Chapter 2

2.

After the procedure, I endured the pain in my abdomen and arranged for Grandma's transfer.

I contacted an agent to help us emigrate to Europe.

Everything was done in secret, like a silent escape.

I just needed seven days to disappear from his world completely.

But I didn't expect to be cornered in a dark alley by two masked men on my way back to the hospital.

They were vicious. Their whips fell like rain.

They were from a rival family Asher had offended.

I curled up on the ground, trying to grab my phone to call for help, but one of them smashed it.

Blood blurred my vision. Just when I thought I was going to die, I heard a familiar engine.

The bulletproof Cadillac drove slowly past the alley.

"Asher!" I screamed with the last of my strength.

The car stopped.

My heart almost stopped with it.

He saw me.

But the next second, the passenger window rolled down. I saw Lily cover her eyes in fear.

Asher reached out, gently covering her vision with his hand.

"Don't look," he whispered. "It's dirty."

The window rolled up. The car didn't hesitate. It drove away.

Blood dripped from my forehead, mixing with the muddy rain.

I lay in the cold alley, suddenly losing the will to struggle.

When I woke up, I saw the familiar ceiling of my home.

The door was ajar. I heard Asher's strategist whispering.

"The Madam has been making a lot of moves lately. If she finds out about Miss Lily..."

Asher's voice was colder than ice.

"Just watch over Lily. Don't let her get scared."

"She is too innocent. She's not like us, people with blood on our hands."

"Serafina is manipulative and cruel. Lily stands no chance against her."

"If necessary, use her grandmother against her. That's her only weakness."

I lay there, trembling all over.

Once upon a time, he kneeled before me, holding my hand.

"Serafina, from now on, I am your shield. No one will hurt you."

Now, that same protection, that same promise, was given to someone else.

And I, the one he used to protect, had become the "manipulative and cruel" danger.

Footsteps approached. I closed my eyes immediately. When I opened them again, I was calm.

"You're awake?" He walked to the bed and threw a stack of documents at me.

"The people who beat you were from that Mexican cartel I took down. Sign this settlement. They promised to transfer their arms channels to us as compensation."

I looked at him, throat dry, unable to speak.

I was nearly beaten to death by his enemies, and now I was just a bargaining chip.

"Asher," I asked hoarsely. "When did you negotiate this deal?"

Was it while I was bleeding in the alley? Or when he covered Lily's eyes and called me dirty?

He frowned, clearly annoyed.

I didn't ask again.

The answer didn't matter.

I suddenly remembered the day we met ten years ago.

He collapsed outside my apartment, covered in blood like a dying wolf.

I should have called the police. Instead, I dragged him inside and took the bullet out.

That one act dragged me into a ten-year abyss.

Later, when my family went bankrupt, I was sold to a club controlled by his enemies to pay off debts.

Asher took me away. He taught me how to hold a gun. He kissed me.

I thought our blood was connected.

But now he thinks I'm just dirty.

I looked at my hands, covered in calluses and scars.

Then I thought of Lily's wet, fearful eyes. It was laughable.

Even the deepest love can turn into disgust.

After I was discharged, Asher used work as an excuse and didn't show up again.

On my last day before leaving, I went to St. Patrick's Cathedral to pray for the child who never had a chance to be born.

By the holy water font, I bumped into Lily.

She was soaking wet, holding a dying puppy, clumsily trying to do CPR.

Her movements were wrong. The puppy struggled weakly in her arms.

I walked over and took the cold little life from her.

"It choked on water. You have to drain it first, don't press directly."

This was the first time I faced her since knowing he had a change of heart.

She didn't know who I was. Her eyes were red as she thanked me. "Thank... thank you..."

I said nothing. I felt terrifyingly calm.

She saw the lit candle in my hand. "Are you here to pray too?"

I nodded. "For a child who wasn't meant to be."

Her eyes instantly teared up. She knelt before the altar and clasped her hands.

"God, please bless that unborn child in heaven, and please bless this mother with peace and health."

I stood there, finding her both ridiculous and pitiful.

I wanted to tell her that Asher's gentleness was poison wrapped in sugar.

Getting close to him would only drag her to hell.

But looking at her devout, fragile profile, I swallowed the words.

If she left Asher because of me, he would never let me go.

The image of my grandmother's tragic death in my past life flashed before me. I felt cold.

I made an excuse to go to the confessional and hid in the side hall.

I checked the surveillance on my phone. The nurse was pushing Grandma in the garden of the nursing home.

Only then did I breathe.

Grandma is my only weakness.

This time, I will protect her no matter what.