Lucian

Chapter 13

[Lucian]

"No, we need this deal and this is your fault. Fix it." I hang up the phone before he can answer. Idiot. Why apply for a job if you cannot do it right? Eh, I know I should not have hired him in the first place.

I sink down in my office chair and place my phone on my desk. I spin my chair so I am facing the huge window walls allowing me to look down at the city. My city. The city I have grown to like. A city that I own. Nothing gets past me. If someone gets a suspicious delivery; I am the first one to know.

I catch a glimpse of my own reflection In the glass windows and my eyes immediately go to the weak red spot under my nose.
"Shit." I spin the chair back around and quickly open a small desk drawer. Taking out some paper, I use it to wipe off the blood running down my nose. I get up from my chair in a hurried motion and walk towards my bathroom. I have pretty much all I need in this office, bathroom included. It feels more like a home to me than my actual home. This office feels less empty and cold. I spend most of my hours here anyway.

I adjust the water temperature in the sink and bend over slightly so I can dip my head in the water in my hands.
I wash my face with cold water and dry myself with a towel before looking back at my reflection again in the bathroom mirror. A cold, emotionless monster staring back at me.
My headaches are getting worse and for some reason the nosebleeds have been coming back.

Yesterday after I drove home from Madelyn's house house, I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror when a dark shade of blood started running down my nose. That same day, when Madelyn walked out of my door, I felt something wet on my upper lip. That too, was blood.
Madelyn. Madelyn.

Thinking about her name makes my face soft for only a millisecond. Before going to its old, stern self.

I pinch the bridge of my nose with my index finger and my thumb. I used to have them when I was younger. Never went to the doctor and everything worked out just fine. So there is no need for me to stress over such thing. But, still, it does not sit right with me. Madelyn. The nosebleeds came back not less then a week after I met Madelyn. I am sure that is just a coincidence. However, I do not care to test that theory so I will have to stay away from her for as long as possible. Which cannot be to hard. I mean, our every interaction has been caused by me. She has never come to me. I am always the one running after her like a dog seeing a butterfly.

The worst part is, I cannot stop. I have tried. Yet there is always something causing me to go back to her. I feel like a magnet. Powerless. Yesterday; I went to return her fucking clothes that she forgot at my house. Her clothes. That right there must be the most unnecessary thing I have ever done. Not to mention, way out of my built up character.

I am known for being a ruthless murder. An uncompassionate, heartless boss with innocent blood on my hands. I am certainly not known for giving back clothes to girls after making them hot chocolate and giving them my clothes right before literally drinking out of their mouth just to get a fucking boner when they try to leave. That is not on the list of things I am known for. And neither do I want it to be.

I would rather be feared than loved. But then again, is not the feeling of love the same as fear? I would not know and I do not wish to find out. Love has never been an offer on the table for me.

Maybe I did hope for love once when I was a little boy. But I quickly came to realize that love is a weakness I cannot allow. And a luxury I cannot afford. It is better this way.

And if I continue making stupid decisions like I did yesterday, I will without a doubt, destroy everything I have worked so hard for. This empire has been made from scratch by nobody else than me. I am not going to throw it away like this. Not a chance.

I think it is time I distance myself from Made-
Mrs. Sterling. It is the safest way for everyone. I look down at my hands. My hands are gripping the sink so hard I am positive it will break any time. My knuckles are white. I did not even realize that I was doing it.

I force myself to loosen the deadly grip I have around the sink. Something rings. My head turns to the side so fast it makes a cracking sound. A phone. My phone.

I quickly move out of the bathroom and towards the ringing phone. My eyes scan the caller ID before I answer the call. I press the phone to my ear and wait.

"Sir, I have something for you." Antonio speaks from the other line. I frown. I do not like surprises.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I take a lap around the room.

"La ragazza, for you, sir. She is going up your elevator now." The hair on my arms rise. I stop walking.

What.
The.
Fuck.
Is.
She.
Doing.
Here.

I take a deep breath to calm the need to shout at Antonio. My breaths are unsteady and shaky. But my voice comes out calm.

"Why?" I speak so calmly yet my tongue is laced with venom. I am so mad I could break the small phone in my hands. And Antonio knows. He knows me to well to believe that I am anything but calm. He mutters a few bad words In Italian that he thinks I cannot hear, before speaking.

"I think you'll understand once you see her." His voice is steady, soft.

"Antoni-" the call ends before I can finish my sentence. He hung up on me.

He.
Hung.
Up.
On.
Me.

All I see is red. All I can taste is blood. The only thing I can hear is my heart beating. It surprises me every time. It is a reminder, a small reminder that keeps me from going completely insane. The simple knowledge that I have a heart. It is, yet, not all lost.
I am not fully gone.

I drop my phone to keep it from getting crushed in my hands. It falls down and hits my desk with a loud thud. Soft knocks on the door and my mind is brought back to reality. She is here. To see me. Why is she here to see me?

I take a deep breath and hold it as I make my way to the door. I release my breath and put my hand on the door handle.

Just open the god damn door. Do not do anything stupid. Open the door and act like normal. Act like her presence does not matter or affects you.

My mind is screaming inside my head. She does not affect me. I push down the handle and the door opens soundlessly.

I look down and am immediately met with brown soft doe-eyes. The crease that was between my eyebrows is gone and so is the angriness in my eyes. The rage in my body has been replaced with a warm and tingling feeling. I am feeling it all the way down to my toes. And I do not like it the least bit.

My eyes involuntarily go to her neck. To her pulse. To the new red mark she has there that she did not have yesterday. A love mark. A red, small, tiny love mark.

Well, uploading every Friday was
not a great idea so I've decided to upload every Saturday instead.
So I'll upload the
next chapter next Saturday.
Take care<3