The Arrangement

Chapter Nineteen

Lucio could only gape as he stares as Lily and Marko stood toe to toe against each other.

Did I just see what I saw?

He was still unsure of what had happened before his eyes so Lucio turned to Steve, Val, and Raph. No help there.  He thought. Even they were looking daze at the moment.

Steve could only blink as he tries to make sense of what he had just witnessed. For a moment Marko was looking so smug as he spoke of his plans for Lily. Then something small flew straight up and Marko was shocked at what and who had hit him.

"She punched him," Raph whispers uncertainly to Val. 

Val didn't know what to say. He could only nod at what he had seen.

When it didn't draw out a reaction that he wanted, Raph hissed again. "She really punched him."

"I saw." Val hissed right back at him.

Marko fought back the urge to touch his throbbing eye. Given his size, the punch barely moved him but it still stung like the devil. He stares down at the small woman who had delivered such a blow.

He really didn't know what surprised him the most. The fact that she punched him? Or is it because someone as small as Lily could actually hit him hard enough to hurt?

Damn, my eye hurt like the devil. Marko cursed. Who the hell taught her how to punch like that?

Marko studies his supposedly "sweet" little fiancee. Did she mutate into some kind of monster and jump right at him?

Val had to admire Lily's self-control. From her stance, he could tell that she was very angry but her face barely showed anything. It was a quiet fury in her eyes that was unsettling. Val watched as Lily lowers her fist to the side but it was still clenched into a tight fist.

"You deserve that." She said quietly lowering her small fist as she stared at him without any fear. "Actually, you deserve a good thrashing but I just don't want to waste my efforts on an idiot like you."

No, Val thought, shaking off the unsettling feeling he was getting from Lily.

Cold and explosive.

Those were the words that Val would use to describe Lily's demeanor right now. She was like a ticking bomb that was ready to unleash her fury on everyone within her radius.

Raph had moved to stop her but Val was quick to grab hold of his cousin to stop him from moving towards her. "I think it's better if we step back a bit."

"But Val," Raph whines, shooting Lily a quick concerned look before turning to his cousin. "Marko might hurt her feelings."

"I don't think it's Lily we should worry about."

"Why should I worry about that jerk?" Raph grumbled when Val wouldn't let him go. "He's a bully."

"So your father loved my mother. Is that her fault?" She asks, "Yes, perhaps my mother did care for him and loved him. But only as a friend."

Marko started to protest but when Lily's hand shot up, Marko was quick to stop himself. 

"Shut up!"

Those two words were rendered almost similar to a general's order. For a second, Marko felt compelled to obey.  He continued to stare at her, silently wondering what she would do with that raised hand she was waving around.