Page 12

I shook my head. “It wouldn’t work.”

“What wouldn’t work?”

“My birthday—September fifth.” I punched 9, then 5 on the panel.

“Wait, try it the other way around.”

“Why?”

“Aren’t they ruled by the British or Australia? Just try it the other way!”

I let out a sigh and started over, pressing the number 5, followed by 9. “And 1993, you need three number combinations to?—”

The elevator lurched upward, cutting me off

Wendy smirked, her earlier nerves now replaced by a playful confidence. “You were saying?”

She winked at me, as if she’d just cracked the greatest mystery on Earth.

Two seconds later, the doors slid open, revealing a striking contrast to the eerie corridor below. Gone were the dark and grimy corridors. In there place stood a sleek, modern apartment that radiated warmth and elegance.

The ambient lighting, cleverly placed along the ceiling and walls, cast a soft golden hue, making the room feel cozy—homely even.

It still amazed me how much thought had gone into the design.

Every detail screamed understated luxury.

I’d always admired what Dannie’s interior designer had done with the place, blending contemporary minimalism with just the right touch of comfort.

Dannie, however, was nowhere to be seen.

We stepped cautiously out of the elevator and into the medium-sized living room.

The music—loud and unmistakably Beyond—pulsed through the space, pouring out of the sleek, transparent speaker next to the entertainment unit.

The surround sound system I remembered from years ago still lined the room, though he wasn’t using it.

This felt… casual. As if he hadn’t expected company.

I called out three tentative “hellos,” each one louder than the last, but only the music answered back.

“Stay here,” I instructed Wendy, pointed to the brown leather three-seater sofa facing the entertainment system. The last thing I needed was for her to go snooping around and stumble into something she shouldn’t.

Because this wasn’t just anyone’s apartment. This was Dannie Wu’s apartment.

And he wasn’t just anyone.

He was the head of the most successful triad in Hong Kong.

The living room was deliberately separated from the rest of the apartment—a design choice that wasn’t about aesthetics.

It was practical. This was where Dannie held meetings, and only his most trusted members were ever invited past this point.

No one else got a glimpse of what lay beyond the heavy wooden door that divided the space.

I knocked softly on the door, hesitating for a moment before a faint, muffled “Come in” drifted through from the other side.

I pushed it open and stepped inside.

Dannie stood at the kitchen counter, his large hands working a mound of dough. The sight was oddly domestic.

“Hey, you. Long time no see,” he said, his voice loud—but the music was louder.

His brow furrowed ever so slightly in irritation before he turned toward the smart speaker. One sharp command later, the blaring sound of Beyond softened to a gentle hum, giving my ears a much-needed break.

The frown on his face faded, and a grin stretched across his lips. It was the same smile I remembered—charming, disarming—but now there were faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“Have a seat,” he said, his tone casual. “I’m almost done.”

Slowly, I pulled out one of the six chairs at the dining table and lowered myself onto it.

This table was new. He used to have a sleek, rectangular glass one—cold, sharp-edges, like him.

Now, it had been replaced by a round white marble table, complete with a built-in lazy Susan. It felt… softer. More intimate.

I ran my fingers along the smooth surface before glancing back at him. “What happened to the old table?”

Dannie paused mid-knead, his lips twitching as if debating how much to reveal. “Hmm…” A slight pause. “Someone fell on it.”

“Oh.” I regretted asking immediately.

The way he said it—calm, flippant—hinted that there was a longer, far more interesting story behind those words. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to know who fell on it, or how.

With Dannie, the answer was rarely as simple as it seemed.

“Did you hurt yourself?”

Damn it . I couldn’t believe that was the first thing out of my mouth. I didn’t care who had destroyed the old table—but I cared about something else. Something that had everything to do with why I was here.

Dannie shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. How could someone who smiled like that—soft, boyish, the kind of smile that wouldn’t be out of place on a K-pop idol—be so dangerous? I guess that’s why people say looks can be deceiving.

I shifted my gaze around the kitchen, noticing it had undergone a makeover too.

The once dark wooded cabinets had been replaced by sleek, modern designs—white cupboards with a glossy black countertop.

Soft lighting glowed from beneath the upper cabinets, casting a warm brightness over the otherwise windowless space.

Everything about it was cleaner, sharper… colder.

“I didn’t know you cooked,” I said, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. Smooth June.

What else was I supposed to say to my ex while trying to work up the nerve to ask him for a fake document—so I could chase after a man who wasn’t even officially my boyfriend?

“I don’t, really,” he admitted with a small shrug. “But baking calms my nerves.”

The irony wasn’t lost on me. Given his line of work, I could imagine how much he needed to be calm. Lives depended on him—just like they did on me, though in a very different way.

“Are you any good at it?”

Dannie’s smile faded.

“Cut the bullshit, June.” His voice hardened, sharp and direct. So much for baking being relaxing. “What do you want from me? Why are you running around Hong Kong like this, looking for a fake visa?”

“I…” The words stuck in my throat. Kai. His face flashed through my mind—a reminder of why I was here.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked, my voice quieter but no less urgent.

Dannie leaned against the counter, arms crossed.

“How could I not know?” His jaw tightened. “I’ve been looking for Mackie. And thanks to him, I found you.”

I froze. Mackie. Or Mackie D—that’s what Dannie always called him. My breath hitched.

“You mean… you didn’t send him?”

Dannie’s eyes darked. “Send him to you? No. Why would I?”

I paused, trying to collect my thoughts.

