Chapter 54 Qualifications
Kian
This was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. What even was this?
I was still suffering from the hangover that came with my reckless drinking last night. I still hadn’t moved on from the embarrassment I caused at my parents' wedding anniversary only to come outside to a crashed Mustang towed into my villa—right outside my door.
A groan slipped from my mouth, my hand ripping through my hair as I read the message over and over. The one my uncle sent me. “You have paid with your blood. Time to pay with your money,”
My jaw tightened so hard that it ached, and I had to take deep breaths to calm the anger surging through me. I had only cracked my fist on his car’s window and even that happened months back. So, why would he send me a completely damaged car?
I only broke his car’s window for heaven’s sake!
How did I even get here? I knew he was doing this because I had kissed Verena.
This was why I hated drinking too much and I didn’t plan to consume much alcohol until Verena came, looking as hot as sin in the beautiful dress that brought out her curves and triggered me.
I took a picture of the wrecked car, sending it to my secretary, Jaden. “Check what brand of Mustang this is and the price. Get back to me immediately,”
Uncle Daxton had given me twenty-four hours to send a new car back in. And the last thing I wanted right now was to piss him further after what had happened with Verena.
I removed a cigarette from the packet, placing it between my lips before lighting it—just in time as my phone buzzed with Jaden’s message.
“Mustang GT500. Approximately $127,895 but we could get a lower price for $80,795. Let me know what you think and I will source the replacement immediately,”
“The most expensive one. He doesn’t use cheap cars,” I texted back, shoving my phone back into my pocket before my mind drifted back to what had happened last night.
I had woken up inside my car. Apparently, Zita had locked me out because she was mad. While her anger was valid, it made no sense to me. This was my house! How could she abandon me in the car?
At the same time, my fingers brushed through my lips, and the warmth that pooled in my chest just from feeling Verena’s lips made my heart flutter. I kissed her after so many years and it felt good.
Very good.
If she had kissed me back, that would’ve shown that she still had interest in me but Tobias!—
I whipped my phone out of my pocket, dialing Tobias’s number.
It rang once. Twice and then he picked up.
“Hello…” He groaned over the phone, his voice half-asleep.
“Someone should seriously look into how you are a psychologist. You clearly have no idea what you are doing. Your so-called analysis didn't just get me slapped once, I was slapped three times. You completely ruined my night,” I almost shouted.
“What?”
“You heard me, right”
“The last thing I would tolerate right now is you talking down on my qualifications just because we are friends. I have attended to many clients and none of them have ever complained about my diagnosis”
I scoffed. “Do you even have clients?”
Tobias raised his voice. “Fuck you, Kian. Fuck you,”
“We both know that you are still being bankrolled by your dad. If it weren't for your family’s influence, I’m pretty sure that no one would hire you” My tone was clipped.
“I went to the best university in the whole of America—”
“Shouldn't that be more disappointing?”
He sucked in a deep breath and I could hear this rough sound in the background. “This is about last night, right?”
“Yes!”
“Remember that you ruined the plan. If you had followed the original plan, that would have never happened”
“But it doesn’t change the fact that she slapped me and isn’t in love with me anymore!”
Tobias chuckled over the phone. “Who said that?”
“I saw it. We all saw it. She kissed my uncle and—”
Tobias cut in, still laughing. “Now listen to this, you are on stage crashing out and because she is scared of your uncle, she kissed him just to leave him unsuspecting. No one does that except an ex who hasn’t moved on,”
Something inside of me shifted and I could feel the anger building within me, slowly vanishing into the air.
“Really?” I blew a cloud of smoke.
“As I said, Verena is clearly conflicted. When you kissed her, did she push you back immediately?”
I shook my head, my mind replaying how she stilled for seconds. “No, she didn’t. But I think it took her a few seconds or a minute before she reacted,”
I heard the way he snapped his finger. “Bingo!”
“You see, every second counts. Do you want to know the thoughts that could have been running through her mind before she pushed you away? She thought about kissing you back but those painful memories of your mistreatment of her made her push you away,”
I removed the cigarette from my mouth, crushing it under my foot. “You are saying that Verena wanted to kiss me back?”
“I saw the hesitation in her eyes before she kissed your uncle. I saw the longing in them when she yelled at you,”
I clutched my heart. “Oh My God, Verena”
“I am sure you made her heart race last night. I am sure that she couldn’t have slept without thinking of you”
Did she really think of me last night?
“Are you sure, Tobias?”
“I could tell just from her body language,”
“I don’t trust your analysis, Tobias”
“It is up to you, Kian but the clients that pay for my services have never complained. Believe me, when I say she is still very much into you.”