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AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Hey guys! So this is our regularly scheduled Monday post. I apologize in advance cause this one is quite angsty. I know it's not what you wanted to read but it opens up the door to some very funny chapters which will be coming up quite soon. Starting on Wednesday actually. So hopefully you guys are okay with one chapter of all angst and I promise the funny cute chapters will return in the next update. Don't forget to leave me a review! All my regulars are back (AJ, AlexLover, Gajeel-rocks and countryheart I'm looking at you), so tell me what you'd like to read for the 200th chapter update, we can either do Rowan and Steve's first night as a married couple (it'll be all steamy cause it's all smut) or Steve rushing to the birth of one of his children (that one will be mostly comedy). And I'll see you guys on Wednesday.

Chapter 173

Rowan shut the door to the house, happy to see Steven still home and not at work like she was worried he might be. The second she got close enough to him she jumped into his arms. Kissing him solidly on the lips and letting him groan into her. It had been hard going from having him all the time to both of them going back to work. She missed being able to pull him down for kisses at any moment and she knew that he missed it too.

She smiled up at him as she pulled away, being sure to pepper him with kisses all over, his neck, his jaw, everywhere. This would be a hard conversation to have with him, but today, today she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Do you know what today is?"

"It's February 21st," he answered absently, one of his hands had sunk into her hair so he could tip her head back to get at her neck, he too was pressing kisses all over her focusing mainly on her neck, specifically behind her ear as that was her soft spot. She knew Nahele wouldn't be home from school for a few more hours, he no doubt was expecting sex, he'd get it… you know, if he answered correctly. "Why?"

"Well… I don't know if you know this, but uh… we started doing that unofficial-official thing nine months ago. Well nine months and fourteen days. And I thought, since I suck at remembering dates, and you owe me a better Valentine's Day present, that maybe we might want to make this, us, thing official, today. Cause I'll remember our anniversary if it's a month after my birthday… you know?"

Steve stared at her, the hand that had been in her hair fell away and the hand he had to her him carefully pushed her away until her arms fell away from his neck and she knew then how that conversation was going to go.

"Rowan… come on, I've asked you to be patient…" he whispered. "Bringing it up once a month isn't you being patient."

For a second the two of them stared at one another, he seemed to sense that this was going to end badly for him, he seemed to sense that this was going to blow up in his face because he lowered his eyes and tried for romance.

"You know I care, you know I have very… deep feelings for you…" "You can't even tell me what those feelings are…" "… Rowan I'm just not ready for labels. I just… I don't think that it's necessary, okay? I don't. I'm committed to you, you're committed to me, we're both very committed to raising Nahele, so you know… what more do we need?"

"The label, Steven!" Rowan suddenly thundered and sighed again. "Steven, that's what I need. I want to be your girlfriend, not in this unofficial capacity you have me in. if I'm going to do all the work I should get the goddamn label!"

"Okay, now you're just being unreasonable…"

"Okay, you know what, enough of this," Rowan snapped and Steve's confident smirk fell off his face. "Steven, this is ridiculous. It's a word, a single word. Why can't I have it, and don't give me that I'm not ready shit because it's been over nine, almost ten months, that is just two months shy of a year. We live together. We're practically raising a goddamn child together. You're ready, you're just being stubborn. And it's killing me cause you gave it to Catherine… why are I… why aren't I good enough?"

Steve sighed opened his mouth to argue but Rowan lifted a hand to silence him.

"Steven, I'm done being patient with you. If you don't give me that label…"

"You'll what? Leave me?" he asked letting that anger take him over because it was better than the fear that she'd actually do it. Anger would save him and his pride, cause if his fear got a hold of him he'd just cave to her unreasonable demanded.

"What? No! Is that what you want me to say?"

"No!" Steve spat back already relaxing but not showing it visibly.

"Good," she said. "Now as I was saying. I'm not going to sleep with you until I get that label."

What? So what, she was going withhold a goodnight's sleep from him? Have him sleep deprived and weak? "You know I don't sleep right when I'm not with you and what are you going to do? Sleep on the couch?"

"Sex, Steve, I'm talking about sex!" Rowan cried and finally Steve understood. Yeah, that was worse.

"Oh, is that all?" he asked. "Well I mean… you can, but we both know you'll cave first…"

"Oh will I? Really, when anything sets you off?" she asked.

