In the middle of the night, Sarah slowly sat up, letting the covers fall off the top half of her body. Her sensitive nipples hardened at the sudden change in temperature and she smiled at this reaction, cupping her breasts and giving them a gentle squeeze. Soft lighting illuminated the room without being too uncomfortable. She glanced at her naked body, and any other time, She would've pulled the covers back up. But not today. Everything felt different. Henry's loving gaze had all her insecurities melting away. She felt comfortable her skin.

Sarah folded one leg, keeping the other straight, and ticked her chin to Henry, signalling him to lay his head on her folded lap. And he did. She watched his lips curve into a content smile. A massive flying-eagle tattoo covering one of his shoulder blades caught her attention and her fingers, as if they had a mind of their own, traced the outline and then deeper into the tattoo. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin against her finger tips. A soft moan escaped his lips, letting her know he enjoyed this too.

There was a sudden change in skin texture and she froze. Her eyes widened at the discovery. This wasn't a regular tattoo, but a cover up. Beneath the artistic drawing lay a fist-sized irregular burn scar. His wrist had a burn scar too. For split second, she did not know how to react. She felt him tense and she bent over to kiss the scar.

"You are the second person to find out," he said, almost inaudible.

"I don't want to find out who the first person is," she said jokingly, even though the first person she thought of was Cindy. That woman had become a shadow in her heart one that she couldn't shake off. You know, once bitten twice shy. That aside, she was curious of the story behind it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Henry did not say a word for a long while, his eyes fixed at a particular point. He seemed to struggle with words and Sarah gave him time, combing her fingers through his hair in a soothing way. Still nothing. Was she pushing him too hard? "You don't have to..."

"Most people think we were this rich when I was young." Right when she was about to change the subject, he started, his voice really soft and laden with emotion. "We weren't. The Salva Corporation was still a small company and, with dad being the workaholic he is, he was barely home. It was mostly Mom and me, but still, she was busy with work at the company. She had to juggle between raising a kid and work. With both my parents barely home, I had two bunnies as pets to keep me company. At that time, we lived in fairly affordable mansion in the East District but it had unstable electric connections for some reason." He remembered something, chuckled and shrugged. "Why we never moved? I don't know."

Sarah did not interrupt him. She listened carefully while still combing through his hair thoroughly enjoying the feeling of silky strands slipping through her fingers. Henry took a deep breath and continued. "It was my birthday that night. I was turning six and I was beyond excited to see mom. She'd returned from a business trip just in time to make it for my birthday. Unfortunately, there was a power failure that night and we had to use candles. My mom loved candles." He paused, breathing in and out three times to calm down. He sniffled and let out a long exhale before continuing, "Everything was perfect. She sang for me, played with me, and even let me lie on her lap. She held me in her arms, rocking us from side to side as she sang. I felt safe. And loved. She had such a lovely voice, like yours."

Henry swallowed a hard lump forming in his throat, trying hard not to let his voice crack. "Perhaps due to exhaustion or warmth, we somehow fell asleep, leaving the burning candles unattended. And then it all happened." A lone tear escaped his eye and fell on Sarah's thigh. She gave him a reassuring squeeze and let him continue. "When I woke up, we were surrounded by flames. I shook my mom awake, just in time to dodge a falling beam."

He continued with the saddest tone ever, making Sarah's eyes water. "We tried to escape but right before we opened the door, another beam fell, and unfortunately, mom couldn't dodge it in time. He hit her on the head and she passed out, falling right into a burning shoe rack. I tried dragging her outside but what could six year old me possibly do? I couldn't give up and I tried waking up, crying and yelling at the same time. My clothes caught fire too but I didn't care. I needed mom to wake up.

"We were rescued by a neighbor. That was when I realized a portion of my back was burnt and a thick smell of burning flesh permeated the air, making me nauseous. Mom's white dress was covered in soot and blood. God, I still see it every time I close my eyes. My pets didn't survive the fire."

Sarah wiped her river of tears, feeling her squeeze painfully. She had a feeling had never spoken about this to anyone based on the raw emotions in his voice. She didn't interrupt because he needed this. In the end, she only gave a gentle squeeze, letting him know she's here for him.

"More and more neighbors came, attempting to put out the fire. Thick smoke billowed, the hungry flames crackled and the wind sure didn't make it any easier. And then I could hear the blaring sirens, more noise, and the overwhelming acrid smell of smoke and burning flesh assaulted my senses. I saw mom being strapped into the ambulance. I took advantage of the commotion and ran off to a corner, trying to block out all the noises.

"Terrible idea. Next thing I knew, dozens of cameras were pointed at me and all kinds of microphones shoved towards my face. I was scared, shocked and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. Those reporters only cared about making the next headline. They hurled questions after questions at me with the numerous camera shutters and flashes going off. I froze and the world spinned. I couldn't utter a single word and when I did, I could only cry, calling for mom. I must have passed out because I woke up in a hospital later with machines hooked on me, and I couldn't see mom. Only Dad was there and, for the first time, I saw him cry."

