In The Dark

I Wanna Start Again

Cory

"Ren, what are you up to now?" I asked as we walked around the mansion. "Weirdo."

"I'm checking for cameras," she muttered as she walked past me into Zach's office.

"Dean hasn't installed them yet. You know how long it takes to do that?"

"...I'm just so paranoid. After meeting with Don Matthews, I feel like he's been watching me."

"I'm sure he thinks you're watching him. After all, you are engaged to his son. There are some things you're going to want to know about him that he wants to hide."

"That's easy."

I frowned and followed her out onto the front porch. What is she talking about? What's easy? She just came back from a trip that should have taken her months to complete. The woman who fought to keep her birthright is now going to be her associate in keeping up with assets. Her fiancé is in the hospital. What's easy?

"What's easy?" I asked and hugged her from behind.

"Finding out his secrets." Ren chuckled. "He's a womanizer. Do you know how many times he asked me if I was really engaged to his son and did I want to find out how he was as a husband? Gosh, I swear that man doesn't care that his wife died sometimes. He has Cynthia in his clutches already. He knows she's weak for handsome men."

"You're admitting he's good looking!" I exclaimed.

"Of course. I'd be lying if I said I couldn't see where Zach got his looks from. Although, he looks more like his mom. I guess...womanizing is what he gets from his father."

"Zach isn't a womanizer."

"Oh, really?" Ren looked back at me like I'd said it wasn't his idea to storm the warehouse. Did she know about Trixie? And the other chick? I forget her name sometimes. "I put two and two together. Trixie was my manager. There was no way she'd know you guys unless she'd been in the gang. Seeing that she wasn't afraid of me knowing I was his girlfriend...I'd say she was sleeping with him."

I remained silent and we watched the sun settle behind the thick clouds. I'd never once stopped to take in the beauty of this place. With everything that's been going on this past year, no one has been able to slow down. Tyler was dead and all his men had scattered. From what I heard, not one of them hopped on a plane and went back to the States. Either they're dead or someone found them a way back without getting tracked.

We didn't notice when a taxi pulled up around the cul-de-sac. Or when Byung-chul hopped out and took his bags out the back. Nor when he hobbled up the path, into the house, and back out to scare the crap out of the both of us. This is why I never let my guard down. Too many freaking distractions.

"Already staking claim again with her fiancé in the hospital, huh?" he asked, leaning on the banister next to us.

"Ttong! Neoneun naleul nollae kyeossda," Ren exclaimed, barely jumping as she said this. Scared my behind. "How was the flight?"

"It was fine. Normal. I didn't get attacked when I got to Rome." He chuckled. "I got accepted into Politecnico di Milano."

"Studying what?"

"...Mechanics."

Ren's heart rate sped up like she was excited by this news. I guess she was. She'd left her company behind to pursue a birthright that wasn't even hers for the taking. The women she'd trained were now on their own. Maybe she thought she could let Byung-chul take over. I don't know how good he was with cars.

"Are you really?" Ren asked.

"Of course, Noona." He smiled at her. "Guess what. I happened to run into Charlotte and Ebony. They asked about you and even said if I were to study mechanics, they'd allow me to take over."