15 Miss Virgin Mary

Leaning his back against the floor to ceiling window, arms folded, Lysander watched as his cousin laughed maniacally for a couple of minutes in his office, his odd laughter echoing within the vicinity. His own facade remained as apathetic as ever, but deep within the walls of his pretense, he was starting to wonder what could be so hilarious that his cousin would laugh non-stop like some possessed idiot in his office.

It was getting on his nerves, for real, yet his face hardly hinted at his inner turmoil.

After several minutes of having his ears filled with his cousin's cynical laughter, the human finally stopped and wiped the tears escaping the corner of his left eye with a finger.

"Isn't it just my lucky day!" Finally, his cousin decided to use words, but Lysander gave him the benefit of a doubt. That phrase hinted at something – the pure satisfaction it brought on his cousin's face, he knew what it was, but playing the role of a fool has become his second job, asides assisting his vainglorious cousin in his presumptuous plans.

"Did you see? That girl!" His cousin hinted with a wink, "the one we found in the car, the one you saved and brought back here along with that brother of hers. You know, I find it hysterical that the same girl who broke up with me, is now under my shelter. Can you imagine? Who would have thought I'd get such a perfect chance to exact my revenge."

With cruel excitement dancing in his eyes, he poured himself a small glass of red campari. He was still cackling, even after downing his bitter drink. When he was done taking two more shots, he wiped his lips and leaned his back against his plush, swivel chair, his concealed frustration taking over.

"I was literally pissed, you know. No, not pissed, I wanted to explode." He ran his fingers into his messy hair, "that call ruined my happy night completely, did you know I had to chase away my one night stand cause I was that infuriated? You should've heard what that nut job said to me on the phone, and all because of what? I didn't attend the funeral? She's not the only victim to lose parents in this world, I lost mine too, way before hers but lookie here, I'm still alive and breathing." He scoffed, acting as though it was something normal and a feeling she should have gotten used to.

Lysander unfolded his arms and tucked his fingers in his trouser pocket. He turned around to view the mountain scenery with a detached gaze, his golden eyes reflecting the smoke up ahead, and he asserted softly, "you shouldn't compare yourself to someone ordinary, Cullen."

He turned his head a little to the side, but not enough to give him a closure of his cousin's face, "she broke up with you because you failed to put her needs first. She came looking for you many times, when it was meant to be the other way round. Aside neglecting her feelings for you, you wanted to fuck some chick on the day of her parent's funeral. What did you expect the poor lady to do, bake you some cookies?"

Lysander drew his lips back into a scowl, suppressing his irritation from the eyes of his narcissistic cousin. "She did what she thought was right."

"Hold on, are you for real right now? Don't fucking tell me you're taking a stand for her." Cullen's average brown eyes narrowed skeptically at his cousin's proud back, his earlier mood further dampened by his assertive statement, "are you really going to take sides with someone you hardly know over me? Your brother?"

"That's not–" He closed his eyes resolutely, and his jaw ticked at the accusation embedded in his cousin's tone. He used a few seconds to mask up his disgust before turning around to face Cullen, and with his long legs, he strode towards his table and took his seat on a vacant chair, then he picked one of the paperworks on the table.

"Why on earth would I do that though?" His piercing eyes subtly shifted to meet his cousin, all harmlessly squinted and smiling at him, "I was merely speaking from her point of view, and I guess I was right. She has lived a normal life, Cullen, we on the other hand, live completely different lives. Forgive me if I have uttered an unintentional phrase that has you riled up, but I trust you understand where I'm coming from."

"Whatever, it's fine, I know you didn't mean it, and I forget how big of a softy you are." Cullen eventually swatted the topic away, "since she's already here, I'll make sure to put her stay into good use. I was quite dazed to see she survived the virus plaguing the city, but anyways, they're in my benefit too."

"Speaking of benefit," Lysander simply raised a questionable eyebrow at the evil-doer, "does she know? I mean your identity?"

"Not even close," Cullen replied, as if wondering why Lysander would even ask him that.

"She knows me by default, you think if she knew who I really was she'd still have the same audacity to pull what she did two days ago? Don't be funny, Zander." He chuckled, "the only reason I went to that college was to secure a brutal project, and that's when I met her. I didn't have plans on dating anyone, since I still enjoyed having a one-night thing with the big fishes outside, but then she was different, and I found her pretty. She was challenging, and I loved challenges. I wanted her, played a few skilled tricks, but I hit it off with her eventually."

"Hit it off…?" Lysander's voice trailed as a panicking assumption gnawed at him, "you slept with her?" His nails subconsciously scratched the table underneath at his presumption, scarring it, and even with a composed demeanor, the way the veins in his neck popped and twitched could give his emotions away.

"Slept with her? Me? I wish." Cullen hissed as he threw his hands behind his head, oblivious to the lightning storm he was unknowingly creating, "she was miss virgin Mary, so boring. Like what century does she think we live in? Yet I can't have someone else feeding me the pleasures she denied me of. Fortunately for her, I had to keep playing the character till I traveled overseas, and that was it."

Cullen's eyebrows furrowed at the thought of the many chances he had to do as he pleased, but even when he did try, that overprotective brother of hers would intervene in someway, it was either him, or Lysander would end up calling him on the phone to talk about some meeting. Maybe if he hadn't kept his identity as a top-notch mafia from her, he would probably still have her wrapped around his fingers, but it's not too late, considering the fact that she was in his shelter, and soon to be in 'HIS' guild.

"What if…" Cullen's eyes suddenly brightened, and he clapped his hands. "I call this sweet revenge, brother. Just think, what if I add a little bit of drugs to make her fall asleep. Tonight, I'll assign Peaches to give her a drink, and once she blacks out, I'll have my way with that ass–"

"When will the evacuation start?" Unable to stomach where the topic was heading, Lysander switched topic, immediately reminding his excited cousin about the dire situation outside, "dealing with those monsters and evacuating the city on time should be our top priority, Cullen. You can hold onto your thirst for revenge until we make it out alive from this monster-plunged city."

"You're right again." Cullen realized the reason his cousin was even in his office in the first place was so they could strategize on how to get important supplies before evacuating the city. "Totally slipped my mind. What is it you wanted to share with me?"

"Weapon location," Lysander couldn't help but add, "I got the information you asked, and the tech company is loaded with equipment, as you've guessed. It's time to step out of the comfort of our shell and do some exploring." He dropped the essential file on the table, and his cousin smiled at him, his way of saying, 'good job.'