Chapter 24

The first thing that woke Kiara up the next morning was the loud ringing of her phone. She groaned, reaching for the offending material that didn't want to stop.

She was having a headache and she knew it even in her dreamlike stupor. Her head was pounding and it grew worse with the loud blaring of her phone.

Kiara successfully shut the phone off, sighing in peace at the quiet that filled the area. Just then, the phone blared again and this time, it was louder. She groaned, reaching for the phone again but this time she decided to answer the call.

"Hello."Kiara groaned.

"Hi love, is this a bad time?"Jack said

Even in her sleep filled stupor, she could recognize Jack's voice. She remembered everything she had talked about with Martha the previous day and at that Marthaent, she loathed him. She couldn't imagine she had fallen for his charms and his deep baritone voice when all she was feeling about it now was irritation.

Kiara felt guilty about falling for another man when she was married to Lucas. That wasn't in the contract they signed and she knew she was breaking a rule He very much loved her which just made her feel worse.

"Sixty thirty a. m is not a bad time for you?"Kiara snapped.

She wasn't usually like this but now, she just didn't care about what he thought about her. She wanted to shed him off like skin and the earlier she gets on with it, the better.

"Wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."Jack chuckled.

Kiara sat up, rubbing her head in apparent irritation. Jack was adding to her headache and all she wanted him to do was just to leave her alone.

"I guess so."Kiara sighed.

"So I called as regards our date later today. What time should I pick you up?"he asked.

Kiara couldn't believe what he just said. She couldn't understand how insensitive he could be. There was no apology whatsoever from him and all he was concerned about was the date. Now, she could see what Martha was warning her about.

She failed to see through him earlier but now that she knew the kind of person he was, she was going to stay clear of him.

"Don't bother about the date, I'm not coming."Kiara said.

She was beyond angry now and was only trying to tamp down on her temper but the more she talked to him, the more her anger rose.

"Are you kidding me?"Jack seethed.

"Does it look like I'm joking Jack? I'm not coming so don't bother coming to get me."Kiara said.

She decides not to sugar coat anything but instead, say it the way it was. It was clear to her now that Jack was someone that couldn't be trusted.

"Why? Did I do something wrong?"he asked.

"No, you didn't. The thing is, I just don't want to go and I think we should give ourselves some distance."Kiara said.

"I see,"he simply said.

Kiara remained quiet, waiting for his next words. She was grateful to Martha for helping her see the liar he was. Kiara wondered what could have been her fate if she had continued with her plan to go on a date with him.

No doubt, she knew she could have ended up regretting everything because Jack wasn't one to let go of something so easily. It was best she backed off now since she hadn't committed herself to him.

"So bye, I wish you all the best."she said before cutting the call.

She sighed, placing her phone on her bedside table. Her headache was getting worse and she knew she had to do something before she had a total migraine.

Kiara got up from her bed, making her way towards the kitchen for a strong cup of coffee. Her plan was to take this and wash it down with some painkillers before going back to sleep. She didn't have to go to work that day since she was on a shift.

"Thank you for ruining my morning Jack."she seethed.

The coffee was ready soon. Kiara placed the steaming hot mug on the center table, going over to the first aid box they had in the apartment before pulling out a sachet of painkiller.

She took two out of the pack, throwing the pills into her mouth before chasing it with a huge gulp of the dark brown liquid.

Kiara sat on the dining chair for a long time as her mind strayed towards Jack and everything they had discussed. She felt peace within her and she was quite glad that she was able to tell him off.

"What are you doing so early?"a voice said.

Kiara looked towards the direction the voice came from and discovered it was Martha who was walking towards her.

"Good morning Martha."Kiara smiled.

"Good morning love, did you sleep well?"She asked.

She brought down a mug from the rack, pouring a healthy portion of coffee from the small flask Kiara had made. She made her way towards where her daughter was sitting before taking a seat beside her.

"I got a call from Jack as early as six this morning."Kiara said.

"What did he want?"Erica asked.

Kiara told her everything they had said and as she recounted it to Martha, she was quite glad that she had told him off. It was better than regretting later on.

"I hope you weren't rude?"Martha asked.

If there was one thing Mrs Thompson frowned against, it was being rude. No matter who the person might be, she was always nice to them. This was something Kiara was trying to cultivate but it was getting too hard because that wasn't who she was.

"You're just like your Father. Strong headed and stubborn."Martha had once said.

Kiara was a bit proud about that because she was glad that at least she took one trait from her father.

"Well, I tried not to be."she said.

"Oh Kiara, I hope you didn't anger the young man,"Martha chuckled.

"I didn't, I just told him straight up why I couldn't go for the date and I think that's the only thing he was angry about."Kiara said.

"So are you going to check out the new job you told me about yesterday?"Martha asked.

"Gosh! Martha, thank you so much for reminding me. I have completely forgotten about it. I'll go later in the day."Kiara said.

She was quite glad Martha reminded her about it.

"Okay love, I wish you all the luck."she smiled.

Kiara smiled but deep down, she knew she was going to need it maybe even more. She was planning on leaving Eric's company and was sourcing out other jobs. She knew Lucas wouldn't agree to what she was doing being that she didn't tell him beforehand but she knew she had to do this on her own and fast if she wanted to escape Eric's clutches.