ra froze for a moment, remembering how intense things always got with Z. She was always careful afterward, so getting pregnant seemed out of the question.
She lowered hershes, tugging at her lip. "I doubt it. We took precautions."
Her straightforwardness in saying this showed she really had no feelings left for Simon.
Simon''s fingers curled a bit at his side before he pulled out a check for half a million dors.
"Emily came clean to Dnst night. He asked someone to pass this along to you and has arranged for a specialist from abroad. Those whip marks shouldn''t leave scars. Do you need to head to the hospital?"
ra nced at the check, imagining Dn''s calm, detached demeanor.
Getting whipped wasn''t ideal, but the money made it a bit more bearable.
She tucked the check away, managing a smile. "Please thank Mr. Dn for me."
Simon, trying to ease her difort, offered some advice. "Emily''s been his favorite for a long time. I''d suggest keeping your distance; with Dn backing her, she''s capable of anything."
ra bowed her head, rinsed her mouth, and sshed her face with water to regain herposure. "Got it."
For now, she''d have to swallow this loss.
But the itching from her healing wounds was driving her crazy. She wanted to scratch them so badly.
And then Eden sent a threatening message.
"If you get close to Dn again, things will get worse."
Annoyed, ra blocked the number.
Back home, after three days of resting up, Z sent her a text saying he wanted to drop by.
With nothing else going on while she was healing, she agreed.
Z always seemed to arrive with the night, reminding ra of the cave from her dreams.
It was nine at night, the lights were off, and shey in bed, hearing the faint sounds of activity in the living room.
When he came in, the aroma of warm soup followed.
A spoonful of soup was gently offered to her lips.
ra had only mentioned feeling unwell, not where specifically. Yet Z came to
take care of her, which warmed her heart.
She wasn''t really hungry, but after a sip, she spoke up.
"I had this dream. In it, I was with a boy in a deep cave. He was dying, and I fed him with blood from my wrist."
"tter."
She paused as the spoon dropped into the bowl.
Darkness covered the room. ra bit her lip, reaching out to hold his hand.
"Was that boy you?"
His fingers jerked away slightly, trying to retreat.
ra held on tighter,cing her fingers with his hesitating ones.
"Z, was it you?"
She couldn''t clearly see the boy''s face from her dream, but she remembered those bright eyes, like a lost puppy hoping for rescue.
She sensed Z''s body tense up, realizing she was pushing too hard, and sighed, "You don''t have to say anything if you don''t want to."
Everyone has secrets.
"It was me."
His voice was soft, always deliberately so when he spoke to her, sounding both deep and vulnerable.
ra''s heart skipped a beat. She''d been guessing wildly, never expecting it to be true.
In the dream, the boy was severely injured; without her blood, he might not have survived.
"Were you really hurt that badly? How did you end up in the cave?"
Her dream was patchy, and she had no idea how she ended up there, so she asked the only one who might know.
Z quietly stirred the soup, his emotions now settled.
"I was thrown in there, left to fend for myself, until I met you."
"So, I was your savior then?"
She tried to lighten the mood, but he didn''t say more.
Worried she''d hit a nerve, ra quickly changed the subject, "I''m a bit hungry. Can I have some more?"
There was a pause before he replied, "You were my savior. I''ve loved you since then."
ra nearly choked on her soup, coughing for several minutes while he gently patted her back.
No wonder he was so drawn to her; they had such a deep connection. Meeting her at his lowest, sustained by her blood-even after everything she''d done to hurt himter, she was still the light from that day.
ra suddenly didn''t know what to say, as she had forgotten-forgotten toopletely. If it weren''t for the recent beating sparking some memories, she might never have recalled this small chapter of their lives.