Page 94 of Billionaire’s Cruelty

I stood at my own door and rang the bell.

Clare reached for the number pad, probably thinking I had forgotten the code. I pushed her hand away.

Waited.

Then the door opened.

There she was.

June.

It was actually Andy who opened the door, but June was the one who ran toward me, throwing her arms around my neck.

My world stopped.

The noise faded.

The headache that had been hammering in my skull disappeared.

I could have stayed like that forever—holding her, feeling her warmth—if she hadn’t pulled away.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Li?” Andy asked in English. I suspected it was for June’s benefit

I rubbed June’s shoulder lightly before turning to Andy. “Thank you for taking care of things while I was gone. Have you been home since…?”

“Briefly.”

I understood what she meant. When I found out about her divorce, I tripled her salary. Being a single mother in Shanghai wasn’t easy.

“You should go home to your kid.”

“It’s not a problem, Mr. Li.”

Andy could now afford a live-in au pair to care for her child because of the raise. Knowing I had a loyal employee I could count on in times of need made me smile.

“Honestly, I’m okay. Go home.”

“I will. I’m just...” I squinted at her as she turned away, “…just need to quickly check through everything. Make sure everything is in order.”

June kissed me on the cheek. Then my nose. Then my lips.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I am now.”

I had been scared out of my mind when they took me. But I hid it well—or at least I liked to think I did.

The only thing that had kept me steady, the mantra I had repeated in my head over and over, was simple: Make June proud.

Every time the police questioned me, I asked myself—would my answer make June proud? Even when exhaustion tempted me to say something reckless, to crack a stupid joke just to relieve the tension, I forced myself to stay in control.

It didn’t always work.

People knew they shouldn’t do stupid shit under stress, but they still did it. It was human nature.

But I was home now. With her.

I scooped June into my arms, ready to take her to my bedroom.