Chapter 114 114

Chapter 114 114

Kade stormed out of his apartment the second the call ended. He didn’t even bother locking the door properly. He got into his car, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot with his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

He felt pissed. More than pissed. There was a sharp, restless anger sitting in his chest that made it hard to breathe properly. At the same time, a cold fear kept crawling up his spine.

The kind of fear that made his stomach twist. Yuki was engaged. She had been engaged for a while and never told him. Every time he thought about it, he had this feeling that he was already losing her.

He drove faster than he should have. The streetlights blurred past the windows as he kept replaying her voice in his head, the way she said “I’m sorry,” the way she couldn’t give him a straight answer when he asked if she loved Stefano.

He blinked hard a few times, trying to keep his focus on the road.

When he finally reached Jordan’s place, he parked badly and got out. He walked up to the door and knocked harder than necessary.

The door opened and Jordan stood there, looking surprised.

“I didn’t expect you to actually come so soon..” Jordan said. “Were you able to talk to her? What did she have to say?”

Kade stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. He shut the door behind him and just stood there for a second, staring at the floor.

“They’re engaged,” he said.

Jordan’s eyes widened. “They’re what?!”

“Fuck.” Kade dragged a hand down his face.

“I don’t even know how to feel right now. Everything’s happening so fast. Yuki is getting married to him and the worst part is that they’ve actually been engaged for a while now and she didn’t tell me. It’s as if she wasn’t against it at all.”

Jordan shook his head. “You can’t jump to that conclusion. It’s pretty known that she’s going to be against it. Maybe she was waiting for the right time…”

Kade looked up at him. His eyes were glassy, the kind of wet that hadn’t spilled over yet but was close.

“What right time, Jordan? What fucking right time?” His voice cracked a little. “The truth is that she wasn’t going to tell me if I didn’t call her and ask her about it. If you didn’t see that post and tell me about it, I would actually think that she’s still mine. But no. She’s engaged to another man and she kept me in the dark.”

He turned away and pressed the heel of his hand against his eyes. His shoulders were tight. For a moment he just stood there breathing hard, like he was trying to hold everything in.

“I can’t lose her,” he said quietly. “This isn’t how it ends. It can’t be.”

Jordan stayed quiet, watching him.

Kade dropped his hand and looked at the wall. His eyes were still glassy and he didn’t bother wiping them. He just stood there, trying to keep himself from falling apart in front of someone else.

Jordan watched him for a moment, then asked, “So what are you going to do now? She can’t possibly meet up with you right now.”

Kade turned to face him fully.

“Help me get information on how to reach Stefano in Italy,” he said.

“Are you crazy? You want to go there?” Jordan stared at him.

“Well you can’t expect me to just sit here,” Kade shot back. “I need to see Yuki. I can’t just let her get married to Stefano.”

“But what about her parents?” Jordan said. “Going there might not change a thing.”

“It will,” Kade said firmly. “I’m going to make sure that it changes something, and I’m not returning to London without Yuki.”

Jordan looked at him for a long second. The look on his face was a mix of disbelief and reluctant understanding. He knew that tone. Kade wasn’t asking for permission and there's nothing he could do because he had already decided.

Jordan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Fine. Just book a flight to Milan. I have someone there… an old friend. He probably knows where Stefano stays. I’ll give you his contact and you can text him once you arrive.”

“Thanks a lot. I’ll go ahead.”

He didn’t wait for anything else. He turned and left the apartment, the door closing firmly behind him.

~

The next day, Kade stood in his room packing a few things into a black duffel bag. He zipped the bag shut and checked his phone one more time.

There was no call from Yuki, no text either.

He pocketed the phone, grabbed the bag, and walked out of the room.

He got into his car and drove toward the airport. The morning traffic was light, but he barely noticed.

When he arrived, he parked in a reserved spot and headed inside with the duffel bag over his shoulder. He checked in, went through security, and found a bench near his gate. He sat down among the other passengers, the bag resting between his feet.

His phone rang and Yuki’s name lit up the screen.

He stared at it for a second, not sure if he wanted to answer. Then he did.

“Hello, Yuki.”

“Kade… um… hi.” Her voice was quiet, and he could hear the nervousness in it. “About yesterday…”

“About yesterday…” they both said at the same time.

Kade let out a short breath. “I’m sorry for raising my voice at you. I should have tried to understand you better. I know you had your reasons for not telling me sooner, and I shouldn’t have gone off like that.”

“No, Kade,” she said quickly. “All this is my fault. I should have told you about it. I shouldn’t have let you find out about it yourself. I’m sorry. Everything is a mess right now and I don’t know what to do.”

“And the engagement?” he asked.

“My parents and Stefano know that I’m against it. I’m doing all I can to put an end to this.”

Kade was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “It’s okay. I believe you.”

Silence settled between them. He could hear her soft breathing on the other end of the line. He bit his lip, staring at the floor.

“I miss you, Kade,” she said suddenly. “I miss you so much.”

“I miss you more, Yuki,” he answered. “I can’t wait to hold you again. To hug you. Kiss you.”

“Me too.”

He hesitated, then asked, “Would you like to see me soon?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Before he could answer, the overhead announcement came through the speakers.

« Final boarding call for flight AZ612 to Milan, Italy. All remaining passengers please proceed to Gate 14 immediately.»

“Kade, what was that? Where are you?” Yuki asked impatiently.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he said.

“Wait…”

He hung up.

Kade grabbed his duffel bag, stood up, and headed straight for the boarding gate.