talk.

“Either way, he's so freaking handsome!” Sadie exclaims, still looking at him. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I check the screen. It's our ten year high school reunion and it's a reminder whether I want to RSVP or not.

High school sucks when you're waiting tables at the age of twenty-nine, and bartending by night. It's just a day where we all come together and pretend we're all living in the perfect life, when in reality, we're drowning in anxiety.

Someone walks through the door, holding a to-go bag and Angel, our hot-headed manager is already approaching him with a scowl.

“I'm going to go see what that is about.” I gently stride towards the entrance. Shadow's eyes follows my every movement intensely, and he said he was going to be subtle about it. Yeah right.

“Delivery for Scarlett Carter.” The delivery man says, frowning. “The package is for Scarlett Carter.”

“That's me?” I furrow my brows in concern, who in the hell is sending me a package?

“There you go.” He shoves the package at my chest, “just sign here and here and I'll be out of your hair.” He looks like he will rather be anywhere but here. I input my signature on the papers and carry the package to the kitchen because everyone's eyes are on me, including Angel’s.

Sadie follows quietly beside me. “What is it?” She asks, excitement seeping into her voice.

“I don't know.” I place the package on the counter and gently open it. The container contains two to-go cups of cinnamon latte and a bunch of pastries: donuts, chocolates, cinnamon rolls and a lot more.

“Wait.” Sadie picks up the box as I shove a donut into my mouth and inspects me, before looking at me with wide eyes. “This is the most expensive pastry bar in New York, all of this costs about ten grand.”

“What?!” I almost spit it out immediately, I'm eating ten grand worth of pastry? Oh f**k.

With my mouth full, I look at everything on the counter, who did this? I know this is Kai's doing because his signature is signed on the pastry bag.

How in the hell does he know that my favorite drink is cinnamon latte? Is this his sick, entitled way of apologizing for last night, because hell, it's working.

Sadie and I pick up the chocolate and shove it into our mouth. The taste melts on our tongue giving us a wave of ecstasy.

“Damn.” We both murmur simultaneously. My new favorite food is chocolate. Maybe fake dating Malakai Lorenzo has its perks even though I can't stand him sometimes.

“Sadie, get your ass back to the stove!” We hear Angel’s shrill voice. I can't wait for the day we are going to finally quit all of this.

Sadie and I spend the remainder of our shift working and occasionally shoving pastries into our mouths. When our shift is over and the restaurant is empty, Sadie waves me goodbye not before spending five minutes ogling Shadow.

“Good evening. Mr. Shadow.” I greet him with a smile as I climb into the back seat. As usual, he gives me a stiff nod, before getting into the driver's seat.

“I packed a few chocolates for you,” I bite my lips nervously.

He glances at me from the rear view mirror, I actually expect him not to say anything but he shocks me by saying, “thank you, ma’am.”

I guess he does have a personality that I'm going to crack soon. For a moment, my mind goes to my sister and my father. It has been days that I haven't heard of them, but there have been a few updates on Lila through text.

‘Dad’s doing well, he is still drinking, but not as intense as before, and he's not gambling anymore!’

Does it make me glad? Yes, but the condition at which I'm doing all this dampens my mood, I mean, who wants to fake date a mafia king, just so her family can live a good life?

Damn it, I rest my head on the seat and close my eyes.

“Madam, we're here.” Shadow gruffly says, opening the car door for me.

“Thank you.” I shove the box of chocolates to him. “Make sure to share it with the others too.” I wink, and damn! He actually smiles, though it disappears after a second, but a smile is a smile.

As always, the house is quiet…I can't even tell if Malakai is at home or not, his bedroom is off limits, which is fair because my bedroom is off-limits too, I wonder if he had dinner yet. Will it be weird if I make us something to eat? Granted the first time I did it for breakfast, he didn't touch the food claiming he doesn't eat breakfast.

But who the hell doesn't eat dinner?

I enter the kitchen, and immediately get to work. During my subtle internet stalking the other day, I found out he was half-Italian, it's definitely coming from his father's side, but that's the only information provided.

