(Devan's POV).
I immediately stood up and walked over to the vase by the window and slammed it on the floor, making a loud shattering sound. I crouched down to inspect it, and I swore loudly when I found the bugs.
"Fuck!" I was furious and stomped on the bugs until they shattered.
I saw Vivian trembling on the couch as she stared in terror at the bug I had destroyed. I rushed over to her and knelt in front of her, to hug her.
"It's okay, I'm here. I'm here, Vivian," I whispered in her ear. "No one will ever be able to hurt you. I swear to you."
She shivered in my arms. Sobbing without saying anything.
Just then, Jason, Rachel, and Lawrence walked into the room with shocked expressions.
"What happened?! Did you guys fight?" exclaimed Jason who immediately approached us.
"Lawrence, make some chamomile tea for Vivian. Rachel, keep Vivian company. I need to talk to Jason." I let go of my hug and was about to stand up, but Vivian's chair grabbed my hand.
"No, where are you going?" she asked, sobbing. Rachel was already sitting beside her, calming her down.
"Just talk downstairs. I'm not going anywhere." I bent down and gently rubbed her cheek. I smiled at her before completely letting go of her hand.
Without saying anything, I walked past Jason and he followed behind me. I engaged him in conversation inside my car parked in front of Vivian's boutique.
"What happened? Did you fight with Vivian?" Jason asked for a few moments.
My hands gripped the steering wheel. "Someone's been listening in on our conversations. Even worse, someone is stalking Vivian."
"WHAT?!" Jason exclaimed in surprise. He tilted his body to look at me closely. "Who? How did that happen?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I just found out this morning. She was like a frightened man when I accidentally startled her in the inner parking lot. Someone sent a threatening message and I found a bug in a vase in Vivian's room."
"Oh, Shit! That guy must be crazy!"
"I swear I'll kill him if he dares to bother Vivian any more than this," I hissed. Even if he's a madman, I won't let him go.
"Then what are you going to do? We don't know who he is and what he looks like. It's hard to catch her without any information," Jason said.
"I told someone to follow Vivian. There has to be someone looking out for her. From what I can tell, he's always around Vivian."
"I'll help you. My friend is a detective, I'll talk to him about this."
"Hm," I muttered. I hit the steering wheel hard while swearing loudly. "Damn it!"
I felt Jason's hand pat my shoulder. "Calm down. She'll be fine."
"I don't want her to get hurt. I'll go crazy if she does...." I swallowed my saliva with difficulty. I loved her. Loved Vivian so much that I was willing to risk my life for her. I didn't care about anything but seeing her happy.
"Dev, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Do you love her as Vivian or because she looks like Freya?"
I stared at him with my lips pursed. I didn't know what to answer. On the other side, I did think for a while that Vivian was Freya. And this feeling arose because of that, but now I don't care if she's Freya or Vivian. I love her. And I want to stay by her side. I want to live with her.
"I love her. That's all I can say to you," I whisper.
"I won't forbid you to love her. But you must remember the consequences you face in the future. Sooner or later, she'll find out about Freya. And you must prepare yourself to tell her what really happened."
"I know. I will be honest with her. I won't make any more mistakes this time. I don't want to waste my second chance." I took a deep breath. Although it would take time to make Vivian love me, I would never stop until I got it.
At that moment, Jason got a call from Rachel.
"Hm? OH, okay. We'll be right back," Jason said.
I looked at him with a furrowed brow. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Vivian's looking for you," Jason replied, "and we need to get going. Rachel and I have work to do. Dev, I'll leave you two alone. Make sure you take good care of her."
"Hm," I muttered.
We got out of the car and went back to Vivian's room. Lawrence and Rachel were still there to keep Vivian company. And Rachel stood up as soon as we arrived.
"We're leaving first, Dev."
"Hm, thanks," I said to Rachel. She hugged me.
I looked at Vivian who had calmed down a bit compared to earlier. As I sat on the sofa, Lawrence stood up and excused herself. She knew what she had to do without me asking her.
"Feeling better?" I asked. My hands were busy smoothing her messy hair.
"Yes. Thank you," she spoke in a trembling voice.
I rubbed her cheek. "Everything will be fine. I'll soon catch the bastard who dared to disturb you. I promise you."
"But what if he hurts... he even sent flowers to my house. I'm scared, Adam..." She couldn't finish her sentence. She looked at me with puffy eyes.
Damn.
I hated seeing her tormented like this. My chest always feels tight every time I see a sad look on Vivian's face.
"Get all those bad thoughts out of your head. I won't let anyone hurt you and Adam. I'll make sure you're safe." I covered her face and looked up at her. "Vivian. Lean on me. Give me a chance to prove that I really love you. Can I?"
"But...." Her eyes blinked. I could see the doubt and fear in her eyes.
"I will never hurt you, Vivian. I want you...."
"No, don't," she mumbled. Shaking her head as she sobbed.
"Why? Why can't you be with me? What's wrong with me?" This frustrated me. I didn't want a rejection, but I couldn't force Vivian either because I didn't want her to get hurt or hate me.
"This won't work. Not even with anyone. .... It won'tー"
"To hell with all that. Even if I have to break a wall of any size, I'll do it to get you. So, don't reject me. Please don't push me away from me. Just give me a chance to get you...."
I brought my face closer. Kissed her...