Chapter 59: Confrontation

The silence became more and more unbearable as Aishleen waited for an answer from him. The frustration on his face was equal to the woman's anxiety, and it showed through his eyes and tightly clenched jaw. Aishleen, however, maintained a stoic demeanor and did not even blink under the intense gaze of Keenan. Time seemed to slow down, each second feeling like a gentle throbbing in her chest.

She had given him a chance to speak, but all Keenan did was stand there without a word, still refusing to look away from Aishleen's eyes. In fact, Keenan remembered their meeting a few months ago, before the tragic accident, when he first met Darrel.

The only thing Aishleen could read in Keenan's expression was uncertainty. Though Keenan's presence near her should have been comforting, Aishleen felt too burdened by the secrets and uncertainties that colored her life. Now, with a feeling of dread crushing her chest, she took a deep breath and moved to push Keenan away from her.

Her movement was stopped, however, by his hand, which cupped her wrist in a gentle grip and held it carefully in his grasp.

Finally, with a soft voice, Keenan opened his mouth to speak, his other hand gently gripping Aishleen's arm. The touch of his thumb moved unconsciously across her skin as he spoke, sending a small tremor through Aishleen.

"I'm not really on their side," he began, his voice calm despite the doubt still reflected in her eyes. "And I really didn't mean to hurt you, not at all."

He let out a small sigh before continuing, "However, it is not entirely wrong to say that I have some connection to them."

Aishleen looked at him sharply, her eyebrows furrowed as she heard his confession in an almost whispered tone. "What do you mean?"

Keenan shook his head slowly, seemingly at a loss for the right words. "I can't reveal everything right now. I... I'm not ready. But what I can say now is that I am not the enemy here, Ash. And I don't want to be your enemy."

"Really?" Aishleen's voice sounded doubtful. There was a tremor in the background that indicated deep pain.

Keenan's jaw tightened as he clenched his hand into a fist, the fingers wrapped around her arm showing how tight his grip was. "What else do I have to show to make you believe and trust me?"

The lines on Aishleen's face grew deeper and deeper as she continued to stare at him. "You can start by stopping hiding and lying to me," she replied firmly, the look in her eyes never leaving her angry features. "I'm tired of all the lies, Keenan. I've revealed everything I've been keeping from you, from everyone. Now it's your turn. Tell me everything."

"I can't tell you everything yet. I'll tell you when the time is right, but not now..."

"When what, then?" Her voice suddenly rose before she slowly lowered it with a deep breath. "What is the real agenda here, Keenan? What do you want out of all this? From me?"

Her hands almost clasped his collar, the realization of how hard she was fighting to hold back the truth wrapping around her. He closed his mouth, his lips tightening, and looked down to avoid Aishleen's piercing gaze.

"I just wanted to make sure you were safe," he finally said, his voice soft. Aishleen could feel how sincere his words were, but she also sensed that he was hiding something. She knew that if she looked at him, Keenan probably wouldn't be able to resist revealing the truth he was trying to hide.

"Is that so?" Aishleen's voice was more tense now. "And what is your plan? What is the real purpose of all this? Of this contract?"

"This contract is a way for me to protect you," Keenan replied, but Aishleen saw a flash of discontent in his eyes. "It's not just about your safety or keeping threats away from you when you're with me. It's also about making sure that if anything happens," he trailed off for a moment, trying to weigh his words, "if anything happens to you, no one but me will have any rights to your father's company. They won't be able to benefit from it if any of us..." he paused, not quite finishing his sentence.

Even Aishleen could not utter the word, although she knew what he was about to say.

"So you're saying the only way I'll be safe is if I marry you?" her voice was filled with astonishment.

Keenan nodded slowly, his eyes still on Aishleen's face. "Partially, yes."

*"Partly,"* the word spun around in her head time and time again. "But I will only be safe when I'm with you?"

Keenan's lips tightened. "They won't be able to touch you if you become my wife."

"For some reason, I feel like I'm being held captive instead of being married," Aishleen said, letting the words come out in a stammer. "Is that really what this is about? Company? Rights? Am I just part of your plan to defeat your enemies?" Aishleen felt something inside her chest crack at that thought, as she sensed that she might be a pawn in this game. "Is your reason for using this marriage as a means to gain your grandfather's approval as the rightful heir true?"

"Yes, and so far. That is to a large extent the purpose of this contract. The main purpose of this contract is to help me achieve and accomplish many things in one step," Keenan replied firmly and without hesitation.

Aishleen felt her body tremble and her breath catch. "What about—is everything you've shown me since our wedding day a lie to keep me with you?" Her mind drifted back to their honeymoon, their kiss, their words, the white linen lace that she still vividly remembered how sensual it felt under his fingers. Then the words just fell from his lips, "Was it all fake? All..." Her breath caught in her throat, as if something was stuck there.

*What did I really say?*

Shame began to creep in as she felt herself worrying more about her marriage than revealing the truth about her enemies. Quickly, she pushed him away, trying to get away.

Keenan's hand quickly grabbed her wrist, stopping her before she could turn. The contact startled her, giving Aishleen no time to react before she was pulled into his arms, her chin gently lifted by his fingers so that they stared at each other. As she felt herself catching her breath, she heard the anger in Keenan's voice, "It was never fake. I never told you or showed you anything that wasn't real. I never lied."

"The truth? What do you mean by truth? You never answered a single question I asked you without wrapping it up," Aishleen spoke to him, stopping only to take a deep breath.

Keenan refused to let her go, even putting his finger under her chin to keep her from turning around. "I'm not talking about that. I may not have always been honest with you, but I never hid my feelings..."

Aishleen raised her hand to ask him to stop. Suddenly she was so tired of discussing this that she tried to bring the conversation back to the point. "Who are they? What do they want from me?"

"I can't say who they are because I'm still gathering enough evidence to identify them," he sighed heavily. "And besides, I know that if I tell you, you'll try to go after them yourself."

*Why is it so hard for you to open up*, Aishleen wondered as she looked at him. But she knew she had to admit that Keenan was right. If there was a chance, she would definitely go after them herself.

"Alright," she finally gave in, trying to relax her tense body so that Keenan would let her go. Though Keenan removed his fingers from her chin, his grip on her arm was still there. "So tell me why you called Darrel the night before his accident. What did you talk about before the accident?"

It was a long phone call, she remembered clearly, so something must have happened the night of the accident.

Keenan glanced over her shoulder for a moment. He wondered if he should reveal this information. He bit his lower lip for a moment before finally answering, "He asked for my help. He was on his way to see me that night after he knew he wouldn't make it to the Sanctuary in time."

*Sanctuary?* Aishleen thought to herself.

Then her memory swirled back to Detective John and the dots began to connect. *They must have met*, she remembered now from her conversation with the detective, but John couldn't make it in time. *So Darrel went to see Keenan?*

Keenan let go of her hand gently and walked over to his desk. Aishleen followed him and stopped when he turned around after picking up the recorder.

"I never fully trusted him, so I always recorded our conversations. I had no choice but to help him that night because he was the only contact I had to reach them. The people who wanted to kill you." Keenan picked up the device and handed it to Aishleen, letting her play the recorded calls stored on it.

The next thing they heard was Darrel's voice, with the sound of heavy rain filling the background.

*"Keenan, this is Darrel."*

*"Yes, I know."*

*"I know you don't trust me and I always fail to prove my intentions..."*

*"What's going on?" Keenan's stern voice cut him off, and Darrel continued after a moment's pause—*