Chapter 51 : Secrets Unveiled Part 4 (Dark)

The next morning, she awoke from an uncomfortable night's sleep and had an aching head. She tried to sit up and rest her body on the bed while thinking about last night's incident, which had made the relationship between her and Keenan awkward and distant again, just like before.

Although Aishleen had tried to think of good things before falling asleep, all the thoughts that had bothered her earlier only appeared in her dreams, disturbing her much-needed sleep. Aishleen waited for the throbbing in her head to subside before getting out of bed, only to realize that she hadn't changed out of the dress she'd worn last night. So she quickly made her way to the bathroom, shaking off the drowsiness, and changed into her usual nightgown before leaving her cozy bedroom.

Aishleen went to the kitchen to get a glass of water because she needed some consolation. As she leaned against the kitchen counter after enjoying the cool, thirst-quenching liquid, Aishleen noticed that Keenan's study door was open. After emptying the glass and taking a deep breath to calm herself, she walked to Keenan's study to meet him.

The anxiety she felt as she approached the door could not be ignored. Despite her steady steps, Aishleen's heart kept pounding and her hands kept clenching and unclenching the sides of her nightgown as she walked forward.

When Aishleen reached the doorway, she was not surprised to see Keenan standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were glued to the floor, looking tired and listless, and Aishleen knew he was waiting for her arrival. Aishleen knocked gently on the open door and cleared her throat to get his attention.

"We need to talk," Aishleen said carefully, lifting Keenan's face to look at her.

The look of exhaustion was clearly visible on her husband's face. And from the disheveled hair, the dirty shirt, and the wrinkles in his honey brown eyes, Aishleen knew that he wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping last night. Aishleen's mind cleared as she glanced over to the sofa in the corner of the room and saw the pillow and blanket she had used earlier tossed there in a mess.

"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked in a low voice, and Aishleen responded with a slow shake of her head.

"I tried," the woman said. "But I couldn't stop thinking - about everything. About all the questions you asked me last night. About our last conversation," she said, biting at her dry lips. Keenan's eyes flickered for a moment before he lowered his face.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have ruined the night. I should have been more careful or chosen my words better."

"It's okay, Keenan," she cut in softly. "It's not your fault. I know you just want to know more about me. We're just having a conversation that needs to be had." Aishleen sighed and planted her feet on the floor to steady herself as she took a few more steps into the study before stopping. She desperately wanted to be close to her husband, to touch him or hold on to him for the strength she needed. But Aishleen knew she could not, for they had both raised their shields to protect themselves from each other. They had rebuilt the invisible wall that had been there, no matter how hard Aishleen tried to tear it down.

"I think - maybe it's best to get everything out in the open now. I'm done keeping secrets."

Keenan turned as his wife quietly made the obvious point that she knew they both expected. The truth. Aishleen would never be able to read his mind just by looking into his eyes or by his facial expressions alone, but somehow she could feel her husband warming up to her, letting her know that he felt the same way. And Aishleen took it as a sign for her to finally answer his question.

"I never meant to hurt you or your family. Whatever you think I did, it certainly wasn't to fulfill my mother's wishes. The only reason I complied with all of her requests was so that she would approve of my marriage to you, and so that she would not question my true intentions while giving me the opportunity to learn her true plans for our family."

Keenan pursed his lips as he listened to Aishleen speak, and the woman continued when her husband showed no signs of cutting her off. "I'm still trying to figure out why my mother has such desires, since she was never willing to fully open up to me. But you should know I had nothing to do with it, and I suspect my father didn't either."

Keenan looked down and was silent for a moment, while Aishleen looked away from him, missing entirely the way the man's lips moved with a hint of a relieved smile.

"I trust you," he told Aishleen, lifting her face just as he raised hers to his gaze.

"Since when did you assign Adrian to spy on me?" Aishleen asked, the look in his eyes subtly encouraging her to speak first, giving her the chance to ask all the questions she had for him.

Keenan gave her a tight smile. "So you already knew?" he sighed. "It's true I gave him orders to follow you and keep an eye on you. But I only wanted to keep you out of danger."

"You never explained what you were protecting me from," Aishleen complained to him, frowning. But he only answered with a chuckle.

"I'm afraid it's my turn to ask," Keenan said as he sat up on the table and put his hands in his pockets before asking his wife, "How much do you know about Black Mold Ltd.?"

The question caught Aishleen off guard, but she only answered with a shake of her head. "Not much. I only heard the name recently when I was going through Darrel's files. He got his promotion by brokering a deal between this company and my father's company before I actually got involved in my father's business, and..." the woman paused and sighed. "Back then, there was a lot of missing data or cash flow that was never reported. I'm still trying to figure out who was behind the company, because Darrel's name and signature were the only ones I found in the data related to it."

Keenan rubbed his chin as he listened. And Aishleen continued to ask him, "How do you know about them? About Black Mold Ltd?"

Keenan shrugged. "That name has been popping up all over the place for the last few years, and they have been trying to trip me up in every deal I have tried to make, including the last one with Mr. Hardy."

Aishleen's mind immediately went back to her honeymoon day, to the two strangers who had followed her and her husband on their journey.

"The time when your father signed the deal with Black Mold Ltd., was the same time he was about to sign the deal between his company and mine. So I guess their underhanded moves have been going on since then."

Aishleen looked at him with raised eyebrows. Why had she never heard of such a thing?

"You tried to make a deal with my father?" asked Aishleen in surprise.

The man scoffed. "Not me, but my father. I had just started taking my father's place in the company just before he resigned, but I only found out about it when I tried to investigate who they were. The deal was close, but it seems my grandfather was against it for some reason, and even asked my father to resign from the Seymour Group to join him at the holding company. And when I took over his job, Black Mold Ltd., snuck in and took the opportunity to partner with your father's company behind everyone's back."