391: Five minutes

Five minutes

The weekend rolled in in a blink of an eye. Heaven and Dominic used the past few days cuddling, playing around, and deepening their affection for each other. They would call their son from time to time, but surprisingly enough, Sebastian seemed to be having fun with his grandparent's company. Therefore, the couple was relieved. 

Ding Dong! 

Heaven perked up, pausing to wear her thin wristwatch at the sound of the doorbell. 

"That's weird," she mumbled with furrowed brows. "Dom will never ring the doorbell."

Dominic went to run a quick errand, and she used this time to prepare because they would attend the Zhu family dinner. Curious about who was ringing the door, Heaven languidly left the walk-in closet to see who it was.  She went straight to the monitor mounted on the wall, arching a brow as she caught Tiger standing in front of the penthouse. 

"Is he done doing his research?" she wondered, folding her arms under her chest, eyes on the monitor plastered on the wall. "Considering it has been a while since I gave him Kaiden Wang's name, he's actually late to give me the result."

Heaven idled, swaying her body as she pondered whether or not she would talk to him. After all, if he asks something crazy, she has to answer no matter what. 

"But then again, I need to keep him around," she told herself under her breath, frowning. "Why did he have to be so keen? Fuck me."

Another deep exhale slipped past her nostrils, unfolding her arms before turning on her heel toward the entrance. It was her idea to answer whatever question Tiger had for her. Thus, running away from the situation she created would only result in more problems. 

After spending days with Dominic, and getting a deeper understanding of her husband, Heaven would be foolish if she didn't act quickly. The reason she was here would never change; she still had to protect her husband and son, even if Dominic was already capable of protecting himself. 

Ding… dong…

Heaven let out another deep huff before opening the entrance, bearing a poker face. She snapped her eyes ever so slowly, looking at Tiger without a trace of interest. 

"What?" she asked in a plain tone. "I assume that since you rang my door, you already have the results I asked of you."

Tiger gazed at her from head to toe, seeing that she barely brushed her hair and her makeup was still half-finished. Not that she looked horrendous, but clearly she was in the middle of something when he rang the doorbell. 

"No." Tiger cleared his throat. "I'm not bringing any information about that person."

"Then why did you ring my doorbell?" She returned with an arched brow. "Don't tell me you're simply testing how it feels to press a doorbell?"

Tiger smiled. "Because I need answers."

"Sorry, but that's not what I said. I will only give answers if you give a satisfactory result." Heaven glanced at the hallway behind him, knowing the first bodyguard in the area was close by. But not close enough to hear their conversation. 

After saying her piece, she shrugged momentarily. She was about to close the door when Tiger spoke again. 

"Rossi." His voice was quiet, but clear enough to reach her ears. 

Tiger raised his brows ever so slowly as soon as she paused. The corner of his mouth curled up into a cunning smirk. 

"I knew it," he muttered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "You know the man?"

Heaven slowly set her attention back to him. "What about him?"

"What if I tell you I have more interesting information? A lot more interesting than the one you asked?" Tiger cocked his head to the side. "Kaiden Wang doesn't interest me, young madam. Neither does Mr. Rossi. I admit I hadn't dug up anything about Kaiden Wang, but I'm sure this information I know will also leave the same satisfactory result you want."

Tiger maintained a crafty smile while Heaven's eyes turned sharp a little. They stared at each other with Tiger wiggling his brows knowingly. 

'Hah…' Heaven mentally scoffed, assessing that cunning look plastered on his face. 'Why is he so damn lucky in getting important information?'

Another faint huff slipped past her nostrils, lips closed. Heaven then pushed the door wider, tipping her head in. 

"You only have five minutes," she said as she turned on her heel, walking back into the penthouse. "Make sure to make it worthwhile…"

Heaven deliberately paused, glancing over her shoulder. "Or this will be the last time you'll ever get to talk to me."

"Feisty," Tiger chuckled, closing the door behind him. He followed her to the living area, keeping a safe distance from her. 

