Chapter Three

He blinked, finally fully noticing me. When our eyes met, I saw the shock, confusion and relief in his eyes. But it only meant one thing, he hadn't known it was me and I couldn't help but wonder if he would have helped me if he had known. My chest tightened as adrenaline surged back into my veins. I had humiliated this guy in public and locked him up there after and of all the people to be my savior the universe chose him? Karma was such a bitch. 

Derek groaned on the floor, clutching his side, but I barely noticed him. My mind raced with every memory from earlier in the day—the collision, the street fight, the humiliation. And now, standing before me, he was even more real and more imposing than I remembered.

I swallowed hard, trying to find words. “How… how are you here?”

He did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at Derek, then back at me, the corner of his mouth twitching. There was a dangerous amusement in his eyes, but it didn’t reach his voice when he finally spoke.

“You okay?”

My throat tightened and my lips parted, but I could barely form a sound. I just nodded, though I wasn’t sure I believed it myself. The chaos of the bar, the fear, the adrenaline, the anger I had carried since this morning all collided in that moment completely drawing me of the little energy I had left. 

I wanted to run from him and hide my face in shame but something in his eyes pulled me in and I couldn’t look away.

Derek’s groan brought me back for a moment. He was still on the floor but I barely cared. My focus was entirely on the man standing in front of me, whose very presence made me feel both terrified and, strangely, relieved.

“I…” My voice faltered, and I shook my head. I couldn’t even form a proper sentence.

He stepped closer, his tall image towering over me. “You shouldn’t have been alone,” he said quietly. His tone carrying an edge. I shivered, but not from fear alone.

Finally finding my voice, I kept my head up pretending to be undaunted. “Why are you here?” I asked, my voice trembling between anger and disbelief. “Why did you even help me?”

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze unwavering. For a moment, it felt like he was trying to decide whether I was worth answering at all, then his lips parted. “I didn’t help you, miss,” he said. “I helped a woman who looked like she needed saving because unlike you, I don’t derive pleasure from watching people get hurt.”

The words hit harder than any punch could and my chest instantly tightened. “Unlike me?” I repeated, forcing a weak laugh. “You don’t even know me.”

“Oh, I know enough,” he said, his tone cool and low. “You’re the girl who likes to point fingers instead of taking responsibility for your actions. You think authority makes you right just because it saves you from the law”

The room seemed to shrink around us and the music was now only a distant echo in my ear. I couldn’t believe he had just said that to my face and what made it worse was the fact that he wasn’t wrong. 

He took a step back, his gaze briefly dropping to Derek, who was still groaning on the floor and crouched beside him. His voice was low but carried enough weight to silence the noise around us. “You are such a coward. Now if you ever raise your hand on this woman or even any woman again, you’ll have me to contend with. And trust me, you don’t want that.”

Derek’s eyes widened in fear as he tried to sit up, clutching his side. “Man, I didn’t mean to…”

“Get lost,” he cut him coldly.

For a second, Derek looked like he wanted to argue, but one sharp look from him made that thought disappear. He scrambled to his feet and ran toward the crowd and out the exit door without another word.

The man stood, brushing his palms together as if shaking off the encounter, and turned to me. His eyes softened just slightly, though his tone didn’t. “You should go home,” he said quietly. “Before you find more trouble.”

I should have said thank you or even apologised for earlier, just to redeem myself but I couldn’t move.

“Wait,” I said, quickly reaching out as he turned to go. My fingers brushed against his wrist before I realized what I was doing. “What’s your name?”

He paused, and the air between us turned heavier. “I am not sure I want to ever hear it come out of your mouth.” he said, his eyes locking with mine for what felt like a full minute. Then he walked past me, the scent of smoke trailing faintly behind him. My hand remained suspended in the air, empty and in shock. I turned slowly, watching his tall figure cut through the crowd. He stopped to talk to one of the bar men for a brief moment before finally disappearing into the night.

 “Why is he so uptight?” I whispered to myself whilst swallowing hard. “It was just one misunderstanding.”