Fati was thoroughly stunned by Jaguar's sudden, swift intervention. She felt the heavy warmth of his hand resting upon her shoulder, pulling her with a decisive force to align flush against his towering frame. The moment her body brushed against his, her senses ignited, and the blood began to course through her veins in a wild, frantic rush like a heated marathon. The betrayal of her own body before his touch was faster than the wall of coldness she had painstakingly built. She initially tensed, gripped by hesitation under Peter's questioning gaze, but she quickly gathered her wits. Crafting a bright, radiant smile on her lips to play along with the theatrical farce that had begun between them, she said in a sweet tone,
- Of course... Jaguar, this is Peter, whom I mentioned to you before, and this is his dear grandmother.
Jaguar nodded solemnly, uttering in a deep, calculating tone,
- Right... Peter, how are you?
He extended his powerful hand to initiate a handshake with his free arm—the one not anchored around Fati's shoulder
as she completed the introduction, delivering the word that shook the ground beneath them:
- Peter... this is my husband... Jaguar.
The moment the word "husband" struck Peter's ears, something entirely unexpected happened. The pure young man's face lit up with a warm smile overflowing with genuine relief and profound gratitude. He extended both of his hands, warmly clasping Jaguar's palm with immense fervor, and spoke in a voice thick with appreciation,
- Welcome, sir! Thank you... thank you both so much! If it weren't for you, and if it weren't for your generosity and Dr. Fati's care, my beloved grandmother would never have survived this harsh ordeal... I am indebted to you both for the rest of my life.
A calm, polite smile traced Jaguar's lips, but his mind was entirely elsewhere. He smiled in sheer ignorance, possessing absolutely no idea who this young man named Peter truly was, or what he had specifically done to warrant such overflowing praise. Yet, the only detail spinning through his possessive, burning mind at that exact moment... was that ridiculous gray shirt that had been draped over Fati's bare frame in his office that day.
Grandmother Matilda looked at them with eyes glistening with tears and serenity, speaking in a tender tone that felt like a heavenly blessing,
- I wish you both eternal happiness together... Your pure hearts deserve all the love they hold for one another. May you be blessed.
At the grandmother's words, Jaguar felt the sting of reality piercing his chest. His fingers tightened with a gentle, soft pressure on Fati's shoulder, as if reminding her—and himself—of the freezing hell of remorse that was burning inside them despite the mask of detachment. He murmured in a deep, strained voice,
- Thank you so much, Grandmother... and the exact same to you.
The grandmother and Peter prepared to leave, but Jaguar's grip upon her shoulder did not slacken. It was glaringly obvious that he had no intention of releasing what he had reclaimed into the sanctuary of his space so easily. Fati turned toward him, locking her eyes with his in a layer of veiled cunning. She spoke in a sweet, artificially affectionate tone,
- Jaguar... darling, aren't you heading to your office now? You are late for your meeting.
Anchoring his gaze to her and seizing the game, he replied in an equally possessive tone,
- Yes, my love... I am leaving right away.
Meanwhile, Peter was walking away with heavy strides, awkwardly hauling his grandmother's bulky bags and heavy medical belongings with clear strain. Fati seized the moment with absolute brilliance. Slipping her agile frame out from beneath his powerful hands, she took a step back, casting a charming, pleading look at him that he couldn't possibly reject before an audience, and said,
- Since you are heading out with your car anyway... could you drop them off on your way, darling? The grandmother is still recovering and cannot endure the strain of public transport... Please, darling, do this for me.
Jaguar's smile froze for a fraction of a second. He felt as though a lightning bolt of feminine wiles had struck him dead center. She had completely trapped him in his own game, turning his dominance and elite security into a courier service for the very man he envied. Yet, he was utterly powerless to refuse his "darling's" request under the watchful eyes of her saviors!
- For my sake... darling.
She delivered her final words with a teasing, enchanting coquetry a tone Jaguar hadn't experienced from her in years. It caused his mind to completely short-circuit, paralyzing his ability to think. Driven by a raw instinct of overwhelming love and possession, his hand reached out to cradle her delicate face with immense softness, imprinting a deep, warm kiss upon her cheek. He murmured in a resonant voice thick with emotion,
- Your wish is my command, my love...
