Conrad
I finish up for my lunch break and wait for Maya to arrive. She texted to say she was outside, so she should be up any minute. I will take her out for lunch. I hear a knock at my office door and look up to see her standing on the other side. I smile brightly and tell her to come in.
The second she stepped into my office, I knew something was wrong. She has been crying and looks broken. I rush over to her.
“Maya, what is wrong?” I ask concerned.
Her lip trembles and a loud whimper comes from her lips. She buries her face in my chest and begins to cry.
I hug her tightly, “Maya, talk to me, sweetheart.”
She lifts her head to look up at me, the tears rolling down her cheeks, “Callum. Photos.” Is all she can get out.
I look at her, confused, “I need more than that, angel. What do you mean?”
She sobs and takes her cell from her pocket. She messes with it for a moment and hands it to me. I see naked photos of her from an unknown number, and now I know what I mean. I scan through the texts, too. Anger runs through me. I didn’t think it was possible for me to hate him or want to hurt him more, but these photos made me want to kill him even more than before.
“Conrad, what if he puts them out there for the world to see?” she whimpers.
“I wish I could tell you he wouldn’t, but I know better. I think it is time for me to hire a private investigator to find him. He is not getting away with this any fucking longer. We should take these to the police, too.”
I wish I could tell her everything was okay and she had nothing to worry about, but we knew what the bastard was capable of.
“No, I don’t want anyone else to see them. I don’t even remember him taking them. He took them without my permission, Conrad. What do I do if he puts them out there? Everyone will see. It will ruin your reputation. Your business and it will be another reason for your father to hate me.”
She is struggling to breathe. A panic attack is building. I take her hands in mine and lead us over to the sofa in my office, sitting down.
“Maya, look at me, sweetheart. Deep breaths. I don’t give a damn about my reputation, business or family right now. I don’t want you to worry about those things, okay? I have people who can monitor things online. If they show up, they will be deleted instantly. I promise.”
She shakes her head and tries to talk but can’t find the words. Her hands are shaking, her face flushed, and I am sure her heart is racing at double the speed. She closes her eyes and tries to steady her breathing. I hold her hand tighter and encourage her the best I can. She needs to come out of it herself.
I pull away, only to get her some water. It takes a couple of minutes, but she does calm down and takes a sip of water.
“Conrad, I have already caused so much drama and pain in your life. I don’t want to do anything else that will hurt you. Maybe I should leave. Maybe you should just forget about me. You could have a better life with someone else. Someone who doesn’t come with so much baggage and is broken beyond repair.” She stammers, shaking her head.
“Maya, you are not broken. You have had a tough life, yet you are still here, still standing and fighting. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You are not going anywhere. We are in this together, remember? Always and forever. I am not losing you because of him. You need to stop thinking I would do better without you and with someone else. It isn’t true. All I want is you. My life would have no meaning without you.” I say softly and wipe her tears away.
“I will never understand why you choose to stay, Conrad, after everything.”
“Because I love you. You are used to people leaving and hurting you. I am not those people. I will always be here.” I promise.
“You are the best man I have ever known. No, you are the best human I have ever known. I love you so much, Conrad, and I hate that you are being hurt and dragged into this mess.” She sighs.
I scoot closer to her, “Angel, I know you love me, and I am glad to be here with you because the idea of you going through this hell alone or still being with him are ones that are enough to kill me. Everything will be okay. I don’t know when, but it will be.” I say and kiss her softly.
When we part, she flings her arms around my neck and hugs me for dear life, “Please, don’t ever leave me.” She pleads.
I stroke her hair and try to fight back my own tears, “I promise, I am not going anywhere.”
She crawls into my lap and continues to hug me. She needs comfort.
“How about we get out of here and go home, beautiful? I can make us some lunch, and I will call the private investigator to get started right away.”
I have already been in contact with him. He is waiting for my call to get started.
“Yes, please. I am sorry I ruined our lunch.” She whispers.
“You didn’t ruin anything. All of this is out of your control.” I say and caress the small of her back.
I really need the police or the investigator to find Callum, but if they don’t, I will make sure I do, and it won’t end well for him. I would offer him money, but I don’t believe that would help. The only way he is going to stop is if he is in jail.
Maya removes herself from my lap. I gather my things to take home with me, letting my assistant know I will be working from home if she needs me. I need to be at home with Maya, not in the office. Work can do without me for the day, but Maya can’t.
I keep her close as I lead us to my car. I let her climb in first and looked around to make sure there was no sign of Callum before I got into the car with her. I need to fix all of this and soon. If the photos get put out there, I truly believe it will be Maya’s breaking point, and she will head down a bad path or worse. I can’t let that happen. I will work it out, one way or another. He has taken enough for her; he isn’t getting to take any more.
Maya stares out of the window on the ride back. I place my hand on her knee so she knows I am here for her. She places her hand over mine and holds it tightly but doesn’t look at me. I know she will be crying again without even seeing her. I wish there were a way I could take it all away from her and erase her past, but since I can’t, I will do my best to take care of her and give her the best life I can. She deserves happy memories to replace all the bad ones.