Defiant Heir (The Heirs 3)

The corner of his mouth lifts. It’s only for a second before the hard lines are back. I lift a hand to his face, and when my fingers touch his jaw, he jerks.

I pause, and it makes him whisper, “Sorry.”

He lifts his left hand and places it over mine, pressing my palm to his jaw.

“Open your eyes,” I whisper.

Kao shakes his head, a pained look tightening his features.

“Please.”

His lashes slowly lift, and I get to see the clear blue I love so much.

“They say they can do a cornea transplant,” he murmurs.

“I heard. That’s good, right?”

It looks like he's caught in a daydream, his eyes not moving at all.

“Yeah,” he mutters, but there’s no conviction in the single word.

I swallow hard as a lump threatens to push up my throat. I wish I had the power to heal him.

“If I focus hard, I can see a million tiny lights… and streaks,” he admits, his voice hoarse with hopelessness. “It’s like I just closed my eyes.”

I lean closer. “You’ll see again. It’s not permanent.”

His right hand takes hold of my waist, and he pulls me against him. I wrap my arms around his neck, and we hug for a moment, then Kao turns his face toward me. “What’s on your neck and face?”

I pull back a little, instantly feeling self-conscious.

We’ll really be beauty and the beast now.

“Just bandages,” I murmur.

Kao pushes me further back, and his left hand bumps into my arm before moving up to my neck. When his fingers brush over the dressing, a frown forms between his eyes.

“You said you didn’t get hurt?”

“It’s nothing,” I lie to put him at ease. “Just a couple of cuts. My dad got a plastic surgeon. I’m meeting with him on Tuesday.” I swallow hard as apprehension fills my chest. “It’s no big deal.”

Kao’s hand falls to his lap, and for the longest seconds, he doesn’t move. His voice sounds pained when he finally says, “Cuts? Surgery?” He begins to shake his head. “You got hurt.”

I reach for his hand, but the moment I touch him, he jerks his hand away. My heart begins to beat heavily. I’ve never seen Kao react this way. Not even when Mila was attacked.

Oh, God. He’s not going to want me anymore.

“It’s nothing,” I lie again, hoping to set him at ease. Maybe I’m lucky, and the surgeon can remove all of the scarring before Kao has his sight back. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You got hurt,” he bites the words out.

“Yeah, but it’s not serious,” I keep lying.

My gaze is locked on his face, and I watch as a pained expression darkens his features… and then he shuts his eyes.

“Leave,” he grinds out between clenched teeth.

Shock shudders through me, and my lips part on a gasp, “What?”

Kao’s breathing speeds up, and then he shouts, “Leave, Fallon!”

Recoiling, I gasp, “Kao?” My heart is kicking against my ribs. I can’t believe he’s treating me so harshly. Kao was never a vain person. Having him react so strongly because of the cuts has my heart shattering into a million pieces.

“Get out,” he barks.

I flinch away and getting up from his bed, the broken pieces of my heart rattle in my chest.

I watch his hands clench tightly into fists, and then Kao shouts, “Stop staring and get the fuck out!”

My hand flies to my mouth and shocked by his extreme behavior, I rush toward the door.

Before I can open it, Noah comes in. “What’s going on?”

“He found out about the cuts on my face and neck.” I shake my head, still shocked by Kao’s reaction.

“Noah?” Kao snaps.

Noah gives me a worried look, then he answers, “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Make sure she leaves,” he orders.

“Go,” Noah whispers, and lifting his hand, he gives my arm a squeeze. “I’m sure he’s just wound tight from everything that’s happened. Don’t worry.”

I nod and glance back at Kao before I step out of the room.

Standing in the hallway, I try to make sense of what just happened. Kao’s never talked to me like that. He’s never raised his voice.

Until I visited with Kao, I still felt hopeful that the plastic surgeon would be able to fix me. But now that I’ve seen Kao’s anger and… revulsion? I’m not sure anything can repair the damage done.KAOFallon got hurt.

Because of me.

Cuts?

Seriously? Fallon talked about it as if it was nothing. I felt the bandages. It covered the whole right side of her neck and face.

Just fucking cuts?

She’ll have to go for surgery. That means more pain.

It’s no big deal?

Is she fucking kidding me?

Noah lets out a sigh, and it has me snapping, “Leave!”

“Is that your new favorite word?” he asks, sounding bored as fuck.

Frowning, I turn my head in his direction. “Don’t start with me,” I warn him.

“I’m not starting anything. You have the losing your shit part all handled.” The sarcastic tone in his voice only makes me angrier.