Chapter 17: The Consequence Of Forbidden Love, And They Facing It.

Avyanna dropped to her knees on the grass, her body trembling violently. Blood spilled from her lips, staining the ground beneath her. She clutched her side, coughing harshly, trying to catch her own breath, but each gasp only brought more pain.

The agents had left her alive — barely — a message clearer than words: This is what defiance costs.

Her vision blurred, the world spinning around her, and she could barely make out Kairus’ frantic voice calling her name, holding her tightly to keep her upright. She wanted to reassure him, to tell him she was fine, but all she could manage was another gut-wrenching cough that left fresh blood on her trembling hands.

And then — her phone rang, its shrill sound slicing through the chaos.

With shaking fingers, Avyanna fumbled for it, but before she could answer, Kairus snatched the device from her weak grip, holding her protectively against his chest with one arm as he answered the call with the other.

He didn’t even bother checking who it was. His instincts screamed that this call was important — and dangerous.

The line connected, and a cold, familiar voice spilled from the speaker:

“That would be the consequence, Avyanna," the voice said, emotionless. "Are you truly willing to risk your life like this?"

There was a pause, and then the speaker addressed Kairus directly, as if knowing he was there all along.

"And you — Mr. Chu — are you really willing to throw away everything? Your reputation, your future... all for someone like her? Are you willing to ruin your name, your family’s trust, your entire life... just to stay beside her?"

The voice was calm, almost mocking.

"I’ll email you everything," the speaker continued coldly. "Her files. Her sins. Her blood-soaked history. I’ll let you think carefully... before you make your final decision."

The line went dead with a soft click, leaving a heavy, suffocating silence behind.

Kairus stared at the phone in his hand, his heart pounding furiously. His grip tightened unconsciously around Avyanna, who was still coughing weakly in his arms, her face pale as death.

Avyanna looked up at him through half-lidded, pain-filled eyes. She wanted to say something — anything — but no words came. All she could do was silently plead for him not to walk away.

Kairus met her gaze — and in that moment, his decision was already made.

He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her trembling body as if he could shield her from the world itself. His voice, when he finally spoke, was hoarse with emotion.

"I don’t care about anything they say," he whispered fiercely against her hair. "I’m not leaving you. Ever."

Avyanna let out a soft, broken sob, burying her face into his chest as the last light of the sunset faded completely into night.

They didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.

They didn’t know how much more pain they would have to endure.

But for now — in this fleeting moment — they had each other.

And sometimes, love was enough to make even the darkest nights a little brighter.

Kairus didn’t waste another second.

He tucked the phone into his pocket, slid one arm under Avyanna’s legs, and lifted her up into his arms carefully but firmly. She was light — far too light — and he could feel the shallow, uneven rhythm of her breathing against his chest.

"You’re going to be okay," he murmured under his breath, more to convince himself than her. "I’ve got you."

Avyanna didn’t resist. She couldn’t. Her strength was draining fast, her body battered and broken after the brutal encounter. She could only clutch weakly at his shirt, her fingers barely tightening as she tried to hold on.

Kairus started moving fast, weaving through the park’s paths, his mind racing. He needed to get her to safety — somewhere the organization couldn’t reach them, at least for now. Somewhere she could breathe without the constant threat of death hanging over her head.

But he didn’t even get far before the phone vibrated again in his pocket.

Carefully, he shifted her weight against him, pulling the phone out with one hand.

A notification glowed on the screen.

New Email Received: Confidential Files - Subject: Avyanna "Yna" Lu

Kairus’ jaw tightened. His thumb hovered over the screen — a part of him burned with the urge to know what they were using to threaten her, what secrets they thought would scare him away.

But another part of him didn’t care.

He had already made his choice.

Still, he opened the email, scanning it quickly.

Attached were countless files — photos, missions reports, records of her involvement in the underground, her bloody past. Images of her, younger but still fierce, standing over bodies, escaping crime scenes, fulfilling contracts under the codename "Yna."

They wanted him to recoil.

They wanted him to realize the girl he loved had blood on her hands.

They wanted him to run.

Instead, Kairus only held her closer.

"I don’t care," he muttered through gritted teeth, shoving the phone back into his pocket. His voice shook, not from fear — but from the sheer force of his resolve. "I don’t care what you've done. You’re still Avyanna. You’re still... mine."

