Page 33 of Billionaire’s Cruelty

“Are you okay?” We spoke in unison.

I let out an awkward laugh, brushing off the embarrassment “I’m okay.”

“Be careful.”

But I wasn’t thinking about my fall—I was still thinking about his arm.

“What happened to your arm?” I asked as he helped me to stand upright, his touch warm against my skin.

“You really want to know?”

“Yes.” My voice was barely above a whisper, but it felt loud in the quiet tension hanging between us. Part of me had already guessed—a moment of violence—but I needed to hear it from him.

He exhaled slowly. “Cooking incident.”

“Really?” It wasn’t the answer I expected.

“Yes.” His reply was clipped, staccato. He was lying.

“I want to know.” I pressed on.

“I told you.” His reply slower now, but firm and final.

“I want to know,” I repeated, my heart thudding against my ribs. Once, he had told me everything—well, almost everything. He always left out the ugliest details, the ones he thought I couldn’t handle.

“No, you can’t know everything.”

“Why not?”

I wanted us to go back—to the way things used to be. Even though part of me knew it was impossible. But being here, standing so close to him, I still felt safe. And that much hadn’t changed. Not at all.

“That’s life. Deal with it.”

“Fine.”

Rage simmered beneath my skin. I heard it in my own voice. It wasn’t fair—I knew that. But I couldn’t stop it. The fear, the frustration, the gnawing ache of losing Kai again—it all boiled over, and Dannie was the one standing in the blast zone. He didn’t deserve it. He had nothing to do with Kai’s disappearance. I repeated that to myself, trying to shove the anger down.

“Don’t you ‘fine’ me,” he snapped, his voice like a whip cracking through the air. “I want to know everything too.”

“Like what?”

“Like what? I can’t believe you have the nerve to ask.” His hands curled into fists at his sides, knuckles whitening as the dam finally broke. “First of all—why did you leave without saying goodbye? Do you have any idea how humiliating it was every time someone asked me where the fuck my wife was?”

His voice rose with each word, raw and filled with years of bottled-up anger. “People talked behind my back—laughing at me. ‘The boss of the Red Hawk Clan can’t even keep his woman.’ Do you know what that felt like? Huh? Go ahead—laugh with them.”

I didn’t laugh.

“And why are you really here, June?” His words hung heavy in the air, vibrating with all the pain I had left behind.

7

Kai

Her hair smelled heavenly. I pulled her closer, holding her tighter against me.

Spooning had never been my thing, it was something I used to think was a waste of time. But with June, it felt different. I could’ve stayed like that forever—just lying there, holding her. I didn’t even need to see her face to know how beautiful she looked. There was a warmth in having her in my arms, a sense of calm I hadn’t felt in years. She was like a safety blanket—the kind of comfort every kid needs growing up. Her skin was impossibly soft, her curves fitting perfectly against me.

She whispered softly to me. “You are…”