Mafia boss prisoner

Chapter 2

Country I, City M

"Oh my God... Wait for me! Wait...!!!" Aruna shouted, running after the bus that had started moving away from the bus stop.

That morning, her breath was ragged. Her long hair was loose and messed up in the wind. She had just finished doing the pile of laundry that had accumulated since last night to avoid Claudia's scolding again.

"Wait! Stop a minute...!!" Aruna exclaimed, banging on the back of the bus with her palm.

Several passengers watching from the windows chuckled, feeling sorry for the young girl struggling.

"Ciiiittt!"

The bus's brakes squealed loudly. The kind-hearted driver finally stopped the vehicle.

Aruna ran hurriedly and got on the bus, pressing her chest against her tightness. "Thank you... I'm sorry, Driver," she said with a small bow and an awkward smile.

She walked further inside to find an empty seat. Once she found a seat by the window, she immediately plopped down, still out of breath.

"Hhh... finally... I made it. I was almost out of breath," she muttered, taking a sip of water from a small bottle in her bag.

She put her headphones in her ears, playing music from her simple cell phone, which had a slightly cracked screen. The soft music calmed her a little after running all that way.

Aruna is now 21 years old, a tough girl with a steely mentality. Her life has never been easy. Every day is filled with tears and torture from her stepmother, Claudia, and her stepsister, Selena.

Even though Aruna works and can support herself, she still can't leave that house. Not because she doesn't want to, but because it's the only thing left of her grandmother and mother, who have passed away.

Her father had long since disappeared. The man who should have been her protector had instead left without a word. Aruna even thought he was dead.

She stared out the bus window, watching the trees sway back and forth as the vehicle moved. "If only Mom were still here... maybe everything would be different," she whispered softly.

When the bus stopped at the next stop, Aruna snapped out of her reverie. The walk to the cafe where she worked wasn't too far.

Finally, she arrived on time.

"Thank goodness... I'm not late this time," she said, relieved, patting herself on the chest. "You did great, Aruna. You really are amazing." She smiled slightly and patted her cheeks, trying to cheer herself up.

Aruna quickly went into the changing room and put on her work uniform—a plain white shirt and a black apron that said "Lula Coffee." The cafe wasn't big, but it was quite busy, and for her, it was a welcome escape from the stress of home.

She had been working there for almost a year, since graduating from high school. Before that, Aruna had worked odd jobs, from washing dishes to tending a small shop, until she finally landed a permanent job at the cafe thanks to the help of Cristian, the young chef who was also her boss.

As soon as she left the changing room, Aruna put her bag in her locker and began cleaning the tables.

"It's rare for you to be late today. Is your mother feeling generous?" a voice came from behind her.

Aruna immediately knew who it belonged to. She turned her head with a straight face, then rolled her eyes lazily.

“Chef Cristian,” she said flatly. “You know, how could Mrs. Claudia be so generous? When that day comes, the sun will probably stop shining.”

Cristian crossed his arms over his chest, holding back laughter. “Haha... okay, that makes sense. But honestly, I'm surprised you made it on time.”

“I'm tough, Chef. I finished all that laundry at full speed! With my intelligence, my tenacity, and my iron muscles!” she said dramatically, then flipped her hair like an actress in a shampoo commercial.

Cristian laughed so hard he nearly burst into tears. “Hahaha! Then I wonder... are you really a woman, Aruna? With those iron muscles!”

Aruna narrowed her eyes, staring at him in annoyance. “And seeing your overly smooth skin, I wonder too, Chef. Could it be that you're not a man?”

Cristian stopped laughing immediately, but his smile didn't fade. He knew Aruna was teasing him back. He was used to their banter, which sometimes made Cristian's heart beat faster.

He had harbored feelings for Aruna for a long time. But he never dared to express them. For him, just seeing her smile was enough.

Aruna always appeared strong, but Cristian knew... behind her smile, there was a deep wound. She rarely talked about love, and even seemed to close herself off from all emotional matters. She was focused solely on surviving.

Aruna returned to wiping the table. Her long hair fell over her face.

“You need to tie your hair,” Cristian said, taking Aruna's hair tie from his apron pocket.

“Chef, let me do it. I can do it,” Aruna replied quickly.

“Hold still a moment. Your hands are dirty. I'm more skilled at this.”

Aruna snickered. “Huh, do you often tie women’s hair to make you so confident?” she teased.

Cristian held back a laugh. “It’s not like that. Sometimes the manager tells me to tie her hair while she’s busy making dough. That’s all.”

“I see…” Aruna smiled faintly. “I guess the manager has a secret crush on you.”

Cristian was silent for a moment. He wanted to reply that his heart had long been occupied by Aruna, but he chose to remain silent.

“Tadaa… done.”

Cristian smiled, satisfied with the result of his hair tie. “You look even more beautiful now. This hair tie suits you perfectly.”

Aruna blushed slightly, then replied softly, “Thank you, Chef Cristian.”

Cristian cleared his throat, trying to hide his smile. “Okay, work hours have started. I have to get back to the kitchen. Please don’t be late again, okay? I don’t want to see you get scolded by the manager.”

Aruna nodded. “I understand.”

Cristian stared at her for a moment, then said in a serious tone, “Aruna... actually, Selena contacted me this morning.”

Aruna immediately stopped wiping the table. Her body tensed.

“Selena?” she repeated quietly.

“Yes,” Cristian answered cautiously. “She said she wanted to ask me out for a drink tonight. She said she just got a job and wanted to celebrate with me. But I turned her down.”

Aruna lowered her head. “Selena... she’s always like that.”

“She should know whose side I’m on,” Cristian said firmly.

Aruna sighed. “Cristian... you should still meet her. Otherwise, she’ll misunderstand and continue to think I’m the cause of everything.”

Cristian looked at her hesitantly. “I’ll meet her, but not for a drink. I want to make it clear that I don’t like her. I just want her to stop bothering you.”

At that, Aruna fell silent. A slight feeling of emotion welled up in her heart. She knew Cristian was sincere, but she didn’t want to be the reason someone had a fight with their family—especially Selena.

Cristian and Selena had known each other since school. In fact, they and Aruna went to the same school. At the time, Cristian was the popular student council president, while Selena was known as a pretty, spoiled student.

But behind her smile, Selena harbored jealousy of Aruna. This culminated in their high school years.

That day, Aruna ranked first in school. Selena was angry because her grades were low and accused Aruna of deliberately not giving her the answers on the test.

In a fit of rage, Selena and her friends threw Aruna's shoes into the rice fields and damaged her bicycle. Aruna's feet were badly injured and bleeding.

Cristian, witnessing the incident, immediately helped her. He carried Aruna home, ignoring the jeers of his friends. But when they arrived at the front of the house, Claudia glared at her, while Selena angrily accused Aruna.

"She's brainwashed you, Cristian! You hate me because of her!" Selena shouted.

From that day on, their relationship was never the same.