"That's all we can do for now." Mr. Andrew, Ronan's lawyer, sighed heavily as he turned to face his client.
The two of them were trapped inside a sterile, poorly lit interview room at the police station.
"These media networks are completely out of control." Mr. Andrew continued, rubbing his temples. "They keep contradicting themselves just to spin a narrative. Their main goal is to trick the police into uncovering that girl's identity, figure out your connection to her, and exploit it to boost their channel views."
Ronan leaned against the table, his expression dark. "Did you find out who tipped off the police about my whereabouts that day?"
"No," Mr. Andrew replied, waving a hand dismissively. "And honestly, there's no point in digging into it now. The damage is done. You didn't give them a name, which is what matters. But we do know the informant was a girl."
Ronan let out a low, weary sigh.
"Still, Mr. Brown... it's a good thing you kept your mouth shut about that girl." Mr. Andrew added, a soft smile breaking through his professional demeanor. "If you hadn't, those reporters would have swarmed her and completely ruined her life."
A faint, cynical smirk tugged at the corner of Ronan's mouth.
"It really is amazing." Mr. Andrew teased, leaning in slightly. "I've never seen you so fiercely protective of anyone. Are you sure you can't tell your own lawyer who this lucky girl is? The one who managed to capture the legendary cold-hearted CEO's attention, hmm?"
Ronan shot him a sharp, warning glare. "That is none of your business, Mr. Andrew. Besides, nobody has my attention."
"Oh, come on. Do you really expect me to believe that?" Mr. Andrew chuckled. "No matter what you say, you have to admit your behavior has completely changed lately."
Mr. Andrew paused, bracing himself for Ronan's usual sharp reprimand. But when silence stretched over the room, the lawyer looked up in concern.
Ronan was clutching his head with both hands, his eyes squeezed shut in sudden agony. A sharp, burning jolt shot through his skull. He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly against the blurred vision, and aggressively massaged his forehead to dull the throbbing pain.
"Mr. Brown? Are you okay?" Mr. Andrew asked, stepping forward.
Before he could reach him, a loud commotion erupted directly outside the room. Mr. Andrew snapped his head toward the door, his brow furrowed. Ronan managed to steady his breathing, the pain slowly receding as the shouting outside grew clearer.
"Listen to me! You can't just barge in there!" an officer yelled from the hallway. "What do you think you're doing? This is a restricted police interview room!"
Ronan froze, his entire body going rigid. Through the heavy door, a desperately familiar, panicked voice echoed into the room.
"Please... let me go! You have to let me in!" the voice pleaded, trembling with tears. "I need to save Mr. Brown! I can't just sit around while he takes the blame... let me through!"
Ronan's eyes widened in utter disbelief. He ripped the door open, and as expected, he was instantly met with a crown of messy blonde hair.
"L-Liora?!"
Flashback:
Liora's POV
After asking Sophie for the inside details of the case, I thanked her and ran straight to a nearby park.
I collapsed onto an empty bench, completely overwhelmed. Tears escaped my eyes, burning hot as they spilled down my cheeks. But why was I even crying?
Lately, my head had been a chaotic mess of unanswered questions. Ever since the day I met Mr. Brown, everything had shifted. I was utterly captivated by the strange, terrifying feelings he brought out in me. When I was near him, it felt like I was floating.
If he goes away... if I don't step up, will I never see Mr. Brown again?
The mere thought sent a wave of profound fear through my chest. The crushing loneliness and the old, familiar weakness threatened to drag me under. But I didn't want to go back to being weak. I wanted to feel the electric warmth I had felt every single day since meeting him.
Does this mean... I need him in my life?
I rested my elbows on my knees and buried my face in my hands, letting out a ragged sigh. I couldn't fully comprehend my own heart.
I can't let him take the fall. I can't just sit back and watch Mr. Brown go to prison because of me.
Ever since I was a child, my physical weakness made me terrified of the world. I was afraid of powerful people, dangerous situations, prisons, and the police. I had tried so hard to suppress my feelings for Mr. Brown out of pure fear. But I couldn't do it anymore.
I liked him. I really liked him. I had no idea if he felt the same way, if he didn't, why would he refuse to give the police my name?
I despised everything to do with the law, but today, I had to be brave. If Mr. Brown was willing to go to jail to protect my identity, the least I could do was testify to clear his name.
