He stood up abruptly, pulling her up with him thanks to the handcuffs, and pinned her against the wall. His grip on her wrist tightened.
Ni-ki leaned in closer, his voice a cold whisper. "You're playing with fire, angel. Don't think for a second tha...
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"IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THE WEDDING LAST NIGHT WENT SO WELL," Mr. Jin observed, leaning back in his chair as sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the morning after the chaos. Rhaine and Ni-ki sat stiffly on the couch across from him at her house.
Rhaine rubbed her eyes, still in her pyjamas. Beside her, Ni-ki lounged with a casual air, arms crossed and sunglasses perched on his head.
"Seriously, you two look like you've just crawled out of a war zone," Mr. Jin continued, a bemused expression on his face. "It's a good thing this was a private wedding. Imagine if the paparazzi was there! Is this how you plan to keep up the facade of being a couple?"
Rhaine's stomach churned at the thought. "We're fine," she replied curtly, her voice sharper than she intended.
"Fine, huh?" Mr. Jin raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "You can't keep avoiding each other. The whole point of this relationship is to make it believable."
"Don't you want to know what happened last night that's making us so tense?" Rhaine asked. "And why didn't I see you around?"
"No. Not really. I'm focused on the now and getting you guys straight right now," Mr. Jin said. "And I couldn't attend. Personal matters. I had someone fill in for me."
Ni-ki finally shifted, his gaze still focused ahead. "I don't see what the big deal is."
Mr. Jin sighed, "If you're going to make it work, you can't keep avoiding each other like this. You need to talk."
Rhaine's heart raced at the thought of confronting Ni-ki. "Talk about what? How you used your powers on me last night?" she snapped, glancing at Ni-ki finally. "That's a great conversation starter."
"Are we seriously going to keep bringing that up?" Ni-ki replied, irritation creeping into his tone. "It was a mistake."
"A mistake that hurt me!" Rhaine shot back, her voice rising. "You don't get to just brush it off like it didn't matter."
Mr. Jin rubbed the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated. "Ni-ki, using your powers on a human is against modern kumiho code. You know that!" he scolded, his gaze shifting to Rhaine. "And you can't let him manipulate you like that."
"Are you seriously lecturing me too?!" Rhaine groaned in frustration.
"Honestly, I expected more from you two after last night. At least a little progress."
Ni-ki leaned back on the couch, indifferent to the criticism. "What do you want me to say? It's not my fault."
"Not your fault, huh?" Rhaine was in utter disbelief.
"Nuh-uh," he shook his head.
She rolled her eyes, feeling the urge to scream and laugh at the absurdity of it all. "You're impossible."
