DM Chapter 89
There was no hint of worry in the laughing voice. However, underneath, there was a strong contrast of deep perplexity and discomfort. Despite the man’s attempt to cover it with laughter, Sarin responded laboriously but firmly.
“No.”
“I’ll probably do something here that will scare you. Maybe I won’t seem like a human being.”
For the first time, she realized that even a tender and kind tone could sound so sinister.
“But I still want to stay here.”
“No.”
Owen echoed Sarin’s earlier words of rejection. Meanwhile, his lips longed for her. He bit painfully into her chin and the nape of her neck.
“Why….”
The answer to why he wanted to send her away came back calmly.
“Because I might get distracted and make a mistake. With you here, I’m on edge all the time. I guess my dick isn’t the only thing you’re capable of getting up.”
His confession made her breathless. Even though it was an inappropriate and lewd statement, it seemed like a language meant only for her, in Owen’s unique style. Sarin couldn’t ask why anymore.
Instead of answering, she gently touched the corners of his eyes.
“Don’t make that face.”
Sarin pushed him away and slowly got up from the bed. Then, she wiped the saliva from under her chin with the back of her hand.
“Is Hayan going to be okay?”
“If you’re safe, he’s safe.”
Nikolai saw more danger in the woman shaking him alive than in the child who might die. He, who raised Owen, knew better than anyone else that if this woman wasn’t present, Owen wouldn’t need to engage in all the foolish things he was doing.
It wasn’t entirely untrue that Sarin was the reason for his change of plans.
“Hayan felt everything too; I was the only one who didn’t know.”
Sarin said with a wry smile. A forgotten candy wrapper crinkled under her foot. She tapped Owen’s hand with her fingers next to hers. Then, she lightly touched the index finger ring, which had almost lost its pattern and became worn out with her fingers.
“He told me to leave.”
As if anticipating this storm, Hayan tried to send Sarin away.
“I told you we have the same blood.”
She quietly laughed at Owen’s boundless words.
“Can’t you give this to me?”
His gaze fell to his hand on the sheet. Her slender fingers were brushing against the blunt end of the ring. It wasn’t an expensive jewel and couldn’t be used for escape funds. To others, it was a worthless ring.
Owen wore it out of habit, but it had no meaning. At best, it was a reminder to think twice and cultivate patience when Nikolai wanted to do something again.
When Owen didn’t say anything, Sarin thought she was asking too much, so she hastened to add.
“It seems like you wear it every day… If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
The only thing that didn’t change about the man was the ring. As Sarin quickly curled her finger and took a step back, Owen raised his hand, took off the ring, and grabbed Sarin’s wrist. Even though he had put it on her thickest finger, the ring looked loose.
“It’s going to fall off.”
“Uh… if I do this, it won’t fall off, right?”
She tightly clenched her thumb inside her fist and pressed it against her palm. Owen looked at her with a subtle gaze, revealing a desire to keep her, no matter what. A sensation of something mixed with his body temperature seemed to transfer to Sarin.
“I’ll buy you one that fits your hand.”
“No.”
Buying jewelry and artwork had been one way for him to launder money. Owen thought about a jewelry auction in England that Orbis had recently told him about. This purchase would be different from usual, so he couldn’t take his eyes off Sarin’s finger.
It wouldn’t hurt to bring something from Nikolai’s collection to Russia. Most of the former royal family’s lost jewels and treasures were in his private vault.
“There’s no point in wearing something that doesn’t fit.”
“…in case you come looking for it.”
In response to the simple answer that implied he might not come looking for her, he eventually let out a sharp laugh.
“This means nothing at all.”
Owen shook her thumb, where the ring was, as he spoke. His smile faded.
“But….”
“You’ll be the one I’m looking for. Not for this ring.”
He hoped the ugliness of what he had to do wouldn’t reach Sarin’s ears.
He didn’t want the ugliness to cause her any more pain. He must pay his debt to Nikolai. Owen had no intention of using Sarin to erase that debt.
Even when he told her it wasn’t the ring he would be looking for, she clutched it tightly and nodded.
“May I say goodbye to Hayan?”
“Yes.”
