NINE

Eden came out of the toilet cubicle and started walking towards the sink to fix some of her faded makeup. With a graceful motion, Eden added a little powder to her face and put red lipstick on her lips to reaffirm her slightly faded appearance because she was too excited to eat all the sushi that Anthony ordered for her.

While getting dressed she observed the atmosphere of the toilet around her which seemed deserted. Tonight the restaurant she went to wasn't too crowded, so she wouldn't be surprised if she was currently in the toilet alone. But suddenly the hairs on her neck prickled when she heard the sound of the toilet being closed so loudly from behind a cubicle.

Eden slowly approached the cubicle and slightly put her ear inward to make sure that the toilet cubicle was being used. Whereas previously she was very sure that she was alone in the toilet. But she immediately pushed away her wild thoughts so that she wouldn't be afraid of her own thoughts.

"Everything will be fine Ed, everything will be fine."

Eden tried to suggest herself while controlling her breathing to be more relaxed. She then immediately turned around to walk away from the quiet narrow room. But she had only walked a few steps, suddenly she heard the sound of the door behind her opening, followed by a warm breath that felt so familiar on the back of her neck.

"Boo! I found you Eden Morel… Oh I forgot, now you are Eden Lutherford.”

Hearing a man's voice so familiar in her ears made Eden freeze on the spot. Finally what she feared came true. The man managed to find her.

"Darling I miss you." The man whispered seductively in her ear while playing with the strands of hair that hung down the sides of her face in a seductive motion.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eden stammered, closing her eyes in fear. With quick movements, Aciel immediately turned Eden's thin body to face him who was caressing her beautiful face while closing his eyes full of pleasure.

"Of course to pick you up baby, what else, hmm?"

Aciel started sniffing Eden's face with one hand that was still faithfully dancing around Eden's face. Then those thin lips began to kiss every inch of Eden's face so greedily to treat his crazy longing for that woman.

“You didn't do anything with that guy, did you? Because if that man dares to touch you, I'll make sure after this his head will be separated from his body."

"Don't kill Anthony, he has nothing to do with any of this. Just take me and leave Anthony," said Eden pleadingly.

This time she decided to solve the problem with Aciel because she didn't want to be scared like a few days ago because she was avoiding the problem she was supposed to face. Even though she didn't want to go back to that man, at least she wasn't haunted by anxiety and fear every night because she kept feeling that Aciel was always watching her from behind her dark bedroom window.

"Hmm, I agree with your idea. We really shouldn't involve outsiders in our household issues. And before we go, I want to taste your lips first."

Aciel brought his face closer to Eden's lips and kissed her lips passionately and full of longing.

Eden chose to close her eyes without a fight. This time she wanted to prove all her dreams about Aciel. She wanted her heart to show her who she truly loved, Anthony or Aciel. Right now even though Aciel was kissing her with passion and maybe lust, but she was actually enjoying it. She seemed to miss that touch and didn't want Aciel to end it quickly. In addition, the shadows that often haunt her are seen more clearly when she is kissing Aciel. The image swirled around in her head like a film roll playing a life film about her and the man all those years ago.

"I think we should go and find a bed, tonight you look sexy, Ed." Aciel whispered hoarsely against Eden's lips.

Eden looked blushed in front of Aciel, but she tried to hide it by being nonchalant. She tried her best to hide her nervousness by being sarcastic and resisting Aciel's warm hand on her wrist.

"I hope you really keep your promise by not touching Anthony one fingernail." Eden warned before they came out of the empty toilet.

Aciel growled disapprovingly at Eden, and after that he immediately pulled Eden's hand a little faster because they had to leave the restaurant immediately. A while ago when he arrived there, he saw some suspicious people who were guarding the location of the restaurant. And if he wasn't mistaken, then those people must have been one of his enemies who had been working with Anthony.

“Ssshhh...”

When they were about to step out, suddenly Aciel pulled Eden's body and hugged her while whispering softly in her ear.

“Shit! They're here." Aciel growled stifled while staring intently at Anthony who was talking to several people in suits.

Eden who was curious, began to glance at Aciel's gaze and immediately felt worried about Anthony's safety.

“Who are those people? They're not part of your men who are going to harm Anthony, are they?”

“Stop thinking about the safety of others who almost destroyed our domestic relationship. Can't you see if your ex-lover is a sly person, he has set up a lot of mines around this restaurant to catch me. He knows that today I will come to pick you up." Aciel growled, annoyed that Eden had been thinking about Anthony all along without thinking about her own safety, which was on the brink.

"What did Anthony do? Don't poison my brain with your negative thoughts about Anthony because I know Anthony better than you."

"Is it true? Let's prove it then."

Aciel then pulled Eden out of the back door as they obviously couldn't get out through the front door. But after only a few steps they walked, several men in black suits started to chase them and showered them with a hail of bullets that managed to make Eden's knees tremble with fear.

“Wha-what do they want? Why are they shooting at us like that?” asked Eden frightened behind the cash register which was narrow enough to accommodate two people at once. Beside her Aciel seemed to be holding back his anger because he had stupidly fallen into Anthony's trap. Or maybe there's something wrong with Eden.

"I need to see your body."

Without waiting for Eden's approval, Aciel immediately groped every inch of Eden's body to look for suspicious tools that Anthony might have installed around Eden's body, because the man couldn't have known where he was if he didn't put something on Eden's body..

