14. Thirteen
Thirteen
Kayleigh
I woke up pissed off this morning. I went back to sleeping in the room I first slept in when Erik brought me here instead of in his room, and did the asshole ever come in? No. How do I know? Because I set one of my books behind the door so that if he opened it, the book would have to slide across the floor. And the fucking book is where I fucking left it.
I get ready for the morning and see if I can talk to Erik.
Erik is sitting down drinking his coffee when I walk into the dining room, and his other family members are seated around the table.
“Good morning,” I say as I walk in and have a seat. I purposely do not sit next to him, and Erik doesn’t react, but I see the looks exchanged between his brothers and their wives. But I did this for two reasons: one, to see if I can get a reaction out of him, and two, to see if he and Eva are trying to get back together. If they are, I have no business sitting in her seat. And I do not want to deal with her having a fit this morning.
A maid quickly brings me my food. I thank her before I start eating. I wait a few minutes to start talking; just listen as Darius and Rowan talk among themselves and Erik is busy on his phone. I gently set my fork down and pat my lips with my napkin before giving Erik my undivided attention.
“Erik?”
He looks up at me from his phone. “Yes?”
“I would like to talk to you later.”
“Anything you say to him you can say in front of me, right, darling?” Eva says as she walks in, heads over to him, and kisses his cheek. He doesn’t react; he keeps his eyes on me for a few intense moments but then shifts his attention to his brothers. I shake my head sadly and sigh.
Before I can escape to my room, Eva follows me into the kitchen. “You know he doesn’t want you, don’t you? You were just easy and available pussy. A little girl like you wouldn’t be able to please a man like Erik.” She smirks at me before walking back into the dining room. I hear Rowan ask where I went but I head to my room before listening to whatever bitchy response she comes up with.
Once I’m behind the locked door of my room, I want to stay forever. Erik made all these promises.
Like I’m his queen. A lie.
I will be his wife. Bullshit, the vamp of a woman downstairs will be his wife again.
I will rule his kingdom at his side. Not his kingdom.
I will be the mother of his children. Never, I won’t be a mistress and carrying his babies.
I will be the grandmother of his grandchildren. More fucking lies.
I walk over to the bed and curl into a ball and let the tears flow. I need this, I need to let the pain out so I can do what I have to move on.
I made him promise he wouldn’t hurt me and like all the other men outside my family, he lied and let me down again. Why is it so hard to find a man who loves me? Am I that unlovable? Is it my past that makes men not want to be with me? Or am I only good for an easy fuck? Like Eva said, I was available and easy. I guess all I am good for is being either abused or using.
I want what the other couples in my life have. How my Daid cherishes my mama and how my brothers will do anything for their wives. But if I’m honest, I would love a relationship more like Mateo and Emilia. How she can be a sassy bitch and he goes with it and loves her because of it. He never tries to dull her. If anything, he encourages her to be who she is.
I want someone who will love me for me, but I guess that isn’t how my life is going to go. Some women get their happily ever after. Not me. It’s time I came to terms with that.
Cillian
I’m shocked when I see Kayleigh’s number on my phone while I’m in a meeting. I excuse myself and answer the phone.
Cillian: Hi, Kayleigh. To what do I owe the pleasure?
Kayleigh: Sniffling.
Cillian: What’s wrong?
Kayleigh: Oh nothing. My allergies are acting up.
Cillian: You don’t have allergies; you want to try that again?
Kayleigh: I’m ok…I just want to come home.
Cillian: What happened? Do I need to kill Erik? Has he done something to you?
Kayleigh: No, you don’t. It’s just time for me to leave.
Cillian: I need to know if someone hurt you, stór.
Kayleigh: I’m fine. Can you come get me or not?
Cillian: Yes.
Kayleigh: Okay, good, because if you couldn’t, I was going to find my own way home.
Cillian: You don’t need to do that; I will be there as soon as I can.
Kayleigh: Alright, Cillian. Thank you.
Cillian: You never have to thank me. Love you.
Kayleigh: Love you too.
After I hang up the phone, I stare at my blank screen for a moment. She said she was fine, but I know my sweet stór. Someone hurt her, and when I find out who it is, they better pray they are good at hiding because I will be on the hunt for them, and it has been a while since I have had a hunt. I do love a good hunt, especially if it is so I can bleed out someone who has hurt someone in my family. I get a little bloodthirsty when my family is hurt.
I walk in and tell everyone in the meeting an emergency has come up and we have to reschedule. I wait while the high-ranking members walk out and my father and Oscar are the only ones left. The moment they are all out of the office, Daid is on me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t put a bullet between Erik Duncan’s eyes when I land in Scottland in a few hours.”
“Why?”
“Because Kayleigh just called me demanding I come bring her home or she was going to find her own way here.”
“What?” Oscar growls.
“I asked her what was wrong, and at first she tried to say it was allergies, but we all know she has never had allergies a day in her life. When I kept pushing, she refused to tell me.”
“Go get her and bring her home. Then we will find out what happened. If we need to, we will deal with whatever happened to her. I refuse to let my stór beag be hurt ever again,” Daid orders.
I nod and look to Oscar. “Up for a trip?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.” He smirks.
“We will leave tomorrow morning.”
I say my goodbyes and head home. Right now, I need to be with my sweet little lamb. When the darkness becomes too much, she is the light that keeps me from drowning.