A Flower Between the Thorns: A Mafia Romance [REWRITING]

Chapter 1: Arrival

Fillip's POV:

A knock broke the silence of the room me and Luc were working in. "Enter," I said with an angry tone. Whoever that was, better be careful. I said I was not to be interrupted while working. Everyone knew better than to disobey me. Then I saw him. Him again. Didn't he learn from the last time I kicked him out of the house in front of everybody? Doesn't he have any self-consciousness?

"For what do you grace me with your face, Alberto?" I sneered at him, not standing the smug look on his face.

"Fillip, it's always a pleasure to meet you," he said, pride lacing his voice as it always did.

"Always not," I shot back, not bothering to look up from my papers. He scoffs, and that brings a small smirk to my face. Just the mere irritation of this man brings me satisfaction.

"I asked you a question, or would you like to get kicked out like last time?"

"I came here to offer you something," Alberto answered, and my face turned from a smirk into very much that of a psychopath ready to kill.

Raising his hand as if in surrender, Alberto continued quickly, "Now before you kill me with that look on your face, it's not a work deal; it's something better." He waited a second before he invited someone into my office.

Who the fuck did he invite into my office? I had no idea, so I waited, curiosity getting the best of me. Seconds later, a line of women was standing in my office. I sat back in my chair, exhaling fully while grinning. I saw Alberto smirk back at me while holding his hands out, presenting the women in front of me, saying, "I'm here to propose a gift... a truce maybe, so what do you think, hmm?" He asked.

"I don't know. What do you think, Luc?" I asked my brother. Me and Luc liked to play, and he knew I'd accept nothing from Alberto.

Grinning, he answered, "I like them, brother." With that, a proud smile formed on Alberto's face. The poor man thought he had done something.

"Let's choose then," I said, taking my sweet time standing up from my chair. I walked in front of every girl and inspected them. There were good ones, but then again, I'd never put my hand in Alberto's hand.

After finally reaching the end of the line, I saw her. She looked different. Something made her stand out—something made her seem alien to be in such a place. The other woman's appearance was different. They looked confident as they looked me in the eye as if they wanted to be there, but she didn't. She was looking anywhere but at me, trying not to make me notice her. She shook her legs as if waiting to get the hell out of there, as if being here was so beyond her. That intrigued me.

I kept staring at her, my eyes taking in every inch of her body. She looked frail, maybe sick; where has she been? Coal-black hair was covering her face just like a curtain covering the sunlight, which intrigued me even more. I wanted to see her face.

I gently put my hand under her chin and raised her head to take a better look. It shouldn't have, but for some reason, the breath got knocked out of me when I found those icy blue eyes staring back at me. They looked fragile, like broken glass. I didn't find sunlight waiting for me; I found light skin and perfectly drawn eyes and nose. I saw the moon.

After realizing my hands had stayed for longer than they should have, I lowered them as she held my gaze. There was this look she gave me—something I really couldn't make out, something so close to disgust.

I finally backed away as I asked, "Name?" and that moron answered me, "Fleur, her name is Fleur de Lis."

"I was asking her. Care to speak another word without being spoken to, I won't hesitate to shoot your brains out of your fucking skull." That was sufficient warning to silence Alberto. After assessing the girl, whom I now knew as Fleur, one last time, I called for my second-in-command, Christian.