Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Kenji shook his head. “That’s okay. It’s always on the house for Eira.”
He didn’t bother picking the money back up. “In my village, men aren’t allowed to give single women gifts unless they’re betrothed.”
“Ryu,” Eira nervously stepped in. “Kenji’s just being nice.”
He didn’t dare take his eyes off the cart owner as he made himself clear, “Eira will no longer accept gifts from you or any other man in this village moving forward. If you dare to offer her another gift, either in or out of my presence, your family will find your body buried next to your roots.”
What the—
Wishing the ground would swallow her whole, she didn’t know whether to follow behind Ryu as he started walking away, apologize profusely to Kenji, or simply run in the other direction.
However, when Kenji got out from behind his cart, he approached her. “Eira, are you okay?”
Her instincts had her backing up right as he reached out to touch her.
“I don’t think you should be going anywhere with him—”
Suddenly, before Kenji could finish his sentence, he was grabbed by the back of his shirt, spun around, and his face met Ryu’s fist.
“Ryu!” Eira screamed.
She swore she saw him rear his fist back again, but her shrill must’ve stopped him.
With Ryu stomping off and everyone around rushing over, she contemplated what to do.
As she studied poor Kenji on the ground, holding his bloody nose, she figured he looked okay-ish? Well, okay considering the punch he took.
“Sorry, Kenji,” she apologized quickly then made it out of there before she was completely surrounded. There were going to be plenty of people to help him, and she knew he would be all right. Right? Well, she hoped he would and that he would somehow forgive her in the future.
Trying to desperately catch up, she yelled out his name for him to stop. “Ryu!”
“Eira, I need a minute!” he yelled back over his shoulder, showing no signs of stopping.
It was only getting harder and harder for her to catch up to him, so much so she actually lost him. When she reached the house, she instinctively knew he hadn’t entered. Instead, she realized exactly where he must’ve gone. So, she dropped her tote by the front door before climbing the mountain as fast as she could. She had no signs he had actually gone this way until she finally reached the top of the cliff where they had first met. There, Ryu stood at the very edge, taking several deep breaths.
Eira stayed several feet away, just staring at his back. “You didn’t need to do that to him. He’s harmless.”
“Yeah, right,” he scoffed, still staring out at the ocean.
“Kenji is nice, and you’re just being jealous.”
Ryu spun on his heels and, in what seemed like a single stride, he closed the distance between them, forcing her to face his fury. “He’s playing you, Eira. That man is neither nice nor harmless. He knows exactly what he’s fucking doing!”
Unafraid, she practically laughed in his face at the thought of someone thinking of Kenji like that. “What …? By giving me a free root every few days? Yeah, he’s a mastermind.”
“You’re not from this side of the world, darling. He’s giving you the gift of a root, symbolizing the relationship he hopes to grow with you one day.”
Eira hadn’t thought about that perspective.
“Yeah, think about it.” His tone dripped with smugness, knowing she knew he was right.
She angrily changed the subject when he turned and went back to staring out at the edge of the cliff again. “Yeah, well, half of me is from this side of the world, too, you know.”
“Not the half that was raised here, Eira.” Ryu wanted her to understand the difference. “As a child, you are taught certain things about our culture, and once you reach adulthood, you are just expected to know them.”
“That’s not my fault, Ryu.”
“Didn’t say it was. But next time, when I tell you something about how this side of the world works, maybe you’ll listen to me.”
Wishing she had never changed the subject in the first place, she got back to the issue at hand. “You know, even if Kenji is as smart as you think he is, it still doesn’t excuse what you did.”
The thought of him only set Ryu off again. “He’s lucky I didn’t shove my foot up his—”
“What is your deal?” she cut him off, having heard enough. “If I want to accept more roots from Kenji, I am allowed to do so. I’m not—”
When Ryu suddenly spun back to her, she could feel the sheer heat that bounced off his skin. “You accept anything from him for free ever again, I will fucking kill him. Do you understand me, Eira?”
Eira didn’t know why or how she found the courage to do so, considering she knew Ryu fully meant what he had just said, but she finished what she was going to say before he interrupted her. “I’m not betrothed to you, Ryu.” She softly emphasized the word he had used earlier. It actually, and oddly, hurt her heart to say it, and she could see her words had struck him to the quick as well.