The Red Doll

CHAPTER 27

****Aria's POV****

I wake up in a warm embrace, hearing soft breaths coming from next to me. I look up at Revon, who's still sleeping while holding me in his arms, my head resting on his chest. I close my eyes, focusing on the sound of his heartbeat. The heart I've been trying to stop for so long. I gently run my fingers against his bare stomach, all the way up to his chest, resting my hand there.

"Good morning," Revon's sleepy voice brings me back from the trance I was in.

I smile against his skin, burying my face deeper into his chest. "You shouldn't be so careless. Peacefully sleeping in bed with an assassin isn't the brightest idea, you know?" I jokingly remark, looking at him with a playful smile plastered on my face.

He smiles back, amused by my words. "If you truly wanted to kill me, then you would have done it by now, while I was still sleeping. So I'm not worried about that," he says, pulling me closer and slowly kissing me.

He licks my lower lip, grabbing my chin with one hand and putting the other one on my waist, pulling me even closer. I could feel myself losing control again, and if I didn't stop now then the chances of us getting out of the bed at all were pretty low.

I pull myself away from him, ignoring his grunt of protest. "We don't have time for that right now. Me and the others have to leave soon," I say, trying to get up from bed, but Revon grabs my wrist and pulls me back, getting on top of me. All the playfulness from earlier left his face. He was looking down at me with a serious, almost desperate look on his face.

"Don't go," he whispers.

"What?" I ask, overly confused by his unusual behavior. He acted like this last night too. "Revon, you know that if we don't go then this entire mission is doomed, right?"

He looks frustrated, but he doesn't let go of my wrist, pinning me down in place, unable to leave. "I don't care if the mission fails. Just... Please don't go," he continues, his voice breaking like he was on the verge of tears.

What the fuck?

I break free from his grip, cupping his face with my hands and making him look at me. His gaze was darkened by something; by a sadness I recognized. A sadness that I always saw in my eyes when I was thinking of my past. I gently caressed his cheek with my thumb, trying to make him relax a little.

"Revon, you know how important this mission is. What is happening with you? You know I'm more than capable of protecting myself. Please tell me what's wrong," I speak, trying to make my voice sound as gentle as possible. Whatever is going on in his head, I know it's something serious.

He looks at me, contemplating my words, then letting out a soft sigh. "It's just that... This reminds me so much of..." a pained expression flashed across his face.

I pulled him closer to my face, kissing the tip of his nose, then resting my forehead against his. "Reminds you of what, Revon?" I asked.

He stared in my eyes for a second, probably searching for the right words to explain everything to me.

"It reminds me of how my mother died," he finally said.

I was taken aback. Until now, he has never mentioned his mother. I thought that maybe she left him and his father, since this kind of life isn't for everyone. Of course, I thought about the possibility that she might be dead, but since he didn't say anything about it, I just stopped thinking about it.

"When I was 4 years old, the leader of the Lions and my father were close. They were work partners, so he came over to our house almost everyday. What my father didn't expect was that that bitch would fall in love with my mom. One day, he sent a letter saying that if she didn't come to him, then he would hurt me. Of course, my mother loved my father, so she didn't want to go. My father was thinking of what he could do to protect us, but there wasn't much he could do without starting a war between the two gangs. But then, one day, I was playing out in the garden when a man sneaked up behind me with a knife in his hand. I didn't even notice him. I just heard the gunshot. When I turned around, my mother instantly wrapped her arms around me, dropping the gun from her hand, sobbing and telling me not to look at the dead man on the ground. My mother was a strong woman. Stronger than anyone I've ever met," his eyes filled with love at the thought of his mother, but a sad smile was present on his face.

"The next day, my mother was gone. All she left behind was a note for my father, saying that she willingly left because she loved the Lion's leader and that we shouldn't go looking for her. It was obviously a lie, since she was madly in love with my father, but because she left that note, there wasn't much my father could do. If she went after her, the Lions had every right to attack us, and that would put me in just as much danger as the situation my mom left us to protect me from. My dad was devastated. He loved my mother more than life itself. I tried my best to confort him, but god damn it, I was just a child. Five days later, we got a package in the mail. I was with my father when he opened it. Inside..."

Revon broke down, tears streaming down his face. I've never seen him like this, and seeing him in so much pain broke my heart a little. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close to me and gently rubbing his back, trying to help him calm down. He cried in my arms, desperately clinging to me.

"Inside of it was my mother's decapitated head," he continued. I froze when hearing the sentence. "And there was also a note. I remember it word for word. "You can have your whore back. She wasn't as perfect as I thought. You should have taught her not to try to stab a man when he tries to fuck her useless self." God, there was so much blood in that tiny box. Her expression... She looked so scared. My father couldn't attack their gang, since he wanted to protect me. If anything happened to me, then my mother would have died for nothing."

He continued crying, holding me tightly. I ran my hand through his hair, still caressing his back. I planted small kisses all over his face, trying to take away his pain. He calmed down a little, nestling his head in the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent.

"It's my fault. She went to her death just to protect me," he choked out the words, his voice filled with pain. He grabbed my face, looking at me. "So please don't go. I can't let them take another person from me. Please, Aria," he begged me, his eyes holding so much desperation and sadness that it almost scared me. I stared at him, my mouth opening, trying to form words, but my mind was a mess.

His words from earlier echoed in my head. If you truly wanted to kill me, then you would have done it by now, while I was still sleeping. And a sudden thought flashed through my mind. I've let my guard down. I got too close to him, to the point where he trusts me so much that he's not even worried I might try to kill him. Me, the assassin that was assigned to murder him. This can't go on. We are merely temporary work partners. We already got way too close, but that doesn't change the fact that once all of this is over, we'll have to go back to the way things were.

I pushed him away from me, ignoring the pain tugging at my heart while doing so. I got up from bed, picking up my clothes and starting to get dressed.

"I'm going," I stated. Revon looked at me with a shocked expression, confusion and pain mixing in his eyes. "Professionals don't mix their personal feelings with their work, Revon. It's pathetic," I coldly said, looking him in the eyes.

The pain in his eyes was suddenly replaced with anger. He looked down at his hands, avoiding my gaze. "Of course. You're right," he said, his voice flat and cold, sending chills down my spine.

I left our room, meeting up with Lana and the rest. I looked one last time at the door I just left through.

"Aria, are you ok?" Lana's voice brought me back to reality.

I put my hand up to my cheek, feeling tears stream down. I looked at my wet fingers confused. I did the right thing by putting the distance back between us. But why was I fighting back my tears right now? And why was I feeling sick to my stomach just thinking about Revon's expression upon hearing my harsh words?

I wiped away my tears, giving Lana a fake smile. 'Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go," I said, trying to stop my voice from breaking.

To be continued...

One word: ANGST<3

Sorry for not updating in such a long time, but school is draining the shit out of me LMFAO. And of course that the first chapter I write after like 2 fucking moths is literal pain. But don't worry, I'll make up to y'all later with a smut chapter.

That's all for now:)

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