Chapter 416 - 416: Women Teasing Each Other? [FIXED!][21/06!]

Kyle stood and stretched. The booth had grown uncomfortable, but the conversation had been worth it.

"I'll be in touch," Kyle said.

Viktor looked up from his second plate of food. His metal teeth paused mid-chew. Surprise flickered across his scarred face—brief, almost imperceptible.

"You vill contact Viktor?" Viktor asked amid a mouthful, he wanted to know what kind of game Kyle was playing with him.

"I said I would or are you missing me already?" Kyle asked. He knew he tried to frame Viktor a couple of days ago but it was only because of Isabeau.

Viktor should have been angrier, more aggressive but he wasn't as angry as Kyle thought he was.

Viktor stared at him. This was not how he had expected the encounter to go. He had come to see Kyle. To observe him up close. To determine if seeing him in person would change how he felt.

It had only intensified what he already believed.

Kyle was exactly like his brother. The one he had killed. The same eyes. The same way of holding himself. The same quiet confidence that made you believe things could be different by giving a false reality of that distorted Viktor's perception of himself.

"It would be so easy."

Viktor's hands tightened around his fork. The metal creaked under his grip. He could kill Kyle right now. No one would stop him. No one could.

But he didn't.

Marcello's orders held him in check. And something else. Something he couldn't name.

"I let him live"

Kyle noticed the tension. He had seen it before—the first time they met at Viktor's mansion. Viktor had attacked him. Tried to kill him. Something in the Russian's eyes had been unstable, unpredictable.

"You finish your food," Kyle said, nodding at the second plate. "I'll find my own way back."

Viktor grunted. He was already shoveling food into his mouth again. His appetite was endless.

Almost reminds me of Jane.

Kyle smiled at the thought and walked toward the door.

"Kyle."

He turned.

Viktor had stopped eating. His eyes were fixed on Kyle with an intensity that made the air feel heavy.

"If you are lying... Viktor vill find you."

Kyle nodded. "I know."

He walked out into the London afternoon.

The sun had broken through the clouds. The streets were busy. Life continued.

Kyle breathed in the fresh air and smiled.

One step closer.

-

Ella grabbed Jane's arm and pulled her into the corner of the suite. Away from Jasmine, away from Junior, away from Cassandra who pretended not to notice but was definitely watching from the corner of her eye. The suite was quiet except for the soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant sounds of London traffic filtering through the windows.

Jane stumbled, her body still heavy with exhaustion. Her legs felt like jelly. Her back ached in places she didn't know could ache. Every muscle screamed a reminder of last night—the slow, deliberate way Kyle had taken her apart piece by piece. She had woken up feeling like she had run a marathon, and in a way, she had.

"Ella, what—" Jane was already out of breath.

"Shh." Ella pressed a finger to her lips, grinning like a cat who had swallowed a canary. Her eyes sparkled with barely contained mischief. "Just stand there and look pretty."

"I'm too tired to stand." Jane informed her, she looked like she needed more sleep to be honest.

"Perfect. Then you can lean against the wall... The same way I bet Kyle made you when he gave it to you hard," Ella said with a grin

Jane leaned against the wall, blinking slowly. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each. Her hair was a mess. Her clothes were rumpled. She looked like she had been through a war and come out victorious.

She was still recovering from last night. Kyle had put in the work. That was the only way to describe it. He hadn't just been present—he had been focused, attentive, relentless in the most beautiful way. Every touch had been deliberate.

"S-Stop messing around," Jane responded.

Ella just kept smiling at her.

"What?" Jane asked, her voice groggy and thick with sleep.

"Nothing," Ella responded but that smug look remained.

"You're smiling," Jane pointed out with a suspicious brow even though she knew what Ella was insinuating considering she was a pervert through and through.

"Am I?" Ella feigned ignorance.

"Yes. Stop it!"

Ella's grin widened. She didn't stop. She couldn't stop. Her best friend had just had the night of her life, and Ella was going to savor every second of this. She had known Jane long enough to recognize the signs—the dreamy eyes, the tired smile, the way she kept touching her lips like she was reliving a kiss.

"You know," Ella said.

Jane's face went red. Not a slow blush—a full, violent crimson that spread from her neck to her hairline. She could feel the heat radiating off her skin. Her hands flew to her cheeks, trying to cool them down.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jane said, her voice rising an octave.

"Sure you don't."

"I don't!" Jane fired back but once again, Ella had no plans of backing down.

"Then why are you blushing?" Ella questioned.

Jane covered her face with her hands. Her palms were warm against her burning cheeks. "Ella, please."

"Please what? Please tell me everything?" Ella wanted to know every detail.

"No! Please stop!" Jane fired back, she wasn't one to divulge said details to begin with.

Ella laughed—bright, warm, unapologetic. The sound echoed off the suite's high ceilings. "Jane. I'm your best friend. You think I'm going to let this slide?"

"I was hoping you would."

"Then you were hoping wrong."

Jane peeked through her fingers. Ella was still grinning, her eyes sparkling with mischief. She wasn't going to let this go. Not until she had her fill. Not until she knew every detail.

"Fine," Jane mumbled. "What do you want to know?" Jane knew Ella wouldn't stop and the only way to make her was to tell her.

"Everything!" Ella blurted out.

"I'm not telling you everything! That would be so embarassing!" Jane cringed the moement she recalled last night and how she literally raced Kyle.

"Then just the good and juicy parts!" Ella compromised.

Jane dropped her hands. "Ella!"

"What? I'm a curious person. It's not my fault you look like you just walked off a cloud. You've got that glow, Jane. That post-sex glow. I've seen it before."

Cassandra was nearby, folding laundry with deliberate slowness. She was close enough to hear every word, far enough to pretend she wasn't listening. She didn't know Jane well enough to join in in this kind of explicit conversation—not yet. Jane was too closed off when it came to these things unlike Ella. Cassandra didn't want to overstep.

But she was curious too. The way Jane was blushing, the way Ella was teasing—it was clear they shared a bond outside of Kyle.

Ella leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Was it as good as you hoped?"

Jane's blush deepened. "It was... different."

"Different how?"

"Good different. Really good."

Ella squealed. Jane shushed her, glancing nervously at the bedroom where Jasmine was napping. The last thing she needed was Jasmine waking up and asking questions she couldn't answer.

"Okay, okay," Ella whispered, calming herself. "I'll be quiet. But I need details."

"Ella—"

"Did he—"

"Ella!"

"Okay, fine. But you're telling me later. Tonight. Over wine. I want everything."

Jane groaned. "I hate you."

"You lie! You love me."

"I regret even starting!" Jane refuted as she knew Ella would have been fine without this knowledge. It wasn't some groundbreaking invention.

Ella wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. Jane didn't pull away. She just buried her face in Ella's shoulder and sighed. It was nice. Having someone who cared. Having someone who teased her because she loved her, not because she wanted to hurt her.

"I hate you," Jane repeated, her voice muffled against Ella's shoulder.

"Two lies in a row!? Kyle must have infected you with his deceitful tongue!" Ella squeezed tighter. "And you're happy. That's all I care about."

Jane pulled back just enough to look at her. Her eyes were glassy—not from tears, but from exhaustion and emotion. "I am happy," she said quietly. "Really happy."

Ella smiled—soft this time, not mischievous. "Good. You deserve it. You deserve all of it."

From across the room, Cassandra smiled to herself and continued folding laundry. She would talk to Jane eventually. When the time was right. For now, she was content just to watch. Her family was happy. That was enough.