Turning toward Peter and the grandmother, Jaguar spoke in a firm, authoritative tone,
- My car is parked over there... come, let us leave.
He did not lower his pride to personally assist them with the luggage. Instead, he marched directly with confident strides toward the perimeter where his bodyguards awaited him. The moment he arrived, he gave a sharp nod to his men, who instantly rushed forward to relieve a strained Peter of the heavy bags and medical items, stowing them into the trunk of the luxury vehicle.
Meanwhile, Fati remained frozen in her tracks. She slowly lifted her hand, pressing her trembling fingers against her cheek—precisely where Jaguar had branded his kiss moments ago. It wasn't a fleeting touch; it left her skin burning with a strange, unfamiliar fire. She anchored her eyes to his retreating figure, watching the car fade into the distance, as a sudden, desolate void seeped into the depths of her heart. It was a sharp emptiness that instantly triggered the memory of the exact same pain and loneliness she used to endure during the barren, early nights of their marriage.
Inside the luxurious car, a different kind of storm was brewing. Peter did not stop talking throughout the entire drive, speaking with pure innocence and spontaneity. He began providing Jaguar with a detailed, precise account of the first night he encountered Fati:
- It was a tempestuous night, sir... I found her sitting under the torrential rain, her body completely drenched and collapsing from exhaustion. Yet, despite her own harsh state, she graciously chose to save my grandmother and provide her... She is a magnificent woman.
Jaguar stared out at the passing road, and after a moment of roaring internal silence, a warm smile overflowing with immense relief traced his lips. He had finally unearthed the truth! Fati had never allowed another man to breach her defenses or enter her life during the years of his absence. It was merely the weather, the rain, and absolute fate that had crossed her path with Peter. She was still exactly as she had always been... his untamed lover, his one and only woman.
Slowly raising his fingers, Jaguar pressed them against his own lips, tenderly tracing the ghost of the kiss that still lingered from her cheek as if breathing her essence back into his chest once more.
The moment the luxury vehicle pulled up in front of the modest building and Peter and his grandmother stepped out, the bodyguards rushed under Jaguar's orders to carry the belongings up to their apartment in that impoverished neighborhood. Seizing these fleeting moments of privacy, Jaguar could no longer combat the sudden, overwhelming wave of longing that breached his chest. He pulled out his phone and immediately dialed Fati.
The second she answered, she bypassed any form of greeting, instantly snapping with a sharp, defensive edge,
- Jaguar! What on earth were you thinking to dare kiss me like that?!
A slow smile spread across Jaguar's face in the quiet of his own space. He let out a silent, relieved sigh as he listened to her fiery tone. There she was back to her true nature, the fierce, stubborn "little tigress" that had dragged his heart behind her and whom he loved to distraction. He murmured in a low, smooth voice dripping with sheer amusement,
- Actually... Grandfather was the one who asked me to. He explicitly charged me with making you fall in love with me again.
Fati knitted her brows in utter disbelief, her voice laced with disapproval,
- What a bizarre, sudden request from Grandfather! And besides... you don't even know the first thing about making someone love you! Do people like you honestly believe that love is executed this way?
His smile widened as his imagination spun into bolder, more daring territories. He whispered in a warm, husky, and deeply seductive tone,
- And how exactly do they do it then, Fati? Teach me... What is it that you want? A warm, tight embrace? A deep, lingering kiss? Or perhaps
- Stop! Stop right there!
Fati cut him off, her voice laced with panic, her breath catching in her throat. In those fleeting seconds, her own mind betrayed her, her thoughts violently escaping toward the vision of a passionate, crimson night filled with intimate, tender touch she had starved for and desperately craved from him in the past. But now, her pride refused to surrender. She brought him to a hard halt before his words could completely unravel her composure, whispering in a strained voice,
- I don't want to love you again, Jaguar... I don't want to.
Jaguar took a deep, deliberate breath, his teasing demeanor instantly shifting into something profoundly resolute, confident, and saturated with unyielding promises of desire. He spoke in a voice that vibrated straight through the core of her heart over the receiver:
- But I have already resolved to make you fall into my snare, Fati... and I will never stop, nor will I ever rest, until I see you entirely infatuated with me, and madly in love just as you once were and far more.