This is the second part of a double update, if you haven't read chapter 21, make sure to scroll back up to read it.

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♪♪ Not really sure how to feel about it

Something in the way you move

Makes me feel like I can't live without you

It takes me all the way ♪♪

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ[Stay] - [Rihanna]

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Kian alighted from his car, sighing in relief. He was exhausted from the day's work but was glad for the timeout. Ronnie had texted him the venue for the hangout just before he reached Silver Palace. It was like a weight off his shoulders at the revelation that the place was not a club for once.

As he approached the entrance, a group of young boys were walking in with one of them singing. Although he didn't recognise the music, his head bounced involuntarily to the harmonious tune emitting from the group.

Once he finally stepped into the restaurant, the sound of the boy's voice had drifted low, drowned out by the music playing in the background and chattering going on in the restaurant. His eyes scanned the restaurant in search of Esmé, who he found just as the smashing of glass echoed throughout the restaurant.

Kian's head whipped in the sound's direction, and his pulse raced. His brows furrowed at the scene in front of him and groaned, knowing just how much Persephone would not like it.

His heart didn't get the time to slow its pace as a loud piercing scream echoed, gaining a lot more attention. Kian snapped his neck abruptly to locate the sound, his eyes bulged out and goosebumps formed on his skin.

He stiffened in shock and his eyes enlarged even further at the sight he met. Esmé's hands up holding her head and her body frantically shaking made his heart plummet out of its chest.

With his intense stare at her, he noticed the moment her body descended to the floor. He jerked towards her with full speed, shouting her name. The sound of his heartbeat thrashed in his ear just as he reached her. He caught her before she hit the ground, cushioning the effect of her fall with his body.

He caught wind of the word she kept repeating and his body moved automatically. He cradled her head, removing her hands from it gently.

"Esmé! Esmé?"

Esmé stared at him with a blank glazed look, continuing to mutter the same word.

Adrenaline shot through Kian as he took quick and shallow breaths. He looked away from her and his eyes searched frantically for something that could help him. It stopped at the sight of an ice cube bucket. "Get me the ice bucket!" he barked out to Mon-El, who had been by his side all the while.

Mon-El moved with the speed of light and brought back the cubes to Kian. Kian picked a handful of them and opened Esmé's hands to place them inside it. He folded his hands around hers, letting the cold help ground her to the actual world.

"Esmé? Concentrate on the feeling and my voice. Can you hear me?" Kian asked as he noticed her eyes gain a bit of focus back.

"You need to get her out of here." Persephone's voice pierced through Kian's worried state. He looked up at her noticing the worried look on her face realizing she must have rushed out when she heard the scream. It was after that, he fully focused on the restaurant and the fact that there were still customers there.

He placed his right arm beneath Esmé's legs and the other behind her back and lifted her up bridal style effortlessly and gently, making sure she still held on to the ice to help her focus back. Persephone nudged her head to her office's path and Kian moved towards the place without missing a beat, only stopping for a second to instruct someone to get him a glass of water.

As he moved away from the restaurant dining area to Persephone's office, he could hear his mother's tone of voice change a bit to pacify her customers for the disrupt.

Kian walked into the office and quickly located the couch by the right side of the room. He placed Esmé gently onto the couch. He crouched in front of her to her eye level.

Esmé looked a little disoriented, but the blank glazed look wasn't there any longer. Tears flowed down her eyes as things came into focus.

"Just breath Esmé. You're fine, okay?" He scooped her cheeks gently and wiped her tears away. His chest felt heavy at the sight of her in the dishevelled state and his mind flashed to the early morning in the kitchen how bright and cheerful she looked. Kian's heart ached and all he wanted to do was to protect her from the hurt she felt.

He pulled her into a hug intuitively as her sobs increased. "You're okay, Esmé. You're alright," He repeated, reassuring her and even himself that she was alright.

