CHAPTER FIVE

Her eyes fluttered open, taking in the dim lights—she wasn’t in the hospital anymore. Where was she now?

She sat up on the bed, eyeing the luxurious room. The doctor had said it wasn’t unusual to fall unconscious now and then after the surgery, but who had brought her here "Kai?

She stood up from the bed and walked towards the glass window. It was raining. The rain violently splashed against the glass, and she could see her faint reflection, reminding her that she wasn’t who she used to be anymore; she was someone entirely different now, living to accomplish a certain goal. 

Her brows pulled together, and then she left the room. She was greeted with a grand hallway; although the lighting was dim, the luxury couldn’t be hidden. 

Taking more steps, she saw a door at the other end left ajar, leading to a terrace. Kai stood there, his broad back to her as he made a phone call.

“I can accomplish my goals without the need for an heir, which is why the thought of getting married sickens me.”

Clara easily picked up the disdain etched in his voice. She shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but something prompted her to stay.

“And where on earth would I find such a woman?” He scoffed. “Who would get married to me and conceive my heir without having any feelings for me?”

Her brows piqued upon hearing his words. The seriousness laced under his tone easily gave off how important this was to him.

“The marriage would last only for a year, after which we would go our separate ways. And I’m keeping the child, of course.”

Those were the last words he uttered. He kept listening to the person on the other side of the phone keenly. With looks like that, Clara was sure thousands of girls would line up to have even a peek at him. This was her chance. Clara clenched her fist.

She gasped sharply, staggering backward on seeing him standing in front of her. She had been too immersed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice when he ended the call and came to stand before her.

Her cheeks and ears turned crimson. She had been caught red-handed, but he looked rather calm as he patiently waited for her to say whatever she had to say. 

Clara cleared her throat as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry I eavesdropped, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

Her voice lowered as he stared down at her, his eyes glistened with something intense something that made her want to become one with the ground.

She should be asking why he brought her here, why he took her out of the hospital without her consent, but none of those thoughts stood as the pressing question.

“Will you marry me?” she asked instead, her eyes hardened her face resolute, letting him know she was dead serious.

One of his perfectly shaped eyebrows arched as he stared down at her like she had lost her mind. A low chuckle erupted from his lips. “Are you smitten by me already, Clara?” A teasing smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Clara bit her lower lip as she stared hard at him. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the capability to love anyone not in this lifetime or the next,” she let out a bitter chuckle. “If we get married, I won’t harbor a drop of feelings for you. I’ll conceive your child after the first three months too.”

Kai keenly watched her, picking up every drop of expression she let out not a drop of humor in them. Mirth shone in his eyes. “What’s the catch?”

“You help me take down a few people on my list. I want them dragged down to hell,” he could see the fire burning in those emerald eyes.

“Clara, you have no idea the kind of hell you’re getting yourself into,” he warned. The mirth was long gone from his eyes making her understand he was dead serious.

“I don’t mind the hell. It would be easier to bring them all down with me,” her eyes gleamed with intense hatred. Whoever made her this way would be dragged to the bottommost pit of hell.

“Consider it done,” an enigmatic smirk pulled up on his lips.

Kai wasn’t joking either, because the very next day, he brought the documents she was to sign to seal their agreement.

He left his mansion afterward, and Clara left the documents unsigned as she thought of different ways to bring Ken and Yvonne down. She thought of ways to find her daughter’s murderer, and after thinking for hours, she got exhausted and fell asleep.

She woke up again, and it was dark, indicating that time had run very fast while she was asleep. Checking the digital clock across the room, she saw that it was exactly 11 p.m.

Clara got up from the bed and walked towards the window, standing in front of it as she watched the heavy downpour hit the hard ground. It was raining again.

But in that heavy rain, she saw a figure standing with a grim look on his face Kai. Two men dragged a frail-looking man in front of him and made him kneel.

The man trembled in fear, his head pressed to the floor. Clara’s brow rumpled. What was going on?

The frail man clasped his hands together. Clara couldn’t hear a thing, but she easily deduced that he was pleading with Kai for reasons unknown to her.

Her eyes widened, a mixture of shock and fear impregnating her face when she saw Kai take out a gun from his coat. 

In the next second, he pointed the gun at the man, pulled the trigger, and planted a bullet in his head.

Clara stumbled backward, falling on the hard ground. Truly, she knew nothing about this man. He hadn’t blinked once before killing him. Clara gulped.

Her eyes fell on the document that was neatly kept on the bedside table. She rushed to the table, picking up the papers.

She ransacked the drawer for minutes before finally finding a pen. She placed the document on the table and signed each and every one of them.

If she had to shake hands with the devil just so she could bring them down, then so be it.