Namine looked at Luca smiling watching him play with the dogs, she enjoyed how sweet and loving he was. Namine felt her phone buzz gently in her back pocket, she slid it out effortlessly to see Zira texted her:
Hey Namine, I got Dante to go out to dinner with me, can you get Luca to drive you to the restaurant. I would like all of us to have dinner and meet up Trombino’s
Namine smiled knowing that the text Zira sent had a hidden happy tone that Dante was going. She chuckled to herself and replied:
Sure I’ll meet you there.
“Hey Luca, do you want to go to dinner with my sister?”
“Well I have to drive you, so naturally I am going to go. But besides that little detail, I would love to accompany this stunning woman that is in front of me.” He said smoothly, she felt her cheeks heat up due to his compliment as she stood up off of the couch. He smiled and began walking down the hall to the bedroom.
“Let me get dressed, I will be back.” He said disappearing into the room, Namine quickly grabbed her phone and fixed her hair and her smearing makeup. Touching things up quickly before he came out.
“Alright are you ready?” He asked coming out quietly. She looked him over quickly his tight black straight leg jeans fit his body like a glove. His white collared shirt was tucked in and had a few buttons below his neck undone to show his smooth chest. She looked up at his face to see he was looking at her intently. Did he see me checking him out? She thought to herself as he held out his arm. She smiled and snaked her arm through his letting him lead her to his candy apple red mustang in the garage. She smiled looking at his car and effortlessly got in. For some reason she didn’t feel uncomfortable or shy around him. Even with Leon she was still shy.
“So where are we headed love?”
“To Trombino’s in the heart of the city, you know how to get there?” She asked, he smiled and nodded yes and began driving down the highway.
“So Luca do you have any siblings?” She asked breaking the silence; he grew serious and let out a soft sigh.
“Two brothers.”
“Oh where are they?” She asked curiosity getting the best of her.
“My brothers have forgotten me, but I know what they look like.”
“What are there names?” She asked again, he stiffened up and looked over at her.
“I don’t think you will know the names.”
“Try me.”
“Santiago and Josiah” He said sternly as if showing hatred for the two names. Namine felt her skin crawl when he said Josiah. That- that was the man that violated me I mean Melina. Namine felt bile rise in her throat, but his brother couldn’t be the same one from the past. Unless he was Kai? She thought to herself as they pulled into the parking lot. Luca got out quickly and opened the door for her.
“Thank you kind sir.” Namine said jokingly as he gave her a slight bow. She walked in to the stunning restaurant; the atmosphere was romantic and dim. Upon walking in the sweet and calming sounds of a guitar serenading its diners with its Italian Lullaby was dancing along the room. The walls were covered in a light tan Venetian plaster giving it a distressed and authentic look. Beautiful and well maintained trees and vines were scattered about the restaurant, the vines slowly cascading down the walls and into various murals.
“Ciao, how many is in your party?” A kind waitress greeted, her pearly whites shining brightly as if she was excited to see us. Her curly dark brown locks were tied into a tight ponytail on top of her head a few wavy strands falling down and around her cheeks.
“There is going to be four of us.” Namine said as the waitress looked at the clipboard on the dark cherry wood podium.
“Alrighty, we will have a table shortly it will be probably a ten minute wait, will that be okay?” She asked concern in her voice at the sound of a ten minute wait.
“ Si, grazie.” Luca said kindly, the waitress smiled and gave a slight nod before cheerfully returning to the dining room. Namine looked at Luca amazed he knew Italian, he is simply perfect. She thought to herself before she looked at the door to see Leon walk in, her face drained of all color as he scanned the room before his eyes fell on Namine. He gave a soft smile and began walking over.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Namine heard a dark voice ask, she tore her eyes away from Leon to see Zira had walked in, her outfit now cleaned and proper like her usual self, her tight black jeans softly hugged her long legs. She was wearing a lacy white v neck top that was covered in her favorite black leather jacket. Namine bought that jacket for her for her birthday a couple months ago which always made Namine smile because her sister truly loved it. Zira walked fully into the building and stood protectively in front of Leon, Leon looked away from his beloved and at Zira.
