'Wife...'
That single word continued to swirl in Jedrek's mind.
That word... It had never come across his mind before but at the mention of it, he stared at Raine snuggled up in his arms and he seemed to be thrown into a state of daze for a split second.
His dazed state only lasted for a short moment as he quickly composed himself but continued to look down at Raine. He knew her actions were probably because she was deep in thoughts. The mention of her father had put her mind in a deep state of disarray and her actions only conveyed that she was trying her possible best to hide the emotions that were bubbling deep inside her.
He felt like her mother had really done a good job by keeping everything away from her daughter. He knew her mother was an ordinary woman and so hiding these things from Raine couldn't be done alone and so he concluded that she might have gotten help from someone and he had an idea who that person might be.
Although, hiding facts about her father was applauding but all her hidden efforts would probably be in vain because presently, her daughter was working her way into these answers and he could do nothing to stop her. He could only try to keep her far away from it as possible.
He heaved out a long sigh and then raised his head to the cashier but this time his stare was less threatening and it didn't carry such a chilling weight as before which made the cashier sigh in relief.
He nodded at her in response, "Hmmm... thank you."
Then he handled the bills and took the shopping bags in one hand and held Raine firmly with the other as they walked out of the supermarket under the envious gazes of the girls present.
When they got to the car, he placed the shopping bags on the seat behind them and then helped Raine in and carefully strapped in her seatbelt. He then turned around and got into the car and started the engine.
All the while, Raine didn't utter a single word. Jedrek couldn't tell what she was thinking at this moment but he had no idea how to handle the situation. He didn't want to make things more complicated for her and so he quietly left her to her thoughts.
Despite his troubled heart, no expression was revealed on his face as he silently drove the car but his knuckles had turned white from gripping the steering wheel too hard.
And so, with no one having anything to say, the whole car was deeply engulfed in a flesh-tearing silence as both parties were lost in their own thoughts.
After a while, when Jedrek couldn't sense any movement from Raine, he turned to her and found her eyes shut in a deep slumber with her head tilted sideways to rest on the window.
Her expression was peaceful yet strained and he could still detect a tinge of uneasiness with the way her long lashes made slight fluttering now and then but he was inwardly gratified that her once pale face had finally regained some color.
He stopped the car by a corner and then carefully adjusted her sleeping position after which he slowly brushed a few strands of her bangs from her forehead and a pang of guilt was deeply etched on his face.
As the pale moonlight continued to pour through the window, he could make out her soft yet delicate features and under the small gleam of the moon, her admirable face were clearly visible giving her an ethereal glow.
As he continued staring at her, his thin lips formed the words which he had been longing to say to her.
"I have finally found you," he whispered to her softly with his hot breath hitting her face making her shiver softly.
"It took me so long but when I did fate had to play some sort of games with me and made you my worst enemy. I had never believed in karma but this is most definitely it," he let out a dry but self-mocking laugh after that which echoed through the stillness of the night.
With the pad of his fingers, he traced the thin line along her jaw as he continued, "Now that I have found you, there's no guarantee that I'm ever letting you go. I'll kill them all before they lay a finger on you."
As he said that, a slight hissing sound escaped through his gritted teeth and his once grey eyes gleamed red...