70__Patch up

70__Patch up
Braden was back.

Erin sat tensely in her seat, staring at him in shock. Why had he come back? For her? Could she even dare to hope?
She quickly pushed aside those thoughts, realizing that they weren’t important. Not right now, not while he looked so pissed.

Daiki put a hand on his door handle and she grabbed his arm, shaking her head. “Don’t. Don’t leave the car.”

The amount of fury being leveled at them in that moment was enough for her to start planning a way out. What was he so mad about? It wasn’t like he had any right to be.

“Isn’t that Braden?” Daiki asked curiously. “He’s in the way, we can’t drive through.”

“If he comes to your door, lock it,” she instructed, shakily reaching for her door handle.

The grave tone of her voice made Daiki worry and he turned to look curiously at Braden. “W-why?”

Erin slowly pushed open her door. “Just lock your door and stay in the car.”
God, she was behaving like they were stranded in the safari and there was a ravenous tiger outside the car.

She slowly got out of the car, keeping her gaze on Braden. He had his head tilted like he was processing what he was seeing, angry gaze watching them closely.
Erin shut her door and slowly walked over to his car. She needed to speak with him. He took his gaze away from her as she approached, looking solely at Daiki.

She opened his passenger door and got in, but the second she shut the door, he was out the car.
She frowned worriedly, watching as he marched away, making a beeline for Daiki’s car.

“Lock the door!” she yelled out her window. The way she knew Braden, he’d been the one to leave her but he would definitely still get pissed over her going on a date. Only he had the audacity to do such.

Daiki scrambled about and quickly reached for his door, managing to lock it just before Braden yanked on the door handle.
Finding the door locked, he clenched his teeth and leaned over to stare at Daiki through the window, making the other man sink low in his seat. He had no idea what was happening. Why was he getting hunted by Braden Stone all of a sudden?

“Hey,” a cold, dark voice muttered. Daiki looked up at Braden. He saw a muscle tick in his jaw and gulped. “Open the door.”
Daiki shook his head.
“Open the fucking door,” Braden said. “I just wanna talk, I promise.”

Erin held her breath, pressing a fist over her mouth as she watched. It was a good thing he’d locked his door. Who knew what Braden was thinking?
When Daiki only shook his head again, Braden straightened and sighed. He looked up at the sky. He had to talk to this guy before he even spoke to Erin. The possessiveness was raging loudly in his head, he needed to face this bastard in the car and let him know Erin was taken before he could even think straight enough to look at her.

That outfit she had on. God, she looked so good. Let him find out she’d had the insane thought of having dinner with his guy.
Gritting his teeth, he marched around Daiki’s car. Let him just find out.

Ripping open the passenger door Daiki had forgotten to lock, Braden easily got into the car.

A loud scream erupted from the man in the driver’s seat and he clung to his seatbelt. “Please!”

“Shut up,” Braden muttered, shutting the door.

Erin gasped, rushing to get out of Braden’s car, but he stopped and raised a hand pointing one finger right at her.
She froze, looking across at those blue eyes that gave her a silent order.

Daiki looked pleadingly at her but Erin found herself unable to move under that angry gaze and the finger he’d pointed at her like a goddamn magic wand.
Slowly, she sat back down and stayed still.

Satisfied, Braden turned to Daiki and started speaking.
Erin couldn’t hear a word they were saying and strained to catch even a single syllable.

Clinging to his seatbelt, Daiki seemed to nervously answer every question that was thrown at him, even if he couldn’t look Braden in the eye.
They paused and then Braden asked a question to which Erin clearly saw Daiki’s mouth say, “Yes.”

His answer made Braden stop and then he slowly turned to stare furiously at her.
Erin jolted, clutching the seat beneath her legs. What? What had he said?!

He muttered a few words to Daiki who nodded gratefully, and got out of the car, marching back to his.
Oh, no. She tensed. Was it her turn?

Erin tried to suppress the anxiousness, biting her bottom lip. She didn’t do anything wrong, she repeated that like a mantra and tried to gain strength from it.
Daiki wasted no time, reversing his car and then driving off down the right side of the fountain.

Erin cursed him for leaving her there all alone with an angry Braden. He didn’t even give her time to prepare herself, yanking open the passenger door of his car so he could stand over her.
Her back went straight, her chin raising as she stared straight ahead.

Braden leaned over and looked silently at her. She didn’t meet his gaze.
“I turned my back,” he muttered darkly. “For two fucking seconds…”

She frowned but remained silent.

“And you go on a date?”

When she only ignored him again, he took her wrist and pulled her out of the car to stand before him.

She snatched her arm away and glared at him. “Don’t manhandle me.”

“Explain.”

He was dead serious, the anger was real, but Erin didn’t think she needed to explain. Not after what he did.

Scoffing, she crossed her arms. She hadn’t been going on a date with Daiki, but she wouldn’t be mentioning that to him. Let him believe it if he wanted, it was her small form of revenge.

“Erin, I need an explanation!” he demanded. “Why the fuck would you go out with another man?!”

“Because mine left!” she snapped. “That’s why!”
Oh, God, she would cry. Battling the attack of tears, she blinked rapidly, turning away.

He turned her back to face him. “Are you serious?! I wasn’t gone for long!”

