Hong Kong 4

If Beau had wings, he would have flown to where Stellar and Holden were standing and rip them apart.

After taming down his impulse to wreak havoc, a sinister thought, however, managed to pop into his mind.

Perhaps, he could rip Holden in half instead. Not in front of his precious though. She's far too innocent to witness such brutality.

Seeing Stellar's reaction to his surprise visit and how she never distanced herself from Holden, Beau guessed she wasn't aware of the ruckus her friend made in their country.

Good. He'd rather her not know that every news outlet was talking about her and the elusive Knight heir's first public appearance, and of course, how Aster fainted after hearing the news.

Beau guessed that Aster was bidding her time to confront Stellar. It was obvious that she was waiting for Stellar to come home first, before attacking her to get an answer to the question of whether or not Stellar was dating the sheep in black's clothing named Holden Knight.

"What are you doing here, Beau?" Stellar asked. She was fumbling for the key inside her bag as she stepped forward with Holden walking behind her. "And how did you know I was staying here?"

"What about him? Where is he staying?" Beau responded with a question of his own, evading Stellar's inquiry.

Sighing her frustration, Stellar braced her hands on either side of her hips. "His whereabouts doesn't concern you. Did you have someone follow me again?"

Beau shrugged and it infuriated Stellar. How could he do everything he pleased and disregard her need for privacy?

"Creepy as heck," Stellar sassed, her nostrils grew larger with her exasperation. "And please stay the freak away from me, bayaw [1]."

She tried to unlock the door but Beau blocked her, his hand stretched and braced to the other side of the doorframe.

"Say that again," Beau gritted through his teeth. Did Stellar just call him brother-in-law?

At that moment, Stellar was considering two options: she could go for violence or be civil about Beau's overbearingness.

What was wrong in properly addressing Beau?

"You're blocking my way, Beau." She tipped her chin and raised a single brow on her him, defiance painted in high-definition on her face. "Hurry up. I need a shower."

Yanking the key off of her hand, Beau threw it to Holden. A smirk bloomed on Beau's face, tipping a corner of his lips up.

"Someone will pick up her luggage, Deacon," he addressed, emphasizing Holden's title to remind him of his sworn oath.

To Stellar's surprise, Beau carried her like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder before her mouth could open to protest. "Just so you know, I don't mind taking another shower."

…

Down in the lobby, a Rolls-Royce was waiting by the curb. The chauffeur standing beside it immediately stood in attention and opened the door to let his passengers in.

Willingly, Stellar boarded the car and was quiet the entire ride, her eyes trained outside on the passing view as they crossed the bridge towards Kowloon.

Traffic was almost building up as they traversed the highway, but they luckily arrived at their destination before the situation got bumper to bumper.

Against her inner self raging and demanding retribution, Stellar held her chin up as Beau's hand planted on the small of her back while they entered the lobby of Ritz-Carlton, a five-star hotel with a majestic view of Victoria harbor and South China sea.

Walking a few steps ahead of him, Stellar rushed to the elevators. First of all, Stellar didn't want to make a scene and be seen with Beau who was supposedly her sister's fiance. Secondly, she would never say no to a nice bubble bath after a day of soaking under the humidity and dirt.

Upon reaching his suite, Stellar instantly rolled her eyes at the sight of garment racks inside the room. "So everything was premeditated," she assumed in a matter-of-factly tone.

She hurried to the clothes waiting for her and easily picked a winner that would infuriate Beau: a white knit cardigan with a Playboy logo printed on it and a flowy skirt with a slit riding up just below her crotch.

Clutching the items to her chest, she waltzed her way to the bathroom and drew herself a warm bubble bath.

While the water was running behind her, Stellar leaned on the ensuite's door frame. She bit the inside of her cheeks before speaking her heart out to him.

She had to set their boundaries early on. She made up her mind that she would not interfere with Cassy's engagement, and Beau made his decision clear by agreeing to the engagement announcement of his mom.

"Do you even consider my feelings? Or you're just selfish that you can't let me go?"

"I told you to wait for me, Stellar. We both know I can't be as impulsive as you are."

Stellar should be offended by his words but surprisingly, she wasn't. What was so wrong with being impulsive?

Sure it has drawbacks, and careful planning most of the time led to a more positive outcome. But sometimes it wouldn't hurt to act on what your gut told you to do.

In Stellar's heart, she knew that that trait of hers made her push her boundaries and go beyond whatever she could possibly imagine doing.

For one, it made her break the chains that held her back for years, therefore, giving herself a chance to accept her flaws and embrace them with all of her heart.

"I'm trying to move on from us, Beau. I did that the first time, and thanks to you, you buried whatever we shared when you chose your family name and not me."

Angrily unbuttoning his suit jacket, Beau peeled off his clothing, one garment after the other.

Stellar took a step back when his lean body came into full view. Stealing a peep, she gulped when her eyes landed on the light trail of hair from his nape down to God knows where underneath his pants.

Menacing steps ruffled against the carpet, rousing Stellar from her ogling. She felt a jolt of electricity from the pit of her stomach coursed through her veins, breathing life to her.

Taking a step further back, Beau grasped Stellar's wrist and gingerly pulled her closer, her chest softly colliding with his.

She felt the air in her lungs knocked out when Beau pressed his forehead against hers. Her eyes closed when he brushed the tip of his nose against hers, to which she subconsciously parted her mouth open.

He took it as his chance to seal an open mouth smooch on her upper lip. Lucky for him, she didn't protest. Breaking their kiss apart, he planted her palm on his chest where his beating heart would be underneath. "Can you feel that? It beats for nobody, but you, precious."

Hot salty tears welled at Stellar's eyes. Why was it that every word coming out of Beau's mouth felt like little unicorns leaving glitters on its tracks?

For a second, she wanted to believe him, but he had his chance to pick her and he blew it. Tipping her head up so her tears won't dribble down, Stellar sniffled.