I don't even know if they've locked him up already. I can't let that happen. Mr. Brown, wait for me.
Wiping the tears from my face, I stood up from the bench, my mind completely made up.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Third Person's POV
Ronan stared at the girl standing before him. Liora's blonde hair was completely disheveled, and her eyes and nose were swollen and bright red from crying.
"L-Liora?" Ronan's deep voice broke through the noise.
Hearing her name, Liora snapped her head toward the sound. The moment she saw Ronan, fresh tears spilled over her lashes, but a massive, relieved smile broke across her face.
"Mr. Brown?!"
Liora threw herself forward, sprinting into Ronan's arms and hugging him so fiercely that the impact knocked Ronan back a few steps.
"You're still here! I thought you were already-" Liora sobbed, burying her face into the older man's shoulder.
The officers and onlookers in the hallway quieted down, sensing the gravity of the moment, and moved away to give them space. Mr. Andrew slipped out of the room, quietly closing the heavy door behind him to leave them completely alone.
Inside the quiet room, Liora held on for dear life, her shoulders shaking with occasional, heavy sobs. Realizing that Ronan was standing completely still, not returning the embrace, Liora awkwardly began to pull away.
But before she could step back, Ronan's arms suddenly wrapped tightly around her waist. He pulled Liora flush against his chest, closing her eyes as she leaned into the embrace.
Ronan drank in the intoxicating warmth, a feeling he had only experienced once before and had desperately starved for all week. He couldn't understand why or how he had become so instantly addicted to this girl.
Leaning against Ronan's broad chest, Liora smiled through her tears, completely enveloped in a profound sense of safety and protection.
Lost in the feeling, Ronan suddenly snapped back to reality. Fearing that his intensity might make Liora uncomfortable, he abruptly let go and stepped back, creating a cold distance between them. It was a blatant lie to himself, but his pride demanded it.
Liora stood there, staring intently at the floor, using her right hand to nervously brush away the remnants of her tears.
"Why are you here?" Ronan asked, breaking the awkward silence with a tight, controlled voice.
"T-To save you." Liora stammered, her breath still hitching from crying.
Ronan's eyes widened in surprise. "To save me? From what?"
"Y-You saved me that night." Liora said, still refusing to look up. "Why wouldn't I do the same for you? I don't want to see you get into trouble because of me."
"And why do you care?" Ronan pressed, his voice dropping as he tried to force Liora to admit his true feelings.
"Because... if you go to jail because of me, I'll never be able to sleep or eat properly again." Liora muttered, her gaze glued to her shoes. "I'd have to live with the crushing guilt until the day you were released."
"So you're just doing this to clear your own conscience?" Ronan asked, his tone turning dangerously sharp.
Liora, completely missing the underlying desperation in Ronan's question, finally looked up, meeting her gaze with a confused expression. She could see Ronan's eyes searching for something deeper, but she couldn't decode what it was.
"Y-Yeah. There's no other reason." Liora lied.
It was a total defense mechanism. Liora hadn't come to the station just to avoid guilt, in fact, facing the police was her worst nightmare. She had come out of a terrifying fear that she would never see Ronan again. But she was too afraid of rejection to admit it out loud.
Ronan let out a cold, bitter sigh.
"I didn't save you. Who told you that I did?" Ronan snapped, his expression hardening into a mask of anger.
Liora's eyes went wide. "What?"
"Did you completely forget about Miss Scott?" Ronan scoffed, his voice dripping with forced indifference. "She already provided the police with a solid alibi proving I was at home during the secretary's death. You were just dragged into this as bait by the media networks. It didn't matter to me whether you came forward or not. I didn't keep quiet to save you."
Without another word, Ronan turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Liora standing alone.
Liora felt like she had been slapped. Tears pooled in her eyes once more as she stared at the empty doorway. She wondered what she could have possibly said to make Ronan turn on her so viciously. She had no idea that Ronan's anger stemmed entirely from disappointment because Liora had downplayed her reasons for coming.
So... I completely misunderstood him this whole time. Liora thought, a mocking, miserable smile breaking through her tears. You're so easily fooled, Liora.
I am incredibly stupid. Why did I actually think a powerful, wealthy billionaire would care about someone like me? He's ruthless. He belongs to a completely different world. Who am I to him? Nobody.