Esmé's body sagged against his as the hug felt like a shield keeping her safe, one she could pour all her worries into. His hug cradled her like a cherished child while he patted her softly and soothingly. The feel of his racing heartbeat that he tried to calm as he took deep breaths in was just the right anchor she needed to feel serene.

They remained like that for a couple of minutes, basking in the hug's warmth.

"Water?" Mon-El called out to them, cutting through the moment.

Kian released Esmé like someone had drenched him in cold water in the realization of what he had just done. Careful not to cause extra damage to Esmé, he stood and moved away from her without startling her. He turned to Mon-El with a straight gaze.

"Give it to her and stay with her. I'll be right back," Kian said and stood up with an urgent need to get out of the room. Just as he closed the door of the office behind him, he slacked against the door. The adrenaline rush slipped out of him, making him feel numb and conflicted.

As he stood there, his fist tightened. His mind raced with thoughts of everything that occurred. The want to protect Esmé laid strongly on his mind, but the want to protect himself also laid not too far off. His mind said one thing and the aches in his heart said another.

"Is she okay?" Scarlett's hearty drew his attention away from his thoughts.

Kian took a deep breath in and opened his eyes to meet her, watching him with a guarded look. He cleared his throat to disrupt her intense attention on him.

"Yes," he said. "Is everything okay out here?"

"Under control," Persephone replied before Scarlett could. "Had to make a couple of impromptu discounts for the inconvenience, but all is good. What matters now is Esmé. Do you know what happened?"

"I have a couple of guesses, but nothing concrete until I ask her questions."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Persephone urged and turned to Scarlett just as Kian opened the door. "I trust you can handle any remaining thing around here?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Perfect." Persephone nodded at her and walked in to her office, Kian following behind her. His features took a professional tone as his mind scrolled through all the things that could have happened and their relations to her health-wise.

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The moment Kian pulled out of the hug, Cold air rushed in and goosebumps prickled on Esmé's skin at the lack of warmth and safety the hug provided. After the click of the door, she took in a deep breath and tried to divert her attention away from the clenching of her stomach in disappointment.

"You ready for the water?" Mon-El called out again. His voice lacked the hostility it always had when he speaks to her.

Esmé's turned to Mon-El and her eyes widened at his presence in the room and the tone of his voice.

"M-mon-El?"

"Don't sound too shocked and drink your water. Doc says you need it," Mon-El said with a roll of his eyes and stretched the cup of water to her.

Esmé wearingly collected the cup and drank the water. She closed her eyes in relief at the soothing feeling the water provided. Energy seeped through her slowly and she leaned back into the couch. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and handed the empty glass to Mon-El, who collected it without complaint. Her brows squinted as she watched him with a guarded look.

"Stop staring at me like that."

"Can you really blame me? I never figured you helping me could ever happen in this lifetime," Esmé said with a small smile, feeling a lot better. The hug and water had done a fair share of making her feel better. The talk with Mon-El helped get her mind off things.

"I'm not cruel, you know."

"Could have fooled me?"

The clicked of the door showed the entrance of Kian and Persephone before they walked in.

Kian's eyes found hers right away, and he's brows edged together as he glanced over her, checking if she was okay.

"Do you feel better?" he asked.

Esmé smiled briefly in appreciation. "Yes, thank you." Her attention flipped to Persephone and her heart sank at the thought of the mess she had caused her. Her chin quivered in guilt. "I am so sorry for causing a scene, Persephone. I don't know what came over me."

Persephone stared at her in confusion, shaking her. "Oh Esmé, that's okay."

"No, it's not. I'm really sorry. I'd do anything to make up for the loss, I'm so sorry."

"Esmé?"

"I mean it. I'd do anything."

Persephone stared at Esmé like she had grown another pair of head and turned slightly to Kian, who was watching her with his brows tinted together. Persephone chuckled and nodded. "You know what, yes. You should work a double shift tomorrow to get me back my discounted fee by enticing the customers to buy more."

Kian whipped his head to his mother in disbelief, his eyes opened wide. "Mother!"

