Chapter 18
Kane grabbed my chin and pulled me closer to that thing between his legs.
A strong fishy smell hit me in the face.
I struggled, trying to shake my head.
No, this was just too dirty.
The Lord would never forgive me.
My struggling seemed to annoy him. I could clearly feel his grip tighten.
"Sonya, I need you to behave."
His voice was magnetic and pleasant to hear, but right now, to my ears, it sounded like a death knell.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I just hoped that some legendary knight would come save me now.
Perhaps the Lord heard my prayer.
Our door was suddenly knocked on.
A lazy, playful voice came from outside.
"Hey, buddy, heard you've arrived. Why haven't you come to hang out with us?"
My eyes widened as I looked at Kane pleadingly, my expression pitiful.
Kane's mood was interrupted, displeasure showing in his eyes, but the person outside seemed to have an unusual relationship with him.
For the first time, I saw something like compromise in Kane's eyes.
He rubbed his brow helplessly, then released my chin and pushed me onto the bed.
I fell back onto the bed and watched as he tucked himself back into his pants.
Then he got off the bed and shouted at the person who kept knocking.
"Enough, James. I'm coming out right now. Stop making so much noise."
James?
If I remembered correctly, when I searched online for information about Kane, this name came up often.
Of course, whenever this name appeared, it meant Kane was involved in some sexual activities.
Anyway, the two of them often appeared together in gossip news.
But James was worse than Kane.
He would play with many female companions at once.
And from all the news I'd read online, although Kane had many different women around him, it was always one at a time.
Somehow, I felt Kane was much better than James.
The moment this thought popped into my head, I shook it.
God, what was I saying?
They were the same kind of people.
Treating women as their possessions or playthings.
Just the difference between playing with many at once versus one at a time.
Seeing me shake my head, Kane raised an eyebrow. He moved closer to me, his tone suggestive.
"What's wrong? What are you thinking about? Shaking your head like that—don't want me to leave?"
Seeing his hand reach for the blanket covering my chest, I quickly pressed it down tighter and shook my head repeatedly.
"I wasn't thinking about anything. He seems about to knock again."
Though it was a clumsy attempt to change the subject, Kane bought it.
He probably knew what kind of person James was. His brow furrowed again as he walked straight to the door and opened it.
I turned my head and saw a man with wheat-colored skin holding up his hand, apparently ready to knock again.
He almost knocked on Kane's face.
But the moment he saw Kane's face appear, his hand froze. James greeted Kane very enthusiastically.
"What are you hiding in your room for? I heard you brought a little beauty this time. Come on, let me see her."
I thought Kane would let him in, so I quickly hid under the blanket—after all, I wasn't wearing any clothes.
But Kane blocked him, his tone somewhat unfriendly.
"You interrupted my fun."
James looked like he'd heard something unbelievable. His mouth opened, surprise showing in his eyes.
After a long moment, he said hesitantly, "I heard you're getting married. Didn't you say you'd only marry one person in your life?"
Hearing James's words, my heart sank. I bit my lip hard.
So he had a woman he wanted to marry?
Then why was he marrying me?
Several questions popped into my mind. I bit my lip hard, tears welling up in my eyes.
I suddenly remembered what he'd promised me that day.
More accurately, what we'd agreed on.
As long as I bore him a healthy heir, he wouldn't care what I did after that.
I guess it was because of that special someone that he'd say such things.
To him, I was probably just a baby-making machine.
The relief and gratitude I'd felt before vanished completely. I curled up under the blanket, looking at my hands, my expression somewhat dazed.
I couldn't even hear what Kane and James were saying outside the blanket. I only felt a hand reach into my blanket.
He grabbed my breast precisely. I let out a startled cry.
Then I heard Kane's voice, tinged with amusement.
"You rest well in the room. I'll come find you at the banquet. Remember not to wander around, or you know what I'm capable of."
With that, I heard the door slam shut, and it seemed to be locked from the outside.
I closed my eyes wearily and unknowingly fell asleep.
After leaving with James, Kane came to the cruise ship's dimly lit bar.
James's expression was suggestive, with a hint of barely detectable teasing.
"Who was that person hiding in the room just now? Actually hiding from me, your brother."
Kane just took a sip of the whiskey in front of him without saying much.
But James's curiosity was completely piqued.
"I still remember you swearing that you'd only marry one little girl in your life. How come you're going back on your word now?"
Kane gave James a disdainful look and lit the cigar in his hand.
"How do you know I'm not marrying her?"
James's eyes lit up immediately.
His tone full of gossip and curiosity, he asked eagerly, "What? Is the girl in the room just now the bride in your heart?"
Kane stared at the whiskey glass in front of him with gentle eyes and hummed softly.
James clapped his hands. "Well, congratulations then. Finally getting what you wanted. But didn't she disappear back then? How did you find her?"
Sonya's face appeared in Kane's mind.
When he first saw her in the church, he recognized from those emerald green eyes that she was the child he'd been looking for all along.
Kane remembered when he first saw Sonya. She was still a baby in swaddling clothes, and he himself was just a teenager.
Back then, he was being hunted down by other gangs with nowhere to escape, covered in blood.
In desperation, he stumbled into a small, shabby house.
His appearance startled the woman inside, who was nursing her baby.
The woman almost screamed, but Kane pointed the dark barrel of his gun at her heart.
"If you dare make a sound, I'll kill you and that baby in your arms right now."
The woman shut her mouth.
But her silence didn't make the other gang members leave. The door was suddenly pounded on.
"Open up. We're looking for someone."