Standing Right Next To You

Just the thought of another woman being pinned under him in that compromising position like the one that she had caught him and Wade in, made Lina's golden eyes glow menacingly.

"What are you trying to imply here, Ruby?" She questioned him while seething in anger.

'I feel like kicking him for even mentioning this after what we just did!' Lina raged as she clenched her jaw while waiting for his explanation.

The moment she had turned and looked into his eyes, Reuben had realized that he had fucked up.

'Shit! What was that nonsense about making her jealous? She looks like she's about to rip my head off!' He gulped his saliva and chuckled to cover the nervousness that had now taken over him.

Just now, he had thought of another one of Grandpa Ming's tips.

'Try to make her jealous. A jealous woman is sexy AF!'

Those were the exact words that his grandfather had written in the list that he had sent to Reuben.

Putting Aloysius Ming's guidance into action, Reuben had asked that hypothetical question which had immediately come back to bite him in the ass.

"Kitten, don't get me wrong! I just want you to listen to what I am trying to say here!" He blurted out and raised his hands in quick surrender.

Lina crossed her arms over her chest and sat with a scowl on her face as she waited for him to explain why he had just messed up the cozy environment that they had created for themselves.

'Boys really are such dumbasses!' She scoffed when she saw him trying hard to think of something to say in order to escape her wrath.

Finally getting something that he could use as his defense, he nodded and began speaking.

"Kitten, you were quick to say that you will move out of mine and Wade's way. Why was that?" He inquired and saw the scowl on her face soften.

He asked in hopes of diverting her attention from that earlier question.

"That was because I thought that you liked Wade and your happiness belonged with him." She whispered with her head lowered.

Reuben burst into laughter as though he had just heard the funniest thing in the world.

Lina's eyes widened and she pouted her lips when she saw how this man was laughing at her without any care.

She punched his shoulder hard and grimaced when her knuckles came in contact with his rock hard shoulder blade.

"Fuck!" She cursed in pain and held onto her wrist.

'I forget to put my thumb on the outside! Brother Wind would be so pissed if he hears that I forgot to use his teachings.' She was now concerned more at the fact that her brother would be disappointed in her than the pain that she felt.

The punch had done absolutely zero damage to Reuben but the painful cry from his Kitten caused him to focus his attention on her wrist.

Applying pressure on her wrist, he checked to see if she had injured it in any way and sighed in relief when he saw no signs of internal trauma.

"There's no breakage but we should get this checked later on." He declared as he strode to the mini-fridge in Wade's office, similar to the one that Lina had in hers.

He swiftly came back with an ice pack and held in over her slightly swollen wrist.

"Why are you so hard!? It's like I hit a brick wall!" Lina yelled at him when he sat next to her once again.

She hissed and tried to pull her hand away when she felt the coldness as the ice pack touched her skin.

However, Reuben held her hand in a firm yet not too tight hold and continued pressing the ice pack on her wrist.

Looking up, he saw her pouting face with tears gradually forming in her eyes once again.

'She's a delicate one. I need to be more careful with my Kitten.' He reminded himself after witnessing how quickly her wrist had swollen up and turned red.

"Why were you laughing earlier?" Lina timidly asked after she felt a little numb in her wrist.

Reuben looked up into her eyes and smiled while shaking his head in defeat.

"Kitten, you seriously think that I would like that dolt Wade?" He snickered and rolled his eyes.

Hearing her brother being insulted right in front of her eyes, Lina gave him a warning glare which he quickly understood.

"Also, I want to mention this once and for all." His chuckle had faded and a stern expression had appeared in its place.

"I don't ever want to hear this 'giving up' comment coming from you… Ever again!" He asserted in a grave voice which made Lina tense up.

She narrowed her eyes and was about to express her dissatisfaction with the way he had just commanded her but stopped when she heard his next words.

"I'm working hard at thinking of ways to form a proper relationship between us and you come along and say you want to give up? Do you know how that makes me feel?" He questioned her in hopes of getting his thoughts and feelings across to her.

"Lina, I know that things did not start out great between us…" He paused after this sentence and tenderly gazed into her eyes.

"But we can always work to get better rather than giving up straight away." He placed his proposal before her.

Seeing her silence, he knew that she was bottling up her feelings once again and decided to make sure that she became upfront about what she felt for him.

At that moment, Lina was pondering what he had said just now and she agreed with his way of thinking.

However, she was still afraid of getting her heart broken by this man who literally had a place in the heart of every woman in this city.

That kind of pressure was scary for her, someone who hated being in the limelight and she was still on two minds on what to do about it.

'I like him… a lot! But I'm worried about what might happen in the future!' She laminated in her heart about the unforeseen events that might happen later on.

Reuben had already decided to give this relationship his all and that was just what he was about to do.

'She confessed what she felt for me and now it is time for me to do the same.' He nodded and after placing the ice pack on the table, he held her hands once again.

"I asked that hypothetical question because I wished to know what you would really do if there was a woman who tried to come between us." He glanced at her face after he uttered those words in hopes of gauging what her reaction would be.

"Would you give up because you thought that I would be happier?" He polled and nervously waited for what her answer might be.

'What would I really do in that situation?' She asked her heart and as she was listening to what it had to say, her attention was diverted to Reuben who spoke up once again.

"If I was in your position and I knew that there was a guy who was after you… Trying to court you." He gritted his teeth even imagining that situation.

This was due to the fact that one face immediately popped up in his mind when he had said that sentence.

'I need to make sure that the elder son of the Jin family doesn't buzz around my Kitten!' He proclaimed and tried to calm his angry heart.

"If I was in this situation then I would never give up trying to fight for us!" He acknowledged with a firm voice that stunned Lina.

"I would fight for us until you ask me to leave. But until then I would try my hardest to stay by your side in everything that you decided to do." He stopped after this somber announcement of his determination.

'But I would never do anything that would make you say such a thing to me in the first place!' He confidently concluded in his heart.

Lina was beyond touched by how much thought this seemingly indifferent guy had put into their future plans that had not even come to the relationship stage.

'Which girl will not like a guy who took their future so seriously?' She asked because she was certainly moved by his little speech.

Noticing her silence even after everything that he had said did not dishearten Reuben, in fact, it fueled his heart to strive harder to get closer to her.

"Now, we both know how we feel for each other so please stop saying that you will give up on 'US'." He repeated his earlier words as he raised her hand and placed it on his chest.

"Can you feel it?" He asked with a smile on his face.

Lina could feel his rapidly thumping heart and tilted her head asking why he had made that move.

"That is what my heart does every time I think of you or every time I look at you. It beats faster than it does when I'm on the treadmill." He chuckled when he saw her blush.

Reuben, ever the fitness buff, did not forget to add a part of his interests in his confession.

'Why is he so cute!' Lina gushed in her heart as it began to melt for him all over again.

"Kitten, it may not be LOVE that you desire at the moment but please don't treat it like it means nothing at all." He muttered softly as a sad smile flashed on his face when he recalled her continuous rejections and step backs.