CHAPTER 86: MAYBE HE’S NOT SO BAD AFTERALL[JUNE’S POV]

I sat down slowly beside Alia and pulled her into my arms, her little body was still trembling under the oversized police hoodie. She wasn’t crying anymore, but I could feel the fear in the way she held me, like didn’t want to let go.

"You’re okay now," I whispered, running my hand gently down her damp hair. "You’re safe. Ash is just down the hall, okay?"

She nodded, but didn’t speak. Just leaned into me.

Without thinking, I shrugged off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. It was too big of course, it swallowed her whole.

"There," I said softly. "That better?"

She gave the tiniest nod.

"Alia," I said gently, tilting her face up with a finger. "Listen to me. Never, and I mean never go anywhere with someone you don’t know. Not even if they say they’re nice or they know Ash. Not even if they say they work in the police station or the hospital."

She sniffled. "But he held my hand. He didn’t seem bad at first..."

"I know, sweetie," I said. "But that’s how bad people work sometimes. They trick you. Next time...if someone you don’t know tries to take you anywhere, you scream, okay? You scream loud. You bite. You kick. You run. Understand?"

She looked down. Then slowly back up. "Yes, June."

"Good girl."

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then pulled her closer into the crook of my arms.

There was a long pause before she looked up at me with those wide, curious eyes.

"Is that your boyfriend?" she asked, pointing very obviously at Ian, who was standing a few feet away, arms crossed, watching us, pretending not to listen but clearly listening.

"What?" I blinked. "No. No, no. Definitely not."

"Why?" she asked innocently, still staring at him. "But, he’s handsome."

I snorted, nearly choking. "Please don’t ever say that to him."

"Why?" she asked innocently. "He is."

I sighed. "Okay, yes. He’s handsome. But that doesn’t mean he’s a good person."

I hesitated. My fingers paused in her hair. I glanced at Ian, who still had that unreadable expression. Then back at her.

Her brows furrowed. "Why not?"

I glanced sideways at Ian again before answering, lowering my voice. "Because... he bullies Ash."

That got her attention.

Her little body stiffened in my arms. "He bullies Ash?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "He hasn’t always been very nice to your brother."

I nodded.

Her face turned fierce..

And before I could say another word, she slipped out from under my arm, stormed across the room, and stood right in front of him.

"Hey," he said, blinking in surprise. He leaned down slightly, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "You’re kind of cute, you kn..."

WHACK.

She kicked him. Right in the knee.

"Ow!" Ian staggered back, his eyes widened. "What the hell was that for?" He winced.

Alia folded her arms across her chest. "You’re not a good person! You bully my brother! I don’t like you!"

And with that, she spun on her heel and marched straight toward Dominic, who was sitting silently on one of the chairs near the corner.

Ian looked at me, completely baffled. "Is no one going to address the fact that she just assaulted me?"

"She’s eight," I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.

Ian turned to me, "did you seriously tell her that?"

Still chuckling, I shrugged. "Next time, maybe don’t bully people who have baby sisters like her."

He groaned. "You’re unbelievable."

I shrugged again. "She’s loyal."

He stared down at his leg. "She’s also violent."

I stood slowly, brushing off my hands. "Now you know how Ash feels."

He didn’t respond.

Dominic’s eyes had followed the whole scene, and now he was smiling as Alia ran straight to him.

He looked down at her. "Hey, babygirl."

She climbed right onto the chair beside him, wrapping herself around his side like she’d known him forever.

He chuckled under his breath. "Well. That was dramatic."

I was still recovering from laughter on the other side of the hallway.

Dominic tilted his head, looking down at Alia.

"Alia, why’d you kick Ian?"

Alia looked up at him. "He’s not nice. June said so."

He bit back a grin, then let out a small laugh. "Well... to be fair, Ian kind of deserved that. He’s not exactly the nicest guy around."

"Hey!" Ian called out beside me. "Hello? I can hear you!"

"But," Dominic added, lowering his voice and tapping the tip of Alia’s nose, "we don’t handle things with violence, okay? Even when people are mean. You’re smart. When you use your words, that’s brave."

