Living in poor neighbourhoods that were filled with criminals contributed to my excellent self-defence skills.

“Are you crazy?” the redhead yelled, rubbing her shoulders where I had pushed her to the floor.

Kai beside me was frozen to his spot with a horrid expression as if he had just seen a horrible car accident. I knew –I felt– she was forcing herself on him from the way he wasn’t kissing back and looked tensed, so I took it upon myself to push her away. Still, Kai had a lot to explain.

I almost wanted to straddle her then strangle her to death. “Are you crazy? Do you kiss just any guy like that?”

She got up and dusted herself. “I kissed my boyfriend, you dumb bítch!”

I stopped in my tracks, my hard face changing into an expressionless, flushed-red one. I looked to Kai’s way, who looked equally horrified.

“She is not!” he yelled his first words in his defence, negating her words and finally showing where he stood in that madness. He looked her way with blazing eyes. “Kimberlee, who invited you here? Heck, when did you wake up?!”

Kim.

She ignored his questions. “What do you mean? I was in the hospital for over a year and went through months of physical therapy”—she looked my way— “Then come out to find you cheating?!”

My heart was palpitating unhealthily faster. I needed fresh air and a snap to reality to tell me that all was merely a nightmare. Nothing made sense.

Massie stormed into the picture with Ryan, seeming to be told of the drama happening backstage. Kai was probably late to open the auction. They both looked equally shocked.

“Kim, oh God.” Massie’s fist clenched and unclenched, little wrinkles starting to appear on her face. “When did you come back?” she asked the first thing.

“Dear Lord.” Kim touched her forehead. “Why’s everyone asking that instead of how are you, Kim?”

“Because you were never meant to come back,” Kai answered, surprising all of us.

Her glossy eyes mirrored pain. “I thought… I thought you’d wait for me…” she stammered. Her throat bobbed as she gulped.

“I did,” he seethed through gritted teeth. “And God, it was so long. But I discovered you didn’t deserve me.”

Kai took my hand and stormed out of the place. I was fazed, still trying to process the scene that occurred in front of me while we walked through people and bumped into some. We passed by his parents, whose calls went unheard by my determined boyfriend.

He called Frank to bring a car for us, and he did. Kai helped me in and rode on the other side, driving off without caring for the journalists.

“What just happened?” I asked, but he didn’t answer.

He fished his phone out and called someone. “Kevin, Mum invited Kim. I’m sure it’s her deed. I can’t go through this. I can’t do the auction. Please, do it for me… What? You left with Jade too?... Fúck… Well, let Mr Kingston do this event alone then.” He hung up.

I repeated, “What just happened?”

“Can you not?” he raised his voice, hitting the steering wheel.

At that limit, my tensed muscles were starting to hurt. I gave him a look. “Don’t yell at me! I come to find a girl kissing you, and I’m expected to shut up?” I replied in an equal tone.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I really am. Fúck, I wish I explained everything to you before. This is such an inconvenient time. But just… let me get this done for tonight, and I’ll explain everything.”

He texted people while driving recklessly then turned off his phone, so I sucked up my discomfort to save us from a car accident. He drove back to our place in a silent but tensed ride. I held in my confused tears and told myself he had a good explanation. When we arrived, Kai opted to sit outside in the garden on the swing seat. He untied his necktie and tossed it to the green ground, cussing.

I sat beside him. “Are you… okay?” I couldn’t help asking the dreaded question. I wanted to say anything, just anything to invoke a conversation, even if I wasn’t okay myself.

He held his head between his hands. “No.”

“Do you… want some mint tea to calm down?”

“No. I’d prefer beer.”

I shook my head. “Talk to me. That’s better, Kai.”

He nodded, gulping. “Kimberlee is my ex,” he started. “But not a regular one. I’m sorry you saw her doing… that.”

The bitter feeling returned on my tongue at the mention of her name. “What about her?” I encouraged him when he stopped talking.

Kai looked on the verge of a panic attack, looking everywhere but at me. His hands were shaky, and his voice hoarse. One hand didn’t cease running through his messy hair, ruining the hairstyle he had. He took off his blazer and unbuttoned his dress shirt.

“She got me to jail,” he admitted in one go then looked at the opposite side of me.

I recoiled. “What?!” I noticed I was loud and bit my lip. “Sorry… This is just unexpected.”

The more sense Mum’s mail made, the more truthful I discovered it was, the more scared I got. Did that mean my boyfriend was a criminal? I couldn’t deny the fear that started building up in the pit of my stomach, but I had yet to hear the full story to judge.

The topic was obviously Kai’s least favourite, but we both knew I wouldn’t settle with delaying it more. Our relationship would take unpleasant turns if we were to pretend I didn’t see what Kim did. It was going to bite our backs and leave us restless until cleared out of the way.

Finally understanding the need to clear out confusions, Kai carefully explained, “My two ex-friends wanted to pull a prank that they ‘kidnapped’ her. She knew the idea was horrible, but she still went with it.”

