Chapter 88: New Start

< Shirley >
My heart literally stopped beating for a second. I could feel the blood in my veins going cold by the words of apology he uttered.
The thought of Dylan not giving me another chance to be with him was an absolute nightmare. A life without him—system error.
I quivered before I started speaking up, "Dylan, I swear on my life I will never act like that again. I will never mistreat you. Please don't break up with me. I will be a good girlfriend and let you do whatever you want with me. I am willing to be your toy if that's what you want. But please don't—"
"Then will you let me tie you to the bed and do kinky stuff to you?"
"Yes! I will let you have me in any way you want— wait, what?" I raised my head and gaped at his bemused face. The edge of his lips was curved in an amused smirk as he watched me with a prankish glint in his eyes; that's when it hit me.
My nose flared with wrath. I could visualize black steam coming out of my ears as if I was on fire. I opened and closed my mouth in an attempt to express my anger through words, but I was quickly swiveled by the quirky expression on his face— the face that once refused to show any emotions.
Unable to speak, I started hitting him playfully, wailing my arms at his chest as he laughed heartily at my antics.
"I hate you, I hate you! I hate you so much! Why do I love a jerk like you? You are so mean!" I exclaimed, wanting to push him in front of an oncoming train.
As I was hitting his arm, Dylan grabbed my wrist and locked his gaze with mine. I shuddered, feeling nervous all of a sudden, my heart thumping rapidly at the abrupt touch. But his next words only made me see red everywhere. "So, will you let me tie you to the bed or not?"
"You—" I gritted my teeth and slapped his arm. I clicked my tongue at him and placed my palm on my hip and said, "I won't let you."
"Aw, no fair." Dylan pouted, tilting his head to the side adorably.
"Get some other girl to do that sort of kinky stuff. I won't do such a thing." I resisted the urge to peek at his face.
"But I only want Shirley," he mumbled innocently.
My heart melted like jelly at his words. "I have no freedom. You don't even let me stay mad at you." I playfully glared at him sideways.
"Excuse me? I should be the one mad at you," he interjected. Instant shame rushed up to me.
"I swear I will make it up to you. Just give me some time." I paused and pursed my lips, thinking of a way to do something for him right at that moment. I racked my brains to come up with a very modest way. It was simple, but I knew it would always mean a lot to him. "For now, all I can do is offer myself," with that, I stood on my tiptoes and cupped his cheeks before pressing my lips on his.
Dylan instinctively pulled me closer by the waist, his other hand traveling to the side of my neck, kissing me back promptly as though he had been waiting for me to make that move on him. It felt as if I hadn't kissed him for such a long time, although it had only been a few hours—so much happened.
Even though the painful events were crawling at the back of my mind, I just focused on moving my lips in sync with his. I didn't want to think about anything. I just wanted to be with Dylan— continue being his girlfriend forever.
Don't you want any promotion? poked my subconscious.
What promotion?
Don't you want to be his wife? Or do you want to continue being his girlfriend while he has another wife?
My cheeks heated up at the idea. But at the same time, another thought popped into my head.
I pulled apart from the kiss, making him groan, and immediately questioned, "Are you still my boyfriend or what?"
Dylan frowned. "I wouldn't kiss back a strange girl who bumped into me and started hitting me unless she is my girlfriend, now would I?"
"You are giving me another chance then?" I asked hopefully, placing my hands firmly on his defined chest.
After a lot of anticipation, Dylan spoke up in a serious tone, "Listen, Shirley." I straightened up and hardened my expressions as if my life depended on the words he was going to utter next. He chuckled and shook his head hopelessly, muttering under his breath, "Idiot."
"You are making me anxious. Hurry it up," I urged, starting to bite my lips. He was purposefully making me nervous.
Dylan sighed and leaned forward, snaking his arms around my neck casually. There was a tingle in my stomach; it was all still new. He kissed the bridge of my nose, letting a little smile spiral onto his lips, saying, "Loosen up, would you?" He trailed his fingers delicately on my back, sending shivers down my spine. I squirmed and narrowed my eyes at him, shooting him an angry look, which only made him grin. "I am not breaking up with you. Not now. Not ever."
As soon as the relief washed over me, warmth crept onto my chest. "Thank you, Dylan," I murmured.
"You are welcome, Shirley." He rolled his eyes playfully. "But for what?" He furrowed his brows.
"For putting up with me—"
"Now, I do deserve an award for that," he chimed in.
Shooting him a glare, I continued, "For giving me another chance, thank you."
"I will give you as many chances as needed, even if you cheat on me," he added the last part with a playful wink. The familiar butterflies in my heart erupted, leaving a fuzzy feeling in my chest. "Unless you start oppressing the innocent me who is so naive and fragile," Dylan interjected.
"Can you please not spoil the moment like that?"
