Page 25 of Billionaire’s Promise

“Me too. Come sit down next to me,” I offered, trying to prepare Kai for what Dr. Rose might say after. He could do with a friend right about now.

Kai poured himself a glass of whiskey and downed it before joining us. “You can tell me the bad news.”

“Okay. Jenny seems to think that she is running away from some kind of danger.”

“I wouldn’t call that danger,” Kai interrupted.

“Mr. Li, whatever situation she’s in might not seem dangerous or feel like any kind of threat to you, but in her mind it is. And one should not judge her for feeling that way.”

Kai nodded, because Dr. Rose was right.

“How can I help?” I chimed in.

“She needs to feel safe. And the good news is – she feels that here. That’s why she came here in the first place. However, Jenny hasn’t slept for a long time. She’s constantly worrying that someone might come and get her in the middle of the night. I need to carry out a proper diagnosis when she’s more herself. I believe she’s at risk for self-harm and possibly even a suicide attempt.”

“She told you that?” Kai hit the coffee table in front of him.

“Her exact words were that she wishes she could end it all,” Dr. Rose said softly.

“Did she say who’s causing her pain?” Kai sounded a little angry as he demanded an answer.

“No. But I suspect it was someone very close to her. Please gather yourself before I say this.” I could sense another surge of anger flowing through Kai. “I think it would be best if I examine her to see if she’s been raped.”

6

June

The man I knew as Kai left the building as soon as Dr. Rose mentioned the word “rape”. What was left was just a body without a soul. His eyes became a scary void, an emptiness that could suck out all the happiness from me if my gaze lingered there too long, so I looked away. I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t take away the pain he was feeling right now.

Rape was a terrible thing to go through. I had helped many sexual assault victims over the years, so I knew some of what they went through. The worst part was a lot of them were violated by people that they actually knew and trusted.

I shuffled a little closer to Kai and wrapped my arms around him gently. I had no idea if that would make him feel better. Actually, I was pretty sure nothing in the world would make him feel better right now. It hurt my heart to see him like that.

I realized then that a very small part of me was jealous that Jenny had someone like Kai, someone who cared so much about her. He had the kind of smile that could brighten up a room, it had even helped me find my own smile once.

When we eventually found Chloe three years ago, alive and well, with a new name and a new life, I was so happy. Until the feelings of betrayal creeped in. Did she know how much sadness she had caused me? Why did she think she couldn’t share her little secret with me? Had I ever not been a good secret keeper for her?

The worst thing was when I found out that Lincoln knew all this time but didn’t tell me.

They owed me those tears; those years I’d mourned her. They owed me six months of my life when I practically couldn’t function.

“I’ll be there alongside Dr. Rose during the procedure.” My voice was slow and soft, the same one I used with my patients. “If Jenny wants me to be.”

I hadn’t performed many of these tests before, but I was trained as an OB-GYN, now as a fertility specialist, so I knew the procedure very well. The thought of actually performing the test turned my stomach upside down. I never liked it. It was just something I had to do. My duty to help victims.

Although I had only just met Jenny, it would be extremely hard to do the test on her with our personal connection through her cousin. But the process wouldn’t be nearly as hard for me as it would be for her, of course.

Kai finally moved. The movement was so tiny that I wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t in my arms.

“Thank you.” He mouthed the words quietly as if the act of talking itself was too tiring. I assumed that Kai wanted me to be there for Jenny, even though he didn’t actually ask me.

Kai opened his mouth again, but this time nothing came out. Was he lost for words?

He sighed lightly and repeated the act once more.

I knew that he must have questions for Dr. Rose. It wasn’t uncommon to be found speechless at a time like this. Trust me, I knew.

“What makes you think we should do a rape test?” Maybe this was what Kai wanted to ask but couldn’t find the words or courage to. I decided to shoot Dr. Rose a few questions to ease Kai’s frown.