"You are a true man, one who likes to settle scores even against any odds. You plan to march towards a very hostile territory, filled with tons of forces, monsters, and even scary preparations to take you and your team down. And yet, you hate the idea of letting go of your enemies, even under such insane circumstances…"
William listened in silence, while waiting for her to make up her mind and stop toying with him like this.
But it never crossed his mind that she was toying with him from the start.
"Such a man won't let just anyone enter his life… I get it now! You need to know me better to let me into your heart, right?"
"..."
William frowned for almost an entire minute. Then his mind grasped what was going on here. She wasn't thinking about his request, not even in the slightest! And that made his eyebrows twitch, not knowing what he should respond with.
"Hahahaha!" and before he'd get a better control on himself, Lara laughed in a very carefree way, "just look at your face, hahahaha! That look… That look… It's priceless! Hahahaha!"
William's brows twitched more when she laughed and pointed at him in such a way. And the more he frowned and reacted like this, the more she laughed.
"Ok, stop fooling around and let's speak seriously for a minute, ok?" William couldn't find any proper words, other than these, to respond politely to her madness.
If it was up to him, he'd respond harshly against her weird attitude.
"You still don't get it, don't you? Hahahaha! I already gave you my answer."
"..."
William recalled what she said and tried to see it in a different light. But eventually he failed. He was just struggling like any man trying to understand the mind and line of thoughts of any woman. She didn't say anything worthy, anything that could hold a meaning regarding his earlier request.
"Fine, you aren't fun by the way," she pouted, putting on a face that looked a bit childish, looked like a duck or something, "my answer is… Yes, you can have all the portals you need…But as you got one condition for me, I also got one condition for you."
"How much will that cost me exactly?" William inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. At least she agreed to his request. But when dealing with such a chick, he had to be on his guard all the time. She reminded him of Ro, but on a more mature and far dangerous level than the latter.
Compared to her, Ro was like a cub and Lara was a fierce lioness!
"You still don't get it, don't you?" she rolled her eyes in an amusing way. She was enjoying every single moment she spent with William right now, and didn't want this meeting to end, "in my family, selling portals to outsiders is considered a crime sentenced by death. Do you hate me to such an extent or what?"
"This…" William frowned more than ever, "didn't you just say you agree to my request?"
"I said I agreed to give you the portals, not sell them," she smiled, one that wasn't one. For a second there, William felt like being a deer, and she was eyeing him for dinner or something.
"What's the difference?"
"It's big actually. I'll lend you the portals on my behalf, under my name and responsibility, not selling them to you."
"This means… You won't take much from me? I don't buy that! What's the catch?" his face changed and became all serious once again. He knew such an offer was too good to be real.
Lending him the portals would mean he'd have to pay little fees for hiring them. And compared to the astronomical price he had in his mind; he was sure this was a trap. And indeed, it was!
"I'm lending you the portals but giving the portals to an outsider is a crime as well. So…"
She stretched out her hands, acting as if this was out of her power to control. Seeing her acting like this, recalling what she earlier said, made William jump towards a crazy conclusion.
"You want to come with us?!!" he blurted it out, not even believing himself when he said it. But with her nod, he knew he guessed it right.
"I never got the chance to live such a life before," she acted miserable, as if her life was a hellish one or something.
"Cut the crap already! You want to get closer to me!" William saw at last through her real intentions and plans. And that made her laugh again.
"As if you got the choice in the first place, hahahaha!"
"..."
William finally saw what this girl wanted from him. He expected something worse actually. "I have to warn you, the places we are going to aren't that nice or easy to survive at. We'll face tons of dangers along the way."
"But I got you," she was still taking this matter quite lightly.
"No you don't! I need to take care of many things. And on various occasions, I usually break up with my team, go on adventure solo. So don't count on me for that."
"Hmm… What a cruel and cold-hearted man you are," she didn't take anything seriously it seemed. He meant well, warning her that by coming with him it was like throwing her life away. But she didn't place his words in her mind or even slightly considered them.
"Don't worry, I know how harsh and cruel the world out there is," she finally said in a serious tone at last. But for a reason, William grew the feeling of not taking her seriously at all, "and so… Can I bring my bodyguards on this trip?"
"As long as they'll follow the orders, not cause problems, and you'll be responsible for them… Then yes," William paused for a second before adding, "and on top of that, they need to be trustworthy, capable, and not weak. The last thing I want is to babysit a group of weak and useless guards!"
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel