My father sold me to the Mafia King-Chapter 97 - 98/Mexican kiss

Chapter 98

Robert’s point of view

I prolonged my gaze into her eyes for seconds, trying to probe the depths of that new glint I wasn’t accustomed to, then I exhaled slowly and said:

"Fine, Julie... I will allow you that."

In that moment, her eyes flashed with a spark I couldn’t interpret, and her pupils dilated with a fleeting joy as she added:

"Thank you, Mr. Robert."

Her thanks were wrapped in excessive respect, as if it were a silk robe she wore to hide a dagger behind it.

I felt suspicion gnawing at my thoughts; this sudden submission doesn’t resemble Julie.

There are threads being woven in secret, and something is being cooked behind those calm features.

I shifted my gaze from her toward the scattered papers on my desk and said in a commanding and dry tone:

"Bring me a cup of coffee."

And as she moved to stand up, I followed my statement strictly:

"No sugar."

She answered with a calm obedience:

"Yes... alright."

I watched her figure move toward the door with lightness, and I followed the echo of her pink heels until it vanished completely after the door closed.

A total silence prevailed in the office, so I rested my head against the chair’s headrest and closed my eyes, summoning her image and that strange glint in her eyes.

I said in a low voice that barely exceeded my hearing, as if addressing her ghost which was still lingering in the room:

"What are you planning, Julie?"

After a few minutes, the echo of her footsteps returned to break the office’s stillness.

She placed the cup before me quietly and withdrew two steps, standing with a suspicious dignity watching my reaction.

I lifted the cup and took a single sip; the coffee was black and bitter, exactly as I requested.

The bitterness settled in my throat while I recalled the morning scene, when she served it to me overflowing with sugar in a mocking tone... what had flipped her scales now?

My questioning did not last long, as the door opened and Carlos entered. His gaze froze on Julie, and I saw his features change in seconds.

He moved toward her with wide, impulsive steps, and asked her in a worried tone:

"Julie... what’s wrong with your cheek?"

Before she could utter a word, his hand extended to touch her skin, and his fingers brushed over the reddened finger marks that had begun to appear clearly on her cheek.

I gripped the edge of my wooden desk until my knuckles turned white, and I felt an overwhelming urge to stand up and rip his hand from its roots, but Julie took a step back and moved his hand away gently:

"It’s nothing, Mr. Carlos... don’t worry about it."

Carlos did not retreat; instead, he approached her more, invading her private space:

"Does it hurt?"

She answered in a low voice while looking at the floor:

"Only a little."

Carlos’s smile widened with provocative boldness, and he said in a playful tone:

"Do you know what we do in Mexico to make the pain disappear?.. We kiss it."

He didn’t give her a second to object; he leaned in with lightning speed and pressed his lips to her cheek in a long kiss.

Julie’s point of view

I froze in my place for a single second, feeling the touch of his cold lips on my cheek as if it were a branding of fire.

In that moment, the blood in my veins turned into flames burning me, and my body jolted instinctively; I shoved him away with both my hands with a strength I hadn’t known in myself,

and before he could process what happened, I raised my hand and brought it down on his face with a slap that echoed through the silent office.

I watched his jaw clench as his head tilted from the impact, and the sparks that began to fly from his almond-shaped eyes.

I was panting with rage, my chest heaving violently while I screamed at him:

"Who do you think you are? You can never cross your boundaries with me!"

Carlos adjusted his stance and placed his hand on his cheek, trying to hide his resentment behind a mask of wounded pride, and said in a sharp tone:

"I think you are the one who crossed your boundaries and slapped me, Julie."

I cast a quick glance toward Robert; he was still sitting behind his desk, watching the scene with a suspicious calm, his deep eyes moving between us like a hawk analyzing its prey.

Suddenly, he broke his silence, saying in a deep, cold voice:

"Carlos... you shouldn’t have done that. You are the one in the wrong here."

Carlos turned toward Robert, and a mocking smile formed on his lips as he shrugged with indifference:

"It’s our custom for healing pain, Robert... it’s just a simple Mexican kiss."

I felt the bitterness of irony dissolving under my tongue, so I took a step toward him and raised my chin in defiance, imitating his provocative tone and cold smile:

"And this is our custom for stopping the insolent, Mr. Carlos..."

I paused for a moment to see the effect of my words in his eyes, then followed sharply:

"... it’s just an American slap."

I watched the shock paralyzing Carlos’s features, as if my words were a second, harsher slap.

His astonished expression retreated to be replaced by a cautious coldness, and he muttered, clenching his jaw:

"So that’s how it is, Julie..."

I fixed my gaze in his eyes without blinking and said decisively:

"Yes... that’s how it is."

I turned away from him with firmness and walked away with a body taut like a string on the verge of snapping.

Before I crossed the office threshold, I turned my head slightly and shot him a look dripping with contempt:

"By the way... the pain didn’t disappear at all, so you’d better change your failed methods, Doctor Carlos."

I pushed the door and walked out like a flaring fire, slamming it behind me with a force that made the silence in the hallway vanish violently.

I was walking, feeling the heat of my cheek where his lips had touched as if the area were contaminated.

I raised my hand and wiped the spot roughly, trying to erase his trace from my skin with all the spite I possessed.

I couldn’t take it anymore; no sooner do I survive Olivia’s grip and her attempts to torture me, than Carlos appears in this disgusting way.

I raised my eyes toward the ceiling and let out a sharp exhale that burned my chest, and muttered in a choked voice:

"What have I done, O God, for You to punish me with all this?"