Night Owl

Night Owl Ch.8

Disbelief washed over me, my steps recoiling instinctively from him. I was hurt, deeply, yet a part of my mind chastised me for feeling so. Where he worked, how he lived—it was foolish to think I was his only client. Glancing around at the opulence of his home, the reality was stark; his lifestyle was not sustained by just one.

What the fuck was I thinking? Why did I let myself believe otherwise? This pain, this gnawing doubt was precisely why I kept to myself. I couldn't stand the bitter taste of disillusionment, the echo inside whispering I was never enough.
I had to leave. Snatching my purse, I bolted for the door.

Just as my hand clasped the handle, his fingers wrapped around my wrist, desperate to make me stay.

"Lily, please listen," he pleaded.

"Don't call me that. Don't you dare call me that. I'm leaving, JK." I yanked my wrist free and pushed through the door, his name bitter on my tongue. I had barely reached the end of the driveway when he appeared in front of me again.

"JK, please don't make me move you. You know that I can, so please don't make me," I warned, my voice icy, my gaze pained.

"Lily, please just listen, please," he begged, his voice cracking with desperation.

Tears blurred my vision—tears that I hadn't shed in three years, yet he had drawn them out twice in a single week. My anger was building, fueling my strength, and I feared what it might compel me to do. I had to get away before I did something irrevocable.

"Lily, I'm just going to talk, and I hope you listen," he called out, trailing me as I headed for the main road to catch a cab.

"Lily, I meant what I said when I told you I cared for you," he began, his words slicing through the cool night air.
I kept walking, his words fading into the background like white noise.

"I told Yoongi that I only had one attendee because I only had one that mattered to me," he continued, his voice earnest, trying to bridge the distance I'd put between us.

I stopped, and behind me, I heard his hurried steps falter.

"What are you talking about, JK?" My voice was barely a whisper, fragile and breaking.

He shuffled closer, his desperation palpable. "Lily, none of my other attendants mean anything to me. It's just the job, it's mindless," he confessed, his voice low.

"JK, everything we did together, you've done with someone else," I sighed, turning to face his defeated gaze.

"I'm not a child, and I'm not naive. I knew I couldn't be the only one, but when you said that I was that night at the bar, I felt...special," I admitted, my voice quivering as tears spilled over.

"It's hard enough to meet someone quasi-normal, even harder to meet someone that I truly care about, that gets me, that isn't afraid of me," I stammered, the truth laying bare the depth of my vulnerability.

"I know it was stupid for me to have hope, but it was also stupid for you to give it to me," I said, crossing my arms to shield myself from more pain.

"Lily...I," he started, his voice trailing off as he struggled to find the right words.

"JK, stop calling me that," I snapped, the sting of knowing I might not be his only 'Lily' souring my mood further. I pivoted on my heel, attempting to distance myself as I heard his footsteps shuffle behind me.

As he reached out in a desperate attempt to keep me there, I dodged, wary of my own strength and the potential harm I could cause him.

"Rae..." The sound of my real name from his lips cut deeper than any nickname ever could. Our eyes met—both sets glistening with unshed tears—as he pleaded, "Please don't leave me."