CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Samantha accepted the food and let the girls in.

«How is my brother feeling?» Amanda asked.

«He'll live.»

«Thanks to you.»

«I did nothing much.»

«Oh, you did more than I would in your shoes. Especially after being betrayed so badly.»

Lucretia followed the other girl, silent and gloomy. Yet, she also wanted to check Renato was all right. That woman might have lied, but... But he did look well.

Even though the bandages around his chest smelt of blood, it must have been from the night before. His face wasn't pale and scratched anymore, and he was sitting in bed and waiting for his mate to come back.

«You're lucky,» Samantha said, and he beamed at her. «Your sister brought some food. You can have something edible today.»

She helped him sit on the bed, and Renato pretended to need all the assistance. Amanda and Lucretia could notice how he was acting weaker than he was, and they observed dumbfounded how Samantha believed in all that show.

«Can you eat alone?» she asked, and Renato shook his head.

He had barely glanced at the girls at the door, too focused on Samantha.

«I can't,» he said.

He even released his ears in a stupid attempt to move her pity. However, he saw Samantha's expression and regretted his wicked idea. They were in public, after all; what was he thinking?

He turned to Amanda and Lucretia and said: «Out!»

He covered Samantha's ears with his hands, dragging her in for what seemed like a kiss. The girls left just in time, so he pecked her nose and removed his hands from her head. He sighed, relieved that the brats couldn't see Samantha's white ears.

She looked back at him, confused. Her eyes were fixed on him, moving from his eyes to his ears.

«Black,» she said before reaching out.

She didn't seem confused about his strong grip, even though he was supposed to feel weak and exhausted. She didn't seem to mind because all of her focus was on his ears.

She caressed them with her trembling fingers, both his ears.

«So black...»

He was expecting something like that, but he had forgotten for a moment that they weren't alone. Something deep inside him had pushed him to act pitiful to be pampered... So dark that it didn't mind two pairs of extra eyes staring dumbfounded.

And he had forgotten the little problem with Samantha's ears. How could he act so dumbly? And why was his woman more in awe because of his ears than angry because she had almost been discovered?

She even chuckled when he made his ears droopy and sad.

«I'm hungry,» he murmured.

«Oh, yes, sure...»

Hers were twitching content, so much that he wanted to reach out to her... But he was a weak patient. Continue your saga on m-vl-e-mpyr

«Here...» she said. She blew on the soup before offering him a spoon.

He drank the soup, looking at her with careful eyes. He didn't miss it when her tail appeared from behind, wagging and entertaining his eyes. It was white just like her ears, but the tip was black. How interesting: she wasn't all white!

«I want to run with you,» he said.

«You're still weak!»

«Not now... But when I recover.»

«Running together isn't something you do unless you're serious about the relationship,» Samantha murmured, stirring the soup. She sat closer to him and returned to feeding him.

«I am serious, though. But I know you won't let me in your life just like that.»

«You're perceptive today,» she replied.

Her tone and expression were cold and a tidbit sarcastic, but her tail was wagging, and her ears were upright, ready to catch any sound. It was such a contradiction, but Renato loved it.

The best part was that she thought she was unreadable.

«So, there's no chance for me?» he asked, trying not to be too obvious while following her tail with his eyes.

«Not yet.»

Sadly, that was right. Her tail stopped wagging, and her ears bent down.

«How are you now?» he asked. «Did you suffer after finding out?»

«I did. A lot... I cut myself with my nails and cried for so long... Poor Amanda must have thought I would die there.»

«I'm sorry.»

«I thought I was going to die, but I rationally knew it wasn't like that. So you believe me if I say it was a pity? With so much pain, death would have been a blessing. Moreover, the thought of being like that for the rest of my life... I don't think I'll ever approach a male in my life. I won't ever wish for anything.

Alone is better, really.»

«But you don't have a choice.»

«That's why I'm here,» she sighed, leaving the empty bowl on the bedside table. «Because I don't want to survive you. I've already felt a glimpse of what would happen. I don't want that. I'm giving up, Renato. You won.»

«It doesn't feel like a win to me. You're still not willing to be with me.»

«Are you complaining?»

«No... I'm just saying. You're here because you don't want me dead. You helped me because letting me die would have been painful for you. I get it. I understand.

But why don't you give up completely, then? We can be together and be happy, even just a little more than now.»

«I am still angry,» she pointed out. Yet, more than angry, her ears were sad.

«I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I'll be yours to toy with, Samantha. Just give me this one chance.»

«It will take time.»

«But it's not a no, right? I can hope? I can... try?»

«Do I have any other choice?»

«You can ignore me, keeping me close to you just for your needs. You have a choice.»

«I never had it, Renato! I never had a chance from the beginning.»

He blinked, surprised. If there was someone who could choose, it was her. She could be whatever she wanted, so why not use her strength to her advantage?