"What are you doing to me? Stop it!" Eden snapped angrily while trying to keep Aciel's body away from her. But soon Aciel showed a small microphone hidden behind the folds of her dress while grinning scornfully at her.

"Look, your cunning ex-boyfriend has used you as bait."

Without lingering, Aciel stepped on the microphone until it shattered into small pieces. Meanwhile, Eden still can't believe the truth that she just found out if it turns out that Anthony has used her to destroy Aciel. She was deliberately taken out of the apartment to provoke Aciel's arrival because she had only been in the apartment for more than a week to hide from Aciel.

“Now we have to get out of here, my men are trying to clear them up. But you can't go an inch from my side because you're vulnerable to being their target. As much as possible I will protect you from those bad guys and I will not let you get hurt in the slightest.”

For the first time, Eden was not moved by Aciel's words that touched her so much. When she looked at Aciel's thick beads, she could see a sincerity that she had not been aware of from Aciel. She thought all this time she had been too blinded by her anger at the man and all her grudges because he had ruined her quiet life. But if God still gives her a chance, she wants to recover her lost memories and change her judgment about the figure of Aciel Lutherford who always looks evil in her eyes.

ckrekk

"Now let's move!"

After cocking the gun in a state of alert, Aciel immediately pulled Eden's hand out of hiding while running hastily past the men in black suits who were targeting the two of them.

From a distance, with a broken heart Anthony could only see Eden trying to run away with Aciel. Even though he had been trying to get her back all this time, but in fact the woman's heart was already attached to Aciel too deeply. So even though Eden can't remember her sweet life with Aciel, the woman's heart still trembles just for Aciel.

“Now it's your turn, you have to prove to the boss that you are loyal to him. Kill that woman as well as that bastard man.”

Anthony accepted the soundproof gun expressionlessly and immediately walked slowly through the piles of ​​corpses that lay in front of him. From the start, his destiny was not to possess Eden, but to kill Eden as proof of his loyalty to the big boss who had helped him from adversity. Besides, if he let Eden live, he definitely wouldn't be able to get that woman back. So he'd better end it all now so that his wounded heart wouldn't hurt and rot with the anger he couldn't channel.

"Eden stop!"

Bang

Anthony's voice boomed along with the sound of Aciel's bullet that shot quickly and pierced the chest of one of his enemies who was now lying helpless with fresh blood flowing from his chest. The three people are now facing each other with gun tips pointed at each other in a state of alert.

“Anthony why are you doing all this? Put down your gun, let's end this peacefully," said Eden gently with a feeling of trepidation. One of her hands subconsciously gripped the hem of Aciel's coat tightly as a surge of emotion welled up in her chest.

"I have to kill you and that bastard Ed, so I can't end this as peacefully as you wish."

"Anthony don't we love each other, why do you have the heart to do this to me? I thought all this time you were a lover as well as family who would help me when I was down after I had no one in this world, but why are you actually doing this?”

"Loving each other? You say we love each other? We don't love each other Ed, only I love you, and you love the bastard who ruined our lives. All this time you never loved me and only pitied me as a pathetic man who has nothing. Even the day before your accident you openly asked me to step down because you wanted to live happily with your family. You're selfish Ed! You left me with various ruins, while you got all the happiness and also the wealth of that man. You should have died then so I wouldn't have to kill you with my own hands like this."

“Fuck! You should be the one to die!”

Aciel was ready to shoot Anthony, but Eden immediately blocked him by standing right in front of him while spreading his arms wide to the right and left.

"Don't shoot Anthony, he's innocent."

"Get out of the way Ed! You don't have to defend him in front of me because I will still kill him no matter what. Now get out of the way!” shouted Aciel angrily as he pulled Eden's body away from him.

Bang

"Kyaa!!!"

Brukk

Eden screamed hysterically when Aciel's body suddenly collapsed in her arms with blood starting to pour out from his back. The man immediately collapsed onto Eden's chest while holding back the pain that started to spread throughout his body.

"Aciel!! Aciel wake up! Aciel!”

Eden tried to maintain Aciel's thinning consciousness by patting the man's cheek many times and also shaking his body. But even so, Aciel's consciousness gradually decreased and the man started to close his eyes with short breaths.

“Aaakhh… do you remember that I never confessed my love to you all this time, but I promised you akhh… to give my life and also my loyalty to you. And now... I prove it to you Eee Ed.”

"No, no, no! You can't die, you still owe me a lot of explanations. Ace wake up! Get up now, Aciel! You can't die! Damn man! Wake up! I said wake up right now!”

Eden shook Aciel's body many times while cursing the man so that Aciel would wake up immediately to reply to every harsh word she said as usual. But no matter how hard she tried, Aciel still closed his eyes tightly with a gasping breath that slowly began to weaken in front of her.

Unknowingly, tears started to flow from her eyes so hard that she couldn't stop her agonizing hysterical sobs. Even though she should be feasting on Aciel's defeat tonight. But in fact she actually shed tears for the man and was afraid of being abandoned by the man. Seeing Aciel struggling between death and life made her heart ache. Her heart wouldn't let the man go, while her mind kept cheering for the man's death.

Now she was confused, what did she really want, the death of the man or the man breathing for her?