"It's not my fault she didn't want the simple way out," Persephone said, shrugging.

Esmé chuckled at this. "It's fine," she said reassuringly to Kian, who turned to her, still looking at her baffled whilst admiring her for her dedication.

"But only when you've cleared by the doctor that you're alright, okay?"

"Of course. As long as Mon-El helps too."

Mon-El scoffed at the statement and scowled at her. "As if." Despite the scowl, she noticed the change in his eyes as he looked at her, and it wasn't pity but a certain amount of respect. Mon-El turned to Persephone. "I'll get back to work."

"You do that."

Once Mon-El was out of the room, Kian settled down on the chair in front of the couch. His gaze had turned intent as he stared at Esmé.

"What happened out there? You were fine one second and next you were screaming, muttering one word on repeat. The dice?"

Esmé chuckled at his wrong pronunciation. "It's Djedice, and it means grandfather."

Kian narrowed his eyes at her deviation. Knowing the pronunciation of the word was not what he was concerned about.

Esmé sighed in understanding. Her mind flashed back to what happened. Her eyes dimmed and danced around as she recalled what happened to her. "I don't know. It was like the same thing that happened last time. The song the guy was singing is some Croatian song that felt so familiar and made me feel sad and warm at the same time? I focused on figuring out the song. Then the sharp sound that followed just pushed me into a trance or something."

"The glass breaking," Persephone commented.

"It sounded like a gunshot in my ears. The next thing I knew, that song was playing in the background and there was someone in front of me, I couldn't see the face exactly but I'm guessing he might have been my grandfather from what I kept muttering. He was cluttering his chest and blood was spilling out of it. I heard a young piercing scream first and before I knew it, I was screaming along. But it was such a painful sensation, I couldn't pull myself out of it." Her expression slacked and her heart ached as she explained it to them.

"Just like with the driving." Kian who had been listening intently said lost in thoughts.

"But worse."

"Judging from what you've said. The song made you feel warm and sad, so it could have been something you shared with your grandfather, but it was sad because you watched him die. With the young girl's scream, it means it happened at a young age." Kian listed all the facts he could derive from what she narrated as he thought of what it all could mean and why certain memory that she received.

"Are you okay?" Persephone asked Esmé softly as Kian continued to think.

Esmé nodded timidly. "Sad about the memories, but with no concrete feel of the memory, it just feels like a painful memory of someone else that I got shown."

After much deliberation, Kian brought out his phone and stood up. "We'll continue to do a few tests, but for now you need to rest. I'll call Ronnie to cancel the outing with the others."

"What?! No!" Esmé shouted, startling Kian.

He turned to her with eyes extra wide at her abrupt response.

"I'm sorry for shouting, but I'm fine. Don't cancel that."

"Have you gone nuts? You need to rest."

"And I will get the rest after I'm done cheering up my friend," Esmé replied and stood up suddenly. She felt dizzy at the sudden movement but hid it as she wasn't about to let Kian see a principled reason he had to cancel the outing.

Petra had done a lot of cheering her up. She wasn't about to not do the same thing when it was her turn.

"I'll go pack up real quick and be right back, okay?" Esmé said with a pointed look at Kian before hurrying out of the door.

Kian scoffed and stared at the door in disbelief. And once again, despite how he knew the whole thing was crazy, she had tugged another string in his heart for her loyalty and dedication.

He turned to his mom, who was already watching him with a bright smile on her face. He titled his head sideways and his brows dipped in suspicion. "What's that smile about?"

"Nothing," Persephone replied, standing up but not wiping away the smile on her face, "Nothing at all."

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Oh come on Persephone, don't say that. What are you seeing?

What's grilling guys? 😁

Pweew. I hope you got to feel all the emotions they felt. Looks like Esmé's memories are popping back little by little. How do you feel about that? And what is going on with Kian?

What did you enjoy most in this chapter and what shocked you the most? Tell me what your comments for this chapter are right here. 👉🏽 💭

Till next time! 💕