Steven shook his head, naw, that wasn't true. "No, I'll be okay. A fucking color sets you off, obviously this is going to backfire in your face."

"Oh is it? Is it Steven McGarrett?"

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. No, she was right. She was definitely right. Steve stood there trying to reel in that desire to cross to her and pin her against his fridge and she sashayed past him making sure her butt was swaying in those fucking black leggings he liked so much. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

A hand darted out and grabbed her before he could stop himself. "This is a dangerous game you're playing," he warned her.

She got up on her tippy toes, her lips millimetres from his, one kiss, one kiss and he'd be lost to her and she to him. Fully and completely. One kiss and she'd forget this stupid ultimatum.

"Just give me my label and all your suffering ends," she whispered back pressing herself against the length of him, taking stock of his hardness and stealing the breath from his very lungs.

The fact that she had just accidentally quoted her brother from that basement he had tortured Steve in was his saving grace. It gave him the strength to say: "No." is a harsh growl between grit teeth.

And just like that Rowan wasn't against him anymore, but instead walking away. Steve had been so pressed into her that feeling her separating from him had left him off balanced and unready, it also filled him with a terrible coldness and a longing he had a feeling he'd be drowning in from now on.

"Then, from now on, you're soloing… Steven McGarrett."

She paired that utterance of his name with a lip bite, and he nearly tackled her right then and there. As he watched her sashay her way up the stairs and away from him, Steve groaned. God the next few days were going to be hard.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Wo liked Jian. Wo liked Jian a lot. She didn't ask him hard questions, he didn't insistently bother him about Rowan and how she was doing or whether or not she had forgiven him. She didn't ask why he was monitoring her safety if he was supposed to be done with her and the girl wasn't talking to him. She didn't ask about his childhood or his past. She didn't care about what he did for a living, she didn't care that half his body was riddled with scars. It always surprised him when he realized or remembered that Jian Hui liked him, all of him, his past, his scars, his inability to show emotion correctly, she just liked it all.

Or she hadn't told him how annoyed she was.

They had actual fun. All that time spent with Rowan had paid off. Turned out everything Rowan liked to do was considered prime date night material. So he was okay with cuddling as they watched movies he thought was stupid, though Jian loved horror movies which were infinitely better then the sing along Rowan used to make him watch. Especially because he didn't think they were scary, but she'd curl into his side and hide her face in him when she got scared and he got to drape arm around her shoulders and hold her close like he was protecting her from the on-screen terror. He knew all about long strolls holding hands, and sharing ice creams. He knew all about romantic gestures, though he got that mostly from watching Steven make up to Rowan literally all the time.

He found that, the more time he spent with her, the more time he spent learning about her, like how she liked cheese burgers but hated plain cheese, or how when she was nervous she would tuck her hair behind her ears repeatedly. Like how her smiles were small and austere, and he only saw the large smiles that bared her teeth when she thought he wasn't looking. She played at acting serious, shoulders back, head held high, chin up, it was her armour. That way no one could see the damage she was hiding, the desperate desire to win her parents respect and love.

She was patient when emotions confused him, or when he missed the point of something. She was quick to ask him what he meant, learning that he sometimes just didn't understand what he had said wrong. She spent a lot of time explaining her reasoning's behind her emotions as he understood better when she did. He didn't even mind when she'd say that she knew what she was feeling was unreasonable, because girls were like that. She was fine when he'd ask her what she wanted him to do, because she knew that he'd do what she wanted without question until she specified otherwise.

But what was most surprised was that, for the first time in his life, Wo Fat was actually trying, very, very hard to be a good boyfriend. It was strange, and he blamed Rowan. Rowan who taught him that cracks and all he was still worthy of love. Rowan who had showed him, slowly, piece by piece how to care for someone, how to love someone and not expect anything back.

Like with Rowan, he had catalogued the things that made Jian happy so he could surprise her with them. Unlike Rowan, it was sometimes hard for him to tell when Jian needed those little surprises to make her happy. But also, unlike Rowan, Jian's emotions weren't as complicated. She was happy, she was sad, she was angry, and even though he might have deserved it, she never, ever, told him to leave.

Because he like Jian so much, they were spending more and more time together. After the Hawaii trip, they spent more over night time between their two places then they did apart. But not even the strangeness of domesticated life had chased him away yet. He liked sharing a bathroom sink with her, knocking elbows accidentally or sometimes purposely during morning or evening routines. He liked coming home to her, wine glass in hand, ready to take him by the tie and help him strip into something more casual. And she seemed to like coming home to him, with wine glass ready to offer her, food already cooking, and in her favourite grey sweater and blue jean combo.

