I guess he's only human after all

I'm not sure how long I stand there, my mind spinning. It's practically a frozen loading bar that's stalled halfway. It just won't put the information together. It refuses.

Kai's parents?

Alive?

Error message.

It's only when Kai sighs, rubbing his eyes in a rare act of frustration that finally gets the loading bar to move. It gets past the panic of having lied to my parents, and the guilt of wrongly assuming something so horrible as the loss of a parent, and gets all the way to the end.

Anger.

"You're not thinking of blaming me for this, are you?" Is not a question. It's a warning. A dare.

Kai lowers his hand. The same dark fury that I saw earlier in the week flashes at me and he grinds his teeth. "Of course not,"

"Because I have been pressing you for weeks! Weeks, Kai, where you could have provided that very necessary information,"

"I know,"

Silence follows as I wait for more. I'm finding it hard not to throw accusations and blame his way. If there's anything I've learned, he has problems relinquishing information and control and we'll get nowhere if I berate him now. I glance down at our shoes, biting my lashing tongue.

"So?" I finally ask after long enough.

"So, what?"

Ugh. "Kai. Your parents."

Kai turns on his heel, walking into the living room. I follow, unyielding. In the kitchen, Rei is putting things away but Mariah leans on the island, openly staring at us as we face-off.

"Can I help you?" Kai snaps when sees her.

Rei stops what he's doing. He turns his attention to us and I've never seen him look so intense. Mariah just smiles and blinks at the challenge. She opens her mouth, eyes scathing under the kitchen light. Before she can say anything, Rei pulls her arm, dragging her behind him.

"We're going," he announces. There's no edge or sting to his voice; it's just as gentle as ever but he won't be questioned.

We wait for them to finish gathering their things, the kitchen still unfinished. Mariah oozes biting contemptuousness the entire time. As they walk to the elevator, Mariah turns.

"Make her cry," she says to Kai, pointing at me, "I'll make you cry,"

Her hair swishes, cutting through the air when she spins towards the exit. Rei trails after her, glancing at Kai. "I'd listen to the woman," he offers with a shrug.

The elevator doors close and we're left alone again. Despite their support, I still feel the temptation to make snide, taunting comments. The anger is still gnawing at him as much as it's getting to me. I can tell from the way his arms cross over his chest and his chin points downward. He's not confident but unwilling to give an inch.

"Out with it," I demand, trying not to sound ticked off. "Starting with your parents being alive,"

"Yes," he says through gritted teeth.

"And...together?" I continue.

"Yes,"

"And happy?"

"Yes,"

I throw my hands up. "Then what's the problem?"

It takes him a minute. He stares at me, eyes hard; a wall refusing to let me see anything behind them. "Me," he finally says.

"That doesn't make any sense," I say.

Kai shrugs. I imagine how good it would feel to run up and grab his head and shake it until he gets the point. Instead of doing any of that, I walk around him to sit on the sectional with my back to him and wait. I wait and wait and wait. The only reason I stay is because Kai does. As long as I can feel him standing behind me, I know he's making the choice to continue working on this. If he leaves...

Well, I don't know what I'd do. Where would that put us?

"My parents left the family before I was born. They knew they could never happily raise a child in that environment."

I try to keep my gasp as quiet as possible. Biting my lips closed as he comes around the sofa to sit opposite of me, I feel my heart pick up. He looks worn. When he sits, he leans forward, elbows on his knees, interlacing his fingers together in front of him. It's so not the power stance he usually has, shoulders back, head tall. This is almost a different man.

What he said aligns with what I've read. His father left the company and disappeared for a few years before news of Kai's birth broke.

Kai takes a deep breath. "When I was born," he starts slowly as if he has to tear each word from his throat, "even though he already had Ralf, my grandfather put a lot of pressure on my father to let me return to the family, even if it was only me. My father always refused."

I have to keep my lips sealed, pinched together, to avoid saying anything. My fear is that if I utter even one word, it'll break whatever spell is keeping Kai talking.

"I overheard their conversation once. I was maybe five or six. It was the first time I met my grandfather. He pulled my father aside. I don't think they realized I could see them,"

Kai's gaze is far away and unfocused on the spot in front of him. Sooty lashes dip over dark eyes and lips pull into a slight frown as he recounts the memories.

"He was so angry that my father wouldn't give in. He said I had more potential than what he allowed, and that he was keeping me from being great because he didn't have the same greatness. My father just pitied him. I could see it. He thought my grandfather as lost."

The scoffing words fumble from my mouth before I can catch them, "Can't say I disagree,"

Kai doesn't seem to notice, too far gone.

