Chapter 87 Departure Without Kael
\[Lilia\]
The travel from the villa to the runway feels like it took a shorter period than I remembered the last time, or maybe because Kael wasn’t with us. I am plagued by the constant fear that Kael will not be around to protect me in the event that something terrible is about to happen again, and I will be left defenseless. It's not that I'm some kind of damsel in distress who's always in need of being rescued, but as I recall everything that occurred, I do seem to look like one, and I hate it.
I don’t want to appear to be so weak. I don’t want to be too dependent on anyone around me. I couldn’t even choose my very own clothes that I wear. Aya always had it for me. It was choking me, but at the same time, I was scared. I am afraid that if I would leave Kael’s care, I would wind up dead in a ditch somewhere.
This is so confusing. I don’t even know what life seems like. The last time I felt a sense of adventure was when Aya and I escaped the guards, and it didn’t turn out very well. In fact, it almost cost us our lives. I could simply not let that happen again. Not when people close to me are going to be involved.
I already had enough trouble, and escaping Kael seems to be a distant dream that I could only indulge in fantasy. It’s impossible.
“Oh, we’re here,” I was cut off from my trance soon as I heard Aya exclaim just as the car stopped right in front of the private plane waiting for our arrival. I look around, hoping to see a particular face that I have been wanting to see since I woke up this morning, but I couldn’t spot him anywhere, not even his shadows.
Why isn’t he here?
Last night, did he forget all about it? Did he not mean everything he said? Was I a fool to believe everything he said? I don’t like these feelings. It was like he was abandoning me after I opened up to him.
“Lilia?” Aya’s fingers snapped right in front of my face, jolting me out from my reverie.
“Ah, yes,” I blinked out, shaking my head to come back to my senses and look around. She had already opened the door for me, and other men were busy unloading our stuff from the trunk.
The heatwave from the sun blasted on my face along with the hot wind blowing harder, ruffling my hair viciously at the back of my head, and the loud noise coming from the engine buzzing through my eardrums as though they are going to fall off from my ears.
“Are you okay?” She inquired, leaning over my face and inspecting me closely, tapping her palm on my forehead as though she was checking my temperature. I would have laughed at her if I was in any mood, but I’m just feeling blue.
What the hell did Kael do to me? The last time I recall, I was dreading every second that I was with him, except for the part he did wonders with my body, but after last night, it was him that my eyes wanted to see.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I just gave Aya a faint smile, moving to the edge of my seat before I swung my feet outside and exited the vehicle.
The heat is making me even dizzy, and the hot air around us is rather oppressive after leaving the cool air-conditioned vehicle, but I ignore all of those things and allow my body to acclimate to the sticky temperature.
My attention was drawn to a black sedan, and my breath hitched just as it halted right in front of us. I was expecting to see Kael, but soon as the door opened and instead of him, Val stepped out of the car. Disappointment struck me the second time this day, and I turned my head behind him, hoping that he was still inside the vehicle, but it turned out that Val was the only passenger, and I watched it drive away soon as his things were unloaded.
“Both of you ready to get home?” He came up to us, putting on his sunglasses, yelling as he spoke for us to hear him.
Val was as dazzling as he had ever been, and if my feelings had been the same as they were when I still detested Kael, I would have drooled over this man. He had not lost any of his luster and was obviously looking hot in his suspenders. White long sleeved shirt with the top three buttons was undone. His disheveled hair swayed along with the harsh wind, totting up his rouged figure.
Although he is a large and imposing man, I imagine him to be somewhat like a large teddy bear with a rough shell, minus his sharp tongue. His words still needed some filters. From the corner of my eyes, I see Aya eyeing Val as though he was some kind of dessert.
I couldn’t blame her, though. I could have done the same if my mind wasn’t so preoccupied with his boss.
“Where’s Kael?” I couldn’t help but voice out the very question that I have been wanting to ask since this morning. Valshifted his attention solely to my direction and scratched his forehead before responding.
“That, he still has things that needed his attention here. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you.”
Oh, I see. That explains why he wasn’t here. He’ll be staying here in Italy while we go back to Russia. I do understand that he has more important things to attend to, and the main reason why he came here in the first place was purely business. It was only Aya and I that thought it was a vacation, and the kidnapping incident delayed his schedule.
That must be one of the reasons why he wanted us back in Russia: To free himself from distraction. It’s just that he didn’t even say anything to me.
“How long will he be going to stay here?” I prodded, nervously twiddling my fingers in anticipation. The very idea of being separated from Kael filled me with dread, but knowing that he was in a different nation while I will be back in Russia made the situation even more worse.
“A month or two, I don’t know,” Val replied, making my mouth gape at him.
A month? Seriously? He’s going to stay here in Italy that long? I wanted to bombard him with many questions, but I didn’t even know where to start. I am just baffled by the fact that I am not going to see him that long.
“Oh—okay,” I look down, forcing myself to stop fidgeting and shove my hands into the pockets of my coat.
I guess I’ll have to wait for a month then before I can ask him myself if he knew the man that was haunting my dreams. I am sure that he was the one responsible for the attack when I was in the hospital.
“Is something the matter?” Val came to my side, his enormous hand flat on my back. I could hear the concern in his voice transcending over the loud noise from the engine.
I looked up at him and tried to remove the glum expression from my face while concurrently shaking my head and letting out a long sigh. I inhaled deeply, which helped to ease the pressure that was building up in my chest, and I forced a smile into my face.
“No, let’s just go.”