After several hours of navigating the treacherous, snow-covered mountain roads, the car finally arrived in the center of the remote town. Jaguar rolled down the window slightly, his sharp, piercing gaze cutting through the freezing air to rest inside the nearby cafe. There, the blood froze in his veins. Fati was sitting there warmly, draped in a coat that wasn't his. Worse of all, she was smiling at Kylo a sweet, genuine smile that Jaguar had spent ages begging for, a smile she had never granted him no matter how hard he tried.
The driver swallowed hard, watching Jaguar's features harden into stone. He asked nervously,
- Sir... do you want to go inside?
Jaguar rolled up the window slowly, his eyes still locked on the smile that was scorching his soul. He replied in a voice that was terrifyingly calm,
- No. I'll wait here for a little while.
Meanwhile, inside the warmth of the cafe, Kylo placed his hand over Fati's, asking in a tender, inquiring tone,
- Tell me the truth, Fati... why are you here? Your face has lost its radiance, and you look completely lost.
She offered him a smile, trying to make it look bright to ease his worry, and said,
- No, Kylo... I'm fine. I just ran away from the pressure of work.
Then, with an instinctive and decisive movement, she gently pulled her hand out from under his, establishing a clear boundary, and continued,
- I just found myself boarding the bus without thinking, only to end up here in your town.
Kylo continued to study her pale face, asking,
- That's fine... but how long do you plan on staying here?
- I have to go back tonight,
She replied, struggling to keep her voice level.
- Tomorrow, I must be at my workplace at the hospital.
His eyes widened in surprise.
- What?! Why? That is far too short!
- It's just... a quick breathing room,
She whispered, hiding a deep ache.
At that exact moment, her facial features shifted tightly, her lips trembling as if she were on the verge of bursting into tears. Softening at her distress, Kylo immediately backtracked, saying in a soothing tone,
- It's alright... it's alright, Fati. Let's change the subject. Have you eaten anything?
The hot food was placed on the table before them, and she began to force down a few bites like a mechanical drone, but she tasted absolutely nothing. Every single part of her body refused to hold together; she felt as though her entire existence was collapsing from within.
Jaguar had slapped her so hard with his words, stripping her of all balance. The word "revenge" still echoed violently in her ears, like a poisoned pill that had become tightly knotted in her stomach, blocking her from breathing or swallowing. Kylo watched her in utter bewilderment, noting her distant gaze and trembling frame. It was becoming glaringly obvious that Fati's iron walls were on the brink of crumbling that she was about to explode right in front of him, confessing everything she had endured of his deception, and finally ask for the money she so desperately needed to return to her city and save herself.
At that critical moment, the cafe door swung open, and Jaguar's driver walked in with measured steps. He approached their table, gently placed Fati's bags and belongings on the floor beside her, then bowed and said in a cold, formal tone,
- Ma'am... here are your belongings. Do you need anything else?
He never uttered Jaguar's name, nor did he point toward the outside, but the message shook Fati to her core. In a split second, she realized Jaguar knew exactly where she was, that he was silently trapping her, and most dangerously of all he would never let her escape, and he might destroy the innocent Kylo if he suspected anything between them.
The driver offered to help carry the bags, but she refused with a sharp, repressed panic. He left the cafe, leaving a ticking time bomb behind. Barely a few seconds passed before her dying phone vibrated with a text message from Jaguar. It was as brief as a death sentence:
"I am waiting for you for ten more minutes."
Fati turned to meet Kylo's bewildered, inquiring gaze; his features were a volcanic storm of questions on the verge of erupting after witnessing the driver and the luggage. Before he could speak a single word, and out of desperate concern for his safety, she swallowed her agony and forced a painful lie past her lips:
- Kylo... actually, I've gone back to my husband. He's waiting for me outside right now... I only came here to let you know.
Fati stood up with heavy steps, looking at Kylo with a sorrowful tone.
- Goodbye, Kylo... and please, don't tell Mary anything about what you saw.