Hurt and humiliated, Liora quietly left the police station.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Liora! You're fired!!"
"Oh, please, boss, don't do this... I promise I won't make the mistake again. Please..." Liora begged, fighting with every fiber of her being to hold back her tears.
After leaving the police station with a shattered heart, Liora had skipped university and gone straight to her hotel part-time job. She figured since campus was closed for the week, she could throw herself into extra shifts to distract her mind.
But controlling her body proved impossible. The heavy sorrow weighing on her heart completely threw off her grip on her supernatural strength. She couldn't focus.
The moment she started her shift, several expensive glass plates and porcelain cups had inexplicably shattered to pieces under her touch. Her boss's patience had been wearing thin all afternoon.
By eight o'clock that evening, Liora was at the industrial sink washing dishes when another plate violently cracked in half under her fingers. That was the final straw.
"This job clearly doesn't suit you. I'll find someone else." her boss snapped coldly, turning around and walking away.
Liora stood frozen for a moment. Then, without a word or a shred of emotion left on her face, she stripped off her uniform, grabbed her backpack, and walked out into the cool night air.
As she walked toward her apartment, she took a shortcut down a secluded, quiet side street. The only illumination came from the spaced-out lampposts along the pavement. Finally alone in the shadows, the tears came crashing down.
Just when she thought her lifelong physical weakness was gone and she could finally live a happy, normal life, everything had gone to hell. She had lost her only source of income. How was she supposed to pay rent now? What could she possibly tell her dad, or Sophiea?
Anger flared in her chest, directed entirely at the terrifying strength coursing through her veins.
"It's all because of that stupid accident." Liora whispered aggressively into the dark, squeezing her eyes shut. "And the root of that accident is Mr. Brown. Why does his name always find a way to ruin my life? I just want to forget he exists!"
She stopped dead in her tracks.
A sudden, violent throb erupted in her head. The pain was blinding. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, gripping her temples with both hands as her knees buckled slightly.
Based on past experience, she knew what this agonizing sensation meant. Someone specific was nearby.
When the throbbing slowly subsided, Liora cautiously opened her eyes. Standing just a few yards away from her under the pale glow of a streetlamp was the exact person he expected.
Ronan stood there, silently watching her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Glaring at him with pure resentment, Liora chose to ignore his presence completely. She adjusted her backpack strap and tried to march right past him.
But as she drew parallel, Ronan reached out, his fingers locking firmly around Liora's wrist, bringing her to an abrupt halt.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Liora yelled, twisting her arm in an attempt to break free. But Ronan's grip was like iron, entirely unyielding.
Without saying a word, Ronan pulled Liora's struggling hand upward, bringing it right between their faces.
Liora blinked in surprise. Only then did she notice that her palm was slick with fresh blood. Deep cuts lined her fingers, she had been sliced by the shards of the porcelain plate earlier at the hotel, but the emotional ache in her chest had completely numbed her to the physical pain.
Maintaining his silence, Ronan gently used his free hand to pick out the tiny, translucent shards of glass still embedded in the wounds. Once the debris was cleared, he placed his large palm firmly over Liora's bleeding hand.
A wave of soothing warmth washed over Liora's skin. Within a couple of minutes, Ronan pulled his hand away, revealing a perfectly smooth, unblemished palm. The cuts were entirely gone, leaving no scars behind.
Throughout the entire process, Liora kept her eyes glued to Ronan's face. The older man's expression was an unreadable, emotionless mask.
"Why did you come here?" Liora asked quietly, her voice cracking.
"For this." Ronan replied simply, finally locking eyes with her.
Liora's brow furrowed in deep frustration. "How did you even know I was hurt?"
"I felt it." Ronan murmured, his intense gaze dropping slightly. "It felt like a vivid dream. I came out here just to check if you were okay. Then I saw your hand, and I realized it wasn't a dream at all."
Liora let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Oh, so now you care if I'm okay? Why, Mr. Brown? You don't need to save me, remember? That's exactly what you told me at the station. If you don't care about me, if I'm just an irrelevant stranger to you, then why are you-"
Liora's angry tirade cut off instantly.
The words died in her throat because her lips were suddenly pressed against Ronan's.
Ronan had lunged forward, capturing Liora's mouth in a fierce, breathless kiss that effectively silenced the rest of the world.
****************************