Chapter 93. I’m Doomed

Chapter 93: Chapter 93. I’m Doomed

Chapter 93. I’m Doomed

What the fuck? he thought.

No matter how much he tried to still himself, no matter how hard he tried to regain his composure, he failed completely and irrevocably. He pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes wide as he stared straight ahead, those playful words of hers continuing to echo in his ears: "Donny, Donny, Donny, Donny."

He couldn’t help himself. A small, disbelieving scoff escaped his throat alongside a faint chuckle. Leaning against the side window, he brought a hand up to cover his mouth, trying desperately to hide his expression while keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

Did she seriously just try to tease me? he thought.

He blinked rapidly, forcing himself to pull it together. Folding his lips, he attempted to lock his usual stern, unreadable mask back into place. He darted a subtle side-glance toward her. Rosa was still leaning over toward his side of the car, her head tilted slightly to the right. Her wide, beautiful brown eyes searched his face, clearly trying to gauge his reaction to see if her little trick had actually worked.

He forced a frown. "What are you doing?" he asked.

The moment the question left his mouth, Rosa flinched. Her eyelids fluttered in surprise before she quickly pulled back, crashing into her seat and fidgeting nervously with her fingers.

"Nothing," she muttered.

Don scoffed and rolled his eyes, returning his focus to the road ahead. "Don’t think your petty, cute words are going to get to me."

Rosa’s brows furrowed in annoyance. "So you’re really annoyed about that? It’s not like I even did it."

"You were planning to," he countered.

Mia sat in the back seat, her eyes darting between the two of them as a faint, amused smile twitched at the corner of her lips. Crossing her legs, she folded her arms and sat back, enjoying the show.

"Just because I said I wanted to doesn’t mean I actually did it, so stop getting furious," Rosa argued, crossing her arms defensively. "Besides, you’ve already stepped in and taken care of the situation, so why are you getting angry over nothing?"

" As a woman standing mostly on her own with only a few people to back her up, you should have learned that when you’re being cornered, you have to fight back. Avoid showing any sign of weakness. Avoid giving in to the enemy. Avoid letting them make you look weak.

"There was nothing else I could have done!" Rosa snapped.

Don turned his head toward her, a single eyebrow raised in disbelief. He scoffed, shaking his head slowly. "The fact that you keep forgetting I exist in your life is what pisses me the fuck off the most," he snapped back.

Rosa’s eyes fluttered rapidly. She clamped her mouth shut and instantly averted her gaze, staring out the side window while nervously scratching at her neck.

"Yeah, you better look away," Don said coldly. "You have no excuse."

Rosa squeezed her eyes shut, muttering under her breath like a quick prayer. "Okay, I’m sorry. My fault."

"’Sorry’ isn’t going to cut it," Don snapped.

She scoffed and pressed her lips together, tilting her head back to look at him. "Are you going to keep going on about this forever?"

"Oh, I’m going to do a lot more than that," he replied, keeping his eyes locked on the road, a deep frown creasing his forehead.

Rosa squinted at him, her heart beating a little faster. "What are you going to do?"

Don didn’t answer. Rosa ground her teeth together in frustration. This man, she thought angrily. He’s got to be kidding me. My cuteness is mostly reserved for people close to me, and even when I use it, he’s still being this harsh!

She scoffed and rolled her eyes again. "Whatever, do what you want," she mumbled, crossing her arms tightly and looking out the window, trying her best to project a nonchalant attitude.

Don tilted his head, catching her expression out of the corner of his eye. A small, dark smirk spread across his lips.

Let’s see if you can stay this nonchalant once we get back to my apartment. He thought .

He glanced up into the rearview mirror, meeting Mia’s eyes. "We’re heading over to your place first, Mia."

Mia blinked in surprise from the back seat. "Why, sir?"

"For Rosa’s belongings," Don said, tilting his head slightly to glance at Rosa. "She’s moving in with me today as her official guardian."

Rosa whipped her head around to look at him. When their eyes met, she caught the sharp, sarcastic amusement burning in his gaze—a look that silently promised, You are in massive trouble.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. Her eyelids fluttered uncontrollably as a cold wave of dread washed over her. She swallowed hard.

Oh shit, she thought. I’m screwed.

Don smiled faintly and turned away, returning his full focus to driving, that wicked smirk lingering on his face.

In the back, Mia’s lips twitched as she tried not to burst out laughing. "Sure," she said quickly. "No problem."

Rosa turned in her seat to glare at Mia, giving her a furious, desperate look. Mia simply shrugged and silently mouthed, He’s your uncle. What can I do?

Rosa scoffed in disbelief and shook her head. Unbelievable, she thought bitterly. Just when I need her the most, she fucking abandons me.

Gritting her teeth, she pressed her hand against her forehead and stared back out the window.

Don kept smirking in silence. After a moment, Mia leaned forward slightly. "If you want, I can give you directions to my apartment, Mr. Don."

"There is no need," Don said smoothly.

Both Mia and Rosa froze. They turned to look at him in unison.

"No need?" Mia asked, bewildered.

