Rival

[Are you home? I couldn't find you after the event ended.

Victor]

Mia, who was originally about to delete the unknown number that sent her a message, smiled when she realized that the person who sent her the message was Victor. Mia took the time to peek at Enzo, who was still focused on his phone call before the short message.

[Yes, Enzo already picked me up. Sorry, I didn't have time to tell you about this. Were you waiting for me?]

DING!

Mia was surprised when the reply came so fast. Mia unconsciously widened her smile when she read the man's follow-up message.

[It's not your fault. Our time has already run out before you could explain anything else. Are you with Enzo now? He wouldn't like it if we exchanged messages like this.]

Mia frowned as she secretly peeked at Enzo. She didn't know why her cousin would be angry if she exchanged messages with his acquaintance. Victor seemed like a good man in Mia's eyes. She also felt bad for having troubled him several times. Exchanging messages wasn't a big deal because Enzo told Mia that he knew Victor. 

Mia thought maybe the two grown men were arguing and having a cold war without her knowing. Mia secretly chuckled when she imagined the two adults around her acting like little children when they fought. Her hands quickly typed a reply message, and she sent it with great confidence.

[Are you guys fighting right now? You guys are close friends, right? Don't worry, Victor. I will help you get along again. The aunt who took care of me once told me. Rather than fighting, it would be better to forgive each other and get along again before it's too late.]

"What are you doing, Mia?"

Mia was reflexively surprised when Enzo, who had finished his call, suddenly asked her. Mia was silent. Her eyes stared at her phone for a moment before she smiled back at Enzo.

"I... saw the news. Um... are you having problems at work? Since earlier, you looked annoyed for some reason."

Enzo took a deep breath when he realized that he had accidentally put on an annoyed expression when Mia was beside him. Enzo could see that Mia was a little nervous when looking at him. The girl always felt uncomfortable if someone seemed disturbed near her. Enzo completely forgot his suspicions about Mia, who kept smiling when looking at her phone, when he stroked Mia's hair gently to calm her.

"It's no big deal. Did I scare you?"

Mia looked up at Enzo, stroking his bangs with a worried face. She was afraid that Enzo caught her texting with Victor earlier, but her cousin seemed to have misunderstood her nervousness.

"Of course not. You will never scare me, now or later."

Enzo sighed in relief as Mia smiled. The man took Mia's cell phone from her grasp before his other hand guided Mia's head to lie on his thigh.

"You must be tired, right? Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when we get home," Enzo whispered. Mia knew Enzo didn't want to compromise with her if the man had asked her to sleep. Mia slowly closed her eyes. Her breathing began to sound regular, along with the gentle strokes that Enzo gave to the girl's hair.

Once Enzo had made sure that Mia was finally fast asleep, his face cooled down again because of the annoyance he felt. His gentle strokes on Mia's hair did not stop or change, but Rose, who was driving the car, and her sister Lily, who was sitting in the front seat, knew their boss was really angry.

"Rose."

"Yes Boss?" Rose answered quickly. Enzo leaned his body carefully, trying to get Mia into a comfortable position before he gave another order.

"We'll go to The Moon Club before going back. Celine just came and caused trouble there," Enzo informed. Rose, who continued driving, immediately nodded. "Okay, Boss," she said before taking another route to turn around. He had to do it carefully so that Mia, who was sleeping in the back seat, would not wake up because of the shaking in the vehicle.

Enzo had asked Mia to sleep earlier. That was a sign that Enzo did not want Mia to know anything about his problem.

***

"You can't do this to me! Enzo, just listen to me for a moment, Enzo!"

CRASH!

"ENZO! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

Mia woke up again when a loud noise from inside a nightclub reached her ears. Slowly, she tried to get up. Her hands gently rubbed her eyes before she looked left and right to find out where she was.

"Boss stopped by for a while for some work, Mia. You can go back to sleep while waiting for him. Do I need to play some music to make you sleepy again?"

Mia shook her head as Lily, who stayed with her, sat in the front seat and talked to her when the woman realized that Mia had woken up from her sleep because of the commotion. On the girl's body was a warm blanket, which Enzo always brought wherever he went for Mia.

"I'm not sleepy anymore. I'll just wait for Enzo to come back, Lily," Mia told her. Lily nodded in understanding after hearing the girl's reply. She continued to observe Mia as she tried to find her cell phone.

"If it's the cellphone you're looking for, Boss kept it in the car pouch because he was afraid you would accidentally crush your phone while you sleep. Did you find it, Mia?"

Mia nodded as she followed Lily's instructions. Mia turned on her phone screen. There was a new message from Victor.

[We do know each other, but not that close. There's no need to force yourself to make us get along, Mia. Just keep this conversation a secret from him. With his stubbornness, he won't listen even if you try to make us get along.]

Mia was a little disappointed when she found out that Victor was indeed at odds with Enzo and refused her offer to help them make up. Now that Mia thought back, her cousin Enzo was quieter when they all had dinner together. Lily and Rose, who were usually friendly, also seemed uncomfortable, as did Leon from Victor's side.

As she tried to think, Mia was unaware that Lily had been watching the girl's movements ever since Mia had found her phone. Lily takes a risk and keeps Victor's meeting with Mia a secret because she doesn't want the girl to get scolded when Victor is the first to approach Mia. But in the rare situation where they were alone now, Lily finally decided to talk to Mia about that.

"Boss will be furious if he finds out you're in a relationship with Victor, Mia. I might be able to get everyone not to tell about their arrival today. But I'm not sure I can do it a second time. Boss doesn't like Victor, Mia. You'll only anger him if you insist on continuing to have a relationship with a man like Victor."

Mia finally looked away from the phone screen as Lily spoke softly to warn her. Now that she had someone to talk to about Enzo and Victor's relationship, Mia immediately asked without hesitation.

"Um, Lily," Mia suddenly said. Lily, who was originally observing the entrance of the club, immediately turned her head back. Mia's gaze immediately implied the question 'What's wrong?' when Mia played with her fingers because of hesitation.

Knowing that Mia seemed to want to talk about Victor, Lily finally let out a long breath. Lily already knew what Mia was going to ask her. She didn't wait for Mia to speak when she chose to explain it without being asked.

"Victor... is Boss's business rival, Mia. You know, they often competed about many things before. Boss already knows what kind of life Victor has been living. So, he probably thinks you won't fit in with someone like him."

Lily deliberately skipped the work part because Enzo never told Mia about his real job. Mia only knew that Enzo was a busy businessman, and Enzo also seemed determined not to involve Mia in any work matters for now or in the future.

"Did that mean... they're enemies?" Mia said innocently. Lily didn't know whether she should be happy or sad after hearing Mia's naive statement. They couldn't be called enemies. They just minded their own business. However, Enzo would hate Victor if their relationship deepened.

"Mia..."

"You didn't sleep, Mia? Were you waiting for me?"

Lily felt saved when Enzo finally returned with Rose, who was following behind him. As Lily expected, Mia no longer dared to ask anything when Enzo had arrived. Mia only nodded to answer her cousin's question, then smiled slightly when her head was gently stroked by Enzo, who looked a little tired after dealing with some troublesome problem.

"Let's go home now," Enzo said with a smile. He had forgotten that someone had just been injured on the floor of his club. The earlier chaos seemed to have never happened in Enzo's mind. All his fatigue disappeared when he saw Mia waiting for him with a sweet smile.