Nunew accidentally crashes CEO Zee Pruk Panich's car when working as a valet. He expects Zee to make him pay back the cost of damages but the young businessman has another arrangement in mind.
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The kitchen was dark as I stood in it, crawling with shadows, barely illuminated by the pale glow of the moon. Morning was slowly approaching but darkness still lingered. It felt like a mirror, reminding me through its somber reflection that we weren't past everything just yet. There was light but it was fragile, just breaking through to the dawn, still very easily snuffed out if we let it get away from us.
My fingers flexed as I poured fresh coffee grounds into a filter, sifting them until they were settled. I loaded the machine and pressed the button to start brewing. The coffee maker sputtered to life, hissing and steaming as it slowly began its steady drip into my mug.
I hadn't slept last night. Or the night before. In fact, I hadn't been able to find any rest since that night. My eyes caught sight of my knuckles, still faintly bruised, the wounds scabbed over as they healed. Some part of me wished the discoloration would stay. I wanted to keep that moment. I wanted it painted on my soul forever. The look on my father's face. That tiny second where I saw what I had all but sworn hadn't ever existed.
His lapse in power was what fueled me. It had given me strength I hadn't known existed within me. But for everything it had offered me, it had also taken things too. My peace of mind. My sleep.
His smile was like a stain in my mind, seared into my memories as I thought of that night. His lips had been drenched in vivid red, dripping with his blood. Those black eyes had turned to burning flames, void of emotion yet filled with something else. Intrigue. Probably rage. I hadn't really looked that hard. I hadn't wanted to. The curve of his lips and that fucking laugh had been enough make me turn away. They'd been enough to keep me from fully allowing hope into my mind.
I'd sat on the bed once I'd returned to the penthouse that night, reliving what I'd done. I should have regretted it. There was no way my father would let it slide. He was too fucking proud—too fucking insane to let his son get the better of him. But as days went by, I started to wonder if that fear I'd seen was more real than I had first imagined. Maybe it was more powerful. Maybe it had changed the tide, just a bit. Enough to make my father second guess whatever plan he had next. Or maybe he'd decided to back down entirely.
Not likely but at this point, anything was possible. I'd never seen my father walk away when someone who challenged him but this time felt different.
I wanted to believe there was hope that things would finally be over. Nunew had seemed apprehensive at first. I'd told him what happened. He'd worried over me—over his mother. Rightfully so but I didn't like it. He had brought up going to the country again but I'd shot it down. He asked if we could go together. I told him we needed to move on. In actuality, I wasn't ready to take the risk of leaving the city again.
When we were here, I knew I could protect him. I had eyes on the penthouse and a security team at my disposal. In the country, we were vulnerable. Together or not, it'd only make us an easy target. I wouldn't let that happen. Not again.
