Storm's Mafia Princess

Office

Lucius' Pov

I set the napkin on the table and get up to leave when suddenly I feel a sharp moment next to me.

My reflex response is to grab and twist the hand reaching for me but I immediately realize it's my little girl; Adeline.

I let her do what she wants to and she take my wrist, keeping me in place while getting up from her seat. I don't understand why she would think I'd run off if she wasn't fast enough.

I raise an eyebrow questioning why she'd do that. It's not like her. No matter how subtle she plays it, I know she tries her best to avoid us and our presence.

Though she does join us for breakfast and dinners, she hardly ever makes any conversation. I try my best to not make her feel unwelcomed —or worse unwanted— but there's just so much I can do.

My lack of experience talking to teenage girls —one that I never needed for obvious reasons— and the unpleasant attitude of my sons doesn't help at all.

I have tried to ask her to join us in the living room so she gets more familiarized with us but she always refuse with some excuse. And I don't want to pressure her into it.

I know she has been through alot recently. Losing her mother and coming to live with seven strangers, add to it leaving the country you grew up in, isn't something easy to move on from.

"Can I talk to you?" She gulps looking every bit nervous. "Alone?"

"Ofcourse, sweetheart." I reply instantly.

This is the first time she has requested to talk to me and I know it must be something important or else she'll rather prefer to retreat back to her room.

I gesture for her to follow me when Rhyett stops her. "Adeline, finish your breakfast first."

I narrow my eyes at him for his disrespect. It isn't his —or anyone else's— usual behavior to go against the Boss of American Mafia.

If I wanted her to follow me, Rhyett shouldn't have interfered. She can eat after we talk.

Rhyett turns to me and shares a look that clear means we'll discuss this later and to leave it for now. He did the same exact thing to convince me on letting Adeline shift to some bedroom downstairs.

I don't know why he's behaving so odd. Rhyett has never paid any attention to his sibling's interests and habits. Instead, he kept his focus on their materialistic needs.

I know he must have some reason behind it so I let go of it for now.

"Eat your food. You can come to my office when you're done." I tell her and turn to Rhyett again.

But before I could speak, Julian decides to meddle. "What do you want to discuss with dad?"

Adeline narrows her eyes on him and present an expression of disapproval. She doesn't like how interested Julian is in her affairs.

I've had several talks with the boys —mainly Ewan, Julian and Altas— to improve their behavior towards their sister but nothing has worked out.

Ewan doesn't like how I favoured her when she wasn't even born. Altas simply gets a kick out of annoying her. While Julian defends his words for being regular sibling's interaction.

If it wasn't for their anger towards me —ever since they found out what Mary and I did fourteen years ago— they wouldn't have dared to disobey my commands.

I know none of them mean any harm to her but they don't realize that what they consider as jokes or sarcasm, aren't appreciated by her.

She might not be used to hearing degrading remarks —the type my sons always throw at each other— about her diet or stamina or sleeping habits.