Chapter 16: YOU’RE REALLY PRETTY WHEN YOU SMILE
Chapter 16
Lumi
He studied me for a long beat, his expression unreadable but intensely warm. Then he gave me a single, certain nod, turned the handle, and slipped out into the hallway.
I sat at the table for a long time after the door clicked shut, the silence of the room washing over me.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way he had just showed up with food and coffee without being asked, anticipating the hunger I was trying to ignore.
I thought about the way he had raised his hands in immediate apology the second he saw the trauma on my face, pushing his own curiosity aside because my comfort mattered more than his answers.
I thought about the effortless way he had declared we leave together, as if protecting me was the most natural thing in the world.
He had tattoos climbing all the way past his collar and a reputation back home that made dangerous men cross the street to avoid him.
He moved through the world like a storm, entirely unconcerned with anyone else’s opinion.
I used to think he’d changed and was far from saving. I hated the life he started living when he made a decision to be a biker because they had such a reputation.
I wondered and worried what he would be like as an Alpha when the time came.
Yet, here he was in a London hotel, showing up with paper bags, practicing a quiet, boundless patience, and asking for absolutely nothing in return.
I had been treating him like a threat, keeping him at an intentional distance since the very day he had showed up at Neve’s house.
I had been holding him just far enough away, I’d judged him wrongly and it wasn’t fair to him.
I’ll start looking past how he dressed now and see Ren for who he is.
With a deep exhale, I finally stood up, peeled off my heavy coat, and walked into the bathroom to wash the grime of Callum’s office off my skin.
When I stepped back into the bedroom, my hair was damp and my skin felt clean, making me feel significantly more human than I had all afternoon.
I crawled onto the bed, pulled the duvet over my legs, and picked up my phone. My fingers flew across the screen as I typed out a quick message to Neve.
*Went today. It wasn’t exactly what I expected. But I’m okay. Don’t worry about me. Focus on things over there.*
I tossed the phone face-down onto the mattress, leaning my head back against the pillows. A second later, the device buzzed against the fabric, the vibration loud in the quiet room.
It wasn’t an unknown number even though hadn’t saved it the last time.
I swiped the screen open before I could talk myself out of it. It was a link to the same audio site he had used the first time, but a completely different artist tonight. The track was titled Like You, performed by Tatiana Manaois.
I pressed play, set the phone beside my pillow, and closed my eyes as the first chords drifted through the tiny speaker.
The voice that filled the room was incredibly warm, low, and completely unhurried, wrapping around the quiet spaces of the hotel room.
As the music swelled, the lyrics seemed to speak directly to the broken places inside me, carrying a gentle, fierce reminder of my own worth.
"You gotta get up and make a move
’Cause the world won’t ever see you ’til you do...
Cause you are strong
You are wise
You are worth beyond a thousand reasons why
And you can’t be perfect, baby
Cause nobody’s perfect, darling
But there’s nobody in the world like you."
I didn’t cry this time. Not a single tear.
Instead, a slow, private smile curved my lips in the dimming light, and I just let the music find the broken, hollowed-out parts of me that still needed healing. I didn’t even notice the exact moment my eyelids grew heavy and sleep finally claimed me.
A heavy knock pulled me out of a deep, dreamless warmth.
I blinked at the ceiling, completely disoriented. The hotel room was entirely dark now, save for the amber glow of the streetlights bleeding through the edges of the curtains.
I scrambled blindly across the sheets for my phone, squinting at the bright screen.
It was past seven o’clock. I sat up quickly, staring at the digital numbers in disbelief.
He had done it again. He hadn’t waited for me to text.
Pressing my lips together to fight down the involuntary smile rising in my chest, I slid out of bed and padded across the cold floor to the door. When I pulled it open, Ren was leaning against the doorframe.
He was wearing nothing but a white singlet and a pair of dark trousers, his massive arms completely bare.
The intricate black tattoos ran in a seamless wave from his knuckles, all the way up his corded forearms, over his heavy shoulders, and disappeared beneath the cotton of his shirt.
