Page 63 of Billionaire’s Cruelty

“And I don’t?”

“That’s not what I mean,” I choked out, tears blurring my vision. “He kept me safe when I was away from home, alone. There was a time when nothing I did felt right. My mother didn’t approve of the medical school I chose. She wanted me to attend a more prestigious one—someplace where I could leverage the powerful pharmaceutical connections she had meticulously arranged for me. My dad wanted me to do anything else but that—he probably didn’t think I had what it took to be a doctor. I felt like a failure. All I needed was some time to myself, so I ran here. To Hong Kong. I thought being around people who looked like me would make me feel safe.”

I wiped tears off my cheek. “But I was wrong because I didn’t speak a word of Cantonese or Mandarin. People assumed I was a fake, a pretender. Then I met this American guy, but he… he…” My breath hitched as a hiccup threatened to escape. “He wasn’t a friend. He violated me in a dark alley. If it weren’t for Dannie finding me that night, I would have ended my life then and there.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Kai murmured as he stood and wrapped me in his arms. “I’m so sorry. I feel like such an idiot.”

“In so many ways, he saved me. I couldn’t speak for days. I had lost all hopes, and he let me stay at his house while I got better.”

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated, his hand reaching up to stroke my hair gently.

Anger surged through me suddenly, and I pushed him away. “I didn’t want to remember that. Why did you make me bring it all up?”

Kai said nothing, only holding me tighter as if his touch could soothe the pain away.

“I still have nightmares from that night,” I admitted, my voice trembling. “I remember how he grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fight him off. I can still feel how helpless I was, how he pinned me down like I was nothing.”

Tears poured from my eyes again, hot and unrelenting. “You know what? Maybe it isn’t kind of me to say this, but I didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy when Dannie wrung the last breath out of his neck.”

“I don’t know what else to say,” Kai whispered, his voice rough with emotion.

“You need to trust me.”

“I do trust you.”

“Then why don’t you act like it? Do you know no one has ever trusted me? My family never believed I could accomplish anything on my own. My best friend couldn’t trust me with her secrets. And now you don’t trust that I wouldn’t cheat on you?”

“That’s not what I mean. I trust you, of course I do.”

“Come with me.”

Without another word, I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the restaurant. I hailed a taxi, dragging him inside before Wendy and Trevon had a chance to catch up. I gave the driver the name of our hotel, determined to leave everything else behind us for now.

“What are you doing?”

“Introducing you to Dannie. You’ll see. He’s nice.”

“I’m sorry for doubting you. I really am. You have no idea how much I hate myself right now.”

I couldn’t see his expression clearly in the dark, but under the streetlight, I could just make out the tension in his jaw. He wasn’t happy.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I said quietly.

“Yes, but I had to go poking at that wound of yours. Believe me, I know about covering up old scars and never wanting to see them again.”

“What kind of old scars?” I asked. I had always known that Kai wasn’t as strong and charming as he pretended to be. Beneath the polished exterior, there were secrets he guarded fiercely—memories that haunted him, truths he refused to admit.

He hesitated. “When I⁠—”

We pulled up to the hotel just as he was about to reveal his deepest, darkest secret. My heart pounded with anticipation, but the moment slipped away. At the entrance, a familiar figure stood beneath the warm golden lights, a cigarette glowing between his fingers.

“Hey, Dannie,” I greeted him nonchalantly as I got out of the taxi.

Kai paid the driver and stepped out from other side, his posture tense but composed.

Dannie exhaled a slow stream of smoke, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly. “Where have you been? I had people looking for you everywhere.”

Behind him, two men hovered just out of the light, their presence a quiet reminder of the world Dannie lived in. As Kai joined me, their steps grew heavier, edging closer.