Chapter 46 PTSD
Kian
At first, I thought it was a joke. My uncle wouldn’t be that cruel to subject me to such torture and even if he were cruel—certainly not to me. Even when I was whipped before him, I believed that he only wanted to instill fear in me so that I would cave in and sign the divorce papers as fast as possible.
That was the belief I held onto, until minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days, and days into a week. And with every growing torture and with my uncle not returning, it slowly hit me that this wasn’t child’s play and it wouldn’t cost him a thing to get rid of me here.
I sucked in a deep breath, grip tightening around the arm of the wheelchair as the memories from that dark room flooded my brain. I was sure that I had PTSD now—something that I would never heal from.
My skin still tingled from the whip that tore through my flesh, the throbbing pain at the back of my head still lingered and the ache that came from my dislocated arm persisted.
My mum’s fingertips on my face broke my train of thought as my gaze slowly fell on her. Her face was so pale that she looked sick. “Mum—arggh” I tried to speak but the pain that came from my split lips made me wince.
“Who did this to you?” Her voice cracked, a tear tracking down her cheek.
My dad who was raging behind her shouted. “You can see that he is not in a state to speak. We should be rushing him to the hospital before asking him things like this,”
Mum threw a glance at him over her shoulder, her voice dripping with fury. “Don’t start acting like you care. If you had reported that he was missing and not cared about the impact that news was going to have on the family’s company, he would have never suffered this much. If it weren’t for your brother…” Her breathing became ragged and uneven.
And that was the moment, I turned my gaze to my uncle as the noise in the background faded away. A small smile stretched his lips as he toyed with the lighter and with the way he nodded, it seemed like he was enjoying the chaos unfolding before him.
His eyes were cold, empty, and merciless and the more my gaze lingered on him, the more my spine stiffened from the shudders that kept rolling through me. This wasn’t the man that I knew. Not the one who would always ruffle my hair. Not the one who took me everywhere with him.
My heart twisted hard in my chest from the influx of thoughts that kept rushing in. Could there be a chance that he had some split personality? Or was he just good at hiding this dark and twisted side of himself?
As if he noticed my eyes on him, he slanted his head to the side, locking eyes with me as my heart hammered hard against my chest. I swallowed and was about to turn when he spoke—
“Sister-in-law, Kian is tired and all this back-and-forth wouldn’t help him. He can barely stand on his feet and what he needs is rest. Catching his abductors should be a ‘later’ plan…” He trailed before he fixed his eyes on me. “You also want to catch the culprit, right, Kian?”
I swallowed the lump that lodged at the base of my throat. “No—”
He raised a brow, feigning confusion while my parents fixed their eyes on me. “What do you mean by no?”
My throat worked and I hated this pathetic situation that I was in right now. It was like watching a cat pinning a mouse between its claws—toying with it instead of ending its life. Worse, I hated that I was the mouse in this case.
How did I get so weak? How did I lose so much control that I played into my uncle’s hands and signed the divorce papers?
The moment I returned to my villa, I would fire all my staff and get rid of the mole that my uncle planted in my house.
I ran my hand through my hair, feeling the slow rise of anger in my chest. “I stepped on the toes of someone above me and he did this to teach me a lesson. I’ve learned my lesson and wouldn’t want to prolong this further”
“What!” My parents exclaimed at the same time.
“Is it the Carthen Family? Did they do this to you,” Dad’s eyes were a flame of fire.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, trying to roll the wheelchair back inside the house until—
Uncle Daxton’s voice slashed through me and that taunting smile on his face drove me insane. How could my parents not see through him? How could they not see the culprit they so desperately wanted to find standing behind them?
“But, it isn’t right to let them go scot-free”
I swallowed hard, forcing out a smile. “I have made my decision…”I swept my gaze around the space. “I don’t see my fiancee anywhere,” I said, not failing to catch the smirk on my uncle’s face.
I hated this.
Zita’s car drove into the compound, the car screeching to a halt against the gravel. She rushed out of the car—to me—before she swung her arms around me, almost knocking both me and the wheelchair to the ground as she sobbed on my shoulders.
I was irritated and at the same time, it felt good seeing her cry because of me.
Zita being in my arms reminded me of someone. Someone whose memories felt like a sin. My wife…no…ex-wife.
Fuck this! Verena being my ex was still a hard pill I struggled to swallow.
“Zita was so worried about you, she barely ate or slept and just returned home to pick a few clothes,” My mum said.
I couldn’t help but think about Verena. Was she worried about me? Did she even know that I was missing?
“Zita is better than that woman who—” My mum clamped her mouth shut when she suddenly locked eyes with my uncle. His eyes held a silent warning, that made the name she almost sputtered out die in her throat.
She didn't just know when to stop. What if he abducted her for saying the wrong things about Verena?
“Mum!” I chastised, wanting to push Zita who wouldn’t stop soaking my shirt with her tears, away.
“I mean, you should have heard the things…” She paused.
The things that? I wanted to ask more questions. What did Verena say or do and most importantly, what did my mum say to her?
Dad cleared his throat. “Daxton, thank you for saving my son’s life. If it weren’t for your help, Kian wouldn't be here”
My uncle smiled. Like he fucking smiled. “Kian is my nephew and I watched him grow. Of course, I wouldn’t just do nothing knowing that he is in danger”
I almost scoffed.
Dad bobbed his head, shooting my mum a glare. “I told you that Verena was faking it. She couldn’t have been doing the things you said when you told her that Kian was the last person she met,”
My heart stopped.
Doing what?
My uncle’s brows knitted in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“She said she heard you and Verena talking dirty, some things about cuffs and—” My mum suddenly slammed her palm over dad’s mouth, laughing awkwardly.
“He is drunk”
He shoved her hand away. “I am as sober as…” She stomped on his foot before he could complete his words, glaring daggers at him before she took Uncle Daxton’s hands.
“I am glad that you didn’t allow any issues you had with Kian stop you from looking out for him. Since we couldn’t find him, we canceled our wedding anniversary party. But seeing him here, makes the celebration worthwhile so you are invited”
“You can come with a date, just not her, please. Don't take this the wrong way, but not Verena Carson.”