66
-Rose Dern-
I couldn't believe June could actually go that far.
Eri had told me the girl had a thing for Don but at this point, it seemed that thing had turned to obsession.
At this moment, all I hoped was that Eri was alright.
If anything was to happen to her, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stay sane.
She wasn't just a friend of mine, but also like a sister. If June had done anything to her, I promise I'd have killed her with my own two hands.
That was a certain.
Gosh, she was so useless and stupid.
How could she even do that.
Eri must be so scared and traumatized. She literally faced death
If getting married to Don was going to make her lose her life then maybe it was best to just leave the marriage.
I mean, there are many more men that'd want to be with her.
She was an epitome of beauty. Tons of people were bound to drool over her enough to want her.
“Rose, please head to my office.” Darien spoke through the intercom.
Again, the sound of his voice made my heart race pick.
Ever since the kiss when he dropped me home, I'd done my ultimate best to avoid (not sure why).
All we talked about was work-related stuff.
Whenever he tried breaching the discussion to something more private, I'd find a way to dismiss it.
Now, I just stood up with a small sigh.
My thoughts didn't have the strength to be occupied by him at this point, Eri's safety was already filling me.
So I left the office without even bothering to do a quick glance at my appearance like I normally would, then went to stand in front of the desk opposite him.
His gaze was fixed to the laptop, as expected.
“You called for me.” I wanted to add ‘sir’ but that felt too formal. Not that I wanted any informality between us.
“Oh, uh… yeah.” He turned to me, picking some papers beside him on the desk. “Can you work on these for me?”
I nodded, holding the papers and expecting him to let go.
But he didn't.
That surprised me enough to turn to him with drawn brows.
“Are you alright?” His tone held slight concern in them. Like he could guess what the problem was.
My initial response was a nod, letting him know I was fine.
But I wasn't.
Was there any use lying when it wasn't true.
At the moment, I really wished to talk to someone on how I felt inside.
It wasn't something I could share with Suzy, as I was trying to play the strong one and didn't want to start making her feel afraid.
And I wasn't that close with my other friends to start having personal discussions with them.
With a defeated sigh, I realized there was no one else to talk to than the one asking in front of me. “Not really.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“I guess.”
Together, we walked side by side in silence, before stopping by the waters, where he surprisingly sat on the bare sand when I did the same.
We were silent for another few minutes, just listening to the waves of the waters.
“Did you go to beaches as a kid?” His question had come unexpectedly so I was left off-guard for a few seconds.
“Not much actually.” Mr send wrapped around both knees. “I used to go with my parents during Decembers once in a while.”
“That's nice to know.”
I turned to him, where he was staring straight ahead, so I did the same.
“You three must be very close.” He said in a tone so calming, I felt like swimming in it.
“Yeah we are.” My tone matched his, which felt right in a late silent night alone at the beach.
“Those two are like sisters to me, and I love them both so much.” The thought of June made me sigh. “I really don't want to lose her because of June's obsession.”
He wad silent, probably giving me room to continue
“She choked her now which means she's capable of anything.” Tears embarrassingly welled in my eyes
Fighting back the tears, I continued. “I really love the fact Eri is happy with Don, and I like Don also, but if marriage is going to make Eri lose her life then I'll encourage her to leave it.”
The fact there is a possibility June could make her lose her life frightened the heck out of me, flowing more tears down my cheeks.
To worsen things, I had to break in a sob.
Out of embarrassment, I buried my head in my knee. “I'm sorry, I don't—”
The words were cut off by my flinching when his hand found its way round my chest, pulling me to lean on his surprisingly extremely hard chest.
Woah, how was he so hard? Did he work out.
No, that wasn't what I should be thinking about.
Eri was literally in possible danger and I was here thinking about a chest.
Would I even care about that if something was to happen to her.
Even thinking about that bought more unending sobs, so I just let them all flow into his chest, also inhaling his nice scent.
“What will happen to Suzy and I if anything was to happen to Eri? We've lost enough family member, we don't want more loss.”
I wouldn't normally be letting myself go so much, but when one is threatening to kill one of the only family members I had left, I guess I'd just lose it.
His second hand gently stroked my hair, immediately sending comfort my way.
“Eri will be alright. The search has begun for June and I'm sure she'll be found.” He said gently.
“You shouldn't worry yourself. I've known June almost as long as Don and she's not someone you should feel threatened by. She's seriously just a nobody.”
I sighed, wanting to believe him, but that was hard.
At least the tears had stopped.
I pulled away slightly, looking up at him, where he he moonlight cast shadows across his face
But I didn’t need to see him clearly to feel his warmth. His presence alone was enough.
“Thank you for today,” I whispered, my voice still shaky from everything.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he murmured. “It hurts to see you sad. I’d do anything to make you happy.”
My heart fluttered.
The way he said it—so sincere, so full of care—it made me feel special in a way I couldn’t explain.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned in, pressing a soft, quick kiss to his lips.
I felt him freeze for a second, probably surprised and my face immediately burned.
What was I thinking?!
“I’m sor—”
But before I could finish, his hand slid around my neck, pulling me back in.
This time, the kiss wasn’t quick or hesitant.
It was deep, slow, real. His lips moved against mine like they were meant to, like this was something we’d both been waiting for.
A shiver ran down my spine as warmth spread through me, wrapping around my heart like a promise.
I loved him.
I loved him so much it scared me.