Lucas and Brie Part 2

"Yeah. I always come here when I am annoyed with someone, especially my sister." He said.

"You don't like your sister?"

"No. I loved my sister very much. But seeing her stressing out because of Caden, it's annoying."

"C-Caden? The crown prince?"

"Huh? Prince, my ass! He hid in Flousia to get protected by some royal guards and left my sister here! He promised to be with her, but he broke it."

He shouldn't have said that, but he was really mad at Caden. He felt Brie's restlessness when he mentioned Caden and his sister.

"It's not his fault. It's the Mafia and my mom's fault. You shouldn't get mad at him."

"Do you think I didn't know that? Your mom betrayed my parents."

He saw her kept biting her lip and he knew she was scared of him. He had blue eyes like his dad, and sometimes it looked dull when he's mad.

"I-I'm sorry." She said with her eyes on the ground.

"Whatever. Just go home. They are all looking for you."

"Do you hate me?" She suddenly asked.

He stared into her eyes. "Mom said to forgive your mom and forget everything that happened. I promised her, so I already forgave your mom. She said to be nice to you. But that doesn't mean I have to like you."

She nodded. But didn't comment on what he had said.

He was ten, and she was four when they first met. They both grew up in a complicated family. He heard about his Aunt Nina and her daughter from his dad and Uncle Jayden.

He wanted to meet the woman who betrayed their parents, but his mom told him to just forget everything. She said for Brie's sake, they had to move on and forgive Nina. That was the start of his hatred to Brie.

"You're kind."

He frowned. "What? Me? Kind? Maybe. But now, all I could think of is revenge."

"Y-You want to kill the Mafia?" She asked.

He nodded. "Benjamin Miller. I heard he's the boss. He killed innocent people and messed up our lives. My parents, your parents, Alira, Caden, you, and I are all Benjamin's pawns."

"W-What do you mean, pawns?" She asked.

"This is his game. And we are the players. Do you think he will stop hurting us? No. He won't. No one on both sides admitted defeat. I heard my parents talking about him. They were trying to find him. He needed to be found at all cost because dad said Benjamin is planning something big."

"I-If they catch him, can we live happily ever after?" She asked innocently.

He stared at the little girl on the other swing. She looked innocent and naïve. He heard her parents talking about her and said that she might know one of the places Benjamin could be hiding. When he learned that she had run away, he wanted to find her and force her to tell him about Benjamin Miller.

Looking at her now, asking that question. He knew she really knew something about the man who caused pain to his twin sister.

That was their first meeting. Brie helped everyone to capture Benjamin. Turned out she was a genius hacker. He was amazed by her skills and was also thankful to her. But still, he couldn't fully trust her because of her mother.

Days, weeks, months, and years passed, and Brie never left his side. She was an annoying little brat who was always following him. She never walked ahead of him. She would always stay behind him, following him around.

He hated her. He told his parents about her, but they told him to be good to her. Then four years ago, she confessed.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? You're like my shadow. You're always following me around. You made me sick. I hate you!" He yelled at her.

He saw tears form in her hazelnut brown eyes, and he couldn't understand why he suddenly regrets saying that he hated her.

"Because I love you." She sobbed.

He was surprised and didn't know what to say. It wasn't the first time someone confessed her feelings to him. But Brie's confession was different.

He thought she was following him around because of guilt about what her mother did to them. He didn't expect her to have feelings toward him.

Was she trying to make him laugh? Was she mocking him? After her mother befriended his parents and gained their trust, she betrayed them. Did Brie think, he was easy like his parents? He thought to himself.

He felt a sudden rage in his heart. How could she say something like love? She wasn't allowed to love him.

"I never gave you permission to fall in love with me. That was your choice, not mine." He said.

"I know you hate me. But I couldn't help it. It just happened. My life is yours to take. Hate me all you want, but let me love you until my last breath." She said while tears fell from her eyes.

He frowned. "I hated you even before I met you. Love me all you want, but my heart will never be yours."

She cried her heart out that day. They were in his bedroom when it happened. He didn't ask her to leave and he just listened to her cries until she passed out.

He sighed when he saw her fall asleep on the couch. She still had tears in her eyes and seeing her like a mess, he felt a sudden pain in his heart. It was his fault. But he couldn't do anything, he had to tell her so she could stop loving him.

He carried her on his bed, tucked her in, and sighed. She grew up beautiful and graceful, he admits it. He touched her face and he didn't know his reason, but he leaned toward her and then pressed his lips against hers.

That was his secret. He never told anyone about it. He hated her for a long time. She was just an annoying little brat, but she was the only one who had filled that empty space in his heart.