"You're quite ruthless."
I started the engine and pulled the car into traffic, the engine humming smoothly beneath my hands. The air conditioner blasted cool air through the cabin, but the irritation simmering inside me refused to fade.
Raven shifted slightly in the passenger seat, clearly trying to make herself comfortable in the soft leather. It was probably the most expensive car she had ever sat in, yet she didn't seem particularly impressed.
Instead, she looked at me with mild confusion.
"Why do you say that?" she asked, her voice calm, almost innocent.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
"I was outside roasting under the sun for hours," I said through clenched teeth. "Meanwhile you were chatting with your friends like some happy little bunny."
Her expression didn't change.
"I asked you," she replied evenly. "But you brushed me off. You said you were Raven Rain's husband."
She paused.
"As far as I know, I'm still unmarried."
Her tone was so composed that it made my irritation spike higher.
"You could have corrected me."
She turned her face toward the window, watching the city slide past.
"I don't like interfering in other people's matters."
Silence fell between us.
Heavy. Awkward.
She clearly had no intention of continuing the conversation, and strangely enough, I found myself just as unwilling.
Still, something about her behavior unsettled me.
The girl William had described sounded nothing like this.
He had called his daughter arrogant, spoiled, impossible to deal with.
But the woman sitting beside me seemed… restrained.
Carefully restrained.
Her fingers were folded neatly in her lap, and her eyes stayed fixed on the passing buildings as if they were infinitely more interesting than speaking to me.
I cleared my throat.
"You didn't even verify with your father whether he actually sent me," I said. "I could've been a kidnapper."
"A kidnapper wouldn't admit that."
Her response came immediately.
Calm. Logical.
I glanced at her sideways.
"I could have bad intentions. You shouldn't get into a stranger's car so easily."
Finally she turned toward me.
Her gaze was steady. Sharp.
"I would destroy your entire family if you tried anything like that," she said quietly.
Then she added one word.
"Kevin."
The car swerved.
Just slightly, but enough to make my pulse jump.
I corrected the steering instantly, but my attention was no longer on the road.
"You remember my name?" I asked, my voice lower than before.
"You recognized me?"
She turned back to the window.
"I have a bad habit of remembering people."
Her tone made it clear the conversation was over.
But my mind refused to let it go.
She knew me.
And yet I had no memory of her.
That realization sat uncomfortably in my chest.
The silence stretched again.
Finally I broke it.
"You were talking quite a lot with your friends earlier," I said. "Why are you so quiet now?"
"You answered your own question."
Her lips curved faintly.
"You said it yourself. They're my friends."
She glanced at me briefly.
"Just drive."
Her coldness surprised me.
Something about it bothered me more than it should have.
"How have you been all these years?" I asked after a moment.
"Alive."
That was it.
Just one word.
I exhaled slowly, irritation creeping back.
"Are you angry at me for something?" I asked. "Because right now it feels like I should be the one who's angry."
"Then keep feeling that way."
I slammed the brakes.
The car rolled to a stop by the roadside.
I turned toward her fully.
"I don't remember you being this unbearable."
For the first time since entering the car, she looked directly into my eyes.
For a moment something flickered across her expression.
Then it disappeared.
"You look exhausted because of me," she said quietly.
Sweat trickled down my temple despite the cold air inside the car.
"Yes," I snapped. "I am."
She didn't argue.
Instead she opened the door.
And stepped out.
I stared at her in disbelief as she closed the door behind her.
"Viva Palm Hotel, right?" she asked through the open window.
I didn't even respond.
My expression must have been answer enough.
"I'll get there myself in half an hour."
She said it like we had just discussed something perfectly normal.
Then she turned and began walking toward the nearby bus stop.
For a moment I simply sat there, stunned.
This wasn't how this situation was supposed to go.
William's daughter was supposed to be difficult, arrogant, loud.
Not this cold, controlled stranger who calmly abandoned my car in the middle of the road.
I stepped out quickly.
"Raven—"
Before I could reach her, someone grabbed her arm.
A tall man had appeared beside her.
She turned sharply, ready to strike.
Then her expression shifted.
"Richard?"
I stopped a few steps away, watching.
"Why are you here?"
The man looked worried.
"Selena told me a random guy took you away," he said. "I thought you might be in danger."
Her reaction was immediate.
"Even if I were in trouble, you shouldn't leave class and run here like this."
Her voice was sharp now.
"People already spread ridiculous rumors about us. This will only make things worse."
Something inside my chest loosened at her words.
Interesting.
Before I could think about it further, the man suddenly shoved me backward.
"How dare you mistreat her?"
He grabbed my collar, his face blazing with anger.
I didn't move.
"I didn't mistreat her," I said calmly.
Then I looked him straight in the eye.
"Were you planning to stalk us all the way to our destination?"
"You threw her out of your car!" he snapped.
"I did no such thing."
"Richard."
Raven stepped between us.
"Let him go."
The man hesitated.
I smirked slightly.
"Your boyfriend seems very protective."
Her expression didn't change.
"Richard," she repeated quietly. "Let him go."
Slowly, he released my collar.
And that's where things were about to get much worse.
Richard released my collar slowly, smoothing the wrinkles from my shirt as if he were the one who had been wronged.
Up close, he looked exactly like those polished male leads my youngest sister obsessed over in her dramas—handsome in a neat, intellectual way, with carefully styled hair and glasses that made him appear harmless.
