Who Will Help?
“By God, I miss you.”
Anne immediately rushed into the arms of the handsome man standing right in front of her. Without hesitation, the man embraced her back and kissed both of Anne’s cheeks alternately. Reflecting the longing they had held back due to the distance that had separated them.
After making sure that her husband was deeply asleep, Anne stealthily made her way to the emergency staircase not far from Kaivan’s room. There she met the man who had been in contact with her from the beginning.
“Do you think I haven’t missed you?” Anne responded after releasing her hug. “Why did you have to ask me to meet here? Why not in your room?” the woman asked in confusion.
The man then invited Anne to sit on one of the steps not far from where they were standing. He began telling her everything he needed to convey.
“Of course, I sought a position not far from your room. Besides, this was done intentionally to avoid the CCTV cameras’ capture.”
Anne nodded in understanding. Among all the locations in the hotel, it was only around Kaivan’s room that was not monitored by surveillance cameras. She had guessed at the reason, perhaps it was intentionally done to protect his privacy.
“Are you alone staying in this hotel?” Anne inquired. She was convinced that the man in front of her hadn’t come alone this time.
“I’m not alone,” the man replied. “I deliberately brought someone else to register as a guest in this hotel. It could be dangerous if I had to use my name.”
Being a secret agent of an intelligence agency, maintaining identity secrecy was of paramount importance. Every agent was expected to be cautious so that their disguises wouldn’t be revealed to others.
“So, how about it? Are you ready? The day after tomorrow, we need to leave here.”
Anne fell silent immediately. To be honest, she didn’t know how to answer. On one hand, it was her duty to complete the mission she was given. But on the other hand, she had also promised not to leave Kaivan. Truly, this was a significant decision that needed to be made soon.
“Can’t I just stay?” Anne offered. She felt it would be difficult to leave her husband’s side right now.
The man in front of Anne simply looked at her with a flat expression. He didn’t seem to care about the dilemma his conversation partner was facing.
“You shouldn’t have to ask me that. You must know the answer yourself, right?”
Anne let out a heavy sigh. There was no chance for her to stay any longer. That meant she had only two days to be with Kaivan before leaving his side.
“Just that-”
“Don’t say that you’ve truly fallen in love with the man who has been protecting you all this time?” the man interrupted. His eyes narrowed, as if seeking further explanation.
“Forgive me for my foolishness. But I can’t deny that I’ve truly fallen in love with him,” Anne whispered with a melancholic expression. She bowed her head to hold back the sadness welling up within her.
“Why apologize?” The man reached for Anne’s face, urging her to lift it. “It’s not your fault if you’ve come to like him. Moreover, after this mission is over, you can return to him.”
Anne smiled weakly. In truth, the man’s words did little to ease her heart.
“I’m just afraid we won’t make it back safely. That means my chance-”
“Sshh…” For the second time, the man cut her off, deliberately hissing to make Anne stop speaking. “Why so pessimistic?” He then turned his body to the side, deliberately looking at Anne intensely while holding her hand. “No one will get hurt. You and I, or all of us, will return safely and be able to resume a normal life as before.”
Anne nodded slowly. She tried to think positively even though the chances were slim. Their mission was undoubtedly high-risk this time. But what else could they do? She couldn’t back out now that they were already halfway through.
“Alright. I will use these last two days to spend time and say goodbye to him.”
This time, the man nodded. He exhaled softly as he spoke.
“Remember, Anne, you only need to bid farewell. There’s no need to disclose where we’re headed. If you want to keep that man from getting further involved in this matter,” he emphasized.
“But isn’t Kaivan already involved now?” Anne raised both eyebrows. “We’ve clearly dragged him into this predicament,” she protested. In her mind, if they didn’t want to involve Kaivan, they shouldn’t have sought refuge in the hotel owned by the man known to have many mafia connections. They should have utilized the opportunity to ask Kaivan for help in resolving this major conflict.
The man beside Anne let out a long sigh. He tried to explain carefully the meaning behind his words.
“Do you remember the incident in Italy? Or more recently, when you both were almost shot on one of the bridges in London?” the man asked. “Do you want the man you’ve recently fallen in love with to get hurt this time?”
“But I’m sure Kaivan could help us. He has many connections and relationships with other mafia members. This should make it easier for us to resist the Sicilian group.”
The man beside her immediately looked at her sharply.
“If that’s what you want, it’s fine. Just tell him everything without hiding anything. But you need to remember, if something endangers his life this time, don’t let yourself regret it later.”
Anne immediately growled. She seemed overwhelmed when faced with such conflicting realities. But what else could she do? This was a risk she had chosen from the start.
“Alright, I will follow your advice.”
The man then stood up from his seat. It was clear he was preparing to leave.
“Now, go back to your room. I don’t want him to wake up and find you’re not in the room.”
Anne also got up, following the instructions given. Before leaving for real, she hugged her conversation partner for quite a while before quietly making her way back to her room.
Upon opening the door, Anne found Kaivan still sound asleep. Slowly, she crawled onto the bed.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
Before deciding to go back to sleep, Anne chose to gaze at Kaivan’s handsome face for a moment. One thought crossed her mind: could she really leave the side of the man who was her husband?
No.
It’s only temporary.
After everything is done, I’ll return to him.
Anne kept reassuring herself. She promised in her heart that her departure in a few days would only be temporary. She was determined to come back soon after all her tasks were completed.
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