Stay with Me

Lianne noted the confusion in Kai's eyes.

She had done the homework on Kai.

How could she not?

Even though she had been determined before to ignore and avoid him, she had, nonetheless, dug up the information on him. She knew everything that she needed to know about him.

As much as the MIB could dig up, that is.

And the Shengs.

Lianne sighed.

Perhaps that's why her heart had wavered.

It wasn't just the way he relentlessly pursued her and never gave up, but it was also because of his pitiful background. The things he must have had to go through to get where he was.

Lianne was no fool.

There was no such thing as black and white but only shades of grey. There were lines that should not be crossed, of course, but what those lines were - was not necessarily what one would think.

For example: 'Thou shalt not kill'.

Like, right.

Even if the person was trying to kill you? No.

Though one would say that one should leave it to the authorities, or 'the law', Lianne knew very well how naive that was. The law would work well if the ones enforcing it were squeaky clean.

The law worked well for the powerful.

Justice, in the hands of Man, was faulty.

Who would want to place their lives in the hands of another who is most likely to be corrupted?

So, killing is fine to Lianne.

As long as one was not killing for pleasure. That was her bottom line.

With Kai, she knew he was ruthless when he needed to be.

The number one thing about him that appealed to her was the fact that he was really filial to his mother. Lianne herself was very close to her own mother, so much so that when her mother had died, she had lost it.

Gone into depression.

The one thing that helped her carry on was the discovery that her benefactor, Kyle, turned out to be her reincarnated mother.

After that, her life turned 180 degrees.

She was exposed to a world that she would never have even stepped into at all otherwise.

So right now, even though to the world, she was not a match for Kai in any way, she, Lianne, knew otherwise.

She wasn't from an illustrious background nor could she help him in his business, but who said she had to in order to be a match to him?

She could give him the one thing he never had: love, and stability.

Someone he could trust and rely on, and be the person that supported him silently by his side. His emotional guide. His stress reliever.

His support.

Lianne sighed.

Undoubtedly, her feelings for him were growing, but she held them at bay.

For them to be together, they had to be a true couple; in the sense that he needed to rely on her.

Lianne knew this would not happen overnight, so she wasn't blaming him. He had grown up in an environment that didn't allow him to do so and thus, he would need time.

This entire relationship was going to be a test to see whether they truly were compatible. Feelings come and go. For the feeling of 'love' to stay, it needs to be nurtured and maintained.

Lianne pinched Kai's cheeks and said, "I may not be in business, but it doesn't take a genius to know that you can't be kind to your enemies. It's a battlefield."

Kai smiled, then hugged her tighter to him, smelling her again.

"Come on, have something to eat first," Lianne said, "I ordered some food and it should be here soon."

"So you used the app?" Kai asked as he let her go, but held on to her hand.

"Yes," Lianne replied.

"Please give the feedback to the technical team," Kai said, "It would help enhance the usage."

"Sure," Lianne answered as she made him sit down at the sofa, "For now, just rest a bit before eating. You can get back to work after I make sure you eat. Just don't stay up too late."

Kai smiled, feeling warm inside that there was someone who actually cared enough for him to do all this.

It's been a long time since he had felt such care. Since he came back to the Shengs, actually. Then again, come to think of it, even before then, he had not really had this much care. His mother had been so wary and his stepfather had been … slightly demanding.

There never had been anyone that truly was thinking of him, as him.

He leaned towards Lianne and snuggled at her neck, saying, "Thank you."

Lianne's heart lurched at that.

Just what did he go through that even this small thing made him feel so touched?

She brushed his hair from his forehead, suddenly realising that his breathing was deep. She blinked. He had fallen asleep?!

Just how tired was he?

Lianne held his head. Slowly, and carefully, she brought his head down so that he lay on her lap. When Zayn came in to bring in the food that the delivery men brought, Lianne whispered to him to pull up Kai's legs onto the sofa so that he would be more comfortable.

Zayn did as he was told and left quietly.

Lianne stroked Kai's hair, and leaned back on the sofa.

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Kai's eyes fluttered open, wondering where he was for a moment. His gaze fell on the vision of loveliness in front of him that had her eyes closed and he realised that the soft cushion he was lying on, was his Angel's lap.

One of her hands was on his chest, as if she had been patting him or something and he smiled. He got up slowly, and his movement woke her even though he had been careful.

She blinked, her eyes a bit dazed as she just woke up.

"Oh, you're awake," Lianne said softly then gasped, "Wait. What time is it?"

Kai looked at his watch as he sat down beside her, stretching a bit, "A little bit past ten."

"Oh no," Lianne said, rubbing the back of her neck, "I accidentally fell asleep as well."

She looked at the food on the table, and was glad that she had ordered sandwiches. That way, it need not be reheated though it was most likely a bit soggy by now.

"Come on, I'll take you out for dinner," Kai said, getting up, "I should take a break now-and-then after all."

"I will, if it means you go back home tonight,��� Lianne said, "You need to freshen yourself up, too. Get proper sleep on a proper bed then come back refreshed."

Kai stretched, but didn't answer at first.

Get good sleep? At home?

Laughable.

"It wouldn't make much difference. Home. Here. It's all the same to me," Kai said as he took his car keys, "Although, I must say, the past two hours was the best sleep I had for quite a while."

Which was true.

Lianne had that effect on him.

"Thank you," Kai said as he took her hand and looked at her as he kissed the back of her hand.

Lianne looked at him worriedly and touched the dark circles under his eyes, "You still need more sleep."

"I'll sleep better if you sleep with me," Kai said, half-jokingly and half-serious.

"Okay," Lianne replied.

…

...

"Wait, what?!" Kai exclaimed.