Chapter 1405 - 1345: Apology

"I have to return to Abyanabad at four, stay with me, don’t leave!"

Kiya grasped her hand tightly, as if letting go would make her fly away.

"Do you want to make love to me?" Paige asked straightforwardly.

Her bluntness surprised Kiya; he didn’t expect her to say such things as the old Paige wouldn’t have said them.

"What about you? Do you want to?" Of course Kiya wanted to, in the depths of night his dreams were filled with her, he just didn’t dare to proceed.

"Does it matter whether I want to or not?"

"Paige, I miss you, I think about you all the time."

Kiya pinned her down onto the bed, kissing her urgently, while Paige kept her eyes open, counting sheep. She had intended to take a nap earlier, but now sleep had escaped her, replaced by a wave of irritation.

The best state for both of them was to forget each other amidst the rivers and lakes, yet Kiya was unwilling to let go.

His kiss was burning and impatient, his hand attempting to remove her shirt, which startled Paige.

"Don’t take off my clothes!" Paige suddenly grabbed his hand, stopping him from unbuttoning her shirt.

"What’s wrong?" Kiya couldn’t figure out Paige’s attitude; she was willing just moments ago, why was she suddenly refusing now?

"Don’t take off my top." She pushed him away, took off her pants voluntarily, spread her legs, yet her top remained intact.

Only then did Kiya understand why Paige had such a strong reaction; there was a ten-centimeter scar on her body.

Back in the hospital, each time Kiya wiped Paige’s body and saw that scar, his heart ached.

Kiya looked at Paige, speaking gently, "I know there’s a scar on your body; it’s not ugly, I don’t care..."

"But I mind!" Paige interrupted him.

"..."

"Kiya, you know what? I don’t dare to look in the mirror when I shower. I love being beautiful, but there’s such a hideous, dreadful scar on my body, like a giant centipede..."

The physical and emotional wounds will never be forgotten by Paige.

"I’m sorry..." Kiya ceased his actions, covered her with the blanket, and lay beside her, staring at the ceiling.

Paige is prone to scarring and there’s no way for her to undergo surgery to remove or reduce the scars. That scar is truly frightening.

"I know you don’t want to hear this, but I don’t know what else to say except ’sorry.’"

"Shutup!" Paige didn’t want to hear anything from him.

"I have four hours left, then I’m leaving. Next time, I don’t know if I’ll have the courage to see you again... Talk to me, Paige."

Paige asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything is fine."

"Don’t go after James Winslow. He and I are just colleagues. The reason we are close is solely because we have shared interests. He opened a Porcelain Shop, and I coincidentally like porcelain.

Today, Dylan heard about it and insisted on going there, so I took the two kids along. If you don’t like it, I won’t go there anymore.

James Winslow likes a woman named Tessa Harrington, if you don’t believe me, you can check.

Paige worried Kiya might misunderstand her, and take action against James Winslow, so she explained in detail, while Kiya thought: If she doesn’t care, why does she keep explaining about that man?

"I haven’t thought about dating, marriage. I don’t have any other intentions, I just want to take care of Dylan and Ella, watching them grow healthily, so Kiya, please don’t force me." By the end, Paige’s tone only held helplessness and pain.

"Okay, I won’t force you." Kiya promised.

"Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you," Kiya replied.

The two lay there, staring at the ceiling, silent for some time. Paige really didn’t know what to talk about, lying there only left awkwardness.

Paige said, "I’ll go make dinner."

Paige sat up, just about to get dressed when Kiya suddenly pushed her down again.

The black-out curtains were drawn, turning the room into night.

The sound of their clothes rubbing together and their intertwined breaths was particularly clear, magnified in Kiya’s ears, alluring him.

Kiya couldn’t resist anymore, inhaling the fragrance of her body, his mind filled with the memory of their first meeting, her charming smile, her slender waist making him want to grasp and pin her beneath him... So he bowed his head, swallowing her breath entirely.

For adults, once everything is set aside, it’s easy to start burning.

Pain, impact, sweat, finally melting into dark, bitter chocolate.

Later, when Paige was exhausted and fell asleep, Kiya still pushed up her shirt and saw the scar.

Back in the hospital, the scar was red, now it’s healed, the color darkened, becoming uglier.

Thinking of her disgust when she spoke about her scar earlier, now Kiya could empathize with her feelings.

Such an ugly scar would be unbearable even on a man, let alone a woman.

His hand gently traced her scar, feeling the obvious protrusion beneath it... This scar imprinted on Paige’s heart, also on Kiya’s.

——I’m sorry!

...

At midnight, Paige felt parched, her whole body hot like she was in a steam room.

In a half-awake state, she got out of bed to get some water, and when she felt the man beside her, her eyes snapped open.

Kiya was still there, he hadn’t left.

Paige nudged him, Kiya was so domineering, almost occupying the entire bed, "Weren’t you supposed to leave at four? Now..." Paige glanced at the clock, it was already 11 PM, "Kiya, it’s already 11, you’ve missed your flight."

"I came on a private plane."

"Why aren’t you leaving?"

"I planned to leave in another half-hour, but kept postponing, until now..." In short, Kiya didn’t want to leave.

Paige donned a robe, got out of bed, and poured herself a glass of water.

Returning to the bed, Kiya finished off the remaining half glass of water she had.

After drinking the water, Kiya pulled her into his arms, lazily squinting, kissed the tip of her nose, and said, "Sleep, there’s still time before dawn."

Paige couldn’t fall asleep now, "Aren’t you busy? You should hurry up and leave."

She struggled out of his embrace, pulling off the blanket covering him, discovering that he was indeed thinner, drastically thinner.

"Kiya, you should go back."

"If I stay here with you, will you forgive me?"

"What are you staying here for?"

Kiya looked at Paige, his gaze misty, making Paige very uncomfortable, "I regret it..."