Jaguar stood with Kylo amidst the gently falling snow, but this time, the scales had completely tipped. It was no longer a meeting between two rivals burning with jealousy; rather, it had transformed into a confrontation between a formidable titan and his subordinate. Despite the deep-seated hatred and resentment Jaguar harbored for this man, his desire not to break Fati's heart was far stronger especially after realizing that this young man's family had been the warm sanctuary that cared for his wife and took her in during the years of her absence and displacement.
Jaguar began the conversation with a cold, calculated confidence, steering the dialogue toward the company's business and inquiring about Kylo's performance and impressions. At first, Kylo withdrew, reluctant to elaborate or speak much. However, Jaguar's dominant demeanor and his tone, which blended authority with calculated welcoming, made Kylo back down from his stubbornness, becoming much like a wild stallion carefully trained to be mounted and surrendered to his rider.
Jaguar locked his piercing gaze onto him and said in a measured tone,
- When you were hired at my company, the executives informed me of your high potential. In fact, I was planning to hand over the entire management of the company here to you after a while, once you prove yourself and deserve the high position that will fall to you especially since my wife trusts you and your integrity so much.
Those words were enough to completely alter Kylo's perspective. His defenses crumbled, and his view of Jaguar shifted in an instant. He no longer saw him as a terrifying rival looking to crush his existence, but rather with deep respect as a generous "brother-in-law" and a boss opening the doors of the future for him. Under the influence of this gratitude and relief, Kylo's tongue loosened without reservation. He began to boastfully share with Jaguar the years of study he had spent alongside Fati, and how his family had deeply cared for and looked after her like their own daughter throughout all those years.
Through the candid, proud tone in the young man's voice, Jaguar realized that Kylo had never truly held Fati's heart. The way he spoke of her and recalled their past clearly dictated the boundaries of mere classmates and genuine, brotherly affection nothing more. This conversation, despite the freezing air around them, brought a wave of overwhelming warmth and comfort to Jaguar's heart. Just moments ago, that very heart had been a solid block of blind fury, ready to incinerate everything and everyone in its path.
Right then, Fati's anxious voice cut through the silent air from behind him. Opening the car door, she called out pleadingly
- Jaguar! You're going to freeze out here... Come on, get inside the car.
Her words carried a genuine fear for his safety a fear that had become an undeniable part of her feelings for him despite it all. Yet, at the same time, she was terrified that the tension between the two men would escalate, causing Jaguar to forget his solemn promise not to harm Kylo.
The moment Jaguar heard her gentle voice calling him, he turned back to Kylo and said in a calm, brilliantly smooth tone of excuse,
- Ah... I forgot to mention. I was actually on a vacation with my wife, and we stopped by this town because she deeply wished to see you and say hello. However, I temporarily lost track of her while we were in the center of town... Thank you for looking after her in my brief absence.
Kylo raised his hand, waving goodbye to Jaguar with a completely relieved expression. Jaguar then stepped inside the enclosed car. The moment the heavy door shut, sealing them away from the freezing outside world, Fati impulsively reached forward. She grasped Jaguar's freezing hands within both of her own, rubbing them firmly and tenderly, trying to pump warmth back into his veins.
Jaguar's eyes widened in utter disbelief; he had not anticipated this affectionate gesture from her after everything that had transpired. Suddenly, she looked at him with an anxious reproach, demanding,
- Why did you take so long standing out there in this killing frost?!
She spoke from the vivid memory of her own wretched state just an hour ago, when she had been on the verge of fainting from the severe cold until Kylo saved her by bringing her into the cafe.
Jaguar studied her frightened features, but he quickly reclaimed his chilling composure, speaking in a calm tone laced with blame.
- If you hadn't run away and abandoned me... I wouldn't have been standing out there at the mercy of the frost.
Then, with a movement heavy with wounded pride, he slowly withdrew his hands from between her warm palms, bitterly remembering how she had fled from him to seek refuge with Kylo. Fixing her with a sharp, piercing gaze, he added,
- You know very well that I will hunt you down even if you flee to the ends of the earth... So why did you run away? And why to Kylo, of all people?
She looked at him, her eyes gleaming with wounded sincerity, and denied his toxic assumptions.
- Jaguar... did you honestly believe that I came to him on purpose, looking like this? Without even wearing anything to protect myself from the freezing cold? I don't even know where he works in the first place!
She was entirely truthful; her exhausted mind couldn't recall a single detail from their past conversations regarding where his new job was or where he lived in this part of the world.
Yet, Jaguar's eyes remained stone-cold, entirely unbelieving; doubts had already nested deeply within his mind. At that, Fati exhaled bitterly, adding with a tone of damaged pride,
- I don't care whether you believe me or not... but the truth is, I boarded the wrong bus. I came all the way here without even knowing its destination, and I didn't realize where I was until I saw the mountains surrounding me on every side.
She turned her face toward the window, hiding her most painful secret from him. She didn't want to tell him that she had been weeping bitterly throughout the entire journey, and that her scalding tears, which blurred her vision, were the real reason she hadn't recognized the route. She hadn't realized the bus was winding into the freezing mountain peaks until it was already too late.
Jaguar's eyes began to soften, losing their harsh coldness as he gazed at her tear-filled, glistening eyes through the dark reflection of the car window. Despite the warmth beginning to seep into his heart, he couldn't stop himself from asking in a low voice,
- And why did you board the bus in the first place?
Fati didn't turn around to face him, keeping her gaze fixed on the outside, but her voice came out choked, making it glaringly obvious that her tears had begun to flow all over again.
- I wanted to run away...
His eyes traced the silhouette of her face in the glass.
- And where to?
- To the city,
she whispered in deep pain.
- I just wanted to be completely alone to sort out my shattered emotions. I was in no state to tolerate someone joking around with me while he doesn't...
She was on the verge of speaking it out loud, exposing her deepest fracture:
"while he doesn't love me."
But Jaguar's powerful hands cut her words short before she could utter them. His arms reached from behind, fully enveloping her small frame, pulling her tightly and tenderly against his broad chest without forcing her to turn around. He exhaled deeply into the quiet of the car and said in a warm, resonant voice that shook her to her core,
- This... is the most beautiful surprise I have ever received in my life.
Fati remained completely still, utterly shocked by the resounding weight of his word, "surprise," as she lay trapped within his arms, unable to see his face. She breathed softly in his grip, yet her shallow breaths were nothing compared to the powerful, cascading sound of his own breathing filling the tight space. She silently thanked God that the privacy partition between them and the driver was tightly sealed; otherwise, the driver would have easily heard the frantic rhythm of their intertwined breaths.
Suddenly, Jaguar leaned down and pressed a deep kiss onto her bare neck with his ice-cold lips. That sudden chill didn't warm her; instead, it acted like a shockwave that violently dragged her back to the bitter reality and the core reason for her flight. Fati stiffened within his embrace. Even though the overwhelming warmth radiating from his body and his frozen kiss tempted her exhausted limbs to surrender, the bitterness of the past awoke in her gut like burning salt upon an open wound.
She remembered his lethal looks of doubt from just minutes ago, and the lash of his wounding words about "revenge" that had scourged her soul back at the hotel. But harshest of all... she remembered his broad back as he cruelly walked away from her six years ago, leaving her utterly alone with her dying grandfather gasping his final breaths the very moment she swore a solemn, unbreakable oath never to forgive him as long as she lived!
She suddenly recoiled, breaking free from his enveloping hands with sheer force. She turned around to pierce him with a gaze burning with reproach, demanding in a sharp tone,
- What kind of a surprise is this, Jaguar?!...