꧁꧂

Papa is alive. I think.

Mama is dead. I saw it.

But it should've been you.

I wake up with sweat adjourning my skin as I gasp for air.

Another nightmare.

I let out a sigh of frustration as I throw the sheets off my body. I look around the room to see the sun brightly shining into the room.

1:30pm

Jeez. I slept for that long.

I slip out of bed and walk over to the bathroom to get ready since Nhung, Nathalia, and me were going out today.

Ever since that day in the meeting room, Nhung and I had gotten closer and hung out more outside of training hours.

I finish up brushing my teeth before walking towards the closet. I decided on a nude cropped crewneck along with white sweatpants.

I send a text letting the girls know I'm ready while I slide down the railing of the stairs. We were still currently living in the Barachi Empire. Enzo had told me we were going to be situated here for a while.

I also just finished off my third year of medical school so it worked perfectly.

Once I reach the bottom of the stairs, Tian runs over by my leg and due to his tall height, he reaches up to my hip, I don't need to make much of an effort to pet him.

Tian leans into my touch as he flips over on his back for a belly rub. I let out a laugh as I watch him stick his tongue out playfully and and howl for more attention.

"Just like your papa huh?" I say as I kneel beside him and give him belly rubs.

"Lets go meet everyone else." I say as Tian stands back up again and walks along me into the living room.

"Hi!" I wave at everyone who is currently situated in the large living room.

Everyone snaps their attention to me and large smiles adorn their faces.

"LILS!" Damon yells as he rushes over me along with everyone else.

I let out a shriek as I take off running.

"ONE AT A TIME PLEASE!" I yell over my shoulder as I watch everyone tackle and tumble over each other trying to give me a hug.

I zip through the kitchen, dining room, back to the living room, then end up back inside the kitchen.

I was panting at this point as I lean against the kitchen counter catching my breath.

A pair of arms snake around my waist and pulls me into a tight grip.

I let out a scream.

"Gotcha." Enzo whispers huskily into my ear from behind.

I let out a sigh as I turn around fully to give him a proper hug.

"Why do you look so cute and go out without me?" He grumbles as he buries his face into the crook of my neck.

I giggle as his breath tickles my neck.

"That tickles Enzo." I say as I continue to laugh as he starts to tickle my sides.

"Hm, my bambina is ticklish huh." He says playfully as he continues his attacks.

"Fuckimg hell. Of course the bastard gets to her before us." Nathalia curses as she and the others rush into the kitchen.

Enzo lets out an annoyed groan as he keeps me in his arms.

"Let. Go." Nathalia threatens as she smacks Enzo's arm.

Enzo instead picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, ignoring the glares he gets from the others.

"She's mine." He says before walking us to the living room.

He gently places me down on the couch and sits besides me, tucking me into his side.

"Just because you're her boyfriend don't mean you get to hog the sunshine from us." Damon complains.

"Where are you going? Zion asks as he gestures to my outfit.

"Girls day." I say happily as I eat the grape Enzo feeds me with.

"To which Nhung made clear she's only buying Lila food." Nathalia says, offended.

I smile sheepishly at her before stopping Enzo from giving me anymore grapes.

"I have to save room for my date." I frown at him.

He gives me a stern look, "Eat. You haven't eaten since last nights dinner."

I puff my cheeks out and accept the grapes he continues to feed me with.

"I slept for so long, why didn't you guys wake me?"

"Because Enzo would've killed us if we did." Lance answers.

I mentally roll my eyes at this but also loving how much Enzo cares for me.

I glance over at Enzo to do my daily admiration.

One of his arm is wrapped around my waist while the other is feeding me with grapes. He was only in a pair of sweatpants and I took this time to look at his insanely toned upper body.

In fact I noticed that everyone was still in their sleepwear.

"No work today?" I ask curiously.

Everyone shakes their head in unison, "Mama bear's orders." Kian says as he smacks the back of Zion's head.

A horn from the front blares through the house.

"Told her to not honk that fucking loud. And what does she do? Honk like a fucking elephant." Kian groans as we all rise from our seats to go out front.

I walk out the front door to see Nhung rolling down her car windows and leaning over the passenger seat.

"Hey babes, get in." She says as she glances up at Nathalia and I through her shades.

I turn to give Enzo a kiss goodbye before waving to the others.

I quickly climb into the passenger seat of the car and buckle in before Enzo changes his mind and drags me out of the car.

"Keep her safe."

"Enzo, I got all my best men with me." Nhung reassured him as we pull out the driveway.