I cringed. “That’s not funny. Not okay.”

He nodded. “They called me and asked for a ‘ransom’ for Kimberlee. I was a dumb teen unhealthily in love with his girlfriend. I went to them without telling anyone because they ‘threatened’ me. I didn’t even have the money. I went there with dad’s gun only.

“They had their faces covered. They were armless because it was all a prank. I almost killed both, but thankfully, they ended up with some leg shots only. They were on top of a building. Kim was blindfolded. She stumbled and fell off the building. She went in… in a coma.”

So, it was true he went to jail, and I couldn’t hide my initial disappointment. I finally knew who Kim was: a careless madwoman who thought endangering herself was funny to receive attention from her boyfriend.

“Kai…” I reached for his hand. “I’m sorry.”

Kai must’ve been in immense guilt for a long time to shoot two guys and see his ex-girlfriend fall into an extended coma. A year was a lot of time to wait and probably enough to lose hope.

He shook his head, telling me it was going to be okay. “I was devastated. We were all arrested and sentenced. My accusation was using a weapon without a license. I was later released because I was a victim under pressure in the whole case. 

“I got to leave two months later and lived alone for almost a year, close to where Kim stayed. After months, I let go for my sake… Kim didn’t deserve me after what she did. I didn’t have to stay by her side and live with the guilt. I’m not sure about the others, and honestly, I don’t wanna know.”

A year of Kai’s youth was wasted over a stupid prank. Only then I did understand what people meant by ‘he’d do anything for the girl he loved’. However, Kim’s deeds spoke of anything but love. That sounded more of a toxic relationship.

“Then I decided to return home to my old life. I missed everyone, and they missed me too.” Kai held my hand. “And I swear, Melanie, I did not want that to happen. I was merely preparing myself, then she appeared from nowhere and jumped me!”

I nodded. “I’m upset, but I understand…” I trailed off, licking my lips.

We rested back on the seat, stargazing. I went over all what he said in my head again. There was a lot to take in, so I was overwhelmed. Fear built up within me. Her return would certainly change a lot. My boyfriend’s hand sneaked my way and squeezed my own to reassure me.

Kai continued with a small smile, “When I met you, it wasn’t the best meeting.” He stifled a laugh. “But I can’t put it in words how glad I am, Melanie.”

I huffed. “You were too ill-mannered, honestly.”

His eyebrows met. “I thought there was a ghost! I didn’t recall that room had anyone in it.”

I frowned. My boyfriend side-hugged me, rubbing my back with a hand and caressing my hair with another. I cuddled into his chest. I pulled away a little later to tell him it was cold, and we should get inside to prepare for bed. I desperately needed to rest after the disturbing events to wipe what I saw off my memory; it was disappointing, nonetheless.

He gripped my wrist and pulled me back. “Baby?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Hmmm?”

I was in his lap in a second. He cupped my cheek and leant in to kiss me. I held his cheek back, making myself comfortable on his thighs. Kai’s lips moved carefully on mine, savouring the moment under the moonlight. Contrary to his gentle moves, I was a little more aggressive as if reclaiming the man.

He pulled away. The moonlight reflected in his mesmerising grey eyes. His hair locks tousled around his forehead. Kai looked at me as if I was the only woman in the world, getting me giddy and warm. His thumb caressed my cheek lightly, giving me a genuine smile, and I nuzzled into it.

Then he said the three words that stopped my world.

“Melanie, I love you.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I almost gasped at his declaration. Everything went silent, and I could only hear our breaths at that moment, but it wasn’t the awkward type. It was a moment when we let our feelings sink in and get acknowledged. My stomach started feeling funny. A nervous smile spread across my lips.

“You do?” I mumbled. “You’re not declaring that to make me feel better, are you?”

The ‘L’ word wasn’t something easy to say. It also didn’t only mean what it looked like—it could hide many more feelings than we thought. I needed to know why he loved me to ensure the genuineness. Kai and I did share a physical and mental connection. However, figuring when it was right to label our feelings could be tricky.

He was with me in both the tough and great times. He didn’t bail out in my darkest phases. He stood with me when I sounded like a hopeless case and gave me hope. However, all of that could’ve just been out of kindness. I had yet to test.

“I love you, I do,” he repeated. “I don’t know what state I would be in now if I didn’t meet you. I’d still be thinking about what happened and loathing myself, probably.” He pecked me again. “So, thank you, too, Melanie. You might not realise it, but you helped me.”

It was a moment of realisation to comprehend I did the same to him somewhat—stood with him in the tough times. Along the way, I developed an admiration for the guy that rapidly grew into romantic feelings. Knowing what he went through the previous year and his strength through it increased my admiration.

I fell back in his embrace, thinking whether I loved him too.

. . .

Ehem.

You think Mrs Kingston did that?

Thoughts about what happened to Kai and how it will affect their relationship?

Do you think Kai is sincere about his declaration?

What do you expect Kim is up to?

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