An unknown man was sitting in his cluttered workroom, surrounded by stacks of papers and the soft hum of the computer. With a tired sigh, he reached for his steaming cup of coffee, seeking a momentary respite from the demands of the day. As the warm liquid touched his lips, a sudden jolt of pain shot through his hand, causing him to spill a few drops onto the desk.

Startled, he set the coffee down and glanced at his hand. There, on his palm, was a small but unmistakable wound-a tiny, shallow cut. He frowned, a mix of concern and confusion furrowing his brow. There is only one possibility for the sudden appearance of this peculiar injury, he thought. It was a connection, a bond he shared with someone he had once pushed away; a spirit who had once been an integral part of his life.

Memories flooded his mind, reminding him of the time when he had parted ways with her, offering her the excuse that the world was vast and didn't revolve solely around the two of them. He had believed he was doing what was best for both of them, but deep down, a lingering regret had persisted.

His worry for her resurfaced, fueled by the unexpected wound on his own hand. Despite the separation, the bond between them remained, as strong as ever. With a hesitant resolve, he reached for his phone, fingers trembling slightly as he dialed her number.

The phone rang, each chime amplifying the uncertainty within him. After a few moments, a voice answered-a voice that was not hers.

"This is the voice mailbox for the number you dialed. I'm sorry, but the person you are trying to reach is unavailable at the moment. Please leave a message after the tone, and they will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you."

The man sighed and put his phone down.

"Kael, I'm sorry, but do you have anything I can wear at least for today?"

You peeked inside the bedroom, droplets of water dripping down from your hair after the nice, lukewarm bath that you took. Since you didn't find any towel you could use, you decided to wrap your body using the dress that you wore last night, but because the dress was quite revealing, it didn't help much. Not to mention it's quite cold right now.

"Kael?"

Due to the darkness, you can't see that well, but you can somewhat vaguely see that Kael was putting down his phone as soon as he heard your voice. The Amorii turned around and his eyes lit up at the sight of you, chuckling slightly at the way you were quivering like a frightened chinchillas due to the cold temperature.

He then went to his wardrobe and took out a towel and his clothes. He beckoned for you to come inside, a smile of mischief on his face.

You hesitantly complied, a little cautious because while the dress that wrapped around you could cover your front, your back was exposed to the world, including your bottom so you were rather insecure right now, and Kael, knowing that, still decided to tease you by tracing your bare back with his fingers.

You shivered and took a step back.

"Stop that." You scolded him.

He laughed and handed you the items he took from the wardrobe. "I've ordered our breakfast. Come down soon once you're done, okay?"

You nodded. "Is your heat okay now?"

"Hmm, it's gone," he kissed your cheek. "The longest is four days, but my heat usually lasts only for a day. A shame really, we could have tried so many things."

You grumbled at his endless teasing, embarrassed, and pushed him out of the room. The fact that you could push him so easily while still maintaining the piece of that fragile clothing to cover your figure must be because it was Kael himself who willingly walked out of the room. You knew that if he persisted, there was nothing you could do, at least not in this form.

You huffed and wore the clothes he gave you once you had successfully locked him out.

After you were done, you went out to go to the dining room and on top of the table laid a nutritious spread of fresh fruit, whole-grain toast, and yogurt. You smiled in relief, for once, the quantity was normal, and it was also a healthy choice of food.

You recalled what he would often cook for you during his stay at your house; pancakes for breakfast, pudding for brunch, mince pie for elevenses, chicken curry for lunch, cookies and tea for the afternoon tea, roasted chicken for dinner, and panettone for supper.

And the worst part of it? He only knew how to cook those so your meals ended up being repetitive whenever he's the one that cook. Moreover, you couldn't even finish your portion so you had to forcefeed him. Fortunately, as someone who knew what it meant to be hungry, Kael never wasted any of the leftovers.

All of a sudden, your stomach churned, feeling like throwing up at the remembrance of all that food.

"What are you doing? Sit down, sweetheart."

You forced a smile and took a sit when he eagerly pulled a chair for you, kissing you on the forehead before taking a seat of his own.

"Where did you get the ingredients to prepare this?"

If you remember correctly, last time you checked, his fridge was empty.

"An assistant of mine from ROMANCE came to send me this upon my request," he answered, pouting. "I told her to bring that delicious creamy fish pie with cheesy mash that sold near the headquarters to me so that I can share it with you, but she told me who the heck would open their store to sell that at 6 in the morning? Isn't she so mean?"

You didn't answer, merely smiling as you silently expressed gratitude towards the assistant. After all, You don't think you can stomach eating something like that this early in the morning.

"Let's just eat."

As you both enjoyed the yogurt, you absentmindedly glanced at the news playing on the television in the dining room. You read the headline, frowning.

[Actress Found Dead: Gruesome Murder Mystery Unfolds]

A knot formed in your stomach as you watched the news anchor recount the details of the actress's murder. The face of the deceased was shown on the screen, and oddly, she looked familiar, and you immediately remembered that she was the strange woman you had encountered just a day ago-the one who had crossed your boundary and couldn't mind her own business, has now met a horrific fate.

