Before she was adopted by the Argent family, she was just a middle school student and had already been harassed by men several times, including neighbors, classmates, and even a male teacher.

She was still little back then, didn’t know what to do, just knew how to hide, just knew how to run away, didn’t dare tell her parents, didn’t dare tell her teachers or the school.

Until she was adopted into the Argent family, she met Kieran.

That day after school, the male teacher kept following behind her, his rough hand on her shoulder, gently kneading. His tone was both flirty and serious. She couldn’t figure out what he meant; she just knew she had to walk faster, and even faster.

Later on, she was pulled into the alley by the male teacher.

When the male teacher took off her coat, she hadn’t reacted yet.

Until Kieran punched the male teacher to the ground, she was startled.

Back then, Kieran wasn’t as mature or sharp-looking as he is now. He hadn’t learned to stay calm no matter what, and his emotions weren’t hidden well. His eyes were full of anger, and his dark gaze was cold and fierce, like he was about to cut a mark into the man.

Kieran was in a black suit, grabbed the male teacher by the collar, and pinned him to the ground. The expensive fabric on his knee went right down on the dirty, polluted floor without any hesitation.

He looked furious, punching the male teacher in the face again and again, putting all his strength into every punch. The first punch knocked the male teacher out.

After that, every punch drew blood. The male teacher’s face was covered in bruises, blood came out of the corner of his mouth, and you could hardly see any spot of uninjured skin.

But even so, Kieran still didn’t stop his fists.

Alarieka saw the blood coming out from under the male teacher’s head, screamed, rushed over and grabbed Kieran’s arm, crying and shouting, “Kier, stop, stop fighting!”

“Kier, stop fighting!”

No matter how much she begged, Kieran stayed unmoved and just brought his fists down like a machine.

Her tears were forced out, her eyes full of tears held a broken light, the corners of her eyes were red, and the tip of her nose was red too. She looked so pitiful.

“Kier, please, stop hitting me.”

Tick-tock-

A tear of hers fell on Kieran’s hand.

Kieran finally stopped.

The male teacher was already dying and didn’t respond at all.

Alarieka cried hard, holding back her sobs, sniffling: “Is he… is he dead, is he really dead…”

Kieran turned his head, those dark eyes staring at her, deep and unreadable: “Alarieka.”

Kieran’s voice was super hoarse, but Alarieka thought it sounded really nice, really nice, and immediately hugged Kieran’s arm.

Kieran raised his hand, and the moment his palm touched her cheek, he suddenly stopped.

Alaricka sniffled, her voice really nasal: “Kier.”

Kieran suddenly pulled his arm out of her embrace, and she felt empty inside.

Kieran first wiped the blood off his hands on the male teacher’s clothes, then stood up, walked behind her, picked up the jacket the male teacher had taken off, and put it on her.

“Get dressed.”

She pressed her lips together and looked down to put on her clothes.

She pushed herself up from the ground, and the next second everything suddenly went black.

It was Kieran who hugged her, holding her tightly in his arms, his arms wrapped firmly around her back, pressing her into his chest.

Kieran’s chin was on her shoulder, breathing heavily in her ear, and she was surrounded by Kieran’s scent.

Smelled really good, felt really comforting.

She blinked, raised both hands, and wrapped them around Kieran’s waist.

Kieran noticed and immediately hugged her tightly.

She pressed her lips into a smile, but in the next second, her smile froze.

Kieran was holding her arms, and they kept shaking—a surely 99% chance that she just couldn’t ignore it.

She asked, “Kieran, what’s wrong with you, why are your hands…”

Kieran took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was already completely hoarse and low:

“How long has he been doing this?”

She whispered, “It’s been like this since the start of the semester.”

Kieran was silent for a while, kind of helpless: “So it’s already been four months, why didn’t you tell me?”

She said, “I didn’t want you guys to worry, and you’re starting a business; I didn’t want to waste your time.”

Kieran lowered his voice, “If you do this, that’s the only way you can really hold me up. If I hadn’t made it in time this time, do you know what would have happened?”