Chapter 31: ALONE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE KITCHEN
Chapter 31
Lumi
I didn’t answer him right away. I carried my plate over to the sink and turned on the tap, letting the sound of the running water fill the heavy silence. I picked up the sponge and started scrubbing, my movements sharp and tense.
"I don’t need you to come with me," I said over my shoulder, keeping my voice as flat and casual as possible. "I can handle a car dealership by myself, Ren."
Behind me, the sound of his chair scraping against the floor broke the quiet. His heavy footsteps moved across the kitchen, stopping right at the edge of the counter.
I didn’t turn around, but I could feel his massive presence right there, blocking out the light from the living room.
"Why won’t you take assistance from me, Lumi?" he asked. His deep voice sounded genuinely hurt, a rough edge cutting through the quiet. "What did I do to you? I just want to help."
I turned off the tap and wiped my hands on a dish towel, finally turning around to face him. I leaned back against the sink, crossing my arms over my chest to keep some distance between us.
"I just don’t want you to stress yourself out," I said quietly, looking down at the floor so I wouldn’t have to lock eyes with him. "You’ve already done so much, and you have your own life to sort out."
"I’m not complaining," Ren said instantly, stepping a fraction closer. The heat radiating from him was impossible to ignore. "I have never complained about helping you."
I kept quiet, biting the inside of my cheek. I didn’t know what to say without bringing up the one thing I was desperately trying to ignore. I just wanted him to drop it, to let me put up my walls so I could protect myself.
But Ren wasn’t going to let it go.
"Taking help doesn’t make you a weak person, Lumi," he continued, his voice softening, turning low and earnest.
"It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re strong and smart enough to know when to take advantage of the situation to build something for you. You are trying to rebuild an entire empire from nothing. You can’t do it completely alone."
Before I could step back or argue, he reached out. His large, warm hands wrapped completely around mine, pulling my crossed arms apart so he could hold my hands securely between his.
His palms were rough, but his grip was incredibly gentle.
I looked up, my breath catching in my throat as my eyes locked into his. He was looking down at me with so much intensity, a raw, open look that made my heart start thumping wildly against my ribs again.
"So please," Ren pleaded softly, squeezing my hands between his own. "Do not ever refuse my help."
"Alright," I said, looking away from his intense gaze. "We’ll go to the car dealers tomorrow morning before going to the company."
The tension in his shoulders dropped instantly. He looked down at me with an overwhelming sense of relief, a soft expression taking over his rugged face.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
I stood there, completely baffled. I couldn’t understand why he was thanking me, or why he was so determined to keep helping me.
If he had a fiancé out there, why was he always right here by my side? None of it made any sense, but I didn’t have the strength to unpack it right now.
I just nodded and went back to what I was doing. I turned my back to him, turned the water back on, and resumed washing the final few dishes in the sink.
"How can I help?"
His deep voice rumbled directly behind me, and that stupid flutter in my chest happened all over again.
My stomach did a nervous flip, and I hated myself for it. Why wouldn’t my heart stop beating so fast around him? What was going on with me? God, I needed to get a grip.
"Nothing," I muttered, focusing entirely on a glass in my hands. "You can just go back to the living room and continue your movie."
I peeked over my shoulder, and the sad look on his face made me instantly sigh.
He looked like a wounded dog standing in my kitchen, and I couldn’t bear to keep pushing him away when he was just trying to be useful.
"Alright," I gave in, stepping slightly to the side to give him some room. "Just arrange the dishes over here in the drying rack while I wash and clean."
He nodded quickly, his mood shifting as he stepped up right beside me.
The kitchen wasn’t so big, and with his massive frame taking up most of the space, our arms naturally brushed against each other as we worked.
Every time I handed him a wet plate, our skin touched, sending a tiny jolt of electricity straight up my arm.
It was crowded and completely suffocating, but surprisingly, neither of us made an attempt to move away.
We just stood there in the quiet apartment, working side by side in perfect, unbroken silence.
We finished the last of the plates in a good rhythm, the quiet scraping of ceramic the only sound in the room.