Alia blinked up at him. "But he was mean to Ash."

"I know. And it wasn’t okay," Dominic said. "But still kicking someone won’t fix it. Violence doesn’t fix everything."

There was a long pause. Alia looked down at her feet.

"Should I say sorry?"

Dominic smiled. "I think that would be the brave thing to do. Also tell him your mind."

Alia gave a little nod. She slid off the seat again.

Ian raised both eyebrows as she approached. "You coming back for round two or...?"

Alia stopped in front of him, looking up.

"I’m sorry I kicked you," she said seriously. "But don’t bully Ash again."

Ian blinked, clearly caught off guard.

Then he crouched a little, resting his hands on his knees. "Deal."

He reached a hand toward her head again, but she met him with the most unbothered death stare.

He immediately backed his hand away. "Whoa. Okay. Message received."

And with that, she spun again and ran back toward Dominic like he was home. She practically dove into the seat beside him and leaned her head on his arms. He didn’t seem to mind. He’d shifted just enough to give her space without moving away from her.

Dominic looked down at her, and smiled.

"They’re close," Ian said quietly.

I nodded beside him. "Yeah... weirdly close. She doesn’t act like this with anyone else."

"That obviously means Dom and ash have been hanging out for a while now," Ian murmured.

I squinted at them again.

Just kept watching as Alia yawned again and leaned more fully into Dominic’s side, her tiny feet curled up underneath her.

He didn’t move. He just let her rest, his gaze was lost somewhere across the room.

I found myself watching him more than I meant to. There was something so still about Dominic, and how extremely calm he is.

I used to think he was cold. Like the kind of guy who’d let people fall apart and walk away without blinking.

I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his head. If he was thinking about Ash. Why he was so gentle with Alia. Why Ash trusted him.

"Whatever it is," I finally said, "Ash clearly trusts him. And Alia does too. That’s not nothing."

"Yeah," Ian said, leaning in. "They’re keeping it lowkey."

"They’re really sneaky," I whispered.

He snorted.

"Right? That boy’s like a golden retriever on mute, but the second it’s about Ash....he’s suddenly alert."

I shook my head, watching them again.

My heart kind of... squeezed at that.

"She’s asleep," I said softly. "Poor thing’s exhausted."

Ian nodded, almost like he was thinking about something he couldn’t quite say out loud.

Then, in a slightly more serious voice, i said, "Hey... Ian."

He glanced at me.

"Thanks... for today."

He hesitated, then shrugged. "You don’t have to thank me."

"I do," I said. "I’m surprised you have a heart, haha. You’re not a complete ass."

He looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. Well, I have a heart of course."

That made me smile, but it didn’t erase the things that still needed to be said.

"Ian," I said, quieter now. "About Ash..."

His eyes flicked to mine, a little guarded.

"I know you’ve given him a hard time. I’m not judging. We’ve all been messed up in our own ways," I continued. "But after today... seeing Alia like that, seeing what he’s dealing with... Just, maybe don’t make his life harder, okay?"

Ian exhaled slowly, eyes dropping to the floor. "Yeah. I know."

"Promise?" I asked.

He nodded once. "I promise. I won’t mess with him anymore. I mean it."

"Good." I offered a small smile. "And don’t worry. I won’t get in your business anymore after today either."

He looked at me. "Phew! At last."

I grinned. "I mean, unless you’re being an asshole."

He scoffed.

I looked at him for a moment.

So the Ice Prince does have decency buried under all that arrogance. Maybe he’s not a completely terrible human being after all.

But then again, deciding not to bully someone didn’t exactly cancel out the fact he has always been a jerk... or the fact that he was still a walking red flag and a shameless sex addict who probably wants to screw every girl he meets, but hey...that’s none of my business.

Somewhere down the hall, Ash was probably still sitting there, not even realizing his entire life was shifting. People who used to hate him were defending him now.

I glanced back across the room again.

I’m glad Alia is fine.