But not even the grey sweater and jeans were saved him during their first big argument. He still wasn't sure why she got so mad. All he did was tell her that he wasn't sure he was ready for such a big step. Moving in with someone, consolidating things, it was something he had never done before, and he was very, desperately worried, that if she lived with him and the good cops came sniffing they'd fry her for association. And for some reason she didn't seem to understand that. She kept saying that it was no different than living with Rowan, but she didn't know that living with Rowan was the two a half months he was holding her hostage and that was something entirely different.

He had been afraid to call her after that argument. He hadn't gone over, and instead waited for her to tell him that she wanted him to come back over, like she usually did. He'd apologize and attempt to explain his positioning again. But after three days where he hadn't heard from her he had decided that he'd just apologize and then agree to move in with her. A surprizing revelation, considering he rarely backed down on anything, but he figured Jian worth it and, like Rowan, she wouldn't shove it in his face.

But they were four days into the silence and he was honestly contemplating just going over to talk to her since she didn't seem to want to call him first.

He decided the best courses of action was two dozen blood red roses and to surprised her at work. But when he got there, it was surrounded by police cars and she was being hauled out. He could think of only two reasons why anyone would try to arrest her. He side business as a mob doctor, or him.

He had Sandy on it, immediately. It was him. They pulled her in to question her about his whereabouts.

Unacceptable.

Instantly Wo Fat had gone to Sato. The man had all the best lawyers in his pocket and he owed him after the Waincroft mix up. He didn't even wait for an appointment he just let himself in. Throwing the roses for Jian into Sato's wife's arms before corning the man in his home office.

"Send a Lawyer to the Osaka-fu Nishi Police Station and get Jian Hui out of questioning."

Sato sat there for a few moments confused. "I know that name… how do I know that…"

"Dr. Hui. She took over for Dr. Ho. They've pulled her in for questioning over…"

"Let me guess you're burgeoning relationship with her," Sato guessed an amused grin on his face. Well, so much for keeping it out of the underworld. "Am I correct?"

"Yes," he replied through grit teeth. "She's quite loyal, Sato and she doesn't like you at all. There are a lot of files in that office of hers, which of your men will she give up to save me do you think?"

Sato just laughed. "Her loyalty to that no-good brother of hers is what drives her, and she knows giving up my men to the police will be a death sentence for him. But I can see that this girl must mean a lot to you for you to be this frantic to get her back."

"Just send a damn lawyer to get her out," he snapped instead of answering him.

"Wow… you're just surrounded by good looking weaknesses… I mean women."

"Very funny," Wo Fat snarled. "I wouldn't be commenting when you parade your weaknesses around your garden in fancy dress."

Sato shot a glance over his shoulder to where his son and daughter were throwing fish food to the koi he had in the pond just out back. He seemed to contemplate them for a moment before turning back to Wo.

"They're children," he said stiffly as if that would change mattered. Wo Fat merely tilted his head.

"When have I ever cared?"

Sato stared at him, his eyes unwavering no doubt judging how serious Wo Fat was. "I took a shank over your misinformed tirade and I calmly allowed that to slide as a simple mistake, so you owe me. You have an hour. If she's not home in an hour, I'm coming back here. And whatever it is I decide to do to them… I'll make you watch."

Wo Fat didn't wait to hear what the man had to say he merely turned around and walked away, making sure that Sato saw him pay attention to his wife before turning an icy dark glare onto him.

He wasn't play games anymore. He needed to protect Jian Hui. From Sato. From the cops. And from him.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Steve slammed the door shut and waited. He got a call from Nahele in welcome, but nothing from Rowan, and she didn't run and jump into his arms either. He hadn't had a Rowan projectile in his arms after coming home in four days and it was bugging him.

Not as much as it was bugging him that they hadn't had sex in four days though.

"Ro!" he shouted trying to establish where in the house she was. But there was no answer. So he tried again. "ROWAN!"

"WHAT?!" came at him from up in his room and he sighed. He pounded up the stairs to his room.

"You said you were making dinner," he snapped as he slipped in. He shut the door and immediately took his shirt off. Rowan could barely keep her hands off his chest, and he had purposely worn jeans as she hated his cargo pants now he just needed her to come out of the washroom so she could be stunned into surprise and cave, cause he wasn't sure how much longer he could take this.

