Chapter 34: I FELT COMPLETELY SAFE
Chapter 34
I looked down at his large hand still wrapped around my wrist, and a quiet sigh slipped past my lips. I didn’t feel angry at him. I just felt tired.
"It’s okay, Ren," I said softly, looking back up to lock my eyes with his. "When Callum showed up and made that horrible scene, you didn’t get pissed at me. You didn’t blame me for his behavior at all. So I’m not going to get angry at you because of your fiancé."
Ren flinched slightly at the word fiancé, his jaw clenching tightly. His dark eyes searched my face, looking like he wanted to say a million other things, but the heavy silence between us was too thick.
I gently pulled my wrist out of his grip, and this time, he let his hand drop to his side.
"I want to take a bath now," I told him, keeping my voice completely flat and calm. "You should leave."
Without waiting for him to answer, I turned around and walked away from him, heading straight down the hallway toward the bedroom.
I didn’t look back to see the expression on his face. I just shut the door behind me and turned the lock, letting the quiet room swallow up the rest of the day.
I spent a long time in the tub, letting the hot water soak away the dust from the Reed Building and the heavy stress of the day.
By the time I finally dried off, brushed my hair, and changed into a pair of soft grey sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, nearly an hour had passed.
I unlocked the bathroom door and walked down the hallway, fully expecting the apartment to be dark and empty. I figured he would have taken the hint and left to handle Victoria.
But as I stepped into the living room, the rich, savory smell of melted cheese and baked dough hit my nose.
Ren was still there.
He had taken off his leather jacket, throwing it over the back of a kitchen chair, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows. On the coffee table in front of the sofa sat two large, steaming cardboard pizza boxes.
I stopped in my tracks, staring at the boxes and then up at him, completely at a loss for words.
Ren looked up from his phone, his dark eyes tracking me as I walked into the room. "I ordered pizza," he said, his deep voice quiet.
"Two of them. I figured you hadn’t eaten a real meal all day, and we still have a lot of work to do on the laptop. You need to snack."
I looked at the food, then at his tired face, and shook my head slightly. I couldn’t even find the words to argue with him. He was just too stubborn, and honestly, the smell of the food was making my mouth water.
"Thank you," I murmured.
I moved over to the couch, sitting on the opposite end from him, and pulled my laptop onto my knees. Ren opened the pizza boxes, handing me a massive, cheesy slice on a paper towel before taking one for himself.
For the next few hours, the apartment was filled with the quiet clicking of my keyboard and the low hum of the refrigerator. We ate as we worked, side by side.
He helped me sort through the digital files for Vale Global Holdings, his large finger occasionally tapping the screen to point out specific budget lines or old supplier contacts. The awkwardness from earlier slowly faded, replaced by a comfortable, easy rhythm.
Before I even thought to check the time, I glanced at the bottom corner of my screen. My eyes widened. It was already past 3:00 AM.
"Oh my god," I breathed, closing the laptop lid halfway. "It’s late."
Ren blinked, looking over at the clock on the wall, and immediately stood up from the sofa. He reached for his leather jacket. "I should leave. You need to get some sleep."
"No," I said quickly, standing up right after him. "Don’t drive now. It’s way too late, and the roads are completely dark. I don’t want you endangering yourself on the highway when you’re this tired."
He stopped, his jacket hanging from his hand as he looked down at me. A faint, tired smile touched the corner of his lips. "I can take care of myself, Lumi. I’ve driven in worse conditions than this."
"I don’t care," I insisted, stepping closer and looking up at his stubborn face. "If you leave right now, I’m just going to stay awake worrying about you getting into an accident. Just stay."
The word worrying hung in the quiet air between us. Ren’s eyes darkened slightly, his chest rising and falling heavily as he stared at me. He didn’t argue further. He slowly set his jacket back down on the chair.
"Alright," he replied softly. "I’ll stay."
"You should sleep in my room," I suggested, gesturing down the hallway. "Since I’m the reason you stayed this late anyway. I can take the couch."
Ren frowned instantly, his jaw tightening. "No way. I am not taking your bed, Lumi. I’ll sleep out here."
"Ren, you’re too big for this couch, your feet are going to hang off the edge," I argued, crossing my arms. "Just take the bed."
"I said no," he repeated, his voice dropping into that low, unyielding tone. "I’m staying on the couch."
After a long, stubborn back-and-forth where neither of us wanted to back down, I finally let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. You win. The couch it is."
I walked over to the linen closet, grabbed a thick blanket and a fluffy pillow, and brought them over to the living room.
Ren took them from my hands, his fingers brushing against mine for a brief second, sending a quiet jolt straight through my skin.
