3.

"Our parents planted that tree" She pointed at a large tree that was in their huge garden. Lisa and I sat down on the side of the pool, dipping our feet in the water.

"Where are they?" I asked carefully not wanting to offend her. "Dead" She said looking at the tree "I'm so sorry" I said quietly. She just shrugged "Its okay, its been six years already. They died during a mafia fight, leaving Luca to continue their business" She said glaring at the water "I hate this you know? I wish me and Luca can just live normally. I hate how serious and merciless he has become" She said with hurt laced in her voice "Luca's a good guy, Athena. This mafia thing messed him up. Our parents messed him up" She said sadly "Please do me a favor" She said, looking at me with tears in her eyes.

My heart sank when I saw the pain in her eyes "Sure, what is it?" I asked placing my hand on top of hers. "Save my brother" She said seriously. I was taken aback. Save luca? How is that possible? and does Luca even need saving?

"I don't think I can do that, Lisa" She grabbed my hand and shook her head "No, you don't know my brother like I do, Athena. Why would he keep you here? I saw him earlier when you and Matt were talking, he looked like he wanted to kill Matt. Trust me, you can do it" she pleaded

Did Luca like me? wait no that's impossible. He brought me here because I witnessed something I shouldn't have.

But why am I still alive? I look at Lisa and let her words sink in. I couldn't possibly agree to something crazy like this! Save my kidnapper? Straight up suicide mission.

But I couldn't ignore the fact that I'm actually attracted to Luca. Something about him was different, intimidating yet fascinating.

Ugh

Why am I attracted to troubled guys?

I sighed "I'll try but I can't promise anythi-" I was cut off with a tight hug "Thank you, Athena. Thank you so much" She said. I smiled and admired Lisa. She loves her brother so much. I guess Luca really is a good brother to Lisa.

....

We all sat at the dining table waiting for Luca. I felt my palms sweating, I haven't seen him all day. It was either he was too busy with work or he was just ignoring me. Lisa looks at her watch impatiently "What's taking him so long?" She said gruffly. One of their maids came in with food "Master Luca said he won't be able to join dinner due to work" She placed the food in the middle and bowed before leaving "Whatever, I'm hungry" Lisa said grabbing steak and dumping it on her plate, followed by Matt.

Luca's ignoring me. He even skipped dinner just to ignore me. I stared at the steak and Lisa who was munching on her food

Save my brother

I grabbed the plate that was on Luca's side of the table and placed steak and mashed potato. I placed another one on my plate while Lisa and Matt stared at me with curious eyes.

"Hungry much?" Matt said. I ignored him and looked at Lisa who understands what I was doing and gave me a wide smile. "Thank you, Athena" She said watching me with a genuine smile on her face. I smiled and grabbed the two plates using both hands and went upstairs. My heart was pounding loudly and my hands were starting to sweat like crazy. I stood infront of Luca's office thinking if I should continue this or just go back downstairs and eat peacefully with Lisa and Matt.

But then Lisa's hopeful face appeared in my mind and that was enough for me to knock on the door using the plate since I couldn't knock using my hand. "I said I did not want to be disturbed!" Luca's voice boomed. My hands started sweating even more. I inhaled deeply and opened the door successfully using my wrist. Luca's hair was a mess, his desk had papers sprawled all over it, some were on the floor. He raised his head to glare at the intruder ready to go ballistic when his eyes landed on mine. He continued to glare at me then noticed the plates that I was holding. His glare turned into confusion "What are you doing?" He asked looking at me. I simply closed the door and placed the plate infront of him. I sat down and started eating. He just continued to stare at me "The maid said you couldn't have dinner with us because of work so I decided to bring you food" I said trying to act cool. I saw his posture relax which made me happy inside. I stole a quick glance at him and saw his eyes soften. I bite my lip and continued to eat my meal

"Who said you could eat here?" Luca asked making me blush. I cleared my throat and stood up. I grab my plate and turned around to leave

I felt an arm wrap around my waist and turned me around. I hold the plate tightly making sure I dont let it go. Luca grabbed the plate placing it on top of his desk "Stay with me" He said resting his forehead on mine. I closed my eyes enjoying the feeling of his arms around my waist and the heat that was radiating off his body. I unconsciously wrapped my arms around his waist

I opened my eyes to see Luca staring at me. His jaw clenched and a sigh escaped his lips. He pulled away, going back to his seat and started eating. I stood there still shocked about what happened

Why'd he let go? I didn't want him to let go

He stared at me "Eat with me" I cleared my throat and nodded quickly. I sat down and started eating with him