“I thought you…” I stopped myself. I couldn’t bring up the past—not now. I thought he finally wanted revenge for what I did to him, but it was best to leave that wound closed. “Never mind. So… you had me followed?”

His answer was enough to ease one fear—that he had nothing to do with Kai’s disappearance.

“No…” He cut the log-shaped dough into even round disks, placing them carefully onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. “Yes. When my guy spotted you, I told them to keep an eye on you.”

I watched his hands—steady, precise—as he lined each disk in perfect rows before sliding the tray into the oven underneath the countertop.

My stomach twisted. How could I not have known? All day people had been following me. Stalking me. Watching my every move. And not just one person—multiple people—with their own motives, their own agendas.

“Then why didn’t you help me?”

“With the fake document?” He shut the oven door with a quiet thud.

“Yes.”

He grabbed a cloth, wiping down the surface before moving to the sink to wash his hands under the stream of water.

When he finally spoke, his voice was maddeningly casual.

Help you and miss out on the opportunity to see you?” He turned his head slightly, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Now why would I do that?”

A sharp pressure coiled in my chest. Nothing had changed—always the same games.

“How did you know I’d come to you?”

“I didn’t.” He flicked off the faucet and shook the water from his fingers before filling the kettle. “But here you are.”

I shallowed hard, forcing myself to focus on his words and not the way his muscles flexed beneath his shirt.

“Dannie—”

“June.”

The way he said my name—smooth, familiar—made my heart skip a beat.

“Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t say my name like that,” I half-whispered, half-grunted.

“Like what?” He let out a low chuckle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Like I’m…” The words tangled in my throat. How could I explain this to him? All I knew was that when he said my name like that, it stripped away my defenses. It made me feel small—like a little woman who needed attention, protection… love. I hated how easily he could do that.

“A puppy or something.” I finally blurted out. It wasn’t quite right, but it was the closest thing I could come up with.

“I see. But isn’t that a good thing? Puppies are cute. People like puppies.”

“No one wants to be treated like a puppy, Dannie.”

His smile deepened, though his eyes held something darker beneath the surface. “I don’t get it. So… that’s a bad thing then?”

Our eyes locked. I forced myself to look away, focusing instead on the sleek lines of the remodeled kitchen. “The kitchen’s new too. What happened to the old one?”

“Bad people.”

His tone was casual—too casual. But I knew I shouldn’t have asked. Of course, bad people had done it. In his world, there was no shortage of enemies—the rival gangs, the police, the traitors within his own ranks. And those he’d wrong… or those who simply believed he had.

I swallowed hard, pushing past the unease crawling up my spine. “And the rest of the apartment?”

“They didn’t get that far.”

Dannie rolled up the sleeves of his sky-blue shirt—left first, then right. But my breath caught when I saw it. A jagged scar stretched across his left arm, cutting through the hawk tattoo I used to trace my fingers over—the one I had always adored.

Without thinking, I reached for his arm, leaping out from the black leather chair too quickly. My foot caught on the edge of the rug, and before I knew it, I was falling. Instinct kicked in—I threw my arms up to shield my face from the inevitable impact. But the floor never came.

Strong hands caught me just in time, pulling me against his chest. One arm wrapped around my waist, steadying me as my heart hammered in my ears.

“Are you okay?” We spoke in unison.

I let out an awkward laugh, brushing off the embarrassment “I’m okay.”

“Be careful.”

But I wasn’t thinking about my fall—I was still thinking about his arm.

“What happened to your arm?” I asked as he helped me to stand upright, his touch warm against my skin.

“You really want to know?”

“Yes.” My voice was barely above a whisper, but it felt loud in the quiet tension hanging between us. Part of me had already guessed—a moment of violence—but I needed to hear it from him.

He exhaled slowly. “Cooking incident.”

“Really?” It wasn’t the answer I expected.

“Yes.” His reply was clipped, staccato. He was lying.

“I want to know.” I pressed on.

“I told you.” His reply slower now, but firm and final.

“I want to know,” I repeated, my heart thudding against my ribs. Once, he had told me everything—well, almost everything. He always left out the ugliest details, the ones he thought I couldn’t handle.

“No, you can’t know everything.”

“Why not?”

I wanted us to go back—to the way things used to be. Even though part of me knew it was impossible. But being here, standing so close to him, I still felt safe. And that much hadn’t changed. Not at all.

“That’s life. Deal with it.”

“Fine.”

Rage simmered beneath my skin. I heard it in my own voice.

It wasn’t fair—I knew that. But I couldn’t stop it.

The fear, the frustration, the gnawing ache of losing Kai again—it all boiled over, and Dannie was the one standing in the blast zone.

He didn’t deserve it. He had nothing to do with Kai’s disappearance.

I repeated that to myself, trying to shove the anger down.

“Don’t you ‘fine’ me,” he snapped, his voice like a whip cracking through the air. “I want to know everything too.”

“Like what?”

“Like what? I can’t believe you have the nerve to ask.” His hands curled into fists at his sides, knuckles whitening as the dam finally broke. “First of all—why did you leave without saying goodbye? Do you have any idea how humiliating it was every time someone asked me where the fuck my wife was?”

His voice rose with each word, raw and filled with years of bottled-up anger. “People talked behind my back—laughing at me. ‘The boss of the Red Hawk Clan can’t even keep his woman.’ Do you know what that felt like? Huh? Go ahead—laugh with them.”

I didn’t laugh.

“And why are you really here, June?” His words hung heavy in the air, vibrating with all the pain I had left behind.