"I went to the local school for a few years. I didn't fit in. Everything was easy and boring. There was no challenge there. The teachers didn't know what to do with me. I had no friends because I thought all the other kids were stupid and I let them know without hesitation. My grandfather had planted the seed. I couldn't get rid of the thought that I was meant for more," He stares off, "Maybe that was my fault; maybe I didn't try hard enough,"

After a moment of considering this, he shakes his head, moving on. "Eventually, I couldn't take it. I needed more of a challenge. I needed to be better. By then, I had learned of my family, the legacy, and I had internalized it. I was a Hiwatari and I had more in me than my peers could ever imagine."

The prideful tone conjures up the image of an eleven-year-old Kai with all the same arrogance and ego he has now. I snort. Kai looks at me for the first time since he started talking.

"Sorry," I say sincerely, "I was just thinking of a mini-you talking about world domination,"

He smirks. "You're not far off. I was even worse then. I had no idea how to restrain my pride or anger, so it was always the first thing people knew about me,"

I think back to the picture I saw of him at twelve in his school uniform. He certainly was angry then.

"I sought out my grandfather on my own. I asked for more and he gave in abundance,"

"He took you in and forbid you from speaking to your parents," I conclude as that makes sense. In soap operas, they always forbid talking to the other half of the family.

"If you've learned anything, it should be to stop assuming," He warns. His smile is cynical when he continues, "When I told my parents the decision I made, they tried to stop me. Tried to reason. The entire time until I left, it was a fight. Anything to keep me from my grandfather's world. I knew that the farther I went, the more disappointed they'd become. I didn't want to keep shoving my decision in their face, so I stopped."

I squint, not sure if I understand. "You just stopped talking to them? On your own?"

"I don't need to see their disapproval to know they hate who I am," His tone indicates he will not listen to alternate perspectives about this.

Stupid me, I try anyway, unable to even consider that reality. "They don't hate you! Why else would they be sending you pictures?" I wave to where I know his phone is in his pocket.

"They do that only because they don't see me, don't know the things I do. Not the ends and outs of it; the things I'm capable of. They don't know how I've fed my ambition until it's the only thing driving me."

I don't like this darkened view he has of himself. "You're not Soichiro,"

"Hilary, I'm nothing but a modern-day version of Soichiro."

"I don't believe that,"

"Believe what you want. I know what I am and I know my parents. I've accepted it. If they saw me in action, they'd leave me just like they left him. I'm saving them the pain of making that decision."

I groan. "That's so you! Talk about me assuming stuff, but you assume you know best for everyone. You hoard all the information so that you're the only one making decisions on behalf of others. I don't know if I should be happy you're so consistent or angry because you literally never learn,"

"At least I make decisions," he says, giving me a significant look.

I lean forward, feeling the heat rise in my chest. "What's that supposed to mean?" When did we start talking about me?

"Let's review: everything you have right now is something I gave you,"

I hark a laugh, "I can't believe you,"

"Am I lying?"

"I make decisions," I reiterate, standing to tower over him.

"Look around, Hilary," he stands and the height advantage disappears. In unison, we walk around the table that divides us until we're at the end, standing face to face with each other. "The condo you live in? Mine,"

"Because you asked me to move," I say, "Demanded, in fact."

"And I wouldn't have needed to if you lived in a decent place, to begin with. But you don't have a single thing to your name you can be proud of. Even the people you speak to on a daily basis, including Kenny, are all my associates. You don't have any relationships to speak of. At least none that I can see, besides cousins who you hate."

"I've been busy,"

"At a dead-end job that you didn't quit until I came along,"

"At a company that I worked to get into!" I shout back. The idea that he would minimize my accomplishments just because they don't measure up to his, as if it were a competition I could win, fuels my anger and makes me see red. "I watched my parents work themselves to the bone to send me to a good school. It certainly wasn't London," I emphasize, reminding him that his experiences are not universal, "but good enough to get me into a university where I worked my butt off to set myself apart and I got the job I wanted. Not all of us were handed a billion-dollar business right after graduation,"

He steps closer, coming within inches of my face. "I worked for it," he says lowly. "Every bit of it. I deserve everything I have."

I lower my pitch to match his, stepping even closer until we're a hair apart. "It wouldn't have mattered how hard you worked. Your grandfather was ready to hand you the keys to the kingdom the second you were born,"

His eyes darken to a dangerous shade, narrowing at my words. Despite the warning, I carry on.