"I did make dinner, I made grilled cheeses, but you came home late, as per usual…"

"I can't control crime on Hawaii, Rowan, we've talked about this."

"We do have a police force, Steven, and you can choose when you come home," she shot back. "If you had bothered to check, which I know you didn't, you would have found yours in the oven, where I put it to keep it warm. Which I usually do when you come home late."

Steve sighed, yeah, true, that was what she usually did. But he didn't want to check where his food was he wanted to see her, he wanted to kiss her and hold her and god he really wanted to fuck her. He wasn't hungry for food he was hungry for her, damn near starving actually.

The door went to open and he got himself in the most natural position he could think off that showed off his biceps, or guns as she called them, which he knew she loved and then smirked waiting for the reaction. But when the door opened that confident smirk fell right off his face.

"Hey there Sailor."

Oh good god what was she wearing?

That white and blue stripped bra had to be two sizes to small the way it was pushing up her breasts like that. The navy blue booty shorts with the gold buttons in all the right places was hugging to her like it was painted on. She had her thumbs hooked onto suspenders that weren't holding anything up so why she had them attached to her booty shorts made no sense. Her blonde hair was in two messy braids, and she was wearing his naval cap up top her head. To complete the look she was in knee high sheer white stockings and Steve had about swallowed his tongue his mouth had been hanging open so long.

"What… what are you…?"

"Well I went to look at the sexy soldier costume you wanted but none of them had the right amount of umph you know? And I saw this one and figured we could play the same sort of fantasies out, right? Just instead of being holed up in a fox hole on a battlefield somewhere, I figured I could be in the brig, and that this big, strong, Lieutenant Commander, was going to teach me a thing or two… maybe give me a few lashes and then teach me about knots?"

She had slid up to him and Steve had been powerless to move. But once her hands pressed to his chest he got that mobility back in all the wrong ways. He crushed her to him instantly, his mouth possessing hers before she could say or do anything to stop him. He had her feet up and off the floor, pivoting her to the bed, but she wouldn't let him put her down, she kneeled stopping him from getting where he wanted.

He knew, he knew if he got her on her back, if he was on top of her doing all sorts of sinful things to her, she'd crack. She'd forget all about this ultimatum she had going and she'd let him back between her legs where he belonged.

She put space between them and the cool air shocked his system. Her fingers threaded into his hair, her mouth trailed liquid fire kisses up his jawline and for a moment he didn't quite understand what she was saying.

"I know you want this, right?"

He did. Oh god he did, so much he did.

"And you can have it, I want you to have it, I want you to fuck me."

A growl escaped his lips, he couldn't help it. God, yes, all he had to do was kiss her and then fuck her and then not stop fucking her until the burning in his veins had all but subsided. No more talking, just instant relief for the both of them.

"All you have to do is give me that label and this is all yours…"

Steve froze. Thank god for the fear because if he didn't have it he'd probably have caved right then and there.

"No."

Rowan's hands fell away from him and he took a step away.

"Aw come, on Steve," she said. "You don't want this?"

"Not for that price, thank you very much," he growled. "It's not worth it."

The second he said it he knew it was a mistake. It was the way her face fell into that mask of utter emotional pain that gave it away. That was a blow he never should have landed, and besides it was a lie. She was worth everything. He was just too afraid to give in.

"I… I'm going to go for a swim," he stuttered, quickly rushing past her to get his trunks and a towel before sprinting from the room before he could do or say anything to make this situation worse.

But swimming didn't clear his head of her, it never did. And the cold ocean water did nothing to cool his heated blood. Fuck that outfit. God what he wanted to do her, the images and fantasies he wanted to play out most of which had her on her knees or on that bed in nothing but his hat and dog tags.

So he wasn't surprised to find that Rowan had followed him out to the beach.

Steve came out of the water to Rowan sitting in her chair on the beach in that grey sweater of his and a pair of jean shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a simple but messy side pony tail. He watched her eyes appreciate him. God how had he forgotten that she loved him sweaty or wet? He was going to have to go for more runs and swims maybe that would crack her more quickly.

She offered him a mug and he just stared at it. "Cocoa? Again?"

"He asked, I couldn't say no," she answered and he nodded.

"He's going to get sick of it, Rowan," he snapped and she just shrugged. Fine. "How's he doing?"

