Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Win leaned over the map spread across the table, his finger tracing the route to the decoy safe house. “We’ll need a visible security presence here,” he said, circling the area around the retreat house with a pen. “If we’re trying to make it look like this is where the doctor’s being sent, Hong’s guys need to see just enough to think it’s lightly guarded. Not too secure, not too vulnerable. The trick is balancing it.”

Dew, standing with his arms crossed, studied the map. His sharp blue eyes flicked between the routes and guard placements Win had outlined. “Visible, but not sloppy. Too much noise will tip Hong off that it’s staged.”

“Exactly,” Win agreed. He tapped the map. “We’ll position guards here, here, and here, but only a small team. We’ll keep the heavier surveillance hidden—infrared sensors, cameras. I’ll assign my men to handle it.”

“Good,” Dew said with a curt nod. “Make sure the guards know nothing beyond their roles. If Hong has a mole feeding him information, the less they know about the real plan, the better.”

Win leaned back, his arms crossed as he studied Dew’s face. “You’re really going all in on this decoy, huh?”

“It’s necessary,” Dew replied, his tone clipped. “If the decoy doesn’t sell, Hong won’t take the bait. Nani’s safety depends on us doing this right.”

Win smirked faintly. “You’re a real bundle of sunshine, you know that?”

Dew shot him a flat look. “Someone has to focus while you’re busy being charming.”

Win chuckled, shaking his head. “Charming gets results. You should try it sometime.”

Dew ignored the comment, his focus returning to the map. “What about the real safe house?”

Win straightened, leaning over the table again. “We’ll keep it as quiet as possible. No visible guards, no obvious security measures. Hong will assume it’s abandoned if he even finds it. We’ll hide the surveillance tech inside the house itself—silent alarms, thermal imaging. If he sends anyone to investigate, we’ll know before they get close.”

“I’ll handle Nani’s transport personally,” Dew said. His voice was calm, but there was a hint of steel beneath it. “We’ll take the long route, avoid major roads, and switch vehicles halfway. They won’t know where he’s going until it’s too late.”

Win nodded. “Makes sense. But I’m assigning one of my men to go with you.”

Dew raised an eyebrow. “You don’t trust me?”

“It’s not about trust,” Win replied, his tone light but firm. “It’s about having backup. If something goes sideways, I want someone there to cover you.”

Dew frowned, his expression unreadable. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

Win smirked, leaning closer. “It’s not about you needing one. It’s about me needing to know someone’s watching your back.”

Dew held his gaze for a long moment, then exhaled sharply. “Fine. But your guy better stay out of my way.”

Win’s smirk widened. “He’ll be a ghost. You won’t even notice him.”

---

Nani hirunkit

Today’s the day. The day we kick off this ridiculous, overcomplicated plan with our “lover’s quarrel.” But as soon as I stepped into Sky’s office, I knew something was off.

He was sitting behind his desk, papers spread out before him, but he wasn’t focused on them. His brow was furrowed, his jaw clenched, and his pen tapped rhythmically against the polished wood. His entire posture radiated tension, like he was one wrong word away from snapping.

“You know what?” he said suddenly, his voice sharp enough to cut through the silence. “I still think we should abandon this plan. I hate it. Every second of it.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “Sky, we’ve already been over this. We agreed—this is what we have to do.”

“No,” he said, standing abruptly. His chair scraped against the floor as he rounded the desk, his movements restless. “You agreed. I didn’t. I don’t like it, and I sure as hell don’t have to go along with it.”

“Sky.” My voice was firm, though I could feel my frustration rising. “We talked about this. You promised you’d trust me. You said we’d do this together.”

“And now I’m saying it’s a bad idea!” His voice rose, his hand slicing through the air in agitation. “You’re asking me to put you in danger, Nani. You’re asking me to sit back and watch while you walk into the line of fire.”

“I’m not asking you to sit back and watch!” I snapped, stepping closer to him. “I’m asking you to let me fight with you. To let me have some control over my life, instead of locking me away like some fragile thing you need to protect.”

“You don’t understand!” he shouted, his voice raw and strained. “Your life isn’t just your own anymore. It’s mine, Nani. You’re mine. And I can’t—” He broke off, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t lose you.”

His words hit me like a punch to the chest, but they didn’t soften the frustration bubbling inside me. “Then prove it, Sky,” I said, my voice trembling with anger. “If I really matter to you, show me. Show me that you trust me enough to make my own choices. Show me that you care about what I want, not just what you think is best for me.”

He stared at me, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. “Everything I’ve done is for you,” he said quietly, his voice laced with desperation. “For your safety. I brought you into my world, and it’s my responsibility to protect you.”

“Is that all I am to you?” I shot back, my voice shaking. “A responsibility? A burden you have to carry because you feel guilty? You say you love me, but all you’ve done is lock me away, hide me from the world, and keep me out of the one thing that could give us both freedom.”

“That’s not—” he started, but I cut him off, the words spilling out before I could stop them.