Avyanna stirred slightly at the sound of his voice, a small tear slipping from the corner of her eye even as she fought to stay conscious.

She had warned him. She had tried to protect him by pushing him away.

But here he was — carrying her through the darkness, refusing to let her fall.

Kairus finally spotted a taxi waiting at the curb and rushed toward it, shouting for help. The driver, alarmed by the sight of the bloodied girl in his arms, quickly unlocked the doors.

"Hospital," Kairus ordered, sliding inside while cradling Avyanna carefully. "Fast!"

The taxi peeled out into the street, tires screeching, as Kairus pressed his forehead against Avyanna’s clammy one, whispering promises he refused to break.

"You’re not leaving me, Avyanna. No matter what it takes... I’ll save you."

And somewhere, deep in the shadows of the city, unseen eyes watched them flee — and a new game quietly began.

The hospital's waiting area was nearly empty, bathed in the sterile, cold glow of fluorescent lights. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant, and the occasional soft murmur of nurses echoed down the hallways.

Kairus sat slouched on the hard bench, his head leaning heavily against the wall, his eyes half-closed in exhaustion. Yet no amount of tiredness could push away the images seared into his mind — images he had seen earlier, hidden inside that cursed email.

Pictures of a young Avyanna... but not the Avyanna he knew — not the bright, stubborn, stubbornly independent girl who teased him over coffee or debated heatedly during class.

No, in those pictures, she was cold. Ruthless. Standing over bodies, her eyes devoid of the warmth he had always seen in them.

One image in particular haunted him more than the others — the body of a man he instantly recognized from old news reports: Shiru, the infamous drug lord who once ruled the underbelly of their town with an iron fist.

Kairus had only ever heard of Shiru through news outlets — his reign of terror, his sudden death that had rocked the criminal world years ago.

The media had buzzed for weeks about it: a mysterious assassin no one could identify, a feather left behind on the corpse like a mocking signature.

A "female killer," the police had speculated back then — swift, precise, brutal.

They had called her The Crimson Bird.

And now — Kairus knew the horrifying truth.

The killer... was Avyanna.

His hand trembled slightly as he pulled out his phone again, his thumb hovering over the email.

With a deep breath, he reopened the attachments, scanning every detail, his chest tightening painfully with each confirmation he found.

There it was — the familiar mark: a crimson-streaked feather tucked carefully into Shiru’s bloodied jacket.

And there, standing over him, half-shadowed by the night, was Avyanna — or rather, Yna, the name she had buried deep within herself.

Kairus closed his eyes, pressing the heels of his palms against them as if trying to wipe the images from his mind.

But he couldn't.

He could never unsee the truth now.

And yet... even after everything... he felt no hatred, no disgust toward her. Only an overwhelming sorrow.

What kind of life had she been forced to live?

What kind of world had demanded her hands be stained with blood just to survive?

He opened his eyes slowly, looking toward the double doors where Avyanna had been rushed through. He couldn't pretend he wasn't shaken — he was. But he also knew this: the girl bleeding out behind those doors wasn’t a monster.

She was a survivor.

A broken soul who had done whatever it took to live in a world that had never been kind to her.

And Kairus — no matter how battered his heart was — couldn’t turn away from her now.

Even if it meant his life would never be the same.

Even if it meant stepping into the hell she had tried so hard to protect him from.

He stood up, pocketing the phone, his resolve hardening like steel.

"I’m not going anywhere," he whispered to himself, more a vow than a statement.

"No matter what."

The doors to the emergency room remained stubbornly closed.

And so Kairus waited — alone with his thoughts, his loyalty, and his love for the girl no one else had ever truly understood.

Time dragged heavily in the waiting area. Minutes felt like hours as Kairus sat there, every muscle in his body tense, his mind a whirlpool of fear and memories he couldn’t escape. The distant beeping of machines and muffled voices from beyond the emergency doors only made the silence around him heavier.

Just as he was about to fall deeper into his restless thoughts, the double doors swung open with a loud creak.

Kairus snapped his head up instantly, his heart hammering against his ribs.

A doctor, still wearing her surgical gloves and a tired but composed expression, stepped into the waiting area. Her eyes scanned the room and immediately locked onto Kairus, who was already on his feet before she even called his name.

"Mr. Chu?" she asked, her voice professional but gentle.

"Yes," Kairus answered almost breathlessly, taking a step forward. "How is she? How’s Avyanna?"

