Ryuchen couldn't help but to smile as he was inside his wife's bathroom, she even prepared everything for him.
Yes, he lied.
His card key was inside his coat pocket and his assistant is not with his fiancé, because he doesn't have one. He just wanted to be with his wife, and spend more time together. Tonight will be the first night they will spend together in a room, except the night they spend during the time he was drugged on his grandmother's birthday party back in their previous life.
He also called his assistant to buy clothes for him for tomorrow and bring them to his apartment next door before he started bathing. After he took a bath, he went off the bathroom wearing only towel on the lower part of his body, ensuring that his body was visible to his wife's eyes.
But he couldn't see her in the living room, until he heard a soft footstep in the other room. He saw Chloe came out of the guest room, who seems distressed while full of sweat.
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
Chloe's eyes widened with surprise when she looked at him and quickly averted her gaze from him, her entire face and ears was red.
Ryuchen smirked, charmed by the sight in front of her.
Of course, he made sure that Chloe could see his seductive body. What is the use of his broad shoulders and perfect abs if he will not show it to her.
"U-Uhmm... i-it's b-broken." Chloe's slight stuttering made him chuckled, she seems flustered. "Ehem... the AC in the guest room is broken, is it okay with you if you sleep in... in my room?" his face brightened, but quickly darkened when she spoke again. "I will just sleep here on the sofa."
"No way!" he immediately object.
Ryuchen plan is for them to sleep together, not for her to sleep on the sofa. Does she hate sleeping next to him, so she prefers to sleep on the sofa instead?
"It's okay." she said pushing him into her room. "I used to sleep on the sofa, so don't worry about me."
A scene of her sleeping on the sofa suddenly came to his mind. He felt as if something heavy had suddenly fallen on his heart when he heard what Chloe said, maybe she didn't realize how heavy and sharp those words were for him. He was devastated so he immediately turned to her and locked her in his embrace.
"...Do you... hate me that much?" he asked as if he were whispering.
Ryuchen felt Chloe's gentle push from his chest without leaving his embrace, he turned his gaze on the floor because he couldn't look at her face. He was afraid to see the anger or disappointment on her, but he felt a warm hand touch his cheeks causing him to look at her.
"I have never once hated you." she said with full of assurance and determination on her eyes. "Not from the moment we met until now."
He lowered his gaze once more, he was ashamed of himself knowing that Chloe didn't even hated him. She should hate him by all means, but she choose to believe him, to understand him and even gave him another chance to prove himself.
Why did I made this kind woman life's miserable?
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, Chloe." he said, tightened his embrace to her.
"It's fine, now let go of me so I can take a bath." she said as she tap his back.
Ryuchen felt regret after he release Chloe from his embrace, and wish she stays a little longer in his arms. He sat on the sofa after he wore the pajama that Chloe gave to him and waited for her to come out from the bathroom. A sudden image of her naked body under the shower came to his mind, causing his face to become hot.
He quickly covered his mouth, he was ashamed because of his indecent thought.
Ryuchen flinched when he heard the door open from the bathroom, he was a bit disappointed when he saw her wearing her pajama but he immediately shaken that thought.
"Why are you still here?" she seems surprise. "You can come into my room so you can rest."
"Okay."
He stood up and immediately approached his wife, to her surprised he carried her inside her room.
"What do you think you're doing, Ryuchen." she shouted.
"We're going to sleep." he put her down to sit on the bed and kneel in front of her. "Do you think I will sleep without you by my side?"
"I will sleep on the sofa." she said and was about to stand up but he stopped her. "My hair still wet so I have to dry it."
"I will do it."
Ryuchen stand up and took the hair dryer on the vanity table, he didn't give her time to refuse. He carefully dries her hair and smiled when he realized that they have same smell, it feels like they are now a real married couple.
"Okay, done." he said as he turned off the hair dryer. "Let's sleep."
"Ahh... I really am fine sleeping on the sofa."
"No." he hugged her and slightly pulled her to lay down on bed. "We're married so there was nothing wrong with sleeping together."
"But--."
"No buts." he cut to whatever she would say. "I'm not going to do anything, I just want to sleep next to you. But if you want me to do something, I am more than willing to do so."
Ryuchen burst out laughing when he felt Chloe hit his chest, and put her forehead on his chest to hide her face. But he already saw the redness on her face before she could even hide it, he smile and tightened his embrace. He could feel her holding her breath, but her breathing became relaxed after a few seconds.
"My wife..." Ryuchen whispered.
"Uhm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Uhm."
"Why didn't you tell me right away that you were the one who helped and saved me when I was kidnapped back then?"
Chloe suddenly turned up to looked at him, there was a hint of surprise on her beautiful face. But she immediately averted her gaze when their eyes met.
"Who-- how did you know... that?" she asked.
"I have my own ways to find out, but I found out too late so I apologize." he said, hiding the truth that he came back in the past. He touched her chin and lifted her face. "Are you planning to hide the truth from me if I hadn't found out?"
"I... I have a reason why I did that." she said.
-----
After Chloe borrowed a book in a public library, he received a call from Ryuchen saying he will wait for her in a cafe near in the library so they could go home together.
She was about to reached the cafe when a woman suddenly caught her attention. She was inside a car looking for someone outside, the window car from her seat was open so she heard what she said to the person on the phone.
