11| Almost-1

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Almost ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ I changed the chapter name. No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't come to any conclusions, and one question haunted me like the fucking plague. Why Kai Warner? The animosity between our families had been passed down from generation to generation, it was a legacy so how the hell could Kai's father, how could my father willingly and voluntarily initiate an alliance? And why now? The Warners and Chens had come to a civilized solution to the enmity between both families several years ago. It was an unspoken rule: We never interfered in each other's deals or sabotaged one another. But everything was fair in love and war, everything was fair and square as long as it was a competition but we were taught to accept our defeats gracriously and our success with gratitude. It was always about being better than them. My father would never in a million years let an opportunity to belittle Adrian Warner pass by. How on earth could he possibly be willing to call a truce? How the fuck did he expect me to marry Kai? Letting out a soft groan as I entered my apartment, I dropped the keys into the glass bowl by the door and collapsed on the living room couch, my heels falling off as I let my feet hang off the armrest. Blinking, I lay there in silence, staring at the ceiling. What the hell am I going to do? How am I going to get out of this mess? The more time that passed, the deeper I fell into this, and the less likely my freedom became. What if I really couldn't escape this? What if I, ultimately, had no choice but to be shackled to a man I barely knew in the guise of a marriage? And all for what? Business? An alliance that would help my father? Sighing deeply, I let my eyes fall shut. "God, help me," I muttered under my breath. Shaken out of my thoughts by the ringtone of my phone, I fished it out of my purse and answered the call from an unknown number. "Hello?" "Rose?" I paused in doubt before warily replying, "Yes… who is this?" "It's Nick," he answered. I shot up, swinging my legs off and sitting upright on the couch. "Nick," I said, surprised, "hi." "Hi," he chuckled softly. "How did you get my number?" I asked in confusion. I couldn't recall having enough time to give it to him. "Strangely enough, from my mother," he replied hesitantly. "Right," I laughed, "that makes sense… considering how we met," I added awkwardly, closing my eyes and dropping my head forward as my body instinctively cringed at my own behavior. What is wrong with me? "I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight," he invited. "I would love to take you out." Pausing, I thought about it for a minute. I had no reason to refute him. He was the one and only man I had a pleasant experience with over these past few weeks. Nobody else felt worth my time. Frankly, Nick was my only hope at the moment. "Sure," I agreed, "dinner tonight sounds great." "Why don't I pick you up at eight?" "I'll send you my address." "I'll see you tonight, Rose," he said. "Bye, Nick." Hanging up, I dropped the phone beside me and stood on my bare feet. Oddly enough, I felt a twinge of excitement within me. Perhaps… there was hope after all, even if it was just a teeny, tiny ounce of it. It was like a match suddenly lit inside of me that was doused out immediately the moment thoughts of Kai Warner snuck up on me. Why did he sit through the date instead of walking off? Hell, why did I? I couldn't help but wonder how many other blind dates he'd been on, torturing other women. He must have been on another blind date when I saw him at Nova while I had dinner with Anastasia. He seemed to be enjoying that one just fine… He truly was a jerk whenever it came to me, that asshole. It was purely out of curiosity, but a part of me couldn't help wondering if things would be different if Kai wasn't a Warner and I wasn't a Chen. Truth be told, I couldn't imagine things any other way. It wasn't just his last name that made me despise him. Kai was difficult through and through. He was arrogant, thought far too highly of himself, and had his head so far up his own ass that he often turned a deaf ear to anything anyone else had to say. He was conceited to think he was always right. He was awful, inconsiderate, and insensitive to every single person. How could anyone tolerate him? But… surely, there was a part of him that made him slightly tolerable sometimes. I wasn't exactly a stranger to it. People often find themselves drawn to the very things they are forbidden to have. Years ago, I found myself rather… intrigued by Kai-dare I say, almost infatuated. When I was younger, the curiosity killed me. I never understood why I wasn't allowed to speak to him, to get to know him. Often, I found myself watching him even in a crowded room, hoping to get a glimpse of who he truly was. But Kai was always so cold, his mask firmly in place. I never truly knew who Kai was, and I still hadn't quite figured him out. Not even after what happened… or rather almost happened. Chatter and rich laughter echoed between the walls, fading into dullness the further away from the main hall I got and the closer I got to the public library of The Grayside Estate, one of New York's prestigious and elite social clubs since 1967. It was built of rich family brunches, weekend golf and polo games, tennis matches, and lazy afternoons full of conversation. A bored sigh escaped me as I roamed through the library aimlessly, checking random books on random shelves, desperately seeking something to entertain myself. Leaning against one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, my eyes scanned the book spines, hoping to find an eye-catching title under the warm and glowing amber lights. My eyes darted to the corner of the shelf as I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and the most startled gasp escaped me as someone stepped out of the darkness and into view. A hand flew to my chest as I took a few breaths, and then a surge of annoyance washed over me as I recognized who it was. "What the hell are you doing here?" I huffed, my body growing stiff. Kai rounded the shelf and stood across from me, his stance mirroring mine as he leaned back. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" he replied. I stared at him wordlessly. Turning around briefly, he placed the book in his hands back on the shelf and then faced me again, adjusting the silver-rimmed rectangular glasses sitting on his nose bridge. "What brings the birthday girl here? To hide away in the library at her own party," he mocked, folding his arms across his chest.