In his entire life, Justin Kane had only ever regretted two things.
One was five years ago.
The other was right now: he never should have agreed to her request to keep their marriage a secret until her previous engagent was broken.
If he had announced their marriage, who would have dared to say a thing?
Shawn Sinclair was stunned for a mont. "You’re married?"
Justin Kane glanced up, his voice flat. "Is that so strange?"
Of course it was strange.
’Nina Thorne used to be Cole Kane’s girlfriend! And in his eyes, Justin Kane had always been a principled man, not soone who acted recklessly.’
’In other words, Justin Kane’s feelings for Nina Thorne...’
’This is juicy!’
Shawn Sinclair felt like he’d just stumbled upon an earth-shattering secret. ’Alright, so it wasn’t a case of a late bloor after all.’
’The roots of this love ran deep. This was a long-planned affair.’
Before leaving, a satisfied Shawn Sinclair advised Justin Kane to pay close attention to Nina Thorne’s psychological state.
Around ten o’clock that night, Nina Thorne slowly woke up.
She sat up, looking dazed. Her eyes darted around the room for a mont as the mories from before she passed out surfaced in her mind, fra by fra.
"You’re awake," Justin Kane said softly as he walked in, moving closer.
The mont his hand touched Nina Thorne’s shoulder, it was as if every nerve in her body snapped. A look of agony instantly crossed her face.
"No, don’t touch !"
"Get away from ! Don’t touch ..."
Nina Thorne scread, curling into a ball at the head of the bed. She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face between them, her eyes clouded with terror.
Justin Kane’s brow furrowed, and a sharp pain lanced through his heart.
’Looks like Shawn Sinclair was right.’
’The trauma had been too much for Nina. She wouldn’t recover from this so easily.’
"Nina, it’s , Justin." He gripped her shoulders, his voice low and coaxing, terrified of frightening her further.
But his words weren’t getting through. She just kept murmuring, "Get away... Don’t touch ."
Nina Thorne’s whimpering pleas were choked with terror. Tears stread down her face like pearls from a broken string. Hearing her cries, Justin Kane felt as if a boulder was crushing his chest—the pain was sharp, suffocating.
"Nina, it’s okay now. It’s . I’m your husband."
"Take a good look at , Nina... Look at . I’m Justin..."
Justin Kane’s voice was hoarse. His eyes were dark, fathomless pools, and the tight furrow in his brow never relaxed.
After a while, soothed by his gentle and patient reassurances, Nina Thorne finally looked up. When her eyes focused on the man in front of her, the tears that had been welling up began to fall anew.
"Justin..."
Nina Thorne flung herself into his arms, her hands clinging tightly to his neck as she sobbed against his ear.
"Cole... and his mother... they plotted against ."
"Justin Kane, he almost... I... I was so scared I could have died."
Feeling the warmth of his embrace, Nina Thorne cried like a child, her tears soaking the fabric of his shirt.
Listening to her sobs, Justin Kane’s brow furrowed deeply. The sharp pain in his chest intensified, spreading through his entire body.
"It’s okay now. Everything’s okay," Justin Kane murmured, stroking her head. He lowered his own to press a gentle kiss to her hair, repeating the soft reassurances over and over.
Nina Thorne clung to him, weeping until it felt like she had no tears left.
Finally, her storm of emotion passed, and she slowly recovered.
She loosened her hold, sniffled, and asked, "How did you find ?"
Seeing her eyes, red and swollen from crying, Justin Kane pulled out a tissue and gently wiped her tears himself. "It’s a good thing you sent your location," he said. "That’s how I was able to get to you so quickly."
Nina Thorne nodded. She had complete faith in his capabilities.
Justin Kane had arrived much faster than she’d expected. Back on the phone, when she hadn’t known the apartnt number and was facing Cole Kane—who was like a ravenous wolf—she had truly felt like dying.
’Thank god. Thank god for him.’
"You did the right thing," Justin Kane said, his eyes dark and intense as he finished wiping her tears. "From now on, if you run into anything that makes you uneasy, ask . Or talk it over with ."
Nina Thorne could see his concern, as well as a gentleness that was both foreign and yet had beco increasingly common lately. A deep warmth blood in her chest.
Especially when she looked at Justin Kane’s incomparably handso face, her heart began to pound.
It was a stronger reaction than she’d ever had before.
’It seed... her heart had been moved.’
’But she wasn’t entirely sure if this was what it felt like to fall for soone.’
Seeing her somber expression, Justin Kane assud she was still frightened by what happened that afternoon and didn’t have the heart to press her.
"Are you hungry? What would you like to eat? I’ll go make you sothing."
"Anything’s fine."
"Alright. Go wash your face. It’ll be ready soon." Justin Kane patted her gently on the shoulder. Only after she nodded did he get up and leave the bedroom.
Half an hour later, Nina Thorne ca downstairs after washing up.
On the dining table sat a bowl of beef noodle soup, topped with an egg and garnished with chopped scallions. It looked and slled absolutely delicious.
Nina Thorne was astonished. "You made this?"
Justin Kane humd in assent. "I was abroad for three years," he said gently. "I made it often."
As Nina Thorne took in the aroma of the beef noodle soup, her stomach let out a faint GROWL. She couldn’t resist taking a few bites.
"It’s delicious," Nina Thorne said, looking up at him in amazent. The praise was genuine.
In that mont, the shadow Cole Kane had cast over her seed to largely dissipate.
"If you like it, eat up. You’ll need your strength for what we have to do next." The corners of Justin Kane’s lips curved into a slight, gentle smile that reached his eyes.
With the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows and wearing a pair of black trousers, he had a relaxed, comfortable air that radiated "husband material."
’A single thought surfaced in Nina’s mind: He’s perfect husband material.’
’Handso, rich, patient, and responsible.’
’Even though they didn’t have an emotional foundation, he was still so gentle and responsible with her.’
Nina Thorne suddenly wondered if his initial cold and aloof image had just been her own misconception.
From the sound of it, he intended to settle the score on her behalf. She imdiately nodded and said, "Okay," then lowered her head and continued to eat her noodles.
Justin Kane stood on the other side of the table, watching her. His deep eyes were bottomless pools of black, hiding emotions no one could fathom.
’She’s so sweet-tempered and kind. How could Cole Kane have had the heart to bully her?’
...
Late that night, a soft light glowed in the bedroom.
Nina Thorne and Justin Kane were lying side-by-side on the bed, neither of them moving.
"Do you want to hold you?" Justin Kane asked softly. "You can tell if you do. There’s no need to be shy."
Slling his unique, masculine scent, Nina Thorne lay with her back rigid. Her mouth opened and closed several tis, but no words ca out.
"N-no, you don’t have to."
’In the month or so they’d been together, they had kissed and held each other. Everything had seed so natural, as if it was all ant to be.’
A soft RUSTLE broke the silence.
Justin Kane turned his head to look at her. He reached out, pulled the blanket up over her, and said in a husky voice, "Alright. Try to get so more sleep. If you get scared, just hold on to . I’ll be right here."
Nina Thorne’s cheeks grew warm. She could feel his gaze on her, but she didn’t dare et his eyes and just humd in response.
Perhaps it was because he was there, giving her a profound sense of security. Before long, her breathing evened out, and she fell asleep once more.
Propped up on one elbow, Justin Kane gazed at her peaceful, sleeping face for a long mont. A soft smile touched his lips before he lay back down beside her.
At almost the exact sa mont...
Nina Thorne’s body suddenly shuddered, and she cried out in fear, "Get away from ! Go away..."
Reviews
All reviews (0)