He kept the date for the transplant secret from Sarin. Therefore, he also remained silent about the fact that he would handle everything before that day arrived. Owen’s gaze went beyond Sarin’s. He could see the view of Eden City, which had now become a part of him.
There was no remorse or regret.
The only thing that bothered him was that Sarin liked the rainbow she saw over the dam more than he thought she would.
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It was a night similar to the one when Owen had taken her out of Eden City.
As they began to cross the bridge over the lake, Sarin finally covered her face with both hands. Kirill was at the wheel, with Sarin and Gayeon sitting in the backseat.
“Are you scared?”
Gayeon asked worriedly, patting Sarin on the shoulder.
“I was okay during the day… but at night, I remember the day of the accident.”
“Wasn’t it because that man was next to you?”
At her words, Sarin removed the hand that covered her face and looked back at her. Seeing Gayeon’s smiling face, she forced a smile herself, considering it an effort to ease her tension.
“Yeah, maybe. So I guess that’s why I was okay.”
“Don’t worry. If Sarin says she wants to escape, I’ll do my best to escape with her. Right now, we’re all in this together. But if you change your mind, let me know.”
“Why are you both helping us? Can I ask what your deal is with Owen?”
“Um….”
Gayeon swallowed hard. Kirill glanced in the rearview mirror as he drove, and his gaze locked with hers. Realizing that they had to speak eventually since they were leaving Eden City together, Gayeon spoke up.
“Owen said he’d find us a place to settle down after Sarin is safe.”
Once Owen is free from Nikolai, they will also be free to settle here. The calculation was simple. Although the process would not be smooth sailing, Kirill agreed to hold hands with Owen to ensure Gayeon could live the life she wanted.
Ironically, it’s not Kirill that Owen trusts, but the one he’s most wary of: Gayeon.
Gayeon wouldn’t harm Sarin. No matter what happened, he believed that as long as Sarin stayed with her, there would be no harm to her.
“I told you Sarin’s opinion was the most important….”
“I made the decision on my own.”
Kirill, who was driving, spoke in an indifferent tone. For him, Gayeon was the most important thing. After meeting Owen without consulting her and returning, he had a fight with Gayeon. It was almost a one-sided outburst of anger, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand her feelings.
Finally, after promising to help Sarin if she still wanted to leave, Gayeon’s anger subsided.
“I can’t do anything for you; I can’t help you, but you keep helping me. Thank you.”
Sarin bowed her head and expressed her sincere gratitude.
“In the future, Sarin should help us.”
“I wonder if that day will come.”
“Yes, it will.”
Thanks to Gayeon’s assurance, Sarin was able to smile.
“Don’t worry about Owen. He’ll be fine. It’s something he wanted to do anyway.”
She vaguely guessed that, once she found out, she might not even see him as a human being. Kirill looked ahead in the darkness, focused solely on driving, and spoke quietly.
“It’s been decided that way for a long time.”
“How long?”
“From the moment Owen first came to Russia.”
It was a long time ago. Kirill still remembers Owen from that day.
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The beginning of early winter.
They all gathered at the Moscow mansion in preparation for the arrival of a new cousin, as Nikolai ordered. It was no longer a secret that Nikolai was collecting children with traces of his blood in order to save his son.
Amidst all of this, as he was also considering potential successors in case things went wrong, Kirill did not want to be involved. He knew he wouldn’t catch Nikolai’s eye anyway due to his frailty.
However, he had no choice but to be led by his mother, Karlena, to find his relatives.
Everything was free. Kirill found himself completely ignored here, spending his time alone without mingling with similar-aged groups.
“His mom’s an Irish prostitute.”
As they passed by, one of his cousins’ conversations with Pavel caught Kirill’s ear.
“What are you looking at?”
Kirill, who had been staring blankly out the window, turned around with a frown and replied menacingly to Pavel.
“Isn’t this about your mother?”
Everyone already knew that the child they were bringing from Ireland was Pavel’s identical twin, but it was ridiculous to hear him rhyme whore as if he were talking about someone else.
“I grew up here right after I was born. It’s different from being raised by a prostitute.”
Pavel was mischievous and often involved the children in his antics. Despite his actions, Nikolai adored him for his endearing appearance.
Dumbfounded, Kirill didn’t argue further and turned his head back to the window.
