Page 48 of Billionaire’s Heartbreak

The rain had just stopped when we landed. It wasn’t the kind of storm that ripped trees from their roots, destroyed houses, or flooded streets. Nothing like the tropical rain in Malaysia that came down as if the sky were breaking apart.

Just enough rain to leave the air damp and heavy, the sky grey and miserable.

Some things, though, hadn’t changed. I still hated coming here.

Hong Kong was beautiful in its own way—busy, alive, full of energy. But for me, every street seemed to carry a memory I’d spent years trying to outrun.

I had been afraid of what Dannie represented. A triad boss. Dangerous. Ruthless. Untouchable.

And yet, when Kai broke my heart, Dannie had followed me to Malaysia and left his world behind because I needed someone to hold on to. I told myself it was temporary. That he would go back eventually. But he stayed.

Now I understood what I hadn’t wanted to admit. He had given up more for me than I ever realized.

And now I was back.

Not because I wanted to be. Not because I was ready. Because this time, it was my turn to stay.

Our private jet had been cleared before we landed, so the Business Aviation Centre was almost empty. A few ground staff moved quietly around us while Kai’s security stood nearby, watching and waiting.

Dave was already waiting outside.

Three black SUVs were parked near the entrance, engines running, their windows dark enough that I couldn’t see who was inside. More cars pulled out behind us as we drove away from the airport, falling into line without needing to be told.

Kai had changed before we landed. A cap pulled low over his face. A plain white T-shirt with a small logo on the chest. Grey sweatpants that looked a little too big for him.

I had never seen him dressed like that before. Yet somehow, he looked more at ease than I’d ever seen him.

Like the version of him I’d known before everything went wrong—the man who once handed me ninety-nine one-hundred-dollar bills for my birthday as if it were nothing.

Sitting this close to him again made my chest tighten in a way I didn’t want to understand. I didn’t know this version of him anymore. Not really.

Dave had been talking almost nonstop since we got into the car, but most of it was security.

Who was watching the house. Which routes were safe. Where the extra men had been stationed. What had changed while Kai was gone and what he needed to know before we reached the city.

My mind slowly tuned him out. His voice faded into the background, turning into white noise as I stared out the window and watched the wet streets slide past, barely hearing a word he said.

I wondered if this was new. I didn’t remember Dave talking this much before. But this wasn’t a casual conversation.

He was talking about our security. Our safety. Mine, especially.

“Mrs. Li visited Shang Shang Ren International School yesterday,” Dave said from the front seat. “They’ll guarantee Huan Huan a place. Lucy hasn’t decided yet.”

My stomach tightened at the mention of Lucy. I turned toward the window, pretending to watch the wet streets.

They’d only been back in Shanghai for two days, and Lucy was already planning ahead for her child. Meanwhile, I hadn’t even found a proper nanny for Maru.

Some mother I was.

The car slowed, then turned sharply down a ramp into an underground parking garage. Concrete walls surrounded us, broken by dim lights and empty spaces. A few seconds later, we stopped.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“A safe house,” Dave answered.

I looked at Kai. “Yours? Or Dannie’s?”

He didn’t answer. That was answer enough.