The Promise

Her eyes widened and couldn't respond for a moment. What should she answer anyway? Would she tell him that she missed him so badly? She was not his girlfriend, she was nobody. She thought to herself.

"Sit down." He said.

She had to walk away from him, but instead, she did what she was told. She sat down again and took a deep breath. Her heart was beating so fast and too loud that she felt like her chest was about to explode.

"You ignored me for weeks then you suddenly kissed me and what? You will just walk away?"

She couldn't meet his gaze so she bowed her head and stared at the floor.

"I didn't ignore you. There was no time to talk to you."

"Because of Ivan? Are you really going to marry that guy?"

"What am I supposed to do? My parents would not let me see my mother if I won't."

"You already know my answer to that."

Xylia frowned. "You asked me to sleep with you, but when I told you my feelings and offered you myself, you let go of my hand."

"Because I don't want you to regret it in the end. I want you so badly and I honestly don't know the reason. I can ask Colt to bring me some random girls to fuck, but after meeting you, I just couldn't do it anymore. That's one of the reasons I hated you."

Xylia was surprised. "You had sex with different women?" She asked.

Aciel wanted to scold himself, but somehow he felt glad seeing her anxious.

"Hey, I'm from a Mafia Clan. My upbringing was a lot different from yours. So yes, I slept with a lot of women. But that's not important, it's all in the past. I just want to sleep with you."

He didn't even know why he had to explain himself. She wasn't his girlfriend, but he didn't want her to get mad at him.

"So, why did you kiss me?" He asked.

She bit her lip and sighed. "Liliana said the principal wanted to see me here, but when I came, there was no one but you. So I guess my friends just wanted me to meet you."

Aciel realized that Xylia's friend lied to him as well. But he was not mad at them. He understood that they were just worried about Xylia.

"But you didn't answer my question. Why did you kiss me?"

"Fine. I-I missed you. Happy now?" She pouted.

Aciel was amused seeing her with a flushed face.

"Well, I kinda liked it." He said.

She wanted to vanish from embarrassment. It was obvious that he was teasing her.

"I assumed you want something from me." He commented.

Xylia wanted to scold Aciel for being full of himself, but he was right. She now realized what she wanted and she could not pretend anymore. She wanted to be free from her family and the only one who could help her was Aciel.

"I-If I ask you to help me, would you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Save me. I want you to save me." She said.

She waited for him to answer. She turned to look at his face to see his reaction. She thought she would be disappointed but his face seemed relieved by what she said.

"If I save you, will you promise to stay with me through thick and thin?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Whatever happens, promise that you will never leave me." He said while looking at her intently.

Xylia could not understand why she needed to make that promises. She knew Aciel had reasons and he was not yet ready to tell her.

"Promise me you will tell me your reason once you are ready." She said.

Aciel smiled. "I have to make sure before I tell you but yes, I promise I will tell you. I just want to make sure that you will not change your mind. You will be bound to me and you will be the wife of the future Mafia Boss. Will you accept it?"

She was surprised. She didn't really think that he would want to marry her. She just wanted to get away from her family and Ivan.

"W-Wait! Wife? You want me to be your wife?"

"Do you think I will let someone be your boyfriend and husband after helping you? Look, I will save you but in exchange, you will be trapped. You could never get away from me and the Mafia Clan. You will be mine forever."

Xylia gulped. Will she really accept being trapped again? She looked into his eyes and saw that he was serious. She took a deep breath before she answered.

"If I say yes, will you promise to be faithful to me? I don't want you to have mistresses."

He chuckled. "I promise."

"And will you promise to wait until I'm ready to give myself to you?" She asked.

Aciel frowned. "And when would that be?"

"Well, I don't know. I'll tell you when I'm ready." She said.

Aciel sighed. He shouldn't agree with her terms, but looking at her innocent face, he nodded.

"But if I get impatient, I'll break that promise." He chuckled.

"W-Well, maybe we could set some boundaries."

Aciel scratched his head and then stretched his arms. He stood in front of her and to Xylia's surprise, he kneeled and took one of her hands to kiss it.

"Xylia, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked.

Xylia didn't expect him to ask her. She thought he would just do something violent to take her from Ivan, but it was a sweet gesture that he properly asked her.

She smiled and Aciel knew it was sincere. "Yes."

Then he pulled her into an embrace and stood up so he could kiss her. This time it was passionate and Xylia felt like he was in love with her. But she knew it was just an act.

She was panting when he let her go. "What will happen now? My family won't like it and what will you do with Ivan?" She asked.

"Relax, love. You trust me, right?" He smiled and offered his hand.

Xylia's heart couldn't stop pounding when she reached out her hand to hold Aciel's.