The ride to Mimi's place was awkwardly silent. After he was snubbed, Victor didn't bother to strike up a conversation with her anymore. He had his damn pride as well.
Unlike him, Mimi's mind was all over the place. She couldn't let Victor meet her mother. She couldn't tell what he had in mind and that scared her most. If only there was a way to escape this.
Looking outside the window, a plan suddenly came to Mimi's mind. What if she jumped out of the car?
No! It was dangerous jumping out of a moving car. She could get injured and what if a car from behind crushes her to death.
However, the road was surprisingly empty which meant there were few chances of getting killed by an oncoming car.
So Mimi began to put her plan into action, her gaze moved to Victor who was busy watching something on his tablet. It was perfect, he was distracted!
She slowly shifted on her seat, inching closer to the door. Then her fingers began to travel, climbing higher and higher until they reached the handle, her heart racing. And just as the door was about to -
"You'll be surprised how much faster a bullet can pierce those hands," a grave voice said from behind and Mimi turned to see that Victor was looking at her and in his grip was a gun?!
Fear gripped Mimi instantly. The other time Victor threatened her, he had not been carrying a weapon, but now? He was deadly serious and the gun was evidence of that.
Like a meek lamb, Mimi quickly went back to his side with a smile that didn't touch her eyes. Their body did not touch but she was far away from the door now.
Earlier, Mimi had been insistent on dying in place of her parents but now she stared death in the face. She wasn't so confident anymore.
As much as Mimi dreaded it, they still arrived at her place and she noticed every move Victor made - including the way he hid the gun in the waistband of his pants.
Thinking about it now, Mimi recalled the number of times she hit Victor and realized she had been playing with death all along. Victor would have killed her and she would visit the land of the dead without even knowing the reason for her death. Wonderful.
"Now sweetheart," Victor pulled her to his side after she emerged out of the car, "You would be a good girl by not calling the police or drawing unnecessary attention, understood?"
Mimi nodded like a robot.
Victor turned her towards him and began to move her hair from her face like a caring boyfriend, "You should smile more, I like it when you're all lively and chatty, it suits your personality, or do you want your mother to discover that something is amiss?"
Mimi went rigid, realizing the threat beneath those words, "Of course not," She tried to smile.
"Of course, that is it," Victor recognized her effort to smile. He caressed her face, and strangely, it sent tingles down her body.
Good tingles.
Mimi gulped, this was not a good sign. She was not attracted to Victor; it was just her body's natural response to a man touching her. She was not and would never be a fan of Stockholm syndrome.
"Do your best to be natural," Victor went on with his threat, "Because the moment you tell her about us or she becomes suspicious, I would have no choice but to put a bullet between her head,"
Mimi blinked, gulping down a lump. She had no doubt that Victor meant every single word he said.
"And truly," He said, lifting her chin with the barest of touch till their gaze were on the same level, "There's no bad blood between us. I like you actually,"
Mimi was startled by that confession, he liked her? How was that possible? All they did was fight! And she didn't even like him - especially not now she found out what he does for a living. Mimi didn't want to be faster than her shadow, so she let him finish first.
He went on, "You're fun to be with and I think we're going to make the best of friends. However...." his gaze darkened, "My family comes first and any threat to that would have to be eliminated,"
"I understand," Mimi said with a voice that didn't seem like her own. The severity of the situation finally dawned on her.
But to her shock, his once grim expression spread into a bright one as he announced, "Shall we go then?" He opened his arm for her to take.
"No,"
His expression changed.
Oh boy.
Mimi quickly said with a gesture, "I mean this would create a misunderstanding, I have a matchmaker mom who's quick to come to conclusion," She explained to him.
"That's fine by me. She can think whatever she wants, the both of us know the truth," He said casually.
"It's not fine by me," Mimi was firm.
But Victor was insistent on teasing her, "Why? Am I not boyfriend material?"
Mimi gave him a deadpanned look and would have retorted as usual but she kept her mouth shut. She still doesn't trust that Victor wouldn't kill her if she disrespects him again.
"Fine, come on," He said, placing a hand on her shoulder casually as if they were the best of buddies.
Mimi let him be this time. Pushing him away would only put her on his bad side. She wanted to live.
"It's good you don't have feelings for me anyway," Victor said and she looked at him doubtingly.
"Why?"
"I don't do love," He grinned at her and never expected the question that came from her mouth.
"Who broke your heart?"
The smile on Victor's face froze and he stopped mid-way because he was caught unaware. He turned to Mimi who felt like she was being suffocated by the intense look in his eyes.
"You ask too much question," His cheerful personality was gone in the twinkle of an eye.
Mimi shivered.. She couldn't help but wonder if Victor suffered from bipolar disorder because his mood swings were rampant.