Just go out with him, Lana. Knowing how dangerous he was, saying no wasn't an option.
These were the thoughts that plagued her mind and from the look on Lucien's face, his patience was waning cold, people had started noticing him and they both knew it wouldn't take long before the paparazzi or even regular people started taking pictures of them, if they hadn't already done that.
"Fine, fine I'll go out with you," he didn't say anything, he simply turned and disappeared into the darkness. Lana guessed he must have parked somewhere nearby. She quickly hurried away from the scene.
********************
"Finally, I'm home." She took off her clothes and went into the bathroom to shower, thoughts of her recent encounter with Lucien ebbed in her memory and she couldn't subdue the cold feeling inside her stomach.
Lucien Crane wasn't a man to be played with, his records show brutality, power and risk. He was known all over Newton city and could easily get away with anything. His looks didn't do anything to lessen the effect he had on people for he was so strikingly handsome, he had won Finest Bachelor Of The Year Award five times in a row without having to compete.
Ladies were willing to risk it all for him in any way he wanted them to. His playboy popularity wasn't a font or a show, he was the most radical of playboys Newton city had ever seen.
Once he had a married minister ready to give up her position and run away with him, it was that serious but the latter wasn't what scared Lana, it was the former.
Lucien was known to seek crude ways in order to get whatever he wanted and nine out of ten times, his victims never had the chance to tell the story.
From the rumors,he had never dated anyone except his childhood best friend who left him when he had an accident that almost cost him his life, since then he had become a shadow of himself.
As the cold water ran down her face, Lana couldn't feel more grateful to have such luxury as a cold bath. Things had gotten pretty rough for her at a very young age, her parents were very rich and they used to be a happy family until they were attacked by an assassin.
Lana remembered the feeling so well, the coldness, the chill, the scene of blood and her mother's face trying to grasp the shock while laying there motionless and still.
Her father and brother were killed in cold blood with no one to help, she was the only child who survived and she had only an uncle who took care of her and her brother's daughter after he died.
Her mom ended up in a coma and she had to find a way to survive the coldness and harshness of reality all by herself.
Uncle Chris was the best thing that happened to her and her niece after her father's death.
He immediately took them in and made sure they never lacked in anything, they went to really good schools and all their needs were properly taken care of but Lana couldn't continue being a burden to him.
She had wanted to get a life for herself, to have something doing, enough to get her some money. After she turned 18, she approached her uncle and told him of her plans,
"There's no need for you to work anywhere Lana, there's absolutely no need, you can stay with me for as long as you want and you won't have to worry about anything." But that wasn't the life she wanted for herself, being her father's daughter, she was brought up with good training and the longer she stayed with her uncle, the more her guilt grew and she didn't want to feel that way.
He had done more than enough, he took care of her father's funeral expenses, did the constant running around for her mom's hospital bills, she had the best things and was never hungry.
Eventually, after so much pressuring, he conceded and she began living on her own. She left her niece Anya in his care, promising to come back for her when the time was right.
He set her off with a good amount of money to make sure that she didn't lack anything and that was what she used to get an apartment.
For the first few months she kept searching for jobs at restaurants, hotels and eateries, Uncle Chris wasn't happy that she sought to find work in those places, in his voice; "You're too sophisticated for that kind of job Lana, come back and you won't have to work a day in your life, at least until you're twenty five."
She was twenty two now and life truly wasn't easy, at some point she almost gave up and ran back to her uncle's house but her pride didn't let her. Her mother had still not woken up from the coma and Lana kept on paying her bills.
She had no friends and the few times she tried to date, it was such a horrible experience that till this very moment, the thought of it made her severely cringe.
"What's the worst that could happen? After all, it's my fault for spying on him. Dammit Lana, you should have minded your business but no, you choose to peek at not just anyone, but Lucien Crane of all people!"
She turned off the tap and dried her body with the towel she was gifted with on her birthday by her uncle.
"Now what to eat!" She opened her refrigerator and there wasn't much to look forward to, she had fish she got from the market last week, there was unfinished pasta and chicken salad, and finally orange juice from Luca.
"Fine then, guess we'll have orange juice and noodles for dinner." She reached for the cupboard and brought out the noodles she got during the week.
She placed the pot on the fire and that's when her phone rang, she looked at the caller ID; it was a strange number but she could feel it in her gut, it was him.