Sure, she's not exactly likable, but she doesn't deserve this. You thought sympathetically.

You stopped eating and listened to the news, and according to the reports, the actress's husband was the prime suspect.

The husband, when tested, had traces of drugs in his system. However, he adamantly denied taking any substances. In a chilling revelation, the husband claimed that he was knocked out and when he opened his eyes, he discovered his wife's lifeless body, her head gruesomely missing.

Your heart raced, unease coursing through you, more so when it was stated that her head remained missing-it must have been horrible to find his wife in a state like that.

You turned to your escort, voice trembling, "Kael, the news stated that the prime suspect is her husband, but why would he do that? If he was her husband, doesn't that mean he loved her?"

The Amorii curiously glanced at the screen, wondering why the case sounded familiar when he was reminded of that woman he blew up.

He can't help but sneer at the fact that she was actually married but still decided to hire an escort to satisfy her dirty desire.

"Sweetheart, not everyone would marry because of love, sometimes they married out of obligation or were forced to do it, so there's a possibility that her husband doesn't even love her," he explained with a mocking smile once he turned back to you, his mix of orange-red eyes becoming duller the more he spoke. "Besides, isn't that the woman you met at the club? Clearly, she's cheating on her husband so I wouldn't blame him if he killed her. She was unfaithful after all, breaking the sacred vows of marriage, truly deserved to swallow a thousand needles."

You frowned, disliking the tone he used when speaking about the deceased.

"I think that kind of mindset is wrong. Sure, she might not be the best wife to her husband, but what rights does the killer have-even if it's her own husband-to take away her life?" You told him. "Life is precious. A person can only live once, so taking a person's life just because of mere infidelity is something I can't comprehend."

Unfortunately, what came out of your escort's mouth is not an agreement to your perspective but a rather disrespectful laughter. Kael's lips curled into a playful smirk, and he leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a teasing whisper.

"Ah, my sweet (Y/n), you always have such a pure heart," he said, his tone laced with a hint of amusement. "But you must understand, that sometimes, when it comes to matters of the heart, the line between right and wrong can be blurry. Love can make us do extraordinary things, even things that society might consider... unconventional."

He reached out, gently tracing his finger along your jawline. His touch is both tender and possessive. "Let's take me as an example; to me, sweetheart, you are my world, my everything. And I would do anything, absolutely anything, to protect you. Can't you see? That's the beauty of it. Love is a force that defies all reason and boundaries. It drives us to do crazy things, even if it means murder."

Despite your growing anxiety about his unsettling mindset, the Amorii's playful demeanor remained unchangeable, as if what he said wasn't wrong.

His voice then became softer, more earnest, and he retracted his hand, acting as if nothing happened. "But of course, I'm just saying this using the perspective of the husband. I mean, if he's truly the culprit, then surely the reason why he killed her is due to jealousy, right? So I tried saying it using his perspective to make you understand his reason better."

"Oh." You breathed out a sigh of relief at his explanation.

"Eat, sweetheart."

He scooped a spoon of yogurt and extended it towards you, waiting for you to put it inside your mouth. You smiled and took a bite, silently wondering, how Kael knew that the woman in the news was the same woman that you met in the club when he had never seen her face before?

Your heart beat at an alarming rate at the thought and you clenched your fists, wanting to ask but afraid of the consequence.

"Is it good?"

You forced a smile, "It's good."

On that night, you absentmindedly stirred the drink you were making, mind wandering to the conversation you had with Kael. Although unlikely, you can't shake the thought that your escort might be involved in the death of the deceased actress, but then again, if your assumption was right, for what reason? Why would Kael want her dead?

"-what's the deal with that someone anyway? They can't just go ahead and expose the stigma of my past services just like that."

Was it because of that? Was Kael that petty? Or is it something else that drove him to do that?

"No. There's no proof. I shouldn't distrust Kael just like that, we're companions." You shook your head and convinced yourself.

A minute later, a pair of hands snaked around your waist from behind. You flinched and realized that it was Kael. Your body goes rigid and you almost spilled the drink that you made.

Naturally, the Amorii noticed this.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Are you still so shy after what we had done together?" He chuckled.

You didn't answer, but you knew, that if this went on, you would start to distrust Kael and eventually, the contract would end with you doubting him till the end.

You braved yourself. "Kael, how did you know that the woman in the news this morning is the same woman that I met in the club? I mean, you weren't there at that time so how do you recognize her face?"

"Isn't it obvious?" His fingers moved to your wrist, tracing it gently. "She's ROMANCE's customer and her escort is a 'friend' of mine, how could I not know? Especially when her death left him devastated?"

Your mind reflexively went to the indifferent man on that night.

So he's Kael's friend. That makes sense, he must have been the one who told Kael.

"I see," feeling guilty for suspecting him, you turned around while holding the mug. "I found chocolate in your fridge after your assistant restocked them. I hope you don't mind me using it. Here, for you."

He giggled and leaned down to take a sip. "Thank you, sweetheart."

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||KAEL'S LOVE STATUS||

❤️❤️❤️❤️♡