When Heaven plopped her butt down on the long couch. She leaned back against the backrest, resting her leg over the other. Meanwhile, Tiger stood across the coffee table. He held his hand behind him, standing like a soldier in front of his commander. 

"Speak." She jerked her chin as she rested her arm on the armrest. 

However, Tiger didn't speak. He had five minutes of her time, which was already long enough for him. His eyes scanned her stance, and he couldn't help himself but recall a certain person who had the same habit.

"You remind me of someone," he said, lifting his gaze to meet her eyes. "It's annoying that it seems like you're copying her."

"Hmm…" Heaven rocked her head, taking her time since she already gave up the five minutes of her time. He could waste it for all he wanted, but she would make sure this would be the first and last he could waste her time. 

"How annoying," he said, clicking his tongue at her minimal reaction. "She's also like that, looking at other people as if they were inferior to her. Now I understand why a certain someone told me you resemble someone I know."

Tiger took a deep breath as he scratched the back of his head. "Do you know Moose?"

Heaven didn't respond, but she cocked her head to the side. 

"Sticking up to your five-minute time to answer, huh?" Tiger snickered. "Well, I give up. I don't think I will survive to this five minutes without breaking things to vent my —"

Tiger suddenly halted as his hands swiftly moved. In a blink of an eye, his arm stretched with a gun in his hand, pointing its muzzle straight in her direction. 

" — frustration," he continued under his breath, assessing the look on her face in such a situation. 

Not to his surprise, Heaven didn't even flinch, nor did she show the slightest bit of surprise. It was as though she had already seen this coming. 

"Hah, just as I thought," he remarked with a smirk. "You are different, Heaven Liu. Who the hell are you?"

Heaven narrowed her eyes slightly, tapping her fingertips against the armrest. "Two minutes."

"You're still counting?" 

"Of course." She blinked, the air of nonchalance around her still covered her surroundings. "I gave you the time, and I'm still hoping you truly have more important information to give."

"I can end you in a second," he returned, stressing each syllable. "Aren't you scared? Do you think I cannot pull the trigger?"

"You would have done that the moment you pulled out that gun, but you didn't."

"Hah."

"You seem to be the type to not care about anything else but yourself. So, it's easier to figure out what you're capable of," she explained nonchalantly. "Don't misunderstand. I know you can kill me if you have enough reason, but you don't have enough reason yet to do so."

Although she wasn't lying, her full understanding of Tiger helped greatly. This man, somehow, had respect for weapons despite having a lack of respect for people. 

Tiger never held a gun unless he would kill someone. He never used a weapon to intimidate, as he had this belief that guns weren't meant for that. 

'Weapons shouldn't be used for such a shallow reason,' she thought of the words he used to say whenever someone played around too much. 'For him to do this… means this conversation will decide whether he stays or leaves. I don't want that, especially now that Dominic is venturing a perilous path.'

"One minute," she stressed, reminding him of his remaining time. "What is this information you know about Primo Rossi?"

Another ridiculing laugh escaped his mouth, caressing the trigger. "You'll regret playing too much —"

"You're the one who's playing too much, Tiger." Heaven raised her chin, this time bearing a solemn look. "That gun is not loaded. It's not even real. I wonder if you're simply underestimating me that you thought I can't differentiate a fake gun from a real one, or hoping that I would notice. Either way, you are running out of time."

She shook her head sideways, keeping her gaze locked with his. "I gave you five minutes and now you only have thirty seconds left. I am not the type to extend your time limit, even if you beg me to. So, I'm saying this for one last time. What do you know about Primo Rossi?"

A moment of silence befell in the living area, eyes holding each other's gaze. Tiger let out another dry laugh before he dropped his hand to his side that was holding the fake water gun.

"That's not Primo Rossi."

"Huh?"

Tiger clicked his tongue. "That guy that was in the hospital the night you were supposed to die isn't Primo Rossi."1

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