"You can stand there and pretend you're above it all, but as you said, you're a Hiwatari. The truth is, you've never needed to work for anything a day in your life. You didn't make decisions," I laugh, the gears in my head turning now, "You never had decisions to make. You're a mouse in a maze, your grandfather opening doors for you to move through."

"You don't know anything," he whispers as he glares down at me. He's close enough that I could count each one of those sooty lashes, given enough time.

"And we're back to the beginning," I step back, smiling. "Whose fault is it that I don't know?"

When he doesn't immediately respond, I spin away from him. I need a break from his heavy gaze. It does things to my mind and heart that make it difficult to make points. And I have great points.

"You picked me," I remind him.

"I must have mistaken your impulsiveness for decisiveness,"

Whipping around, I put my hands on my hips and give him my best haughty glare. "Regardless of your reasons, valid or not, we're here now. And you are keeping me from doing my job, which I take very seriously,"

"Right," he grumbles sarcastically.

I'm unable to keep eye contact. My gaze drifts down until I'm looking at his collar bone through the opening of his button-down shirt. "I don't want to fight with you," I say, "All I've been trying to do is help. If you don't want my help anymore -"

"Stop," His shoulders move with a deep breath. His face is blank, void of all emotion. He doesn't continue, though, and I take that to mean he doesn't want this to end.

"You can't treat it like a game, Kai,"

"I assume you probably want to cancel next weekend's getaway, then?"

"What?" I blink, taken by his sudden jump, "No,"

"No?" He asks.

I squint my eyes, wondering if he's lost his mind. "No. We need that now more than ever. It'll be four days, just the two of us. No Rick, no Spencer, no Rei, and absolutely no work. When we come back, we'll be happily engaged and know everything we need to know about each other,"

He tilts his head.

"So, dust off some more of those childhood stories and try not to bite my head off each time you have to dig deep to share something," Happy to have the final word, I stride to the hall that leads to my room.

"I don't see why you need to know all of that, nobody else does,"

"I have a job to do, and as you so kindly reminded me, I'm getting a condo and getting paid. So let's just get through this so I can get my money and go,"

"I didn't say you get to keep the condo,"

"Consider it a bonus,"

"Spoken like a true businessman," I hear Kai say over my shoulder, "perhaps there's hope for you,"

Opening the door to my room, I turn so that I can see him down the hall, still standing in the living room. He smirks back at me. "Oh, and don't forget the questionnaire," I say, before flipping him my middling finger and slamming the door.

~/~/~/~

The following Friday morning, I zip my newly acquired suitcase shut and carry it into the living room where I wait for Kai's text. We haven't really spoken since the night my parents came for dinner and I have to say, I'm a bit nervous to see which version of Kai I'm going to get. The arrangement is that he'll pick me up from my place and we're driving to an undisclosed location.

I couldn't even wiggle it out of Romero, who seemed to hear from some source that Kai and I finally had a blowout fight. It's difficult to determine who told him exactly. It wasn't me, and I can't imagine Mariah calling him up to gossip.

Which means Kai must have told someone.

Which is weird. Because Kai? Talking about his feelings?

Error! Error! Sound the alarm.

Romero thinks it's good. "People fight," he said as he helped me pick out luggage for the trip. My old suitcases weren't up to standard. "Especially couples,"

He eventually approved a deep pink with hibiscus flowers set that I am actually pretty happy with. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for outfits for the weekend, which included a new bathing suit. Since my main goal was to figure out what Kai had planned, I jumped at the clue.

"Yes, Hilary dear," Romero smiled mockingly, "you'll be able to swim where you're going. Does that narrow it down from literally any hotel in the world?"

"No," I muttered.

"Right,"

It's a cute bathing suit, though. High-waisted two piece with little polka-dots. If nothing else happens, I'll look cute this weekend. Which is coming right on time. The media has started reporting on Mathilda and the love triangle we're involved in. People are taking sides. A weekend getaway will work wonders in convincing people I'm the real fiance.

I never thought I'd say that.

There's a knock at the door. Frowning, I check my phone. Nothing. I confirm my suspicions by looking through the peephole and then open the door wide.

"Sorry, I thought I was supposed to meet you downstairs,"

Kai, leaning a shoulder against the door frame with his arms cross, looks at me over the rim of sunglasses. Pushing off, he follows me into the apartment, tucking the sunglasses into his shirt pocket.

I close the door behind him. "At least you're not the type to wear your glasses indoors," I sigh, "I can cross that off the questionnaire. Speaking of which,"

When he lifts his eyebrows questioningly, I only return the look. He knows what I'm asking. He huffs a single laugh, taking a piece of paper folded several times out of his pants pocket and throwing it on my kitchen counter.