When we were fifteen, Sadie's aunt taught us how to make the best lasagna ever. After three failed attempts and a wrist burn, I finally set the table: garlic mashed potatoes, meat roast and the infamous lasagna.

For the first time in my life, I'm nervous, what if he doesn't like it? What if it pisses him off? Generally, I'm not someone who cares about what others think of me. I once told a boy in fifth grade to go to hell just because he made fun of Sadie's new headbands, and yet why does the thought of Malakai walking into all of this sends a thrill of excitement down my spine?

“What's all this?” I hear footsteps behind me and when I turn, he's towering over me, his gaze fixated on the food that's lined on the table.

“Dinner.” I clamp my hands together. “Welcome to my dining experience, I know you said you have staff for this, but just consider this a favor for the chocolate.”

Kai keeps on looking at me, strands of dark hair falling over his gaze but his intense green eyes stay right on me. It's uncomfortable, yet I don't want him to look away.

“You don't get it, Scarlett.” His voice turns cold. “When I do nice things, I don't expect you to do nice things back, is that what this is?”

“No.” I hurriedly say, but he's right. I am doing all this out of guilt…maybe to feel even in a sort of twisted way.

“Don't do that again.” His gaze never leaves mine. “If someone does something kind for you, you sure as hell don't owe them a repayment.”

“I don't want to feel like I owe you.” I say under my breath, because that's how I've been raised.

“You don't owe me kindness, and you don't owe me your time. If anyone is trying to make you pay for the kindness, tell me, and I'll erase them out of the world. If I get you chocolate next time,” he says slowly, dragging every word. “Just eat the damn chocolate.”

He turns and heads straight to the dining table, before sitting down and picking up the fork. I blink twice, did this man just deliver life advice to me and start eating as though nothing happened?

I take the seat opposite him. I watch as he carefully stares at the lasagna. There's something about Malakai Lorenzo, he takes his time admiring stuff, he doesn't just rush into them.

He shoves the fork of lasagna into his mouth and he doesn't speak for seconds, just quietly devouring the food. The way his tongue licks the side of his mouth is kind of sexy? Am I literally admiring Malakai Lorenzo while he's eating?

It's as though he doesn't even know that I am sitting there, he takes a sip from the glass of wine and continues eating, his Italian roots must be strong then. I don't know much about his family, his mother was the first daughter of the West family, but she's no longer alive, and his dad…well, it's as though his father is nowhere to be found on the internet.

“Is the food to your liking?” I finally ask after what seems like an eternity. Kai slowly raises his head to stare at me.

“Yes,” he answers stiffly. “It reminds me of the way my father used to make them. How did you get it done?”

Finally, he has revealed something about his father but the tense way by which he spoke convinces me not to dive any further. I wave my bandaged hand. “There's nothing YouTube can't solve.”

“How did you get that?” His eyes lands on my wrist, darkening.

“It's just a burn, nothing serious. Sadie and I used to get it all the time whenever we were experimenting.”

He keeps on looking at my wrist, before he pulls out his phone and sets it on speaker. “Doctor Samantha?”

Someone groans from the other end, “Kai. How are you doing?”

“Good.” He offers a short-clipped reply. How do people even keep up with him? “I need you to swing around tomorrow,” his eyes darken on me. “My future wife is injured and you need to check it out.” He cuts the call.

I won't lie, the way he said future wife sends a thrill down my spine…it feels good to be called that, with such possessiveness. If Sadie was here, she would say something that fuses with her love for novels…but this isn't a story that will have any happily-ever-after or whatever s**t Sadie rambles out.

I know how this is going to end: Our ninety days agreement will come to an end, I'm going to take the remaining half of my money and I'm going to leave. Sadie and I are probably going to quit and rent a small space to start our restaurant, and Lila is going to leave for Yale.

And Malakai Lorenzo can go back to whatever he does. That's how it's going to end.

But what if it doesn't end that way? I'm scared to explore the aftermath.