14| Worthy-1

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Worthy ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 14: Worthy (Kai's POV) "Looking for someone?" Nathan asked, spinning around to face the room and leaning back against the bar where we stood. "No one in particular," I replied, taking another sip of whiskey. He paused for a minute before I heard him click his tongue. "You see, you might think you can lie to me, but the truth is, Kai, you can't." Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I turned to face him. He stared back at me with lifted brows. "If you tell me who those eyes are so desperately searching for in this crowd, perhaps I could help," he offered with a slight shrug. "I'm not looking for anyone," I insisted, turning to face the room again as I downed whatever was left of my drink. "Hmm," he hummed quietly, "and certainly not the woman in blue who just walked in and stole everyone's breath, right?" My head turned along with that of every other man in the room. Voices and chatter ringing through the hall grew softer, and for a second, every word, every thought screaming inside my head went quiet. She was so fucking perfectly fashionably late. I watched silently as Rose linked her arm with Dom's and inhaled shakily, scanning the room once, her eyes searching for someone, perhaps without realizing it. It was almost as if she hadn't realized all those eyes were on her, and if she did, then couldn't fathom why. The midnight blue silk gown she wore shimmered with spectral light. The fabric hugged every inch of her as it flowed down to her heels, two dainty straps holding it up. Her hair was pulled into a bun just at the crown of her head, with stray curls escaping and tumbling down, brushing against her neck. When she walked past me, it felt nearly impossible to stop my eyes from following her, and when I saw the bare skin of her back where her gown dipped impossibly low to her tailbone, I damn near lost my senses. "It won't kill you to admit that she's beautiful," Nate muttered beside me. "It just might," I mumbled under my breath. Even as Dom led the way, she continuously looked over her shoulder, her gaze searching frantically for someone. Something was wrong. One look at her and I knew it. "What's wrong, Kai?" Nate asked. "You're not cracking under Mummy and Daddy's pressure, are you?" he mocked with a soft laugh. My jaw ticked as it grew physically impossible to tear my eyes off of her. "You're not giving in, are you?" he taunted. "No," I said firmly, forcing myself to face him. "It will never be her." He nodded in amusement. "We'll see, won't we?" That one moment was all it took, and I lost sight of her completely; she had disappeared somewhere within the crowd. "I need some air," I said, setting the empty glass of whiskey I'd been cradling down with a loud clang. "One look and you've lost all control," Nathan teased. "You're not going to jerk off, are you?" I rolled my eyes in response. "Go fuck yourself, Nathan." Loosening my tie ever so slightly, I made my way past the crowd and towards the exit, taking a deep breath as my feet hit the pavement and New York's smoky air filled my lungs. It wasn't enough, apparently. My fingers were desperate and hasty as I drew out a cigarette and lit it aflame between my lips. Seemingly, my pulse calmed with each drag I took, and without knowing how much time had passed, I put out the cigarette with one final drag before returning to the party. Only, with my very first step… I crashed right into her. Or rather, she crashed right into me. Once again, with her gaze looking over her shoulder, she seemed to be racing to the exit. I couldn't move out of her way either, my body refused to obey. Instinctively, my hands shot out to her waist, steadying her the moment she stumbled back after colliding into my chest. "Oh!" she mumbled, her hands catching my arms as she pulled herself back up. "I'm so sorry!" Her eyes widened as they met mine, her grip tightening on my forearms. Even her breath audibly hitched. "Hi," she whispered softly. For what seemed like the first time that night, her eyes stopped desperately searching for someone else's when they met mine. "Missed me?" I asked, lifting a brow at her. "Almost," she scoffed. That certainly wasn't the answer I was used to receiving. "I didn't know someone else was capable of chasing you out of a room," I said, eyeing the crowd. "Who were you running away from, Ms. Chen?" "Nobody," she answered almost too quickly. I paused for a minute, holding her gaze. "Allow me to rephrase. Who were you running to?" "Evidently," she said, "you." I couldn't help the twitch in my brows, and confusion hit me. "Rose!" Her hands slipped from my arms just as mine fell away from her waist, both of us turning to find whoever called her name. "Fuck me," I mumbled softly as Nick reached us. "There you are," he smiled at her, "I was looking for you." "Here I am," she forced out a chuckle, stealing a glance at me. Nick, on the other hand, was shamelessly ignoring me. What a sweetheart, my cousin. "I was hoping to speak with you," he said, taking her hand. "Oh?" she asked. "About our engagement," he clarified. I cut in before she could. "Are you proposing? Not very good timing, Nick." He glared at me. "How romantic," I added sarcastically. He diverted his attention back to her. "Maybe we should speak somewhere more private. I want to talk to you before my father talks to yours. I-" "Give it a rest, Nick," I said, cutting him off. "You're interrupting a conversation here. Unless you want me to keep interrupting yours, I'd suggest you leave us alone." He paused for a second before scoffing straight at me. How rude. "Leave you alone? With her? Yeah, fat chance, Kai."