Chapter7:Lunch with the Devil
981 Words
Aria Betty Taylor had officially made a mistake.
A massive one.
Because somehow—
Against every intelligent thought in her brain—
She was currently sitting across from Kael Verrano inside one of the most expensive restaurants in Manhattan.
The place did not even have menus with prices.
Which honestly felt deeply disrespectful to poor people.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city skyline while soft piano music floated through the air. Everything inside the restaurant glowed with quiet luxury.
Crystal glasses.
Black marble tables.
Employees who probably judged people professionally.
Aria stared down at the tiny artistic food arrangement placed before her.
“…This is a side dish, right?”
Kael glanced up from his coffee.
“It’s pasta.”
“There are four noodles.”
“It’s handmade.”
“That does not increase the noodle population.”
For the third time today—
Kael almost smiled.
The waiter nearby looked emotionally exhausted already.
Aria leaned back slightly in her chair.
“You know, for rich people, you all eat surprisingly little.”
“We prefer quality.”
“I prefer survival.”
“You mention survival often.”
Because survival was all she knew.
But instead of answering honestly, Aria twirled one noodle dramatically around her fork.
“Well if I die after eating microscopic pasta portions, tell the newspapers I fought bravely.”
Kael watched her quietly.
There it was again.
That look.
Like he was trying to memorize her.
It unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
Finally, she lowered her fork.
“Okay,” she said carefully. “You’re doing the weird stare thing again.”
Kael took a slow sip of coffee.
“What weird stare thing?”
“The one where you look at me like you lost something years ago and think I might’ve stolen it.”
Silence.
The air shifted instantly.
Aria immediately noticed it.
Oops.
Because somehow…
She had guessed correctly.
Kael set his cup down slowly.
“You analyze too much.”
“And you avoid questions professionally.”
A faint spark of tension settled between them.
Not bad tension.
Sharp tension.
The kind that pulled people closer instead of apart.
Kael leaned back slightly in his chair.
“What do you want from life, Aria Taylor?”
The question surprised her.
Mostly because nobody ever asked.
People usually asked:
How are the bills?
How’s your grandmother?
Did you finish work?
Not:
What do you want?
Aria looked out the restaurant windows quietly.
The city stretched endlessly below them.
Beautiful.
Cruel.
Hungry.
“I want peace,” she admitted softly.
Kael’s gaze sharpened.
“Peace?”
“I’m tired.”
The honesty slipped out before she could stop it.
“I’m tired of worrying about money. Tired of hospitals. Tired of pretending everything’s okay all the time.”
The vulnerability in her voice made something dark flicker behind Kael’s expression.
“Why medicine?” he asked quietly.
Aria smiled faintly.
“Because people die when nobody fights for them.”
The answer hit him harder than she realized.
Because suddenly Kael looked away first.
Interesting.
“You speak like someone older than twenty-four.”
“I’ve had bills since I was eighteen. That ages people quickly.”
A soft silence followed.
Not awkward.
Heavy.
Then unexpectedly—
Kael spoke again.
“You saved me once before.”
Aria froze.
“What?”
His dark eyes lifted toward hers slowly.
“Years ago.”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
No.
Impossible.
“I would remember meeting you.”
“You were sixteen.”
Aria frowned immediately.
“I was working two jobs at sixteen.”
“You found me unconscious near the Han River during a business trip to Seoul.”
The words hit her like lightning.
And suddenly—
A memory surfaced.
Rain.
Cold air.
A teenage boy bleeding near the riverbank.
A silver lighter beside his hand.
Dark empty eyes.
Aria’s breath caught.
“…That was you?”
Kael held her gaze silently.
Oh my God.
Her mind reeled instantly.
That boy had looked completely broken back then.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like someone who no longer cared whether he lived or died.
Aria remembered staying beside him until help arrived because she was afraid leaving him alone would kill him.
“You disappeared before I woke up,” Kael said quietly.
“I had work.”
A strange expression crossed his face.
Like that answer affected him deeply for reasons she did not understand.
“I looked for you.”
Aria blinked.
“…Why?”
“You saved my life.”
“No,” she corrected softly. “I sat beside you.”
“That was enough.”
Silence wrapped around the table completely now.
Even the city outside felt quieter somehow.
Aria suddenly understood why Kael kept staring at her like memory itself hurt him.
Because while she forgot that night…
He never did.
The realization made something warm twist unexpectedly in her chest.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Before she could speak again, Kael’s phone buzzed sharply against the table.
His expression darkened immediately after reading the screen.
Business face again.
Cold.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
“What happened?” Aria asked instinctively.
Kael stood slowly.
“My company found someone accessing sealed records.”
Aria frowned.
“What kind of records?”
His eyes met hers carefully.
“…Yours.”
The warmth inside her chest vanished instantly.
“What?”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“Someone’s been altering information connected to the Taylor family.”
The world around Aria seemed to pause.
Because suddenly—
Every buried fear she carried about her uncle came rushing violently back.
Kael noticed immediately.
“Aria.”
“My uncle,” she whispered. “It’s him.”
Fear crawled slowly down her spine.
Because if someone was still hiding the truth after all these years…
Then maybe her family’s destruction had never been an accident at all.
- Writer