“I am here for Namine.” He stated simply, Namine walked in front of Zira to her surprise and watched her sister stand up for herself.
“How dare you come in here saying you were looking for me, how did you even know I was going to be here? You need to stay the fuck away from me and my family. You are not welcome here!” She snapped ready to punch him, to Namine’s astonishment Zira grabbed her hand before it made contact with his face.
“Now is neither the time nor place for this, we came to enjoy dinner and forget our worries. I’m not about to let you ruin it.” Zira said shooting Leon a glare that could kill, Namine dropped her hand and glared at the back of Zira’s head for stopping her. Dante walked in seeing his brother standing in front of Zira, he growled under his breath and walked over to the corner of the room they were standing in.
“Hello brother.” Dante said spitting out the word brother off of his tongue like it was vomit. Luca watched the scene unfold between them all and stepped back, it couldn’t be- Josiah and Santiago? He thought to himself, no it couldn’t be they were called Dante and Leon, but they look just like his brothers, it HAD to be them.
“Dante.” Leon said just as harshly, Dante gave him an innocent smile and twirled Leon’s keys off of his finger.
“Do you want these back, brother?” He asked a hint of mockery plaguing his voice, Leon quickly grabbed the keys and glared at him. Zira smiled wickedly and touched Leon’s shoulder.
“Actually, Leon won’t you join us for dinner, I would require your company for a matter we discussed over the phone.” Zira said sharply and formally.
“Alright! Everything is ready- oh is there five of you?”
“Yes Jezebelle, there is five of us, I am sorry for the inconvenience.” Zira said glancing at the waitresses name tag before looking into her light chestnut eye.
“Oh not a problem, please follow me.” She said slowly walking down the maze of booths and tables to the very back corner.
“What are you doing?” Namine whispered in Zira’s ear, Zira smiled and kept following the waitress.
“He knows something and wants to tell me, what better way to get information out of him when I have the book and I have everyone here to hear and witness it.”
“Here you go, the server will be right with you, enjoy.” She said placing the menus down around the rounded corner booth. Zira slid in first followed by Dante on her left and Leon on her right. Luca sat next to Dante followed by Namine. As they got seated Zira looked at Leon.
“Now speak accurately, truthfully and slowly. Whatever you need to tell me, you say in front everyone here. Do you understand me?” Zira said authority dripping off her words; he sighed and nodded when the waiter came over.
“How is everyone doing tonight? What can I get for you all?” He asked, everyone quickly ordered their drinks and watched him walk away.
“First of all Zira, I want to apologize to you but I truly wasn’t the one that raped you.” He said Zira barred her teeth as Dante was about to lunge across the table, Zira quickly grabbed his thigh and pressed her nails into him a flash, as a flash of disdain fluttered across Luca’s eyes as he looked at Namine glaring at Leon
“Then who did it Leon, you said an angel.”
“Correct, according to the book of your people the Kivuli, angels threatened to wipe off the darkness a.k.a your people: well Vera’s people. Naturally she thought the war was brought upon by the king of the Kalviyre and so the great war of the two kingdoms was launched. Vera was hated by all angels and they would do whatever it took to destroy her, then her people, by any means necessary.”
“So you mean to tell me that angels, the creatures that every know religion holds so highly, are evil?” Luca asked completely not buying it. When the waiter came by to give them their drinks and get their orders. As they did before they ordered and watched him bounce away happily.
“Not exactly, they just want to purify the land to be nothing but light, and it just so happens that the darkness won’t give up without a fight.” Leon said, something about his words was irritating Dante because he wouldn’t sit still.
“So you mean to tell me, my girlfriend is destined to fight for her life due to some angel’s vendetta?” Dante piped up, Zira felt her heart skip a beat when he said girlfriend and touched her thigh. God this man is going to give me a heart attack. She thought to herself smiling like an idiot, Namine laughed at her expression causing Zira to chuck her straw casing at her.
“Alright who got the Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo?” The waiter asked naming off the dishes and placing them in front of the appropriate person, each of them dug into their plates ravenously as if they hadn’t eaten for days. . . . Which wasn’t entirely a lie. Zira sat in the silence that blanketed there table and ate her food, for some reason Leon being at the table didn’t feel right, he was plotting something how did he know they would be here.
