Chapter 22

Sophia

“Are you all right?” I heard him ask, but I couldn’t answer.

Instead, I shook my head in negation.

I wasn’t all right. In fact, I was as far away from being all right as possible.

Everything I tried to suppress came back to me at once. Everything I faced in the last seven years, everything I pushed in some deep corner of my mind, broke through at the same time and weighted on me so intensely my knees collapsed. And if it weren’t for Kieran, who reacted promptly, I would have ended up on the ground.

My heart was beating fast, and I had trouble catching breath; no matter how much I fought to get enough air in my lungs, I failed to the point where dark spots started clouding my peripheral vision.

I was having a full-blown panic attack in the middle of the parking lot! I hadn’t had them for years, and they were an everyday occurrence after my parents died. And I knew what was to come. I was about to faint and create an even bigger scene and embarrass Kieran.

Then, suddenly, something changed.

The atmosphere around Kieran and me shifted in an unknown direction, and the next thing I knew was his lips that covered mine, capturing them in a passionate kiss while pulling my mind out of the gutter that threatened to swallow me whole.

All I could think about were his lips that attacked mine, his lips that devoured mine... Lips that made me feel things I had never experienced before... At that moment, I didn’t want to let go but hold on to them forever.

Kieran moved back from me, and even though my breathing was labored and my heart was still beating too fast, it wasn’t caused by suppressed fear. No, the reason was much more confusingly divine.

“Better now?” Kieran inquired, and I opened my eyes to meet his.

By some chance, he seemed as lost as I was. A storm was clouding his grey skies and his mouth was slightly parted, his hair disheveled. I noticed my arms were wrapped around his neck. When the hell did that happen and how did I not notice it?

I moved back too and retracted my hands from him fast.

Kieran opened the door for me, and I got into the car. A few seconds later, he was beside me. I did not dare look at him.

Kieran King kissed me.

From that moment on, no Mr. Saunders existed, no thought of what he tried to do before he ‘fired me.’ I forgot all about the incident that happened and all about the fire, alcohol, Aunt Moira, and running away… everything that threatened to break me just a minute ago.

“Sorry. It was the only way to distract you before you fainted.” Kieran apologized sincerely, taking me by surprise as I expected nothing like that from the man I knew him to be.

“No… I have to thank you. I was about to lose it…”

“What happened that day?” He was already focused on the road, and I didn’t ask where we were going.

I was quiet for a while, and Kieran probably thought I wouldn’t answer his question because he added: “Come on, you can tell me. I’m your husband, after all.”

It made me chuckle darkly, bitterly. This was the best he had?

“You trust me?”

“I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t.” Honestly, this was not something I expected to hear, not even in my wildest dreams.

By the time I got over this new Kieran, who talked and explained himself without aggression, he had already parked the car in front of the house we lived in.

We got inside, and Kieran motioned for me to follow him, only for us to end up in the living room. I never actually spent any time there; I only passed it by twice a day.

“Want something to drink?” Kieran couldn’t stop surprising me today, both pleasant and not.

“I don’t drink.”

“Suit yourself,” he murmured and poured himself a glass of amber liquid, which I eyed suspiciously. I was afraid of drunken men, and I could only pray that the amount he prepared for himself wasn’t more than he could handle. “Sit. It’s time for us to talk.”

“You mean it’s time for me to tell you what you want to know while ignoring my every question?” His smirk gave me a straightforward answer. What a fool I was to hope Kieran King could change.

However, I sat down on the sofa. My body was exhausted from all the stress, and it needed rest.

“What happened that day?” Kieran pressed, and I realized he wouldn’t give up.

For a moment, I contemplated whether or not I should tell him, but in the end, decided to do it. I told no one, and it was still eating me from the inside.

“All right, I will skip the details you probably figured out. I worked for him for three years and I was invested in the job with every fiber of my being. I worked after hours, from home, never took vacation; I neglected my life, my family… I almost lost my sister because of it.” I shuddered as the memories kept flooding my mind. “I called him uncle. He was my family too… until he decided to…” I stopped. How do I say something like that out loud when I refused to even think about it? “He attacked me, tried to… force himself on me.” breath hitched in my throat, but I didn’t let it break. “I don’t remember what happened after he started… touching me and saying all those disgusting things to me… I remember trying to fight him off, to get him off of me… and hitting him in the eye might be how I escaped.” It made sense now. He was a lot taller and heavier than me, and it was a miracle I got out unharmed.

All along, I was looking nowhere in particular; my eyes unfocused.

“Why didn’t you go to the police?” He demanded an answer, anger rolling off of him in waves.

“Because I had better things to do?” I snapped. “Like saving my sister from committing suicide after your brother left her pregnant? Or coming here to kill you, and we both know how that turned out. Or looking for a new job and trying to forget the traumatic experience you made me live through once again? Oh, and how about my word against his would mean nothing because he is a famous businessman and I am not? Like you once said, who would’ve believed me?”

Kieran bottomed up his drink and swung the glass across the room, throwing it against the opposite wall, where it smashed into a million pieces before it fell to the floor, scaring me shitless.

“I will deal with that piece of shit!” he roared. “You should rest today.” With that, he headed out, but before he exited, I called out:

“Why did you take me there today? I would’ve told you everything if you asked.” It was the truth.

“Because you had to face him. You had to face your fear. You need to know I can protect you and that pig will never hurt you again. Then, maybe, you will stop screaming in your sleep every other night.”