Chapter 105: Drax's Stupid Woman-3 (A Side Story)
Mills and Adir sat in the quiet room staring daggers at each other. Each one was unwilling to break eye contact as if it were a sign of weakness. For Adir, this was a sort of test, if Mills could withstand his stare then she could handle everything else that would come with dating his brother, and the way she held and kept his gaze told him that she would suit Drax well.
"Oh, you're so perfect," Adir said, breaking the stalemate and it caught Mills off guard. He did not bother to explain, he just stood up and handed her a card with Drax's hotel information written on it. "His flight leaves in the morning, so I'd hurry up if I were you." Mills did not move. Shaking his head, Adir left the facility and, using the helicopter he arrived in, went home.
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Drax had been in the gym all day. He had only just returned to his room. He packed his bag, took a shower, and laid down to get a few hours rest. There was a knock at his door, and he remembered that he forgot to put up the 'do not disturb' sign. Angry he opened the door widely and a body came crashing into his. It took him a second to realize someone was hugging him and another second for him to recognize who it was. Drax pried the woman off his body, and not so kindly asked her to leave.
"Didn't you tell me that you loved someone else? Why are you here now?" He asked.
"I'm sorry. I lied," Mills said, but Drax was not convinced. She had avoided him for two days and she didn't even flinch when she called him obsessed. He knew that his brothers were unable to dig up any information regarding a possible love interest, but that didn't mean it was impossible.
"Mills, I don't like playing games. Please say what it is you have to say and go. I have a flight in the morning."
For the first time ever, Mills swallowed her pride for a man. She told him everything, from the fact that her relatives were so money hungry and greedy that they killed her parents in hopes to cash in on their life insurance. Unfortunately, everything had been left to Milo and Mills and if the twins met an early end, it would be given to charity. The 'kind' relatives who took them in, were the same ones who cut their parents brakes. Mills and her brother watched as their family members killed each other off one by one. By the time they stopped fighting, there was almost no one left. She told him that she was afraid that if he knew the real story, he would think she were the same as her family members and because she was no angel, she knew she could not confidently tell him that she had not taken a life before.
Mills told Drax that she claimed responsibility for the deaths of her family members because it helped keep her safe when she and her brother had nowhere else to go. Tearfully she poured out every insecurity she had about herself and she told him that if his family considered her unworthy, she could only agree. Her lack of confidence allowed her imagination to run wild and without even looking into it, she assumed that Drax's family would never accept her. She saw no point in giving her heart to someone who would have to give it back to her later.
Drax watched the woman before him break down and shed every single layer of toughness she had built up over the years. He watched her posture sink as she confided in him. He recalled that moment in the restaurant when he was addressed by title and her shoulders dropped. He had assumed it was because she felt uncomfortable in the environment, but it was because she felt inferior to him. Mills wrapped her arms around him again, but this time Drax lifted her face to his and kissed her forehead.
"I'm still angry with you," he said, and Mills nodded.
"I know, I just don't want you to hate me," she replied.
After drying her face, Mills turned to leave. Drax had told her to 'say what she needed to say and go,' and she planned to do just that. She still had to save a little face for herself. Drax watched Mills turn to leave and he was conflicted. On one hand he did not want to see her, on the other, he did not want to see her go. Barely aware of his actions, Drax pulled Mills into his embrace. Her back was facing him, and he gingerly kissed her hair. He led her to the bed, where they silently cuddled, and she eventually slept in his arms. Holding all of that in for so long must have been exhausting. Drax was glad that she shared her burden with him. Looking at Mills' sleeping face, he decided to forgive his stupid woman.
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In the morning Mills accompanied Drax to the airport. She saw him off and returned to her apartment where she found her brother sitting in the living room like a worried mother.
"Where have you been all night?" He asked sternly.
"I was with… my…. Boyfriend," Mills answered bashfully. Milo stood up abruptly, he didn't want to assume but only one thing came to mind when he heard his sister explain.
"Mills... you didn't," he said, and his sister covered his mouth and made the shushing sounds.
"No! No, we didn't do anything," she replied.
"Mills…" Milo said his sisters name accusingly. She was an adult, but he was still the man of the family.
"I promise, we didn't!" Mills said. "I like him. I like him, a lot, but I'm not ready to do… 'that'. Besides, I don't question you about Calla." She retorted.
"Mills, you know it's different," Milo said.
"I know you don't trust Drax, but please trust me." Only then did her brother relax. "By the way, we're going to meet his family in a few weeks so prepare yourself." With that Mills ran to her room.
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Touching her lips Mills thought about the passionate kissing she did with Drax. It was hard, but they were able to control themselves. He nearly missed his flight as he was unwilling to let her lips go. She flopped on her bed and unblocked Drax's number in her phone. A flurry of texts flooded in and her heart ached for him. While she was looking at the pictures, he had sent her, she received another text from him.
[Don't disappear again.]
[Never.] – She replied, and at that moment she meant it.