Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 96404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Or maybe it’s already happened.
I search my surroundings, but there’s no trace of my Naomi.
Did they take her, too? Is she being kept in a separate place?
Using the wall for balance, I stagger to my feet and walk to the door.
I bang on it the hardest I can. “Open up! Open the fuck up!”
There’s no sound or movement from outside, but I kick and punch it with both hands until I bust my knuckles.
I don’t stop to think about the pain.
Or the grogginess.
I don’t stop to consider anything but my Naomi. There’s no way in fuck I’ll stand by as they torture or threaten her.
Before, I believed the facts instead of believing in us.
I let my insecurities take control and wholeheartedly thought she’d left me.
Not now.
Now, I’ll fight for her.
I’ll be there if it means my fucking death.
The door creaks and I jump back, ready to punch whoever is coming in. Either I save her or I die trying.
A man with Asian looks steps in. He’s tall and has long hair, and sharp eye contact that only people in a high position of power, such as my grandfather, possess.
He stares at me for a second and I stare back, my hands balled into fists.
He doesn’t have a weapon or any guards with him, so I could possibly overpower him and step past him—
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” he cuts off my train of thought. “If you touch me, I’ll cut you, and even if by a miracle you manage to move past me, this place is full of guards. Armed guards.”
“What the fuck do you want? Where’s Naomi?”
“My name is Kai and I will be your host for the day.” He slides his attention to his watch. “Or for the next few minutes, anyway.”
I walk closer, squaring my shoulders. “I don’t care who the fuck you are.”
“You should. My name will be engraved in your memories, because that’s what will come to mind if you think about hurting Naomi. If you look at another woman, I’ll be there. If you make her cry, I’ll also be there. The glint of my sword will be the last thing you see before life leaves your miserable limbs.”
“You don’t scare me.” I stare at him square in the eyes. “How Naomi and I treat each other is only up to us.”
“It’ll be up to me, too.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“The one who saved her from assault when you weren’t even in the picture. I killed for her once and doing it again will be my pleasure.”
“You…killed Riko’s boyfriend, Sam?”
“Ex-boyfriend, since he’s rotting as we speak.”
So the reason I haven’t been able to find the miserable bastard isn’t because he moved to another country, but because he’s already dead.
He was killed by this man. Kai. Somehow, that makes me see him in a different light. He’s the reason why she wasn’t scarred to the point of no return and I can’t help but respect him for that—regardless of his reasons for doing it.
“While I’m grateful for what you did for her in the past, she’s mine and I won’t allow you to get near her.”
“I’m not interested in her that way. She’s our princess and I’m merely her guardian angel—a fallen one, at that.”
“Where’s is she? Take me to her.”
“No need.” He sighs. “She went through all this trouble to get you out. First, she figured out Akira’s bids for his next business venture by playing that fool, Ren. Then she took it to your grandparents with the help of your uncle.”
“Naomi went to see my grandparents?”
“Yes, and she begged them to help you by blocking Akira’s investment from behind the scenes. Of course, your grandparents weren’t thrilled to have to pull out the big guns and wanted her to end your relationship, but she didn’t agree. Instead, she told your grandmother that they won’t lose you like they lost your father, and that was the deciding point for them. Once Akira’s plots were halted, he lost it and might have taken it out on Ren.” He pauses and smiles as if reliving an image. “Anyway, in exchange for her to stop blocking Akira’s projects, she made him agree to divorce her while remaining an ally to her father. She’s currently threatening Abe that if he uses her or you—or her sister—she’ll make Akira withdraw the alliance and all his funds. Among other things that she now has over him.”
My lips part as I listen to Kai’s retelling of the events. I can’t believe she did all of that on her own.
Naomi isn’t the same, after all. She was always strong, but she’s now a force to be reckoned with.
“Speechless? Good.” Kai grabs me by the shoulder hard. So hard that it feels like he’ll break my bones, then whispers in a low, calm but threatening tone, “You’d better remember her sacrifices until the day you die. Or I’ll be there to make sure you take your last breaths.”