“So Leon how did you find out all this information out, more importantly how did you find us here?” She asked harshly now done with her food, everyone looked up from their plates and waited eagerly for his response. All he did was give a sly smirk.
“My car has a tracker on it, I would like my car back so I followed where it would be. That’s what this app on my phone is for.” He said laughing cockily; Zira smiled just as arrogantly and leaned back against the leather booth.
“So if that’s the case let me see your phone.” Leon looked at her and shrugged handing her the phone, to no surprise it was password protected.
“Do you honestly think I would let you go through it that easily?” He said smugly now leaning back as well, she simply smiled and entered the code, Namine and his anniversary.
“And you under estimate me, a simpleton like you is highly predictable.” She said now accessing his phone, Leon suddenly excused himself to the bathroom. Zira couldn’t find anything about this app anywhere on his phone. Namine got up as well to go to the bathroom as the check came. Zira and Dante agreed to split the check equally and began paying.
***
Namine walked to the bathroom, the dim lighting making it hard to see the travertine floors. She found it and pushed the door open. Even the bathroom was beautiful; the light white travertine floors blanketed the large bathroom with their 18x18 squares which led to the dark mahogany wood stalls adorned with chrome hinges. To the right of the door was a large horizontal mirror that was the backdrop of the frosted glass sinks in the shape of bowls, the faucets had a modern flare with its straight handles. She hurriedly went to bathroom and decided to fix her makeup, no she wasn’t doing it for Leon she really wanted to look good for Luca, she wasn’t going to deny it she really liked him, his laugh, his chivalry, his care and love for animals, he genuinely was super sweet to her. She has only known him for a couple of hours but she just felt connected to him. It’s because it’s Kai. But according to the tale Kai died so how is he able to be reincarnated? Oh great now I’m fighting with my inner self. She thought as she quickly washed her hands and touched up everything. She took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom to see Leon was stepping out as well, she was about to turn around back into the bathroom, when he spotted her.
“Namine, please give me a chance, I told you everything-“
“Save it Leon, even if it was an Angel that “possessed” you, you could have some self restraint and fought back. Now because of you my sister will never be the same.” She said sternly air quoting the word “possessed”.
“So you don’t believe me?” He asked his heart crumbling at her disdain for him, he heard her sigh and begin walking away. He was not about to take no for an answer. He quickly grabbed her arm and shoved her against the wall, a loud thud being heard. She gasp and looked at his sapphire eyes.
“Leon you’re hurting me.” She whispered as he squeezed her wrist harder.
“I don’t see how you can break up with me and a couple hours later be with another man and act like you have been together for years. Did you even love me?” He asked his voice cracking as he choked on his own tears, Namine shoved him off of her and glared.
“I did love you but how can I forgive you when you make up bullshit and try and justify rape by some unearthly means?” She spat she saw a flicker of sadness fly across his eyes, but she felt no remorse he could rot in hell and burn for all she cared. NO ONE hurts her sister. She began walking away when he quickly came at her, this time grasping both of her wrists and placing them high above her head pressing her against the wall.
“Come on love, you remember how it felt. How much you use to whisper my name and moan against my touch. How you would touch me.” He said pressing his body against her, she looked around and saw no one around to even help her; she bit her lower lip as he pressed his cheek against hers his stubble scratching her. She decided she had no choice but to scream, she opened her mouth to yell but he quickly captured her mouth with his. She mumbled against the forceful kiss, his hot breath quickly filling her mouth. She shut her mouth tightly as she felt his smooth and long tongue penetrate her mouth, she quickly caught his tongue in her mouth and bit hard tasting blood coat her teeth. He pulled his mouth away as she shoved her knee hard into his groin hearing him yelp in pain and crumble to the ground, her sister taught her that.
“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” She said spitting the blood out of her mouth and onto his face that was now twisted in a painful expression. She quickly fled from the dark hallway and saw the front door she needed air. She quickly walked past the table seeing Zira eye her with concern.
“Namine. . ?”
