586 Willing* (1/2)

But now, she couldn't stop crying in this man's arms. She knew that the extreme panic and fear had overwhelmed her entire being, but she also knew that she was unable to stop the tears because of this man holding her. The moment he held her, her walls and defenses crumbled. His embrace and touch were so gentle they seemed to be whispering to her it was okay for her to cry. She never even cried this long before. She would always, always force herself to stop, a voice inside her telling her the words, 'okay, that's enough, it's time to wipe the tears and rise again,' even during the times when she felt like she hadn't had cried enough. But this time, the voice didn't come.

All she could feel was Kai's wide palm patting her back so gently as if to him, she was some fragile vase.

After what seemed to be a very long time, Kelly's tears finally stopped. She started to hiccup as she pulled her face away from his shoulder. She hadn't heard him spoke again after saying he was sorry.

”You should've told me to stop crying,” she uttered between her hiccups as she looked at him. His eyes still pained, but they were no longer mixed with those dark and dangerous emotions.

He lifted his hand to her face, and his fingers shook a little as he wiped the remnants of tears on her face. ”You can… cry on me all you want. I won't stop you even if you drown me with your tears.” His voice was low and still filled with hurt.

His words made Kelly smile. She reached out and settled her hand below his ear. Her thumb was caressing his strong jaw. ”Thank you for coming for me… for saving me… for being here, holding me…” she uttered, and she planted a kiss on his lips.

Kai's grip on her tightened, and he was about to kiss her hard when a sound made him pull away. He had knocked the guards on his way inside the house. It seemed some of them finally regained consciousness.

”I need to take you away from here, now.” He said, and after glancing at the bloodied man on the floor, Kai stood and dashed out of the place as he carried Kelly in his arms.

Kai headed to a red sports car and was about to put Kelly on the passenger seat when Kelly refused to let him go. He looked at her, and upon seeing Kelly's playful smile, he sat on the driver's seat, with her on his lap.

”You used this car to come here, right?”

”Yes.”

”Where are we going?” Kelly broke the silence.

”To the hospital.”

”But I'm alright.”

”You're not.”

Kelly bit her lips. She wanted to insist but seeing the look on Kai's face, she stopped herself. She could tell that he might be blaming himself for what happened to her. She wanted to coax him, soothe whatever it was that he was feeling, but she knew the first thing she must do was listen to him. If he heard from the doctor that she was alright, it would definitely make him feel better. And so, she fell quiet and let him drove quietly at a breakneck speed while she glued herself to him.

They had briefly stopped in a store where Kai had quickly gone to buy Kelly clothes before they went straight to the hospital. And once they get there, everything went on so smoothly.

”See? I told you I am fine. Did you forget you used to call me a 'hooligan'?” Kelly teased, a smirk curved on her lips as they returned to the car. Kai glanced at her, and he pressed his lips together as he looked away.

”What. What's with that expression?”

”I'm not going to call you that again.”

”Oh, really? Is it because you want to call me something else? Something a loottt better and sweeter? Maybe, like…”

Kai halted in his track. He looked at her as if he was waiting for what she'd say next. But Kelly simply chuckled. ”I'm not going to say it.”

For a while, he just stood there, watching her laugh. His face finally softened a little, seeing that Kelly was smiling again, laughing again. When he heard the news from Alex, Kai had almost lost his mind. And when she saw her tied on the chair in front of that bastard holding a belt, he almost went insane. Words were not enough to describe everything that he had felt at that moment. It was indeed a miracle how he managed to keep his sanity intact. If he had arrived seconds later and that bastard had managed to slash her with his belt, Kai was certain that man would be dead by now.

Once they reached the car, Kai didn't try to put her on the passenger anymore. He just sat on the driver's seat with her in his arms.