My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin-Chapter 36: Designated Smoking Area

Tak.

Ashley closed the door behind her with a smile on her face. Looking back, a shallow chuckle escaped her.

I guess that’s enough bothering him for now, she thought, figuring she had just unleashed chaos in Primo’s room, especially since he had looked a little down again.

But as she turned, she paused the moment she caught sight of Lucian’s figure. He was heading down the other hallway, his back turned in her direction.

"Is he just coming back now?" she wondered. "That took longer than I thought."

Dealing with Patrick wasn’t the reason Lucian was just coming back now; it was something else.

Ashley hummed and narrowed her eyes, muttering, "Strike while the iron is hot."

And with those words leaving her mouth, Ashley grinned and skipped forward to catch up to Lucian. During their last days on the trip, he had been too busy — and so had she. It was better to make sure she was still in his good graces... or whether Gustav had already poisoned his mind.

"Heya~!" she cheered as he reached for the doorknob.

Lucian arched a brow, turning to her. Her steps hadn’t made a sound, nor had his instincts stirred at any sign of danger.

Ashley stood just a few steps to his side, her hands clasped behind her back. But when she took another step forward, her brows twitched, and she drew her head back slightly.

"What is it?" he asked, though his attention was more focused on her reaction — as if she had smelled something truly unpleasant.

"Nothing," she pouted a little and huffed. "Are you smoking again? Weren’t you told to cut it down — or just quit?"

He didn’t answer, only tilting his head slightly.

"I don’t like the smell of it," she muttered, clicking her tongue as she took a few steps back. "I just came to say goodnight."

He nodded, watching her reluctantly turn on her heel. His brows drew together as he listened to her mumbling complaints.

"He didn’t smoke much during the trip, but the moment he comes home, he smells like a chimney," she grumbled under her breath. Then she paused, looked back at him, clicked her tongue again — and blew him a kiss.

"Good night!" she intoned, though she still sounded a little grumpy. "That’s it for now."

With that, she resumed her steps and didn’t look back.

Meanwhile, Lucian kept his eyes on her retreating figure, his head tilting slightly to the side. He didn’t want to assume anything, but it seemed she had been about to steal another kiss — only to pull away because of the smell of cigarettes.

"...right," he whispered. "She said she disliked the smell of cigarettes." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It was why he had been trying to cut down. Her behavior so far had helped him, but whenever his stress ran high or he felt a little tired, it helped him relax.

When she was out of sight, Lucian walked into his room. He stopped by the bedside table and opened the drawer, revealing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

He picked them up and stared at them for a moment too long before walking to the bin and tossing them in — as if they had committed a grave mistake.

*****

The next day rolled in without hesitation, and as usual, Ashley didn’t plan on wasting another day overthinking. Not when she had already spent plenty of time during the trip planning her next moves and recalling major events from the past.

And there was one thing coming up very soon.

But before that...

WIN!

Ashley stared at the screen, the word flashing boldly across it. Primo, seated beside the couch, slid his gaze toward her.

But unlike what he expected — that she would jump in joy or stop him from calling the evil boss — Ashley simply stared at the screen blankly.

Worried, he reached for his drawing pad and wrote quickly before turning it toward her.

"Huh?" Ashley arched a brow and turned to him, only to see what he had written.

[Congrats. You won.]

Her lips curved downward, making his brows rise in surprise.

Wasn’t she happy? Primo wondered. Or was she just shocked that she had finally won?

"If you asked me to fight you in a fistfight, I would punch you square in the face," she said out of nowhere.

Primo: "???"

"Or play dead — depends on what I feel," she added, confusing him even more. "Which one would you prefer?"

His mind went blank. Even so, Primo thought about it and quickly wrote, [1].

"Exactly," she nodded. "You wouldn’t ask me for a fistfight for no reason. So what would you feel if I accepted, but still chose option number two?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line, slowly understanding where this was going. Primo lowered his head, realizing that letting her win had probably not been a good idea at all. He had simply thought it would make her happy — or at least lift her mood.

To his surprise, Ashley suddenly smiled as she scooted closer to him.

"Don’t feel sorry for me just because I keep losing," she said, waiting for him to look up and meet her eyes. "At the end of the day, I’m the one who keeps coming back here to challenge you. And it’s insulting that you’d go easy on me — for whatever reason — even if you mean well."

"I come here with one goal in mind, but you’re just handing me the very thing I’m trying so hard to earn." Her smile stretched wider as she raised a hand and placed it on top of his head. "You wouldn’t want that if someone did it to you, right?"

Primo pressed his lips together, staring at her with slightly widened eyes. It was the first time he had seen her this close — and the first time he realized she looked... sincere.

He shook his head. He wouldn’t want people going easy on him, especially if he truly wanted to earn something.

"Exactly," she nodded, ruffling his hair before laughing. When she pulled her hand away, she slapped her legs and stood up. "Alright. Enough games for today. Let’s go!"

He blinked, confused. His expression alone asked the question: Where?

Ashley grinned until her eyes squinted. "I told you I’d be filthy rich, right?"

"..."

"I’m on my way there, but right now, I need... uh... a partner for the crime I’m about to commit." She said it so cheerfully that Primo couldn’t help but furrow his brows at her declaration.

"Be my partner in crime, Primo!"

******

Meanwhile, in a faraway part of the territory, members of the Dominion flocked to one area.

No, there weren’t any meetings or important matters to discuss.

All of them were there for one thing: to smoke.

One of them, puffing out a cloud of smoke, twisted his face as he turned to Red.

"Red, since when was this designated smoking area assigned here?"

And another one complained, "What in the world is going on?!"

"Tell me about it," Red grumbled, his face twisting. "I just slept, and when I woke up, I was told I had to go here if I wanted to have a cigarette. God damn it."