04

“Long time no see, Ms Leighton” Abigor said with a slight smirk while looking straight at the man giving out a speech as all the guests either listened or talked amongst themselves.

“Y-Y-You know him” Kahlil stuttered beside Aria as Abigor frowned and tore his gaze away from the stage.

The boy with sunkissed skin looked between him and Aria confusedly.

“We met once” she dismissed in a bored tone while gulping down the shimmering liquid from the flute.

“And who is this?” Abigor finally asked as he looked at the little vixen dressed to kill. A beautiful midnight blue mermaid dress along with gold pieces of jewellery.

“I’m her-“

“My boyfriend” Aria cut Kahlil off instantly as Abigor’s smirk fell and anger surfaced. He looked at the young boy, who looked surprised and troubled at the same time, in disgust.

“What is he? 12?” Abigor retorted back.

“Why do you care, Mr Hayes?” she said, as this time her green eyes travelled up to him and pinned him to his spot.

“And I’m 19” Kahlil interjected, quite offended.

Without breaking his eye contact with Aria, he clicked his fingers. And out of nowhere, Karl popped up beside him. Aria looked at the new addition in amusement as she calculated his next moves.

“Take him away” Abigor ordered while pointing towards Kahlil.

“Hey! You cannot do that!” Kahlil shouted as Aria’s eyes filled with anger. The most expressions he had seen on her face.

“What are you up to?” she almost snarled as Abigor chuckled and saw Karl taking away a struggling Kahlil.

“Nothing” he sighed “Just wanted to talk civilly without the interference of a brat”

She took a threatening step towards him as his eyebrows shot up in amusement. She held the collar of his greyish-blue shirt and jerked his huge form so that now his head was at her level.

“I hope whatever you plan to do, stays away from Kahlil, otherwise-“

“Otherwise what, little girl?” he hummed as his hands went around her and caged her between him and the table behind her “tell me what you’ll do” his eyes fixed on her light pink plump lips.

Something shined in her eyes as she looked away and loosened her hold on his collar. A smile made its way to her face as she looked at him again “I apologize, Mr Hayes. I need to get my temperament in control”

He looked at her weirdly, she was the first person he couldn’t decipher.

She tried to push him away while looking at Kahlil’s direction. He was now talking calmly to Karl while they occasionally laughed. She looked around for her bodyguards, but they were also nowhere to be found.

“You are weird” Abigor concluded as pulled away and sat on a seat while he patted the spot next to him, for her.

She hesitated a bit but decided to comply anyway, as she slowly sat down while evening out the creases on her dress.

“You don’t know me” she replied.

“I know plenty” he said instantly as he watched people crowding near the stage and laughing. Aria looked at him and scoffed.

“Alright” she rolled her eyes “What about you? I heard the Mafia King doesn’t attend galas unless absolutely necessary” she mocked as she picked up another champagne glass and sipped on it.

“I had nothing better to do”

A lie, that’s what it was. He still remembered how at first he rejected the idea of coming to another gala but when Karl informed him that Aria Leighton, the girl he met a week ago at another party was also attending, he stopped all his work and rushed here.

“Is that so” she sighed as she turned her head towards the side to directly look at him. Abigor didn’t say anything at first, but then he grew impatient and curious when she wouldn’t just stop staring.

“What?”

“What are you up to Mr Hayes?” she asked in a daze as he looked down at her green eyes glazed in wonder.

“I liked your brown eyes more” he replied, ignoring her question as her features hardened in anger.

“Yeah well, you’ll never see them again” she said with a little angry undertone as she stood up and picked up her purse.

Just as she was about to walk away, Abigor grabbed her wrist and slammed her small body back on the couch. She gasped from the impact and clutched his hands in instinct.

His face closed in on her as his hot breath fanned against her ear “I have been way too lenient with you little girl” he hissed as she breathed heavily because of their close proximity.

“Next time you talk to me like that” he started as she felt a cold metal tip on her neck. She looked down and her eyes widened when she noticed that the pointed edge of a sharp pocket knife dug at her skin “I’ll cut off your tongue”

Her heartbeat accelerated as her head snapped up at him, his glare rooted her to her spot as goosebumps glided across her skin.

“I’m sorry” she apologized instantly as her hands reached up to his, and tried to pull away but he didn’t budge.

Abigor frowned. He had been dealing with people all his life and he learned a thing or two about people’s actions and reactions. The girl in front of him looked scared right now but somehow the fear didn’t reach her eyes.

She was a little mystery he wanted to unravel.

His other hand meticulously reached her lips as he brutally brushed her lower lip with his thumb. Her breathing became ragged as he kept staring at her eyes and she also didn’t break the eye contact.

Her pink lipstick smudged against his thumb as her chest heaved up and down in anticipation. He leaned in close to her lips as the knife dug even harder on her skin, but she didn’t care at the moment.

“Break up with him” his eyes darkened as the words left his mouth and she gulped hard.