Stuck in a Mafia Romance

Chapter 188: Hatred For Each Other

No One’s Pov

Six long years flew by in the blink of an eye, and the massive estate had grown grander, but the daily routine inside the private chambers remained exactly the same.

"Lily!!!!"

A loud, incredibly excited voice rang through the quiet hallway just as the heavy bedroom doors were stormed open. Lily, who was carefully flattening the sheets and cleaning Viella’s large bed, looked up instantly. Her reflexes hadn’t faded at all over the six years; she was still as fast and alert as ever.

Seeing Viella rushing into the room with messy hair and bare feet, Lily quickly moved across the floor. She picked up a thick woolen shawl from the nearby armchair and gently wrapped it around Viella’s shoulders.

"My Lady, why in the world are you running around like this in the early morning?" Lily asked in her usual calm voice, adjusting the fabric to keep her warm. "The winter wind is very harsh today. You will easily catch a bad cold if you keep doing this."

"Oh, completely ignore that for a second!" Viella said, panting heavily with a huge, radiant smile on her face. She was gripping Lily’s arms tightly, her eyes sparkling with pure joy. "Guess who I just saw downstairs in father’s study!!"

Lily tilted her head slightly to the side, her dark eyes staring at her lady blankly, completely unable to guess. "Who did you see, My Lady?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Uh... well, to be perfectly honest, I also don’t know his actual name yet," Viella said, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink as she squealed excitedly. "But he is definitely my first ever crush!"

Lily blinked once. Then twice. The unfamiliar word bounced around in her mind, but she couldn’t find a proper definition for it. "What exactly is a ’crush’, My Lady?" Lily asked, looking thoroughly confused and lost.

Viella instantly stopped jumping up and down. She gave Lily a flat look, staring at her maid as if she were saying, are you absolutely kidding me right now? How do you not know what that means after six years of living normal lives?

Viella took a deep breath, opening her mouth to explain the wonderful concept of young love and romance to her completely clueless maid. But before a single word could even leave her mouth, the bedroom door was pushed open roughly once again.

Mrs. Viella stood at the entrance, her face stern and displeased. "Viella! What are you doing hiding in your room like a child? Come here right now!" she commanded sharply. Without waiting for an answer, she stepped forward, grabbed Viella’s arm firmly, and dragged her away down the hall to attend to family matters, leaving the explanation completely unfinished.

Lily, who was now currently eighteen years old, had grown up a lot over the past six years. She was no longer the small girl from the slave market. She had grown quite tall, standing a few inches taller than her young lady now, with a slender strong posture hidden beneath her neat maid uniform.

Over the years, she had trained relentlessly in the dark, surviving brutal trials to become the absolute perfect assassin for Mr. Viella. She slowly looked down at her hands, turning her palms over in the quiet bedroom. The skin was no longer soft. Her palms and fingers were rough, covered in faint white scars from holding guns, swinging blades, and taking down targets in the dead of night. She had truly become the family’s ultimate secret weapon.

Suddenly, the cold winter wind blew through the open window, making the curtains flutter. A silent shadow slid into the room, standing directly behind Lily. The intruder moved without a sound, but Lily’s sharp senses picked up the subtle shift in the air instantly.

"Has Master ordered for me to summon?" she asked in a low voice, not even bothering to look back at the shadow.

"Yes," the man replied shortly, his voice muffled by a black mask. "He is waiting for you down in his private office right now."

"Fine," Lily muttered. With that single word, she smoothly stepped away from the bed, and they both left the room.

A few minutes later, Lily stood perfectly still inside the dimly lit master office. Mr. Viella sat behind his massive desk, his older face looking even more ruthless under the lamplight.

Without saying a word, Mr. Viella reached into his vest, pulled out a glossy photograph, and slid the picture across the desk, stopping it right in front of Lily.

She looked down, her empty eyes scanning the image. The photo showed a strikingly handsome young man with sharp features and a dangerous aura.

"This is Dante Moretti," Mr. Viella stated, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "He is the rising heir of a powerful rival syndicate, and he just arrived in the city. I want you to infiltrate his social circle and figure it out. Find out exactly with whom he is doing his secret underground deals, what his hidden motives are, and what the financial shares of his new business operations look like. Gather everything."

Lily memorized the face in the photograph in less than a second. She gave a short nod of her head. "Understood, Master."

Lily walked out of the Master’s private office, the photograph of Dante Moretti securely hidden inside her dress pocket. Her mind was already cold and plotting the fastest way to track her new target. She stepped into the dimly lit corridor.

Suddenly, a tall, broad figure stepped, completely blocking her path.

Lily stopped instantly. Her hand automatically drifted toward the small dagger beneath her apron. But as the dim yellow light hit the man’s face, her eyes narrowed.

