A week after Mai's return to the tower, Geese finally his schedule light enough to pay her a visit. The coalition was long since gone so he could use his recourses to build a revenge plot against Wolfgang. The thought of seeing that bastard dead and buried was almost intoxicating. But Geese would have put a lid on his bloodthirst as he pushed the door open.

A few feet away from the bed, Matilda, the nurse stood with Mai, practicing chest stretching and breathing exercises, possibly as a result of the broken ribs. After the rehabilitation, Mai was allowed to sit on the bed and rest for a moment while the nurse turned around to shut off the calm music playing from a radio in the background. She tipped her head upwards and spotted Geese about to come closer when she hurried over to him and directed him to leave the room entirely.

"Sorry, but she doesn't want to see you, sir. Asked me to turn you away every time you'd come," Matilda explained, scratching her slightly fuzzy chin. She didn't cower at the death stare that came involuntarily from Geese and it was that trait which he initially admired.

Yet now, his hands balled into fists and his entire body grew tense.

"Why?" he asked, instead of cussing this peon out for denying him access. For a moment, he considered reminding the nurse that it was Geese and not Mai who hired her. Thus, it was from him that her paycheck would come.

"I don't know why but she's very angry with you," she shrugged.

Geese was not surprised to hear that but nevertheless stood fuming. The nurse continued to scratch her chin, trying to offer an amending smile but the glare from him quickly squashed her attempts. If he didn't care for Mai, he wouldn't give a shit about what the nurse said but because he had a heart, he had to admit defeat and left the corridor without a single word.

For the first time in a very long time, Geese felt genuinely unaware of what to do next.

He had felt doubt before, but he always had a plan to circumvent it. He came out on top and the times where he didn't, he'd find a way to try again. This time, things were different. Far more delicate than anything he had dealt with before. He never had the chance to enter into any arguments with Marie before she relapsed and fell terminally ill. She was never angry with him in the letters, but he remembered seeing faint traces of tears on the paper.

Geese could perfectly handle angry women, however. Women with whom he was trying to reconnect required something different, though he wasn't entirely aware of what that would be. Especially not if one specific woman didn't even want to see him. Down the corridor, Billy and Joe came from the other direction, in a full discussion about something or another.

In their hands were bouquets.

Vibrantly colored blossoms that probably had some sort of meaning. Geese recalled Mai had mentioned the Hanakotoba or plant symbolism at some point during their dinner dates. Whenever she picked flowers for any occasion, she liked to pick the ones that had meanings above those which ones looked good – except the times when she didn't. She had at one point said that she liked the wolfsbane for its strong violet color, even if the flower had a wholly negative meaning.

The young men passed Geese with Billy about to do a greeting when he stopped, paling at the sullen, possibly frighting expression on his face. The same level of panic was mirrored in Joe's eyes, and they scurried past Geese without a word. They were gone so quickly that he didn't have much time to mull over the oddness of a Bogard ally not invading the tower to pick a fight.

However, their appearance did bring an idea into Geese's head as he headed to the elevator and toward his office. There was still an hour or so before the investor's meeting and so that left him with time to do some research. He hated to be so maudlin and corny, but he figured it was a good start to enter Mai's good graces while he looked at what different flowers meant.

The distance from being denied access to Mai still lingered and there was a part of Geese that began to wonder if he should just leave her alone. But that wouldn't do much good either. At this stage, Mai probably looked at him as being the root of her current woes even if logically, neither of them was at fault.

Didn't stop Geese from getting his stomach tied into knots in guilt, however.

After concluding which flower would be best for this sudden, impulsive plan, Geese called for Hein and sat back in his chair while he waited. Behind him, the blazing sun beamed through the window. At this time of year, it was far from hot, but the sunlight seemed particularly sharp today.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door before it opened and Hein stepped in, bowing as he entered. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with the gleam from the sun hiding his eyes. "You called me, sir?"

"Hein, are you aware of plant symbolism?"

"Yes?" the good butler seemed more bemused over the question but didn't press it any further.

"Good. Send Mai a bouquet of purple hyacinths but don't say it was from me or she'll burn it. I'll leave it up to you to find a suitable excuse," Geese folded his arms over his chest, aware that everyone and their mother here had been sending gifts and flowers to Mai because the news of her being injured spread like wildfire.

Hein was aware of this as his lips thinned for a moment like the technicality of this task just dawned upon him. As soon as he had bottled up his emotions, he bowed again. "Consider it done, sir."

That same evening, Geese was intercepted by Matilda while he was about to call it a day. It would seem the purple hyacinth stunt worked as Mai had finally agreed to let him visit her. He had to take a deep breath to control the anticipation before he opened the door and entered. Instantly a tense atmosphere filled the room as the door closed behind him.