"Are we really going to have them following us?" I ask a little uncomfortable with the idea of security men hearing us speak.

"Nah, they just gonna keep us safe from afar. Plus we are strong enough to fight off pesky people." Nhung shrugs as she continues to smoothly drive to our desitination.

After a few small talks in the car, we eventually arrive at a really cute outdoor cafe.

We take a seat and glance down at the small menu.

We take our orders and view the beautiful scenery in front of us.

"Did you live here all your life?" I ask Nhung as I take a sip of my espresso.

She hums in response.

"How did you adjust to becoming a donna so quickly?" Nathalia asks.

"Honestly, I didn't. After my brother died, I felt vengeful. I wanted his death to not be in vain. He was killed during a meeting. One of the people in the meeting was playing as our alliance but was actually undercover for one of our enemies. Shot and died right there." Nhung shudders at the memory.

I place a hand over hers to provide some comfort. Nathalia does the same.

She smiles at us.

"How about you, how are you adjusting?" Nhung questions me.

I shrug, "It was quick. At first I didn't think I'll be able to but a part of me wasn't really surprised for some reason. I felt like this life just so happen to occur and I thought a part of me always felt like I was suppose to take up something bigger. Now that my parents were the Xingyuns, I guess I understand why I felt that way."

Nhung nods in understanding, "In some way I can relate. Prior to my brothers death, I just wanted to lead a normal life away from the Mafia. My parents understood this and let me live my life as a normal teenager. But I always felt like I wanted to be a leader of some sort and the rest became history."

"Same here. After the relationship with my ex I kind of lost myself and who I really was on my own. How capable I truly was. I never saw it because he always belittled me every chance he had." Nathalia says sadly.

"Guess we're all bad bisses." Nhung says as she leans back in her chair and closes her eyes as she takes in the scent around her. I follow her.

"What did you do to your brothers killers?" I ask quietly.

"Tortured then killed them." Nhung says without hesitation.

Part of me always wondered what I would do once I was faced with my mothers killers and responsible for my fathers disappearance.

"Should I do the same?"

This time we both had our eyes open and looking at each other.

"No," She says, "You shouldn't feel obligated to use the same methods I did. You will know what you want to do with them when the time comes. In the end don't lose yourself to the taste of revenge. Don't forget but forgive yourself."

"Enzo helped me take care of my ex. I couldn't face him, I guess becoming an official assassin has been well for me in the end. Plus Zion has made me feel happier." Nathalia adds with a smile.

"I'll make sure Enzo doesn't kill him." I add as we all laugh.

Before we could continue chatting, loud sets of bullets ring through the café.

"GET DOWN!" Nhung screams as we all duck under the tables as another round of fire sets off.

I feel my hands get clammy as I search around frantically for the source of the gunfire.

"There." Nhung says as she points to the far right.

I glance in the direction and see 7 men in all black with large guns wrapped around them and pointing at the café.

They continue to shoot as they come closer.

"Ready to put your training to use?" Nathalia asks from beside me.

I grin and nod as we take off in opposite directions to attack the men.

Could this possibly be the stupidest decision of my life?

Yes.

But am I gonna do it anyway?

Yes.

I run towards one of the men as they turn their weapons towards me but I duck quickly and grab the knife that was pocketed in my sweatpants and stab him in the shin. I then slice his ankles so that he wouldn't be able to walk properly.

He lets out a scream as he crashes down.

I was about to grab his gun when another man tackles me onto the floor.

I twist my body around and grab ahold of his arm. I yank and twist it, only letting go after I hear a loud pop.

He also screams and falls limp.

Nathalia would be proud.

I look over at Nhung to make sure she's okay and see that she's in perfect shape. She catches my eye and we both send thumbs up to each other.

Before I can redirect my attention to the other men coming towards me, a large arm wraps tightly around my throat from behind.

I try to get out of his hold by kicking and scratching but his hold on me was cutting off my airway, making it harder for me to concentrate.

"Stop fucking moving bitch." He spits from behind me.

Two other men grab ahold of me by my arms.

I then scream for the girls but the man from behind me clamps their hand over my mouth.

Nhung's eyes snap to mine and before she can help me, someone shows up from behind her and hits her hard with a chair. Nhung falls to the ground, completely blacked out.

I scream.

It's all your fault. You shouldn't have called for her. What the hell is wrong with you?

Your responsible for another person's injuries.

I cry and scream and kick in the persons hold but that only earns me a hard hit to the back of my head.

My body goes cold and my visions goes black.

꧁꧂