"Okay, on a serious note," he said and took a deep breath, mumbling almost inaudibly, "I don't want to lose you."
"Me neither," I mumbled, bringing my face close to his, trailing my fingers across his cheek.
"A Dylan without Shirley— the thought is scary, and it scares me." I placed a tiny kiss on his jawline. "When you lashed out at me, I was so mad, that I decided I would never see your face again." His lips quivered as he talked, "But after I calmed down, I thought a lot about it, but I kept coming to the same conclusion. And that conclusion is, I love you, and I can't imagine living without seeing your annoying face. If Shirley was hating on me— ugh, I don't even want to think about that."
"I am sorry for making you feel like that. I could never actually hate you," I mumbled. "I just adore this jerk called Dylan and don't want to let go of him. Ever."
"You better not," Dylan warned and I chuckled, nodding my head obediently. I leaned towards him to give him a little peck, but just at that time, we were interrupted by the sudden voice of my brother.
"Um, excuse me, lovebirds?" Adrian was standing behind Dylan with an awkward expression on his face.
I and Dylan pulled away from each other, standing at a good arm's length.
"Sorry for interrupting. There was something I needed to talk to Dylan about." Adrian's voice was sapped and torn, almost urging me to go give him a warm hug, yet I felt as though I needed to leave to give them some private time but Adrian stopped me from doing so and motioned me to stay. "Dylan, I will be going undercover for a while, and I suggest you to as well. Since Dad— Liam Hamilton is dead, his gang is going to come after us like mad dogs. You need to be on high alert."
Adrian glanced at me and continued, "I wouldn't worry about you as much if you were on your own, but since you have my stupid sister with you, it's an issue." I frowned at their Mafia discussion.
"I understand. I will go undercover for a while as well." Dylan nodded.
Is Dylan going to leave me here?
As if reading my thoughts, Dylan clutched my hand, giving it a light squeeze. "Don't worry. I am taking you with me," he whispered.
A smile evolved on my face as I nodded happily.
Adrian let out a sigh and said, "I know I don't need to say to look after her. But still, she is the only family I have got, so please take care of her." My brother sounded like he was marrying me off right at that moment.
"Of course." Dylan smiled nonetheless, treading his fingers with mine.
"I will see you guys later." Before Adrian could leave, I pulled him in a hug.
"Take care of yourself too. Keep in contact with me," I mumbled, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.
Adrian hummed and stroked my hair before breaking the hug. With that, Adrian left. I don't know why I just had a sudden urge to cry as a fact hit me.
I was an orphan now.
——
I was napping peacefully until some whispering woke me up. I opened my eyes to see Dylan and Sienna talking in the corner of the room. I stayed at Dylan's place for the night since he thought it would be risky for me to go back to my apartment.
It was almost dawn, indicating that I only slept for an hour or so. My face felt sticky since I was crying in Dylan's arms before falling into a slumber.
"Baby, please leave today. I don't want to risk it," Sienna requested.
Dylan shook his head, replying, "No, not today. Tomorrow or after that. I need to see that bastard getting arrested."
"It's pointless, sweetie. And you know very well that when the news starts airing in the morning, the first thing your dad will do is send all his people to kill you." My heart wrenched at the thought, fear starting to crawl into my chest.
"I have always dealt with that. It's going to be just fine if we leave tomorrow," Dylan argued.
"No, you won't stay here for a minute longer than you actually need to, Dylan," Sienna declared. Dylan tried to oppose but she stopped him with a glare. "You are leaving first thing in the morning. I'm telling Riley to prepare the jet," with that, Sienna walked out of the room.
Dylan let out a frustrated groan and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Where are we going?" I asked, wrapping my arms around him from behind.
Dylan flinched at first but relaxed as soon as he realized it was me and said, "We are leaving the state for a while."
"We are going undercover?" He nodded in reply. "Do we have to live in slums?"
"Both you and I were born with silver spoons in our mouth; we can never adapt to that lifestyle. Therefore, no."
I rested my chin on his shoulder and inquired further. He told me that we had to leave for at least three months, while Riley and Xavier would handle his office and mafia work respectively. He suggested that we could go on a world tour for three months, which didn't sound like a bad idea— not to mention, I wanted to get away from here as well.
I wanted to quit my car racing if that would help our situation, but he denied that immediately, saying that there was no way he would let me sacrifice that dream of mine. Dylan just loved making me fall for him harder and harder each day.
I was humming, a thought divulging in the back of my mind.
"Do you want to say something?" Dylan asked.
"Can I ask something of you?" I implored. I was quite unsure and afraid of what his reaction was going to be, but I had always wanted it. I didn't want his life to be at constant risk. I wanted a peaceful lifestyle, even if it was in the normal countryside. I wanted to start a new life with him.
"Anything."
"Will you leave the mafia for me, Dylan?"