Chapter 18

Kendall couldn’t move; her legs were literally shaking inside her pants.

Fear clawed its way through her heart, making her entire body tense.

“You know,” he went on, tilting his head. “Your entire family situation.”

She couldn’t breathe.

“How you can’t reveal where you’re from, since you’re under some sort of protection,” he clarified.

Air whooshed into her lungs, and she slowly exhaled it, nodding. “Oh. Right, I get it.”

She felt dizzy.

He nodded. “Yeah. Sabrina tells me you live alone. That can’t be easy at sixteen years of age. Clearly, you’ve been through some stuff. That proves how strong you are, so why let Sabrina treat you that way?”

Finally managing to calm down, she forced herself to meet his gaze. “Well, to be honest. I need her. I’ve never had any close friends before, and neither has Sabrina. I don’t mind giving in to her, so I prioritise maintaining our friendship over getting my way.”

He raised a brow. “All because you want her as a friend?”

Pursing her lips, Kendall nodded.

Lucien sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand. “Listen, Kendall. I’m gonna give you some advice.”

She blinked innocently, waiting in silence.

Lucien met her gaze. “You’re a great kid. Sabrina’s brought a lot of girls over here, but I’ve never seen a kid as good as you. I know that you’re top of your class, academically. You’ve got excellent manners, and you have so much respect for other people. I see you as my daughter, so I’m going to tell you this. You don’t need Sabrina to navigate life. You’d be better off without her.”

Kendall blinked, taken aback.

He nodded. “She’s my daughter, and I love her, yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to her flaws. When I came to the school and we stood in that office, she blamed everything on you. You said nothing. Do you know how dangerous letting her do that is? You could have your entire reputation ruined one day, you could lose an entire scholarship or even a career by taking the blame for bad things.”

She was staring at him, her mouth slightly parted in awe. “You... didn’t believe her?”

“Of course, I didn’t, I’m immune to her lies,” he muttered. “That’s not the point. Do you hear me?”

Blinking, she pouted and nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good. I suggest you put your foot down. Either she treats you as well as you treat her, or you end that friendship.”

Kendall pursed her lips, running through mental calculations. Coming to the quick conclusion that she’d rather not lose Sabrina in this new life she was living, she chose to reject his advice. Even though every fibre of her wanted to follow his word like the law, just to impress him.

“Well... she’s not as bad as you make her sound.”

Lucien tilted his head. “She’s my daughter, I know her better than anyone.”

Raising her gaze, Kendall boldly met his gaze. Standing there in the dimly lit kitchen and talking with someone like Lucien, who showed more concern for her in ten minutes than she’d ever gotten from anyone in her entire life, she couldn’t help the warmth that surrounded her heart. Maybe that was when her crush on him began.

Sighing, she shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think you know her all that well, Mr Sinclair. Because if you did, you’d understand that everything she does is to get your attention.”

“I know that.”

“Well, why don’t you give her attention, then?” She knew she was being forward, so she tried to keep her tone as polite as possible. “I mean, she tries everything to sit and talk to you, I think it would be great if you humoured her.”

Narrowing his eyes, Lucien studied her. “Did she also tell you that I used to hang out with her and take her with me on every business trip until she started ruining everything I do with her bratty behaviour?”

Kendall blinked. “Pardon?”

“Sabrina and I have an understanding. When I come home from work, I ask to be left alone. She insists on making my every free moment about her and not only does she have nothing important to tell me, she fills our every conversation with insults and condescending comments about people she considers beneath us. Does that sound like something I want to do after work each night?”

Pursing her lips, Kendall found herself unable to say another word.

He nodded. “I didn’t think so. I’ve given you my advice, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe you are more like Sabrina than I thought and would rather sell your dignity to her than keep your self-respect. If that’s the case, sweetheart, I won’t bother interfering anymore.”

Feeling scolded, Kendall clenched her chin, fighting a pout.

“I’m sorry, Mr Sinclair.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said gently. “I’m not upset. You’re young, maybe you’ll see things differently when you’re older. You can go to bed now, it’s late.”

She nodded, clutching the water bottles to her chest as he walked past her to get his wine glass. “Good night, Mr Sinclair.”

“Good night, Kendall.”

And then he was gone.

Kendall returned to the bedroom in a trance.

Sabrina was refreshing the paint on one of her nails as the movie played on the massive TV they were watching.

“Did you get lost?” she asked casually, grabbing a bottle out of Kendall’s hands.

With a sigh, Kendall plopped down on the bed, staring into space. “Yeah…”

“Happens to everyone I bring over,” Sabrina said. “Our house is massive.”

Still zoned out, Kendall tried to sort out her thoughts. She shoved aside the butterflies she’d felt in the kitchen earlier, shoved away the thoughts that Lucien Sinclair was the coolest man she’d ever spoken to, and pulled to the forefront the thought of her friendship with Sabrina.

Maybe Mr Sinclair was right. Of course, he was. Kendall was past thinking the man could be wrong about anything, he was perfection personified.

Slowly turning to Sabrina, she looked at her friend’s pretty face. “Hey, Brina?”

“Hm?”

Kendall slowly blinked. “I feel like you think I’m a pushover.”

Sabrina paused. Slowly, she looked at Kendall. “You’re not?”