three cities

intruder!

"I said I'm fine." Nelly shrugged.

Amanda folded her arms. "Yeah? You gonna tell me what really happened then?"

Nelly hesitated. The truth felt too messy, too complicated. She was gonna tell her, just not now.

Amanda sighed. "You know what? We'll talk about it later. Right now, we need to figure out who the hell is in our kitchen."

Nelly blinked. "What?"

Amanda motioned towards the door. "I heard you moving, and I thought it was you, but then I heard sounds from the kitchen."

Nelly frowned. "But... we're the only ones living here."

"Exactly."

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Amanda grabbed the nearest thing she could find—a hairbrush—and motioned for Nelly to follow.

"You're not seriously thinking of fighting off an intruder with that, are you?" Nelly whispered.

For a moment Nelly thought she could. Standing at 6'2 Amanda was towering against her meager 5'7. They had been friends since secondary school and she had always wasted no time in dealing with bullies troubling Nelly.

"Shhh," Amanda hissed as they crept toward the kitchen.

The clatter of utensils and the faint sound of humming reached their ears. The tune was unfamiliar but oddly calming. A nice aroma filled the air as they approached the kitchen. Whoever was in there was cooking. And cooked even better than the both of them.

Nelly hesitated before peeking around the corner.

What she saw nearly made her heart stop.

Lucky Dante.

Standing in their kitchen.

Like he belonged there.

Amanda's jaw dropped. "What. The. Hell?"

Lucky turned, completely unfazed, flashing them both a lazy smile. "Morning, ladies. Hope you don't mind—I helped myself to your kitchen, I'm making breakfast." He held up a spatula. "You're out of eggs, by the way."

Nelly stared, unable to form words.

Amanda, however, had no such problem.

"You broke into our house to cook breakfast?" she shrieked.

Lucky chuckled. "Relax. Your door was unlocked. I carried Sleeping Beauty home last night, remember? Thought I'd stick around and make sure she didn't pass out again." He shrugged. "Figured I might as well make breakfast while I was at it."

Nelly was still trying to process it all.

The fact that he was here. That he had been in their apartment. That he had—

"Wait. You brought me home?" she asked slowly.

Lucky's smile didn't waver. "You think I was just gonna leave you there?"

She swallowed. She had hoped part of last night had been another nightmare after she collapsed. But this? This was unexpected.

Amanda groaned. "Oh, hell no. This is not normal. You don't just casually bring a girl home and then cook breakfast like some... some romantic intruder!"

But Amanda had heard it before, it was popular along with the rumours around Lucky Dante. That he was a good cook.

"And he always prepares breakfast wherever he spends the night."

She was too focused on Nelly, that she didn't realize he stayed even when she had asked him to leave.

Lucky laughed. "Romantic intruder. I like that."

Amanda threw up her hands. "Nelly, please tell me you see how crazy this is?"

Nelly opened her mouth. Closed it. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel.

All she knew was that the peaceful morning she'd woken up to was officially over.

An Unwelcome Surprise

Breakfast had been surprisingly... pleasant. The aroma before did no justice to how good the food tasted.

Lucky Dante did his best to be an unbearable guest—loud, arrogant, maybe even reckless. And some other time, he was effortlessly charming, carrying most of the conversation while Amanda threw suspicious glances his way. He ate like he belonged, a new visitor would practically assume he was a member of their household. He cared t o little by the fact that he had practically broken into their home.

But even after they had eaten, Lucky showed no sign of leaving.

He leaned back in his chair, stretching lazily, as if he had all the time in the world. Amanda kept glaring at him. She knew he did. but it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

Nelly, on the other hand, busied herself with her phone.

Her fingers scrolled absentmindedly through her messages—until she saw a text that almost made her throw the phone across the room.

Kevin: You didn't complete your interview. Nevertheless, resume on Monday.

Nelly's blood ran cold.

Her grip tightened on the phone as the words sank in.

Resume?

Resume?!

After what that he had put her through? After the humiliation?

Her chest tightened with rage.

Amanda, immediately noticed. "What's wrong?"

Nelly didn't respond.

Amanda grabbed the phone before she could react, her eyes scanning the message. "Wait... What?" She looked up. "You're supposed to start work on Monday? Is he even serious?"

Nelly swallowed hard. Her mind raced.

She had sworn never to go back there. Never to face him again.

Lucky, who had been watching them silently, finally spoke up. "Whats with the face?"

"Who do I need to teach a lesson for you?"

Amanda slammed the phone onto the table.

"She went on an interview and was humiliated." She fummed. "Now the bastard is asking her to resume on monday".

Nelly. "You're not actually considering this, right? Because if you are, you need help."

Nelly shook her head. "Of course not! There's no way I'm going back there."

Lucky raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

Amanda scoffed. "Are you serious? She was humiliated, that's why!"

Lucky hummed thoughtfully. "And?"

Amanda gaped at him. "And? Did you not hear what I just said?"

Lucky turned his gaze to Nelly. "Do you want to give up a perfectly good job just because of some jerk?"

"It's not like you'll be working directly with hm," Lucky continued "besides I heard he is mostly out of town."

Nelly hesitated.

The truth was, she did need this job. Finding work in this city wasn't easy, and the opportunity at Agu Corp was a big one. But could she really stomach working under Kevin?

Lucky leaned forward. "Look, I don't know what happened between you and the guy, but if he's giving you the job, you might as well take it. No need to let your pride get in the way of a good opportunity."

Amanda scoffed. "Oh, of course. Let's just ignore the fact that her new boss is a grade-A manipulative bastard."

Lucky smirked. "Well, if he's as bad as you say, then wouldn't it be even better to walk in there, head held high, and prove he didn't break you?"

That gave Nelly pause.

Amanda, however, wasn't having it. "Oh, please. This sounds like some toxic 'show them you're strong' nonsense. She doesn't have to prove anything to anyone."

Lucky turned to Nelly again. "What do you think?"

Nelly chewed on her lip.

Did she really want to go back? No.

But did she want to run away?

No...

She wasn't sure what was worse—facing Kevin again or letting him think he had scared her off.

"I don't know..." she admitted.

Lucky grinned. "Well, you have until Monday to decide."

Amanda groaned. "Unbelievable."

Lucky stood, stretching. "I should probably get going."

Amanda muttered, Finally.

He turned to Nelly, eyes twinkling with mischief. "See you around, Sleeping Beauty."

And just like that, he was gone.

Amanda let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "God, that man is exhausting."

Nelly barely heard her.

Her eyes were still fixed on the text.

Resume on Monday.