Taken By The Mafia Lord

He just made a mistake, Elijah realized at the last minute. Nonetheless, he didn't panic and sorted it out in his head. If there was anything his brothers had taught him, it was to remain calm even during chaos.

He peered at her saying, "I meant that figuratively, not literally,"

"What do you mean by that?" Adele looked at him, trying to figure him out.

"You forgot that my father was a judo instructor, he had a lot of students and we often referred to ourselves as brothers. To a point, we were even families, it's practically normal for me to call them my brothers. So yes, I played quite a lot of pranks on my brothers," Elijah covered up his mistake flawlessly.

Perhaps, it must be because of his important role in this family, but Elijah was finding it second nature to lie. It comes naturally to him now. However, one thing was clear, Adele was beginning to suspect him and he bet it started after that visit to Marcel's place.

Elijah never expected that Arianna would faint from the news and if he hadn't been quick to act that day, his identity would have been revealed and he would have been killed. However, Adele was currently the closest person to him, so it wasn't even surprising she was beginning to suspect him - it took her long enough.

"It's surprising you're suddenly interested in my brother," He said, catching the way her gaze flickered to him and there was a sudden tension in the air.

For a moment there, Adele sensed that Aziz had somehow caught onto her plan - seems she asked the question to test him anyway - however, a broad smile suddenly filled his face as he joked, "Are you trying to check who's more handsome between the both of us?"

"What?" Adele was stunned at first, until she got the point and burst into laughter, albeit a fake one, "Yes, yes, you're right. I wonder who's the most handsome between the both of you,"

"If it pleases you to know, I'm more handsome," Elijah laughed along with her, but inwardly, he was concerned. Adele can't find out that he was Elijah before he got Arianna out, or else that would be a huge problem. He might be forced to do something that he wouldn't like.

At the same time, Adele was lost in her thoughts. Common sense told her that Aziz was clean, however, there was this gut feeling inside of her that told her something was wrong. Sadly, Adele who always listened to her guts didn't this time.

No, it was more like she refused to listen at all. Because Adele knew that if it turned out to be the truth, it would crush her to the point of no recovery. She was carrying his child for goodness' sake. Her child can't be Elijah's child! So she turned a blind eye to her sixth sense, hoping that it was all nonsense and wasn't the truth.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Elijah asked her after a while of awkward silence between the both of them. Sure, he had put a lot of effort into arranging this, but he just doesn't feel it anymore. The date was miserable.

Adele bit her lip unsure, "Do you?" she didn't want to make it seem like she didn't appreciate the date at all.

"Nah, I just found out that this is not really your thing," He laughed in embarrassment, "I failed this,"

"No, you didn't," Adele said, reaching across the table to take his hand, "At least the food tasted good and it was the first course…" Her brows furrowed, "Just how much did you spend to make all of this? Would all of the food go to waste if we leave?" She was concerned about his finances.

"Don't worry," Elijah squeezed her hand, "I'm not broke yet and if you want, I could have them send the rest of the food to our place,"

"O-our place…" Adele stammered, already suspecting what he wanted.

"No, no, no," Elijah quickly defended himself when he saw her accusing look, "You said you don't want us to have sex anymore until we break up and I respect that. I just assumed that you would want us to eat together and my place would be the best to stay together. But then, if you don't want it that way, I'll ask them to send it to your place. "

"No, it's alright," She said, "We are just eating together and I'll leave as soon as I'm done, so it's not like something is going to happen."

"Yep, nothing is going to happen," He agreed with her - and this was awkward.

"So tell me then, if this is not your thing, what is your thing then ?" Elijah couldn't even believe that he asked that.

"Companionship. A little walk, get to know each other," Adele answered with a smile, "I'm a Taurus and I hate unexpected changes. I crave partnership, someone that fits in with my schedule. A meal at home in front of the TV with that person would be nice. But that doesn't mean I'm boring, a little spontaneity is appreciated now and then, as long as it isn't overwhelming. In one word, I might appreciate this candlelight dinner the next time we come here, " unfortunately, there will be no next time, Adele knew that well. But a girl got to hope, right?

"It's a good thing that can be arranged," Elijah said, standing up to his feet. He then stretched his hand, waiting for her to take it.

Adele stared at his outstretched hand, that was a first. Sure, he had held her hands a few times (when he was pinning them above her head and fucking the sense out of her) but that particular moment just seemed special.

She stood up and placed her hand in his, watching as he intertwined them together intimately, the gesture making her heart skip a beat.

"Let's go home then," He told her and she just stared like a moron.

Adele couldn't believe what she was seeing, why was Aziz suddenly being so sweet to her? Perhaps she shouldn't have agreed to that ridiculous deal they made because if they continued like this, it was going to be much harder to let him go.