From where Geese stood, he could see Mai's silhouette in the dark, watching the starry sky above the glowing city. It was concerning that she didn't turn around to look at him, not even as he came closer, standing by the foot of the bed. In the dim light, she looked healthier like she had been recovering without any complications.

No longer was an IV drop or nasal cannula attached to her and the bruises were fading. All looked well. More concerning were the bags which sat on the bed and the petals of purple hyacinth on the balcony. She hadn't burned them; she threw them over the railing.

"I'm planning on leaving the city," Mai said after a long pause. She continued to stare at the skyscrapers outside while the shock from that announcement settled, heavy and uncomfortable.

Geese was quiet for a moment, swallowing a bit to keep himself grounded before he pressed the issue further. "Why?"

"Because I'm not a tool."

"I don't think anyone here thinks of you like that."

"The marks on my body tell a different story," she scoffed. "By the way, I didn't want to leave the hospital."

"I brought you here because you'd be safer," Geese took a step closer to her, then stopped when she almost cringed like he was an active repellent.

"You say that – while sending me to your brother's dungeon," Mai spoke softly yet the sharp bitterness in her voice was clear.

"So he told you…" Geese mused, aware that it was a fuck-up on his part.

On a purely emotional level, he had no siblings and he never thought of Wolfgang as a brother, regardless of what biology said. To him, Wolfgang was nothing more than an uneasy ally and occasional adversary. He simply never thought to disclose his entire family history to Mai, yet he should have realized that Wolfgang would do exactly the opposite in an effort to get to him – or Mai.

"Because someone didn't. I can't trust you at all, can I?" she furled where she said, burying her head between her knees.

Careful how you thread, Geese had to remind himself. His pride almost threatened to say something regrettable but he forced himself silent for a moment before he answered. "You can but-"

"No buts. I can or I can't. But I already know the answer to that if you didn't disclose that to me or the fact that he's a violent, chauvinistic monster," Mai interrupted him, her head still buried in her knees.

Against his better judgment, Geese let his pride take over for a moment as he spoke, immediately regretting the words that came out of his mouth. "Here's a better question, Mai. Why wait until you got beaten black and blue?"

Only then did she look at him and Geese wasn't sure if he liked the glare, she gave him. It was as scorching as the flames she could produce. "Don't even go there! Why did you agree to put me there? Why didn't you tell me he was capable of such madness?"

She looked like she was about to jump off the bed and claw his eyes out. Yet Geese withstood it, hoping his temper wouldn't get the better of him. He asked, calmer than he felt. "Do you think I'd done that if I knew what he'd be doing?"

"…I'm beginning to think that indeed you would. It occurred to me that I can't trust a single word that comes from you. Lying by omission is fucked up but it doesn't matter if you can keep your beloved city, right?" Mai spat, her voice turning brittle as she turned to stare at the window again.

The futility of this conversation began to take a toll on Geese's mood. His hands clenched and his lips had formed a thin line as if he had to seal his mouth from spitting curses. If Wolfgang's other objective was to thoroughly corrode Geese's relationship with Mai, he had done quite a bit of damage already.

"You agreed to go. Said it was for the greater good. But I'm not here to play the blame game like some child. I'm just pointing out the obvious," Geese pointed out, then realized that he was more or less blaming her for what had happened. And remembering that he didn't know what had exactly happened.

"Yes. I agreed to go. I did it because I loved you. I didn't agree to this," Mai pulled up the edge of her shirt to reveal the faintest of burn scars.

In the glow of the city, Geese could see the opaque shape of a W edged into her skin. As she pulled her shirt down, fear momentarily flashed in her eyes and Geese figured it was perhaps because a layer of darkness crept upon his face upon seeing the scar. He felt it too; fury boiling in the pit of his stomach, drawing from his own animalistic wrath. It occurred to him that his fists had begun shaking, and he possibly looked ready to murder someone. Mai's point about lack of care probably didn't hold much water now but she didn't look like she was in any mood to recant.

"You know, there was a real chance that I might have been pulled back by Wolfgang or Big after I escaped, running around some barren road dressed only in my underwear. You are lucky that I'm here, chewing you out. But my feelings don't matter, do they? Of course not, as long as you got your kingdom," Mai jeered, wincing when she twisted her torso the wrong way. She never raised her voice, not even once yet the barely controlled rage was white hot, powerful enough to burn down an entire city.

Ignoring the fact that she just mentioned Big by name, which instantly piqued Geese's curiosity, he pushed that aside to fix his shattered relationship with her first.

"Mai-"

"I'm done! I am done with this city and tower and everything! So stupid of me to think you actually cared! I hope you got what you wanted because I'm leaving!" she jumped from the bed, gritting her teeth before she grabbed her bags and put them over her shoulder. Without looking at him for her, she marched past him, ignoring the pain she was obviously in.

