Refusing the Love of a Mafia Boss
48. I'm Guilty

Noah has yet to recover the shock from the sight of Xavier and Ilina kissing. He even just dropped hundreds of sheets of flowers that he planned to give every day, but Ilina returned with blood drenched in tulips.

Xavier's. The boy was acting out of what he used to do.

How dare he ....

"Ilina's." Noah squashed helplessly, holding onto Ilina's thin hand which, despite being warm, still frightened him. "I'm guilty. I played too much. I'm sorry."

He's fine, Noah knows.

This girl is not a fool who went to poison someone and went home poisoned by her own actions.

Perhaps, he accepted Xavier precisely because he knew that.

Even so, should he do this?

"I'm guilty."

Noah kissed the fingers adorned with the tiny ring. It felt like Noah wanted to melt the ring, but he did not want Ilina to wake up and get angry.

"Treat me as you please, Ilina. Pull and stretch my feelings if it's comforting to you. So I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Do what?"

Noah jerks. Rushed closer to see clearly that Ilina was already conscious. "Ilina!"

"Do what?"

He's pale. Hoarse and weak voice. Even so, from how he asked curiously, Noah would not want to smile in relief.

"Stop pretending?" ask him again.

"I'll stop." Noah put their fingers together. "I'll stop breathing if that's what you want."

The girl coughed. Noah rushes to give her water, making sure that Ilina is only lightly affected after vomiting quite a lot of blood.

"Is that Palmer's way?" Ilina. "You express love in a strange way."

Noah's face was covered in melancholy. No matter how many times he tried to ignore, how he was surpassed by Xavier in expressing love to Ilina was annoying.

He remembered.

He remembered Xavier in his head even if he left with the intention of killing Xavier.

"Ilina's."

Noah held the girl's hand just so he could get a little sane.

Can he just forget about it? How do I make him forget? Should Noah be fiddling with his memories to make him forget?

It didn't matter, was the sentence on the tip of Noah's tongue. "They're still moving as you see fit. Making Bumantara a target."

Although Noah won't say that Xavier's movements are suspicious. The boy may have committed suicide. He acted desperately as if he knew he would die sooner or later.

But Xavier is not a coward.

Xavier's mother did not leave the child in a weak and pessimistic mentality.

Something's up.

"Sleep, Ilina. I'll make you some soft food."

...*...

For Ilina, her body's reaction to the poison was common. There is nothing to worry about, because Ilina did not survive to suddenly die just from being contaminated with a few harmful substances.

Even so, this was his first experience of being poisoned by someone.

Xavier Palmer's.

Thought Ilina, the child was only one of the many children who were too spoiled due to the wealth of their parents.

Even if she was a little intelligent, it wasn't that smart for her to do something to Ilina.

But is he too arrogant?

No. gabe. Nope.

Xavier did act out of what he was supposed to do.

With that intelligence, she could survive from Ilina, just maybe, but she still died and came to Ilina.

The boy looked like Noah. It was just that different from Noah, he gave up his life easily.

"I like you, Lia. Or whoever your real name is."

Was there something Ilina did until she liked it that deep?

"Ilina's." A pair of hands suddenly enveloped his hands. Making Ilina flinch, even though she already knew that Noah was next to her since. "Ilina, I—"

Noah's expression changed on his own. She looked at Ilina as if she was afraid of doing wrong, clenching her mouth tightly before the man dipped his fingers.

"No. It'sit's okay. I just want to make sure you're okay."

He wanted to say 'don't think of anyone else' but knew that it would make Ilina act cold, so Noah hurried back.

*