CHAPTER 28
Lucian didn't reply to the message, simply placing the phone back down. He then turned his attention to Rayne, who was already focused on work, reviewing two open files on the desk in front of him.
"Lucian, I will be fine in a few days," Rayne said firmly. "So, starting tomorrow, you don't need to stick with me and come to work.”
Hearing Rayne's statement, Lucian was genuinely shocked; he hadn't expected Rayne to say something so independent.
"You know, I just can't have you stuck with me like this forever," Rayne explained. "You have your own work, and because of me, you haven't been able to focus on anything.”
"No, I'm not that busy," Lucian countered immediately. "I'm happy to be with you, and it's good that we're spending more time together. But yes, tonight I am busy. Could you handle being alone without me for just this evening? I promise, I'll be with you again starting tomorrow.”
Rayne nodded in agreement, but fear was clearly visible on his face.
Lucian, knowing he absolutely needed to go tonight, gently patted Rayne's head.
"Good boy," Lucian murmured. After that, they both worked until evening, having lunch together in the afternoon.
Rayne was determined to finish the work that had piled up during the past week he'd been absent.
When Rayne was finally done, he and Lucian left the office. They found San standing there; he too had been working late. "Boss, you're leaving? Have a good night, and don't worry about the work. You can rest for a few more days; I'll handle everything here," San said sincerely.
Rayne offered a small smile as he and Lucian departed. Lucian gave San a quick nod before they left the building.
They sat in the back seat of the car while Coral drove.
"Can I ask what work you have tonight?" Rayne asked, looking directly at Lucian.
Lucian was caught off guard, surprised that Rayne would ask such a direct question.
"Well, it's something related to a company affair.
I'll let you know later, don't worry," Lucian replied, keeping the truth about Iosif hidden.
Back at the house, Rayne eventually fell asleep. As soon as he did, Lucian quietly left.Coral was waiting in the car outside. Lucian grabbed the door handle, opened it, and settled into the passenger seat. He was dressed in a long black coat over a crisp white shirt.
Coral started the drive, taking them to a club where Iosif was being held in the underground level.
As they walked inside, scores of Lucian's subordinates bowed respectfully.
Finally, Lucian looked ahead: Iosif was suspended from the ceiling by a rope that bound his hands together.
Below him sat a large container, easily big enough to fit five people.
Ren was sitting in a chair beside the container, playing a game on his mobile phone.
When Ren noticed Lucian, he grinned. "Oh, you're here?
Look at this jerk. I dipped his feet into the acid, and he still didn't even beg.
He's a boring one."
Before Lucian arrived, Ren had been torturing Iosif, dipping his feet into acid to inflict intense pain.
Iosif had screamed, but then he had passed out, leaving Ren bored; he had no interest in torturing an unconscious person.
"Very well. I'll take over from here. Make him awake right now," Lucian ordered. He removed his long coat, tossing it at Coral, and stepped forward.
Ren threw a bucket of water onto Iosif, shocking him back into consciousness. Iosif opened his eyes, and when he saw Lucian standing before him, his rage intensified.
"You bastard! How dare you kidnap me? You tied my hands like this because you're terrified I'll kill you. That just shows how scared you are!" Iosif barked.
Lucian smirked at the accusation, leveling a deadly glare at Iosif. "Do you truly think you can kill me?”
Iosif made a face of utter disgust at Lucian's question."Bring him down and untie his hands," Lucian mocked, his voice laced with challenge. "I'd like to see how much guts he truly has. After all, I need to pay him back for what he did to my Rayne.”
"Rayne is mine! He is only mine!" Iosif declared, fueled by delusion. "I will snatch him away from you, jerk. You are just some thug whom Rayne doesn't even love; he only married you because of his family. He still loves me!”
Iosif delivered his nonsense with an air of complete confidence, but his words only served to infuriate Lucian. Lucian rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing his large, powerful hands. Veins stood out on his arms as he stood there, preparing for the fight.
Ren turned on his mobile camera and began recording the scene. "Good! Now give me good shots. Lucian, use your fists, okay?" Ren chuckled, excited by the violence.
Iosif was brought down, and as soon as his hands were untied, he tried to run. But his acid-burned feet gave out, and he nearly fell before even reaching Lucian, managing to balance himself only by resting a hand on the cold wall.
Lucian scoffed. "What happened? Can't even walk now?" Hearing the taunt, Iosif gritted his teeth and spun around. At that exact moment, a fist struck his face. Lucian punched Iosif hard and then stood back, watching his expression.
Iosif shook his head, dizzied, wiping the blood from his mouth.
His whole body trembled, but he still glared up at Lucian.
Driven by hate, he lunged forward, striking a punch at Lucian's face.
Lucian easily dodged the blow and, instead, delivered a savage kick directly to Iosif's stomach.
The force of the single kick drove Iosif's hands to his abdomen, and his face instantly turned pale from the blinding pain.
Iosif doubled over, violently coughing up blood. Ren immediately covered his nose, acting as if Iosif's blood smelled foul.
Lucian spat contemptuously on the ground. "What, you can't even handle one kick? You're already coughing blood like
you're about to die if I punch you again.”
Iosif forced his injured body to look up at Lucian, his voice raw with spite. "Do you know what I did with Rayne that day? Did he tell you? I'm sure he didn't. How could he tell you, when he was enjoying himself, moaning under me?”
Lucian took a step forward, grabbed Iosif by the back of his shirt, and slammed him against the wall. He was about to hit him again when his mobile buzzed. Lucian kicked Iosif once more before pulling the phone from his pocket.