"Mai," Geese tried again, somewhat sternly but nevertheless calmer than he actually felt. His shoulders slumped in relief when she stopped dead in her tracks. It was a start and possibly the last chance he had to undo the damage done by Wolfgang. He took a deep breath through his nose before he continued, "Would you at least give me the chance to explain myself before you go?"

"Why? I can't trust you," Mai answered, her voice quivering. Her head tipped a bit and her arm rubbed over her eyes.

"Yes, you can. I have no explanation for not informing you fully of Wolfgang's relationship with me. I wasn't keen on you going either. You said it was for the greater good and I wanted to believe that. I wouldn't if I'd known it came down to this. I would not if I knew he'd put his hands on you," Geese explained himself, honestly as he could. He took the liberty of coming closer to her but still too far away from him to touch her.

"How come? He's your brother," Mai said, still holding on to her previous coldness.

"The fact that we're standing here and discussing this, should tell you how close that brotherly bond is," Geese said as he came closer to her, now standing directly behind Mai. Her soft hair hung down her back and he resisted the urge to brush it aside and kiss her neck, just to soothe the abuse hurled at her by men far below her. "Suffice to say, we both got bamboozled and I do not like getting tricked-"

Silence filled the room, partly broken by a deep sigh from Mai. The bags dropped to the floor and she tugged her wounded arm closer herself, as evidenced by how her shoulders pulled upwards. The heavy thud was almost like music for Geese's ears, a sign that he had done something right. He didn't know if that was grounds for Mai forgiving him but at least, she wasn't seconds away from storming out of his life.

"What would happen if there's another situation like this or if someone wants me to be alone with them?" she asked, putting a hand over her neck to brush the hair away herself, exposing her fair skin. At this stage, Geese found it challenging to resist, so he didn't, grabbing Mai by the shoulders and pulling her close. Her wrapped his arms around her as if she could vanish out of his life at any moment.

"Under no circumstances will I let anyone have you. I made you a promise to kill whoever harmed you and I intend to keep that," he said with no emotion whatsoever, in an effort not to snarl at the thought of those who dared to touch her.

In his arms, Mai began shaking, almost curling into herself. As she spoke, her voice turned grainy and brittle. "Crap, I can't figure out how much you care about me."

"Quite a lot. Enough for me to eat my own pride and ask Wolfgang exactly where you were. He fed me a bunch of bullshit about how happy you were with him and so I took matters into my hands to find you. He kept his end of the bargain and if I didn't care, I wouldn't be standing here, consumed by longing for you," Geese tightened his grip around her, pressing her slender body against his chest, and buried his face into her soft hair. He had to loosen up a bit when she winced.

Mai felt good in his arms; soft to the touch, delicate. Almost mind-numbingly wonderful. It felt like ages since Geese had the honor of holding her like this. It was almost intoxicating but perfect all the same. Like a jigsaw piece that brought a puzzle to completion. She was his greatest source of strength and his biggest weakness. God only knew what she'd do with that knowledge.

"I hate being so sentimental, but you bring that out of me. A testament to your value," Geese continued.

"Do you love me?" Mai asked, squirming until she turned around, still pressed against his chest. In the darkness, Geese could only scantly see her face and her eyes were like two obsidians.

"I do," he said without a moment's hesitation.

There was a short pause from Mai before she responded with; "Say it then."

A dare, it was. Almost if she wanted to test how far the affection he held for her reached. And he'd gladly provide if it meant keeping Mai by his side. However…it had been many years since Geese had professed his love for anyone and meant it. Back then, it had been on his wedding night with his wife.

He could easily pretend to care for other women and give them a sugary but brief confession. Such fakeness didn't work when actual emotions were involved. So to preface this, he kissed Mai as if his life depended on it and helped ease Geese into it. It helped that she reciprocated after a few stunned moments.

"I do love you, Mai," he said, his heart doing a flip in a way he wasn't all that prepared for.

"And you won't send me away again, will you?"

"No. Though I'll take you with me to Taipei. I promised you a trip after all."

At these words, Mai broke into sobs, which changed into ached laughter and she nearly crumpled to the floor. Geese managed to catch her and lower her to sit down yet she began clawing at the lapel of his suit, sticking onto him like tape. She pressed her face against his chest, and he found it appropriate to pick her up and carry her to the bed.

"I want to believe you can do better," Mai whispered once she felt the mattress under her. Only then did she let go and Geese got a better view of her face. Her eyes were puffy and red like the color of her nails, and she looked so worryingly tired. Yet, she was smiling, and her tone now was soft and warm. Inviting almost. "When you convince me, I'll forgive you."

"Duly noted," Geese cupped her face and rubbed away any tears rolling from her eyes as they fell to a close. The blush on her face brought this conversation, this fateful encounter rather, to a testing but peaceful end.