Don didn’t laugh. He didn’t even chuckle. "Relax. I know where you live," he said, his voice flat and calm.

Mia’s eyelids fluttered in sheer confusion. Rosa turned around in her seat to glance at Mia, who looked back at her with a completely bewildered expression that clearly communicated she had no idea what was happening.

Rosa turned back to Don, smacking her lips in irritation. "The more you say things, and the more we keep meeting each other, the more it becomes increasingly hard to understand you," Rosa snapped. "What, have you been stalking her?"

Don’s expression darkened. He tilted his head toward her, his eyes narrowing into sharp slits. Rosa blinked, immediately regretting her burst of boldness, and averted her eyes to look outside while nervously biting her bottom lip. Don chuckled softly to himself and shook his head.

The rest of the drive to Mia’s apartment didn’t take long. When Don pulled up to the complex, Mia’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

Oh wow, he actually does know where I live, she thought, her eyes wide with amazement.

Don parked the car and killed the ignition. He folded his arms across his chest, staring straight ahead. "Go get your bags, and let’s get the fuck out of here," he murmured, his voice dropping back into that cool, stoic tone that made it impossible to tell if he was genuinely angry or just pretending.

Rosa sat frozen in her seat, scrutinizing him for a long moment. Before she could process anything else, the rear door swung open and slammed shut. Mia sprinted around the car, yanked open Rosa’s door, pulled her out into the fresh air, and slammed the door shut behind them.

Without giving Rosa a second to react, Mia began dragging her rapidly toward the building. Rosa stumbled, struggling to keep up with Mia’s hurried steps.

Don sat back in the driver’s seat, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched them walk toward the entrance. He chuckled softly under his breath, shaking his head before looking ahead again.

Meanwhile, Mia dragged Rosa up the stairs until they finally arrived at the front door of Mia’s apartment.

Rosa snapped her hand free from Mia’s tight grip, rubbing her aching wrist. "What the hell?" she hissed under her breath. "Why are you rushing me like that?"

Mia was beaming, an excited smile stretched across her face. "Feels like the best part of your life has finally arrived!"

Rosa frowned at her, utterly baffled. "I don’t understand why you’re so excited. This is literally me stepping into the den of doom! My death sentence is literally being orchestrated right in front of you, and you’re excited?" She pouted, making a sorrowful expression. "Are you really that excited to see your friend walk straight into her death?"

Mia scoffed softly. "I don’t really understand why you’re reacting like this. Your uncle—or shall I say, your supposed uncle—actually cares about you. From the look of things, I’m observing a very awesome dynamic between the both of you that I feel like, if allowed to mature, could bloom into a futuristic marital relationship."

Rosa’s face flushed a deep crimson instantly. She scoffed awkwardly. "Mia!" she gasped, smacking Mia’s shoulder. "What the fuck are you saying?"

Mia grinned wider. "You might not see it now, but trust me, it’s coming soon, now or later in the future."

"Unbelievable," Rosa murmured, shaking her head.

Mia grinned at her, typed her security code into the electronic pad on the key lock, and waited for the click. She twisted the door open and stepped inside, dragging Rosa along with her.

Rosa watched Mia in a daze as she rushed deep inside the apartment, dragging out her luggage. Crossing her arms, Rosa narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Now it slowly begins to look like you actually do not want me to stay with you," she said, parting her lips in disbelief.

Mia stopped and looked at her, scoffing in disbelief as she shook her head. "This is me trying to get what’s good for you, young lady! What the fuck do you mean I do not want you to stay in my apartment?"

Rosa frowned at her. "How the hell does this in any way look or sound like what is good for me? You heard the way he sounded back in the car. He’s going to torture me. He’s actively threatening my life in front of you, and you still want to send me over to him? Aren’t you supposed to fight for me?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "Stop being dramatic, Rosa. Just get along with your supposed uncle, okay?"

Before Rosa could say another word, they heard the front door click open. They spun around quickly to see Don casually stepping inside, his face still stoic, wearing that same blank expression.

Rosa flinched and took a step or two backward. Mia’s face exploded into a bright, full-blown smile as she saw Don stepping inside. He casually shrugged, folded his arms behind his back, and let his eyes dart around the luxurious space like an inspector on duty. He nodded his head slowly.

"This is an impressive apartment, Mia," he murmured.

Mia smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you so much, Mr. Don," she said.

He chuckled. Then he diverted his focus to Rosa, who stood off to the side, staring at him with a sort of terrified look on her face. Her head was shaking and wobbling with nervousness, her knees trembling.

Don raised an eyebrow. "You are just going to stand like a statue all day without making a move?" he asked.

Rosa bit her bottom lip hard. Don’s eyes caught the movement for a few moments before he avoided her gaze and looked off to the side, walking over to the living room section.

"Seems like you’re planning to stall this moment to avoid your fate," he said. He moved over and took one of the sofas, sitting down, crossing his legs, and staring straight ahead of him. "Even if you try to delay this shit for the next three days, I’ll be right here, waiting for you," he said, and he flashed her a wicked smirk that definitely sealed her fate.

Rosa exhaled.

Oh good Lord, she thought. I’m doomed.