HIS PRINCESS | K.TH

True Scum

AERI

I can't.

I knew I didn't have a weak heart. I'd grown out of that a long time ago— years ago. And over the years, I'd proven that I could steal, hurt, and even kill others.

Then why couldn't I just end him?

I curse softly under my breath as I let go. His eyes widen weakly when I get to my feet, my face turned away. My hands are stained with his blood.

I can't kill him.

"Aeri." I hear him call quietly, his voice strained. But I don't look back as I shove my way out of the Ring, past the people who all collectively stare at me. I push past all of them, never meeting a single gaze.

I was never going to see him again.

Never.

I was going to forget that all of this had ever happened. There was still debt to be paid— it wasn't going to pay itself. And I was already five minutes late to a meeting with another client.

But even on the walk there, I can't seem to calm down the thundering of my heart against my chest.

I can't stop thinking back to the look in his eyes.

He'd killed Aemin. Killed the entire class, but then why in the fucking hell had he looked so shattered? As if he hadn't murdered all of them in cold blood, on the same day he had gone to take me out for my birthday with such a two-faced expression.

He must've known.

But then why had he looked like his own world had collapsed? Why in the hell had he let me do all those things to him?

If I'd chosen to kill him today, he would've let me. He had never made a single move of resistance during that entire fight.

I curse again.

And I wipe my bloodstained hands clean against my jacket as I find the door of my new client. My expression arranges itself into calm composure, as if nothing had ever happened.

I had to focus.

If played it right, I could take off thousands from this man.

And I'm about to enter when a hand wraps around my wrist. It feels familiar, and I whip around to see the exact man I'd vowed to never see again just a couple seconds ago.

"Aeri," He whispers, expression twisting in pain as his eyes fix on the door. He clearly knows.

"Don't do this, please. Why are you—"

"Did you follow me?"

I sound livid, even in my own ears. He falls silent, gaze dropping to the dirty asphalt. He hadn't even cleaned his face— there's blood drying on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry."

"Fuck off." I growl, my eyes narrowed sharply. "If I see you again, I'm actually going to kill you, V. So unless you have a death wish, please go mind your own goddamn business."

I turn towards the door.

But my jaw tightens when he pulls me back again. His grip is firmer, but his gaze is agonized. He makes a noise deep in his throat.