Walking over, I swipe it from the counter and unfold it. I'm not sure what I expected, but I know I shouldn't be surprised by the haphazardly scribbled answers or that most of them are ten words or less.

"You put your cheap stuff out,"

I glance up from the paper as he roams around my living room. "Yeah, made it more me. You know, I sent you over 50 questions,"

"What's the point of filling it out when you're just going to want to discuss them in detail anyway?"

I shrug, folding it back up and putting it in my purse. "If you don't want to be prepared, suit yourself, I guess,"

He shoulders the bag containing my toiletries and extends the handle for my suitcase. "You ready?"

"I can take that," I rush forward.

Kai brushes by me. "What kind of man would I be if I let you carry your own bags?"

My insides hum, sending blood rushing to my cheeks. I grab my purse and head out after him, my door locking automatically behind us. When we get to the lobby, I head towards the parking garage but he takes the path to the front valet.

Irritation sparks within me. I specifically said just the two of us, no Spencer. I guess it was too much to ask for. But it's only the first hour of a four-day weekend – too soon to start a fight, so I keep my mouth shut. Strike one, I think instead.

Outside, I expect to see the black sedan that Spencer drives. Instead, Kai opens the trunk of a shiny dark blue convertible coup. Once my bags are tucked away, he circles back around to open the door for me. The interior is soft white leather and the dashboard is basic. No fancy computer screens here.

"How many cars do you have?" I ask when he gets in the driver's seat.

"Funny, I didn't see that on your list of questions,"

I glare at him but it has no fire behind it.

"I figured I can have some fun this weekend too," he continues, putting his glasses back on. "It's a loan,"

The reason for the car and what he means by 'fun' is lost on me until he gets to the open road and revs the engine. The quick acceleration presses me against the seat. It's scary and incredibly thrilling at the same time. My hair is impossible to manage, flying in every direction. Tucking it behind my ear – and failing as it flies free seconds later – I look over at Kai to see him smiling, hands on the wheel. He shifts the car manually, increasing our speed. At the same time, his smile grows. Now, we're soaring down the highway. This early on a Friday morning, the roads aren't crowded and Kai's free to go as fast as he wants.

"Who taught you to drive?" I shout over the wind.

Kai spares me half a glance, keeping his eyes on the road. "What?"

I repeat my question, making sure to say each word slower and louder than the last time.

"I taught myself,"

I roll my eyes. "Of course," I mutter to my door.

The car starts to slow and Kai moves the car to the shoulder of the road. We're literally in the middle of nowhere, so unless Kai's brought me out here to kill and bury me, we're not at our destination.

"What's wrong?" I ask, looking around

"Nothing," Kai answers. He presses a button to bring the top up, giving us shade. Then he rolls up both windows and turns the air on to keep us cool under the late summer sun. Merging with traffic, he gains speed by the second. It's quieter this time around, the sound pollution of the road blocked out by the adjustments. "What was your question?" He says once we're eating up the road again.

I look at him, daring him to treat me like I'm stupid. "You were in London, far from your family when became old enough to legally drive. Who taught you?"

"I did teach myself," he replies, "mostly,"

"Mostly?"

"Rick was sitting front seat. Nearly died a few times, as he tells it,"

"Rick taught you?" I laugh.

Kai holds up a finger. "He gave me a few pointers for manual, that's it. The rest, I learned on my own,"

I shake my head at his ridiculousness. "You didn't meet Rick until you were attending university, right? Is that when you got your license?"

I see his eyebrows lower, indicating a narrowing of his eyes. "How'd you know that?"

"Research, of course,"

Kai's lips twitch up. "Why don't you ask the question you really want to know,"

I try not to smile at how well he gets me. "How did you meet Rick?" I ask instead.

"I met Rick my first year at uni. I started going to the gym at night to deal with..." Kai trails off.

"Stress?"

"Why would you assume I was stressed?"

"Why so offended?" I retort. "You were seventeen, getting a jump start on what was predicted to be a very big career, with your grandfather constantly looking over your shoulder. Not to mention, college is stressful for most,"

He sighs, ignoring my very valid reasoning and carrying on, "I was going to the gym at night, sometimes late. And one night I got dragged into an alley,"

"By Rick?"

"No," Kai scoffs, "There was three or four of them. My guess is they knew who I was and knew I'd have money on me. Rick stopped them."

"He saved you,"

"And he made me pay him a hundred dollars afterward, and then told me if I ever found myself in the same situation again, he'd leave me to them,"

I laugh. Loud belly laughs that leave me gripping my side. It takes me a minute to calm down, but by then I'm wiping my tears. "What then?"

