Her scent hit him first, jasmine, honey, and something uniquely Mia. Then came the warmth of her body as she landed in his arms, her face buried against his chest, her arms curled slightly around his waist.
(It was paradise)
Kai blinked at her.
For a second, neither of them moved. The room was quiet, lit only by the soft ambient glow from the crystal lamp beside the bed.
Mia looked up, her lashes brushing his chest, her eyes wide with something unspoken.
"I didn't scare you, did I?"
Kai let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. " Nah.....Just a little."
She chuckled, but didn't pull away. "You're warm. I like it."
Kai stiffened. Slowly, gently, he reached up and held her by the shoulders. "Um, Mia… what are you doing?"
She tilted her head, almost innocent. "Just checking if you're real."
(Don't tell me she's on to me as well.)
He tried to laugh it off, but it came out shaky. "Yeah? And?"
"You're real," she said, her voice softer now, lower. "But different."
Kai swallowed. "Different how?"
(What does she mean?)
Her fingers lightly grazed his chest before resting on his collarbone. "You used to hold me when I did this. You'd pull me close and say something cheesy like 'You belong in my arms.'"
He flinched.
(Man....The real tony was really a playboy-type)
And subtly, without thinking, pulled her hand away.
Mia blinked.
A beat passed.
Her voice was quieter now. "Is anything wrong? You usually like to hold me."
Kai looked away.
"What happened?" she asked.
Silence filled the air.
"Mia… it's not you."
She stepped back slightly, folding her arms, her tone firmer now. "Then who is it?"
They both stood up, sat on the bed, it would be perfect for this kind of convo.
Kai sat on the edge of the bed. The towel he'd been using to dry his hair was bunched in his hands. His heart pounded against his ribs like a warning drum.
"I'm not who I was," he muttered.
"That much is obvious."
(As expected from the great Mia Suzumi)
Her words stung, but she didn't mean them cruelly. She sat down beside him, just close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
"I've been trying to figure you out lately," she said. "You speak differently. You're gentler. You listen to people. You don't blow up when things go wrong. And now…" She looked down at her hands. "Now you don't even touch me."
Kai took a breath. "Maybe that guy didn't deserve you."
She turned to him sharply. "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Talk like you're not him."
Kai clenched the towel tighter. "Maybe I'm just trying to become someone better. I need to be someone better"
Mia's eyes softened. "Then tell me who you are right now!."
His lips parted. The truth trembled on his tongue. I'm not Tony. I'm Kai. A nobody. A dropout. A dead man inside a billionaire's body. I don't even know who it happened!?
But instead, he said, "I'm someone who doesn't want to hurt you. Not now, not ever."
The silence between them turned from awkward to intimate.
(Romance....Time?)
Mia reached out again. This time, he didn't stop her.
Her fingers found his, slowly lacing through them. "I'm not asking for everything back. I'm just asking for this. For now. Just for now."
He looked at her. The candlelight danced in her dark eyes, framed by loose strands of her midnight hair.
"I'm actually scared," he admitted.
She leaned closer. "Me too."
Their faces were inches apart. Her breath brushed his lips, warm and sweet.
"Tony," she whispered.
He didn't correct her. She hadn't called him that in weeks.
(Well....It's been a while seen they saw themselves.)
She leaned in slowly, giving him space to pull away—but he didn't.
Her lips brushed his, featherlight.
He shivered.
Almost lost his cool.
Then
She kissed him.
Not with the force of someone reclaiming a lost love, but with the gentleness of someone finding something new, fragile, wonderful and indeed simply beautiful.
Tony(Kai) kissed her back. His hand found the side of her face, cupping her cheek. She sighed into him, melting forward, her fingers curling around the fabric of his shirt.
The kiss deepened.
He pulled her closer, their bodies pressing together, hearts syncing like slow drumbeats. The tension that had built over weeks uncertainty, silence, secrets—cracked like thin glass under heat.
When they finally parted, their foreheads rested against each other.
Mia was breathless. "You kiss like someone who's been waiting a long time."
Kai smiled faintly. "Maybe....maybe I have."
She nudged him lightly. "Don't go disappearing again, okay?"
"Yeah.....i promise. I won't."
Another pause.
(She's Wonderful. The real tony had a golden life.)
Mia gave him one last kiss on the cheek before standing. "Sleep well, Tony."
"Yeah… you too, Mia."
She walked to the door, paused, and looked back.
"I like the new you. But… if you ever want to tell me something, really tell me, I'll listen."
Then she was gone.
Kai sat there, the ghost of her lips still on his.
And for the first time in a long time, the weight on his chest felt a little lighter.