CHAPTER 21 — MAN DOWN

I nearly jumped out of my skin in excitement as I heard the doorbell ring. Val had deserted me once more for one of her nightly escapades. I knew she got bored easily and that she might be back before the night was over. For a while I'd felt like I would soon lose it. Contrary to what I always wished out loud to Val's hearing, home alone was not fun. I had literally nothing to do. And no one to give details about how well the fundraiser was going.

I hurried to the door, ready to cry on her shoulder and beg her not to leave me again. It would inflate her ego of course, but I was desperate. Getting to the door I swung it open, my arms wide open. However, my eyes landed on no other than Lennox Wilder crouched at my doorstep. That was all it took to erase the last traces of a smile on my face.

Disappointment and anger fought a small battle in my head and then, I sucked in a deep breath. "Like your manners, have you finally lost your sense of direction?" I asked coldly.

Whatever he was playing at right now, I didn't have time for it. I exhaled in fury. Why was he even at my house?

He, however, met my words with dead silence.

"Look, Lennox, I’m not in the mood for one of your tantrums and neither am I your sexual outlet, so if that’s why you’re-"

I let out a small scream in shock as he raised his head. A bleeding gash in his forehead was surrounded by tiny cuts around his face and eyes. With his form more exposed to the light now, I also saw that his knuckles were bruised and coated with dried blood.

My anger forgotten, I was at his side in a flash, gripping his arm to support as I helped him up and into the house. When he was comfortably seated at the kitchen island, I dashed into my room to grab my first aid kit. He scrunched up his face in pain as I began to clean his wounds. Mumbling an apology, I tried to be as careful as possible. When I was done, I handed him an ice pack, my heart clenching from the pain in his features.

"What happened?" I asked, finally breaking the silence. He made no move to ascertain that he'd heard me.

"Lennox." I tried again. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

He let the ice pack fall to the floor, his bruised eye coming into full view and making some part of me feel more helpless than ever. He flexed his fingers, sucking in a sharp breath. "Nothing to worry about. Just a small accident."

I poked his knee with a finger. "Lennox, talk to me."

When he kept silent, I gripped his arm gently, forcing him to look me in the eyes. "Please," I pleaded, unable to keep the tremor out of my voice.

After a while of agonizing silence, he let out a heavy sigh. "I encountered King Wilder today."

It felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. A father had done this to his son? Unable to stop myself, I looked up at Lennox once again, noting the gravity of damage of his wounds. I shook my head in disbelief as I felt goosebumps began to form on my body. What kind of a monster would do this to his son?

I swallowed. It was both scary and disappointing to see that a parent could do something like this. "Don't you think we should involve the police?"

Lennox let out a low bitter chuckle, and I could hear the pain behind them. "Like that could stop him."

I buried my head in my hands. Shit. I'd forgotten just how influential King Wilder was.

"Lennox, the whole thing with your father—"

He shot me a glare, biting out, “For the last time, that bastard isn't my father." His words cut sharply through the silent room.

"Okay…" I breathed out, equally beginning to feel frustrated. It wasn't fair that I was caught up in the middle of all this. I needed answers. "What's going on between you and King Wilder?" I asked again, pretending not to see the fed up look he threw my way.

I folded my arms stubbornly. "Save up your eye bullets. You'll be needing them a lot tonight."

He rolled his eyes.

After long minutes of painful silence, he drew out a sigh. "My mother went through a lot of difficulties after I was born." He stated. His eyes were hard and cold and as he stared into space; I knew this was a sensitive topic for him.

"Her womb was damaged, her health deteriorated. And although treatments were administered on her in the best hospitals, she didn't make it. King blamed me for everything; her pain for nine full months, her discomfort and eventually, her death. That's when the hatred began to manifest..." He trailed off, giving a bitter smile. "He let me know from the start just how much he despised me, spat in my face when I sought his validation, and then one day, I just couldn't take it anymore. Now, he thinks I am unfit to run Wild Industries, and he's sworn to do everything in his power to take it away from me."