"Then I did a background check and found that he had a sports scholarship to the but lost it. He was close to getting kicked out of school. I offered to pay his tuition if he continued looking out for me,"

"You wanted a bodyguard even at that age?"

"I knew they weren't the last people who were going to try to take advantage of me. I wanted to be able to focus without needing to watch my own back. So, I hired someone to watch my back for me; easy solution,"

"He's still here," I say. "If this was just a college arrangement, I think he's a bit overdue for an exit interview,"

"When I graduated, my grandfather wanted me to have a bodyguard. A professional. But I -"

"You wanted someone you could trust," I finish for him, remembering the words he said to me when we first discussed our arrangement. "I'm sensing a theme here,"

He nods, gripping the steering wheel tighter for a moment before relaxing. "I asked Rick to stay on with me. He agreed. Here we are."

"Here we are," I repeat, nodding. It was nice to finally know their history. At least a little bit of it. I can see why Rick is so protective of Kai. They stepped up for each other.

"Let me guess," Kai says after a minute of silence, "you want to know about Rei and Spencer next,"

"Eventually. And Yuriy and Max and Julia and Raul," I say. "That's the point, Kai. I want to know about you. At least the basics."

"You know the basics,"

"A week ago I thought your parents were dead," I remind him, "I need to know more."

"Did you ever explain it to your parents?"

"I called," I say, thinking back to the conversation and how nervous I was to even pick up the phone. I was a mess, my leg bouncing under me as I waited for it to ring. Thankfully, it was Dad who picked up. He asked fewer questions than Mom would have. "I said I had misspoke because I was distracted by the blanket, and that your parents are alive but the relationship is strained. What did you do with my blanket, by the way?"

"I put it in your room after you left,"

The way he says 'your room' as if it belongs to me. As if I have a place in his life beyond just this, makes me feel bright inside. I know it's just temporary and he doesn't mean anything by it, but that doesn't stop my heart from thumping.

We drive for a few more hours, stopping only for gas and a bathroom break. I pick up chips and candy while Kai balances it out by by grabbing water for us. I catch him by the fridge, door open, checking his phone. I know he's probably working but decide not to push it because, in all other ways, he's being cooperative. He's being nice, actually. Though, Kai still won't tell me where we're going. As we drive, I ask some of the lighter questions from my list (e.g: what was your favorite subject in school? Answer: Anything he didn't have to write a report for. Me: So, like math? Kai: Usually. Any pets growing up? Answer: One family dog, Hana. She lived with his parents and he hasn't a pet since. Me: Hana. Like the email you gave me. Kai: Yes.).

Before I know it, we were pulling into a small oceanside town. I roll down the window, the salty breeze hitting my face. Still early afternoon, the water glitters in the sun. My eyes can barely take it all in. We drive farther into town, getting closer to the water until we're pulling into the driveway of a beachfront house. I open the door, stepping out to a gravel pathway that leads to wooden steps that I practically run up. Kai walks up after me, taking a single step at a time, hands in his pockets. He doesn't look nearly as impressed as he should. This house, this beach, the water, it's gorgeous, no matter how many times he's probably seen it.

The stairs connect to a wraparound deck. The wood planks squeak underfoot as I follow it around to the beachside, leaning over the smooth wooden rails to get a better view.

"What is this place?"

"Family vacation home," Kai answers, "Figured you'd like the location and it's private enough for whatever it is you want to get into,"

"Another Hiwatari property," I say. I'm not as annoyed by it as I let on. That's just the way it is with the wealthy: homes everywhere.

"Actually, this belongs to my mother. She and her sister bought it together. No connection to the Hiwatari's,"

I spin to look at him. His eyes are on the waves and I can't help but notice his relaxed stance – so different than what I've seen of him lately. It confused me as to why he would bring me out here, to his parent's house, when he doesn't even talk to them.

Watching him, though, I think maybe this was more for him than for me.

Whew! What a chapter. I had a blast writing it and I hope you guys enjoyed it. I know many of you have been dying for more Kai. Well, here it is! Seriously, I want to give a very big thank you to all of you - both readers and reviewers. The response to this story has been unbelievable and encouraging. All of the reviews are a light in my day and I'm so excited when someone tells me their thoughts on what's happening. Any thoughts at all. As for the readers, I'm sure many of you are aware, but there's a stats page that lets us know the number of hits a story/chapter gets. I love seeing how that number has increased over time. Even if you're a silent reader, I really appreciate you.

Next chapter is planned for Wednesday 05/12 PST. Thanks for your time and take care - Konix