She glanced at her heavy bag on the floor, thinking with a damaged pride that she would make Jaguar come back and carry it himself; after all, the ten minutes were his deadline, not hers. But the tender-hearted Kylo didn't give her time to finish her thoughts. He bent down, hoisted the luggage off the floor, and headed toward the exit, saying firmly,
- I'll help you take it to the car.
There was Kylo the man who always overflowed with warmth and stood by her side with no strings attached, his traits contrasting sharply with Jaguar, the man who carried nothing for her but pain and schemes. They stepped out together into the freezing street. Fati repeatedly tried to pull her bags away from Kylo, fearing a collision, but he stubbornly refused, walking right beside her toward the vehicle. It seemed Kylo's curiosity and protective instinct would finally drive him into the line of fire.
At that critical moment, the black car door swung open, and Jaguar stepped out in all his looming, dominant power. He stood tall, facing his rival directly. The two men stood locked in a fierce, piercing gaze that could ignite the surrounding snow, looking as if they were about to plunge into a bloody brawl to end it all. But Kylo broke the dead silence, staring at Jaguar with a tone laced with cold irony.
- Well... we finally get to meet Fati's 'loving' husband.
A subtle muscle twitched in Jaguar's jaw, betraying the volcano he was suppressing, but in the end, a cold, enigmatic smile spread across his face. He stepped confidently toward Fati, who stood between the two men like a human shield, ready to intervene at any moment to prevent a disaster. He didn't throw a punch or raise his voice; instead, with dominant arrogance, he reached out and slid Kylo's woolen coat off Fati's shoulders, leaving her completely exposed to the freezing air for a fleeting, biting moment.
He handed the coat back to Kylo with a dismissive glance, speaking with a chilling calmness.
- Yes... a loving husband. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Jaguar Jack Pike.
The moment the name struck Kylo's ears, his face drained of color, and he instinctively took a step back in silent horror. It was a crushing shock; the man standing before him wasn't just a jealous husband he was the titan of the construction empire and the very company Kylo worked for. In fact, half of the buildings, luxury resorts, and hotels in this mountain town belonged entirely to him.
Jaguar reclaimed his position beside Fati, and he didn't just stand close; he wrapped his powerful arm tightly around her shoulders, pulling her into his frame. Suddenly, Fati felt the radiating heat of his body igniting between her ribs amidst the freezing cold, acting as a human cloak far thicker and warmer than Kylo's discarded coat. He stood with an imposing, triumphant pride, while Fati glanced up at his thin shirt defying the mountain winter, wondering in her medical mind: Is his body drawing warmth from mine right now, just as I am from his?
Jaguar shattered her thoughts, locking his piercing, challenging gaze onto the stunned Kylo, and declared firmly,
- I don't want my wife, my beloved, to freeze out here... so I will put her in the car first, and then I will come back to you.
As he seated her in the car and was about to shut the door, Fati impulsively reached out, placing her trembling hand over Jaguar's. With a pleading voice and eyes brimming with tears, she begged,
- Jaguar... please, don't hurt him!
Jaguar froze, his features darkening as he asked in a sharp, laced tone,
- Is he really that important to you, Fati?
Fati instantly caught the dangerous implication of his words.
- It's not him... it's his family!
She clarified desperately.
- They are like family to me. They took me in when I had no one.
He studied her tears for a quiet moment, then exhaled coldly.
- Don't worry... I won't touch a single hair on his head. Rest assured.
- Thank you, Jaguar,
She whispered with bitter relief.
- I would never be able to look my friend in the eye if her brother was hurt because of me.
Jaguar leaned down, pressing a warm, lingering kiss on the back of her hand, before gently dislodging her fingers from his grip. He closed the door, sealing her inside the warmth and isolation of the vehicle. Fati pressed her face against the glass, watching him walk away with confident steps in his light cotton shirt. The weather was biting cold, and the snow was swirling around, yet he walked through the freezing mountain air as if absolutely nothing in this world could affect him. She sighed in agonizing self reproach, thinking: Here I am again... foolish and lost, thinking about him and fearing for his safety, despite the utter ruin he brought upon my heart.