His dark hair was slightly damp from a recent shower, and he smelled faintly of cedarwood and clean soap.
My eyes automatically locked onto his face, and this time, I didn’t look away.
"You didn’t text me," he said, his voice a low, with accusation that carried no real heat.
"I was asleep," I replied softly, leaning my shoulder against the edge of the door.
"I know." He gave me a slow, entirely unbothered look. "That’s why I’m standing out here."
I stepped back into the room, holding the door wide open for him. He walked past me, the heat radiating off his skin brushing against mine, and dropped his heavy frame into the armchair by the window.
He sank into it with that unhurried weight he carried everywhere, looking as if the chair had been custom-built just for him.
I sat back down on the edge of the mattress, pulling my knees up to my chest.
"First thing tomorrow, I need to find a lawyer," I said, getting straight to business. "A family law specialist who can bypass the standard waiting periods. I don’t really know where to start looking, but I’ll figure it out..."
In the past, I didn’t see a need for a lawyer and beside Callum had one so there was no need for me to.
I didn’t know how or where to start from.
"I already saw one." I stopped mid-sentence. My hands froze against my shins as I stared at him.
He was looking back at me with a completely straight, unreadable face. He reached into the pocket of his dark trousers, pulled out a neatly folded piece of white paper, and placed it on the table between us.
"While you were sleeping," he said smoothly. "I found an office few streets down from the hotel. Family law specialist. Her credentials are solid, and she moves fast." He extended two fingers, sliding the paper across the wood until it tapped against my knee.
"I wrote down her name and the office address."
I stared down at the paper, then back up at the massive man sitting calmly in the armchair. "You went out into London and found me a divorce lawyer."
"You needed one," he said simply, as if he had just fetched me a glass of water.
"I already talked to her. Told her that a friend of mine would be visiting her office tomorrow morning. She’s expecting you."
"Ren." I reached down and picked up the paper with slow, deliberate movements. "You literally hunted down a family attorney while I was taking a nap."
"You said that already."
"Because my brain is still actively trying to process the absurdity of it." The corner of his mouth twitched, making his dark eyes soften.
"Call them first thing in the morning," he said, his tone turning practical as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Get the earliest appointment they have on the books. I’ll go with you."
"Ren, you really don’t have to accompany me to..."
"I know I don’t have to." He didn’t let me finish, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made the air in the small room feel thick. "I want to."
I held his gaze for a long, breathless moment, searching the heavy lines of his face for any sign of hesitation. There was none. There never was with him.
Slowly, I folded the piece of paper and clamped it tightly between both of my hands. "Okay," I whispered into the quiet room. "Thank you."
He gave me a single, firm nod, his shoulders relaxing just a fraction as he leaned back into the chair.
He tilted his head slightly, studying me before speaking again.
"There’s a place I’ve heard about. An old cafe near the rose gardens. Do you know it?"
I blinked, surprised that he changed the subject so fast. "The Queen Mary’s Gardens? Yeah, I know it. It’s really beautiful there, especially when the flowers are out."
I stopped, noticing a change in him. For a split second, the tough, cool look he always had disappeared.
He looked almost unsure of himself, a tiny bit hesitant. It looked so strange on a guy as big as him. It made me see the boy behind his tough act.
"Do you want to go see it?" I asked softly.
He stayed quiet. The silence dragged on, and I honestly thought he wasn’t going to answer me...that he was just going to close up again.
Then, he gave a slow, quiet nod.
A smile came to my face, and for the first time all day, the heavy weight in my shoulders lifted.
"Alright. Tell you what...I’ll take you there tomorrow after we see the..." The words died right in my throat.
Ren hadn’t looked away. He was staring straight at me, his dark eyes locked onto my face, watching my mouth.
The air in the room suddenly felt totally different, thick and hard to breathe.
Why was he staring at me that way?
I raised a brow at him, trying to act normal even though my heart was starting to race. "What?"
"You’re really pretty when you smile," he said softly.
My heart skipped a major beat, and my eyes went wide as I just stared at him, completely stunned.
