All Chapters of Tidebound Heart: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Someone shoved me out of the kitchen, and I was still in my work uniform. The restaurant was packed with the lunch rush, people weaving past each other, the smell of food and perfume mixing in the air. I stood in a corner, feeling like trash no one wanted.Through the crowd, I saw Edmund. He was sitting by the window, a perfectly made-up woman across from him. He seemed to notice me staring, and he raised his glass toward me, a cold, satisfied smirk on his lips.In that moment, all the hurt, anger, and helplessness I'd been holding in crashed over me. I turned and walked away, just wanting to escape as fast as I could.I didn't even remember how I got home. My mind was blank. My hands shook as I fumbled with the keys, and it took several tries before the door finally opened.The apartment was quiet. Malcolm wasn't in the living room. I changed my shoes and walked to the doorway of the bedroom. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding that old antique phone, brows furrowed,

But now... what had I actually bought?"You..." I opened my mouth, the question rolling around my throat until I could finally force it out. "W-who are you, really?"Malcolm tilted his head. He frowned, as if he were seriously thinking about the question. After a long pause, he shook his head."I don't know."Those three words hit harder than if he had admitted everything.A person who didn't even know who he was, yet held the power to overturn everything. He was like a blade without a sheath, sharp and dangerous, and I was the only one holding it."I only remember," he said, his gaze terrifyingly intense, "when I woke up, I was in that basement. They said I was useless, disobedient, and a failure."His voice was flat, almost emotionless, but my chest tightened at his words."And... this?" I pointed at the phone. "How could you...""I don't know." He shook his head again, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. "I just... could. It popped into my head by itself."Like hunge

Malcolm finally spoke, his voice cold and deep."Who are you?"It was exactly the same words as when I had shouted at the snow fox beastman at the door that day.There was dead silence on the other end of the line. A few seconds later, a terrified scream rang out, followed by the sound of the phone hitting the floor.The call ended.Malcolm handed the phone back to me and looked down at me, his blue eyes full of an emotion I couldn't read."They won't bother you anymore."I looked at him and suddenly felt like this shabby little apartment had become the safest place in the world.I stared blankly at the phone, still reeling from the sharp, short scream my mom had let out. It wasn't just fear in her voice. It was pure, bone-deep terror, like she had seen a ghost.Malcolm placed my phone on the table, then wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin again in the hollow of my shoulder."It's okay," he said.I froze. "W-what did you do to her?""Nothing." He brushe

I looked at Malcolm. His blue eyes were so clear they seemed bottomless, reflecting the panic on my face. He had no idea what he'd said or done.I clutched my laptop, pointing at that string of zeros on the screen with trembling fingers."That's not a rule. That's a death sentence. Malcolm, do you have any idea how dangerous that money is? Tomorrow, no, maybe this afternoon, the police could be knocking on our door and taking both of us away.""Why?" It was the same question again. His brows furrowed even tighter, like he truly couldn't understand something simple. "I just took back your money.""This isn't my money!" I was on the verge of collapse. "They only scammed me out of 31,000 dollars! You brought back 400,000 dollars! The extra 369,000 dollars is robbery!""Robbery?" He repeated the word, shaking his head. "I didn't use a knife."I couldn't catch my breath and nearly passed out.Trying to explain criminal law to a non-human was like talking to a brick wall.I took a de

Malcolm didn't even lift his head, stuffing his mouth full."Eat slower. Nobody's stealing your food," I said, placing a piece of fish on his plate.He swallowed, then suddenly looked up at me."Grace.""Yeah?""That snow fox won't appear again," he said."I know.""And your parents won't bother you anymore either.""I know that too."He set down his cutlery, his blue eyes fixed on me with a seriousness I had never seen before."No one will hurt you again," he said.I felt a warmth in my chest.I looked at him and realized that even this shabby little apartment felt different, just because he was here."All right, I got it," I said, turning my face away to hide the moisture in my eyes. I pushed my empty plate toward him. "You're done eating. Go wash the dishes."He froze for a moment, then obediently stood up. After he cleared the table, he headed for the kitchen.I watched his back and couldn't help but smile.So what if he was a human-shaped nuclear weapon?He still