It was Rayne calling. Lucian frowned. Rayne had been sleeping when he left the house. If he was calling now, that meant he had woken up. Lucian answered immediately and walked away from there.
(Lucian) “Hello, Rayne?”
(Rayne) “Lucian, where are you right now? Please come back home. There’s someone in the house.”
(Lucian) “Did you have a nightmare? Calm down. It must be the servants or the bodyguards. No one is going to hurt you. And why do you sound so hoarse? Where are you right now?”
(Rayne) “I’m in the bathroom. Someone was standing in front of the bedroom door. I’m so scared… and there’s no power. The electricity went out.”
Lucian found it hard to believe.
(Lucian) “I’m coming back right away. Don’t come out of the bathroom.”
(Rayne) “Please don’t hang up. Keep talking to me.”
(Lucian) “I’m not hanging up.”
Lucian signaled Coral to leave. As they did, Ren followed them out. Lucian and Coral got into the car, and Coral drove off immediately.
By the time they reached home, the house was completely dark. Guards were running around inside. Just as Lucian stepped in, the power came back on.
The guards froze when they spotted him, then rushed over to report.
“Due to a technical issue, the power went out. We were fixing it, and it’s resolved now.”
Lucian nodded. Coral left the house with the guards. Without wasting another second, Lucian rushed toward his bedroom.
When he stepped inside, he saw half the blanket lying on the floor beside the bed. His gaze snapped to the bathroom. He opened the door and found Rayne sitting inside the empty bathtub, his knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around them, his chin resting on top.
“Rayne!” Lucian called out in worry as he rushed to him.
Rayne stretched his hands up toward Lucian, silently asking to be picked up. Tears streamed down his face. His eyes were red, his nose flushed.
Lucian didn’t hesitate. He slid his hands under Rayne’s arms and lifted him up, holding him like a koala. Rayne immediately rested his head on Lucian’s shoulder and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck.
Lucian carried him out of the bathroom and gently placed him on the bed. He kicked the fallen blanket aside, opened the wardrobe, and took out a fresh one.
When Lucian turned back, he froze.
Rayne was staring at him with wide, sleepy eyes. They were red and heavy with exhaustion, closing for a second at a time as if he were forcing himself to stay awake, afraid to fall asleep alone.
Lucian walked over, covered Rayne with the blanket, then removed his shirt and lay down beside him, half-naked. The moment Rayne saw him there, he curled straight into Lucian’s arms.
Lucian hugged him tightly and gently patted his head.
“Don’t worry. I’m here. The power went out because of a technical issue. The people you heard were just guards fixing it. You were scared for nothing.”
Rayne nuzzled his face against Lucian’s chest and finally closed his eyes.
The next day, when Rayne woke up, his head felt heavy. As he glanced to his side, he realized he was sleeping in Lucian’s arms, while Lucian was still fast asleep.
Rayne tried to slip out of Lucian’s hold, but the grip around him was so strong that he couldn’t move away.
Left with no choice, he gently pinched Lucian’s nose. “Lucian,” he called his name softly.
Lucian frowned as he woke up, and when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Rayne’s face. A soft smile immediately appeared on Lucian’s lips.
“You’re awake? How are you feeling now?” Lucian asked.
“I’m feeling fine because you’re with me. But when I move away from you, that fear comes back again,” Rayne said, his voice low.
Rayne had been scared even last night. He kept feeling as if Losif would come back and do those things to him again. That was why he had been so frightened.
But his mind also warned him not to cling too much to Lucian. What if Lucian found it annoying? What if Lucian thought Rayne was no longer good enough for him?
Too many pointless, tangled thoughts hovered in his mind, refusing to leave.
“What are you thinking?” Lucian’s voice reached his ears, snapping Rayne out of his thoughts.
Rayne shook his head, as if he hadn’t been thinking about anything at all. Soon, they both sat up. Lucian gently took Rayne’s hands and pressed a kiss to his palm.
“You know you don’t need to be scared of Losif anymore,” Lucian said softly.
Lucian had thought about it hundreds of times, whether he should show Rayne the clip of Losif being beaten or not.
In the end, his mind told him no. There was no guarantee that nothing would happen after seeing it.
Anything could go wrong. Rayne might even start feeling afraid of Lucian too, once he realised that Lucian was part of the yakuza.
But Lucian’s heart told him otherwise. It urged him to show Rayne the clip, because in it, the very same Losif Rayne feared so deeply was the one being beaten.
Lucian had already asked Ren for the clip, so he grabbed his phone from the table and showed the video to Rayne.
As Rayne watched, his eyes widened, and he fell silent. He kept replaying the video in the mobile, over and over.
Lucian, unsure of what Rayne was feeling, simply sat there, quietly observing him.
Meanwhile, Rayne suddenly looked up and wrapped his arms around Lucian, pulling him into a tight hug. It caught Lucian off guard. He hadn’t expected Rayne to hug him like that.
“Thank you so much, Lucian,” Rayne said softly.
Lucian’s eyes widened, and in that moment, he understood exactly why Rayne was thanking him. After a pause, he told Rayne that Losif was being kept in their warehouse. They had already captured him, and if Rayne wanted to beat Losif himself, it might help him feel better.
Rayne didn’t believe it at first, but Lucian cupped his face, his own expression turning serious.
“The fear and trauma you’re feeling because of that jerk… why don’t we give him the same?” Lucian said.