"Goodnight, Ren," I whispered, backing away toward my bedroom.
"Goodnight, Lumi," he replied, his deep voice wrapping around me in the darkness.
I walked into my room, shut the door, and climbed into bed. As I pulled the blankets up to my chin, I could hear the faint sound of the couch springs groaning in the next room as he settled in.
For the first time in a very long time, despite all the chaos waiting for me tomorrow, I felt completely safe.
....
I woke up at 6:30 AM to the soft sound of rain tapping against my bedroom window.
I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling as my mind slowly cleared. Then, the memory of the night before rushed back. Ren was sleeping on the couch.
I got out of bed quietly, not wanting to make a sound. I pulled on a thick cardigan over my t-shirt and tiptoed down the hallway, intending to slip into the kitchen to make some coffee before he woke up.
But as I stepped into the living room, I stopped.
Ren was already awake. He was sitting on the edge of the sofa, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared down at a steaming mug between his hands.
Just like I predicted, his massive frame had been way too big for the small couch, and he looked a little stiff as he moved. He had a gray blanket draped loosely over his broad shoulders, and his hair was completely messy from sleep.
He looked up when he heard my footsteps, his dark eyes instantly locking onto mine.
"Morning," he rumbled, his voice incredibly deep and rough from sleep.
"Morning," I said softly, walking closer. "Did you sleep at all? I told you your feet would hang off the edge."
Ren let out a low, tired chuckle, shaking his head. "A little. And you were right. My ankles were practically touching the TV stand. But it was worth it."
My heart did a tiny flip, but I tried to ignore it as I walked past him into the kitchen.
To my surprise, a fresh pot of coffee was already brewed, filling the small apartment with a warm, rich smell. Two slices of toast were sitting on a plate by the toaster.
"I made enough for you," Ren said, standing up from the couch and dropping the blanket.
He stretched his arms over his head, his shirt pulling tight against his back, making me quickly look away toward the coffee pot.
"Thank you," I murmured, pouring myself a mug.
We sat down at the small dining table together, eating the toast and drinking the coffee in a comfortable, quiet rhythm.
The rain outside made the apartment feel safe and hidden from the rest of the world. For a few minutes, there was no Victoria, no Callum, and no court dates. It was just the two of us sharing a simple morning.
But as soon as we finished eating, my phone buzzed on the table. It was a text alert from the delivery service.
Your packages have arrived at the lobby.
"The cleaning supplies are here," I said, looking up from the screen. "The boxes from our online order."
The quiet morning bubble popped, and the reality of the day rushed back. Ren nodded, his face turning back into his usual serious expression. "Let’s go get them."
We spent the next ten minutes hauling four massive cardboard boxes up the stairs and loading them straight into the back of my new SUV. By 8:30 AM, we were driving through the wet streets, heading toward the Reed Building.
When we arrived, the cracked parking lot was filled with puddles, and the old building looked grey under the rain clouds. But today, I didn’t feel discouraged. I had a car, I had supplies, and I had a plan.
We carried the heavy boxes inside, setting them down in the middle of the main lobby.
"Today, we focus on just one room," I announced, pulling a pair of heavy-duty rubber gloves out of the box and slipping them onto my hands.
"We need to clear out the old desks and scrub the floors in the corner office so I have a clean space to set up my laptop and files."
"Sounds good," Ren said. He pulled on his own pair of gloves, his massive hands stretching the rubber to its absolute limit.
We got straight to work. The next few hours were filled with actual physical labor. We dragged broken wooden chairs out to the dumpster, ripped up old, water-damaged carpets, and began scrubbing the thick layers of dust off the concrete floor.
It was hard, exhausting work, but it felt good. Every piece of trash we threw away felt like I was clearing out a piece of the mess Callum had left behind.
"You missed a spot over there," Ren teased, pointing a long finger toward a corner I had just wiped down.
I paused, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead with the back of my arm, and glared at him playfully. "I did not. If you think you can do it better, big guy, you take the mop."
He chuckled, a genuine, deep sound that echoed in the empty room. He took the mop from my hands, his fingers brushing against mine.
He stood right behind me, his chest nearly touching my back as he leaned forward to scrub the stubborn spot on the floor.
"See?" he muttered near my ear, his breath warm against my skin. "Clean."
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my ribs all over again. I turned around slowly, finding myself trapped between his massive frame and the wall. He was looking down at me, his dark eyes intense, a small smirk playing on his lips.
The physical closeness was completely suffocating, but I didn’t want to move away. The air in the small, half-cleaned office suddenly felt incredibly thick.
