Chapter 21

Sophia

Two weeks passed and nothing in my newly established routine changed.

I’d get up in the morning and have breakfast with Kieran, during which we would usually stay quiet. He would drive us to work, where he would give me some silly task that would take most of my day. Lunches with Clara became a regular thing, and I came to enjoy the time spent with her. Even though she was almost double my age, I felt comfortable around her. She was easy to talk to, so much that I had to be careful to not say something I wasn’t supposed to.

Which wasn’t the case with Kieran. Although we lived and worked together, and he expressed no more aggression towards me, nor did I ever notice any disgust or anything like that in his eyes, our relationship was never worse. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for or what I expected, but as time passed by, it was getting harder and harder for me to live like that.

I did my best to adapt; I swear. Coexisting with the man I was married to worked in the beginning. But now… I was starting to fail miserably at the task I gave myself. There was some growing uneasiness deep in my gut that kept me from relaxing and enjoying my new life.

The more time I spent with him, the bigger mystery he was becoming. And there was also Clara, who would give me a detail or two about Kieran during each lunch break. Like how he donates a million dollars to charity each year from his personal account, and how when he became CEO, he established a scholarship fund for the most talented students who could not afford to pursue their dreams, how kind and caring he was to her children… it was all the total opposite of the man I knew him to be, and that made me confused and more interested in him.

I was typing a summary of one of the many reports Kieran tasked me with when the door of my office snapped open and he came in. Lazily, I raised my eyes from the screen and directed them towards him, expecting yet another ridiculous task.

“Get ready. You’re coming with me to a business lunch.” He declared, not moving from where he was.

‘He’s waiting for me,’ I realized. So, I left what I was doing, grabbed my jacket and purse, and headed toward him, but he didn’t move. His scrutinizing eyes were holding mine without blinking, and the storm in them sent a shiver down my spine.

“Are you OK?” I asked, honestly worried about his wellbeing.

Even though I spent days trapped in this office doing nothing constructive, I noticed how much he exhausted himself with work.

As usual, I got no answer. He turned his back on me and headed straight towards the elevator, and once again, I followed wordlessly. ‘I really should get used to the treatment,’ I thought bitterly.

We were already in the car, driving through the city when suddenly, Kieran spoke:

“Remember what I told you when we got married?”

I was taken aback by his question, as I had no idea what he was referring to since we didn’t really talk much. But considering we were to attend lunch with his business partners at some posh restaurant, there could be only one thing he was trying to warn me about.

“Not to embarrass you?”

Kieran said nothing more, but his silence was sign enough for me that my guess was correct. I turned to the window, thinking how I never realized before that these rides I shared with Kieran stopped being uncomfortable.

Then a thought came to my mind: the street we were driving down was awfully familiar! Oh no!

I panicked when Kieran pulled over in front of the restaurant. The restaurant. The Saunders. Oh, God!

I couldn’t believe my luck. My damn luck!

Why in the world did Kieran have to choose this place for his meeting? Weren’t there any other restaurants in this town? This one was exclusive, but not that much!

How would I…? Would anyone…? What if…? Questions and options for me to make something up and evade this place were hurling through my head, and I didn’t even notice when Kieran exited the car and opened my door.

How would I survive this? I was not over what happened that day. I still had moments when I would remember the traumatic experience that could’ve ended a way worse than it did, and it made me feel nauseous. Coming back to this place…! Entering the premises? I was reliving the trauma, going through it once again. My heart was beating so fast I thought I would explode. My ears were ringing and my head felt like someone was smashing an anvil against it repeatedly.

With sweaty palms and a dry mouth, as if they were stuffed with cotton, and completely against my will, my legs moved on their own accord and took me out of the car. Kieran’s arm found its way around my waist, and he led me towards the entrance. I wasn’t physically aware of either his hand or that I was walking beside him. Still, before I realized it, we were inside and Kieran was talking with the hostess about the reservation while she, a girl I knew well, was staring at me without blinking.

The hostess led us to the table, and Kieran pulled a chair for me before he took a seat opposite me. At the table for two... And then it hit me. He was not supposed to attend a lunch with business partners. No. No, no. It was just an excuse to get me here.

The waiter offered us menus, a guy I didn’t recognize, and I accepted it with a shaking hand.

“Why did we come here?” I hissed in a whisper through a barely functional throat. Every word felt like sandpaper scratching down my throat.

Kieran shot me a glance, all but innocent.

“I told you. I have a business meeting here.” He made a brief pause before he continued. “I want to make a proposal to the owner of this joint.” He casually glanced around. “I appreciate the interior. I believe it would be a good place for a few upcoming events we have.”

If I didn’t know what was behind all of this, I would have bought what he was selling in an instant! Liar!

Before the waiter returned to take our orders, the person I was dreading to see appeared next to our table.

My heart rose to my throat, and I started shaking visibly.

I honestly had no idea why I was reacting the way I did. I wasn’t at fault and I did nothing wrong, but the fear my body still remembered was channeling itself in the worst way possible.

“You!” I heard a familiar voice hissing and my head snapped up. “I told you, if I ever see you, I will call the police!” He yelled, not minding the guests.

For a moment, all my attention was focused on the patch covering Mr. Saunders’ right eye, but Kieran quickly took the spotlight when he coughed and Mr. Saunders turned completely towards him.

“I’m sorry for the disturbance, Mr. King, but the young lady is a persona non grata in this restaurant.” He explained, and I could have sworn I never saw him act so humbly in all the years I have known him.

“Really? What did she do?” Kieran’s fake cluelessness almost made me laugh in frustration.

He was doing all of this on purpose to torture me, and this time I didn’t know how to react, how to defend myself. Kieran would never believe me and for some fucked up reason, I wanted nothing more in the world than for him to believe my innocence.

“This wretched girl was seducing me for months, trying to make me fall to my knees in front of her. She wanted my restaurant, and when I saw through her schemes and plans, she attacked me and poked my eye out!” Mr. Saunders started yelling again, attracting too much attention from the people sitting at the tables nearby.

“Oh, really? Why didn’t you call the police, then?” Kieran asked calmly, but I knew better. I recognized that demonic look on his face - he was barely containing himself from strangling my ex-boss to death.

I didn’t understand the game he was playing this time, but what was new? I understood none of his motives.

Mr. Saunders staggered a bit, taken aback by this question. A sleazy smile curved his lips upwards before he said: “Because I am a good man and I didn’t want to put her in jail.”

Oh, dear God! I had enough! I was about to protest and send that disgusting excuse of a man to hell when a familiar hand on my forearm stopped me, a move that didn’t go unnoticed by Mr. Saunders.

“You, sir, should find a better company for yourself. This little whore is just using you for money.”

My guts flipped, and I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths in a weak attempt to calm myself down. Every word of his false accusations was another blow to my stomach. Why? Oh, why did these things have to happen to me?

“You mean my wife?” Kieran suddenly got up and offered me his hand. I accepted it instinctively as if it was the only thing keeping my head above the water that threatened to drown me. “Our lawyer, Mr. Bailey, will be serving you with a settlement for the mudslinging you atrociously uttered today or we will see each other in court. Because my wife would never act like the whore you describe her to be.” Kieran said before leading me outside.