“I’ll go.” Namine heard a familiar husky voice say quickly following her. She quickened her pace to almost a sprint bursting through the doors breathing heavily. The brisk spring air hit her skin as she took deep breaths, she looked up at the crisp navy blue sky trying to slow her racing heart beat.
“Namine, are you okay?” She heard Luca ask, she stopped pacing and swallowed hard.
“Yeah I’m fine.” She said pacing again, he sighed and walked over to her beginning to pace with her, she giggled at how ridiculous they both looked and stopped.
“Take a walk with me.” He said walking down the sidewalk and to the small waterfall patio that was isolated and away from the hustle of the front of the restaurant. She followed quietly and finally calmed her sporadic breathing.
“Will you tell me what’s wrong now?” He asked his light blue eyes looking at her with concern. She looked up at his eyes and she felt tears well in her eyes as she just began to cry, the tears came at such a force that she was almost hyperventilating, Luca quickly pulled her in a tight and loving hug, calmly running his fingers through her hair gently hushing her. She finally calmed down and sniffled looking at him.
“Leon kissed me, and he asked if I loved him and how I could be so happy with you, and then started talking about when we-“ She managed to say in between her sobs when he grabbed the bottom of her chin.
“I can get rid of his kiss.” He said slowly leaning into her; she sniffled again and shut her eyes, as she felt his soft and hot lips touching hers, gently almost as if he was scared. She smiled against the kiss waiting for him to make a move. He smiled and pressed his lips harder against hers quickly sliding his hands down to her waist but not any lower. Like instinct she wrapped her arms around his neck as they stood there in the moonlight kissing. Something about this kiss made heart flutter and butterflies fly in her stomach, he felt right no. . . . He was perfect. Luca pulled away softly and opened his eyes blushing.
“Wow” He whispered, Namine smiled and gently cupped his cheeks still looking into his eyes, her smile still remaining on her face. He placed his hand on top of her right leaning into her smooth palm.
“You’re beautiful when you smile.” He said, she felt her cheeks flush pink as he smiled quickly pecking her lips. She blinked a couple of time wiping her tears away, Luca smiled and pulled out a satin handkerchief wiping carefully away her smeared make up and tears. She sniffled and gathered her composure.
“Shall we return to the dinner my lady?” He asked holding out his arm, she smiled happily.
“We shall.” She said hooking her arm with his walking down the sidewalk and back into the restaurant. Namine saw Leon acting normal as he sat next to Zira; she looked like she was ready to stab him with the fork she held onto tightly. Namine smiled at the thought of her stabbing him as Zira quickly looked up and gave her a mischievous grin.
“Well, well look what the cat dragged in, what were you two doing?” She asked like a small child waiting to tell mommy.
“None of your business.” Namine stated sticking her tongue out, Zira gasped pretending to be hurt.
“That hurt little sis.” Dante laughed and rammed his shoulder into Zira’s arm gently; she giggled and then stopped sensing something was up. Zira looked at Namine then at Leon raising an eyebrow.
“So Luca, do you have any siblings?” Dante asked, Luca smiled and nodded.
“Yes matter a fact I do there twins: Josiah and Santiago. I’m the oldest.” He said, Zira looked at Luca with a very questionable look.
“So where are they?” Leon asked, Luca turned his attention to him, his face turning into a twisted and malicious look.
“I think you know where they are Leon.” Luca said harshly
“Woah, wait you know each other?” Namine asked completely in shock and confusion.
“Leon isn’t who he thinks he is and he knows it.” Leon’s eyes widened and looked over at Zira twirling her butter knife.
“I told you to speak the truth, now tell me who you really are or else I will jam this knife so far down your throat you will drown on your own blood. Now speak.” She barked stabbing the knife between his fingers.
“Not here, I need the book.”
“Really? Dante why don’t we head to your house, I would like to play a little game.” Zira said making Namine shiver she sounded evil.
“Sure Luca, Namine follow us.” Dante said throwing a tip on the table and walking outside. Namine watched Dante and Zira shove Leon into the back of his own car like some kind of criminal. Even though she hated him at this moment a part of her felt sorry for him.
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