The Devillish Mafia's Kept Woman

Chapter 23

"Sister, look, I made a penguin-shaped cookie," River proudly showed his craft to Athena, with a face stamped with 'praise me, please'.

Athena, as if he could read his mind "Good job, River. Look, I made a lion and butterfly-shaped cookie." Athena put the finished-shaped cookie on the tray while waiting for River to finish his.

"River, what do you want to eat?" Athena asks because she doesn't know what to cook earlier, so she decides to start with baking cookies. Now that the baking part is done, she needs to start cooking.

Still thinking that Lucifer was gone, she decided to cook River's choice of food since they would eat together.

"I will like all the dishes that sister cooks, but since sister asks, I want to eat buttermilk fried chicken with fried rice, can I?" River made a cute face while kneeding the cookie dough.

"Of course you can. And River, once you finish the cookie, can you put it in the oven for me?" Athena asks River because she wants to save time cooking. River nodded eagerly, excited to help out in the kitchen. Athena smiled at him while continuing to marinate the chicken.

As time passed by with both of them chatting while baking and cooking, the kitchen filled with warmth and laughter. River's excitement can be seen on his face. Athena also forgets about her last night's interaction with Lucifer.

The oven timer beeped, signaling that the cookies were ready to be taken out. River eagerly opened the oven door and carefully removed the tray of freshly baked cookies, his eyes shining with happiness as he admired his handiwork. If the other members of the mafia see River, they might think he's some little kid who still hasn't seen the world.

River was excitedly watching as Athena finished cooking his favorite dish and put it into a big bowl, ready to serve on the table.

"Done come, River, let's eat. I was so hungry from the moment I woke up this morning," said Athena.

"Yeah, let's eat." River ran to the other side of the table, eager to scop the chicken, but then said, "Sister, won't we invite Lucifer to dine with us?" River curiously asks Athena in confusion.

"I think Lucifer has gone out. Let's forget about him and eat." Athena continues while scoping some chicken on River's plate and hers.

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In the office

It's been an hour since River left the office and has yet to come back. Lucifer only then remembered that Athena had already woken up from the moment he heard some footsteps from the room upstairs. And remembering River's eager eyes wanting to meet Athena from the moment he arrived, he must have met Athena since he hadn't come back for a long time.

Curious about what they are doing, he decides to go downstairs and check on them. As he descends the stairs, Lucifer overhears Athena and River laughing and chatting in the kitchen. He leans against the kitchen door, observing them.

Lucifer realizes that he's never seen Athena this happy when she's with him, but now that she's with River, she looks so carefree. He feels something like jealousy watching their bond over something simple.

She used to look like a guarded rabbit when she was with him, but after the visit to Roman's tattoo shop, she looked less guarded until last night, when he realized that this woman was afraid of him, but he hid his mafia side well enough from her.

He thought that it must be the threat that she received that made her afraid of approaching him.

"I think Lucifer has gone out. Let's forget about him and eat." The moment he heard Athena say this, he moved towards her chair and stood behind her.

He can see River's shock at his presence, but he ignores it and leans down to whisper in Athena's ear, "So I'm not important?" Athena jumped in surprise at the sudden voice near her ears. She can feel Lucifer's breath on her neck, which makes a blush rise to her cheeks.

She quickly composes herself and responds, "No, no, I just thought you were gone since I heard the sound of an engine." She faces Lucifer with an innocent smile while scratching her head awkwardly.

She jumps from her seat, pushes Lucifer to his chair, and quickly scoops some dish and rice for him while maintaining an innocent smile. "Let's eat together; we haven't started eating yet."

Lucifer just watched the whole process of her rambling and panicking with amusement while forgetting that a third wheel had been watching their interaction with a deformed face.

All River could think was, 'Did I see the great Lucifer, the king of the mafia, smile? He can smile."