The kind of man people trusted immediately.
The kind of man women felt safe around.
The realization irritated me more than it should have.
"My classes are finished," Raven said to him calmly. "I don't have any until Tuesday."
She glanced toward the university buildings behind us.
"You should go back. I have other things to deal with."
The way she spoke to him was… different.
Not warm exactly.
But softer than the tone she had used with me.
I clenched my jaw.
Richard hesitated, clearly unwilling to leave her alone with me.
Before I could say anything, he suddenly stepped forward and stomped hard on my foot.
Pain shot through my leg.
For a split second, I simply stared at him.
Then instinct took over.
My hand rose before I could stop myself.
The ring on my thumb caught the sunlight as I swung toward his face, ready to leave a perfect imprint across his clean, smug cheek.
But my hand never reached him.
A sharp cry cut through the air.
"Ah—!"
Everything froze.
Raven was on the ground.
For a moment my mind refused to process what I was seeing.
Then reality slammed into me.
She had stepped between us.
My strike had landed on her instead.
The mark on her cheek appeared instantly, the red outline of my fingers blooming across her pale skin.
But it was worse than that.
A thin line of blood trickled down her face.
My ring had scratched her.
Richard rushed toward her.
"Raven!"
She shoved him away before he could touch her.
"Don't," she said sharply. "Don't touch me."
An elderly woman hurried over from the bus stop crowd.
"Girl, let me see."
She gently pulled Raven's hand away from her face.
Gasps rippled through the small group that had begun to gather.
"Look at that," the woman muttered angrily. "Such a deep mark."
Raven's eyes lifted.
They found mine immediately.
I had expected anger.
Fury.
Maybe even tears.
But what I saw instead made something twist inside my chest.
Hatred.
Pure, unwavering hatred.
It sat deep in her eyes like something that had been growing there for years.
The old woman helped Raven to her feet, brushing dust from her dress.
"Poor child," she said sympathetically. "Even your boots are torn."
She shot me a glare full of disgust.
"What did this girl ever do to you rich bastards?"
Before I could say anything, Richard spoke loudly.
"He's the one who slapped her!"
He pointed directly at my hand.
"Look at that ring. It could kill someone."
The crowd turned toward me instantly.
The elderly woman's expression darkened.
"Beat him!" she shouted. "How dare he hit a girl!"
Several men stepped forward.
For the first time in years, I found myself surrounded by strangers who clearly wanted to hurt me.
But I didn't move.
My eyes stayed fixed on Raven.
She still hadn't looked away.
And somehow, that was worse than the crowd closing in around me.
Then she spoke.
"Granny… please don't."
Her voice cut through the tension like a blade.
The man who had raised his fist hesitated.
"Miss, why not?" he asked. "Even if you know him, he deserves a lesson."
Raven straightened slowly.
"It's my birthday today," she said quietly.
The crowd went silent.
"I don't want violence on an auspicious day."
She bowed her head slightly.
"It was a misunderstanding."
Her words were calm, polite.
Too polite.
"I'm grateful that all of you came to help me," she continued softly. "You took time from your busy day just to protect a stranger."
Several people shifted awkwardly.
"This is lunchtime. Please don't waste it because of me."
She smiled faintly.
"Thank you for caring."
The tension drained from the group almost immediately.
"Don't thank us," one of the men said kindly. "It's our duty to protect each other."
He glanced at me with open disgust.
"I don't know how such a kind girl ended up with a man like that."
My face burned.
For the first time in years, I felt something dangerously close to shame.
The elderly woman rummaged through her bag and pulled out a thick envelope.
"Here," she said, pressing it into Raven's tote bag.
"No, I can't accept that," Raven protested immediately.
"Take it," the woman insisted. "A birthday gift."
She leaned closer and whispered something I could barely hear.
"Don't worry about me. I'm rich."
Then she hurried away before Raven could return it.
Within minutes the crowd dispersed, drifting back toward their buses and cars.
Silence settled over the street again.
Only three of us remained.
Richard turned toward Raven, guilt written all over his face.
"This is my fault," he said quietly. "I should have protected you."
She gave a short, humorless laugh.
"I don't expect you to protect me."
Her gaze flicked briefly toward me.
"This is between Kevin and me."
Then she added something that made both of us pause.
"If you had been hit because of me, I would have had to take care of you."
She shrugged slightly.
"And that would trap me in a vicious cycle."
Richard frowned.
"You're afraid of that?"
"Yes," she replied simply. "I'm a practical person."
Her words hung heavily in the air.
A warning.
Not just for him.
For me too.
Richard suddenly turned toward me again.
"Wait," he said slowly. "You're Kevin Ray?"
"So what?"
He stared at me like he had just discovered something unpleasant.
Then he glanced back at Raven.
Understanding flickered across his face.
"No wonder," he murmured.
And just like that, he walked away.
Leaving the two of us alone.
I watched him disappear down the street, irritation simmering beneath my skin.
Why had his expression changed like that the moment he heard my name?
Why had he looked… disappointed?
I turned back toward Raven.
She had already sat down on the bus stop bench, staring straight ahead like neither of us existed.
And for the first time that day, I realized something unsettling.
The hatred in her eyes earlier—
It hadn't been born today.
It had been there long before this moment.
And somehow…
I had been the reason for it.