The doctor gave a small, reassuring nod, but her face remained serious.

"She’s stable for now," the doctor said. "The internal injuries were severe. She lost a significant amount of blood and there was trauma to her ribs, but we managed to stabilize her breathing and stop the bleeding. She’s a fighter — that much is obvious."

Kairus felt his knees nearly buckle from the rush of relief that washed over him, but he forced himself to stay steady.

"Can I see her?" he asked quickly, almost pleading.

The doctor hesitated, her gaze softening.

"She’s resting now. We’ve sedated her to help with the pain and to allow her body to heal. You can see her, but she might not be fully conscious yet," she explained. "However, I need to inform you — given her injuries and what little information she could give us when she was semi-conscious, it’s clear that someone intended for her not to make it. If you know anything about who might have done this… or if she’s in danger… you need to inform security."

Kairus clenched his fists at his sides.

"I understand," he said tightly, the weight of responsibility settling even heavier on his shoulders.

The doctor gave a small nod, understanding there were things he wasn’t ready — or able — to explain.

"Follow me," she said, and Kairus immediately moved to her side.

They walked through the corridors in silence, the fluorescent lights flickering slightly above them. With every step, Kairus could feel his heart pounding louder and louder, until finally, they stopped in front of a private recovery room.

Through the small window, he could see Avyanna lying motionless on the bed. Her face was pale, almost ghostly, and a thin line of tubing provided her with oxygen. Bandages wrapped around her side, and an IV line was hooked into her arm, dripping life-saving fluids into her fragile body.

The sight nearly broke him.

The doctor opened the door quietly and motioned for him to go inside.

"I’ll give you a few minutes," she said softly before stepping away, leaving him alone with her.

Kairus walked slowly toward the bed, each step feeling heavier than the last. He pulled a chair beside her, sinking into it and leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his head hanging low for a moment.

"Avyanna..." he whispered hoarsely.

He reached out carefully, taking her cold, delicate hand into his own. He squeezed it gently, as if trying to pass his strength into her through sheer will.

"You’re safe now," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "I’m here... I’m not going anywhere."

The beeping of the monitors filled the room with a steady rhythm, a small, fragile proof that she was still fighting, still alive.

Kairus stayed there, holding her hand as if letting go would mean losing her forever.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew — this was only the beginning.

The steady beeping from the heart monitor filled the hospital room with a calm, rhythmic noise. Kairus sat quietly by Avyanna's side, still holding her fragile hand, feeling the faint warmth of her skin against his own.

But suddenly, the calm was broken.

The beeping from the monitor shifted — still steady, but sharper now — as if reacting to something.

At the same time, Kairus' phone vibrated loudly against the side table, the ringtone slicing through the silence like a blade.

Startled, Kairus stood up carefully, placing Avyanna’s hand gently back on the bed. He took one last look at her to make sure she was still resting before stepping out of the room and into the hallway to take the call.

Without checking the caller ID, he answered.

"Yes, mother," he said, his voice clipped and emotionless.

The voice on the other end came sharp and furious.

"Why did you leave Zhen alone!" his mother hissed. Her voice was laced with anger and disbelief.

Kairus pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to hold back the frustration that had been boiling inside him for days.

"I don’t have any business with her," he said firmly. "I can’t marry her. I married someone already — whether you like it or not, Mom."

He paused, his breathing ragged from the mix of emotions swirling in him.

"You’re the only one insisting on this," he continued bitterly. "Not Dad, not Grandpa. Just you."

There was silence for a beat on the other end, a heavy, dangerous silence.

Then came his mother’s icy voice, colder than before.

"Aren’t you going to listen to me at all? Is that how you repay your family, Kairus?"

Kairus said nothing, his jaw clenching tightly.

And then, the words that made the blood in his veins run cold:

"Is that so, Kairus? Then let me resort to my last alas."

The line went dead.

Kairus stood there, staring blankly at his phone.

Last alas...

What does she mean?

A feeling of unease crawled up his spine, and instinctively, his gaze shot toward the room where Avyanna lay unconscious.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Without thinking, Kairus shoved his phone into his pocket and rushed back toward the door. He needed to protect her — now more than ever.

Because whatever his mother was planning...

It wouldn’t just threaten him anymore.

It would threaten Avyanna too.

And Kairus knew, with absolute certainty — he would do anything to keep her safe.

Anything.