Trusting (KTH)

Chapter 24

Tae knew Clara had seen the news as soon as he walked into the room. She was sitting on the bed hunched over the little cub on her lap with her phone in her hand, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Taehyung sat next to her and carefully wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "It's going to be ok sweetheart. I promise."

"Really?" Clara asked. "How can you even say that? Did you even see the articles?"

Taehyung nodded in acknowledgement. "I know but we'll get through it together. I'm going to take care of everything."

"Tae, I'm scared. I saw some of the comments. There were pictures of weapons and... threats." Taehyung just rubbed her back as he continued to hold her close so she was leaning against him. "And I'm worried about the boys. What if they get hurt?"

"They aren't going to get hurt, Clara. We have all of the company's resources behind us and I'm going to make sure of it."

"Tae...I...I was just trying to do what you told me to. And I promise I didn't know they would leave the cub on the bed. I should have told them he could roll off. I just needed to breathe for a minute and your parents, they were so..."

Taehyung cut her off. "None of this was your fault Clara. I don't want you to think that way even for a minute, got it? None of it."

Clara continued to shake against his side while Taehyung kissed the side of her hair and tried to whisper words of encouragement.

Eventually he knew he had to break the moment. "Clara, I need to go back and meet with the company. Can you try to rest for a bit? I can take the boys with me so you can sleep."

"No!" Clara refused. "I don't want to be alone right now. Please don't leave me."

Taehyung gently shushed her. "Yoonseo will be in the main room of the suite ok? He'll make sure you stay safe."

Clara still refused. "I want to stay with you please. Just this one time. I really don't want to be away from you right now. What if your parents come back? Or someone else? I just, I'm not ready for it yet."

"Ok" Taehyung whispered against her head.

Between the two of them they gathered the boys along with a blanket they could lay on and a few toys. A few minutes later they were knocking on the door of the main suite for the band.

Hobi opened the door and let them in. Taehyung went in first carrying the little tiger since Clara insisted on keeping the recovering cub in her arms. Hobi gently put an arm around Clara's shoulder as she followed Taehyung in the door and offered a word of reassurance, reminding her that they were all with her.

Jungkook immediately hopped up and reached for the twin in Taehyung's arms. He needed a distraction if nothing else. He'd spent the time while Taehyung was gone reading the articles and he felt sick to his stomach. He didn't even want to think about what Clara must be feeling. Her son was injured. She was humiliated by her in-laws in a way that everyone had now seen. Her identity was public and people were being downright cruel. It was crushing to even think about being in her shoes. At least they had years to build up an immunity to this kind of thing. For Clara this was all new.

The boys quickly reconfigured their seating so there was a spot for Clara between Taehyung and Namjoon. Both of them crowded close to her on the couch, wanting to remind her of their presence.

The manager resumed the meeting after welcoming Clara and inquiring after the little boy in her arms.

"I think we all know that there is no going back now. We need to just acknowledge the twins are Taehyung and Clara's. Beyond that we work to scrub what we can from social media and news sites and ask for privacy. The security team is on high alert and updating all of the safety plans. One thing that makes this easier is now Clara and the boys can openly travel with Taehyung which offers some extra security."