The Mafia's king Contractual Bride

Chapter 47: Too sacred to crave

"You rascal, do you think that I won’t find out what you did?" the old lady said as she continued her assault on him.

"Grandma, this is an injustice. You can’t hit me for no reason," Jark said, grabbing the walking stick mid-air.

The old lady scoffed at him as she turned her face to the side out of anger. "You think I don’t know that you played a big role in Kathe’s accident, you rascal?"

Hearing the old lady’s words, Jark’s face suddenly dropped in guilt, letting go of the old lady’s stick. He didn’t mind if he was beaten a hundred times; it still wouldn’t erase the guilt he was feeling due to the fact that all the bruises on her body were his fault.

"Grandma, you can hit me more. I deserve more of it," he said, his face cast down with guilt written all over him.

Kathe, in her hideout, was amazed that the old lady could actually turn the icy man into a child once more.

The old lady glared at him suspiciously. "You didn’t say that when she got hurt."

Kathe stood in her hideout with her mind racing with thoughts as she could see the mix-up there, and it wouldn’t take long before Jark would spill the real truth to the old lady, and she didn’t want that to happen.

"Grandma, I can explain, and you are right. It all happened because of..."

Before he could complete his statement, Kathe interrupted him, leaping out of her hiding place. Catching the old lady by surprise, she didn’t even take notice of Kathe’s presence, but Jark was more reserved. He had already sensed her presence, and more, she was running after him.

"Grandma, you don’t have to blame him. I’ve explained everything already."

Kathe leaped to where Jark was, standing in between the old lady and Jark.

Jark narrowed his eyes at her, but Kathe quickly drifted her eyes away from him, looking back at the old lady as she continued her explanation.

"Grandma, like I said, I slipped off by myself and fell into the dirty pond. That’s why I have the bruises all around. He had asked me to stay put, but I was so ignorant of his words, and I didn’t take him seriously, so I wandered around. I got tricked by the thick grass around, and by mistake, I slipped and fell."

Jark looked at her keenly. To everyone, she was explaining things to the old lady, but he was the only one who knew that she was giving him a hint on the excuse she had given the old lady. This was the first time someone was ready to take the blame for him, and he could not explain the warm feeling.

The old lady rolled her eyes with a loud scoff. "I think you’ve defended him enough. I won’t let go of this easily."

The old lady raised her stick, waving it mid-air in a threatening manner.

"I think the blame should only be on me. I think you have scolded him enough."

Kathe suddenly leaned in, wrapping her hands around Jark’s back as she gave him a tight hug like a mother shielding her child from the harsh reality of the world. There was a brief crack in Jark’s expression before he returned it back to normal.

The old lady was taken aback by Kathe’s action. She couldn’t help but let out a smile. Due to the fact that Kathe was the one hugging Jark, her face was buried in his arms. She couldn’t see the flicker that reflected in his eyes, but the old lady could see it.

Her old heart settled a bit, seeing that her grandson had found the perfect companion, someone who was ready to shield him.

The old lady rolled her eyes. "Are you both trying to make this old lady here jealous? You can take it elsewhere. I’m not really interested," her voice teasing.

Kathe realized that she was still in Jark’s arms. She quickly pushed herself away.

Jark frowned, feeling the sudden cold space.

Due to the force she had used to push herself away and the bruises under her feet, she lost her balance.

She closed her eyes, bracing for the impact, but she was suddenly pulled back by Jark.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes staring right back at hers.

Kathe found herself lost in those eyes.

"Kathe, are you okay?"

The old lady’s voice brought her back to reality. She let go of Jark’s shirt and turned to the old lady with a smile.

"I’m fine. I just lost my footing a little."

The old lady frowned, looking at her feet.

"Jark, I think you should carry her back to the room. It may be due to the injuries on her feet."

Jark nodded at the old lady.

"Grandma, there’s no need to..." Before she could complete her sentence, Jark had already carried her in his arms in a bridal style, leaving her in a daze.

"Let’s head back to our room."

His husky voice and warm breath mingled together, causing her neck to tickle.

Jark didn’t seem to notice the effect he had on her as he kept his face straight toward their room.

The old lady smiled, satisfied with the love that was displayed by the two of them.

"I pray that you two remain blessed and happy for a thousand lifetimes."

She kept her walking stick down to steady herself before walking out of the hallway.

Unknown to them, Rhea stepped out of the shadows, clenching her fist tightly, her face darkened at the old lady’s blessing.

"A thousand lifetimes of happiness only belong to me. But Kathe, yours will be filled with pain. You snatched everything I’ve worked hard to earn. I will make sure your thousand lifetimes will be filled with regret."

.......................

Jark dropped Kathe down softly on the bed.

"Why did you follow me out, knowing fully well that your feet are still badly injured?"

"I was trying to give you a tip-off about Grandma, but you didn’t even turn or answer my call," Kathe pouted angrily.

"I didn’t hear."

Jark lied, not able to bring himself to tell her that the reason he ignored her was because she had spent her day happily with the old lady and did not even give him a call.

Kathe narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. With the past week she had been with him, she knew he had sharp ears, even for whispers.

"Is that so?" she asked, keeping her eyes straight on him, checking for any trace of a lie, but she was met with cold icy blue eyes instead. She decided to change the subject.

"Aren’t you going to the study for some work?"

Jark frowned, and his aura turned cold.

"Are you in a hurry to get rid of me?"

Kathe couldn’t help staring at the man like he was a ghost.

’Wasn’t he the one who had claimed to have some work?’

"Nothing. I must have misheard you," Kathe said, avoiding his eyes.

"It seems so."

The room returned back to its normal atmosphere.

"In the next four days, we’ll be attending a party."

Kathe looked at him surprised.

’Tsk, who could be the unlucky person to invite such a cold man to a party?’

"It’s not like a party. It’s more of a business banquet. My uncle sent the invitation."

Jark explained like he was reading her thoughts.

Kathe nodded at him, then his words suddenly clicked to her as she raised her eyes to look at him, overwhelmed.

"You have an uncle?"

"Yes, I do."

"But I didn’t..."

"Yes, he didn’t attend the banquet. You don’t have to look that surprised. I have relatives. We just maintain a peaceful distance. Don’t worry, you will get to see them at the next board meeting."

His face lit up a little.

"Hmmm, you seem close to this one," Kathe asked, propping her hands under her chin.

He nodded at her, his thoughts drifting away. After a few seconds, he smiled, looking down at his hands.

"He taught me all I needed to know today."

"I’m really excited to see him then."

"You don’t have to be."

"Why?"

"He has lots of tricks. You won’t want to deal with him," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Is that a challenge?"

"No, it isn’t. In the next two days, we will go check out your dress."

He looked back at her feet with a frown.

"You need to heal quickly."

"It will heal in just a day, so you don’t have to worry."

"Hmmm."

He nodded, standing up.

"Let me grab some fruit for you. You need it for your healing."

When he got to the door, he turned again to look at her.

"Stay put."

Kathe nodded at him.

After giving Kathe a brief look, he stepped out of the room.

’Is it bad for me to crave you even if the fruit is too forbidden?’

Kathe thought to herself.

She couldn’t ignore the little feeling in her heart anymore, especially when he only showed her his soft side. At the end, she threw away the idea.

’Some fruits are too sacred to crave.’

With a sigh, she allowed her body to fall on the bed.