MAFIA LOVE SCANDAL

Anne is very confident about what she’s seeing right now. While waiting for Kaivan, who is taking a shower, she accidentally discovers a neatly concealed Glock Meyer pistol in the inner pocket of the jacket he’s going to wear.

One big question arises in Anne’s mind: why does Kaivan need to carry a pistol in his jacket? They’re just going to a celebration party, not heading into battle against enemies, right?

However, all the anticipation and reasons for carrying a firearm to the party are finally answered now. After a few minutes outside the event venue, precisely when the couple is engaged in a small conversation in the parking area, Anne’s eyes clearly spot a man dressed in black standing several meters behind her husband. In a matter of seconds, the unknown man pulls out a gun from his clothing. Anne, realizing this quickly, pushes Kaivan’s body in a swift motion, causing the man to fall to the left.

Simultaneously, a gunshot rings out in the air. Luckily, neither of them is hurt. Kaivan, who then realizes that his and his wife’s lives are in danger, gives a signal for Anne to find a safe place.

Moving swiftly, Kaivan immediately rises and takes cover among the rows of parked cars. Retrieving the weapon from his jacket pocket, he calculates all the possibilities of his actions in the moments to come.

Kaivan, with all the instincts he possesses, is indeed designed by God to be a man full of calculation. He is required to think quickly in making decisions or taking important actions.

From his hiding spot, he can see how the people who intend to harm him are increasing. Cornered by the situation, Kaivan decides to stand up and fires shots at the opponents. As he anticipated, they retaliate immediately, even in a blind frenzy.

Fortunately, at the same time, a group of Witch Hunters arrives and takes over the battle. They push back the opponents, making a shootout inevitable.

“Quickly, take your wife out of this place!” Dominique, standing right in front of Kaivan, urges him to leave.

With the remaining strength he has, Kaivan immediately approaches Anne, who is hiding behind a building pillar. He grabs her wrist and they run towards the car.

Before they can even get into the car, two large men blatantly grab Kaivan’s shoulders. They start raining punches and kicks on him.

Seeing Kaivan cornered, Anne takes initiative. She pulls the collar of one of the attackers from behind, delivering punches and kicks as if she’s experienced in self-defense. Even when she sees one of them aiming a weapon, Anne quickly reaches for Kaivan’s fallen pistol on the ground. She aims and fires shots at each of their legs, causing both enemies to collapse simultaneously.

“Come on, let’s go!” Anne immediately pulls Kaivan’s wrist to get him into the car. They speed away in the vehicle they’re in, heading back to the hotel.

****

“Stay here. I’ll tend to the wounds on your body.”

Anne instructs Kaivan to sit on the bed. Meanwhile, she hurries to the pantry. She grabs the first aid kit and brings it over to her husband.

First, she guides Kaivan to take off the jacket and shirt he’s wearing. Then, gently and carefully, Anne starts cleaning each abrasion on Kaivan’s body one by one. She applies medicine and then bandages them.

“Are you alright?” Kaivan asks as Anne is still busy dressing his wounds. Undeniably, he’s also worried that his wife might have been hurt during the recent shootout.

“I’m fine,” Anne nods. Her gaze is fixed on a scratch on Kaivan’s left chest. Slowly, she wipes it with alcohol and then covers the wound with a plaster to keep it from opening easily.

From somewhere, Kaivan gathers the courage to reach for Anne’s face, asking her to look at him.

“Thank you,” he says softly.

“Thank you?” Anne repeats. Her eyebrows raise in a quizzical look. “Thank you for cleaning your wounds?”

Kaivan just gives a faint smile.

“Thank you for saving my life twice tonight. If you had been a little late, I might just be a memory now.”

Anne scoffs, feeling that her husband’s words are a bit exaggerated.

“That’s just reflex. Besides, I was wondering, why didn’t you ask the bodyguards to accompany us tonight?”

“I just wanted to act like a regular person. How would I have known that someone was actually after us?”

Anne rolls her eyes this time.

“What a strange guy!”

“But… there’s something bothering me all this time. Do you actually have self-defense skills?” Kaivan openly displays a surprised expression at Anne’s abilities she showed when helping him earlier.

“Is there something wrong if a woman can defend herself?” Anne retorts. “Isn’t that something normal?”

Kaivan nods.

“True. It’s not something exceptional. But what about marksmanship? I’m sure that wasn’t just some basic skill. The way you held, aimed, and shot the target, it was like someone who’s a professional,” Kaivan guesses.