I reached for the dish soap to clean the counter, but as I squeezed the bottle, a huge clump of white foam bubbled up right over the sponge.
Before I could even wipe it away, Ren reached over. His large hand scooped up a big dollop of the white foam, and with a quick motion, he rubbed it right across my left cheek.
I froze, completely shocked. I blinked, feeling the cold, bubbly wetness sliding down my face. I turned my head slowly to look at him, my mouth dropping open.
He was standing there with a rare, boyish grin spreading across his face, his dark eyes full of fun.
"Oh, it’s like that?" I said, a sudden burst of energy hitting me.
I didn’t even think. I dove my hands straight into the soapy sink, scooped up a massive double handful of white foam, and lunged forward, smearing it right across his nose and jaw.
"Lumi!" he laughed, his deep voice loud in the small space as he tried to block his face with his big arms.
"Don’t joke with me, Ren!" I shouted, laughing so hard my stomach hurt as I grabbed more foam. "I’m older than you, remember? You have to respect your elders!"
"Is that right?" he teased, his grin turning wicked as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Let’s see how much respect you get then."
I screamed playfully as he lunged for me, turning around to run around the kitchen island.
We scrambled around the small space, my bare feet slipping slightly on the rug as I tried to keep the counter between us.
I threw another handful of bubbles at him, but he just leaned out of the way, tracking me like he was just letting me think I had a chance to get away.
I tried to run toward the living room, but he was too fast. With two big strides, he caught up to me right at the edge of the kitchen.
Before I could even realize what was happening, his large, solid arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me straight up off the floor like I weighed nothing at all.
A loud, real laugh came from my throat. I hadn’t laughed like this in years. "Ren! Put me down! Put me down right now!" I yelled, hitting playfully at his shoulders as my feet swung in the air.
Instead of dropping me, he shifted his grip easily, lifting me right up over his broad shoulder.
"Ren, stop! I’m going to fall!" I gasped, grabbing the back of his leather jacket to hold on, though I couldn’t stop giggling.
He didn’t listen. Instead, he broke into a light jog, carrying me right out of the kitchen and running around the entire living room.
The apartment suddenly felt small as his big frame moved through it, my hair flying wild as I hung over his back, pounding my fists weakly against his solid spine while laughing until my face burned.
After one last lap around the sofa, he jogged back into the kitchen and carefully slid me back down to the floor.
My feet hit the ground, but my head was spinning so fast from the laughter and the sudden rush of blood that my knees gave out slightly.
He caught me instantly, his large hands gripping my waist firmly to steady me against his chest.
Our breathing was heavy in the quiet kitchen. The laughter slowly died down, replaced by a sudden, thick warmth that settled over us.
He didn’t let go of my waist. He stood there, looking down at me, his dark eyes incredibly soft and deep.
Slowly, his right hand lifted from my side. His rough fingers gently brushed a stray, damp lock of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear with a touch so gentle it made my breath hitch. He stayed there for a second, his thumb touching my cheekbone.
Then, he slowly bent his head down.
My heart completely stopped as his warm, soft lips pressed gently against the center of my forehead.
It wasn’t a quick kiss. It lingered, sweet and heavy, sending a massive shock straight through my body.
I stood completely frozen in his arms, my hands resting weakly against his chest, my mind spinning into absolute chaos.
The moment his lips left my skin, the spell snapped.
Ren instantly stepped back, completely dropping his hands from my waist and putting a wide gap between us.
He stood up straight, his face locking down into a tight, hard mask as he cleared his throat roughly.
"I need to leave," he said, his deep voice suddenly sounding tight and flat. He didn’t look me in the eye as he reached into his pocket for his keys. "Victoria is waiting for me."
The name hit me like a blow.
Every ounce of warmth vanished from my chest in a fraction of a second. The feeling on my forehead turned completely ice-cold, and all the blood in my body felt like it froze solid.
The fun, the laughter, the short second of safety...it all shattered into a million sharp pieces, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the kitchen.