"And... bring the kid to the abandon warehouse in the forest of X city, I can only sent you money after two days so kill him afterwards." the woman said.
Chloe immediately averted her gaze when the woman suddenly turned her head on her direction, even though the woman was wearing huge sunglasses, she could still feel her gaze until she closed the window of her car.
She couldn't move, thinking she heard something bad and something bad might be happen to that kid. She called Ryuchen and told him to pick her up outside because she suddenly felt like all her strength disappeared because of what she heard.
She was frightened.
A few seconds later, she witnessed Ryuchen's kidnapping outside the cafe. She turned pale, hands trembling, all the blood that was flowing from her body disappeared thinking that the woman might be referring to Ryuchen.
The thought of not seeing Ryuchen again came up to her mind so she immediately reported the incident to the police, but did not take immediate action because she doesn't have any proof of the kidnapping. The police said that the person had to be missing for more than twenty-four hours, before she could file a case for missing person.
At a young age, Chloe was able to curse the police and their useless policy for the first time. So she made her own way to save Ryuchen without relaying to the useless police, because she feels that she will never see him again if she does nothing.
Chloe grabbed a taxi and went to forest in X city.
She spent the whole night looking for the warehouse that the woman mentioned, and put aside her fear while in the middle of the forest. The only thing in her mind was to find the said warehouse and save Ryuchen, until the morning came. Fortunately, she finds an old and abandoned warehouse the next day and heard men voices as if they were fighting.
Her heart immediately pounded when she heard Ryuchen's loud cry as if he was in so much pain, while asking for help. She hid herself in the shady grass near the warehouse, and she couldn't do anything but to cry quietly until the night came again. Even though she no longer had the strength, she still stood up when she noticed the three men came out of the warehouse. After watching all day, she discovered that there was only three men there so she sneak inside the warehouse.
Chloe's tears fell when she saw Ryuchen lying on the floor, covered by his own blood. His whole body was full of bruises, wounds and burns. Her whole body trembled but she calmed herself down, she have to be strong because she won't be able to save him if she becomes weak.
"Ryu...chen." she tried to wake her up, fortunately they didn't tie him. "Ryuchen, let's get out of here." she said while sniffing.
Ryuchen forced his eyes to open, and smiled when he saw her that instantly broke her heart. There was nothing else on her mind at that moment but to get out of that place, so she immediately helped him to stand up. Perhaps, because of her adrenaline that she was able to carry Ryuchen on her back to get him out of the warehouse.
She ran as fast as her heart beat, afraid of being caught by the kidnappers. Until she heard the sound of a police siren, accompanied by loud gunshots. She ran as fast as she could, until she heard a loud scream behind her.
"AHHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
When she looked back at the man who shouted, she saw the gun on his hand facing her and Ryuchen direction. She immediately let go of him and let him fall to the ground, and a few seconds later, a small and hot bullet pierced on her stomach, chest and shoulder causing her to fall to the ground next to him.
The police manage to save them and the man who shot her was killed, she even saw her parents and even Ryuchen's father with the police. Their parents' faces were full of fear and worries when they saw them, and before she completely lost consciousness she manage to tell them what she want.
"Please... do--don't tell any...thing to Ryuchen."
-----
"I... it-- it was my fault... why you were kidnapped back then."
Ryuchen saw the tears on Chloe's eyes so he couldn't help but worry, he doesn't understand why did she say that it was her fault that he was kidnapped back then either. His memory from the kidnapping was still unclear, but he remembers that they were supposed to meet before he was kidnapped.
"If I... if I didn't asked you to picked me up outside the cafe... if... if I just went inside to meet you... it won't happened." she said between her sobs. "I'm so... sorry."
"Shhh, it's not your fault."
"I... I thought I would never see you again." she added.
Ryuchen remove his embrace and wipe Chloe's tear, he smile as their eyes met.
"Even though I forgot what happened to me back then, I know I was relieved knowing that it didn't happened to you." he said without knowing what happening to her after the kidnapping.
He remember Jason told him that Chloe risked her life to save him and went to America to have a better medical treatment, but treatment for what? He didn't say anything about it.
"But what happened after the kidnapping?" he immediately asked Chloe. "Why did you suddenly went to America?"
Because he was too focused on the child that they supposed to have, it slipped his mind to ask Jason what treatment she needed for.
Chloe didn't know how to answer, she doesn't want to tell Ryuchen about what happened to her back then after the kidnapping. She doesn't want him to owe her his life, she saved him back then because that's what she wanted without knowing what would happen to her.
But she was glad to discovered the meaning behind Ryuchen's smile when he saw her back then, perhaps he was relieved that nothing happened to her.
"L-Let's sleep." she said and closed her eyes.
Chloe felt that it was not the right time yet to tell Ryuchen about what happened to her after that kidnapping, because she doesn't want him to change just out of pity.
Ryuchen hugged his wife again when he saw her closed her eyes, he thought that maybe Chloe was not ready to talk about that matter yet. But he discovered something, that she blames herself for what happened to him back then, without knowing that it was his parent's enemies who hired those men to kidnapped him.
He also realized that Chloe loves him since then.
She might be guilty for thinking that it was her fault that he got kidnapped, but she risked her life to saved him out of love. Her genuine kindness made his admiration for her increased even ore.
"Thank you, thank you for everything my wife." he kissed her forehead before he close his eyes to sleep.