"Good, got an A on his last science test, his math mark's been bumped up to a C minus so the tutor is working and he wants to try out for the football team next year so he wants to go to more football games to learn plays," she said. "That last one will need to be a you thing cause we both know I know nothing about Football and I'm probably gonna fall asleep."

Also true. "If I don't have a case…"

"It wouldn't kill you to make time for him," Rowan said avoiding his eyes. She went for the towel instead, picking it up and then crossing to him, he knew then she was going to help him dry off.

Normally he'd love to that, but he knew he wouldn't be able to resist her if she got too close. But nothing stopped him from putting his hands to her elbows the second she had pressed the towel to his chest.

"I didn't mean it."

Rowan just cocked her head to the side. The fading sunlight was doing things to her face, highlighting every inch of it that he loved. Her cute little button nose, the globes of her cheeks, that pointed but subtle jawline and it was putting sparkles in her blue eyes he had never noticed before. She was more lovely and beautiful than when she was in the sexy sailor suit and she wasn't even trying.

"Then why did you say it?"

"I…"

"You do that a lot. You say hurtful things to me and then say you don't mean them," she said. "But I think… if you didn't mean them, you wouldn't say them. If you didn't meant them, they wouldn't even be in your head."

"That's not… that's not…"

"I think… somewhere in there, you do want me to leave, it why you keep telling me to go," she whispered and his grip tightened. "And I think at some point, you've thought about my worth and what you're willing to give me and decided I'm not up to snuff." She fell quiet for a moment looking away before turning those blue eyes up to him, a single question in her eyes, a question he knew she'd ask. "Why am I not enough Steven?"

But that wasn't it. She was enough. Everything she gave him was more than enough. But he didn't know how to tell her that she had given him everything he had dreamed about. He had a family, her, him and a pretty good kid. She seemed to just accept all his faults and love him regardless and up until this week she had been more than patient with him.

When he didn't answer she sighed. "You gave Catherine the label. Why can't I have it?"

Because I didn't love Catherine the way I love you.

Because Catherine leaving me wouldn't have crippled me the way you leaving me will.

But none of those things were the things that came out of his mouth. "Because Catherine's brother didn't torture me." "I'm not talking to him…" "Catherine's name isn't synonymous with death and destruction. Catherine isn't the head of a dangerous underground network. Catherine…"

Rowan backed away from him. "Catherine isn't a monster, right?"

Steve flinched. No, that wasn't what he wanted her to think but it was too late, Rowan's face had changed. That mask of indifferent anger slipped onto his face to hide the hurt he had dealt her.

"Sleep on the couch," she snapped and then stormed away leaving Steve to dry off by himself.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Getting arrested and carted out in front of her clients and employees had been embarrassing. Having her relationship with Wo Fat questioned was also embarrassing. But she had sat in that precinct, with cops shouting at her about what she knew about him, throwing down pictures of the things he had done, and took it all like a champ.

She had lied through her teeth. Told them she had no idea what he was actually doing, he had only told her that he was in investments and trades. But they hadn't believed her, they meant to crack her and they might have had the lawyer not shown up.

As soon as he was there, the interrogation was done. They stopped asking her questions, a lot of legalities and other loopholes that essentially all added up to the same thing. She was free to go, and they had no choice but to allow her to leave.

It took a while, they had wanted to hold her, of course, but eventually they let her go and she and the lawyer left together. She was put into a car and driven back to her place. She was given the Lawyer's card and told to call him right away the second something like that happened again. There was no mention of payment, or who sent him though Jian could guess who would have sent such an expensive lawyer to her defence.

She climbed the steps, her phone shaking her hand. The shock of the situation finally hitting her. Why couldn't it have waited until after she got home? She was shaking to hard for her to make the call to the one person she wanted to talk to. It made opening her door hard as well, but she finally got it open, shut it behind her and then someone cleared their throats.

Jian looked up to find Wo Fat in the middle of her living room, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up unevenly, his tie loosened but still around his neck, his hair messed up on one side where he must have been fretting it and she just couldn't hold it in anymore. She burst into tears.

Like all other displays of emotion, Jian thought that this might confuse him. He would pause, he'd momentarily think about what he should do, weigh his options and then attempt something. It would be wrong of course and she would correct. But this time, this time she didn't have to correct anything.

There was no pause between her tears falling, her hands covering her face in her embarrassment, and Wo Fat scooping her up in his arms and pressing her to his chest.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I got you."

