Chapter 81: Chapter 81

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◇ KEL ◇

Loud swearing.

The senseless shouting.

Pain-filled grunts, the sound of fists hitting flesh and bone.

He was beating the guy to death.  This could not be happening.

The pristine, all-white floor should just open up and swallow me whole.  Shield me from all this chaos.  Hide me from the painful reality that, at the moment, nothing was worse than my total mess of a life.

These people just couldn't pick a proper time or place for—

Could they not see how unwell I was right now?  "Stop it!" I wheezed.

They just didn't care.  Right now, brute and inflated egos seemed to take over every part of their impulse-driven brain.  Even the six-footer armed guards couldn't stop Miles from trying to bash Enzo's skull in with his bare fist.

"Pezzo di merda!"

"Miles! Stop!" My hands tugged at his sleeves again, the panic already constricting my chest.  The hard floor hurt my knees while I tried to haul him away from Enzo, who was already bleeding and trying his best to block the onslaught of punches.

Instead of heeding my pleas, Miles landed another jab on Enzo's scrunched face.

I winced. "Miles! Enough!"

"Ti pre—  Smettila!" Alessio knelt beside his boss now, shielding Enzo's vulnerable state from Miles' quick and furious jabs.  "Maxim—"

"Dammit, Miles!"  Out of worry, I stopped pulling at Miles' shirt.  I wanted to yell again but couldn't get another word out.  I almost stumbled backwards to let the bodyguards do their job.

The tallest one pulled a seething Miles away from Enzo, saving the poor guy from another round of rage-fueled violence.

I just stood behind them, breaths loud, arms and legs trembling from the nerves, anticipating the worst.

What the heck had I gotten myself into?  Everything happened in just seconds.  But to my wavering knees and numbing muscles, it felt like I'd been watching them beat each other up for hours.

Unexpectedly, Enzo triggered the whole thing, much to my terror.  If he hadn't argued about needing to talk to me in private, Miles probably wouldn't have snapped.

The bodyguards now had their boss restrained, at last.  They kept Miles near the windows.  It gave me the courage to step closer to Enzo to help him up.  I tried to steady my breathing as I helped him get back on his feet.

The poor guy...

Enzo backed away from me and slouched behind me now.  His wounded fist tried wiping the specks of blood off his lips and jaw.

My heart ached at the sight.  I held in a sigh.  I stood by the foot of the bed and finally faced Miles.  "The heck is wrong with you?"

The idiot simply scoffed. His chest and shoulders heaved beneath his creased button-down shirt.  Miles didn't even care to look me in the eye.

I wanted to scream.  So badly.  The shock, the frustration, my trembling knees and legs...

But the second I saw bright red blood on his knuckle, I feigned calmness instead.  I had to stay calm or else they'd keep thinking I was easily the weakest one in the room.  "I'm walking him out now."

"Stay out of it." Miles glared.

Stay out of it? Seriously?

"Questo pezzo di merda non merita di stare con te, Mykaela."  Enzo mumbled a swearword in Italian amid his slightly labored breathing.  He pushed aside Alessio who was only trying to guide him towards the door.

"Enzo, just leave. Please."

"The fuck you still lookin' at?" Miles scowled at the guy again. Being manhandled by his heftier security men didn't matter to him, apparently.

I didn't bother turning around to check up on Enzo again.  The guilt was already too much to deal with.  Enzo's bloodier and more injured state just made my stomach coil.  I couldn't even keep my voice steady.  "Enzo, please. Just go."

"Farai meglio guardati le spalle." Enzo eyed Miles while he continued wiping the blood off his nose.

"Potrei spararti ora senza nemmeno pensarci due volte."

"Miles! Stop it."  I stepped closer in case Miles acted on impulse again. "Calm down," I said in a louder voice.  Nervousness still made my fingers tingle.  I couldn't fully stop my knees and legs from weakening but at least I was wide awake.

What his threat exactly meant, I couldn't say. But just the way his veins threatened to pop out of his scowling face told me enough.

"Talk soon, Mykaela." It was Enzo speaking this time. His chipper tone sounded terribly forced.

Out of pure concern, I turned to look at the guy one last time.  Only to regret it.  Enzo was wiping his bleeding nose with his white sleeve.  His steps were tentative as he headed for the door with Alessio right behind him, ensuring he was finally leaving the room.  The two left while the other guards held onto Miles.

I wanted to run after Enzo, apologize, help him,  at least make the bleeding stop before he walked out of here.  But Miles might just do something stupider, so I curbed the impulse and stayed put.

Unsure looks from his bodyguards just annoyed me more.  They eventually stepped away from Miles after they heard a muted ding.  It was probably Enzo.  Maybe he already stepped into the elevator at the end of the hall.

"Get out." Miles glanced at the security staff.  "All of you."

His tone made me frown.  With their guns and earpieces, the guards walked out without another word and closed the door to give us privacy.

"Don't even think you'll be talking to him again." Miles shook his head and sat on the couch.

Then a strained silence filled the room.  It lasted a minute.  A long, unbearable minute.

The room felt too small now.  I stared at him, hoping he was much more in control of himself and his trigger-happy emotions.  "D'you really have to pull that crap?" I sighed once the deep scowl on his face eased into his usual mild pout.

"He's askin' for it."

I scoffed and walked back to the bed.

"I thought I made it clear I don't want you talking to that prick again."

"I didn't call him up or anything."

"You weren't exactly complaining when he was kissing you on the bed." In haste, Miles got up to wipe clean the tiny blood spatters on the floor with some tissues.

His snarky comment just made me feel stupid.  It almost pushed me to hide under the thin covers.  But then again it wasn't like I could just ignore him at this point.  "I'm not having this conversation. Go take a walk."

He scoffed and stood up to throw the bloody tissues into the bathroom waste bin. "You're the only reason I'm here."

"Go cool off." I waited till my shallow breaths returned to normal. Then I glanced at him. His bloody knuckle stole my attention.  My chest slightly ached but I stayed quiet on the bed, repressing the strong urge to check on his injuries and patch him up.  "Get someone to clean that up."

"I'm good." Miles kept busy texting with his phone in his bloodstained hand.  He just stood beside the bed for what felt like an eternity.  For minutes, we weren't even speaking or looking at each other.

Tough.

Well, he kept pushing my buttons.

"Can we talk now?" Miles sighed.

"You were just beating him senseless. What is wrong with you?" I glanced at him and shook my head in disbelief and consternation.  My brain was still having a hard time wrapping my consciousness around what happened merely minutes ago.

"Had every right to."

I hid under the blanket and wiped the cold sweat off my palms.  Awfully vivid in my mind was the loud swearing, the forceful punches, and how he tried to beat Enzo unconscious just moments ago.

The images...

Just horribly wrong.

So wrong.  Appalling.

What's even more terrifying?

Miles.

Not even a part of him seemed to care.

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