As someone who has been involved in the world of weapons for a long time, coupled with his experience in marksmanship, Kaivan can read the gestures and body language Anne displayed during the shootout with the enemies.

“Or… do you have many more skills that I don’t know about?” Kaivan probes. His eyes narrow further.

“I can use firearms,” Anne confesses. “Moreover, you never asked about my skills, did you?” She then defends herself. “All this time, you’ve mostly seen me as a troublemaker. So, I thought what I do or what I’m capable of doesn’t matter to you.”

After uttering this loaded sentence, Anne chooses to rise and leave Kaivan. She walks towards the walk-in closet, intending to change her clothes.

However, when she turns around, she finds Kaivan standing right behind her. The tall man approaches Anne with an intense gaze.

“What else is there?”

Instead of replying, Kaivan keeps walking. Getting closer. Closing the distance between them. Anne unconsciously steps back in an orderly manner until her shoulders hit the glass cabinet behind her.

“I apologize if my words have offended you or even hurt your feelings. But…” Kaivan fixes his gaze on Anne. He leans in and whispers, “I’ve always been certain that you’ve been keeping many secrets from me. Aren’t you interested in telling me something? Because honestly, I find it hard to believe that a pregnant woman can freely move and fight against her enemies.”

Anne almost chokes on her breath being bombarded with questions like this. Why is she being cornered like this now?

“Oh my God, are you still doubting me?”

Anne thought Kaivan might ask for more explanation, but she was completely wrong. Instead, he reaches for her face. A moment later, he lands his first kiss. This surprises Anne to no end. She even pulls back her face just to make sure of what he’s doing.

“Kai…”

For God’s sake, Kaivan isn’t drunk, right?

That’s what crosses Anne’s mind. How could the man who’s always insulted her and called her names suddenly kiss her?

“Hmm…”

He merely clears his throat in response. Then their eyes lock onto each other. More dominated by silence than words. Until, in the next few minutes, Kaivan leans in again. He reaches for Anne’s lips and gently kisses her there. Moving slowly, as if savoring his first kiss with the woman who has been his wife for a month now.

Anne, who initially wanted to resist, eventually gets swept away. She reciprocates the kiss. Both her hands are even entwined around the back of his neck.

The first kiss of the husband and wife lasted quite a while. They exchanged their affections until a loud knock was heard, forcing Kaivan to reluctantly break the kiss.

Before leaving completely, Kaivan cups Anne’s face. He gives her a brief kiss on the lips and whispers, “You owe me a lot of explanations.”

Opening the bedroom door, they find Dominique looking worried. The large man is ushered in and sits on the sofa. Kaivan is certain that his bodyguard has important information tonight. Anne, who was standing frozen in the walk-in closet, approaches as well, curious about the news that Kaivan’s bodyguard brings.

“It’s Camorra who did all this,” Dominique states. He hands Kaivan a cellphone containing a video to show him.

“I suspected as much,” Kaivan replies while watching the video on the phone he’s holding. The video features a man confessing to the attack he just carried out against Kaivan.

“I never thought Camorra would attack again. As far as I remember, all past matters were resolved,” the man continues.

Anne raises her face immediately, eyebrows furrowing. “So, are you saying you know who attacked us just now?”

Kaivan nods confidently.

“I remember the tattoos on their hands quite well.”

“Tattoos?” Anne becomes even more confused. She had assumed all along that the attackers were from the mafia who had been pursuing her. This is why she didn’t want to leave the neutral zone.

“Yes,” Kaivan confirms. “All Camorra members can be identified by the eagle tattoos on their wrists. And indeed, it was Camorra who attacked us. But the question is, why did they attack?”

“Are you sure you’re not involved in any trouble?” Dominique double-checks. “Or maybe they’re targeting your wife?” His gaze shifts towards Anne, who’s leaning against a corner of the wall.

“Me?” Anne points to herself. “I don’t even know who Camorra is.”

Kaivan, in his seated position, lets out a deep sigh. His mind is also trying to figure out what’s behind the events unfolding. It seems he needs Hans’ help to solve the current issue.

“Let me find out for myself. Now you should go back and rest. Early tomorrow morning, I have to return to London. Get your people ready for protection. I don’t want anything to happen to my wife.”

Dominique rises and promptly carries out Kaivan’s instructions.

****