And he did didn't he? He had got her. Like the hero she knew him to be, he got her out of that precinct, and in his arms where she felt that she belonged.

"I'm so very sorry, Jian, I'm so sorry they did that to you."

"It… it wasn't your fault," she hiccupped into his shirt, belatedly realizing that she must have ruined it. He didn't seem to mind but she knew she was going to buy him a new one to make up for it.

"They arrested you in connection to something I did," he said. "I did my research."

"I didn't tell them anything," she assured him. "I didn't. I promise."

He carefully brushed her hair behind her ear for her. "I know," he whispered before carefully pressing the softest of kisses to her lips. Jian melted into the touch, needing him in that moment to strip her of all her fears and make her feel safe again.

For a long while they just stood there, his hands framing her face, their foreheads bowed together. And then suddenly he was separate from her, his hands slid down to her shoulders, he pushed her away and then he took a step back.

Jian blinked her eyes surprised. She saw something on his face that frightened her and for a moment she wanted to cry all over again just to have him wrap her up in his arms again.

"Obviously, we cannot have that happen again," he said, slowly starting to fiddle with his sleeves, rolling them back down to play with his cuffs.

She thought about his job and what he did and wondered what he could mean by that. "I understand… but… with what you do… are…"

"How much did they brief you on?" he asked suddenly. When he finally looked up to her she found she didn't recognize the man looking at her. She had never seen him look so impassive or unfeeling before.

"Uh… I guess… whatever it was you were working on here," she said. "A lot of… murders… mostly… uhm… some threats of extortion… but mostly dangerous contraband coming through our ports and vanishing into thin air?"

He nodded. "I assume there were pictures?"

"Yes?"

"Unfortunate," he whispered. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

She didn't like how this was going. She didn't like that he wouldn't look at her. She didn't want this to end, she didn't want to lose him. She opened her mouth to tell him that she was okay with what she saw, she knew that what he was doing was less than legal, she knew that guns were involved and that people like him had no problem killing others but he beat her to it.

"I think… I think it might be a good idea if we… take a break."

"A break?"

"Yes. A break," he repeated now working on the other arm fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves. Though the words had pierced her very heart, though Jian was a very proud woman, she found herself taking a step forward to take his hand and fix his cuffs for him. When she was done though, she didn't let go.

"I don't want to Wo," she said softly. He stared at her hands, the two that were gripping his wrist and then looked away, a slight crinkling around his eyes, and watched him swallow down the words that he wanted to say.

"It's for your safety," he told her, still refusing to look at her. "If we continue down this path, if you continue with me this will happen more and more often and I don't want that for you."

"Well I don't care," she snapped. "I don't need you to protect me. I just need you to stay."

Wo Fat turned to her and she saw in his eyes that he had made up his mind. "I want to stay, but the fact of the matter is because of me you got arrested and I just… don't make this any harder alright? It's just a break, I'll be back when things die down."

But she didn't want that. She didn't want him to leave and come back. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms, she wanted to come home to him already there and waiting for her. She wanted to move in with him, she wanted to marry him.

Angry and no longer willing to play nice, Jian dropped her hold on him and scowled. "This is because you don't want to move in with me, isn't it?"

"No, that's not it, Jian… you just got arrested because of me!" he cried but she wasn't listening to him anymore.

She crossed her arms over her chest to guard the heart that was breaking because of him. It would be better, she realized, to end things now instead of having them crash or burn later when it he properly and finally confirmed that he'd never settle down with her. He just wasn't compatible with a domestic life and she was starting to see that he probably never would be.

"There's no point going on a break, it's either you're staying or we're breaking up, that's it. Choose."

He stared at her, his eyes blinking. "That's it?" he echoed. When she just glared at him he lowered his head. "Are you sure that's what you want? To break up?"

That was what he was going to pick? She gave him a choice and that was what he was going to pick?

"No. I want you to pick me, but if you're hell-bent on leaving, don't bother coming back," she growled. His eyes narrowed.

"I am picking you. I'm picking to protect…"

"Just get out, Wo!" she shouted. "Take your self-protecting lies with you."

Wo Fat was always so obedient when it came to her requests, so even though she didn't really want him to, he bowed his head in inclination and walked away. The door shut behind him and once the quiet and the realization of what she had done settled around her the tears started to fall. She never should have fallen for one of her back-door clients.