Chapter 25 The Investigation
"Who was that?" Zephyra asks once more.
Kairo sets down his cellphone. His face is carefully neutral. Too neutral.
"An investigator."
The words hold in the air like smoke.
"You employed an investigator?" Her voice rises. "To spy on me?"
"Not on you." He crosses to her. "On Felix."
"What?"
"I needed to know if his story was true." Kairo's voice is calm. Measured. "about the investor. The threats. all of it. So I employed someone to affirm."
Anger floods through her. "You had no right—"
"I had each right." He cuts her off. "You're my wife. Someone in your past shows up claiming he left to protect you. He is offering you a six-month contract in Paris. Tells you he is still in love with you. And I should just accept his words?"
The logic is sound. but it still feels like betrayal.
"You ought to have informed me."
"Would you have agreed?" He asks.
She opens her mouth. Close it. No. She wouldn't have.
"What did you find?" Her voice is smaller now. Uncertain.
Kairo pulls out his cellphone. Open an e-mail. Hands it to her.
"Read it."
The e-mail is from a personal research firm. Detailed. Professional. Thorough.
She reads slowly. Her palms were shaking.
Jean-Marc Laurent. Real person. Real investor. Real threats—all documented. Police reports from 2019. Felix filed a restraining order. Laurent violated it twice.
The story checks out.
Felix was telling the truth.
Relief floods through her. "See? He was not lying. He actually did leave to protect me."
Keep reading." Kairo's voice is gentle. But there's something underneath. Something that makes her stomach clench.
She scrolls down.
Recent financial records. Felix's design company. Started eighteen months ago with Laurent's money—the partnership Felix finally accepted after Laurent's health declined.
The company is failing.
Badly.
Sales are dismal. Reviews mixed. Investors pulling out. Three months from bankruptcy unless something changes.
Unless someone major attaches their name to his brand.
Someone like Zephyra Lione-Draven.
Rising star. Recent New York Fashion Week success. Name recognition. Buzz.
The email continues: "Subject's invitation to Ms. Draven appears strategically timed. Her collaboration would generate media attention, investor interest, and potential brand revival. Financial benefit to the subject: estimated 2-5 million in the first year alone."
The words blur together.
Zephyra sits on the mattress. Her legs could not hold her anymore.
"No." She whispers. "No, this is not true.. he would not..."
"His feelings might be real." Kairo sits beside her. Doesn't touch her. "But his timing is convenient. Very convenient."
She reads it once more. And again. searching out some different clarification.
There isn't one.
Felix needs her. Professionally. Financially. Desperately.
And he wrapped that need in romance. In closure. In unfinished love.
"I'm so silly." Tears spill down her cheeks. "I'm so quite silly."
"You're not silly." Kairo's voice is tender. "You wanted to believe the best in someone you once loved. That's not stupidity. That's hope."
"Hope nearly cost me my marriage." She looked at him. Really look at him. "You tried to warn me. And I referred to you as insecure."
"You did not know." He gently touches her. Take her hand. "How could you? He's good. The story about Laurent is true. The feelings probably are too. But that doesn't mean he's not also using you."
The observation is devastating in its accuracy.
Felix does love her. And needs her. And he wants to use one to get the other.
"What do I do?" She asks. Lost. Damaged.
"What do you want to do now?"
She is thinking about it. Really thinks.
"I want to confront him." Her voice hardens. "I want to listen to him admit it."
Kairo nods. "Then that's what we will do."
"We?"
"You think I am letting you face him all alone?" A ghost of a smile. "No way, I am not taking a chance"
They come to Felix's motel an hour later. Zephyra's palms shake as they ride the elevator to his floor.
Kairo holds one hand. Steady. Strong.
She knocks at the door of room 412.
Felix opens the door. His smile is superb. Still he sees her face.
"Zephyra? what is wrong?"
Can we come in?" Her voice is ice.
"Of course." He steps aside. Sees Kairo. The smile dies immediately. "Both of you?"
"Yes, both of us." She enters. Kairo follows like a shadow.
Felix's room is larger than theirs. A suite. Design sketches cover every surface. Fabric samples. Mood boards.
Evidence of a man desperate to create something beautiful.
Or desperate to save something dying.
"I got your message this morning." Felix says. "About the revised contract. I hoped you were calling to—"
"How much debt are you into?" Zephyra snapped at him.
Felix is going faded. "What?"
"Your company. The one you started out with Laurent's money. How many problems are there?"
"I do not know what you are talking about." but his eyes say otherwise.
"Don't deceive me." Her voice shakes with anger. "Not now. Not after everything. How many ?"
Silence stretches. Felix looks between her and Kairo. Sees something on their faces that makes him collapse.
" Two million." He whispers. "I'm two million in debt. Buyers pulled out in the final month. I'm three months before bankruptcy."And my collaboration would fix that." Not a question. An assertion.
"It would assist." He admits. "Your call connected to my brand. The exposure. The investors might come back. We may want to—"
"So that's what this whole thing is all about?." She laughs. Bitter. Broken. "The actual reason you invited me to Paris.Not closure. Not love. Business"
"It is not the way you see it—"
"Isn't it always?" She steps closer. "Did you invite me here because you missed me? Or due to the fact that you need my name to save your failing company?"
Felix remains silent .
"Answer me." Her voice cracks. "Did you track down your ex-girlfriend who you abandoned five years ago because you certainly wanted to make an apology? Or because you saw an opportunity to apply her success to keep yourself?"
"Both." His voice is slightly audible. "God help me, Zephyra. It is both."
The admission hits like a bodily blow.
"I do love you." Tears move down his face. "I by no means stopped. But yes. after I noticed your name is trending. Noticed your success. I thought... Maybe this is destiny. Perhaps I'll be able to fix errors right away. Save my corporation and get you returned."
"And you want to achieve this by deceiving me?
"I did not lie." He protests weakly. "Everything I told you is actually true."
"Besides the most crucial part." She turns closer to the door. I can not have a look at him anymore. "You made me believe this was about us. About closure. About love. When certainly it was abou
t saving your business."
"Zephyra, please—"
She stops at the door. does not turn round.
"Did you ever genuinely love me, Felix? Or am I usually just useful to you?”