After narrating tragic story, Henry sat up and wiped his tears with the back of his hands, attempting to regain his nonchalant demeanor.

"I'm so sorry." Sarah pulled him into a crushing hug, letting her tears fall freely. He buried his face in the crook her a neck and allowed his repressed emotions flow out. "It's okay..." she repeated over and over, patting his back gently. It took a good fifteen minutes before he was able to calm down.

He leaned her forehead on hers, inhaling her unique scent he loved so much. "My father remarried within a year after the incident because he couldn't take care of me on his own. I could tell he still blamed me for my mother's death and he put me through hellish training, either as a punishment or to protect myself. Everything was good until my younger brother, Ethan, was born two years later. Everything changed. The fight for the right to inheritance began. My father projected his high standards onto me and out of jealousy, my stepmother made my life a living hell."

"Maybe due to trauma, I had selective amnesia. And with everything going on, my desire for freedom grew stronger, and I studied hard. Hard enough to qualify for Havard. I loved freedom but my family clutches wouldn't leave me alone." His voice was still sad but there was a trace of passion and determination. "That's when I started the Xian Enterprises. I wanted to let my dad know that I wasn't as useless as he thought. I could survive without him."

Sarah hugged him tighter, resting her head on his shoulder. "I didn't have the best childhood either, and my seventh birthday was shit." She narrated her story without much emotion in her voice, as if she was talking about her stranger. At the end, she laughed softly. "I've always thought my childhood was terrible but after listening to yours, I'm not too sad anymore. Even though a part of me still wishes dad would have been present in our lives."

"Babe, don't feel so bad," he sighed, smoothening her hair. "Look at me. I had a dad, and a shit one at that. All he cared about was whether the company made more profits and certainly more concerned about his image than his own son. I'd give anything to grow up in a regular family without the fighting and unhealthy competition for the damn inherence I didn't even ask for."

"Good to know." Sarah pulled out of the hug, feeling much better. She framed his face with her hands and pecked the corner of his lips. "I have an idea." Henry nodded, and she continued, "My birthday is in two weeks and since we both have awful memories, how about we make beautiful memories instead."

Henry's face brightened and the corner of his lips tugged. "I'm listening..."

"Let's have a birthday dinner date to celebrate but our birthdays. What do you say?"

"I'm in."

Sarah squealed in excitement, wrapped her arms around his neck and covered his lips with hers. She managed to pull back right before he deepened the kiss. "I'm rather curious though," she was silent for a few seconds, contemplating whether to ask or not. "Why did you leave your life in Boston?" Henry stiffened at her question and did not respond. "Is it because of her?" she blurted out, feeling her eyes sting.

Henry brushed away the hair on her face and looked her in the eye. Pain lingered in his eyes even though he tried to hide it. "Babe, there somethings I can't talk about now. I will tell you everything. Just not now. If it makes you feel better, you're the first person I've told my story."

"What about her?" she asked, unconvinced.

"She doesn't know the details." He smiled, looking at her relieved face. "She only knows the strong, billionaire Henry, not this broken and messed Henry." He suddenly laughed and shook his head. "I still don't know how I managed to tell you all this. Can you imagine a grown ass man like me afraid of a flame?" He pinched his brows together in defeat. "And I can't look at a fucking camera without feeling like throwing up."

Sarah propped her chin on her fist and studied his face, taking in his every expression. Who knew that behind such a tough exterior was a broken soul? "ls that why you took that media house out of business?"

"Yeah," he chortled. "With my looks and influence, I wouldn't have had a day of peace with the paparazzi. The lesson had to be severe enough." He smirked and raised his eyebrows, teasing, "You seem to have done your research pretty well."

"That's Emily's speciality." Sarah rubbed the tip of her nose with her index finger to hide her embarrassment. "Actually, I don't know much about you. I didn't even know who you were until Emily filled me in."

"Thank her for me," he said while reclaiming his spot on her lap.

"No. You'll do it yourself." Sarah got excited thinking about her friend. "She'll be thrilled to receive a thank you from you personally. It is safe to say she's your fan." She let out a soft laugh. "if I know her, and I know Emily well, she'll definitely ask for an autograph and a selfie. You'd better be prepared."

"When?"

"How about tomorrow night? Dinner at my place. I'll cook," Sarah announced cheerfully, wiping away the last traces of the depressing mood lingering in the room. "I'll invite Robert, if you don't mind."

"Okay," he whispered, tracing his fingers on her delicate skin. "But first..." he got on his knees and left a trail of kisses all the way to her sweet spot on her neck right below the ear, earning a moan from her. "Let's pick up from where we left."