Chapter 117 Seperate
Kian
After days of waiting anxiously for her response and this was it?
The voices in the boardroom faded, the color draining from my face as I stared back at the pictures that mocked me. Pictures of his head on her chest, of them in the bathtub.
‘Have a nice day, Miss Tamara.’
I suddenly forgot how to breathe, my lungs constricting as I stared at those five words and those pictures with that familiar ache blooming in my chest.
I shouldn't let this get to me. I mean, I already knew they were fucking each other—which was still a reality I struggled to grapple with but having it slapped in my face like this, was a brutal reminder I hadn’t asked for.
My heart picked up its beat and at the same time, something struck me. Why would she send something like this to me? A message like that should put her on the edge? It should leave her curious but…
Fuck!
Could she know I was the one behind the fake email account?
Or was there someone in my uncle’s life with the name
Tamara?
Or worst case, what if he was the one who saw the mail before she did and he figured out I was the one and…
Shit.
But I doubted that. If he were, he wouldn't send this to me and would have come for me instead.
“Mr. Kian?” A voice pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts and that was when I noticed the eyes glued on me and most importantly, Mikaelson who looked at me with intense scrutiny.
I matched his awful stare, sneering at him. “What?”
Just because he was the acting CEO didn’t mean the role was his to keep. The position was still mine, and the moment I got my shit together, Dad would put me right back where I belonged.
And all that childish nonsense—dumping an insane workload on me just to prove a point—would finally come to an end.
Mikael clicked his pen. “As the senior executive adviser, what do you have to say about the quarterly projections?”
His face. God, I hated that face. Anytime I saw him, I was always reminded of the fact that he was the lawyer who was the reason Verena and I were now divorced
“I have nothing to say,”
He cocked a brow. “You have nothing to say? What about the expansion?”
“The last time I checked, I had compiled my thought pieces into a file and if you can't go through them, doesn't that mean you are not right for this position?”
“What?” Something in his eyes shifted.
“When I was the CEO, I handled everything on my own and didn't burden my staff by asking irrelevant questions,”
He let out a derisive scoff, some of the important employees nodding in agreement—majorly the people who were still loyal to me and hated the fact that Mikaelson was the new CEO.
To all the others who were so short-sighted that they turned their backs on me, they could as well kiss their position goodbye because when I reclaim my position, it was over for them.
An uproar started in the boardroom and I returned my gaze to the pictures that shot pain straight into my heart. The more my gaze lingered on those pictures, the more anger burned through me and in a fit of rage I whipped my phone out.
The moment I found her youtube channel, the hate comments resumed. Jaden had told me to stop, telling me how childish it was but right now, I didn't care. Not with the horrible picture of Verena and my uncle that stared back at me.
I typed furiously. “Get away from that man before he infects you with STDs,”
I’d watched her Vlog to the point of obsession. It reminded me of all the things that I might never have with Verena.
“You both look horrible together, “
“He is not good for you,I…” I deleted it. She would figure out that I was the one and that would make her hate me harder than before?
I slipped my hand into my hair, ready to come up with another comment when I received a notification that the channel had responded. My heart stilled as I clicked on it.
“Thank you for all the love and consistent comments. Expect another vlog from my man and me next weekend. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more.”
I snapped.
“Arggh!” An instant silence fell over the boardroom as I kicked my chair, stormed out of the boardroom and pushed my hands into my hair.
She called him ‘her man!’. What the fuck.
I was breathing hard, ready to hurl my phone against the wall when I caught sight of my mum down the hall-way, waving at me.
Despite the storm brewing inside of me, I fixed my face, darting my eyes back to my phone.
“Fuck you Verena…” I muttered through gritted teeth before welcoming my mum with a smile.
If I had known, this was what she came to talk about, I wouldn't have led her into the office.
“Mum, don't you get tired. Blind dates. Match-making! I am tired of all of this. I am an adult and should choose for myself—” I clipped.
She shoved her phone to my face, ignoring my words. “Look at her. She is exactly your type,”
One look at the picture and I was already rolling my eyes.
“What is your problem, Kian? I’m only doing this for you and for you to get back in Neil’s good books. If he hears that you are going after Verena again, then you will be in a lot of trouble,”
“Who said I’m going after Verena?”
“Your actions and your refusal to meet the women I have chosen for you,”
I groaned. “What if I don't want to meet with someone else because another woman has caught my eye—” I lied.
I only wanted her to drop the talk and leave me alone.
She gasped, her hand flying over her mouth. “Really?”
I nodded.
“Then you should bring her to your aunt Riley’s wedding,”
I raised a brow. “Who said I have plans of coming to the wedding?”
Her face fell. “That will really piss your dad off and you can't afford to do that when the plan is for you to do everything he wants,”
I did an inward eye-roll. “The last time I checked he wasn't that close with aunt Riley,”
“And he is reconnecting with his siblings just like his father would have wanted. The wedding is the perfect time to introduce us to your new girl,”
I shook my head.
“It is still irrelevant to me. I have a lot of work to do and don't plan on attending,”
“Almost everyone will be there. Your aunts, uncles, cousins…”
I huffed. “Don't care for them. Nothing is ever going to change my mind,”
“Daxton too will also be attending,”
More of the reason I shouldn't even be there.
“And Verena too…”
My heart stopped as my eyes widened in shock immediately. “Verena? She will be there!”
“Isn't that common sense? Doesn't your uncle take her everywhere? Does this mean you are still not…”
I cut in immediately. “I am. I should introduce my new girl to everyone and show everyone I am a changed person,”
The moment she left, I had sent a text to Jaden.
‘Find me a girl. Someone desperate and in clear need of money to accompany me to Aunt Riley’s wedding. I don't need a psycho like Zita, I need someone who understands this is a deal and we will go our separate ways after the wedding. Draft a contract too, I don't want a repeat of Zita.’
Daxton
Underneath the cold spray of the shower, I wrapped my hand around Verena’s waist pulling her straight to my chest while I trailed wet kisses down the side of her neck, my erection pressed against her back.
A chuckle slipped out of her mouth. “You promised to only wash my hair,”
“Wash your hair naked? You’ve to be silly to believe me,” I pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck.
The evening had started with me ‘begging her to let me get in shower with her’ with her refusing because every shower always ended up with her being fucked against a wall. She had only accepted when I promised to wash her hair.
I loved being with her, loved being in her fucking space, watching that smile bloom like it belonged to me.
“I hate you, Daxton,”
“I love you more, princess…” I stepped back, staring at her smooth back, gaping at the way water sluiced down her skin.
A tattoo would look perfect on her spine.
I opened my mouth to speak when my heart iced over as my eyes narrowed on the faint marks on her back.
The memory slammed into me as the chill that descended on me freezed me sharper than the water cascading down my skin.
I could remember clutching a toy car so hard it snapped and I remembered holding Verena tight and…
Fuck!
I hurt her and she had lied to me and made me believe I didn't.
My breath came in small ragged gasps. I had never felt so stupid, so much hatred for myself and at the same time anger burned towards me.
I was undeserving of her. How dare I do that? What the actual fuck!
Verena turned to look at me, her eyes glinting ever so brightly that I badly wanted to hit myself. “You stopped…” the smile on her face fell. “What is it, Dax?”
I blinked, chest tightening. “Just admiring,”
Her face flushed and my heart broke into pieces. I had hurt her. I had hurt my Verena and will never be able to forgive myself for this.
“You should forget about us moving into the same room,” I fought to keep my smile steady.
Her brows furrowed. “Why? You wanted it. I want it too,”
“I think it is better if we keep separate rooms.”