It was Lucian.

The boy from six years ago was entirely gone. Standing in front of her was a fully grown man, broad-shouldered and dressed in a flawless black suit. Over the years, ever since he discovered that Lily had been chosen by his father to be the family’s ultimate secret weapon, Lucian had changed completely. The realization that a mere commoner slave had earned his strict father’s highest recognition-

while he was left scrambling for approval- had filled him with a bitter hatred.

He had spent the last six years training like a maniac, working himself to the bone just to secure his rightful position as the heir. And he absolutely loathed Lily for being the obstacle in his way.

"Still crawling around my father’s office like a loyal dog, I see," Lucian sneered, his voice dripping with pure disgust. He stepped closer, using his tall height to look down at her with judging eyes.

Lily didn’t flinch. She slowly lowered her hand from her weapon and stood perfectly straight, her face as expressionless as ever. Over the years, she had grown to match his hatred with her own mutual dislike. She didn’t hate him because he was better than her; she hated him because he was a arrogant tyrant who consistently treated her precious young lady, Viella, like absolute trash.

"I am simply doing the job I was assigned, Young Master," Lily replied, her voice completely icy and devoid of respect. "Unlike others, I do not have the luxury of wasting time standing in dark hallways."

Lucian’s jaw clenched tightly. He hated her flat attitude. He hated that she never showed fear. He stepped directly into her personal space, his chest almost touching hers, trying to intimidate her. "Don’t get cocky just because my father gives you scraps from his table, you pathetic servant. You think you’re special? You’re just a tool. A piece of trash bought from the market to do the dirty work I am too valuable to do."

"If you were truly so valuable, Young Master," Lily whispered smoothly, her eyes locking onto his with a mocking glare, "the Master wouldn’t have to keep calling me into his office to fix the family’s real problems. Perhaps you should spend less time throwing tantrums and more time proving your worth to him."

"Shut your mouth!" Lucian snapped, his irritation boiling over as he aggressively grabbed her upper arm. His grip was tight and full of rage. "You think you control this family? You’re nothing. The moment I officially take over this syndicate, the very first thing I am going to do is throw you back out into the dirt where you belong. And I’ll make sure my useless sister goes right out with you."

Hearing him mention Viella so carelessly, Lily’s aura turned instantly cold. She didn’t pull away from his grip; instead, she stepped even closer, her voice dropping. "Touch a single hair on my lady’s head, and I won’t care whose son you are. I will personally show you why the Master chose me over you."

They stood frozen in the dark hallway, glaring at each other with pure rage

Lucian stared down into her empty eyes for a long moment before abruptly ripping his hand away from her arm with a scoff. "Get out of my sight, servant. Go die on whatever mission he gave you."

He turned his back on her, walking away with rigid strides. Lily stood completely still in the shadows, calmly brushing off the sleeve where he had touched her, her hatred for the future boss stronger than ever.

Viella, who had been quietly watching the entire intense argument from the far corner of the hallway, let out a tired sigh. She leaned her head against the cold wall. Although she couldn’t hear what they were saying but she knew those two are absolutely never going to get along, she thought miserably, shaking her head.

Not wanting to get caught in the middle of their toxic rivalry, she slowly turned around and was about to quietly retreat back to the safety of her bedroom. But as she walked down the servant corridor, her quiet footsteps came to a sudden stop.

From around the corner, the harsh, whispered voices of the mansion’s housemaids echoed loudly through the quiet hall. They didn’t know she was standing right there.

"Did you happen to see Lady Viella’s face when she saw that incredibly rich young master this morning?" one maid whispered, letting out a cruel giggle.

"Haha, yeah! Her face was so bright red," another maid chimed in, mocking her. "She is probably hopelessly in love already. How embarrassing."

"Tsk, please. Who in their right mind is ever going to fall for a weak, frail lady like her?" a third voice sneered loudly.

"Exactly. She is completely good for nothing. I only force myself to serve her every single day because I get paid a good salary. Otherwise, she’s completely useless."

"I even heard a rumor from the main office that her own family wants to completely disown her soon anyway. She’s just a burden to the syndicate."

They all laughed together, continuing to spread their gossip without a single shred of respect.

Listening to their cruel words, Viella’s entire body began to tremble. Her knuckles turned completely white as her grip tightened on the fabric of her dress. A suffocating pain stabbed at her chest.

She... she deserved him!! She deserved to be happy!

Her vision quickly blurred as angry tears filled her eyes. Unable to listen to their mocking laughter for another second, she turned around and stormed off down the hallway, rushing straight into her room and slamming the door shut behind her as the tears finally began to stream down her face.

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TO BE CONTINUED