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Chapter Five

Tokyo

M y eyes burn as sunlight filters into the room. “Fuck,” I groan, yanking the blanket over my head. I’m not ready to face him yet. Maybe I can pretend, just a little longer, that I’m not back home—that Kai isn’t just outside this door, awake and getting ready for his day. However, the clattering sounds from the kitchen make it impossible to ignore reality.

Clank. Clank.

God, he’s so fucking loud.

I slam a pillow over my head, squeezing my eyes shut in a desperate attempt to go back to sleep. But it’s pointless. With a defeated groan, I reach for my phone on the nightstand.

“Seven,” I mutter, glaring at the screen. It’s seven in the fucking morning, the sun is obnoxiously bright, and Kai is practically a one-man marching band.

My bladder wins the battle against my laziness, forcing me to roll out of bed. Quietly, I tiptoe out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom. The moment I step inside and close the door, I’m hit with the scent of Kai’s soap—cedarwood and sage. The steam still lingering in the small space tells me he showered recently.

I sit down, trying to rush through my morning routine. Once I’m done, I brush my teeth and splash cold water on my face. My gaze drifts to the mirror, landing on the bruise beneath my eye.

The memory hits hard, uninvited.

“Who is he?” CJ’s voice echoes through the locked bathroom door, his fist pounding like thunder.

“Does it fucking matter? Aren’t you busy cheating?” I yell back. His rage intensifies, but I don’t care anymore. Not about him. Not about us.

My eyes lower to my phone, to the zoomed-in image on the screen. My heart clenches. It can’t be.

“Fucking whore. After all I’ve done for you,” CJ snarls, kicking the door in frustration.

I smile bitterly, my gaze locked on the small smiley-face tattoo in the picture. I close the app, slipping my phone into my back pocket as the pounding on the door grows louder. I barely have time to brace myself before I swing it open, and CJ greets me with a slap to the face.

Blood fills my mouth, and I gather it, spitting directly in his face just before his fist connects with my cheek. “Fucking whore,” he sneers.

But I smile through the pain, clutching my stinging cheek. “We’re done,” I spit back. “I’m done.”

He grabs my arm, yanking me closer. His voice drops, low and venomous. “Only in death are we done. I’ve invested too much in you. You’re mine,” he whispers, his breath hot against my skin.

I knew leaving him wouldn’t be easy, but I had planned for this moment.

“Let the fuck go,” I hiss, twisting in his grip before driving my knee into his groin. He stumbles back, roaring in pain, his fist slamming into the wall.

“You make it so fucking difficult to love you,” he spits, glaring at me as I step away.

I pause, raising my hands in a mock surrender. “Then why the fuck keep me around?”

A knock on the door yanks me back to the present.

“You okay in there?” Kai’s voice cuts through the fog of memory, grounding me.

“Yeah,” I reply, stepping away from the mirror. I open the door to find him leaning against the wall, dressed in a black tee, grease-stained jeans, and his blue mechanic’s shirt.

“Off to work?” I ask, brushing past him and heading for the kitchen. If I’m going to be awake this early, I need coffee—now. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee draws me in like a lifeline.

“Yeah,” he answers, following me. “I’ll be back around lunchtime. You gonna be here?”

I pause, biting my lip. “I’m back to stay, so yeah, I’ll be around. But I’ll probably go look for a job at the club where Miko DJs.”

Kai’s lips twitch, his jaw tightening as he takes a slow sip of his coffee. “Back to dancing?”

I shrug, suddenly aware of how little I’m wearing in front of him, but it’s too late to care now. “It’s what I’m good at. Plus, I like dancing—easy money and a little taste of the nightlife. A win is a win.”

“I guess,” he mutters, his eyes drifting to the window as he takes another sip. “Does Miko know you’re back?”

My fingers falter as I reach for a coffee mug. My stomach twists at the thought of Miko, at everything he endured to keep my secret. But those days are over.

I let out a slow breath. “Yeah, he knows.”

Kai exhales, the tension in his shoulders visible. “He kept his word to you. Whatever you asked him to do, he did. I couldn’t beat it out of him,” he admits, the words heavy with frustration. He looks at me then, his eyes sharp. “It was fucking shitty of you to leave that way. A goddamn note, Tokyo?”

“Kai,” I begin, but he holds up a hand, cutting me off.

“No. Listen. This is the last time I’m saying this. You don’t get to come back and act like the last five fucking years didn’t happen. You left me. You don’t get to bring your problems back to my doorstep, Tokyo.”

He places his empty mug in the sink and walks to the garage door. “Kai,” I try again, but he doesn’t stop, slamming the door behind him.

I guess I deserve it.

The memory hits me again, unrelenting.

“You sure about this, Tokyo?” Miko’s voice trembles through the phone. “Is he back?”

I watch Kai sleeping beside me, his chest rising and falling in the dim light. “Yes,” I whisper. “So you understand now.”

Miko sighs, the weight of my decision settling between us. “Okay. Meet me outside in twenty.”

I hung up and crawled back into bed to steal one last moment. My arms wrapped around Kai’s waist, my lips pressing a goodbye kiss to the scorpion tattoo on his back.

This is the only way, I told myself.

I pull myself back to the present, hearing Kai’s car pull out of the driveway. Pouring myself a mug of black coffee, I add two sugars and take a sip. The bitterness lingers, but it’s tolerable.

My phone vibrates.

Unknown Caller.

I sigh, ignoring it, but then a text pops up from CJ.

CJ : Stop playing games, Tokyo. Come home.

I scoff, setting the phone down. Fuck CJ. Fuck all of it.

But deep down, I know the true monster in my story isn’t CJ. It’s something far worse, something I know deep down I can’t escape, not for long.