CHAPTER 13 | LOVING LUCY

MARCUS'S POV

I was losing my mind. Lucy had her shorts on with one of my T-shirt. I had seen her brown eyes glinting when Hayde had announced about the ball, so I couldn't choose anyone except her. I would've wanted her to come with me if my father will not be there. I cannot protect her if my father chooses her to kill. It was a tradition to kill one and reward everyone else in Ejoute ball, The only people who aren't killed even when chosen is the Mafia heads and their heirs. Which is My father, me and Aiden.

Aiden had lost his mother in Ejoute ball, with his little sister in her stomach. Aiden's father had refused to kill his wife, but she was pregnant within a year after Aiden so she couldn't be killed through the family rites. My father used Ejoute ball as an opportunity to kill her, Aiden was forced to see it too. I wonder whether he remembers it, but it was still vivid in my eyes. Lucy was staring at me, curiously.

"What is it?" She asks me as I pull her on my arms. She looked surprised every time I physically touch her. I wonder what she felt, did she still think about Ethan? Does she hate me?

"I was thinking to take you on a date," I say. Searching her eyes for any possible emotion which would be positive.

"Where?" She asks me. I was confused by her emotions. She blushes and is comfortable around me, but still, she refuses to show her actual emotions. I was not dumb enough not to realise how a girl felt about me. But still, her reactions were still difficult to read.

"You choose," I say pulling her close.

"There is no one around, you don't have to be so nice," She tells, my heart ached. I love her; the more I explore her, the more I fall in love with her. Those big brown eyes could never be compared to anything else, it was the most expressive things I had ever seen. I didn't think about Susan when she is around, which took me by surprise.

"I need to practice being nice to you, or else I wouldn't be able to do it when others are around," I lie. For a second I wondered where it came from.

"Right." She answers, the glint in her eyes slowly fading. I pull her chin up and make her face me.

"Where do you want to go?" I ask her again, her eyes moved up and down as she bit her lips.

"Beach," She answers, clutching her arms and rubbing them. She does that when she's nervous, I noticed.

I kiss her lips, not able to help myself. No matter how hard I try not to kiss her, those lips were always inviting. She moans and wraps her arms around my neck. She pulls away and places her forehead on mine, we breathe intertwining.

"Lucy, what do you feel about me?" I ask the question which has been nudging me for so long.

"Nothing, except that you torture my soul," I felt that there wasn't any truth in what she said, since she inched closer to me, not wanting to leave. I didn't want her to get up, so I stay silent.

"Get ready," I say, after placing her on the bed. She wasn't that hard to lift, I wonder whether she was a virgin. It is such a random thought, why would I even think about that?

"Okay." She says as she leaves my room, but I call her again.

"3rd cupboard, 5th drawer. Wear that one," She looked confused for a second, but she looked curious enough to check it out.

I wear my usual attire. I try to be a bit more casual for her, but enemies were everywhere and everyone knew me. and also, I wouldn't want them teasing me like they teased Aiden, that he was wearing a bikini. Well, that was how our people term it if we wear trousers.

She came in, wearing the dress that I had bought to give Susan. I had bought this to give Susan, a white frock with netted frills, her shoulder transparent under the cloth. She blushed when she notices me looking. Susan never wore this, she said it was too girly for her style, but I had always imagined her wearing this dress when I think about her. I thought seeing Lucy in this dress would finally make my vision go away, but the fabric seemed to made for Lucy. She swirls around and lands on my lap.

"Did you buy this for me," She asks me, her eyes were filled with excitement. I didn't want to ruin that, but I didn't want to lie to her either.

"No, I had bought this for someone who might be my girl. The gang will believe that you're mine," I say, her eyes losing the light. No, I didn't want this, I didn't want her to be sad. She looks at me suspiciously and launches another question

"Will you take the dress from me then?" She asks me as if she was a 10-year-old kid who had never seen a dress.

"You can keep it, it looks good on you," This wasn't a lie. I had planned to burn this dress, but I never had the heart to do so, since I wanted Susan to wear this. I loved how Lucy is excited about the dress. Even though I had given her this dress, only because she didn't have anything fancy to wear, I felt the old memories flood back in.

"You've got to be kidding me," Susan screams at the dress.

"Susan, I thought it'd look pretty on you, I just wanted to see you in a proper dress," I said, trying not to sound desperate.

"But this? you've lost your fricking mind Marcy, I'm not wearing this," She threw the dress on the bed and slumped on it.

"I'll buy you something you like, I promise," I told her, trying to calm her down.

"It's alright Marcus, not everybody knows what I like," She rolled to the side, picking up her phone on the bedpost.

"I do know what you like, I just wanted you to see in the dress, "I said to her, holding back my tears. I know her, I know she doesn't like frocks, but I wanted her to try it once.

"You know what Marcus, stop being selfish," She rolled her eyes as she scrolled through her phone, leaving me to stand there wondering whether I'm losing her.

"Hey, Marcus?" Lucy shook me from my daydream.

"Huh?"

"Shall we go?" She asks me, clutching the ends of the frock and shaking it.

"Stop doing that, you're going to embarrass me," I chuckle.