Freed

Twenty-Nine

"Burger King or Domino's?" Klaus asks me, walking into the lounge, phone in hand. I glare at him, jaw clenched with anger. He raises his eyebrows, smiling. "You gotta eat, sweetheart. Especially since there's a little one growing in your swollen womb."

"My child and I will be perfectly all right, thank you very much." I reply, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Hmm...Burger King it is!" Klaus exclaims, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "You know, I genuinely like you. I thought this job was going to be boring as hell, but you've put my time to good use."

"Clearly my standards have dropped, and unfortunately, I failed to see so." I snap. "Also, how the hell do you expect me to believe anything you say anymore?"

"I see what Harry sees in you." Klaus whispers, more to himself than to me. "Alas, I've got this whole revenge thing going on at the moment."

"But why?" I ask. "Why're you so hell bent on extracting revenge from Harry?" Klaus tsks, shaking his head.

"Oh no, Mus, it's not Harry I'm targeting. It's his father," Klaus says. He comes across the room, taking a seat beside me on the couch. "My dad was once the Head of Trades for Germany. My mom was an American, and so we moved here after his demise."

"I'm sorry," I murmur.

"Harry and I, we were friends. Real good ones," Klaus continues. "One day, his father decided to get involved with drug and human trafficking. My father was a good man," Klaus' voice chokes. "He would never do something like that, but he had control of the docks and land transport. So Harry's father couldn't attempt anything without my father's aid." This, I can believe because I know Harry's father. "I was thirteen and Harry's dad had called us over for tea. As my father and I were making our way across the foyer, the chandelier suddenly gave way, and my father nearly managed to escape from where it landed a few seconds later. Harry's dad began apologizing profusely, and then he bent down, looked me straight in the eyes and said, 'Boy, watch out for your father. This world is a dangerous place.'"

I watch as Klaus' fist tightens around the back of the sofa.

"That was a warning, and an insight into the future. I swear those eyes told me everything, and I've never felt more scared in my entire life. The very same night my father suffocated in his car and died. I don't think Harry's father was expecting it, but my sister was in there too. I lost two loved ones that day, and in the worst manner possible." Klaus looks at me with a pained expression. "I believe in an eye for an eye and that's just what I'm collecting."

I get why Klaus is doing this now. However, killing someone...

Of course, Klaus' desire for revenge is absolutely justified. But his method is wrong.

"Klaus," I whisper. "We can seek justice legally. I-I mean Harry is now a King, and we have the power to make his father bend. Please, let's do it the right way."

"You really think Harry would help me?" Klaus asks, shaking his head. "He came to me on the funeral, full of grief. And when I told him that I knew this was his father's doing, he smiled at me as if I'd lost my mind with grief."

"He was a child. Now he's a mature adult, who is fully aware of his father's doings." I insist. "We can do this, Klaus, the right way." He shakes his head, his expression mirroring the utmost level of pain.

"I would do anything to not lead a life as low as this, but...I won't be able to rest until that man is dead." Somehow, I'm able to empathize with Klaus' need to extract revenge, and so I place a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay," I murmur. Klaus looks at me as if he's just seen a ghost. "You're right, Klaus."

"Y-You agree with me?" Klaus questions, moving his body to face me. His knee brushes against mine, sending a weird mix of feelings coursing through my bodies.