Page 55 of Angels Are Falling

I laughed. Our cafeteria food was truly terrible. To make matters worse, whenever we picked up extra shifts, Kwon showed his appreciation by giving us hospital bucks that we could only spend in the cafeteria. “Sorry, Ricky. I’m more of an almond-chai-latte girl.”

Ricky leaned against the wall flirtatiously. “Then how about I take you out for chai somewhere decent?”

“How about I put you in the fucking hospital for hitting on my wife? At least you won’t have to travel far.”

I tensed, turning to find the bane of my existence right behind me. When did Kai sneak up on us?

Kai towered over Ricky in such an unsettling way that he looked visibly shaken. There was a charge to him in that moment, one that bypassed my brain and went straight to my nervous system before I could stop it. Adrenaline. I redirected it immediately into fury over his appalling behavior.

“Uh—” Ricky started uncomfortably.

“You have ten seconds to step away from my wife.” The look Kai gave him was the kind that, if he had chosen violence, Ricky would truly be stitching up his own wounds. “And from now on, never look at her.”

“Kai—”

Ricky fled the scene, not sticking around to listen to our marital discord. I didn’t even have the chance to explain that this lunatic had latched onto me for the day against my will.

I hated that I understood, in some wordless part of me, exactly why Ricky had run. Kai hadn’t raised his voice or moved aggressively. The quiet menace in his stillness had done all the work for him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I whisper-screamed in his face.

“You were letting your coworker eye fuck you,” he growled.

Ironic since half the women at the hospital had just finished eye fucking Kai. “Ricky’s a harmless teenager. He doesn’t mean anything by it. He became a nurse to support his bedridden mom and sometimes needs a reason to smile.”

“And that reason needs to be my wife?” The sardonic voice grated on me.

“He’s just a kid. What the hell’s the matter with you?” Turning away from Kai, I made a beeline for the parking lot. I pulled up my phone to call an Uber. I didn’t care what Kwon wanted; I was going home.

“If you leave, I’ll tell Kwon about it.” He knew my flight pattern too well already.

Seriously? “What are you, five? You’re going to tell on me?”

“I will if you don’t spend the rest of your shift with me. Everyone will agree that I paid fairly for your time. Maybe Kwon will even fire you for insubordination.”

I spun around and tried to torch him with my eyes. Not only did I love being a nurse, but this job was the only thing Kai hadn’t tainted with his indecent proposal. My fancy new house and life were constant reminders that I let Kai do unspeakable things to me in exchange. Even the money from Stefan’s job felt icky because it was Kai’s doing.

This job was the only source of income that didn’t make me feel like a prostitute, and I wanted to hold on to that bit of dignity and financial independence. I wouldn’t let him ruin this for me.

“What if I don’t want to hang out with you?” I asked sourly.

“Then, I don’t want to pay Nurse Andrea to cover your shift.”

I gritted my teeth with frustration. I didn’t want to take away something so precious from another person. “What do you want?”

“For you to complete your assigned task. Show me a good time and tell me why the hospital deserves another donation. I hear the children’s ward is in dire need of a facelift.”

My eyes burned when I glanced at my phone. Nine hours with this eccentric asshole. “This is ridiculous. We don’t need to go out to talk about donations. We live together.”

“Yet I remain unconvinced whether the children need new bedding. I think you’d better find a way to convince me otherwise.” His eyes moved over me slowly, and I had the strange sensation of being made visible in a way I hadn’t consented to. His lewd eyes landed on my chest, where my blue scrubs were slightly more fitted, his insinuation crystal clear.

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes. I pressed my lips together, forcing them back. It was humiliating that everyone in my life sold me out to Kai for a couple of dollars—Dr. Kwon, my coworkers, and even the supposed love of my life.

When his gaze remained steadfast, I felt it in my bones. The urge to throw my hands up and cover my chest was suffocating, but I refused to wilt under his gaze. When his eyes dropped to linger at every curve of my body, my skin prickled with awareness. I schooled my face into a neutral expression, then fixed my eyes on the concrete pavement and held them there.

“Fine, let’s go. I’m putting a timer on my phone.”

He flashed me a set of perfectly straight, white teeth and held out his arm. “After you.”