“How was I supposed to know how long you’d be gone for, Braden? Did you tell me? Or did you just vanish?!”

He found no excuse and so simply sighed. “Okay, fine, that’s my bad. I admit it! That’s no excuse for running off with some other bastard—”

“I wasn’t running off with anyone!”

“You’re wearing this outfit you bought when we were together in Paris,” he muttered angrily. “You bought this with me. You wore it for him?!”

“Oh, God.” She turned away, forcing away her tears. It all felt so unfair, she was the one who’d been left. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t know why I’m surprised, it’s so like you to think you’re entitled to rant at me like this, even when you’re in the wrong!”

“I left without telling you where I was going, fine, I’m sorry! But why would you go on a fucking date—”

“You told me to not contact you!!” she screamed crossly, feeling the first damned tears spill onto her cheeks. Angrily digging out her phone, she shoved it into his hands. “You’re gonna tell me that text message is fake?!”

With a confused frown, he busied himself with checking her messages while Erin glared at him.

“I didn’t even believe it,” she muttered. “I came up with a hundred different scenarios to convince myself you didn’t send that message. The Chairman told me you were gone, you’d already left the country. Even with that and with the message you sent me, I still believed you didn’t leave me. Like an idiot!”

Braden read the message on her phone, which had clearly been sent from his number, and released a breath of frustration, running a hand into his hair. “Erin—”

“But then I went to your mom’s and found out you’d really left! You really think you have the right t-to yell at me? Just because I wouldn’t walk out with you after that argument with the Chairman? I wanted to fix it, Braden, it doesn’t mean I was giving up on us! I’m not the type to just walk away from messy situations without fixing, I wanted to get his blessing because I know it’s important to you. I know your grandfather means a lot to you; I planned to follow you right after!”

He watched her yell as she angrily wiped away the tears that kept pouring out. “Okay, wait. Erin.” He lowered her hands from her face, wiping her tears even if she angrily jerked her face away from him. “Don’t cry, we need to try figure this shit out.”

“You left me,” she said shakily. “And then dumped me over text. Because I wouldn’t go with you.”

“No, you’ve got this all wrong.” He wrapped his arms around her to stop her from flailing at him. “Listen to me for a second! I didn’t send that text, Erin.”

She finally stopped, looking up at him with a tear-streaked face and a pink nose. “What?”

He sighed impatiently. “Grandpa must’ve gotten someone else to do it.”

“And just why would he do that? That would mean he was literally setting us up for a breakup.”

He shook his head. ‘I don’t know, it probably was one of his people, but I don’t know. It wasn’t me, Erin. I ditched my car and my phone the same day I left the house, that’s why they couldn’t trace me.”

She stared at him. The meaning of his words slowly sunk into her brain and Erin felt a tiny sprout of hope pop up in her heart. “Wait…” She gripped the sides of his jacket with both hands. “Are you serious? You… you didn’t send me that text?”

“Did I ever say my grandfather was right about anything ever? From the ‘Grandpa’s right’ alone, you should’ve known that wasn’t me. I’m disappointed in you!”

Her face was bright with surprise as she stared up at him and then it just crashed with grief, her eyes shutting as she began to loudly sob.

Braden panicked. “H-hey? What’s wrong?! Erin?” He looked around at the silent place like someone would pop up and accuse him at any moment.

She didn’t stop crying and Braden didn’t know what the hell to do so he wrapped her in his arms, her face burying into his chest. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, don’t cry.” He winced, guilt crushing his heart. He really should’ve told her where he’d been. He should’ve at least contacted her when he was in Hawaii. After that argument and that dumb text they’d faked, he could only imagine how she’d felt.

“I thought you left me,” she cried, her arms wrapping around him tightly. “Your grandpa said y-you’d gone to handle a new branch and… and then you broke up with me…”

“Aw, babe,” he soothed, stroking her hair. Hearing her cry made his own eyes water and he turned his gaze up, blinking away the sudden tears. “I’m sorry, you must’ve been so fucking worried. I’d never break up with you, Erin, I'm not crazy.”

“And then the girl said you left with your mom… hic… on a flight!”

“My mom needed to rush to Hawaii,” he said gently. “She needed help and I needed time out from Grandpa, plus I needed to have a talk with her, so I spontaneously decided to fly out with her.”

She pulled out of his arms, sniffling as she blinked up at him. “She needed help? Is she okay?”

He swiped his thumbs across her cheeks to wipe away her tears as he smiled at her. “She’s okay now. I’m sorry, I should’ve let you know where I was, I understand why you’d have panicked like that.”

She blew out a shaky breath and he could see how relieved she was. God, he’d really stressed out his poor baby over nothing.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry, babe, don't cry.”

She silently pulled him down and pressed her lips to his. Braden accepted the kiss and was grateful she was still willing to offer it. If he’d been in her position, he would’ve completely lost his mind in a padded room by now. He really hadn't thought things would've gone that wrong in his absence.

He guided her backward until her back touched his car and then deepened the kiss, feeling his entire being hum at being with her again. There was no feeling like it. It felt like desperately needed water, like light, like everything that gave life, when he was in Erin’s arms. He wouldn’t give her up for anything.

Not even for the inheritance they’d always been rivals over.