"Shit, I'm sorry," I muttered, unsure what to else to say. The sadness in his features made me want to envelope him in my arms, smoothen out the stress lines on his face, one by one, and tell him it wasn't his fault. Tell him everything would be okay. But all I could do was place one hand on his, hoping it'd communicate all I felt to him. For a while we sat like that, and then he fixed me with his smothering gaze.

"Why my house?" I asked out of the silence.

He cocked a brow, then grimaced in pain.

"Why did you come here?"

"I had nowhere else to go, and I couldn't let Shaye see me like this," He answered quietly, guilt masking his features. For some reason, his words plunged my heart to its depths, yet a tinge of anger found its way in, nonetheless. I nodded, letting silence take over for a while.

"I'm sorry—"

"I'm sorry—"

We both started, then paused awkwardly.

He leaned closer to me, blessing me with a whiff of his confusion inducing cologne and earnest eyes, and shook his head. "You go first."

I swallowed with difficulty, trying not to think of how weak I suddenly felt. If he leaned in any further, our lips would touch.

I tore my eyes away from his electric blue ones and sighed. "I'm sorry about the other day. I should never have hit you. I crossed the line when I brought in your fami—"

"I deserved it." He interrupted me, making my brow draw up in surprise. Did Lennox Wilder just admit he was wrong?

"Well…" I huffed. "Since you're insisting, I guess you did kind of deserve—"

The glare I was expecting from him never came, instead he let out a breathy chuckle that sent shivers through my skin. It earned the little smile that swiftly planted itself into my cheeks. In this fragile moment, a part of me realized how much I’d missed being carefree in his company and how easy it was to be around Lennox Wilder. That is, when you put aside his cockiness and arrogance and his tendency to ghost on you. It gave me an explosion of mixed feelings.

"I'm sorry about everything. The other night… I shouldn't have stormed out like that."

I only tilted my head in acknowledgment and waited for an explanation that never came. So, that's how he was going to play it? Fine, then.

"Look, Verity..."

I purposely ignored him, getting up and handing him another ice pack from the freezer.

"What you do to me..." He started, his voice low.

I fixed him with a questioning look.

"I don't understand it.” His blue eyes melted into mine, holding an intensity that got my heart skipping a traitorous beat.

I sucked in a sharp breath, warmth running from my fingertips down to my toes. And I hoped he couldn't see just how much I ached for his touch. Him admitting that I had an effect on him was truly not helping, not when I knew that deep down he had that captivating hold on me too.

"I hate how I feel around you... what you do to me." As he spoke, he raked his fingers through his curls, swearing quietly. "I hate that I can't control myself, that I can't control how I act around you. Or feel. Or think. Everything becomes irrational and it’s like, every single thought and action comes down to you. And quite sincerely, I hate it. That’s why I left after our kiss, because I’m not in the business of giving a damn about any woman…and yet, when we kissed, I lost it - to every inch of you. Look, I'm sorry..."

My heart drummed and heat gathered to me cheeks. The room was spinning and breathing, on my part, had become so intangible. How could someone be so damn infuriating and look so fucking good while at it? Did he just manage to turn everything back on me? Regardless of the sweet fluttering in my belly, I scoffed in disbelief.

I stood. "Well, excuse me for getting you all hot and bothered and out of sorts. It wasn't my intention to force you into All That Jazz and into my life so I could mess with your head and disorient you, Mr. Wilder." I snapped, my face heating up with every word.

"Verity—"

"Unfortunately, Lennox, a half-assed apology doesn’t cut it. You made me feel stupid for over a week. You had me questioning myself for crying out loud! And now, I’m just supposed to forgive you because ‘You hate the way I make you feel?’ Oh, please. You’re the one who’s in desperate need for a reality check." I finished crisply, sliding off my chair and into my room. Finding what I was searching for, I returned, carelessly tossing the blanket and pillow to him and motioning to the couch. "Goodnight."

His expression, for the first time I’d met him, showed everything; hurt, regret and an obvious shock at my outburst. However, before he could say another word that would perhaps have me swaying in my resolve, I stormed to my room, making sure to shut the door with a bang. After that, I slumped down behind my door, hear lurching and my whole world trembling at my feet.