“I’m not your shipment to protect, I’m not one of your goddamn operations! I’m a person. I’m your person. And if you love me—if you really love me—then you need to stop treating me like a liability.”

His eyes burned into mine, a storm of emotion swirling in their depths. For a moment, I thought he might say something to calm me down, to make me stay. But instead, his jaw tightened, and his hands curled into fists at his sides.

“Nani, listen to me,” he said, his voice low but sharp. “You will do what I say. You will go where I send you. And you will stay the hell out of this fight. Do you understand me?”

I froze, his words cutting deeper than I expected. He is unreasonable now. “Do you even hear yourself?” I whispered, my voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and anger. “You’re not protecting me, Sky. You’re controlling me. You don’t trust me—you just want me to do what you say, no questions asked.”

“That’s not true,” he said, his voice rising. “I’m trying to keep you alive, You think this is easy for me? Watching you walk into danger, knowing I might not be able to pull you back? Do you have any idea how much that terrifies me?”

“Do you know what terrifies me?” I shot back, my anger boiling over. “The thought of spending the rest of my life trapped in this house, living under your rules, waiting for the next attack to come. I’d rather take my chances out there, Sky. At least then, I’d be living.”

I turned on my heel, storming out the door towards the hall to ease my anger, but he caught my arm, spinning me back around. His grip wasn’t rough, but it was firm, his eyes blazing with frustration and fear.

“Don’t walk away from me,” he said, his voice louder now, echoing through the hall. “You don’t understand what’s at stake here.”

“Don’t I?” I yelled, yanking my arm free. “You know what, Sky? Maybe I’m safer out there with your damn enemies than I am with you. Must be better than being with you now.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them, and for a moment, the air between us went deadly silent.

His expression faltered, just for a second, before his walls slammed back into place. His jaw tightened, his hands clenching at his sides as he stared at me.

“Fine, if you say so,” he said coldly. “But now you are here with me, you do what i said.”

I turned and stormed out of there, my heart pounding. I didn’t stop until I reached the end of the hallway, my breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps.

It wasn’t until I glanced around that I realized we’d drawn an audience. Several of Sky’s men were standing nearby, their expressions a mix of shock and unease. I forgot about the supposed lover fight that we need to do.

At the far end of the hall, Win and Dew stood side by side, watching the entire scene with wide eyes.

Win raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to Dew. Talking something.

Dew didn’t respond, his expression unreadable, but I could have sworn I saw a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

I shot them both with a withering glare before turning on my heel and heading for my room.

----

Win exchanged a glance with Dew as Nani’s footsteps echoed down the hall, fading into silence.

He raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to Dew. “So… was that part of the plan, or are they actually about to kill each other?”

Dew didn’t respond, then he turned his head and looked at me, amused.

The tension still hung thick in the air, and Sky remained frozen, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. For a moment, no one spoke. The weight of the fight—both real and staged—seemed to press down on all of them. Then, suddenly, Sky’s voice snapped through the silence like a whip.

“Win,” he barked, turning sharply toward his second-in-command. “Prepare to send Nani to the safe house. Bring the entire team. Double the security.”

Win nodded, but Sky wasn’t finished. “I want eyes on every corner of the property. No blind spots, no gaps. I don’t care how many men it takes. Make sure he’s alive while he’s there.”

There was an edge to his voice—one of barely restrained desperation. He didn’t wait for Win’s response before turning away abruptly, his shoulders stiff as he stormed back into his office. The door slammed shut behind him.

Win let out a low breath, exchanging another look with Dew. “Well,” Win muttered, “that was… something.”

Dew’s lips twitched, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he pushed off the wall and headed toward the surveillance room, his expression grim. Win followed a moment later, already pulling out his phone to start issuing orders.

---

Somewhere Later On…

The dimly lit room buzzed faintly with static as the call connected. Hong leaned back in his chair, a slow, predatory smile curling across his lips. His eyes glittered with satisfaction as he listened to the voice on the other end.

“Sky sent him away,” the voice reported, their tone laced with triumph. “The doctor’s been moved to one of Sky’s safe houses. Word is, it’s for his protection.”

Hong chuckled, the sound low and sinister. “Of course he did,” he murmured, more to himself than to the informant. “The great Sky wongravee, always so predictable when it comes to his precious doctor.”

The voice on the line hesitated. “Do you want us to confirm the location?”

“No need,” he said smoothly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. His fingers steepled as his smile widened. “He’s doing exactly what I wanted. Sky’s losing control. He’s desperate. And desperation makes him easy to predict.”

The voice on the line didn’t respond, but Hong didn’t need them to. His mind was already spinning, pieces of his plan falling into place.

“Let the good doctor settle in,” he said, his tone casual, almost bored. “And when the time is right, we’ll remind Sky exactly why he should never have crossed me.”

As the call ended, Hong leaned back in his chair again, the grin never leaving his face.

“Let’s see how far you’re willing to go, Sky,” he murmured to the empty room, his voice dripping with anticipation. “Let’s see just how much you’re willing to lose.”